Having been in the ERP Consulting domain (Microsoft Dynamics) for over 8 years as Head of Delivery, I have witnessed the gap between demand and supply when it comes to Functional Consultants. A typical delivery team comprises of a Project Manager, Lead Functional Consultant (Finance, Supply chain, Production domains mainly) and the Technical Consultants.
MBA's with specialisation in Finance as well as Marketing are ideally suited to play the role of Functional Consultants. While they would start their career as a trainee in the absence of domain experience, over a period of 2-3 years having been involved in at least 4-5 full cyce implementations, they would become Lead Consultants and then Project Managers too.
For this it is important that the students acquire the following additional skills during their 2 year MBA programme:
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ERP overview- theory + learn any 1 globally recognised ERP (eg Microsoft Dynamics, SAP, Oracle)
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Common Business processes
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Basic accounting concepts
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Soft skills- mainly focussing on both oral and written communication
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Project management overview with specific knowledge on a commonly used tool (eg MS projects)
The career as an ERP Consultant is very rewarding in terms of:
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growth prospects
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international exposure
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interaction with people from various domains and last but not the least
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monetary benefits.
