Boom in consulting boutiques
How consulting boutiques can help decision-makers better with their questions than traditional consulting firms. Small, refined, specialized, dynamic, agile - these are the terms used to define consulting boutiques. After all, when it comes to digital innovations or operational excellence in e-commerce, it is not always the big consultancies that are commissioned. Decision-makers need more than just "book knowledge" for the digital transformation. Specialists with many years of implementation experience are needed!
The consulting market is increasingly splitting into two successful segments: either large, international and with a generalist range of services or small, specialized and highly valued because it is strongly focused on project results. The so-called consulting mid-market is finding it increasingly difficult. They are too small to handle projects worldwide and have too little expertise for complex transformations. At the same time, many of these consulting companies are trying to cover a "vendor's tray of topics" in their clients' value chains. This is often at the expense of the quality of advice and results.
What is a boutique consultation?
Quite simply: that you work with experienced professionals. They understand what you need for your digital transformation, your sales processes, your marketing or your IT systems.
A boutique is a common term for a small store or store. In some cases, however, the term is more commonly associated with consulting firms. Such firms may have only a few consultants, while others may have dozens of employees, for example. Compared to a large consulting firm, a boutique consultancy is focused on a specific niche and does not offer general consulting services to its clients.
Large, global assignments are usually taken on by the Big 4(McKinsey, BCG, Roland Berger, Bain) and other Tier 2 consultancies (such as Accenture / dgroup, Oliver Wyman, diconium strategy). A boutique consultancy is an independent management consultancy that focuses on one industry. They concentrate on providing high quality services to elite clients (e.g. strategy development, digital sales implementation, marketing optimization). They specialize in working in only one or two related industries, functions or regions. Consulting boutiques thus take a very different approach and look for specialists who can offer expertise in areas in which they have in-depth knowledge.
Other small to medium-sized consultants target medium-sized clients in regional markets. They may be specialists or generalists, but do not have the scale of international firms or the prestige of boutiques. Instead, they compete on price. Freelance consultants (classic freelancers) work independently, often on small projects together and with local SMEs.
Beyond E-Commerce as a boutique consultancy for D2C strategy and operational excellence in
e-commerce
We were driven by the desire to design and build a boutique consultancy according to our own ideas and values. First and foremost, Beyond E-Commerce aims to make the patterns and success mechanisms behind direct to consumer available and accessible to all "heads of e-commerce / digital managers etc." in terms of strategic orientation and operational excellence. Beyond E-Commerce is an expert organization for the development and operation of digital business models. We want to be the first point of contact for all decision-makers who want to take their e-commerce to a whole new level.
In a small and newly founded expert consultancy, the processes must be defined and optimized. Both customer-oriented and internal work can be influenced more by the individual employees than in an established company where the processes are standardized.
What are the advantages of specialized boutique consulting?
In a specialized boutique consultancy, everything revolves around a few topics, e.g. lean management, 5S, lean IT, direct-to-consumer, etc. All employees are particularly focused on these topics and this concentration enables them to respond fully to customers and their challenges. For us, further investment in relevant practical experience and employee training is also much more important, as there is no big name in the background.
Beyond E-Commerce is now a consulting and training company specializing in
e-commerce & digital transformation. We have an even distribution of the individual hierarchy levels. In relation to the other organizational possibilities of management consulting, this type is very senior. This means that the projects we work on require a high level of technical expertise. These generally focus on a narrowly defined technical problem, e.g. operational excellence for D2C start-ups and scale-ups.
Boutique consulting firms do not hire many junior consultants. Therefore, they usually have experienced consultants who meet their clients at eye level. Clients do not wait long for answers from their consultants or the progress of projects. As a result, they do not hesitate to contact these experts again.
Boutique consulting services at Beyond E-Commerce GmbH
D2C Strategy Consulting
E-Commerce consulting
Marketing & CRM Consulting
E-Commerce logistics consulting
With these services, we support companies with a structured strategy process for direct to consumer and operational excellence in the operation of digital business models.
Overview: the market for management consulting in 2022
McKinsey, Roland Berger & Co are being challenged by specialists:
According to the BDU, the German management consulting market has reached a volume of 34.6 billion euros - and is thus growing by an impressive 10 percent in times characterized by the pandemic, supply bottlenecks and economic fluctuations. The top five consultancies in Germany are Roland Berger, Simon-Kucher, Q-Perior, McKinsey and Accenture. They usually have dozens of partners and hundreds to thousands of employees (e.g. Roland Berger). The work is characterized by in-depth knowledge on the part of the partner and a corresponding extension via several junior consultants on the project, who want to convince above all through general analytical skills. In-depth industry experience, excellent specialist knowledge - ideally fed by their own operational responsibility - is in short supply.
Advantages of boutique consulting for managers & employees
A small boutique company is an organization where employees feel comfortable and can be themselves. They can express their opinions freely and openly. Hierarchies are not rigidly enforced and everyone feels valued. Employees are encouraged to participate in decision-making processes at the employer and are given the opportunity to learn new skills. These factors help to create a positive working environment. The companies offer flexible working hours and competitive salaries.
Typically, founders of boutique consultancies leave more prestigious firms to start their own business. They have an entrepreneurial mindset and tend to hire people who share the same spirit. Because of this entrepreneurial approach, the culture tends to revolve around boldness and courage.
The boutique consultancy is a small team of individualists and creative minds who particularly enjoy bringing projects to a successful conclusion for clients - also internationally - that make maximum use of their expert knowledge (e.g. digitalization).