Cinode’s Post

Increasing M&A activity is influencing the German #consulting market – this is one of the key findings of the recently published 𝗟ü𝗻𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗸 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁.   🔗 The #Lünendonk List of the Top 20 leading #businessconsulting companies in Germany is available for free download at: https://lnkd.in/dpdgyRch   📈 The Top 20 German consultancies grew by 12.5 per cent in 2023, international consultancies by 8.4 per cent. According to the German Association of Management Consultancies (Bundesverband Deutscher Unternehmensberatungen (BDU) e. V.), the German management #consultancy market grew to €46.7 billion in 2023 (+6.9%; 2022: €43.7 billion).   𝗔𝘁 𝗮 𝗴𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲: 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗼𝗽 𝟱 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀 📍 Roland Berger continues to head the Lünendonk List of German business consultancies by a notable margin. Total revenues here rose by 14.9 per cent to precisely 1 billion euros. 📍 Simon-Kucher retains second place with total revenues of 540.5 million euros. Growth at the firm is comparatively low at one per cent. 📍 Taking third spot among German management consultancies this year is Horváth, with revenues of 306.0 million euros (+13.3%). 📍 Porsche Consulting follows close behind, its sales for the first time surpassing €300 million (€304.6 million; +12.4%). 📍 d-fine also achieved above-average growth of 20.1 per cent and ranks fifth on 266.2 million euros.   The German consulting market continues to be dominated by international consulting companies with a range of service offerings. Accenture and Deloitte’s consulting units are the global industry leaders with revenues of more than US$30 billion each, followed by PwC (US$22.6 billion) and EY (US$22.2 billion).   📘 The Lünendonk-List is part of the Lünendonk Survey 2024 ‘𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻’ - a central theme alongside the industry rankings is artificial intelligence (#AI). The Survey will be published in July and is available to order at https://lnkd.in/dRejctAa Jörg Hossenfelder https://lnkd.in/dpdgyRch

Introducing our brand-new Insights series: "Global Consulting Industry: Understanding Regional Specificities." When investing in consulting services, it's essential to consider regional specificities. Tailoring consulting services to the unique characteristics of a specific geographic area can significantly enhance their effectiveness and relevance. Our new series aims to demystify the nuances of the consulting sectors in the world's five major regions: North America, the Middle East, Europe, Oceania, and Latin America. Each industry in every region operates under its own set of rules, and consultants in these regions are the best guides to help you navigate these specificities. As a client, you'll feel more in control when you understand how consulting firms operate in different regions, adapting to area-specific demands and requirements. With this in mind, we've launched a series that offers valuable insights into the regional specificities of consulting markets worldwide. Visit our website to explore more. Additionally, we invite you to share your insights on the global consulting market, which will greatly enrich our series. #RegionalSpecificities #GlobalConsultingIndustry #Insight

How Big Consulting Firms Are Taking Advantage Of Independent Experts—And How To Fix It Large consulting firms aren't buying expertise—they're destroying it. Here's exactly how to turn this into your competitive advantage. The Pattern You Can't Ignore Watch how it happens: A boutique firm builds deep specialised knowledge. A large consultancy acquires them. Within 18 months, their expertise becomes simplified templates. Complex judgment calls turn into basic checklists. This isn't an accident—it's a strategy. The Strategic Opening Large firms must standardise methodologies for junior consultants. They prioritise scale over specialised outcomes. This standardization creates your opportunity. Your expertise isn't just knowledge—it's pattern recognition from focused repetition. This means: + Faster problem solving through pattern matching + Identifying hidden opportunities others miss + Delivering precise, high-ROI solutions Your Strategic Counter-Move... Don't compete with large firms. Make their advantages irrelevant: + Document specific outcomes showing your specialised approach + Highlight opportunities generalist approaches miss + Quantify your specialized ROI advantage Taking Action Review your marketing today. Are you highlighting specialised expertise or trying to compete on breadth? Document three specific examples where your focused knowledge delivered superior outcomes. The market doesn't need another generalist. It needs focused experts solving complex problems with precision. . Most independent experts struggle with articulating their value against big-firm alternatives. The reason is because they focus on describing services instead of demonstrating specialised outcomes. When this happens, they lose opportunities to inferior but better-positioned competitors. Until all of a sudden, they're seen as just another consultant rather than a specialised expert. What I do is I specialise in creating contrast strategies that make big-firm advantages irrelevant. The reason why I recommend contrast strategies is because it's the single most effective way to justify premium pricing. And the benefit of effective contrast is attracting clients who specifically seek out and value specialised expertise. All of which allow you to build a practice that commands respect and premium fees in your chosen niche. Direct message me to know more.

🚀 The Future of Consulting: Opportunities for Specialist, Boutique Consulting Firms to Thrive 🌍 On Monday Rana Foroohar, a Financial Times author, published the below article on the evolving landscape of management consulting, presenting a golden opportunity for smaller and more affordable consultancies to thrive. As the traditional giants in the consulting world face mounting pressures—from political scrutiny to technological disruptions—the need for agile, specialised, and cost-effective solutions is more apparent than ever. Here’s why smaller consultancies like K&R ESG Solutions are well-positioned to seize this moment: - Specialised Expertise: Smaller firms often bring niche expertise that larger firms might overlook. - Cost-Effectiveness: With lower overhead costs, boutique consultancies can offer competitive pricing without sacrificing quality. - Agility and Innovation: Smaller firms can adapt more quickly to changing market conditions and client needs, providing innovative solutions that larger, more bureaucratic organizations might struggle to implement swiftly. - Bespoke Solutions: The closer, more personalised client relationships that smaller consultancies can cultivate lead to better understanding and more effective problem-solving. As AI and technological advancements continue to automate routine tasks, the lower end of consulting work is being reshaped, allowing smaller firms to focus on high-value, strategic advisory roles that require human insight and creativity. Additionally, as some of the larger consultancies undergo restructuring and cost-cutting, opportunities for smaller players to fill the gaps and offer more specialised services are on the rise. Whether you are working in Professional Services, for a small or large firm, or from industry, I would very much welcome your thoughts/opinions. #Consulting #ESG #Innovation #Sustainability #BoutiqueFirms #BusinessGrowth #ProfessionalServices

Are you intrigued by what sets the top UK management consulting firms apart? 🤔 The Financial Times recently unveiled its 2024 rankings for the UK's Leading Management Consultants. Despite facing challenges, the UK consulting market has shown resilience, growing to a remarkable £18.6 billion in 2023. 🔍 The comprehensive evaluation, now in its seventh year, combines industry data with feedback from clients and peers. It highlights the importance of diverse consulting practices across 16 sectors and 14 specialist areas. Notably, Project One and Mason Advisory stood out for their exceptional service, earning multiple silver and bronze recognitions. Mason Advisory's CEO, Paul Pugh, attributed their success to strong client partnerships, deep market understanding, and a commitment to delivering impactful change. This recognition underscores the value of strategic guidance in today's business environment, emphasising the collective strength of the UK's consulting talent pool. Whether you are part of a large conglomerate or a boutique firm, these insights underscore the significance of expertise, client relationships, and adaptability in achieving excellence. If you are looking to grow and add value to your business, let's talk! At Vivero, we work closely with businesses to identify opportunities for innovation and growth, simplify the complexities of funding, and provide access to our extensive investor network. We also guide you in realising the true equity value of your business, whether you're considering a partial or full exit. https://lnkd.in/eZNKy7TC #Consulting #ManagementConsultant #BusinessGrowth

Are you intrigued by what sets the top UK management consulting firms apart? 🤔 The Financial Times recently unveiled its 2024 rankings for the UK's Leading Management Consultants. Despite facing challenges, the UK consulting market has shown resilience, growing to a remarkable £18.6 billion in 2023. 🔍 The comprehensive evaluation, now in its seventh year, combines industry data with feedback from clients and peers. It highlights the importance of diverse consulting practices across 16 sectors and 14 specialist areas. Notably, Project One and Mason Advisory stood out for their exceptional service, earning multiple silver and bronze recognitions. Mason Advisory's CEO, Paul Pugh, attributed their success to strong client partnerships, deep market understanding, and a commitment to delivering impactful change. This recognition underscores the value of strategic guidance in today's business environment, emphasising the collective strength of the UK's consulting talent pool. Whether you are part of a large conglomerate or a boutique firm, these insights underscore the significance of expertise, client relationships, and adaptability in achieving excellence. If you are looking to grow and add value to your business, let's talk! At Vivero, we work closely with businesses to identify opportunities for innovation and growth, simplify the complexities of funding, and provide access to our extensive investor network. We also guide you in realising the true equity value of your business, whether you're considering a partial or full exit. https://lnkd.in/emMG-vG9 #Consulting #ManagementConsultant #BusinessGrowth

The growing trend of consultants leaving large firms to operate independently is reshaping the consulting industry. This shift raises an important question: to what extent does this ongoing trend challenge the established dominance of traditional consultancy firms? Independent consultants, often with substantial experience from major firms or deep industry knowledge, are delivering high-level expertise in areas such as strategy, due diligence, transformation and specific technological know-how. They provide these services on a project basis, often with quicker turnaround times and at more competitive costs. This flexibility and accountability are particularly appealing to businesses with immediate, specialized needs that may not have the budget or time to engage larger, more traditional consultancies. For these independent consultants, the freelance model offers greater autonomy, the potential for significantly higher earnings, and the freedom to choose projects aligned with their interests. However, this flexibility comes with the inherent risk of income variability, as periods of downtime between projects can lead to uncertainty. What is clear, though, is that companies—often those with Private Equity ownership—are increasingly open to bringing in such specialists, inevitably impacting traditional consulting spend. As more companies recognize the value of this agile, cost-effective approach, traditional consultancies may face increasing pressure to adapt their models and value propositions to remain competitive in this evolving landscape. Interesting times ahead!

Agree 💯 James! The good ones leave and start their own thing when they don’t get rewarded for the value they bring 😁 Yet, the great work they did is still sold again again, despite the expertise, experience and knowledge left the building 🏎️💨 The juniors coming through don’t learn from the best, they sadly learn from the book, rote learned to follow instructions, not think for themselves 😱 This has lead to the bigger firms and those that use to work for them to rip off others work, and not think or work for themselves 😏 But that is what copyright, trademarks and patents are for. I am sure we can going to see more activity in this space also in the coming future 😉 #copyright #copyrightinfringement #commercialcontracts #IP #patent #commerciallitigation #brand

MIN3 is very much proof of this! Top tier consulting expertise, but with improved flexiblility vs. the large firms, and delivery at a fraction of the cost

The Tech Consulting/Advisory industry is changing as well - as more experienced engineers are leaving internet OG companies to work independently. Such companies (including your truely Propelr.Tech) offer : * technical and organisational services at effective costs, * own the outcomes; and * usually have faster turnaround times Today, the companies are realising that they need to engage experienced Tech Leaders and Builders who have been part of companies at different growth stages and have built a wealth of knowledge about "what" needs to be done and "when".