What SAP rapid deployment solutions can do for the midmarket
Lacking both the personnel to carry out large-scale IT projects and the financial resources to implement them, small and midsize enterprises often end up postponing projects, or canceling them altogether. But with the help of so-called rapid-deployment solutions, companies should be able to change this situation, at least in the ERP space, say SAP and its partner ITML GmbH. Relevant, pre-defined best practices for SAP Business All-in-One ensure that the rapid-deployment solutions are well-suited to the needs of small and midsize enterprise customers.
Software: preconfigured standard software from the SAP portfolio for specific business processes
Services: predefined services for implementation and training, with a fixed price and service scope by ITML
Content: pre-developed content, such as SAP best practices and templates for specific usage cases, and tools for implementing the solution
Enablement: manuals and training materials to increase user buy-in
The rapid-deployment solution for advanced production scheduling in SAP SCM enables customers to add detailed scheduling functions to their ERP solution quickly and with very little effort. This is based on the MRP-based detailed scheduling scenario and combines the SAP ERP planning processes with detailed scheduling functions from SAP SCM (Production Planning and Detailed Scheduling).
Planned orders created in SAP ERP are placed in the optimal sequence for production using the large number of scheduling functions and strategies available in SAP SCM. It is also possible to use the Production Planning and Detailed Scheduling (PP/DS) Optimizer to determine the sequence, taking into account predefined parameters.
In order to reduce the workload for detailed schedulers, SAP SCM offers a function that uses individually defined exception messages to keep the scheduler’s focus primarily on critical situations. Less critical products are planned automatically. The scheduler then decides whether to initially store the results as a simulation or to pass the changes on to production when scheduling is complete. The results of detailed scheduling in SAP SCM then flow automatically into the current scheduling situation in SAP ERP and the production process begins.
- SAP Rapid Deployment Solutions
- Search for SAP Notes
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- #SAPRDS (Twitter)
- SAP SCM
Source:Â sap.info
Thanasis Tsapanoglou
SAP Certified Application Associate – Procurement with SAP ERP 6.0 EHP6
Since it is based on EHP6, the latest Enhancement Package currently available for SAP ERP Central Component (ECC) 6.0, it includes all the latest improvements and innovations. Indicatively, new business functions have been introduced in order to meet business requirements in the Materials Management component, such as Procurement Process for Commodities, External Release for Purchase Requisition and Self-Service Procurement. Content from all the previous Enhancement Packages of SAP ECC 6.0 has been incorporated in the C_TSCM52_66 exam. The direct links for the release notes of each EHP version (for Materials Management), are: EHP1 (core), EHP2, EHP3, EHP4, EHP5, EHP6.
SAP recommends “combining education courses and hands-on experience to prepare for your certification exam as questions will test your ability to apply the knowledge you have gained in training“.
The duration of the exam is 180 minutes and it consists of 80 questions. According to the introductory screen of the exam, the passing score is 59% and the answer given to each question should be totally correct in order to get the marks, even in the case of multiple-answer or fill-in-the-blanks questions. Information on negative scoring is not included though (but I assume it does not apply). The scheduled exam dates are update regularly on the exam‘s page.
The areas covered at exam are listed below. The “+” (plus) sign, next to the topic, refers to less than 8% weighting, while the “++” (double plus) sign refers to 8-12% weighting. This can be translated to around 14 and 18 questions, respectively, out of 180 in total.
Topic & Weighting | Way(s) to attain | ||
---|---|---|---|
Primary | Alternative | Other | |
Special Processes in Procurement ++ | TSCM52, TSCM50 | SCM520 | TSCM5e |
Valuation and Account Determination + | TSCM50, TSCM52 | SCM550 | TSCM5e |
Configuring Master Data and Enterprise Structure ++ | TSCM50, TSCM52 | SCM550 | TSCM5e |
Configuring Logistics Invoice Verification + | TSCM50 | SCM515 | |
Configuring Inventory Management + | TSCM52 | SCM510 | |
Material Requirements Planning + | TSCM50, TSCM52 | SCM525 | TSCM5e |
Purchasing Optimization ++ | TSCM50, TSCM52 | SCM520 | TSCM5e |
Physical Inventory + | TSCM50, TSCM52 | SCM510 | TSCM5e |
Experience from Implementation + | TSCM52 | ||
Master Data and Enterprise Structure ++ | TSCM50, TSCM52 | SCM500, SCM520 | TSCM5e |
SAP Overview and Solution Manager + | SAP129, SM001, TERP01, TERP02 |
SAP01 | TSCM5e |
Procurement Process ++ | TSCM50, TSCM52 | SCM500, SCM520, TERP41, TERP42 |
TSCM5e |
Inventory Management ++ | TSCM50, TSCM52 | SCM510 | TSCM5e |
Logistics Invoice Verification + | TSCM50, TSCM52 | SCM515 | TSCM5e |
Some broader knowledge on SAP, SAP ERP, SAP Solution Manager and ASAP methodology is also required, which is also part of the official training material.
The 4 core books, of the primary way to attain, are listed below. Up until now, 095 is the latest version and the C_TSCM52_66 exam has the same version of books with the (older) C_TSCM52_65 exam, which is based on EHP5.
TSCM50 Procurement I Part 1 |
TSCM50 Procurement I Part 2 |
TSCM52 Procurement II Part 1 |
TSCM52 Procurement II Part 2 |
---|---|---|---|
Procurement Process, Master Data | Sources of Supply, Source Determination, Processing Purchase Requisitions, Invoice Verification | Inventory Management | Additional topics in system configuration |
645 pages | 619 pages | 579 pages | 331 pages |
These 4 books (version 095) include a total of 174 questions distributed among 28 units/chapters, which are more than enough to prepare for the exam. In addition, for anyone interested, sample questions for the C_TSCM52_66 exam can be found here.
As regards to the SAP IDES system, which complements SAP Training programs, according to SAP Notes 1761605 and 799639, the installation package for IDES ECC 6.0 EHP6 was released just recently (Q4 2012).
Additional reading material, related to the exam‘s topic areas, includes:
- Customizing Materials Management Processes in SAP ERP (2nd Edition)
- Materials Management with SAP ERP: Functionality and Technical Configuration (3rd Edition)
- SAP Solution Manager (3rd Edition)
Frequently asked questions (FAQ) concerning several areas of SAP Training, can be found here.
I wish good luck to any individual who is interested in sitting for the exam!
Thanasis Tsapanoglou
SAP’s Supply Chain Management line of business: overview video, eBooks and solutions
http://www.sap.com/lines-of-business/scm/solutions-overview.epx
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