This Week in Consulting
Friday, Oct 26th, 2018
Building Trust while Cutting Costs
THIS WEEK’S MUST READ
“If the restructuring doesn’t help the company get stronger, it probably wasn’t worth conducting.”
Cost management is effective only when it leads to a less sclerotic, more aspirational enterprise — one without suffocating bureaucracy or micromanagement, in which initiative and entrepreneurship are encouraged and rewarded, internal processes serve the customers and employees instead of “the process” itself, and the company outperforms the competition consistently. If the restructuring doesn’t help the company get stronger — if it doesn’t lead to a better way of working for everyone in it — then it probably wasn’t worth conducting the exercise in the first place, because the effects won’t last.
This Week’s Must Read features a piece from Strategy + Business where industry leaders discuss how to properly address cost management following a restructuring decision.
Read on to Find out More: “Building Trust while Cutting Costs”, featuring Vinay Couto, Deniz Caglar, John Plansky on Strategy + Business.
INDUSTRY NEWS & INSIGHTS
- Decision Inc buys stake in SAP player Copperman Consulting: Data, digital and performance Intelligence business Decision has acquired Copperman Consulting, the largest SAP BPC consultancy in Europe, by purchasing a majority stake in the firm. The transaction closed in mid-October 2018. The move forms part of Decision’s global expansion strategy, with the South Africa-headquartered group using the strong foundation provided by Copperman to establish a foothold in the UK and European markets. | Computer Weekly
- PwC UK launches new platform to help Chinese talent reach the top: The new PwC cross-company Chinese Talent Development Platform aims to address persistent Chinese underrepresentation in the UK’s senior business community and assist individuals of Chinese heritage to reach the top of the local professional tree. The platform will be supported by Standard Chartered as a founding partner, and will work in collaboration with a number of existing initiatives. | Consultancy Asia
- Cognizant and Accenture among founders of Data Literacy Project: Accenture and Cognizant have joined a number of global organisations to launch a data literacy drive, aimed at strengthening skills among the workforce in an increasingly digitalised economy. The firms were joined by five other professional services organisations, as the community looks to forge a society “fluent in data.” | Data IQ
- Five reasons why the financial services sector hires consultants: Banks, insurance companies, asset managers and other financial services institutions spend over £2.4 billion on external consultants. Around £2 billion of that goes to consulting firms, while the booming gig economy sees independent consultants rake in £400 million. | Consultancy uk
TRENDS
Congratulations to the Consulting Quest Team!
It is with great honor to announce that Consulting Quest has been chosen as a finalist for the Best Procurement Consultancy Project Award for the World Procurement Awards 2018! Do not forget to check out our nominated case study.
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
- Cost Management: A Global View as Digital Disruption Takes Hold: Cost management used to be something businesses thought about only when they were struggling. In recent years, however, it has become a standard operating practice that receives attention in good times and in bad. With the recent emergence of disruptive innovations such as robotic process automation and cognitive technology, cost management is now morphing into a strategic enabler with the power to disrupt entire industries and fundamentally change how business is done. | Omar Aguilar, Deloitte
- How to Cut Costs More Strategically: Managing cost in this way will give your organization the freedom to make the right choices over the long term, choices that are required to close the gap between strategy and execution — and the rewards are immense. The best-run companies think of cost management as a way to support their strategy, and of cost as precious investment that will fuel their growth. They put their money where their strategy is and continually cut bad costs and redirect resources toward good costs. | Paul Leinwand & Vinay Couto, PwC
- Transforming Cost Management into Cost Leadership in Digital Globalization: For most global content and product leaders, financial discipline implies doing more with flat budgets—or more painfully—with reduced budgets. Here are a few recommendations to make the most of your digital content budgets at various levels of your organization. | Bruno Herrmann, The Nielsen Company
- More for less: Five steps to strategic cost reduction: The key priority in strategic cost reduction is targeting resources where they can earn the best return, rather than just cutting costs in itself. The starting point is differentiating the capabilities needed to fuel profitable growth (‘good costs’ targeted for investment) from low-performing business. | PwC
EVENTS
Check Out Other Upcoming Events and Workshops & Become a Part of the Consulting Quest Community!
Interested in Submitting?
If you are interested in submitting an article, an event or an ad, contact us at info@consultingquest.com
CONSULTANT CORNER
- Top 5 Lead Generation Tips in Management Consulting: “You’re only as good as your last contract.” Check out what a management consultancy can do to generate more leads. | Lee Frederiksen, Hinge Marketing
- How to Set Yourself and Your Consulting Business Up For Success: This practical guide will be your first step towards launching a wildly successful consulting business. | Helene Laffitte, Consulting Quest
CONSULTING CAREER
- The History of Consultancy: As you are busy chasing for a consulting career, do you know the history of consulting inside and out? It is time to catch up. | Consulting Ideas
- The First 10 Days: 3 Tips to Succeed for New Consultants: Now that You’ve earned that offer. So…what now? Things You need to know as you first start off. | John Shaughnessy, Consulting Cafe
CONSULTING JOBS
- Are you a Consultant with Supply Chain background or prior experience working in Retail/CPG? This may be the opportunity you have been long for. A Client of Consulting Quest – an Asia-based small Global Consulting Firm – is seeking to hire an Engagement Manager to join their newly established office in New York City. Learn More
Hélène Laffitte is the CEO of Consulting Quest, a Global Performance-Driven Consulting Platform and author of “Smart Consulting Sourcing”, a step by step guide to getting the best ROI from your consulting. With a blend of experience in Procurement and Consulting, Hélène is passionate about helping Companies create more value through Consulting.
