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Buyer Ratings Guide

The ALM Vanguard: Procurement Operations Consulting

August 2018

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©2018 ALM Media Properties, LLC. All rights reserved. Please refer to ALM User License

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Matthew A. MerkerSenior Analyst, Management Consulting ResearchT +1 212 457 9181 [email protected]

Author

For more information, visit the ALM Intelligence website at www.alm.com/intelligence/industries-we-serve/consulting-industry/

© 2018 ALM Media Properties, LLC 2

Buyer Ratings Guide

Contents

Overview 3

ALM Vanguard of Procurement Operations Consulting Providers 5

Provider Capability Rankings 6

Rating Level Summaries 7

Leader Assessments 8

Provider Capability Ratings 9

Best in Class Providers 11

Provider Briefs 12

Definitions 29

Methodology 31

About ALM Intelligence 33

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OverviewCapability Drivers

Procurement operations continue to elevate and evolve within client organizations, driven largely by digital innovations and

cost savings realized through their implementations. Breaking down the traditional silo approach to procurement functions

has led to better understanding of the value the function brings to the organization. Using procurement as a key lever in the

effective execution of overall business strategy is more commonplace as the role of the CPO continues to expand. With that

expansion, however, comes increased responsibility. To that end, procurement functions are increasingly expected to step

up capability beyond the confines of the function itself. Thinking outside the box to improve client business through the

procurement functions and supplier networks is gaining in popularity, and consultants continue to look beyond operating

model design to deliver innovations that increase the function’s impact.

While providing support that continues to evolve even the most advanced procurement operations is a goal of advisory

leaders in this space, it is also important to remember the core operating models and foundations that can drive that

advancement forward. That said, there are several aspects of procurement operations consulting that leaders within this

space have in common.

Ability to assess client maturity. Clients of procurement operations consulting span the spectrum of maturity in this

capability. Where these clients fall on this spectrum ultimately dictates the type of advisory support needed, providing a

starting point for strategic roadmaps to a strong value driven procurement function. Leaders in procurement operations

consulting possess robust assessment capabilities of clients’ as-is state, utilizing best practices and thorough benchmarking

data to assist in not only identifying gaps in client capability against today’s standards, but also to help convey the value-prop

of evolution to the C-Suite. With the plethora of options before a procurement division for evolution, an understanding of a

client’s place in industry and geography, and the ability to communicate the value of change will go a long way in strategic

road mapping for that evolution. This is particularly true for clients seeking to undergo digital evolution, where a strong

business case is needed to justify the expenditure for those innovations as they become more numerous.

Ability to identify and mitigate risks. Risk for procurement operations is multi-faceted, and continues to grow in complexity as

operational transparency is increasingly commonplace due to the implementation of new technologies and communications.

Geopolitical tensions and market volatility create challenges for CPOs, having to design operating models that adapt quickly

to changing environments to ensure operations are not disrupted. Leaders of procurement operations consulting have a

thorough grounding in operational, financial, and reputational risk, providing a comprehensive risk management strategy

built into operating model strategy.

Ability to alter behaviors and mindsets. Organizations with advanced procurement operating models largely understand

the function’s value add to the organization and its ability to positively impact business strategy goals. However, this

perspective is not ubiquitous across client organizations that still operate under traditional models with silo approaches.

The challenge for these organizations is to develop a strategy all divisions see as key to success and thus gain the requisite

momentum across the enterprise to ensure strategy sustainment. Leaders of procurement operations consulting understand

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Buyer Ratings Guide

the need for an enterprise-wide approach and have in-depth solutions that not only enable workforces to enact strategies,

but also imbue a sense of enthusiasm that can lead to continued innovations even after the consulting engagement has

ended.

Ability to identify and deliver the latest digital innovations. Digitalization continues to have the single greatest impact

on procurement operations, and leaders within this space recognize and capitalize on it to bring the greatest efficiencies and

optimizations possible to their clients. Improved digital platforms and analytics capabilities enable operations assessments

faster than ever before, while creating more opportunities for interconnectedness in internal and external client operations,

particularly with regard to collaboration with suppliers. However, as digital tools and innovations become more commonplace,

consultants are faced with new challenges from clients wary of the slew of options before them. Previous experiences with

poor digital implementation and lost revenue has created a digital reticence among some clients, thus increasing the onus

on consulting firms to provide a strong business case with fast and measurable results. Leaders of consulting in this area

not only provide past qualifications to justify investment in digital innovations, but also client specific potential value-add

through strong industry expertise and advanced simulation workshops that create excitement within the C-Suite to adopt

new solutions.

OverviewCapability Drivers

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ALM Vanguard of Procurement Operations Consulting Providers

LEADERS

CHALLENGERS

Low High

Hig

hLo

w

CONTENDERS

Dep

th o

f Con

sulti

ng C

apab

ilitie

s

Breadth of Consulting Capabilities

Deloitte

PwC

Bain & Company

EY

Accenture

McKinsey & Company

Porsche Consulting

KPMG

ArcBlue

The Boston Consulting Group

goetzpartners

Roland Berger

GEPE�cio Camelot Management Consultants

Source OneFuture Purchasing

BearingPoint

Capgemini

DSSI

PA Consulting

A.T. Kearney EFESOThe Hackett Group

h&z ConsultingDenali

Oliver Wyman

Vantage Partners

Protiviti

Hitachi Consulting

Houlihan Lokey

Insight Sourcing

IBM

Booz Allen Hamilton

Source: ALM Intelligence

The ALM Vanguard of Procurement Operations Consulting Providers assesses firms in terms of their relative ability to create

impact for their clients. For this, the ALM Vanguard displays the relative position of the providers featured in this report,

deemed capable in procurement operations consulting, based on an evaluation of their overall capabilities according to a

consistent set of criteria. Capability depth denotes a provider’s capacity to get results for clients, while capability breadth

indicates its ability to deploy that capacity across multiple client scenarios.

Consulting is distinctive from other industries because of the variety of client contexts that providers encounter in terms of

ambitions, needs, and abilities that alter what it takes to create impact. As providers seek to deploy their capacity to create

client impact (depth) across industry sectors, geographic regions, and interfaces with adjacent functional and technical

capabilities (breadth), they increase the complexity of their engagement models. The downward slope of the lines that

separate the tiers of the market captures the trade-off between low-complexity engagement models (designed to maximize

the capacity to create impact for a narrow set of client applications) and high-complexity engagement models (made to

maximize deployability and create impact for a wide variety of client applications).

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Provider Capability Rankings

The figures below indicate the change in consulting providers’ ranks in terms of their overall capability depth, breadth, and

client impact. (See the Definitions section of this report for a detailed breakdown of underlying capabilities.) Ranking position

number one denotes the top-ranked provider.

Depth Breadth Client Impact

2017 2018 2017 2018 2017 20181 PwC PwC 1 Deloitte Deloitte 1 PwC PwC

Leaders

2 Deloitte (Tied 2) Deloitte (Tied 2) 2 PwC PwC 2 Deloitte DeloitteMcKinsey & Company

(Tied 2)McKinsey & Company (Tied 2) 3 Accenture KPMG 3 McKinsey &

Company KPMG

4 The Boston Consulting Group KPMG 4 KPMG EY 4 KPMG McKinsey &

Company

5 KPMG The Boston Consulting Group 5 Capgemini Accenture 5 The Boston

Consulting GroupThe Boston Consulting Group

6 Porsche Consulting Porsche Consulting 6 EY GEP 6 GEP Bain & Company

7 Bain & Company (Tied 7) Bain & Company 7 GEP Capgemini 7 Efficio GEP

Efficio (Tied 7) Camelot Management Consultants (Tied 8) 8 Protiviti McKinsey & Company 8 Camelot Management

ConsultantsCamelot Management Consultants

9 Camelot Management Consultants (Tied 9) Efficio (Tied 8) 9 Hitachi Consulting Bain & Company 9 Bain & Company Porsche Consulting

GEP (Tied 9) GEP (Tied 8) 10 IBM The Boston Consulting Group 10 Porsche Consulting EY

11 A.T. Kearney A.T. Kearney (Tied 11) 11 McKinsey & Company Camelot Management Consultants 11 EY Efficio

12 EFESO EFESO (Tied 11) 12 Camelot Management Consultants Roland Berger 12 A.T. Kearney Roland Berger

13 ArcBlue EY (Tied 11) 13 Booz Allen Hamilton Hitachi Consulting 13 Hitachi Consulting EFESO

Challengers

14 EY (Tied 14) The Hackett Group (Tied 14) 14 Efficio Protiviti 14 EFESO A.T. Kearney

Roland Berger (Tied 14) Roland Berger (Tied 14) 15 The Boston

Consulting Group Efficio 15 Accenture The Hackett Group

16 The Hackett Group (Tied 16) ArcBlue (Tied 16) 16 BearingPoint Oliver Wyman 16 ArcBlue Oliver Wyman

Hitachi Consulting (Tied 16)

Oliver Wyman (Tied 16) 17 Oliver Wyman IBM 17 Roland Berger Accenture

h&z Consulting (Tied 16) h&z Consulting 18 Roland Berger The Hackett Group 18 Capgemini ArcBlue

19 Denali (Tied 19) Accenture (Tied 19) 19 PA Consulting EFESO 19 Oliver Wyman Capgemini

Oliver Wyman (Tied 19) Denali (Tied 19) 20 Bain & Company ArcBlue 20 The Hackett Group Hitachi Consulting

21 Accenture Hitachi Consulting (Tied 21) 21 A.T. Kearney Porsche Consulting 21 h&z Consulting Denali

22 Capgemini Capgemini (Tied 21) 22 Houlihan Lokey Denali 22 Denali h&z Consulting

23 Insight Sourcing (Tied 23)

Insight Sourcing (Tied 23) 23 EFESO Insight Sourcing 23 Protiviti Protiviti

Protiviti (Tied 23) Protiviti (Tied 23) 24 ArcBlue BearingPoint 24 PA Consulting Insight Sourcing

Contenders

25 Houlihan Lokey (Tied 25) PA Consulting 25 The Hackett Group A.T. Kearney 25 Insight Sourcing PA Consulting

PA Consulting (Tied 25) Houlihan Lokey 26 Denali Houlihan Lokey 26 Houlihan Lokey Houlihan Lokey

27 Future Purchasing (Tied 27) Source One 27 h&z Consulting PA Consulting 27 Source One Source One

Source One (Tied 27) Future Purchasing 28 Porsche Consulting Source One 28 Booz Allen Hamilton Future Purchasing

29 goetzpartners goetzpartners 29 Source One Booz Allen Hamilton 29 Future Purchasing goetzpartners

30 BearingPoint (Tied 30) BearingPoint (Tied 30) 30 Insight Sourcing goetzpartners 30 BearingPoint BearingPoint

30 Booz Allen Hamilton (Tied 30) DSSI (Tied 30) 31 goetzpartners Future Purchasing 31 goetzpartners DSSI

32 DSSI Booz Allen Hamilton 32 Future Purchasing h&z Consulting 32 DSSI Booz Allen Hamilton

33 IBM Vantage Partners* 33 Optimum Procurement** DSSI 33 IBM Vantage Partners*

34 Optimum Procurement** IBM 34 DSSI Vantage Partners* 34 Optimum

Procurement** IBM

*Firms not previously covered, **Firms not covered in 2018 Source: ALM Intelligence

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Rating Level Summaries

ALM Intelligence rates providers according to a three-level scale based on their relative breadth and depth of overall

capabilities. Each rating level corresponds to an area in the ALM Vanguard graphic bounded by a downward sloping line

designed to equate engagement models of different degrees of complexity.

Rating Level Providers Description

Leaders

Bain & Company The Boston Consulting Group The leaders are at the top of the market in terms of their capabilities to create client impact through their depth of expertise and ability to deploy it across a range of engagement models. They are unique in their ability to independently execute a broad array of projects across the full spectrum of client contexts. They range from providers in the top quintile in terms of depth of capability for low-complexity engagement models to those that combine above average depth of capability with the ability to deploy it across high-complexity engagement models.

Camelot Management Consultants

Deloitte

Efficio EY

GEP KPMG

McKinsey & Company Porsche Consulting

PwC

Challengers

A.T. Kearney Accenture The challengers can execute end-to-end projects in low complexity engagement models or a substantial portion of project components in high-complexity engagement models. They range from those with above-average depth of capability for low-complexity engagement models to those that combine depth of capability between the bottom third and top half of the distribution, with the ability to deploy it in high complexity engagement models.

ArcBlue Capgemini

Denali EFESO

h&z Consulting The Hackett Group

Hitachi Consulting Oliver Wyman

Protiviti Roland Berger

Contenders

BearingPoint Booz Allen Hamilton The contenders can execute a substantial portion of projects in low-complexity engagement models or a single phase or project instance in high-complexity engagement models. They range from those with average depth of capability for low-complexity engagement models to those that combine depth of capability in the bottom third of the distribution with the ability to deploy it in high-complexity engagement models.

DSSI Future Purchasing

goetzpartners Houlihan Lokey

IBM Insight Sourcing

PA Consulting Source One

Vantage Partners

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Leader Assessments

The ALM Vanguard of Procurement Operations Consulting Providers comprises the following Leaders.

Leaders Strengths

Bain & Company

Bain’s emphasis on transformation from a reactional procurement operations capability to a strategic approach is well received by clients seeking to realize enterprise wide value. The firm’s Results Delivery and sponsorship spine methodologies foster strong stakeholder buy-in at all levels of the organization, ensuring that strategies are sustained after the consulting engagement has ended.


BCG’s analytic tools, such as the firm’s Procurement Excellence Monitor, and focus on altering behaviors and mindsets about procurement operations resonates within this market with the continuing trend of value focus over cost. The firm’s Procurement Academy provides in-depth customized training solutions for clients seeking to develop their internal capabilities for operations and negotiations with external parties. BCG’s product teardown offering complements its advisory for procurement, providing in-depth material cost analysis and strategy.


Camelot continues to evolve its procurement operations in tandem with its sourcing strategy capabilities. The firm’s procurement playbooks for CPOs offer quick uptake of solutions for industry specific needs and clearly defined roadmaps for transformation that lead to a faster realization of cost savings and value add to the function.

Deloitte

Deloitte’s significant breadth of capabilities within the procurement operations space across industries and geographies allows the firm to bring strong insights to recent trends in the space, leading to advisory gleaned from best practices for clients. The firm’s breadth of capability from other service areas is also used, such as HR and tax advisory, which provides a holistic and adaptable approach. Deloitte’s Integrated Delivery Model brings its diverse capabilities to bear without overwhelming the client, providing strategic touchpoints for client interaction to a diverse toolkit.

EfficioA consultancy specializing in procurement, Efficio’s advisory support in this space provides unique insights into improved operations. The firm possesses a strong blend of strategic and operational level insights that are brought to bear for clients’ procurement operations evolution and sustainability, implemented alongside technology solutions.

EY

EY’s robust assessments for clients’ procurement operations and roadmaps to elevate the function from operational to value and ultimately to supply side optimization maturity provides a strong strategic direction for transformation. The firm’s agile/sprint hot house methodologies and the use of EY wavespace centers creates a strong atmosphere for stakeholder buy-in as well as rapid strategy development.

GEPSpecializing in procurement, GEP offers a strong suite of capabilities for its clients centered on robust transformation with a focus on organizational design, process optimization, and strategic cost management. The firm’s blend of consulting with managed services and technology provides robust solutions for clients seeking advisory from a highly specialized consultancy.

KPMG

KPMG continues to invest in and grow its procurement operations capability, utilizing strategic alliances to elevate advisory services in response to increasing client demand. The firm’s Powered Procurement solution is well received by clients seeking rapid transformation, as the solution streamlines traditional transformation to a five-step methodology. KPMG also continues to develop new digital tools to provide optimized operating models, derived from the firm’s extensive thought leadership research that demonstrates strong insights into industry specific demands within procurement.

McKinsey & Company

McKinsey’s focus on digital procurement as a key differentiator for mature functions resonates well with its clients. The firm’s emphasis on a balance of performance and organizational health creates a workforce that is enabled and enthusiastic to execute transformation strategies geared toward the successful implementation of next-gen operating models.

Porsche Consulting

Porsche Consulting’s holistic approach to procurement operations, integrating procurement strategy with R&D advisory, sourcing, and production strategy is well received by its clients. The firm provides a strong roadmap for transformation sustainment by offering robust capability development service offerings through the Porsche Consulting Academy. The “train the trainer” approach ensures clients continue using and adapting strategies developed even after the end of the consulting engagement.

PwC

PwC possesses a strong depth in procurement operations advisory capability, complemented by a notable breadth of services that tie into its other capability areas. The firm’s ability to rapidly provide on-demand surge support resonates with clients seeking quick and adaptable solutions. PwC’s strong strategy consulting ties procurement operations evolution in with other areas of the business to create an enterprise-wide transformative approach that breaks down silos and realizes the true value of the procurement function from a cost optimization as well as an overarching business strategy perspective.


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The table below provides detailed capability ratings for Procurement Operations consulting providers. (See the Definitions sec-

tion of this report for explanations of the capabilities.)

Provider Capability Ratings

Legend: Very Strong Strong Moderate Weak None

Provider Capabilities: Procurement Operations Consulting Discovery Design Delivery

Needs Assessment

External Market Insight

Internal Client Insight Strategy Operating

SystemManagement

SystemProject

ManagementClient

Capability Development

Enabling Tools

A.T. Kearney

Accenture

ArcBlu

Bain & Company

BearingPoint

Booz Allen Hamilton



Capgemini

Deloitte

Denali

DSSI

EFESO

Efficio

EY

Future Purchasing

GEP

goetzpartners

h&z Consulting

The Hackett Group

Hitachi Consulting

Houlihan Lokey

IBM

Insight Sourcing

KPMG

McKinsey & Company

Oliver Wyman

PA Consulting


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Provider Capabilities: Procurement Operations Consulting Cont.

Discovery Design Delivery

Needs Assessment


Internal Client Insight Strategy Operating

SystemManagement

SystemProject

ManagementClient

Capability Development

Enabling Tools

Porsche Consulting

Protiviti

PwC

Roland Berger

Source One

Vantage Partners


Provider Capability Ratings Cont.FO

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Best in Class Providers

Providers identified as best in class evidence deep capabilities in specific areas of procurement operations consulting and

stand out from their peers for their highly effective and often innovative consulting approaches and service delivery.

Capability Areas Provider Strengths

Needs Assessment GEP

GEP’s specialized focus on sourcing and procurement operations provides the firm with strong baselining capability for clients seeking to evolve the function. The firm’s suite of capabilities and offerings in technology and managed services complements the consulting segment of the business well, providing a holistic assessment capability for clients.


The Hackett Group

The Hackett Group’s extensive benchmarking repository provides the firm with significant capability in terms of understanding current best practices in a wide variety of industries and geographies. The firm effectively uses these benchmarks to justify transformation actions to clients in procurement operations, evolving the function to that of a “trusted advisor” within the C-Suite, making it easier for stakeholder buy-in for sustainable change.

Internal Client Insight Deloitte

Deloitte’s diverse service offerings within the procurement operations space, as well as a strong understanding of best practices, provides the firm with exceptional internal analytic capability. Through its Integrated Delivery Model, Deloitte provides a holistic analysis to improve clients’ understanding of their procurement operations’ evolution and the roadmap to get there, while incorporating a wide breadth of services adjacent to the function.

Strategy PwC

PwC’s approach to procurement operations advisory leverages the firm’s significant strategy capabilities, found primarily in its Strategy& division. The firm’s Fit for Growth methodology provides a strong roadmap for strategic execution, aligning capability development to overall business strategy. Additionally, the integration of the firm’s advisory capabilities for pricing, production, and HR strategy provide strong, enterprise-wide strategic planning support.

Operating System KPMG

KPMG’s Powered Procurement solution provides a succinct and effective transformation strategy that is quickly enacted in client engagements through strong baselining capabilities. The firm’s use of digital tools designed for improved operations and information gathering complement this transformation effort and provide clients with a strong operational structure for procurement.

Management System

Bain & Company

Bain’s approach to sustainable transformation for procurement operations starts with top-down management change. The application of its Results Delivery and sponsorship spine tools create an atmosphere of responsibility and stakeholder buy-in across the enterprise, which leads to sustainable operating models.

Project Management


Continuing its internal evolution of services from its Nine Pillars of Strategic Sourcing, Camelot Management Consultants’ procurement playbooks and transformation phased approach provides strong road mapping capability for clients, particularly for digital strategy.

Client Capability Development

Bain & Company

Bain’s emphasis on capability development as a means to effectively execute strategy is supported by the firm’s Behavior Change Center of Excellence, enabling its own consulting teams to transfer that capability to clients. The firm’s Co-creation Approach enables client workforces to actively partake in solution design, and thus builds up enthusiasm to execute the strategy.

Enabling Tools McKinsey & Company

McKinsey continues to grow and refine its digital toolkits, tailored to specific client engagements and industry areas. Clients of McKinsey appreciate the value of strong performance measurement and road mapping these tools provide, markedly increasing the speed of analysis and strategy development.


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Provider Briefs

Leaders Bain & CompanyApproach Bain & Company’s approach to procurement operations focuses on improving the effectiveness of the operation by increasing

focus on strategic activity, demonstrating the value of the function and elevating it within the client organization. Bain assists clients in moving their procurement operations capability up the maturity scale, evolving from a tactical to a strategic function that is able to assist and advance overarching business strategy.

Practice Structure

Formerly a discrete part of the firm’s Performance Improvement practice, Bain’s procurement operations consulting is now offered as part of the firm’s Operations practice area, alongside supply chain management, manufacturing, R&D, and digital operations offerings.

Service Delivery Model

Bain’s service delivery for procurement operations begins with a maturity assessment of client capabilities in the function and its current role within the enterprise. Bain employs a Spend Cube approach to its client assessment, providing a holistic view of company-wide procurement spend which allows for quick identification of savings from a traditional procurement operations consulting perspective, while also providing a roadmap for more advanced operations into areas such as digitalization and automation. The firm works with clients to grow the function from that of a reactive approach to proactive, with a focus on value over price. In order to achieve this goal, Bain assists clients in altering behaviors and mindsets throughout the organization, ensuring stakeholder buy-in that creates a sustainable transformation. Bain’s Results Delivery change management service offering fits well into this shift in thinking, centered on sustainability through “implementation, realization, and repeatability.” The development of a sponsorship spine of responsibility in change management provides a comprehensive approach that ensures greater dissemination of new mindsets at all levels of clients’ businesses. The firm provides organizational design, operating model strategy, and talent development advisory for procurement functions, backed by a strong foundation in transformation through client behavioral change.

The Boston Consulting GroupApproach BCG approaches its procurement operations consulting practice through a detailed framework designed to align procurement

strategy with overall business strategy. The firm’s approach emphasizes improved collaboration between suppliers and clients’ procurement functions, finding synergies for symbiotic gain.

Practice Structure

BCG’s advisory in this area is provided primarily through a dedicated Procurement division with support from other aspects of the firm, such as DigitalBCG.


BCG’s service delivery for procurement operations is largely based in altering mindsets and behaviors of client organizations to not only elevate the role of procurement in the business but to also improve external collaboration through enhanced supplier relationships. To this end, BCG works with its clients to change culture within their companies, removing internal stovepipes and external ones in the supplier relationship. This is achieved through the firm’s Procurement Academy, which offers a nine module training curriculum to provide clients with internal procurement capability development for operations while also improving negotiation and communications strategy skills for engaging external stakeholders to improve the procurement function. To provide better understanding of client- specific procurement needs, BCG also provides product teardown advisory, identifying how a product’s design and materials affects bottom line procurement costs. This exercise leads to recommendations for changes in supply chain and product development that optimizes the procurement function and reduces costs. BCG also utilizes a variety of analytics tools to assist in the evolution of clients’ procurement functions. The firm’s Procurement Excellence Monitor, as an example, is used to analyze five main segments of the function: strategy & role, organization design, human resources, tools & metrics, and value delivery. This provides quick analysis and solution direction for sustainable operations transformation.


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Provider Briefs

Leaders Camelot Management ConsultantsApproach Camelot Management Consultants approaches procurement operations with a goal of assisting clients in transformation through

a function that is experiencing volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) disruption both internally and externally. While the firm provides comprehensive digital transformation support, it also assists clients through organizational change from an HR perspective, offering a holistic advisory.

Practice Structure

Camelot’s procurement operations advisory services are found within the firm’s Sourcing & Network Collaboration practice area, which includes offerings such as sourcing & procurement strategy, digital procurement transformation, and process excellence, among others.


Headquartered in Germany, Camelot services different size companies in all industries, with notable presence in manufacturing, such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and consumer goods. It offers holistic end-to-end capabilities and customer guidance starting from generating unique strategic positioning, related network collaboration, to process integration through the entire value chain and related IT enablement and services through its sister company, Camelot Innovative Technologies Lab. Camelot’s advisory has particular focus on digitalization of procurement operating models, but also draws in expertise from its HR Development division to bring about behavioral change with a goal of transformation sustainment through stakeholder buy-in and enablement. The firm continues to evolve its service offerings to be more industry specific in solutions. Evolving its Nine Pillars of Strategic Sourcing model, Camelot provides procurement playbooks to CPOs and other leaders in the procurement function. This approach allows CPOs to quickly enact strategies for procurement evolution, tailored specifically to an industry area. The firm seeks to transform clients’ procurement operations from a cost to a value orientation, utilizing a four phase roadmap that elevates the function to a strategic role in the client business. The first two phases involve concept development for categories and segments of the business, then rolling out those processes to other categories where sensible. The third phase focuses on procurement operational excellence, which involves operating model implementation, digitalization, and supply network collaboration. The final phase focuses on sustainability of the new operating model through performance management and benchmarking.

DeloitteApproach Deloitte provides clients with holistic transformation of procurement operations capabilities with goals of reducing costs,

improving efficiency, effectively utilizing technology innovations, and shifting mindset to a total cost point of view. Deloitte helps clients understand best practices in procurement operations, but then also translates those practices into best fit for specific client needs.

Practice Structure

Deloitte’s procurement operations consulting capabilities are housed within its Sourcing and Procurement Strategy practice, with over 450 S&P practitioners operating in 39 countries. The firm’s global delivery model for procurement operations integrates a wide breadth of capabilities such as knowledge management, training & development, proprietary solutions, and strategic alliances with key procurement operations enablers, such as Coupa, Ariba, and Oracle. The Sourcing and Procurement Strategy practice also utilizes other Deloitte advisory practices to provide complementary services in tax, technology, human capital, and enterprise risk consulting services.


Deloitte provides a full suite of advisory services for procurement operations, including technology transformation, business relationship management, managed services, and talent development. The firm ties these capabilities in with equivalent evolutionary steps for client sourcing strategies, creating a holistic procurement and sourcing framework. Deloitte’s diverse capabilities for procurement are blended through its Integrated Delivery Team model, funneled through five globally dispersed delivery centers. The firm’s focus in this approach is to amplify client impact in their Source-to-Contract, Procure-to-Pay, and Supplier Risk Management operating models. Deloitte’s Greenhouse immersive lab facilities assist in changing mindsets and behaviors at the executive level, helping leadership rethink the way they view procurement operations to a value over cost perspective. These capabilities are complemented by the firm’s thought leadership in procurement operations, which provide insightful point of view analyses as well as an annual Global CPO survey, which provides benchmarks on Chief Procurement Officers’ perspectives on current procurement challenges and the best way to address them. Deloitte uses these insights in best practices and tailors them to client specific challenges to deliver customized strategic solutions.


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Provider Briefs

Leaders EfficioApproach Efficio approaches procurement operations with a focus on reducing costs for clients, improving processes and upskilling teams.

The aim is to help organizations realize savings faster and to ensure these savings are measurable and sustainable over the long term by equipping procurement teams to manage operating models post transformation. The results are greater cost savings, delivered faster and more sustainably, allowing organizations to operate more efficiently and compete more effectively.

Practice Structure

A global procurement consultancy, Efficio is comprised of over 400 consultants located across EMEA and North America and operating across the globe. The firm provides procurement advisory services to large and mid-size companies across multiple industries, including financial services, manufacturing and utilities to service companies, including the public sector. Advisory support is also provided to private equity companies across their portfolio companies. Procurement services are complemented by advisory in adjacent competency areas, such as supply chain, M&A, and contract management.


From niche focused consulting engagements to long-term managed services, Efficio works in partnership with in-house procurement teams to deliver savings and drive value through structured procurement programs. The firm employs opportunity assessments to understand current client operations and maturity of existing operating models, which are then used to offer multiple avenues for transformation. Delivery of the agreed strategy for transformation is achieved through a blend of co-working, training and technology implementation. Of particular note from a technology perspective is the firm’s eFlow IT platform. Built and deployed by the firm’s practitioners, it is a proprietary procurement technology platform designed to support savings delivery, improve supplier partnerships, drive innovation, and manage risk. Upon the evolution of client operating models, Efficio works with the client to ensure that the new model is sustained, offering client organizations continued access to its people, knowledge and technology.

EYApproach EY approaches procurement operations with the goal of improving cost savings for clients while managing disruptive external

and internal forces, such as geopolitical issues, human resource development, and emerging technologies. The firm believes procurement organizations that are able to quickly identify and adapt to disruption will outpace competitors, and EY seeks to enable its clients to be proactive versus reactive to those disruptions.

Practice Structure

EY’s procurement operations services are delivered through the firm’s Supply Chain & Operations division, which approaches supply chain with a view on the capability as a competitive advantage, driving sales growth through agility while improving value add to clients’ general operations. The firm has 750 dedicated procurement professionals operating globally within this division and continues to invest in its practice through acquisitions and partnerships. Services are delivered through four sub-segments within the practice: strategic procurement, procurement optimization, outsourcing advisory, and procurement analytics.


EY’s procurement operations advisory is designed to provide end-to-end analysis and transformation for clients, integrating people and technology to create a holistic solution. The firm seeks to identify current client maturity in procurement operations and enact strategies to evolve the capability up the spectrum, from what the firm identifies as procurement 1.0 (purchasing execution – purely operational over strategic) to procurement 2.0 (value – strategic but also tactical), and finally, to procurement 3.0 (supply side optimization – procurement as a key lever in overall business strategy and revenue generation). Keenly aware of the importance of stakeholder buy-in for successful transformation, EY employs agile/sprint hot houses methodologies to bring once disparate elements of the client organization together to understand holistic issues and bottlenecks in procurement optimization, creating an atmosphere of collaboration that breaks down silos and realizes value across the enterprise. The firm provides these intensive workshops either on site or through EY’s wavespace facilities that encourage co-creation of new strategies. The agile/sprint approach takes advantage of the firm’s knowledge of core business applications and business process mining to provide day one future thinking recommendations tailored specifically to the client’s needs. The three step approach of focus (insight sessions), sprint (process assessment), and act (implementation) creates speedy transformation for clients in their procurement operating models with built-in agility. EY integrates digital innovations into its transformation strategy, but also draws upon the human element of client organizations to sustain the transformation post engagement. Drawing from its People Advisory Services, EY’s Future Work Now transformation program enables workforces to optimize new digital technologies with improved training, teaming, and performance management capabilities.


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Leaders GEPApproach GEP’s approach to procurement operations is a blend of consulting services, managed service, and technology solutions. The firm’s

goal in client engagements is to increase profitability, reduce risk, and develop agility for client organizations to remain adaptable to market trends.

Practice Structure

GEP is a specialized consulting firm for procurement and sourcing strategy and operations with over 500 consultants and a growing client list of Fortune 500 and Global 2000 companies. The consulting piece of GEP’s practice is found primarily in the strategy segment of its offering, focusing on transformation, organizational design, process optimization, M&A procurement synergies, and strategic cost management.


Service delivery for procurement begins with establishment of strategies geared toward the development of clearly defined policies and processes aligned with leadership based on opportunity assessments that determine gaps in current ability and how to close them. GEP guides clients to their strategic, operational, and financial objectives through an in-depth framework that includes procurement diagnostics, process optimization, and organizational design, among others. The firm assists clients in capability building of workforces to ensure optimal utilization of established processes and digital tools through training plan development, career progression, and succession planning. GEP’s services are packaged as a Unified Procurement Solution that integrates advisory with ongoing managed services as well as technology solutions such as AI, RPA, and IoT applications. Of particular note is the firm’s cloud-native SMART by GEP® source-to-pay software platform, which provides complete source-to-pay digital procurement capability that integrates with a client’s back-office systems using AI and automation to streamline and enhance sourcing and procurement operations, improve efficiencies and deliver marked results. The firm takes care to provide in-depth assessments of as-is and to-be states for clients’ procurement operations, assessing organization and spend, but also factoring in communications strategy to transformation to ensure stakeholder buy-in at all levels of the company to improve sustainability.

KPMGApproach KPMG’s procurement advisory is centered upon three key drivers for clients: innovation, digitalization, and supply chain risk. Through

that lens, the firm assists clients in evolving their operating models to an agile, value-delivering procurement function with a clearly established business case that ensures stakeholder buy-in to sustain the strategy beyond the consulting engagement.

Practice Structure

KPMG’s procurement operations services are led through its Global Operations Advisory Center of Excellence and delivered by the Global Delivery Network (onshore, nearshore, offshore). The firm draws upon its other service areas as needed, such as tax advisory and risk management, to provide holistic solutions.


Procurement transformation is delivered to clients through KPMG’s Powered Procurement solution. The goal of the solution is to enact business transformation aligned to clearly defined target operating models that utilize the latest technologies for an optimized and efficient process that improves the value of the function. Powered Procurement breaks the traditional approach to transformation down into a five-step methodology: vision, validate, construct, deploy, and evolve. The firm achieves this streamlining through the use of best practices and benchmarks to accelerate the transformation process by providing strong baselining for clients that is then tailored to specific business needs. KPMG assists clients in improving transparency and process flow through digital tools, such as its recently developed supply chain performance analytics tool, KREO. The KREO tool can process and harmonize data from across different data sources, visualize flexibly as a state-of-the-art front end, and provide immediate transparency – from C-level to in depth-views. This approach leads to improved understanding of the value add of procurement to the C-Suite, and encourages increased integration of procurement as a key lever for business strategy success. KPMG’s transformation strategies are augmented through in-depth client workforce training modules offered through the firm’s Procurement Academies, ensuring that the client organization is properly enabled to enact new processes and make optimal use of new technologies. The firm continues to evolve its capabilities through investment in tools and training, such as Clarizen for project management efficiency, and TrAction, an offering from KPMG Spectrum that is used both internally and for clients to improve workflow performance management and accountability. Thought leadership in relevant topic areas for procurement operations, such as global manufacturing outlooks and digital supply chain reviews, round out the firm’s capabilities and further develop best practice benchmarks to assist in the Powered Procurement framework.


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Leaders McKinsey & CompanyApproach McKinsey & Company has a holistic approach to transforming a client’s procurement operations that covers strategy development

through phased implementation to measurable impact. The firm has a strong belief that a step change in procurement performance can only be achieved by pursuing value creation and value sustainment activities with equal vigor. To that end, it has developed a next-gen procurement operating model comprising six interconnected levers that enable the function to deliver maximum value to its internal customer: capability and culture, lean organization, digital enablement, process excellence, governance, data & analytics. The firm has a test-based approach supported by an online tool to assess an organization’s current set of procurement capabilities. McKinsey Procurement Academy provides an immersive, integrated learning journey through self-paced digital content, classroom training, on demand coaching, peer interaction and continuous learning that develops capabilities needed to meet the future expectations from the function. Rather than the traditional process-centric approach, McKinsey uses design thinking principles to redevelop procurement user journeys focusing on user experience and adoption.

Practice Structure

McKinsey & Company provides procurement operations consulting services through its global Procurement Service Line within its Operations Consulting Practice. It has over 130 partners and over 550 consultants engaged in procurement operations globally, that include former CPOs, engineers, and commodity managers with deep, real-world experience. They are supported by multiple Centers of Competence (CoC) that provide topical research, asset support, benchmarking, analytics and other services. Additionally, the practice has McKinsey Capability Centers in each region, Low Cost Country sourcing centers and Product teardown and Design-to-Value labs housed with experts in the field.


McKinsey integrates over 30 partner-and-proprietary tools, solutions, and a global sourcing network to bring distinctive impact to their clients. The firm utilizes these tools to impact clients’ procurement chains through the identification, creation, capture, and measure of value. McKinsey is increasing its emphasis on digital procurement as a key driver for value creation in procurement operations, and has developed an in-depth service offering to bring about comprehensive digital transformation for clients. The offering begins with a detailed capability assessment through McKinsey’s Digital Procurement Value Diagnostic, which measures digital maturity across multiple levers of a client organization against a target end-state. This in turn leads to a detailed strategic roadmap for digital transformation, aligned with specific client capacities and goals. Utilizing that roadmap, McKinsey works with clients to implement a series of digital tools designed to optimize operations, such as the firm’s Spend Intelligence tool, which quickly coalesces fractured data sets to identify areas of value improvement and cost reduction within the procurement lifecycle. Improving clients’ digital maturity allows for the implementation of McKinsey’s next-gen operating models that provide a streamlined approach to procurement, which optimizes governance, organization, and processes. The firm assists clients in sustainingof new operating models through workforce enablement utilizing McKinsey Capability Centers, which provide an immersive environment for upskilling as well as safe experimentation on potential strategies to realize potential value add and thus improve stakeholder buy-in. McKinsey complements its service offerings with thought leadership on the latest trends in procurement across a variety of industries, using that expertise to provide highly specialized advisory to specific client challenges.


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Leaders Porsche ConsultingApproach Porsche Consulting works with clients to elevate the role of procurement in their organizations to optimize costs and improve

value. Recognizing procurement as a key lever to savings and value, the firm pairs its procurement advisory with quality improvement measures, ensuring additional cost optimization through reduced maintenance and warranty costs for products. To that end, Porsche Consulting helps clients strike a balance between procurement and quality, allowing clients to provide superior products while not incurring burdening costs in the value chain.

Practice Structure

Born from its parent company’s successful operations transformation in 1994, Porsche Consulting provides advisory services in corporate development, R&D, production, and sales & marketing. The firm’s Procurement and Quality sub-segment houses its procurement operations advisory, though other segments are drawn from as needed for transformation across the value chain. Porsche’s advisory is utilized primarily by the aerospace and automotive industries, but also has clients in other industries such as industrial goods, construction, and financial services.


Porsche’s service delivery for procurement and quality begins with a thorough assessment of current client capability, which includes the firm’s 360° Q Quick Check that provides fast assessment of several factors such as quality costs, process efficiency, and organizational design. From this baseline, Porsche works with clients in delivering newly established benchmarks for quality and costs through procurement excellence. The firm assists in development of procurement strategies that take advantage of new technologies and processes to optimize costs. Viewing procurement as part of the greater value chain optimization for client transformation, Porsche integrates its procurement solutions with R&D advisory as well as sourcing strategies to improve production strategy as well as supplier relationships to create symbiotic gains for both parties. For successful implementation of transformation strategy, the firm provides training via Porsche Consulting Academy. Porsche Consulting Academy works with the C-Suite to achieve stakeholder buy-in for new processes and quality standards, and then cascades its training throughout the organization, providing workforces with the appropriate motivation and tools to execute the strategy. The firm uses the Academy to “train the trainer,” allowing clients to continue enabling their workforce after the advisory engagement has ended.

PwCApproach PwC approaches procurement operations advisory with an understanding that the growing complexity of the operation from

internal and external factors places increasing pressure on clients within the function to be more agile, productive, and strategic. The firm guides clients through key decision points to optimize procurement operations, such as operating model design and S2P processes.

Practice Structure

PwC’s procurement operations consulting services are housed in the firm’s sourcing and procurement arm of its Operations practice and is composed of more than 800 global professionals.


PwC offers a comprehensive suite of advisory services for procurement operations, including operating model design, M&A strategy, S2P design, and BPO strategy, among others. These services are offered with the goal of improving sustainable productivity of procurement functions, meeting new product development targets, and mitigating risk. The firm achieves these goals with clients through organizational design to break down silos and create enterprise-wide processes for optimized procurement with improved spend transparency that captures the value add of a well-designed procurement operation. Recognition of that value leads to improved credibility of procurement within an organization, elevating the role to a more strategic function via the firm’s efforts to integrate procurement with client business strategy during the transformation process. PwC’s source-to-pay solutions go beyond systems integration and take a broader business perspective to optimize the utility of new systems, tying the strategic with the tactical in areas such as procurement strategy, service delivery models, and risk & controls. Additionally, PwC’s Procurement Delivery Hub provides on-demand surge capacity support to clients undergoing procurement operations transformation. The Hub provides in-depth benchmarking capabilities that allow clients to better understand their performances relative to like companies and adjust operating model designs and expectations for greater efficiencies. PwC draws upon its breadth of consulting capabilities for post-procurement transformation advisory, providing complementary services that augment operations. These include the firm’s Fit for Growth strategic framework, pricing strategy, manufacturing strategy, and ERP transformation, among others.


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ChallengersA.T. KearneyApproach A.T. Kearney approaches procurement consulting with a goal of improving transparency of value drivers in the function, which in

turn translates into leadership buy-in for transformation based on in-depth metrics and industry-specific strategy.

Practice Structure

A.T. Kearney provides consulting services in this area through a dedicated Procurement division. Capabilities within this division include assessments, category excellence, supplier excellence, and team excellence.


A.T. Kearney works with clients in the modernization of their procurement operations capabilities through in-depth assessment capabilities, strategy development, and workforce enablement. The firm’s assessment capabilities include the Assessment of Excellence in Procurement (AEP), a survey that identifies best-in-class practices for supply chain organizations in procurement, as well as its Return on Supply Management Assets (ROSMA) Performance Check, a robust performance measurement tool that measures the success of procurement against targeted financial outcomes. The firm’s Procurement & Analytic Solutions practice unit provides tools and analytics capabilities focusing on process improvement, improved asset management, and purchase-to-pay benchmarking coupled with spend analytics. A.T. Kearney’s vision of continuous improvement for clients in the procurement operations function resonates with clients seeking to remain on the leading edge of capability as digital innovations take precedence over the re-engineering of already streamlined operating models.

AccentureApproach Accenture approaches procurement consulting with the understanding that rapid digital innovation must be tempered with

a careful operating model strategy. The firm seeks to strike a balance between the two to provide cost optimized procurement capabilities. The firm views procurement transformation and optimization through the lens of six distinctions. These include (1) measurable financial impact, (2) strategic business objective enablement, (3) strong risk protection, (4) elevation of procurement with stakeholder buy-in, (5) insights and analytics to drive decision-making, and (6) automation, efficiency, and agility.

Practice Structure

Accenture’s procurement operations consulting services are offered through its Sourcing and Procurement division within its Strategy practice. Additionally, the firm’s Procurement Business Process Services division within its Operations practice provides BPO support and as-a-service solutions that augment its consulting services.


Accenture offers a suite of advisory services to optimize clients’ procurement operations practices. The firm devises long term-procurement strategies, aimed at future-proofing a client’s operations. The strategy is rooted in procurement value targeting, looking at an overall value assessment of the procurement operations function, shifting away from a cost-only perspective. Additionally, Accenture provides comprehensive risk assessment capabilities for procurement as well as detailed operating model blueprints for effective transformation. The firm’s Business Process Services division takes Accenture’s procurement consulting a step further, specializing in digital infrastructure capabilities to improve agility and optimize the use of technology innovations. Accenture’s digital procurement infrastructure provides clients with an intelligent digital platform that assists in project management, insights and analytics to better manage procurement spending, and access to firm specialist networks for industry specific subject matter expertise to drive strategy development.

ArcBlueApproach ArcBlue approaches procurement consulting through a thorough assessment of client capability, which then drives strategy

development for new operating models and tool usage to optimize processes and realize cost savings while remaining competitive against similar companies.

Practice Structure

ArcBlue is the global brand of PMMS Consulting Group. The firm specializes in procurement services, offering dashboards, analytics, training, supplier relationship management, and other solutions. The firm’s consulting in procurement is largely found within the firm’s Procurement Advisory division, but draws upon its other services to provide an end-to-end solution for clients.


ArcBlue’s service delivery in procurement is driven largely by its benchmarking and assessment capability. The firm’s assessment tool examines 50 “pulse points” across multiple aspects of procurement within an organization to determine how procurement team members within a client organization interact with the rest of the company, how that interaction and the team’s function should evolve, and providing experience-based evidence to drive stakeholder buy-in to adopt effective transformation. ArcBlue places particular emphasis on upskilling clients’ workforces to enable procurement optimization, offering in-depth training materials, either off-the-shelf or customized. These training methods are employed with the intent of workforce interest and buy-in for self-improvement through certifications and other accreditations for personal professional development. The firm also offers a specialized negotiation and behavioral skill practice, Negotiation Resource International, to assist clients in developing means of engaging suppliers in a positive, productive, and symbiotic way.


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ChallengersCapgemini Approach Capgemini’s approach to procurement operations centers on Innovation Driven Procurement capability development, allowing client

organizations to readily identify market trends and respond to those demands through adaptation of the procurement function.

Practice Structure

Capgemini’s procurement operations advisory is centered within the firm’s Supply Chain Management consulting practice, but draws upon other services as needed, such as its Digital Strategy & Transformation and Business & Technology Innovation practices.


Capgemini’s Innovation Driven Procurement service delivery seeks to modernize client procurement operations functions in four key ways: partner, differentiator, innovator, and destination. The four ways are the foundation for Capgemini’s procurement transformation approach. The firm seeks to create a procurement function that is (1) a strategic partner, elevated to the C-Suite level, (2) a differentiator, able to impact overall company function through internal and external relationships, (3) an innovator, working with marketing and product development teams to be forward thinking in supply chain evolution, and (4) a destination, providing CPOs and other procurement professionals with the right training and tools to be successful. With this foundation in mind, Capgemini provides thoughtful operational strategy advisory geared to the identification and achievement of successful outcomes, tailored to each client’s specific business goals. Services such as the firm’s Complexity Matrix take the strategy to deeper levels, seeking to understand the specific complexities of product development and the impact that has on procurement, sourcing, and supply chain initiatives. The firm’s blend of people and technology in its transformation plans is well received by clients, particularly through the use of the Capgemini’s Accelerated Solutions Environment (ASE). ASEs provide clients with targeted seminars designed to accelerate stakeholder buy-in and understanding of new organizational strategies and processes, ensuring the success of the transformation after the end of the advisory engagement.

DenaliApproach Denali approaches procurement consulting by conveying the value proposition of a strategic procurement function within a client

organization. The firm stresses the importance of a strong procurement operating model in conjunction with sound sourcing strategy to optimize costs and efficiency.

Practice Structure

Denali, now part of WNS, is a sourcing and procurement specialty practice with over 2600 Source-to-Pay specialists servicing clients globally through 48 delivery centers located in 11 countries. Denali provides procurement operations advisory and augmentation support to Global 1000 companies. WNS, a business process management services firm, acquired Denali’s procurement capability to bolster its Finance and Accounting Solutions division in the beginning of 2017.


Denali’s procurement operations services portfolio includes performance & compliance reporting, contracting advisory, and tactical or transactional procurement process improvement. Consulting engagements for the firm can range from discrete strategic sourcing or procurement technology innovation evaluation projects to comprehensive transformation initiatives. Denali’s service delivery is grounded in industry specific knowledge for procurement transformation, which includes leveraging existing technologies in client organizations to maximize processes. The firm’s Academy solution takes clients’ transformation one step further, assisting client workforces in better understanding the role of procurement as it relates to broader business strategy and how to identify and work with key stakeholders in cross-functional teams to bring the best results from the new operating model, adapting where necessary. Training offered through the Denali Academy blends in-class and online modules to upskill staff to be able to respond to business goals as they evolve.


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ChallengersEFESOApproach EFESO Consulting’s approach to procurement operations focuses on maturity assessments of clients’ current capabilities. This

assessment leads to organizational transformation advisory that seeks to optimize procurement functions and integrate those functions into the company’s overall value chain.

Practice Structure

Headquartered in France, EFESO Consulting’s practice consists of 400 consultants dispersed globally over 26 offices. The firm’s procurement operations advisory is centered within its Procurement & Cost Management offering.


EFESO’s advisory expertise covers a variety of capability areas, including business transformation, growth excellence, operations management, and lean transformation. The firm draws upon its capabilities in these areas to enhance its procurement and cost management services to provide a holistic advisory service. After conducting a maturity assessment of a client’s procurement function, EFESO also examines supply chain capabilities, offering support in transforming traditional supply chain capability into an end-to-end value chain approach. The firm’s Concurrent Digitalized Value Chain (CDVC) progression model seeks to synchronize functions across the value chain while optimizing digital tool usage and enabling client workforces with the right skills and knowledge to effectively manage the new operating model. EFESO weaves procurement operations into this model, providing another layer of cost optimization that integrates with R&D, supply chain, manufacturing, sales, and marketing.

h&z ConsultingApproach h&z’s approach to procurement operations consulting advocates that the evolution to Procurement 4.0 must go beyond digital

transformation as the core tenet. To that end, the firm’s own framework for 4.0 addresses digital in addition to competing value chains, co-creation, and leadership development.

Practice Structure

h&z Consulting emerged in 1997 from Siemen’s procurement optimization efforts as an independent firm focused on business intelligence & excellence, sales and growth, procurement, supply chain management, and technology innovation. The firm employs 120 professionals dispersed over four European offices.


Service delivery for h&z’s procurement operations consulting is guided through the firm’s Head, Heart, and Hand philosophy. This philosophy reflects the firm’s expertise, ability to motivate client staff and alter mindsets, and specific industry knowledge brought to bear for client engagements. h&z provides procurement operations transformation advisory for procurement strategy and organizational design. The firm’s Bull’s Eye methodology is employed for spend optimization in procurement, quickly identifying cost drains in operations from a supplier perspective, used in conjunction with internal transformation efforts for a holistic change management. Rounding out its service offering, h&z provides technical and method training services to drive internal client capability development.


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ChallengersThe Hackett GroupApproach The Hackett Group approaches procurement operations with a view that the function’s continued evolution to that of a “trusted

advisor” with increased business agility requires internal client capability development. The firm leverages its research capabilities to provide advisory on best practices in procurement, enabling client organizations to elevate the procurement function to realize cost savings while transforming it into a key aspect of business strategy.

Practice Structure

The Hackett Group’s procurement operations advisory services are delivered through the firm’s Sourcing and Procurement Strategy segment. Service offerings include executive advisory, benchmarking, and transformation consulting.


The Hackett Group’s procurement operations advisory leverages the firm’s extensive benchmarking capabilities to provide in-depth best practices for clients across industries. With a repository of over 13,000 benchmarking engagements with global companies, the firm is uniquely positioned to provide niche insights in a variety of category areas. The Hackett Group’s benchmarks focus on key drivers for procurement operations with more than 1500 capability specific metrics, including demand for procurement functions, organizational elements such as service delivery models and workforce structures, and strategic executions that optimize costs and improve value. Advisory services include organizational design, process optimization, talent management, supply risk management, systems selection, and strategic alignment with overall business strategy. The Hackett Group’s executive advisory service offering assists decision makers in client organizations with implementation of procurement transformation strategies, utilizing facilitated briefings and performance surveys to identify value accelerators to promote speedy ROI. The firm also offers detailed procurement outsourcing services, again through the use of benchmarks, to assist clients in identifying ideal partners with which to outsource the procurement operations function, aligned with clients’ industries and specific needs.

Hitachi ConsultingApproach Hitachi Consulting integrates advisory services in procurement operations as part of its suite of services designed to optimize

supply chain management. The firm blends technology solutions such as cloud with management consulting and organizational change advisory to deliver transformation services.

Practice Structure

Hitachi Consulting’s procurement operations advisory is largely bundled with its supply chain management service offerings which utilizes technology through affiliates such as Oracle to provide clients with internal capability development.


Recognizing the impact of Industry 4.0 on supply chains, Hitachi partners with key software and platform providers such as Oracle to provide cloud-based solutions that allow for greater agility in procurement. Hitachi’s consulting services in this area include product lifecycle management, manufacturing, and maintenance logistics. The firm also provides value chain strategic planning and procurement operational design. To effect behavioral change, the firm includes situational coaching in areas such as supplier relationship interactions to help clients make better decisions and improve relations with outside influencers of their procurement operations. Hitachi advocates an integrated role for the procurement operations function downstream in the supply chain to optimally mesh with production planning and scheduling. Hitachi offers several cost saving measures for clients in advisory services seeking to undergo transformation, particularly as it relates to ERP. The firm’s Tester/Trainer Model, for example, intentionally utilizes junior staff from both client organizations and consulting firms to keep costs low for testing new ERP technology and strategies. This approach makes supply chain transformation more palatable to clients with budgetary restraints, as they are able to demonstrate cost saving potentials without significant output of resources.


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ChallengersOliver WymanApproach Oliver Wyman approaches procurement operations with a keen eye on innovations impacting the function. The firm advocates

strong maturity assessments of client’s capabilities, utilizing those assessments to create strong foundations in procurement, primed to readily evolve amidst constant operational disruption.

Practice Structure

Oliver Wyman’s procurement consulting services are found primarily within the firm’s Operations segment. The firm utilizes elements of its Value Sourcing and Supply Chain sub-segments to offer advisory in this area, as well as drawing upon digital capabilities from other segments of the firm.


Oliver Wyman provides procurement operations for clients with a maturity assessment, identifying if the client procurement function is in an emergent, consolidation, or equilibrium phase. Emergent phase references an early procurement function that is decentralized and disparate. The consolidation phase is a transitional phase where the procurement function begins to become more cohesive across the enterprise. Finally, the equilibrium phase sees a highly centralized procurement function with collaborative performance levers. Oliver Wyman’s consulting approach for procurement includes the identification of marketing and other levers such as make-or-buy to assist in negotiation processes, improving top-down coordination between senior management and procurement with shared objectives, and tighter integration between the finance and procurement function to improve performance metric tracking capability. The firm’s approach to procurement continues to evolve, and has increasingly focused on digital as the driving enabler to a successful operation. Recognizing the growing impact of AI, automation, IoT, and 3D printing, among others, Oliver Wyman advocates the consideration of these new performance levers after a client’s procurement operational foundations are well established. Additionally, the firm sees opportunity through improved big data and analytics, as well as block chain, to improve security and transparency in the procurement function. To that end, Oliver Wyman works with leading edge procurement functions to develop holistic digital transformation approaches that continue to elevate the role of the CPO through evolved governance policy and digital cultural change.

ProtivitiApproach Protiviti approaches procurement operations with a goal of improving the value generated from the function across the enterprise.

To that end, the firm works with clients in developing new processes and methodologies to enact procurement strategies, but also how to quantify value generated in order to build the function’s internal brand.

Practice Structure

Protiviti’s procurement operations advisory is housed within the firm’s Supply Chain service offering. The firm pairs its services in this area with sourcing strategies to form a holistic offering for clients.


Protiviti offers a full suite of procurement operations advisory services, geared toward transformation of the function to a lean value generating operation that is elevated internally in the client organization. Services provided by the firm include spend analysis, performance management, organizational design, process design, and IT system evaluation, among others. With a focus on financial outcomes, Protiviti utilizes process improvement and technology enablement as a means to enhance revenue, optimize working capital, and reduce costs. An example of technology utilized would be the firm’s proprietary Spend Risk Assessor program, an all-in-one forensic tool for duplicate payment and discount recovery as well as broader procure-to-pay transaction and working capital evaluations. While Protiviti serves clients in all industries, its unique third-party risk management offering combined with its audit, risk, and compliance capabilities place the firm in a strong position to serve clients in the financial services industry. As a subsidiary of Robert Half, Protiviti is able to tap into its parent company’s resources for specialized augmentation support, again strongly within the financial services realm. With an understanding of the potential for value generation a strong procurement function can provide, the firm emphasizes elevation of the procurement function at the C-Suite level, underscoring how a well-developed procurement operation can significantly impact a client’s bottom line.


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ChallengersRoland BergerApproach Roland Berger approaches procurement operations within the context of broader industry specific transformations, believing

that the impact of global mega trends on industry value chains directly affects the core procurement function that supports those chains, among others. The firm takes a long view of procurement evolution, factoring in the impact of outside trends on the function.

Practice Structure

Roland Berger’s procurement operations advisory is found primarily in the firm’s Operations practice, but also draws upon other service areas such as its Digitalization and Restructuring & Corporate Performance divisions.


Service delivery in Roland Berger’s Operations advisory hones in on four key goals: (1) boost innovation, (2) drive excellence, (3) increase value, and (4) build sustainability. These goals are brought to bear toward procurement operations transformation, with an emphasis on the integration of digital innovations to improve processes, create operating models with built-in agility, and ensure sustainability of strategies through talent management and organizational design. The firm advocates a culture of continuous improvement in operating models, keeping clients from stagnating in the face of rapid innovation both in technology, business practices, and supply chain operations. Viewing the evolution of procurement operations as a litmus of response to global megatrends impacting supply chain and business practices, Roland Berger identifies endgame procurement transformation as a key service mature procurement functions need in order to remain on the leading edge of capability. To that end, the firm considers recent trends when developing procurement operations strategy and models such as new digital innovations, automation, AI, and diversification of functionality based on industry specific needs.


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ContendersBearingPointApproach BearingPoint’s approach to procurement is centered on the belief that effectiveness of the operation and its ability to adapt is

dependent upon company-level exposure to innovation as well as the integration of the purchasing function into the overall business strategy.

Practice Structure

BearingPoint’s procurement operations consulting capabilities are offered through the firm’s Operations practice. Sub-segments within this practice that are utilized include digital operations and logistics, supply chain, and lean 4.0 among others.


BearingPoint’s approach to procurement operations is heavily weighted toward the introduction and integration of digital innovations across the value chain. The firm advocates the use of cloud and other digital solutions to promote shared objectives among suppliers, the client’s sourcing and procurement division, R&D, production, and sales. The internal and external integration are intended to be used as drivers for natural cost savings while improved collaboration will drive further innovations. To this end, the firm provides strategy support in the development of supplier relationships and risk management, in addition to IT support in the development of digital platforms to enable collaboration.

Booz Allen HamiltonApproach Booz Allen Hamilton approaches procurement operations with a laser focus on the US public sector. With a strong understanding

of federal government procurement practices and regulations, the firm is uniquely equipped to support clients in this segment.

Practice Structure

Booz Allen Hamilton offers procurement operations consulting through its Acquisition Management and Contract Strategy & Management segments of its Operational Efficiency practice.


Service offerings provided within procurement include strategic planning, spend analytics, portfolio management, performance management and risk analysis. Booz Allen’s contract strategy service offering is also brought to bear for procurement clients, helping federal organizations create requests for proposals that accurately convey acquisition needs while remaining compliant with often cumbersome federal regulations. While not as robust as other firms in its procurement operations capability, federal clients value Booz Allen’s public sector focus and understanding of processes to speed up acquisition processes.

DSSIApproach DSSI’s approach to procurement consulting is centered on increasing clients’ ROI in the function through process savings and item

savings. The firms takes a holistic view of the procurement lifecycle to find cost saving opportunities for clients.

Practice Structure

Based in the United States with a presence in Europe and Mexico, DSSI provides indirect procurement support ranging from small discrete engagements to end-to-end solutions. The firm’s Procurement Consulting segment offers most capabilities in this area, but also draws upon sourcing, supply chain, and inventory advisory services in other segments to provide a holistic sourcing & procurement offering if so desired.


DSSI’s service delivery in procurement focuses on streamlining processes and making smarter use of existing data to drive outcomes. The firm offers data “gathering & cleansing” to properly inventory items acquired through procurement, identifying and eliminating redundancies. DSSI’s purchasing process assessment offering is also geared toward identifying redundancies, this time in the acquisition process itself, which the firm argues can lead to unnecessary complexity and costs. Upon thorough assessment of existing processes, DSSI offers indirect procurement strategy development with an end goal of streamlined processes, more efficient data usage, easy compliance, cost reduction, risk reduction, and greater transparency. While its services cover all spending categories and client sectors, the firm’s experience is heavily weighted toward indirect items associated with maintenance, repair, and operations for industrial companies.


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ContendersFuture PurchasingApproach Future Purchasing takes a detailed phased approach to procurement operations, seeking to transform client capability in this area

to optimize costs. The firm offers this transformation in tandem with sourcing strategy capabilities such as supplier relationship management, utilizing synergies between these capabilities to deliver cost savings and process optimization.

Practice Structure

Future Purchasing is a specialist consultancy for procurement operations with over 40 practitioners based in the UK, The Netherlands, Scandinavia, France, and Germany. The firm provides advisory services in procurement transformation, category management, supplier management, and cost reduction.


Future Purchasing’s service delivery employs a three phase methodology to procurement transformation. Phase one entails a client organizational diagnostic against benchmarked capabilities to assess areas for improvement. This diagnostic is customized to the client through extensive data gathering and analytics coupled with interviews with procurement team members, stakeholders, and suppliers. Phase two involves development of a transformation plan in close coordination with members of the client company to ensure stakeholder buy-in. The final phase is implementation of the new plan followed by performance management for continuous improvement and sustainability. The firms works with clients in multiple industries, but also offers discrete services tailored toward the UK public sector to optimize procurement capabilities. The firm’s advisory support is complemented through thought research on procurement operations trends and innovations through its Knowledge Hub, which utilizes partnerships with higher education institutions such as the Henley Business School, University of Reading, to provide the latest trend analysis to augment advisory service offerings and put them in context.

goetzpartnersApproach goetzpartners approaches procurement operations consulting through the lens of the firms overall consulting approach, which

emphasizes what the firm identifies as entrepreneurial business activities. Specifically, the firm goes to market with an emphasis on strategy, M&A, and transformation consulting capabilities blended with corporate finance acumen.

Practice Structure

Based out of Germany with locations in EMEA, North America, and Asia Pacific, goetzpartners’ procurement operations services are found within the firm’s Sales and Operations practice area, along with its service offerings for supply chain, quality management, and operational excellence.


With particular emphasis on best practice supply chain models to effect change, goetzpartners provides categorization and organizational design services for procurement transformation. A key tenet of its go-to-market strategy, goetzpartners provides M&A support within the procurement capability, advising mergers and acquisitions as they relate to sourcing and procurement capabilities. These include people, tools, and technology that bolster procurement operations practices for larger companies that seek to develop stronger internal procurement operations capability as well as external consulting type support. The firm utilizes a series of tools to assist clients with transformation, such as its Color Books methodology, that seeks to illuminate costs for operations for clients, allowing a P&L perspective that creates opportunities for cost savings through optimization.

Houlihan LokeyApproach Houlihan Lokey approaches the procurement operations function in terms of its general impact on strategy and reducing spend.

Considering procurement in the context of general business management, HL differentiates itself from specialists in the market. The firm targets the large cap and mid-market and is developing strong niche and baselining capabilities for this particular set of clients.

Practice Structure

Houlihan Lokey’s procurement operations consulting services are provided through the firm’s Supply Chain Excellence offering, a sub-segment of its Operations and Performance Improvement practice.


Houlihan Lokey’s service delivery for procurement operations is grounded in baseline assessments of operational capabilities. The firm examines clients’ capabilities on a maturity spectrum to assess viability for operations transformation from basic to advanced to emergent. That assessment guides Houlihan Lokey’s approach for each client, ensuring that transformation comes from a strong foundation and is sustainable. Houlihan Lokey brings a strategic mindset to its procurement operations consulting practice with its general management approach, using each engagement as an opportunity to help clients rethink their operations cost, focusing on elimination of spending over repricing. The firm deploys experienced based teams who have served as both consultants and supply chain operating executives. Coordinating with its corporate finance division, Houlihan Lokey’s strategy consulting division is particularly active with pre-transaction clients, using procurement as one of the most reliable and effective means to reduce costs.


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Provider Briefs

ContendersIBMApproach IBM’s go-to-market strategy for procurement centers on the implementation of new technologies to optimize processes through

avenues such as automation. The firm implements new technologies for client organizations and provides advisory on best usage of those technologies to improve outcomes. IBM demonstrates to clients how it uses its technology internally to improve its own procurement operations functions as an example of potential savings.

Practice Structure

IBM’s procurement operations advisory services are primarily found in the firm’s Business Process & Operations segment. Titled Procurement and Strategic Sourcing Services, this segment provides procurement consulting, sourcing services, purchasing and payables, and risk management.


Service delivery for IBM’s procurement operations center on enabling client workforces to optimally utilize digital tools and technology platforms to reduce overhead and speed up the procurement process. The firm integrates its consulting services with BPO and software solutions with a goal of improving transparency in the supply chain process, which can lead to identification of savings gaps and opportunities for reduced spending. The firm’s Watson Supply Chain software offering, for example, provides a cognitive solution that develops all aspects of supply chain in procurement. Watson’s ability to allow for quicker analysis and improved transparency gives procurement practitioners more freedom to focus on strategic initiatives over tactical and organically elevate the role of procurement offices within organizations, viewed as strategic partners that bring value to a client’s overall business strategy and goals. While its technologies provide this opportunity for strategic thinking, the firm’s guidance on these areas is relegated primarily to the usage of IT tools. Further cost reductions for clients are found through IBM’s business process outsourcing service offerings.

Insight Sourcing

Approach Insight Sourcing Group approaches procurement operations touting the firm’s particular focus on procurement and sourcing. The firm provides a clear methodology on procurement transformation as well as sourcing strategy advisory that is offered either discretely or as part of a total solution.

Practice Structure

A specialized strategic sourcing and procurement firm, Insight Sourcing Group is based in North America but expands its services globally through its partnership with Kerkhoff Consulting, headquartered in Germany. Services include strategic sourcing, spend visibility, and group purchasing. Procurement operations consulting services are provided primarily through the firm’s Procurement Transformation offering, although it integrates aspects of other service areas as well where needed.


Insight Sourcing Group’s service delivery on procurement operations transformation is grounded in over 750 best practice metrics used to establish client baselines and identify gaps in performance and cost savings. Upon this assessment, the firm uses a proprietary 10-point Procurement Capability Model transformation methodology that identifies target values in areas such as spend analytics, redesigns procure-to-pay processes, and develops management systems that sustain the new methodology through external and internal relationships and governance. ISG’s procurement operations transformation is designed to assist clients in continued evolution and sustainability in this function, focusing on areas such as stakeholder engagement, performance metrics, and training to develop internal operational capabilities and negotiating skills. To complement its advisory services, the firm also provides IT tools to enhance clients’ internal capabilities. Insight Sourcing Group’s SpendHQ tool, originally started as an internal consulting engagement tool, has grown to a SaaS offering, providing an analytics platform for gathering, normalizing, and categorizing client data in order to identify cost savings opportunities. While providing services across a variety of industries, the firm has a specific service offering geared toward the energy sector, providing procurement and risk management strategies to a volatile market area.


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ContendersPA ConsultingApproach PA Consulting approaches procurement operations with a goal of reducing costs for clients while also realizing greater value in

supply chain management techniques. The firm seeks to assist clients in developing strong operating models that work in tandem with clients’ overall business strategies.

Practice Structure

UK-based PA Consulting’s procurement operations advisory is located within its Operational Excellence division as a sub-segment identified as Procurement and Supply Chain. The firm’s Shared Services and Outsourcing practice, composed of more than 150 professionals, provides advisory for capital expenditures, IT services, and BPO with multiple vendors.


PA Consulting’s service delivery for procurement operations provides strategic advisory on operating model development as well as organizational transformation to realize the potential values of a strong procurement function, tied in with a thorough supply chain strategy. The firm dubs the move from traditional procurement functions to modern as “entreprocurial,” positing that procurement leaders in client organizations need to act like entrepreneurs in order to deliver and assist in reaching overarching strategic goals in the company. PA Consulting believes that CPOs who remain in a comfort zone of daily operation will stagnate and leave potential cost savings and value propositions unrealized. Therefore, procurement leadership must take calculated risks to drive growth and elevate the role of the CPO in the C-Suite. Based in the UK, PA Consulting has strong insights into the impacts of Brexit on supply chains and consequently the procurement function for clients in this region.

Source OneApproach Source One Management Services approaches procurement operations with a goal of assisting clients in transitioning from

reactive tactical practices to that of a proactive function that seeks to align with broader strategic goals, promoting integration of procurement across the enterprise.

Practice Structure

Source One Management Services is a specialty procurement and sourcing firm, providing a suite of services such as category management, cost reduction, spend analysis, technology advisory, and benchmarking, among others. The firm’s procurement transformation segment provides the strongest procurement specific objective advisory. In May 2018, Source One was acquired by Corcentric, an automation solutions firm that provides clients with programs to improve transactional processes in the procure-to-pay lifecycle. This acquisition expands Source One’s client base while allowing greater integration of technology solutions after initial advisory engagements.


Service delivery for Source One’s procurement operations advisory revolves around transformation of the function, creating a cohesive enterprise wide operation that is in line with overall corporate strategy. The firm’s transformation advisory offering is complemented through a suite of other services, including: benchmarking services that cover a variety of industries and analyze interplay among the industries in procurement, spend analysis of a client organization and the multiple impacts that procurement operations have on them, and BPO & Staffing solutions that allow for quick gap fills for human resource vacancies to provide surge support to client organizations as they undergo procurement transformation. Source One’s market research capabilities are also brought to bear for procurement clients, providing strategic information on key areas such as supply stability, geographic trends, and make vs. buy competitive intelligence. The firm’s technology advisory services help procurement operations clients navigate the plethora of digital tool options for managing the function, identifying which solutions are the best fit for specific needs.


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Provider Briefs

ContendersVantage PartnersApproach Recognizing the impact of digital and automation innovations, among others, Vantage Partners seeks to elevate the role of the

procurement function in client organizations from daily operational to strategic. The firm seeks to foster competency development for procurement leadership to create meaningful organization-wide impact through an optimized procurement function.

Practice Structure

A mid-sized consulting and training firm, Vantage Partners provides procurement and supply chain clients with advisory support in areas such as strategy, negotiation, transformation, and stakeholder engagement.


Vantage Partners combines its consulting and training services to bring procurement operations transformation to client organizations. The firm seeks to elevate the role of procurement while at the same time equipping leadership in these client segments with the right tools and training to be successful. To that end, the firm works with procurement functions to develop greater business acumen, which leads to better understanding of how procurement fits into the overarching business strategy, strategic thinking (which alters mindsets to focus less on the transactional and more on the short- and long-term strategic goals of the company), and soft skill development (which includes areas such as internal relationship building, influence, conflict management, and leadership skills to better prepare CPOs to handle new obligations as the role elevates).


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Procurement Operations Consulting is part of Operations consulting forms part of the management consulting services directed at clients’ back office activities. Its objective is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of clients’ functions designed to support the execution of their strategies and the performance of their decision-making systems through services targeted at the missions, resources, processes, and

governance of these functions.

Operations consulting consists of five services.

■ Procurement: facilitating the execution of sourcing

strategies designed to secure the inputs that will

be transformed by the supply chain, including the

source-to-procure and procure-to-pay process

flows

■ Service operations: improving the experience and

outcomes of services-sector companies’ activities

for creating and delivering services to customers

such as insurance underwriting or claims processing

■ Finance: controlling the flow of financial resources,

maintaining financial accounts, and reporting financial performance to guide management decision-making and comply

with financial reporting regulations

■ IT: activities and resources for creating, storing, structuring, and transmitting information across an organization to

improve management decision-making and enable the execution of strategies

■ HR: services for organizing, developing, and deploying a company’s human resources to improve the execution of their

strategies

Ente

rpris

e St

rate

gy

Corporate

Finance

Operating Model StrategyCustomer

Research &

Development

Supp

ly C

hain

Operations

Rewards

Management

Talent &

Workforce

Risk

Digital &Technology

BackO�ce

CorporateO�ce

FrontO�ce

MiddleO�ce


DefinitionsWhat is Procurement Operations Consulting?

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Buyer Ratings Guide

DefinitionsConsulting Provider Capabilities

Capability Areas Capabilities Descriptions

Discovery

Needs Assessment

Establishing goals and objectives for the project and determining which stakeholders need to be involved from the client organization, consulting firm, and third parties


Using knowledge and experience to create hypotheses through trend analysis, benchmarking, maturity assessments, and case studies

Internal Client Insight

Obtaining internal client insights through assessments, data analyses, interviews, and workshops, and incorporating findings in the business case and roadmap design

Design

Strategy Aligning the strategy with the goals of the client’s talent and business strategies

Operating System

Configuring client resources – information, technology, talent and other assets – to generate the value-add intended by the strategy

Management System

Mobilizing, managing, measuring, and motivating client resources to execute the strategy through governance, organizational structures, and performance management

Delivery

Project Management

Allocating, aligning, and coordinating resources in sequenced activities to execute and sustain the strategy

Client Capability Development

Developing the client’s technical skills and adapting mindsets and behaviors to execute and sustain the strategy and process design

Enabling Tools Employing tools for diagnostic and design activities that support creating, executing, and sustaining the strategy


Provider Capability Rankings Descriptions Depth: a measurement of a consulting provider’s strength based on its capabilities, including such factors as resources,

proprietary methodologies, and intellectual properties

Breadth: a consulting provider’s ability to deploy its capabilities in multiple client scenarios across industry sectors, geographic

regions, and interfaces with adjacent functional and technical capabilities

Client impact: a consulting provider’s capacity to get results for clients based on the combination of its capability depth and

breadth adjusted by the degree of engagement model complexity incurred by its breadth across industry sectors, geographic

regions, and interfaces with adjacent functional and technical capabilities

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MethodologyOverview

ALM Intelligence has been researching the management, financial, and IT consulting industry for over 40 years, studying

the global consulting marketplace at multiple levels. The resulting market analyses help buyers of consulting services to

effectively target best in class providers, and help consulting providers to identify and evaluate business opportunities.

The proprietary research methodology comprises four components:

■ Extensive interviews with consulting practice leaders, financial analysts, consulting clients, and clientside industry experts

■ Data and background material from the proprietary library of research on the consulting industry and individual firms

■ Quantitative data collection from primary and secondary sources

■ Key economic data relevant to the sector(s) being analyzed

The research output for a project is derived predominantly from primary research.

Data is obtained through a centralized effort, with teams of analysts collecting, assessing, fact-checking, and refreshing

baseline information on leading consultancies and consulting markets. This information populates an extensive knowledge

base of consulting providers, widely regarded as among the most comprehensive in the world.

Working collaboratively, analysts narrow their research to the most discrete and pertinent intersection of consulting service/

industry/geography.

The experience and knowledge of the analyst team are critical to the success of these research endeavors. Directors and

associate directors average over a decade of consulting and/or analyst experience, with an emphasis on professional services.

Junior analysts typically bring an average of five years of consulting and/or analyst experience.

The group’s long-term relationships with consulting clients and industry leaders are based on trust and respect. ALM

Intelligence’s fundamental goal is to deliver objective assessments and insightful viewpoints on the management, financial,

and IT consulting market.


Buyer Ratings Guide

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MethodologyHow We Evaluate Consulting Providers

ALM Intelligence’s goal is to deliver objective assessments

to help buyers of consulting services effectively identify and

maximize the benefits of working with best in class providers.

ALM Intelligence evaluates consulting providers with respect

to a particular consulting area in terms of the following

baseline criteria. The general criteria below are refined and

customized over the course of the research effort based on

input from clients and providers:

■ Consulting approach: What are providers’ points of

view on the root causes of client challenges? How do

those points of view inform choices about how best to

resolve them? How do providers view the intersection of

these needs and solutions with other consulting or non-

consulting offerings or cross-cutting themes?

■ Consulting organization: How do providers organize

and deploy their capabilities? What sort of consultants

and other human resources do they possess, and how do

they obtain and use them? What sorts of partnerships, collaborations, and alliances with external parties do they use to

bolster their capabilities?

■ Consulting service delivery model: How do providers deliver their services? Do they employ any particular processes or

methodologies, preconfigured tools, or other unique elements of service delivery? Do they follow any particular sequence

or direction in their service delivery? How do they measure outcomes?

■ Client pain points and needs assessments: What factors most influence successful engagements in the opinion

of clients? What capabilities do providers need to bring to their engagements to be compelling? What sources of

differentiation matter most to consulting buyers?

■ Future development: What investments are providers making or planning to make to enhance their future capabilities?

In addition to briefings with consulting buyers and providers, ALM Intelligence uses a mosaic approach to derive its findings.

This incorporates primary research conducted with industry practitioners, academics, and other experts and secondary

research on providers’ public information and other third-party sources of data and analysis.

Depth Breadth

AdjacenciesDelivery

Design

Discovery Geographies

Industries

Resources

Service Delivery

Strategy

OperatingModel



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About ALM Intelligence

ALM Intelligence provides accurate and reliable market sizing and forecasts on consulting services worldwide, needs-analysis

and vendor profiling for buyers of consulting services, timely and insightful intelligence on the top consulting firms in their

respective markets, and operational benchmarks that measure consulting performance. ALM Intelligence’s research spans

multiple service areas, client vertical industries, and geographies. Our analysts provide expert commentary at consulting

industry events worldwide, and offer custom research for Management Consulting and IT Services firms. More information

about ALM Intelligence is available at www.alm.com/intelligence/industries-we-serve/consulting-industry/.

ALM, an information and intelligence company, provides customers with critical news, data, analysis, marketing solutions and

events to successfully manage the business of business. For further information and to purchase ALM Intelligence research,

contact [email protected], 855-808-4550.

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