The SAP consulting profession
Find out more about the SAP consulting profession and all its facets. Salary, training and skills are detailed in this guide by Key User Training.
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SAP consultants play a strategic role in the digital transformation of companies.
It is the interface between SAP technology (one of the most powerful ERPs on the market) and the concrete needs of business teams: finance, logistics, HR, production, etc.
Whether functional or technical, junior or experienced, permanent or freelance, these professionals support organizations in setting up, upgrading or optimizing their SAP-based information systems.
➡️ But what does this job really involve?
➡️ What does it take to become an SAP consultant?
➡️ How much can you expect to earn?
➡️ Which skills are most in demand?
In this comprehensive guide, Key User Training reveals everything you need to know about being an SAP consultant We offer a wide range of services: training courses, roles, missions, profiles, career opportunities... and the keys to success in this fast-expanding world.
❓What is an SAP consultant?
An SAP consultant is an expert who helps companies implement, parameterize, maintain or optimize SAP, the renowned enterprise resource planning (ERP) software.
It acts as an intermediary between business needs and the technical solution, adapting SAP to the specific processes of each organization.
There are two main families of consultants:
SAP functional consultant
It analyzes business needs, writes specifications, configures the system, trains users, and acts as a link between operational teams and developers.
SAP Technical Consultant
He is in charge of development and infrastructure: creation of customized programs (ABAP), database management, interfaces, security, and integration with other systems.
🎯 Its aim: to enable the company to use SAP efficiently, consistently and profitably, while ensuring continuity of operations and a match between system and field reality.
🧾 What is SAP?
SAP stands for Systems, Applications and Products for Data Processing.
It's an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), i.e. integrated management software that enables a company to centralize and structure all its business processes: accounting, purchasing, sales, logistics, production, HR, etc.
Originally developed in Germany in the 70s, SAP has become the world leader in business management software. Today, more than 440,000 companies in 180 countries use SAP to manage their business.
The principle is simple: rather than having one software for each department, SAP consolidates all processes in a single database. This allows :
- A better information flow between teams
- Fewer errors and redundant entries
- From automated processes
- A complete traceability of each operation
- A real-time 360° vision of the company
SAP is available in several solutions (S/4HANA, SuccessFactors, Ariba, etc.) and several moduleseach corresponding to a functional area (FI for finance, MM for purchasing, SD for sales, etc.).
👉 The SAP consultant is more than just an IT technician: he's an expert capable of bringing the power of the SAP system into dialogue with the operational realities of the company.
💸 How much do SAP consultants earn?
Let's face it: the question of salary is often one of the first reasons to train as an SAP consultant.
And so it should be. Because, in addition to being stimulating and in high demand, this profession is also extremely well-paidright from the start.
But as always, there are nuances. Income level depends on :
- of your experience,
- of your specialization (functional, technical, data, S/4HANA...),
- of your geographical location,
- and above all, your status (salaried or self-employed).
So, let's see what it looks like in practice:
💡 Things to remember:
Well-trained SAP consultants are rare, sought-after... and very well paid.
The real issue is competencenot the diploma.
And the right time to start was yesterday. The second best time? Today.
🧑💼 The SAP Junior Consultant
It's often called "junior", but this word doesn't mean "inexperienced": it means in the making.
Visit junior SAP consultantis the person who has just set foot in the SAP universe... and is starting to grow in power.
Who is this famous SAP junior?
It's often a person:
- Retraining after a first job (accountant, logistician, developer...)
- Graduate of a business or engineering school with ERP specialization
- Or simply have a passion for management, IT or processes, and have undergone solid SAP training.
He or she doesn't yet know all the ins and outs... but :
✅ understands business challenges
✅ knows how to navigate the SAP system
✅ is able to monitor a project, configure a module, or support users
In most cases, the junior works :
- In a ESN (digital services company) as a consultant or support assistant
- Visit end-customer mission alongside a senior consultant
- On the less complex project phases (testing, user support, documentation...)
What makes the difference at this stage?
Visit curiosity
Asking questions, seeking to understand, wanting to dig deeper into modules
Visit rigor
Because SAP is a structured system, every incorrectly filled-in field has a knock-on effect.
Motivation
Above all, the motivation to make rapid progress for greater autonomy
"A good SAP junior is someone who doesn't stay a junior for long."
🧠 The Senior SAP Consultant
A senior SAP consultant is someone who has already done his or her bit.
He's seen complex deployments, stressful upgrades, demanding customers, and sometimes... projects that go off the rails.
But above all, he or she has developed solid business and technical expertise, and knows how to translate a company's needs into a coherent, sustainable and effective SAP solution.
What's its role?
In short, he's a conductor as well as a top-flight technician.
And what about missions?
He is often involved:
- As a functional or technical consultant
- On the S/4HANA migration projects
- In sensitive sectors finance, pharmaceuticals, supply chain, energy...
And he often starts to delegate execution, to concentrate on design, strategy and customer relations.
What it has more:
- From years of configuration in the fingers
- A overview of the SAP system
- And the ability to manage the unexpected without panicking
It's often at this stage that a senior chooses to specialize in a particular area... or decides to go freelance to gain greater freedom (and income).
🚀 L'indépendant
Becoming a freelance SAP consultant means taking things to the next level.
It means moving from "I'm a salaried employee on a project" to "I choose my customers, my rates and my assignments".
But independence isn't just about freedom.
It's a state of mind, a level of competence, and an ability to sell oneself.
Why are more and more SAP consultants going freelance?
Because :
- Visit demand explodesand companies are struggling to recruit
- Visit SAP freelance rates are very attractive (€600 to €1,200/day)
- The missions are long, often 6 months to 1 year
- And remote working is increasingly accepted, even on critical projects.
But it's not for everyone. You need :
A good SAP freelancer isn't just a technician.
It's a partner in transformationwho guides his customer from need to solution, while remaining a source of ideas.
🎓 Training and qualifications to become an SAP consultant
Good news: there's no single path to becoming an SAP consultant.
Best of all, you don't need a degree in IT or a diploma from a top business school to succeed in this profession.
What counts is :
- Understanding business needs
- Navigating SAP
- Be able to solve a business problem using a technical solution
The most common profiles:
Training options :
In short: it's not your degree that will make you an SAP consultant, but your ability to create value in a project.
And for this, well-chosen training is the quickest, surest... and most profitable starting point.
🎯 The consultant's missions
The SAP consultant isn't just an operator. He is a a key player in digital transformation.
Every day, he translates a company's business needs into a concrete, fluid, automated solution... thanks to SAP.
His day never boils down to a single task.
It may start with a meeting with business managers to understand a logistical need, followed by parameterization in the MM module, training a key user at the end of the morning, then testing a new sales scenario in the afternoon.
And the next day? He's already at a scoping workshop for a S/4HANA migration project.
Its missions are adapted to the project context:
- In the implementation phase: analyzes existing processes, configures SAP, writes specifications, tests solutions.
- In the support or TMA phase, they assist users, correct anomalies and upgrade the system as required.
- On a freelance basis: often to back up expertise, or on a specific assignment (piloting, training, migration...).
What makes this job exciting is the variety of contexts, the richness of exchanges, and the fact that each company has its own logic to integrate into SAP.
And above all: every action taken by the consultant has a direct impact on the company's efficiency.
🧩 The qualities and skills of the SAP expert
Being an SAP consultant isn't just about "knowing how to use software".
It means understanding a system... but also human beings, flows, constraints and business issues.
A good SAP consultant is a complexity translator. He knows how to transform a business problem into a simple, structured and effective solution.
What makes the difference?
It's not pure technicality. It's business intelligence, listening skills, rigor, and the ability to remain clear in a complex environment.
It must :
- understand company processes,
- know how to navigate SAP without getting lost,
- ask users the right questions,
- document and communicate clearly.
Visit versatility is key:
And above all: he must love work in a team.
Because an SAP project is always a collective adventure: key users, developers, project managers, business consultants... Everyone has to move forward together, and the SAP expert is often the link between them all.
A good consultant is not someone who knows everything.
He's the one who knows learn fast, listen well and solve problems.
📈 Career opportunities
What makes the SAP consulting profession so attractive is that it never stops at a single job.
Once launched, the field of possibilities is rapidly expanding.
At first, you start out as a junior on a module (FI, MM, SD...). Then, in a few years, you become an experienced consultant, the reference for a given scope.
You can then move on to roles with greater responsibility:
- SAP Project Manager You manage schedules, teams, deliverables and budgets.
- SAP Architect You design the overall information system and its integration with other tools.
- SAP Team Manager You manage internal and external consultants, train, recruit and plan.
- Freelance or niche expert You choose your missions, your customers and your rates.
But there are other paths too, such as specializing in a particular sector (banking, pharma, retail, etc.) or branching out into data, cloud or UX SAP (Fiori).
And what's often overlooked: many SAP consultants end up on the customer side, as business applications managers, deputy CIOs, or digital referents in large groups.
Being an SAP consultant isn't just a technical job.
It's an impactful job, at the crossroads of IT, business management and strategy.
It's the way of the future, for those who want a variety of projects, strong professional recognition, and real freedom to evolve (including geographically and financially).
But above all, it's a profession accessible to those who take training seriouslywith the right method, the right pedagogy, and the right posture.
What about you? What's your goal?
