simplilearn

GUIDE TO

SAP
CERTIFICATION

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction to SAP

Significance of SAP Certification

Technical and Functional Modules of SAP

Types of SAP Consultants

Skills needed in addition to educational qualifications

Pre-requisites

Preparing for the Certification

Points to Ponder before the Examination

Examination Format

Certification - Details and Registration Process

1
www.simplilearn.com

INTRODUCTION TO SAP
SAP is a global company that specializes in enterprise business software, ranging
from relationship management to enterprise resource planning and much more.
SAP being a complicated system, the demand vs. supply argument needs to be
addressed and considered before a decision is made either way. Career prospects
and development are good in this field, due to the rising demand for professionals with the right skills.
Established in 1972 by five IBM employees, the company was formed out of an idea to create a corporate software company. This concept was unheard of, until SAP's founders brought the concept of standardized software systems to light. SAP, in their own words, offer multi-tiered certification paths that deliver value to the
organization and to individuals looking to demonstrate professional achievements.
SAP has been divided into various functional modules and environments. On a generic level, the SAP functional
modules are labeled Financial Accounting (FI), Financial Supply Chain Management (FSCM), Controlling (CO),
Materials Management (MM), Sales and Distribution (SD), Logistics Execution (LE), Production Planning (PP),
Quality Management (QM), Plant Maintenance (PM), Project System (PS) and Human Resources (HR).

SIGNIFICANCE OF SAP CERTIFICATION

Though the age old debate of certification vs. hands-on experience holds true for SAP, the benefits of
being a certified professional outweigh the other factors. Apart from the monetary benefits the certification helps you with, the knowledge that you get during the training sessions will help you build a strong
foundation in the field. The curriculum combines business, technical, and academic skills to broaden the
scope of learning for individuals.
As far as the organization is concerned, SAP certified professionals can bring an ocean of change to the
existing process. SAP module implementation ensures faster and more cost-effective initial implementation
with improved acceptance at the user end and decreased support costs.

2
www.simplilearn.com

TECHNICAL AND FUNCTIONAL

MODULES OF SAP

The SAP modules, as discussed earlier, are broadly divided into two groups namely, technical and functional.
The technical side is focused upon programming and module customization. For aspirants opting for the
technical side of SAP, opportunities in project management with SAP modules, business analysis, planning
work-flow, may be explored. However, for enrolling in the technical modules, it is mandatory to have a background in computer science, as either developer or programmer.
The functional side of SAP focuses on the various modules developed as per the business roles in the organization. The business areas included in the functional modules of SAP are HR, Finance, Administration, Planning,
Sales and Distribution, Quality Management, Fixed assets management, materials management, SAP HANA,
Business intelligence, amongst others.

TYPES OF SAP CONSULTANTS

As far as SAP certified professional consultants are concerned, the classification is done on the basis of their
domains. Primarily, there are four broad SAP consultant types:

Business/ Sales Consultant -

Focus on getting customers onboard without knowing much about SAP

Functional Consultant

Responsible for customizing SAP as per customer demand. They work

closely with developers to code ABAP programs as per the client demand.

Developer Consultant

Responsible for coding ABAP/Java Programs

Basis Consultant

Help in installing, maintenance and performance tuning of SAP servers

and databases.

3
www.simplilearn.com

SKILLS NEEDED IN ADDITION TO

EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS
SAP consultant qualifies as one of the highly in-demand jobs in this domain. To become a SAP consultant, you
need to have a lot of dedication, commitment, expertise, and have to put in lots of effort.

Business Knowledge
SAP professionals are expected to have knowledge regarding processes surrounding each
business function. Along with having thorough business process knowledge, it is also important
to understand the business flow.

Configuration Skills
You need to have a thorough understanding of the system, not only from the system's point of
view, but also consider the impact from the end user's point of view. Try to configure systems as
much as possible and explore the various options available in the system, so that you can also
master the troubleshooting skills.

Communication Skills
About 90% of your success depends on your communication skills. Being a SAP professional,
being good at spoken English is not enough; you ought to be able to communicate using
business and technical language terminologies. Also, you have to have good command over
technical aspects.
Apart from possessing system knowledge, it is also important to have the ability to listen,
analyze and communicate effectively. Also, business writing is one the key skills that SAP
professionals must possess. Creating clear, concise reports play an important role while working
as a SAP professional.

4
www.simplilearn.com

HOW TO GO ABOUT IT ?
Similar to other certifications like PMP, there are a few pre-requisites that need to be fulfilled, in order to be
eligible for enrolling in the SAP certification training course.

PRE-REQUISITES
To take up the technical module, you need to be strong with programming concepts. People with 1-2 years of
technical experience are recommended to take up this module. A candidate must possess a professional
qualification such as BE/B Tech/MBA/CA, etc. for taking up the certification training. To take up the functional
module, you need to have a minimum of 2-3 years of industrial experience in the relevant business role.
However, SAP certification pre-requisites changes according to the geographical location of SAP Academy. For
example, in the United States there is no fixed course or set of courses that are required in order to take the
SAP certification examination. But SAP provides a list of recommended training that can help improve
preparation for the exam. However, in the Asia Pacific region, candidates must have at least two years of SAP
implementation experience or have attended at least 15 days of relevant SAP training. Proof of experience
and/or training needs to be presented while registering for the examination.
Browse to the particular certification page on SAP website, and you will find a list of pre-requisites (essential
and recommended) for enrolling for the certification exam. For SAP Financial Accounting (TFIN50) module, the
pre-requisites are:
https://training.sap.com/shop/course/tfin50-financial-accounting-i-classroom-010-g-en/
The Foundations in SAP Financial and SAP Management Accounting Basics (TERP20) and Intro to SAP ERP
and SAP NetWeaver (TERP01) modules are essential.

5
www.simplilearn.com

PREPARING FOR THE CERTIFICATION

Before you begin preparing for the certification, you need to chalk out a study plan. The first thing to do while
chalking out the plan is to get the syllabus of the module that you are interested in from the official SAP website. This would aid you in allocating your time appropriately to the topics that are crucial for your SAP certification exam.
The next step would be to analyze the time that is allocated for completing the training. Usually, if you have
registered for classroom training, it will take you about 10 20 days to complete the training, depending on the
module that you have enrolled for. If you have enrolled for online training, it will take around 2-5 months for the
preparation, depending on the course that is chosen.

Allocation of Study Hours

Once you're clear on the syllabus, the next step would be to allocate study hours for preparation. Firstly,
at a macro level, it is important to divide time in terms of revisions to be done. Allocate about two and a half
months for going through the entire course thoroughly. You can then split the rest of the time between the
second and third reviews.
At a micro level, the topics that need to be covered in the first few months are to be planned. However, do not
forget to reserve a day for revising the entire week's portion that you have covered. Doing so will reduce the
efforts while revising. Also, make sure to keep the number of hours of study fixed daily, to ensure that you
cover the syllabus in the given time.

Study Resources
Once the study plan is chalked out, the next step is to gather all resources needed to prepare for the
certification test. SAP has recommended a list of books for aspirants taking the SAP certification test in various
managerial roles. These books can be found on the help.sap.com website. It is highly recommended not to
stray away from the syllabus mentioned on the SAP portal. The exercises given in each of these books should
be completed at least twice. If you are planning to self-study, you will find all the SAP training material on SAP
Education's Learning Hub https://training.sap.com/shop/content/learninghub.

6
www.simplilearn.com

Attend Training
Though not mandatory, attending a formal training will help you grasp the basic concepts. While looking for a
training center, you must target SAP authorized ones. Institutes like Simplilearn provide online as well as
classroom training sessions, which offers you the flexibility to learn at your convenience. Doubts that need
clarification are highly likely to crop up when on a self-study track - attending training sessions will help you
clear these doubts as soon as possible.

Practice Tests
Once you are done with your preparation, the next step would be to test yourself. Online practice tests are
available on a number of websites, including on the SAP website. These practice tests cover all possible
scenario questions from the exam including the case studies (the most feared ones). Once you have a good
score on these practice tests, you can be rest assured of your score on the actual examination.

POINTS TO PONDER BEFORE

THE EXAMINATION

Though revision is often recommended as a necessary final step, this aspect only rarely sees the light. Thus,
right after you are done with the training sessions, read the curriculum book thoroughly and highlight the key
points, so that you may quickly glance through it before the exam.
Give importance to chapters that have +++ or ++ ratings in the syllabus. These are the chapters from
where most of the questions are expected in the examination.
Understand the concept behind each point instead of memorizing it. SAP tests your conceptual
knowledge.
The curriculum material has a number of pictures/graphs that need to be analyzed technically and
functionally. Focus on performing a round of analysis on your own, prior to referring to any study
material.
Go through help.sap.com for clarifying any doubts regarding the basic concepts. Feel free also to
read through some of the threads on the Simplilearn community http://community.simplilearn.com/forums/sap.17/ for further clarification.

7
www.simplilearn.com

EXAMINATION FORMAT
On the previous exam pattern, one could earn partial credit points even if the questions were partially
answered. However, under the new examination pattern, marks will be allotted for questions that are answered
fully, including sub-questions. No marks will be allotted if even a single sub-question is answered incorrectly.
Thus, it is important to be certain about the answers before you attempt a sub-question. There is no negative
marking.

Exam Tips and Tricks

Be sure to complete all the necessary formalities such as filling the form that contains the name,
contact details, address, etc.
Concentrate on the single answer questions that have radio buttons. These questions are easier to
answer because only one answer will be correct.
If you are stuck on a question for a long time, mark the question so you may get back to it once you
are done answering the other questions.
A few questions will be direct while others will be scenario based and logical. Try answering the direct
questions first.
Don't worry about having too little time. Try to go through each question 3-4 times before
answering it.

8
www.simplilearn.com

CERTIFICATION
SAP offers multi-tiered certification paths for specific subjects.

Associate certification
This certification covers the fundamental knowledge requirements for a SAP consultant, ensuring the
successful acquisition of broad SAP solution knowledge and skills. An Associate Exam usually consists of 80
Multiple Choice, Multiple response and Matching (pull-down) questions and answers. Candidates have a
maximum of 3 hours to complete this exam.

Speciality certification
This certification is in addition to Associate exams.
A speciality certification exam consists of 40 Multiple Choice, Multiple response and Matching (pull-down)
questions and answers and takes 90 mins.

Professional certification
This advanced certification requires proven project experience, business process knowledge, and a more
detailed understanding of SAP solutions. A Professional certification exam consists of 80 Multiple Choice,
Multiple response, Matching (pull-down) and scenario based questions and answers. Candidates have a
maximum of 3 hours to complete the exam.

CERTIFICATION REGISTRATION PROCESS

Once you have appeared for the examination and cleared it, you will receive your hard copy of the certification
within 4-6 weeks from the date of your exam.
You can then contact the SAP Education team for your SUser ID password. You can use this password to login
to the SAP Service Market Place where you can find some of the featured content, help portal and other useful
things.
Also, you need to contact the SAP Education team for your certification logo that can be used in your CV.
If you have attended formal training, you can get in touch with the Institute, to help you out in this process.

9
www.simplilearn.com

Simplilearn's SAP FICO Consultant Training course helps you in understanding the nuances
of the field. http://www.simplilearn.com/erp/sap-fico-consultant-certification-training

370+ Hrs of High Quality

e-Learning Content

SAP.com Membership
User and Password

725+ e-Learning
Lessons

Study Plan Included

Case Study Practice

Free 120 Days

IDES Access

Progress Tracking

Self-Paced
e-Learning

DID YOU LIKE THIS BOOK?

WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR YOUR FEEDBACK.

Do write to us on our Community's Support Forum.

http://community.simplilearn.com/forums/simplilearn-support.27/