Hello,
MBB are probably the best management cunsulting firms, clear. Something that is not clear to me is what is their role in termo of innovation, if any? Do they advise clients in innovation management and how? Are their familiar with close- or open-innovation models? And what about the recent trends like design thinking, design-driven innovation and design-sprint?
Someone from MBB that can help me understanding what they deal with beside the usual topics?
Thanks a lot!
Hi Simone,
firstly, MBB are strategy consulting firms and not management consulting firms. Strategy consulting focuses on the creative part of the solution proposed, such as due diligence, new market entrance strategy, cost cutting strategies etc. Management consulting firms (Deloitte, Accenture, PWC, EY, etc.) focus on the implementation of solutions. Basically they put into practice a specific plan predetermined. MBB might have some management consulting projects, but is not their primary source of revenues. Instead, Accenture or Deloitte might have strategy projects, but they use them just hook up the clients and sell them management consulting solutions.
This clarification is important to answer your question. Yes, MBB focus on innovation developing innovative value propositions. "Innovative" means that they might offer solution that disrupt the existing value chain. Management consulting firms instead, tend to just apply and put into practice a plan.
If by "innovation" you meant digital strategies, then MBB certainly do offer these services but only related to strategy projects. Accenure, for instance, might work on the implementation of Salesforce or SAP in a specific company bringin their entire register of sales on a digital platform. This is not innovation from a purely strategic consulting perspective, this is just an implementation of the transition from paper registry to digital.
I hope i was clear enough!
Cheers,
Carlo
Hi,
A know about 2 of them:
McKinsey has 2 digital groups:
Accenture has Accenture Digital group. Group has its own HQ and representatives in various offices. Accenture was the first to start digital initiatives and acquisitions and was quite successful in it. Taking into account Accenture initials IT expertise - this was a very logical fit.
Thanks Carlo for your clarification. I have to confess that I'm still a bit confused about the distiction but it is more clear now. About innovation, I did not mean only digital strategies, as far as I know, innovation can be splitted in two main blocks: innovation of solutions and innovation of meanings. The solutions are like digital, products, business models, etc. The meaning is a different way to innovate (e.g. changing a meaning of something), as an example you can think about Nest thermostat (which is a thermostat that you can not program). So I was wondering if and where they are more active, I understood more in the innovation of solutions field. Thanks again!
Ok let's put it this way. McKinsey is the one that will tell the client company which market to enter and what to sell. Accenture is the one that will put into practise such plan. As for innovation, in consulting it usually is related to innovation in the value proposition or innovation in the value chain. Respectively, the first mean a new way to approach clients and offer them innovative services. The second means disrupting the value chain changing the market dynamics, for instance what Uber did to the Taxi market.
(edited)