Friday, 28 August 2015

Utilizing International Strategic Consultants In Design Effective Plans

By Ruthie Livingston


To survive in the volatile economic times and take advantage of the available opportunities, businesses need to develop a strategic vision. A good business strategy helps the business maintain sustainable competitive advantage without sacrificing its profitability. The business may not have the expertise to develop the relevant strategies in the worldwide marketplace Thus, hiring an international strategic consultants would be the best idea.

An international consultant helps a business develop robust business unit and corporate strategies and align its resources and personnel to the set goals. This deals with such challenges that include market assessment, strategic planning process design, scenario planning, and alliance management. A corporate wide strategy sets the tone that the company integrates in its daily activities.

For a company to survive in a global market, it should look at ways of diversifying its revenue sources. There is always a risk that technology would change in making the current good obsolete, a change of regulations may also impact on the business negatively and customers may shift their preferences to new products. With the assistance of a consultant, business can develop a pipeline for innovation and produce better products. The business is also able to unearth hidden customer wants and provide solutions to the same.

The success of any organization is largely dependent on its workforce. An effective workforce enables the firm innovate, hit targets and offer quality services and products to its clients. International strategic consultant assist in coming up with effective organizational design, leadership development, performance management, workforce development and hiring of quality business services to meet the market challenges head on.

Horizontal and vertical growth are a sign of success. Some of the common horizontal growth strategies are mergers and acquisitions. The complex nature of both requires someone with in-depth knowledge in the area. A business may turn to consultancies to assist in identifying the right target, screening those firms, due diligence and integrating the firms after a merger. This opens new markets and systems to the business boosting its growth.

All business strategies are supported by a functional strategy. This is the actual planning of the daily activities that will assist the business in achieving the main goals and strategies. A business may require expertise in planning for its back office operations that include procurement, human resources, finance, and information technology. Some of the solutions that consultants assist a business in leveraging include outsourcing for finance for expansion, working capital management, and performance management solutions such as SAP.

Strategies are of no use if they are not put into practice. While it may be easy to develop a plan, executing the plan is much harder. Strategy execution requires training, best practices and ability to measure results. A consultant may come in handy in devising an implementation roadmap, managing the change process, measuring success, and training the staff on the new systems.

Most consultancies develop competencies in a few areas such as human resource, sales, finance, operation, information technology. It is vital for a business to ensure that the consultant it hires has expertise in its area of need. This ensures it gets quality services to achieve its goals.




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