ERP Functional Consultant
What the work looks like, the platforms behind the title, what each level means and the training that helps, then how interviews run and how to prepare for each step.
What an ERP functional consultant actually does
A consultant who sets up an ERP to fit the processes of a company, in finance, supply chain or HR, and helps people use it from day one.
An ERP functional consultant configures an ERP such as SAP S/4HANA, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics 365 or Workday so that it fits the processes of a company. They usually specialise in a domain such as finance, supply chain or HR.
They run workshops with business teams, compare the standard of the ERP with the needs in a fit-gap analysis, configure the system, write specifications for developers and prepare user acceptance tests.
They support the go-live and train users, often on projects that follow methods such as SAP Activate.
- A workshop with finance or logistics users
- Configuring a process in the ERP
- Writing a specification for a developer
- Preparing or running user acceptance tests
- Training key users before a go-live
The same title, very different platforms
Most ERP functional searches are defined first by the platform and then by the module, before the ground every ERP consultant shares.
What each level means in practice
Titles vary from one company to the next. What changes from one level to the next is the scope you own and the decisions you take.
- Works on a module with a senior consultant
- Learns the ERP, the processes and the methods
- Configures and tests with review
- Owns a module on a project on their own
- Runs workshops with business users
- Supports testing and the go-live
- Leads a domain on large projects
- Manages consultants and client teams
- Shapes the solution with architects
- Leads ERP offers or large accounts
- Leads the sale of new projects
- Builds and leads teams of consultants
The paths into the role, and what really counts
ERP is a field where platform certifications weigh a lot. Companies still look first at the implementations you delivered and the processes you know.
- Business school or master's in finance or supply chainA common path for finance and supply chain consultants.
- Engineering school or master's in ITA common path in France, often valued by large consulting firms.
- Business user firstMany consultants start in finance, logistics or HR before moving to ERP projects.
- Business analysis firstBusiness analysts on ERP projects also move into the role.
Our view: for this role, a certification on your platform helps a lot, and an implementation you delivered and can walk through counts even more.
A conversation with a senior tech recruiter
Your first interview is with one of our senior tech recruiters, who knows the role, the platforms and the levels in this guide. The conversation covers your own work through real examples, and the case studies come later, with the company. Before the call, we send you the six themes we will cover so you can prepare your examples.
- What you owned yourselfThe modules, implementations or go-lives you were responsible for, and your own part in the team's work.
- Your environment and its constraintsBusiness processes, the standard of the ERP, data quality or deadlines: what shaped your technical choices.
- The decisions you madeWhat to keep standard and what to adapt, and the options you compared, the options you compared and the reasons for your choice.
- The impact of your workWhat changed thanks to your work, with numbers when you have them: go-lives delivered, time saved, errors removed or adoption.
- How you work with other teamsYour work with business users, developers, project managers and integrators, and how you settle a disagreement.
- What you want nextThe kind of platform, module and scope you are looking for in your next role.
- Implementations delivered
- Process knowledge
- Client workshops
The same ground for every candidate. For a given role, every candidate answers the same final questions, built with the hiring manager around what the role really needs.
Ready for the next steps. After our call, we tell you how the company runs its interviews, who you will meet at each step and what each step is meant to assess.
What the company will assess, step by step
Each company runs its own process, and we walk you through its steps before you start. ERP functional processes often combine the steps below, and the depth expected at each step grows with your level.
- A functional caseA business process to set up in the ERP, with your questions, your fit-gap and your choices.
- A deep dive on a past projectOne implementation you worked on, discussed in depth: your module, your choices and the go-live.
- A workshop role playA workshop to run with an interviewer who plays a business user.
- Meeting a manager or a partnerHow you work, how you deal with clients and what the firm expects in your first months.
- Senior ConsultantYou know the process and the standard of your module, and explain your choices in simple words.
- ManagerYou lead the case, separate what to keep standard from what to adapt, and point out risks before you are asked.
- DirectorYou run most of the interview as a peer, think about several modules and connect them to the goals of the client.
How to prepare as an ERP functional consultant
Practical advice for each step of an ERP functional process, from the way you introduce yourself to the questions you ask at the end of each interview.
Start with the ERP implementations you worked on, their context and your part in them. Mention your main methods and tools in one sentence, then close with what you want next.
For each one, prepare the context, the constraints, your decision, the options you set aside, the result and what you would change today. Say "we" for the team and "I" for your own part.
Interviewers often check your process knowledge. Review the full flows of your domain, such as order to cash or procure to pay.
Prepare one need you met with the standard and one you met with a development, and explain why.
Practise running a short workshop, with clear questions and a summary at the end.
Rules on AI tools differ from one company to the next, especially for take-home cases. Ask before each step, and when they are allowed, explain what you asked the tool and how you checked its output.
- Walk us through an ERP implementation you worked on.
- A user asks for a specific feature. How do you decide what to do?
- Explain the order to cash process in your ERP.
- How do you prepare users for a go-live?
- Which ERP and modules would I work on?
- Which projects are in progress, and at which stage?
- How do functional and technical consultants work together?
- How are consultants trained and certified?
- How much time is spent at the client site?
- How does the team use AI tools in its daily work?
Where ERP functional consultants come from, and where they go
The roles people most often hold before this one, and the ones they most often move to.
Many ERP functional consultants also start as finance or supply chain specialists.