Smart Consulting Sourcing

Have you ever wondered what strictly consultants bring to the table and how they can help your business achieve more success? If so, then this podcast is for you! In the end, consulting is all about creating value. But measuring the value created from consulting is like examining the worth of a good joke. Is it the number of laughs it generates, the money it makes, or the satisfaction it brings to...

In this episode, Helene, your favorite host, takes a stab at this question – when to use consulting services from the perspective of end users: strategy leaders, operations leaders, and marketing leaders. She also looks at what procurement should know about it and how it can help address this need. After all, consulting services are not commodities. If you’re buying consulting services, look for i...

Believe it or not, some people don't think reducing their consulting spend is worthwhile. They already added the cost to their OPEX and say it's just a drop in the ocean - but what about the maximum impact that could be achieved? We at Consulting Quest want businesses to truly understand the value of optimizing ROI from their projects - and through our 15-episode "6-Levers Series", we show you how...

Consulting procurement is a complicated and challenging process, especially if you're looking to optimize the return on your investment. Thankfully, there are tools and methodologies available that can help you effectively manage your consulting spend and maximize your ROI. The Consulting Sourcing Toolbox is one such resource that offers a comprehensive collection of tools and strategies designed...

You have to improve your Consulting Procurement capability to maximize the ROI of your spend. One way of doing that is using an easy-to-follow framework that we call, at Consulting Quest, "The Consulting Performance Scanner." This scanner will let you explore the three main dimensions of your procurement and dig up enough data to help you understand the patterns of your Consulting Spend, capture q...

Working to maximize the ROI of consulting spend requires a company-wide transformation. By combining strategies such as investing in the right projects, having a structured RFP process, and collaborating between business lines and procurement teams, organizations can achieve an average increase of 25-50% in ROI with potential savings or earnings in the hundreds of millions depending on the size. T...

Everybody knows that when done correctly, consulting can have a major impact on a business. By now you know that our 6-Levers approach is intended to help consulting buyers make educated choices while buying consulting services. Over the previous episodes, we explained the six levers in detail and how they can help to optimize the ROI of your consulting spend. And a major part of that ROI is relat...

When it comes to better managing your consulting, it is a part of your transformation journey, and we all know that transformations are notoriously difficult. Leaders must work on improving consulting sourcing maturity to take their transformation efforts up a notch. It entails a lot of work - but if done correctly, it can bring huge advantages to the table, which include cost savings and cost avo...

We all know that consulting is a big business. In fact, it's a $250 billion industry. But what's not so well known is that a lot of companies are leaving money on the table by investing in the wrong projects, overpaying, or failing to capture the full potential of their projects. Procurement is often sidelined in these situations, relegated to administrative tasks such as contract management, purc...

When optimizing the ROI of your consulting investment, the amount of money you invest in the project is not directly proportionate to the impact it creates. If you want to maximize the value of your consulting investment, you have to invest wisely and not pour loads of cash into a project expecting results.  And that means investing in the right projects, setting up the right delivery model, secur...

In this episode of our 6-Levers podcast, Helene answers one of the top concerns of business leaders --" how can I secure the maximum impact from my consulting projects?" Our answer is to start by investing wisely in the right areas. But what are those areas of opportunity, and how do you spot them?  It starts with working on the right projects and assembling the right project team.  

Welcome to the second episode of our 6-levers series, where we show you how to maximize your consulting spend ROI. In this episode, we discuss the second lever- the right delivery model selection. Starting with what we mean by the delivery model to discuss the options and how to leverage them effectively, this episode explains it all. Watch this episode and every episode of this series; we promise...

Even though consulting is a $300 billion industry, some business entities still doubt the value-creation potential of consulting.  Some even consider availing of consulting services as a sign of weakness. Contrarily, in some industries,  executives depend a lot on consultancies. The bottom line is that consulting can be an invaluable resource when used effectively. At the same time, we must acknow...

Procurement transformation is at the core of capturing maximum value from your consulting spend, and our six levers can help you achieve just that. But before initiating that process, business leaders and stakeholders must understand and accept that the procurement transformation will impact the entire organization, and the company as a whole can benefit from what best-in-class procurement can off...

So, we're in the third episode of our 6 levers series. In this episode, we explain why their approaches are inadequate. What implications do they have on the optimization process, why aren't they working, and what should they focus on instead? How do human skills and collaboration take center stage in it all? This episode explains them all.

In this episode, we explain in detail how managing consulting spend creates value for organizations. Companies invest up to 3 % of their revenue in consulting projects but rarely do they manage this category. The lack of management makes it costly. On the other hand, companies could save at least 25 % of what they spend by focusing on optimizing ROI on consulting spend. This optimization process m...

Not optimizing consulting spend can be a costly problem for companies. Although some companies attempt at systematically managing consulting spends, the entire initiative may fall flat in the absence of a proper plan and strategy. Where do companies go wrong? How to do it right by utilizing the seven levers to optimize consulting spend? Where and how should you start? The 6-lever series presented...

While the consulting sector has embraced digitalization in a big way, procurement remains a labor-intensive activity with lots of data and paperwork to handle. Digitalization can take the hassles out of the traditional procurement process. Today, there is a plethora of tools and technologies that can be leveraged to automate procurement processes and make them more efficient --SRMs, Negotiation &...

Executives are generally averse to the idea of working with consultants. This reluctance primarily comes from two managerial mistakes: a negative perception of Consulting and inefficient Consulting Procurement capabilities. However, the management sometimes cannot just do without some expert help. Failing to avail of this support, it may miss out on many valuable insights and perspectives. So, onb...

It's true -- all types of business spending have a head and a tail. More often than not, tails are way bigger than heads. So, what makes up this huge part of your consulting spend? A series of fragmented, low-cost, one-time purchases. Individually, each purchase may not be that expensive, but when they add up over time, they become huge and can be a major drain on your bottom line. So, you must be...

From advising you on how to make your operations leaner and more efficient to helping you find ways how to adapt your business to the changes that are underway, consultants can benefit your organization and create value for it in multiferous ways.   But you cannot expect to reap the maximum advantage from the consulting support if you end up hiring a consultant based only on ranking and client fee...

When it comes to buying consultancy services, people tend to shortlist firms concerning their prestige, brand awareness, methodologies, and so on, and as expected,  MBB tops their desired list. However, it's not that only the top companies can really solve your issue. Sometimes, a local consulting firm with a sound knowledge of the local culture and economy often makes a better option for you. In...

Building up an organizational set-up that would make your consulting souring process more efficient is like laying the foundation of a house. Consulting sourcing is not like purchasing commodities; it calls for deep expertise, experience and extensive research.   In this episode of the Smart Consulting Sourcing podcast, Helene discusses five ways to build an organizational set-up for the ease of s...

Spend analysis is all about turning your spending data into valuable insights. In consulting, the process helps you to examine your company's spending to find areas where you may save costs and improve the impact of your projects. Providing you with a fact-based picture ultimately helps you to decide whether your consulting investment was a wise decision or not. What did you spend money on? What a...

The effectiveness of a consulting project is significantly influenced by multiple elements. Negotiating these terms could be complicated and time-consuming. What if you could negotiate these points once and enjoy its benefits for all current and future projects together over a given period? In this episode of our Smart Consulting Sourcing podcast, Helene explains what a Master Service Agreement is...