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Are you looking for a business consultant for strategy consulting or business consulting? You’ve come to the right place. With long term experience on shareholder level of a medium-sized company and two degrees in economics, I will be happy to advise you. In addition to my studies, I have intensively learnt foreign languages so that I can assist you with 14 languages, especially in an international context.
What can you expect from strategy consulting? I provide consultancy in a scientific style coupled with practical experience.
Strategy consulting is a sub-area of management consulting and can be categorised under the management function of planning. Management consulting is in turn a sub-area of business consultancy.
The following explanations are intended to give you an overview of the levels that are important in strategy formulation and therefore in strategy consulting. The explanations refer to the scheme for analysis & strategy. Please refer to the link for sources and more in-depth information.
Below you will find book tips on the subject of management and strategy.
Firstly, strategies at the corporate level will be explained in more detail. Five aspects will be described in more detail: international orientation, the form and timing of market entry, the product and market position, the utilisation of synergy potential and the determination of the desired company size.
Which international orientation makes the most sense for your company? We will find out together as part of a management consultancy.
The international orientation can be categorised as
This systematisation is based on management orientation.
Ethnocentric (home country attitude) means that the management, structures and concepts are transferred from the parent company to the host country.
The opposite of this is polycentric (host country orientation), as management is appointed from the host country and differences are explicitly permitted.
Geocentric (world orientated concept) means that the origin of the management is insignificant and decisions are made in the relevant units.
If, on the other hand, the strategy takes centre stage, a distinction can be made between
In the international strategy, the strategies of the parent company are transferred and the advantages of globalisation and localisation play a minor role. International activities are often of little relevance.
With the multinational strategy, local units adapt and act largely autonomously (advantages of localisation). Global efficiency (advantages of globalisation) plays a subordinate role.
With the global strategy, the strategy is determined by the parent company (advantages of globalisation) and there is little adaptation to the local units (advantages of localisation). Deficits are accepted.
The transnational strategy attempts to achieve global efficiency (advantages of globalisation) and at the same time adaptation to the local units is permitted (advantages of localisation).
As part of the strategy consulting, we will find the optimal strategy for you if you operate internationally.
How and when does it make sense for your company to enter the market? We analyse this question in our management consultancy.
Market entry can be differentiated according to control and steering options and utilisation of the company’s own resources:
In the case of representation by third parties, e.g. through export or licensing, both the control and steering options and the utilisation of the company’s own resources are low.
In the case of co-operation, e.g. a joint venture, the control and steering options and the use of the company’s own resources are moderate.
A subsidiary, on the other hand, enables a high degree of control and steering. Accordingly, the company’s own resources are also heavily utilised.
The market entry of a company can be categorised on the basis of two characteristics: time and country. The four forms of entry are
The sprinkler strategy and waterfall strategy are referred to as cross-country timing strategies. With the sprinkler strategy, different markets are entered simultaneously. In the waterfall strategy (or cascade strategy), markets are entered one after the other (successively). Depending on the intensity, a distinction can be made between a diversification and a concentration strategy in the individual markets or market segments. The choice between sprinkler and waterfall strategy depends largely on the commitment of resources and the market transfer to the competition.
In the temporal context (country-specific timing strategy), a distinction can be made between pioneers and followers. Pioneers are generally better able to build up market entry barriers or competitive advantages. Followers, on the other hand, need resources and expertise in order to catch up. This is particularly important in dynamic and growing markets.
Cross-national strategies (sprinkler and waterfall) and country-specific timing strategies (pioneer and follower) are interdependent.
As part of our strategy consulting, we analyse together which form of market entry and which timing strategies are appropriate.
Which strategic fields are essential for your company and how can these be divided into business areas? You will receive advice on this if required.
Strategic business fields are identified for the product and market position. Markets are identified (market concept) and then it is planned which part of the markets a company wants to serve (planning concept). This results in so-called strategic business units, which can be categorised into overarching business areas.
As part of strategy consulting, an attempt is made to analytically identify strategic business areas and forecast their future development. These forecasts are fundamental for further strategy developments.
What synergy potential does your company have? The management consultancy tries to identify these systematically.
Synergies can arise on a horizontal level. These can be broken down into
Material interrelationships are activities within the value chain that can be partially carried out jointly by business units. For example, the production facility for engines can be used for air-water and land vehicles.
Intangible interrelationships relate to knowledge that can be used jointly by business units. If we stick with the example of engine production, the knowledge of the engineers can also be utilised across the board to some extent.
Competitive interrelationships mean that decisions may not make much sense for the individual company unit in isolation, but decisions have an impact on other company units.
As part of strategy consulting, possible interrelationships are systematically analysed, also in relation to diversification opportunities. The aim is to utilise these as effectively as possible.
Does your company have the optimum size? Let yourself be advised on this.
Another important decision is determining the desired company size. Diversification, which is divided into
Horizontal diversification refers to the business areas that are operated alongside each other but are still related to each other.
Vertical diversification stands for the depth of integration or outsourcing within a value chain. It should be noted here that integration can affect several higher-level business areas.
Conglomerate diversification refers to business areas that are not necessarily horizontally or vertically related.
Is your company optimally diversified? We analyse this question as part of a strategy consultation.
What strategies are you pursuing at business area level? We analyse these thoroughly as part of a management consultancy.
The strategies at business area level can be categorised into four strategies in particular:
In the strategy of cost leadership (price leadership), a broad mass market is served with the help of a good cost structure.
A differentiation strategy, on the other hand, is characterised by
A strategy that concentrates on key areas (focusing) is characterised by the needs-based fulfilment of requirements in a market segment. This can be seen as a sub-strategy of cost leadership or differentiation.
Hybrid competitive strategies endeavour to
An example of temporal decoupling is price differences for leisure activities during the week and at the weekend. With regard to spatial decoupling, price differences between the takeaway of food and consumption during a stay in the gastronomy sector should be mentioned. Attempts can also be made to achieve different strategies simultaneously, e.g. by prioritising service (boarding, access to the leisure park).
As part of the strategy consultation, the existing strategies are analysed and suggestions for optimisation are made.
Strategies at functional area level are strategies at the lowest level of the hierarchy and apply to the various functional areas or objects according to which the company is organisationally structured. The strategies are a formulation of what is determined at the upper levels. Long-term binding decisions are made at this level in particular.
A management consultancy or strategy consultancy will help you to formulate your strategy.
Have you scrutinised your current strategy analytically? As part of a management consultancy, this is systematically examined.
An essential aspect of strategies is their evaluation. There are four key aspects to the evaluation of strategies:
Is the strategy feasible as it is theoretically conceived? Closely linked to this is the question of coherence. Is the strategy coherent at the various levels or is it a juxtaposition of good ideas? It is also important that the strategy remains robust, i.e. feasible, in other framework conditions (environment, company). Again, this is linked to the question of flexibility. Can the strategy be adapted or updated to other framework conditions?
In a strategy consultation, the existing strategy is evaluated and possible opportunities and risks are identified.
Business consulting is not limited to strategy formulation, but also includes support with strategy implementation.
The above explanations have been limited to the formulation and development of strategies. The following section is dedicated to the implementation of strategies. In the context of implementation, two aspects, realisation and enforcement, should be emphasised.
Realisation requires that operational goals are formulated from the strategic goals. In strategic planning, potentials for success are (abstractly) built up and in operational planning they are utilised. However, the distinction between strategic and operational is often difficult and interdependent.
Acceptance problems can arise during enforcement, e.g. by jeopardising personal interests such as job security or career opportunities. The lack of realisation of the need for change can also cause acceptance problems. Another aspect is the lack of knowledge and skills.
The elimination of acceptance problems is essential for successful strategy implementation. In addition to eliminating qualification deficits, the correct communication of the new strategy is crucial. Employees should be involved.
The process is often described as chance management.
As part of our strategy consulting, we go through potential problem areas together in advance in order to achieve the smoothest possible strategy implementation.
Handbuch Internationales Management by Gelbrich and Müller (2011)
Internationales Management by Kutschker and Schmid (2011)
Strategisches Management by Scherm and Julmi (2019)
Strategisches Management in Unternehmen by Hungenberg (2014)
Strategisches Management: Grundlagen – Prozess – Implementierung by Welge et. al (2017)
In addition for German speakers, the modules Unternehmensführung, Strategisches Management and Internationales Management at the Fernuniversität in Hagen are very convincing in terms of content.
Alternatively, the MBA from HIMS should be mentioned. The content is convincing and sensibly selected.
For sources for the explanations, please refer to those of the analysis & strategy scheme. The following sources apply to the book tips.
Gelbrich, K. & Müller, S. (2011). Handbuch Internationales Management. Oldenbourg.
Kutschker, M. & Schmid, S. (2011). Internationales Management (7th ed.). Oldenbourg.
Scherm, E. & Julmi, C. (2019). Strategisches Management. De Gruyter Oldenbourg.
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