Understanding the Roles of a SAP MM Consultant

SAP Material Management, or SAP MM, is an integral logistic module that helps to manage procurement processes and supports all aspects of material management. It comprises of different modules like Production Planning, Sales and Distribution, Plant Maintenance, Warehouse Management, and Project Systems. The SAP MM training deals with effective materials management and inventory management. SAP MM speeds up the procurement process and aids in seamless material management functions, making the business operate more smoothly and with utmost cost efficiency. It is the process of managing the resources and materials of an organization with the objective to accelerate productivity and minimize cost.

This clearly indicates the importance of SAP Material Management to any manufacturing and product handling company. For effective SAP MM, a company needs an expert consultant who has vast knowledge and skills in diverse aspects of the subject. Certified SAP MM consultant plays an integral role in the effective running of a business, and has, therefore, emerged as a lucrative career opportunity today. So, if you are an SAP professional, and want to pursue a career as MM consultant, you should be aware of the roles and responsibilities related to the job.

Roles and Responsibilities of SAP MM Consultant

There are several roles that a consultant plays, right from the implementation of a project to support. Discussed here are the roles and responsibilities of an SAP consultant:

SAP MM Consultation for Implementation Project

During implementation projects, an SAP MM consultant has important roles and responsibilities as outlined here:

• Understanding key business requirements, preparing AS-IS and TO-BE documents and signing off with users to have business blueprint document

• Building an organization structure of material management and setting up related configuration such as valuation area plants, purchase organization, warehouse structure, storage location, etc.

• Finalizing the material and purchasing groups, payment terms, pricing procedures, and Incoterms

• Pricing procedures are set by defining the access sequence and condition type

• To define and set up a taxation structure

• Finalizing and validating number ranges for vendor master, material master, and having all purchase and inventory documents in place

• Setting up split valuation that is based on different valuation categories such as grade and source of materials, country or origin, etc.

• To configure the release procedure to purchase documents such as purchase requisition and purchase order

• Making preparations for internal and document testing

• Preparing master data templates for different objects like vendor master, material master, Info-records, excise master, purchase order, and source list

• Negotiating with the vendors to obtain the best quality at the best price, ensuring the best buy

• Vendor development to have alternate sources of supply of raw materials 

• Testing integration with other modules like SD, PP, and FI/CO

• To prepare the cut-over strategy for Material Management object

• To prepare the user manual and impart training to various business process owners

• Preparing for project Go-live and post Go-Live support

SAP MM Consultation for Support Project

The role of an MM consultant does not end with implementation project; it extends to support functionalities as well. The roles and responsibilities are discussed herewith:

• Interacting with clients through calls, net meetings, and emails

• He/she is responsible to troubleshoot various issues in the SAP system and provide support

• To handle tasks and tickets, and is responsible for closing the same within pre-defined Service Level Agreements

• Execute analysis and resolution of production support calls

• Execute necessary changes in configuration

• To raise Change Requests (CRs) and providing functional specifications for the same

• To prepare test data to test Change Requests

• To test and validate Change Requests, and prepare test results

• Performing regression testing

• Interaction with consultants of other modules

In addition to the above roles and responsibilities, a professional SAP MM consultant may have other responsibilities based on past experience and type of client.