Hi,

I am interest to know the big consultancy doing operation consulting services. I am not looking in one topic of service they provide. I am looking from Global point of view.

Wishes & regards,
Ram Vaidhya

I have moved this post to this forum since it is seeking answers about consultancy.

Hi,

I am interest to know the big consultancy doing operation consulting services. I am not looking in one topic of service they provide. I am looking from Global point of view.

Wishes & regards,
Ram Vaidhya

To what end? To hire them? or to work for them?

There are USA-based organizations with global operations and some European-based ones with global operations. They each employ literally thousands of consultants and support staff. Size alone is not necessarily an indicator of EITHER


best to hire

OR

best to work for

Some firms are known for being premier in consulting certain industries (banking, pharmaceuticals, construction, transportation, energy, nonprofits, even governments)

There are even consultants who act as "bird dogs" to help organizations select the best consultant for a particular goal.

Good post, Wes.

Can you be more specific? Are you speaking of Lean, Process, Supply Chain, Logistics, Quality? There are several consultants in each of those.

Good post, Wes.

Can you be more specific? Are you speaking of Lean, Process, Supply Chain, Logistics, Quality? There are several consultants in each of those.

According to the OP it doesn't matter (my emphasis added below).

Hi,

I am interest to know the big consultancy doing operation consulting services. I am not looking in one topic of service they provide. I am looking from Global point of view.

Wishes & regards,
Ram Vaidhya

According to the OP it doesn't matter (my emphasis added below).

The thread title says "Operation Consulting" without further explanation of what that means.

At any rate, there's this (http://www.vault.com/nr/consulting_rankings/consulting_rankings.jsp?consulting2009=2&ch_id=252) for whatever it's worth, and this (http://www.ent.ohiou.edu/~vinod/top50.html).

The thread title says "Operation Consulting" without further explanation of what that means.

At any rate, there's this (http://www.vault.com/nr/consulting_rankings/consulting_rankings.jsp?consulting2009=2&ch_id=252) for whatever it's worth, and this (http://www.ent.ohiou.edu/~vinod/top50.html).

Thanks Jim for your links. They should help the OP.

The thread title says "Operation Consulting" without further explanation of what that means.

At any rate, there's this (http://www.vault.com/nr/consulting_rankings/consulting_rankings.jsp?consulting2009=2&ch_id=252) for whatever it's worth, and this (http://www.ent.ohiou.edu/%7Evinod/top50.html).I have friends and colleagues who work at seven of the top 20 on the vault.com list.

Accenture, of course, is the consulting spin-off of the Arthur Anderson accounting firm. I've hired those consultants (same guys) both from the days when they were still Arthur Anderson and since the spin-off. Very good and very expensive - I thought they delivered value for the money.

The bench strength of big firms like these is fantastic. They are able to put teams on the ground at every installation of a transglobal firm without any seeming strain on their resources and every team is well-backed by support staff.

Accenture were/are one of the premium firms for dealing with financial matters. Folks at Gartner have a well deserved reputation for anything to do with software and IT (Information Technology.)

Thanks all,

Since the term " Operation Consulting" cover large area and what ever i get through net search mainly about " Financial / Business consultants". I am looking for very specific to " Operation consulting" to name few services Lean, Six sigma, TQM , ISO etc.

Hoping to get some more names. Purpose to avail best service on their expertise.

Wishes, Ram Vaidhya

I have friends and colleagues who work at seven of the top 20 on the vault.com list.

Accenture, of course, is the consulting spin-off of the Arthur Anderson accounting firm. I've hired those consultants (same guys) both from the days when they were still Arthur Anderson and since the spin-off. Very good and very expensive - I thought they delivered value for the money.

The bench strength of big firms like these is fantastic. They are able to put teams on the ground at every installation of a transglobal firm without any seeming strain on their resources and every team is well-backed by support staff.

Accenture were/are one of the premium firms for dealing with financial matters. Folks at Gartner have a well deserved reputation for anything to do with software and IT (Information Technology.)

Chrysler has a different opinion about Accenture (http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080908/ANA03/809080340/1128/BLOG01)....

Stijloor.

Chrysler has a different opinion about Accenture (http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080908/ANA03/809080340/1128/BLOG01)....

Stijloor.

NOTICE: The link takes you to the Automotive News subscription page. You need to register to read the article.

Dave

Thanks all,

Since the term " Operation Consulting" cover large area and what ever i get through net search mainly about " Financial / Business consultants". I am looking for very specific to " Operation consulting" to name few services Lean, Six sigma, TQM , ISO etc.

Hoping to get some more names. Purpose to avail best service on their expertise.

Wishes, Ram Vaidhya

If you are interested in a Deming approach to Operations, you may want to check out http://www.demingindia.org/. They might have some leads.

Chrysler has a different opinion about Accenture (http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080908/ANA03/809080340/1128/BLOG01)....

Stijloor.Well . . .
A summary of the story can be found here (http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/chrysler-pisses-away-77m-on-parts-oursourcing-scheme/) without registering.

I, of course, was aware of this debacle by Chrysler - they simply didn't pay attention to Contract Review! The purpose of the engagement - to identify offshore sources to cut the throats of domestic suppliers - is not high on my list of nice things to do to your supply chain.

I have about the same sympathy for Chrysler as I would for the idiot who goes down to Canal Street in New York City and expects to get a "real Rolex watch" for $100. The guy who sells that "Rolex" probably could earn a Tony on the stage for the performance in portraying a guy selling a "stolen Rolex.";)

I stand by my opinion of Accenture for consulting on financial matters allied with investment banking, IPOs, Sarbannes, mergers, takeovers, divestitures, etc.

Our company has used McKinsey. They didn't tell us anything we didn't already know. In fact we fired one guy before we hired McKinsey for making such a ruckus about the supply chain (bull in a china shop), then we hire McKinsey for big bucks and management pretty much has egg on their face. :D No matter who you hire as a consultant, if you have the same people thinking the same way that got the company into the mess they most likely are not going to be able to execute any solution even if it comes externally.:bonk:

It is interesting that we aren't able to come up with the Top 5 in Operations Consulting.

I'll throw a few traditional Deming consultants out there:

Peter Scholtes - http://www.pscholtes.com/pscholtes/
Bill Scherkenbach - http://www.scherkenbach.com/

I have no personal knowledge of Peter or Bill, but do know they are well respected in the Deming community.

I do know Marcia Daszko - http://www.mdaszko.com/

I was impressed at the VPPPA national conference visiting a booth by Milliken Performance Solutions http://www.milliken.com/hr/wwwmlkn.nsf/WebAllDocs/9A85C100A4B1E355852572C3007A897B?OpenDocument but I have no personal knowledge of how good they are.

Heck, even add my name to the list - Fluor is willing to contract me out to help with statistics and operations research issues.

I think we are missing a point implied by the OP's request for "top 5" in operations.

I was/am one of those consultants contracted by both client corporations and by consulting firms as a "specialist."

Typically, when a large, multi-site, transnational organization is seeking a consultant to revamp its operations across the entire enterprise, part of the "package" it expects to receive (in addition to the one or two guys who hold the top boss's hand and actually "sell" the consulting service to the CEO and his board) is an army of "on-the-ground" folks to investigate the enterprise from top to bottom to establish a baseline for a "gap analysis" (which may be performed by wonks back at the consulting firms HQ) and then those same troops who did the investigation or an entirely different team may be deployed to educate, train, and help motivate the enterprise employees to implement the suggestions derived from the gap analysis and then contracted with the CEO and his Board.

Like it or not, the larger the enterprise, one of two things is necessary for both the preliminary gap analysis and then implementation of the suggestions derived from the gap analysis:


Time - given a sufficiently long period of time, one person or several could visit the various sites and perform the investigation and probably an even longer period of time to instigate education, training, and motivation to enterprise employees on a piecemeal basis - it is still NOT the "snapshot" that an army of investigators can deliver in a matter of days or weeks.
Multiple personnel, experienced in performing the various tasks and in working to the consulting firm's "template" for investigation and implementation, allowing the entire "event" to take place in a compressed period of time, with the hope the functions performed by the consulting team are consistent throughout the enterprise.


When a consulting operation "fails"
When any such consulting deployment "FAILS," the root cause almost always can be found in the Contract Review when the client and the consultant do not really have a meeting of minds on the requirements of the client and the budget of time and money for delivering those requirements.

As a Demingite myself, I don't usually assign "blame" for such a failure, but in my experience over the last 40 + years, the failure of either client or consulting firm to fully assure itself the other side TRULY understands the requirements and the criteria for declaring the requirements fulfilled almost always can be traced to a top individual on either side having more of a "me first" attitude than of a "let's get it right" attitude.

Almost any top level consultant has a number of stories about clients who "got away," but probably even more stories about clients he "turned away" because he had a "hunch" the client was lying (maybe even to himself) about what he truly expected from the transaction.

Depends on the criteria used to define 'top'. The Industry Week ranking in the link provided listed the top firms according to global consulting revenues . I don't consider revenues earned as equating to 'best'. It just tells you who charges the most/earns the most. And the Vault survey asked consultants to rank based on who was considered most 'prestigious'. Huh?

I've seen at close quarters, first-hand experience of many of the best known consulting organisations: Accenture (formerly Andersons), McKinseys, KPMG, etc. etc. Results varied. I saw some who were good, other teams I wouldn't have given floor space to, but damn, they sure knew how to charge! And I have also seen others who were cheaper, not nearly as well known but who really got results.

If you're looking for consultancies, I'd pay a lot of attention to results - and what do their previous clients say about them? Were they satisfied with the outcomes? And the process? (Note that such information isn't often nor easily available in the public domain, but can perhaps be garnered through personal/professional connections.)