Overview of the current strategy consulting landscape

The consulting industry has evolved significantly over the last few months. In view of the figures sourced from Kennedy Vanguard of Strategy Consulting Firms and Practices, the revenue/ degree of strategic capability figures provides a way to map some of the biggest names in the strategy consulting landscape. Today, consulting firms are experimenting with different delivery models to supply their skills and resources – new markets, talent war, forging alliances, joint ventures etc.

Source: Kennedy Vanguard of Strategy Consulting Firms & Practices, consultancy.nl

Earlier in 2010, AON went about acquiring Hewitt Associates for about $4.9 billion to strengthen its human resource base. Consultancy firms - Booz & Co. and AT Kearney were involved in merger talks, which eventually collapsed. Going by the annual revenues of these two firms the merger would have placed them third in strategy consulting - behind McKinsey & Co. and BCG. After a successful deal structure with Bearing Point’s North American arm, Deloitte were most recently involved in advanced merger talks with Germany’s Roland Berger Strategy Consultants. This deal fell apart on Wednesday 23rd Nov, sighting Roland Berger’s plan to remain independent – gaining a close to 100% majority voting from its partners, as reported by Financial Times. A successful deal between these two firms would have challenged some of the big names in the strategy consulting landscape, clearing creating a global strategy leadership with annual revenues close to $3 billion.

A traditional forecast model cannot predict the future M&A’s as consulting firms are slowly, but steadily coming out of recession. It would however be interesting to see how firms will be looking to adapt from focusing on deals to enjoying a more transformational relationship. For some consulting firms, this means to return to their traditional consulting roots; while for others, the challenge would be to focus on diversification without compromising their reputation and cost base. Success for consulting firms lies in understanding their position within the bubble chart, and the specific threats and opportunities this brings.

Sources: Financial Times, Kennedy Research

Wharton GCP 2009...six months of hardwork paid-off !!

The Wharton Global Consulting Practicum (GCP) is a cross functional course given within the curriculum of the Wharton M.B.A. and its associate partner school program (IE Business School in my case). Established in 1978, this unique program pairs teams of Wharton M.B.A. students and faculty with teams from partner universities (in Chile, China, Colombia, India, Israel, Peru, Spain, Taiwan and the United Arab Emirates with pilot projects in Africa) to consult with a client company (either profit making or non-profit social impact) interested in entering or expanding its position in the U.S. market, or somehow leveraging a relationship with North America. The goal of the program is two-fold: to provide exceptional learning value to the students and innovative, operational plans which add value to real-time clients. (Reference: http://mktgweb.wharton.upenn.edu/gcpcourse/index.html)

As an IE Business School IMBA 2009 candidate, I was privileged to have gotten this opportunity to address the client concerns and open up opportunities by debating and discussing with 9 other team members, each coming from a different background, culturally and professionally, for over six months. Our professional network included MBA's and teaching faculties coming from different industries, business types and geographies. The part-time strategic consulting program assisted me immensely in developing strong networks while also building onto the lessons from the different classes we undertook during our first two term, coupled with the business experience that each of the team members brought on to the table. After six months of hard work the Spaniards finally gave their shot at Wharton Business School in May 2009 (and my first visit to the states), showcasing their findings and studies to the client, thus building onto their reputation with strong bring alive and networking events. It was a journey well travelled in the past 6 months - smart work, time-management, Lots of research and entrepreneurial spirit. In the end that's what was needed!! If you are a future GCP candidate, who just happened to read this page, well this real-time consulting project is all about smart working leadership, team work, time-management and understanding your objective from this project.

To sign off, the 30th GCP gala started off with the Keynote speaker Jill Beraud WG '86, GCP Alumnus and Worldwide Chief Marketing Officer, PepsiCo. All GCP Friends, Alumni, Clients, Spouses and Partners from different countries participated in this event helping GCP celebrate its rich history. I finally had an opportunity to meet Mr. Len Lodish, a well known and renowned marketing professor at Wharton B-School and chairman of GCP program. It was an eventful evening with my strategy professors Mr. Rafa Ruiz and my mentor Mrs. Carolina Tejuca. Attached is the snapshot of our team that seen the ups and downs of consulting program (Cheryl, Shreyans, Anubha, D’laila, Jody are missing).