Consulting Network » BCG http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in Fri, 13 Jan 2012 04:39:53 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Strategy Consulting Landscape http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/strategy-consulting-landscape/2289/?utm_source=subscriber&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/strategy-consulting-landscape/2289/#comments Thu, 25 Nov 2010 18:45:43 +0000 Anand Rao http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/?p=2289 The strategy consulting landscape has evolved significantly over the past few months. Today, consulting firms are experimenting with different delivery models to supply their skills and resources – forging alliances new markets, joint ventures for market leadership etc.

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 didn’t take place. 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 was 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, clearly 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 strategy consulting landscape, and the specific threats and opportunities this brings.

You may also follow this article on author’s blog: http://experiencesspeak.blogspot.com/2010/11/overview-of-current-strategy-consulting.html


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]]> http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/strategy-consulting-landscape/2289/feed/ 0 BCG already did it, Now Mckinsey and Bain to help L&T http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/bcg-already-did-it-now-mckinsey-and-bain-to-help-lt/1172/?utm_source=subscriber&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/bcg-already-did-it-now-mckinsey-and-bain-to-help-lt/1172/#comments Tue, 18 Aug 2009 04:47:20 +0000 Knowledge Seeker http://consultingnetwork.co.in/?p=1172 Consulting biggies, BCG, Bain and Mckinsey are back in the limelight.

Engineering and construction giant Larsen and Toubro (L&T) has already implemented two five-year plans to reposition the company, which was heavily into engineering, procurement and construction segments, with a large exposure to commodity businesses such as cement and ready-mix concrete, to a more focused, value-added engineering company

L&T had earlier sought help from BCG to devise a five year plan, as per the plan, L&T divested its cement business in favor of the Aditya Birla Group. Recently, L&T also divested its ready-mix concrete business in favor of Lafarge SA.
The second five-year plan will get over by March 31, 2010. As per the second plan, L&T’s target was to reach a business volume of Rs 35,000 crore annually. L&T had managed to complete Rs 38,000 crore last year and expects to cross Rs 42,000 crore this year. Thus achieving 15-20 per cent more than the proposed target.

L&T will initiate its third round of major business restructuring in 2010 and has appointed consultants McKinsey and Bain to guide it, as also in the succession plan, Further, L&T’s chairman A M Naik also plans to retire in September 2012

Following News Media Article were referred for this story

 L&T restructuring plan to be implemented next year


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]]> http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/bcg-already-did-it-now-mckinsey-and-bain-to-help-lt/1172/feed/ 0 BCG all set to revive BSNL http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/bcg-all-set-to-revive-bsnl/1160/?utm_source=subscriber&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/bcg-all-set-to-revive-bsnl/1160/#comments Sun, 16 Aug 2009 15:18:29 +0000 Knowledge Seeker http://consultingnetwork.co.in/?p=1160 Various Media sources have reported that India”s second largest telecom operator by overall subscriber base, state-owned BSNL, which has seen massive erosion in net profits and is surviving only on interests from its cash reserves, is putting up a four-pronged revival plan based on the recommendations of Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

According to Financial Express, as per the strategy, the company will focus on four key operations–consumer mobility, broadband, enterprise business and new business which includes infrastructure sharing.

According to BCG, BSNL’s enterprise business is a weak link in its entire operational chain. For instance, the BCG report has said, “There are significant gaps in the company’s ‘go to market’ approach. There is almost no customer segmentation and special service level agreement over large enterprises.” A company executive said that in order to revive its enterprise business, the company would now address the issue at three levels–product sales, service delivery and service assurance. Customers would be divided into platinum, gold and silver accounts with special service-level agreements within each segment.

Deccan Herald reported that The telecom giant is losing money, market share and its brand pull. It is a victim of official bungling & political wrangling. Urgent & sweeping changes are needed to restore its lost glory

Further, it is reported that one of the major reasons for BSNL’s poor profit in 2008-09 was a sharp increase meeting enhanced salary commitments due to implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission. Yet another reason was high depreciation charges of Rs 8,500 crore in 2008-09 and Rs 9,696 crore in 2007-08. BSNL has claimed that its earnings before interest, depreciation, taxes and amortisation (EBIDTA), was positive at Rs 7,000 crore.
Intense competition following the opening up of the telecom sector to mobile operators, is another reason that has caused BSNL’s downfall.

It has also been reported that there is a proposal to merge BSNL with Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) which operates in Delhi and Mumbai.

Following News Media Articles were referred for this Story

BCG Scripts BSNL revival

BSNL calling a wrong number

Raja to review BSNL’s profit plunge, IPO plans


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]]> http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/bcg-all-set-to-revive-bsnl/1160/feed/ 0 Open Forum: Skills Required to Break Into Consulting/Strategy Roles http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/open-forum-skills-required-to-break-into-consultingstrategy-roles/966/?utm_source=subscriber&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/open-forum-skills-required-to-break-into-consultingstrategy-roles/966/#comments Tue, 07 Jul 2009 09:32:37 +0000 Mohit http://consultingnetwork.co.in/?p=966 Following is an open forum discussion picked from our Group.

Mayank Gupta asked :

What all skills do I need to build to get through Consulting/Strategy industry. I am an MBA Marketing and B.Tech (Mechanical and Automation Engineering) fresher with no prior experience.

In these times of recession, every where I read they have been telling to build up your skill sets. I want to work in the companies involved Management Consulting/Corporate Strategy and Planning for eg. AT Kearney, McKinsey, Bain & Co. But the jobs in these kind of companies are hard to come by these days, esp. for a fresher.

I am an MBA (Marketing) + B.Tech (Mechanical and Automation Engineering) graduate with no prior experience. I would like to know what all skills do I need to build and also, what all software programs do I need to know. Please provide your valuable suggestions

Prashanth Krishnaswami, Management Student, Content Developer replied…

I am no expert but what I’m going to be telling you here is reliable hearsay. I think it is close to impossible for a fresher to break into any of the companies you’ve listed above unless that fresher is from a country’s top 5 business schools.

However, sometime down the line (say around 6-8 years), after you’ve worked with some tier 2 business consulting companies and have networked with a lot of people in the consulting business, you can break into any of the biggies. But all that depends purely on what you do in that time (6-8 years). The 6-8 year period is only a safe period I’m quoting here for you. If you are exceptionally good, you could do it within half that time too.

Some more reliable hearsay tells me that McK has cut recruitment numbers even in IIMs by a significant percentage. So, now would be a really bad time to try to break into any of the biggies, anyway.

Think on those lines. You would understand my point.

Akil Laxman, Consultant  replied…

I would concur with most of what prashant has said. The strategy consults that you want to get into recruit only from IIM-ABC and that too in small nos . If this is the path that you want , I suggest that you develop yourself as a area expert by working with a few tier 2-3 consultancies and apply to them once you have a lot of relevant experience .

As I am aware of your current situation ( I read another thread) , I would suggest that you join a start-up consultancy for now . The pay might not be great but It’ll definitely put you on the path to where you want to go. Start-up consultancies are mushrooming all over the place. Be sure to choose one where the founder is backed by good experience in the industry.

Ashish Mishra, Freelance Consultant at odesk.com replied …

Well I agree with the views expressed here regarding your query. But just brand is not the only consideration to select people. Brand does not ensure success.

What these companies look at is your own personality and how you have grown and developed yourself as a professional to accomplish what you look for in life.

I would suggest you to understand their philosophy behind hiring people. They look for leadership qualities the way this term Leadership is taught as a separate course in top universities in North America. I hope that might help you. And needless to say that you need to expand your network and collect views from the people from different background and experiences.

Moreover McKinsey has a separate knowledge center where you can apply for the jobs.

Ashok Shastry, Founder – ConsultGenie replied…

On big consulting firms I have nothing to add to what others have already said. I believe there’re millions of individuals who have great talent and can make superb consultants on their own.

First thing I suggest is to find a mentor and do a bit of internship if possible. It could be an individual or a small consulting firm. If this is not possible then find a job you like but keep trying to find a mentor and learn the nuances.

End of day it takes great focus and experience to be a consultant. If you’re sure of what you want to specialize in, at least to a small extent, I can try and connect you to a few consulting firms I know.

Dilish Kuruppath ,webMethods Consultant at Software AG replied..

Practically, its all your will to decide where you want to end up. You can stop at any position in your career and stop growing (or) you could keep moving.

Again, the possible path (for who ever, whatever degree it be) would be – get into an industry (anything), gain experience starting from the basics and grow to different levels, changing companies help too – it gives you more exposure. Once you are comfortable with quite a decent understanding (with in-depth hands on of what happens in the ground) of almost all the aspects of the industry, get into consulting.

Remember, you need to keep looking at the bigger picture for whatever you are doing at any point in time. Once you have the right credentials ( in terms of experience), you can get in and become successful. Spend at least 5-8 years to start off. You wont regret it.

Got an opinon to share? email us or reply in comments section


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]]> http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/open-forum-skills-required-to-break-into-consultingstrategy-roles/966/feed/ 2 Recent MBA and still Unemployed? http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/recent-mba-and-still-unemployed/890/?utm_source=subscriber&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/recent-mba-and-still-unemployed/890/#comments Wed, 10 Jun 2009 09:56:50 +0000 Mohit http://consultingnetwork.co.in/?p=890 A friend of mine, a recent graduate from one of the premier business schools in India, called me, his predicament, he is an engineer from a tier-2 engineering college in India and an MBA, and yet, he has not managed to even remotely come close to a job offer

His business school finished the placement season few months back, after managing to place approximately 50 percent of the batch. He has knocked doors for most of the companies and yet has been unsuccessful.

Following is the advice I gave him, feel free to add your pointers or point mistakes in my advice in the comments section.

1. My friend LinkedIn – Firstly, remember that a professional networking site like LinkedIn is your best bet for landing a job in a tough market, If you don’t have a LinkedIn profile, it serves you best to create one, your LinkedIn profile serves as your public resume, secondly start using the LinkedIn Signature option in your emails. Lastly, scout for recruiting professionals, send them a polite message and cross your fingers.
2. Join a Non Profit – Do you feel strongly about a particular cause? Then this is the best time to support your favorite cause.  Run a project for a non profit, running a project end-to-end is equivalent to any high end job and provides you great exposure.
3. Build Brand “you”, Voice your opinion – If you feel strongly about a particular industry then why not start blogging about it?  Each one of us is a brand, and you are building that brand by writing about the industry you care about. This works for two reasons, firstly, it keeps you updated on events, a job search can be tiring and demotivating, especially if you are a recent MBA blogging/writing about your preferred industry or learning new skills keeps you in the game. Secondly, published content adds a lot of value to your resume, hence makes you stand out from your competition
4. Join/Build communities – Best place to network are focused communities in your area of expertise/interest, so if you are looking to break into the consulting industry, then Consulting Network India could be your first stop, similarly, if you’re interested in the marketing products/services, then go ahead and find a community focused on marketing professionals.
5. Follow the entrepreneurial route – Want to make it big? Great! , there are no jobs? Even better! Downturn can actually be a great time to visit your entrepreneurial roots. Think of possible small investment businesses, create a detailed business plan to support it, and start your venture. You don’t have anything to lose.

Remember, your job prospects may be low for now, considering the worldwide downturn, however, eventually, the job market is bound to get better. Your best bet is to survive the downturn and showcase your strength when the opportunity comes knocking.

Please feel free to email me at mohit.kant@consultingnetwork.co.in


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]]> http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/recent-mba-and-still-unemployed/890/feed/ 2 Indian Consulting Market: An Insight into the Factors Restricting Growth http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/indian-consulting-market-an-insight-into-the-factors-restricting-growth/857/?utm_source=subscriber&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/indian-consulting-market-an-insight-into-the-factors-restricting-growth/857/#comments Tue, 02 Jun 2009 15:13:51 +0000 Ashwin T Ananthakrishnan http://consultingnetwork.co.in/?p=857 The Indian Consulting Industry has been experiencing a resurgence in the last few years. This industry has been making rapid strides in the Indian market over the last decade and has witnessed a significant increase in the number of new entrants in this field. The solitary objective of the participants in this market has been to gain maximum market share in this highly consolidated and  competitive environment, primarily by capitalizing on the apposite factors driving it.

The Asia-Pacific (APAC) consulting industry generated revenues worth $33.5 billion approximately in the year 2008 and registered a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of nearly 4.1 percent from 2007. The market is further expected to experience steady growth and is anticipated to generate revenues of approximately $39.2 billion by the end of 2012. Japan has dominated the APAC market by contributing the maximum revenues with a share of nearly 67.2 percent. Out of the APAC total market, India’s contribution stands at $1.81 billion approximately with a share of approximately 5.4 percent of the total APAC market size. Information Technology (IT) including e-commerce, telecommunications and so on followed by Corporate Strategy, Outsourcing Services, Human Resource Management, and Operations Management have been some of the prominent business divisions in the consulting market. The below graph (Figure 1) portrays the percentage split of the total APAC revenue across difference business units:


Why Consulting?

The necessity of moving ahead in the competitive structure or chain and gaining optimum market share in today’s highly competitive markets has made companies across verticals opt for third-party consulting and advisory services. This has made consulting an indispensable function for companies these days. The differentiating factor that each company puts forward in order to achieve competitive edge over their rivals has been one of the important factors of success for all the companies, specifically in the Indian market, and this is impossible with out the knowledge of market trends and behaviors. Moreover,  the fact that this success can be achieved only by implementing the right strategies from time to time and by taking pertinent decisions considering the market scenarios they cater to have prompted companies to subscribe for the products and services offered by consulting firms. The primary reason behind this urge is because consulting firms interact or are involved with the all the market participants or industries participants on a regular basis and are very well informed about the market happenings in each of the sectors. This continuous market tracking service coupled with technical industry know-how facilitates consulting firms to help clients take the right decision at the right time as well as relieve them from the pressures like ‘time-to-market’ a new product or production planning or in fact any challenges in any business divisions. In a nutshell, need for the appropriate market facts, the urge for companies to face the market trends by applying third party & unbiased thoughts, the call for a complete 360 degree view of the market that each company participate in, and the requirement to take apt decisions by companies to outpace competition are some of the factors that drive the growth of this industry.

Challenges Faced by Emerging & Boutique Consulting Firms

Acquiring the right set of talent challenges the firm in matching the client’s requirements:

Providing meaningful insights with optimum clarity and offering strategic advisory solutions on diverse subjects based on the analysis done are the two important aspects of consulting. These are also the two essential factors that each company looks out from the consulting firms. Even though, delivering all these factors together bind a consulting firm’s success, this can only be achieved by having the right set of manpower and appropriate pool of talent. Acquiring the right set of people to match every client’s broad range of requirements has been one of the challenges that smaller consulting firms in the Indian market face. This challenge has resulted in a change in the trend of hiring manpower in consulting organizations of late. Previously, consulting firms were primarily looking at hiring specific industry expert or any individual market expert. Even though some firms continue to sustain this model of hiring, most of the emerging firms in the country focus at hiring individuals who are flexible and those who can analyze any market or industry at a given period of time. This trend is expected to crystallize in a few years down the line. The reason for the same is two fold. One, the firms can leverage on their mixed pool of talent and assign any projects to any one individual or more and secondly, this facilitates the firm to considerably cut costs of engaging a single market expert.

This factor is even more risky for smaller and boutique consulting firms compared to the established ones, as they are much smaller in terms of their size, operations, and financial capabilities. Although, these firms offer only niche market services compared to other traditional firms, some of these boutique firms also face powerlessness to train their new employees due to the lack of proper resources, which restrains the firm’s growth further.

Increasing rate of attrition affects the organizational growth:

One other challenge that Indian consulting firms, both established as well as emerging ones face is the increasing rate of attrition. This can be associated with multiple reasons like the increasing growth opportunities in the market for consultants, attractive compensation packages, or correspondingly the cost cutting measures that companies adopt, and also on the cost- benefit ratio from the companies stand-point although the latter is applied only during acute market crisis. However, better remuneration packages on offer and better career prospects available are the two most common factors that consultants give importance to. Apart from these two factors, other common reasons range from dissatisfaction of their job role to the simple reason of lack of post-graduate sponsorships available with in the firms they work. All together, a suitable work-life balance, greater leadership roles in front, with better remuneration and benefits are some of the common factors which consultants expect in each company and with consulting becoming more mainstream today, the rate of attrition in this industry is expected to gradually slow down in a few years down the line. The impact of this factor is comparatively low on established firms because they have the best set of experienced consultants who can act as a back-up in case of an emergency situation. However, the impact is pretty severe on smaller firms as they are small in size and operations and also due the fact the time taken for smaller firms to replace a consultant with a new one is longer compared to the bigger firms. The below table shows the common reasons for attrition and what companies should do to retain talent:

Common reasons for attrition

What companies should do to retain talent?

Poor Pay

Better Organization Management

Poor Career Development

Career Development

Better Opportunities Else Where

Flexible Benefits

Poor Projects

Salary/Bonus/Incentives

Office Politics

Extended Ownership

Poor Management

Profit Sharing

Better Offers

Support Structure

Work/life Balance

Better Management Leadership

Source: Top-Consultant.com

Maintaining long-term relationships with clients affects the long-term existence of the firm:

Maintaining long-term relationships with existing clients is one other key challenge that the small and emerging consulting firms face. This is largely due to the fact that the Indian consulting market is more or less a buyers market. More than convincing the companies to sign-up proposals, factors such as cost-benefit ratios, value added services and so on play a pivotal role. Numerous market participants and increasing market entrants with a variety of project deliverables have leveraged organizations by giving them the option to choose the right consulting firm for the right price for a project. However, this factor should be perceived on a different notion when it comes to a proposal with bigger and established consulting firms who are the pioneers of this Industry and who have proven success record in delivering results.

Highly competitive market influence firms in gaining market share:

Smaller and emerging firms also face the challenge of gaining market share. Regional consulting firms have lesser market share compared to the bigger established firms who always top the competitive chain, even in the Indian market. Like wise, global players such as Bain & Co., McKinsey & Co., Boston Consulting Group and so on dominate the market for strategy consulting with nearly three-fourth of the market share in their hands, leaving the rest to the smaller and emerging firms. On a related note, most of the above mentioned business divisions are being monopolized by the big guns there by leaving very little scope for the smaller and emerging consulting firms. However, a noticeable trend in the recent years is that the smaller and niche firms are gradually taken seriously than the bigger ones. Of late, companies have started experimenting with niche firms by working with them on smaller regional projects but at the same time partner with the trusted bigger ones for the larger and other global projects. Nevertheless choosing the right consulting firm largely depends on the bids or request for proposals (RFP) that companies put forward and the proposals they receive from these consulting firms. While attracting new clients will always be an easy task for the established consulting firms due to their proven success and credibility, this factor acts as a major barrier on emerging firms as developing and converting a relationship into a business deal is comparatively tricky for these firms owing to their poor strategic alliances, lesser corporate experience and so on.

Off shoring/Outsourcing to India acts as a challenge as well as driver:

Off shoring back-end functions to India has obviously been a market driver, not only for the consulting industry but for the country as a whole. However, from a consulting firm’s perspective, though this factor helps expansion and globalization, some companies feel that it restrains the company development and growth in the outsourced regions primarily because of cultural differences and other barriers related to work. Professional dissimilarity, differences in attitude, adjusting to time zones, accent’s, and differences in a person’s commitment to work have been some of the factors that American & European counterparts consider as challenges, when it comes to off shoring work to India. And these are also some of the challenges that small and emerging consulting firms in India face, due to which the company brand name and public perception is most likely to be hampered. However, this can be overcome if the firm acquires the right set of people, train them on flexibility and motivate them to work better.

‘Market’ as a Challenge affects routine businesses:

One of the other challenging factors which impact consulting firms, smaller ones especially is the volatile market conditions they experience. Even though this factor affects both the established as well as smaller emerging firms, the former have the capability to sustain and overcome the market downfall in a better efficient way due to their long-term existence and familiarity of the market, than the latter. One such situation to be quoted is the recent sub-prime crisis which more or less created a win-win situation for both bigger and smaller firms with respect to acquiring new projects, i.e., it created a situation where in the boutique firms could possibly capitalize on the market conditions to win a project over the bigger ones, primarily because of their reduced pricing and other cost saving offerings. However, a fact is that, such situations are real good opportunities for the boutique firms to prove their capability and credibility but in general most of the companies, totter in such situations.

Threat of Substitutes impacts new business development:

‘Threat of substitutes’ is one other key challenge that smaller and boutique firms face. Although the penetration rate of new entrants entering the market has been moderate for now, companies still has a lot of options when it comes to the RFP process for projects. Apart from the presence of big four consulting firms, there are numerous smaller and emerging firms in India who are yet to prove their credibility and who offer services at a reduced price compared to the others. Coupled with the reduced pricing, every new entrant into this market is coming up with differentiated consulting models and methodologies for attracting new businesses, and this again acts as a threat to the other firms. Existence of numerous firms, differentiated offerings, reduced pricing and so on has impacted the smaller firms in India by hampering the customer loyalty and also by making this market, a highly price sensitive one.

Conclusion

Although, factors like globalization, off shoring and outsourcing have made India a suitable destination for various companies, creating vast employment opportunities for the increased pool of talent, the regional smaller and emerging firms still face a lot of challenges such as the ones highlighted above. The firms catering to the Indian market alone are on a rough terrain compared to the bigger established firms who have global roots. This is primarily because global firms who are eminent and well-known have a better probability of converting proposals into projects compared to the emerging firms with in India who are yet to prove their credibility and offerings. However, the growing level of uncertainty in today’s market, increasing competition, consolidation, the scope for various business’ in India and so on will drive the growth and is expected to make the Indian consulting industry’s future, a promising one.

Ashwin T Ananthakrishnan can be reached at ashwin.ananth@gmail.com


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]]> http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/indian-consulting-market-an-insight-into-the-factors-restricting-growth/857/feed/ 1 Engineers and Consulting – Likely/Unlikely Combo? http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/engineers-and-consulting-likelyunlikely-combo/824/?utm_source=subscriber&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/engineers-and-consulting-likelyunlikely-combo/824/#comments Wed, 27 May 2009 16:14:06 +0000 Mohit http://consultingnetwork.co.in/?p=824 One of the popular career choices for engineer’s these days is consulting; I would back that statement with full throttle since I am an engineer myself. 

One of the prominent reasons for engineers wanting to carve a career for themselves in the consulting industry is that unlike a technical job (which can be monotonous), consulting provides a challenging learning experience. Most of the technical jobs are pre-defined and checklist driven. Consulting engagements bank upon not only the technical know-how but also the business acumen.

If Fiat wants to manufacture most fuel efficient engines in the market, then they would call automobile engineering experts, on the other hand, if Fiat wants to improve its market share in the Indian market, they would bank upon consultants to do the job.

From a monetary point of view, both engineering and consulting jobs are equally rewarding, provided you consistently perform well.

The main drivers for engineers opting for consulting are
- A consulting career helps engineers acquire business acumen
- A consulting career provides excellent networking opportunity and helps consultants develop long term business relationships
- A consulting career can help engineers become excellent orators and presenters
- A consulting career is just as monetarily rewarding (if not more) as an engineering career.

However, carving a consulting career is not easy for engineers. It is even tougher to carve a consulting career in India if you do not belong to a top institution such as IIT.

As an engineer, you can take two paths in the consulting universe,
a) You can either become use your technology expertise and support consulting engagements by applying skills learned during your engineering. Most of the big consulting firms like Mckinsey, BCG, Bain, EY, KPMG, and Deloitte have a strong technology practice.
b) You can enter other consulting areas which rely more on research and creative problem solving. Transaction advisory, strategy consulting, Process advisory etc. are popular areas where engineers are used. 

Challenges that engineers face are:
- They lack business knowledge; business and management are not the focus areas during engineering
- Engineers are thought to be less dynamic; often recruiters will stereotype you as a timid, bookish and shy individual.
- Engineers lack basic accounting and financial knowledge.

What are the areas of strength for engineers?
- Most engineers are logical thinkers and are able to effectively dissect through a problem effectively without hesitation
- Engineers have strong analytical skills
- Engineers are quick learners.

As aspiring consulting from an engineering background has to focus on following things
- Handle leadership roles during your college life, take up charge of events during college fest, organize quizzes/debates, raise funds etc.
- Showcase your teaming skills by participating in teaming events in college. Teaming is utmost priority for consulting recruiters
- Focus on your presentation skills. Excellent speaking skills are a perquisite to a successful consulting career. Develop these skills by practicing mock interviews, interacting with people from varied backgrounds. A good conversationalist is always in demand.

Remember the following things:
- Getting into your dream firms doesn’t always happen immediately, it’s a step by step process. Get into a boutique consulting firm get the required experience, and then make a switch to the firm of your choice.
- After 1-1.5 years of consulting experience, background has little significance. An engineer is as good as a commerce graduate.
- Lastly,  don’t lose hope and weigh your time and keep trying till you suceed.

Author can be emailed on mohit.kant@consultingnetwork.co.in 

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]]> http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/engineers-and-consulting-likelyunlikely-combo/824/feed/ 1 Boston Consulting Group to the Rescue http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/boston-consulting-group-to-the-rescue/647/?utm_source=subscriber&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/boston-consulting-group-to-the-rescue/647/#comments Tue, 14 Apr 2009 15:07:16 +0000 Knowledge Seeker http://consultingnetwork.co.in/?p=647 Boston Consulting Group will be paid as much as $7 million to advise General Motors and Chrysler as they work to pare costs and overhaul operations, according to a federal award notice. G.M., which received $13.4 billion in federal money, is trying to avoid a potential June 1 bankruptcy. Chrysler, which received $4 billion, has an April 30 deadline to pare debt and complete an alliance with Fiat.

A very significant portion” of Boston Consulting’s work will be to analyze G.M.’s restructuring plan and Chrysler’s proposed alliance with Fiat, according to the notice posted on a government procurement site.

Source: NYTimes


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]]> http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/boston-consulting-group-to-the-rescue/647/feed/ 0 25 Most Innovative Companies – BCG Rankings http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/25-most-innovative-companies-bcg-rankings/643/?utm_source=subscriber&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/25-most-innovative-companies-bcg-rankings/643/#comments Tue, 14 Apr 2009 14:45:31 +0000 Knowledge Seeker http://consultingnetwork.co.in/?p=643 For the fifth consecutive year now, Apple has topped the list of ‘The 25 Most Innovative Companies’ in BusinessWeek’s annual special report, produced in collaboration with the Boston Consulting Group.

Google, Toyota Motor, Microsoft, and Nintendo round out the top five. Newcomers to this year’s top-25 list include Samsung, Volkswagen, and Coca-Cola.

Not that long ago, innovation was a must-do priority for business. Now research and development might seem more like vacation homes and new cars–luxuries that will have to wait for better times.

In an annual survey of top executives by Boston Consulting Group (BCG), more respondents said that innovation spending will be flat or down than since the ranking began in 2005. On the other hand, after focusing on shorter-term, lower-risk projects, a majority said they are satisfied with their returns on innovation investments. But recession and market meltdown aside, many of the corporations on the 2009 ranking are finding ways to forge ahead.

Perennial top vote-getters should not take their positions for granted. Apple, which has always held the survey’s top position, had 33% fewer votes this year than in 2008, while Google, consistently the list’s No. 2, had 31% fewer. Why? Wrote one respondent of Apple: “Their products are improvements on previous technology. Their execution is flawless, but they are not necessarily innovative.” Another respondent had the same criticism of Google: “Resting on past glory (search). Spending a lot on new things but no new breakthroughs.”

To determine the list of the 25 most innovative companies, the Boston Consulting Group once again asked executives to name corporations that consistently offer inventive products, customer experiences, business models, or processes. BCG then factored in the financial performance of the top vote-getters. The final list weighted the survey results 80%, stock returns 10%, and three-year revenue and margin growth 5% each. In the case of privately held companies, BusinessWeek used metrics equal to industry performance to compare financial data.

Source: Business Week


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]]> http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/25-most-innovative-companies-bcg-rankings/643/feed/ 0 Mantra for global consultancies in India: Heal thyself! http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/mantra-for-global-consultancies-in-india-heal-thyself/474/?utm_source=subscriber&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss http://www.consultingnetwork.co.in/mantra-for-global-consultancies-in-india-heal-thyself/474/#comments Tue, 10 Mar 2009 08:57:54 +0000 Knowledge Seeker http://consultingnetwork.co.in/?p=474

Sourced from Business Standard article dated 10th march 2009

On September 6, 2001, a crack McKinsey team led by Indian-born Rajat Gupta, its global CEO at that time, made a presentation to the NDA government on how to double India’s GDP growth rate to 10 per cent. Legend has it that at the end of it Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the prime minister at that time, sighed: “Woh to theek hai Guptaji, lekin yeh sab hoga kaise(This is all very good, Mr Gupta, but how can all this be done)?”

At that time, many thought the remark odd. Old timers recall that in the mid-1990s, Indian companies’ stock prices used to move up when they announced that their next restructuring plan would be by McKinsey. Where was the room for doubt? In the light of the numbers Business Standard has unearthed, Vajpayee was prescient.

The truth is that for all the advice McKinsey and other big management consultancy firms have dished out, they are themselves in need of some serious consultancy, insofar as their Indian operations are concerned.

Data collected from the Registrar of Companies, or RoC, show that The Firm, as McKinsey is reverentially referred to, has been making steady losses in India since 2004-2005, except in 2006-07. It ended 2007-08 with a loss of Rs 2.26 crore, which was a lot better than the figure in some of the earlier years.

When contacted, the McKinsey spokesperson said: “As a matter of our global policy and as a private firm, we do not publicly discuss our workings.”

When it comes to dismal financial performance in India, McKinsey is not alone; it has the company of its global peers.

Accenture, which has been in India for two decades and considers the country one of its largest developing markets, has a profit and loss account that shows a net loss before tax of Rs 18.6 crore for the year ending March 31, 2007, which was an improvement over the Rs 48.8 crore in the previous year. The firm did not reply to an email query.

Bain & Company, which has grown from four consultants in 2006 to over a 100, made a loss of Rs 15.9 crore in 2007-08. An email sent to the firm remains unanswered.

Deloitte and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) are better placed, though their profits are measly — Rs 15 lakh in 2007-08 for Deloitte and Rs 5 lakh for BCG in 2006-07. In the earlier years, they, too, were in the red. While BCG declined to share their financial statements, since it’s a private partnership, Deloitte also didn’t offer its comments


 

(How the Indian operations of global consultancies have performed)
Financial year 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08
MCKINSEY
Income 147.3 163.5 245.3 N.A N.A
Profit/loss* -8.7 -23.9 -11.3 17.3 -2.26
ACCENTURE          
Net loss before   N.A -48.8 -18.6 N.A
tax as per profit & loss          
DELOITTE          
Income (NA) 15.9 25.8 35.2 95.1
Profit/loss (NA) -0.0016 0.9 -0.35 0.15
BAIN & CO.          
Income       35.1 59.2
(services fee+other income)          
Profit/loss       -0.518 -15.9
BCG          
Income** NA 35.2 58.64 83.19 NA
Profit/loss NA -3 2.02 0.05 N.A
*Excess of revenues over expenses including taxes  (Figures in brackets are losses)
** Professional charges alone Source: Registrar of Companies                           

 An executive of a large public sector company, which has been advised by one of these firms, was surprised to hear that they were not really well off themselves. He said it was ironical.

Rajeev Karwal, founder of Milagrow, which focusses on advising small and medium enterprises, said, overstaffing, overpaying and a matrix style of working ailed consulting firms. While they advised companies to be lean, they did not live by the principle.

There could, however, be a twist in the tale. According to the head of a global consultancy firm, the financial position may have a bit to do with the imperative to evolve a tax-efficient model.

“All consulting firms,” he says, “make 25 to 30 per cent profits, and losses are unheard of. There could be many factors if a firm is showing losses, which could include issues such as at what rate revenues are coming or the cost of manpower


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