What firms are best in different sectors?

As I begin prepping for consulting recruiting, I realize that I don't really know which firms are best in what areas. Obviously the hierarchy of MBB being top dog, then T2, etc. is pretty clear but I don't know who is best in different areas. By different areas I mean government, transportation, tech, consumer, etc. Thanks for the advice!

16 Comments
 

I think you mean Bain for PE? Bain is not nearly as good as McK, BCG, or OW at FS

 

Good eye. I think the answer is in the method:

> ratings are awarded to firms and networks in different categories according to how often they are recommended

Keep in mind strategy firms are much smaller than your B4/ACN types, so it makes sense that they'd be recommend less often (i.e. lower volume --> lower absolute number of recommendations from survey respondents)

Also, even if you controlled for that then this survey still isn't very helpful. This survey is organized by industry, but not by project type - e.g. the Strategy x Consumer Goods list would probably look very different from the ERP Implementation x Consumer Goods list

 
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Generally, outside of niche and specialized fields (like pharma R&D for example), MBB will be the top firms in almost any sector / function. That's why it's MBB. They have the resources, talent, and cachet to bully themselves to the top in just about anything that they want.

For example, as a firm, OW's spike is in financial services and it is extremely strong. But it's wrong to say that they're the clear top option in FS. They certainly compete with MBB but so does every other T2 regularly (remember: T2 is usually coming in at lower price). For LEK, PE is their spike, but if price is the same, you're almost never taking them over McKinsey (and goes with out saying, over Bain).

You shouldn't confuse "firm X's spike is in Y" with "firm X is therefore the leader in Y".

 

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