In 2011 why are SAP agents still earning in excess of 30% of a consultants income? When a consultant gets on another plane to get on project site, are they really pleased at losing 30% of their money to agents? When SAP budgets are set, is the plan to pay 30% of it to agents in commission?

• Why do we check plumbers', Doctors', electricians' etc reputation but not that of a SAP consultant?
• Is it really part of the plan, to find you have hired a consultant who is well know (by others) as unprofessional, lazy or incapable, because that knowledge has not been shared?

Why are agents contacted, rather than directly contact consultants, are people too lazy to search a database?

• How can it be in the age of communication that the SAP community does not have a single voice regarding which consultants have provided an excellent service to them, where each consultants' reputation can be viewed and therefore rewarded with the most interesting projects?

Why do consulting houses have consultants sitting "on the bench" where they lose confidence and the system integrators loses money, while customers strain to find consultants with their skills? Tight budget constraints have always been part of the SAP industry, with some decisions made purely on bottom line figures, regardless of the numerous patches, underperformance of the final product, huge support costs and impossibility to upgrade rather than getting the job done right first time by professional SAP consultants.

• SAP consultants today have become 'a product' themselves, they are only as good as their rate, availability and CV content, with the expert consultants being lumped together with the unprofessional consultants.
  This is not right - but it is happening right now!

The SAP software can deliver a complex and highly effective final product only if implemented both correctly and by consultants who know how to get what the customer wants from the solution.

• To implement SAP by using the cheapest consultants available, leads to financial and project disasters, though these are not the only factors that impact on the success of an SAP implementation.
  It is a simple fact that professional consultants produce professional results.
  

As for paying 30% of a consultants hourly rate to an agent - this practise needs to stop because agents do not come on site and do the work, although they provide a service that needs to be paid for - nearly a third of the rate is far too much.
To address the core issues requires:

• Consultants proving their SAP reputation through references and ratings.
  
• 'Open book' pricing policies.
  
• Direct search and select where information is instant and reliable.
  
• 'On the bench' staff made available for hire until a project is won by their employer that fits their skills.
  

Simple?! But still there are too many people using the 'old fashion' agency model.
Has the SAP community actually lost it? What do you think??