Operations Consulting

Can someone shed some light on an operations consulting engagement they have been a part of?

What specifically does a consulting firm do in this situation? Is it strategic sourcing/process improvement/design?

The reason I ask is because many firms lump their Stategy and Operations roles together, and I have a solid understanding of the strategy side, but do not know much on the operations end.

If anyone has some input that would be great. Thanks!

 
Best Response

I work in operations consulting. Think of the strat. side handing off a plan, and then the ops. side installing that plan.

I don't know which level you get down to at your specific firm, but for instance I am right now in Sao Paulo, Brazil implementing an initiative to increase efficiency at a specific plant based on observed potential capacity/efficiency. I work with the EVP of the country down to his management team (even shop-floor level if we need to) in order to install a management system that's focused on continuous improvement while generating savings based on a few cost-cutting, efficiency-improving initiatives (That's consultant-speak. Learn it, love it.)

Basically, it's the other end of the strategy bit. Strategy is more glory, more money, but this is a stepping stone to a strategy position, and to be honest with you this has more tangible results. You either do it right and get the savings or you don't (a lot of flack on the strat. side is that they leave behind a plan and leave).

I've installed in office settings (logistics management control systems, engineering systems) all the way down to manufacturing shop floors. I'm not going to lie, I love consulting (for now) and I'm using it as a stepping stone to top-flight MBA, but the guys who can't get into strat. positions and don't mind proving themselves can have fun in ops. consulting (at the right company) and get the experience doing it. For instance, I've got tickets to 3 WC games and alt-travel all around South America (and France next month for a long weekend) on the company's dime.

BTW - we analyze, design, install, and measure the project for tangible results - in order to give you a complete idea based on your question.

 

Ops consulting is a pretty nebulous term. The Ops consulting @"egsc" described gets called operations, implementation, or results delivery. I would expect lots of this type of work at PwC, Accenture, some Deloitte groups, etc. Many firms also include cost-cutting, strategic reductions, and offshoring/outsourcing under the ops umbrella. For the traditional strategy powerhouses (e.g. McKinsey's Ops practice), ops can refer to more strategic initiatives. I.e. "how can a firm compete on speed or customization?" through sourcing, partnership, or process reinvention.

 
brj:
I would expect lots of this type of work at PwC, Accenture, some Deloitte groups, etc. Many firms also include cost-cutting, strategic reductions, and offshoring/outsourcing under the ops umbrella.

This is very similar to what we do at PwC under Operations. Depending on the local firm and market this group may also do customer insight/market strategies, innovations, or other work. The link below does a great job highlighting the differences between Strategy, Operations, and Implementation (at least as it has always related to me).

https://www.firmsconsulting.com/quarterly/differences-between-strategy-…

I'm at PwC, and we tend to do Operations & Implementation (as identified in the link above). I've crafted my career towards Operations more than implementation, however nearly all Operations projects now include some component of implementation. Some work I've done under this umbrella: - Category Management / Strategic Sourcing (Analysis & Strategies to Reduce Expenditures) - 5 Restructurings (ranging from CEO Business Cases for corporate structure & governance to deliver strategy down to implementing a matrix within a $3.5B capital projects division) - Cost Modelling & IT Operating Plan (next 5 years of IT projects to support new CEO agenda) - Modelling and optimizing the mix and efficiency of staff in 90,000 organization - Establishing a R&D Investment Process (inc. risk & performance measurement frameworks) and helping the client with a tool for planning and monitoring their strategy - Fortune 500 Integrated Reporting (helping them redo the global process to gather the right information from their main stakeholders: investors, customers, employees, regulators) so they report information the CEO can use with the board and to understand her industry better

There is a lot of process improvement in this area, however I haven't been involved (although I think I'd like to implement LEAN somewhere to get some experience in it). I'd love to be part of a Strategy project, but the nature of our firm and industry where I am is there are not common projects.

The best advice I have is try to land somewhere that gets the type of work you are interested in, prove yourself as someone they can count on, and then you'll be able to influence where you land on projects (when there is opportunity). Although sometimes in consulting you need to do what the firm needs (and not be a prima donna about it).

TT

 

I guess a more appropriate quesiton would be how relevant is working in a BB's back office to working in Deloitte's S&O?

Does anyone have any insight on past projects with S&O specifically dealing with back office at a bank?

www.twitter.com/ConsultFinServ
 
bondtradercu:
Moreover, audit is also a little bit of client facing as well but that doens't make it FO. I think the work should be the basis for whether it is FO or not right?

being a wedding planner is FO if you work at an events company. got it?

 

Forget the terminology of FO & BO in this case. The concept applies well to banking but not so much in consulting. Now that we're operating outside of the "FO/BO" framework, I can tell you that S&O is likely Deloitte's highest regarded group. In my opinion it falls shy of MBB's reputation but is head and shoulders above the rest. Don't let the word "operations" scare you due to the people on WSO who constantly talk poorly about it - they are likely just reciting a common misconception to sound informed.

 

By the way, if you absolutely must compare FO/BO to consulting, I'd say FO = client facing consulting and BO = internal support work. I know people who work for McKinsey (sounds great on paper) but its all internal grunt work.

 
IvyGrad:
By "Operational Consulting", what specific areas of consulting is everyone talking about? Is it defined as anything non-strategy? HR consulting? IT consulting?

Examples:

  • how are insurance surrenders processed? what gates must be cleared before payment can be calculated? how are payments processed?

  • how do we check a walk in patient into the hospital most efficiently? how do we ensure that the doctor has the right file with the relevant information?

  • how do raw materials become the finished product? where can the process be more efficient? how can a new form of technology be incorporated in the process?

  • how does the client book trades? how can the data be centralized?

  • what sort of KPIs should be used for each department?

as you can see, you're not the guy doing the back office work. you're advising on how they should best do it.

 

alixpartners alvarez and marsal kroll zolfo cooper cereberus oliver wyman huron consulting restructuring/operational consulting practices at the Big4 ..portofolio management and due diligence roles at various HF/PE funds

------------ I'm making it up as I go along.
 

Fugit officiis aspernatur necessitatibus pariatur delectus. Laborum adipisci fugit culpa sed sed ducimus. Et enim nihil est doloribus et. Enim alias aliquam eligendi rerum et explicabo tenetur.

Officia omnis suscipit aperiam sint praesentium. Magni ut a tenetur nulla aut. Omnis deserunt porro ex odit nobis sit doloremque reprehenderit. At enim ullam debitis occaecati impedit.

Eligendi distinctio ab ea. Repudiandae voluptas assumenda recusandae mollitia consectetur dolores dolorum. Architecto placeat fugiat minima omnis et autem voluptatem.

Eaque labore quia et quisquam rerum delectus. Et aut magnam consequatur amet sapiente. Et totam et molestiae tempore enim iure.

 

Enim exercitationem consequatur labore. Rem ipsa ipsam ipsam et in. Nam vel quia earum commodi placeat quis. Dicta praesentium odit distinctio laborum. Iure at odit adipisci sint qui.

Laudantium est aut placeat aspernatur libero veritatis ab quidem. Itaque assumenda voluptate et aliquam. Magnam veniam amet consectetur ipsa adipisci error eius.

Voluptatem praesentium cum occaecati voluptas repudiandae dolor. Accusantium nam at beatae sunt maiores nisi cumque mollitia.

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Consulting

  • Bain & Company 99.4%
  • McKinsey and Co 98.9%
  • Boston Consulting Group (BCG) 98.3%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.7%
  • LEK Consulting 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Consulting

  • Bain & Company 99.4%
  • Cornerstone Research 98.9%
  • Boston Consulting Group (BCG) 98.3%
  • McKinsey and Co 97.7%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Consulting

  • Bain & Company 99.4%
  • McKinsey and Co 98.9%
  • Boston Consulting Group (BCG) 98.3%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.7%
  • LEK Consulting 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Consulting

  • Partner (4) $368
  • Principal (25) $277
  • Director/MD (55) $270
  • Vice President (47) $246
  • Engagement Manager (99) $225
  • Manager (152) $170
  • 2nd Year Associate (158) $140
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (108) $130
  • Senior Consultant (329) $130
  • Consultant (586) $119
  • 1st Year Associate (538) $119
  • NA (15) $119
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (145) $115
  • Engineer (6) $114
  • 2nd Year Analyst (342) $102
  • Associate Consultant (166) $98
  • 1st Year Analyst (1046) $87
  • Intern/Summer Associate (188) $84
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (547) $67
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”