The Role Of International Strategic Consultants In Building Successful Multinationals

By Ruthie Livingston


Over the years, there have been many challenges that the multinationals have had to cope with in the international marketplace. This calls for businesses to develop a strategic vision and follow that up with strategies on every front. That way, they are able to maintain their competitive edge over their competitors and remain profitable in the end. Enlisting the assistance of international strategic consultants is a step towards the right direction.

An international strategic consultant assists firms develop corporate strategies and business unit strategies that incorporate a global outlook and in turn helps put all the synergies towards achieving the set goals. Corporate strategies deal with such challenges as scenario planning, alliance management, market assessment and the design of the strategic planning process. A good corporate strategy provides the foundation for other strategies that are formulated later.

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 workforce is a company greatest asset. With an effective workforce, a firm can develop innovative solutions, offer value to its customers, and head its set goals and targets. A business may seek assistance in designing an effective organization, developing leadership, managing performance, developing its workforce, and selecting the best business service providers for quality service.

The growth of a company may be measured by its vertical and horizontal integration. One of the horizontal growth strategies is by merging with others and acquisitions of the rival establishments. These give the business access to already established markets and working systems that were held by the rivals. Assistance is needed in identifying the right target, due diligence the process of screening targets, post-merger integration and all other aspects mergers and acquisitions.

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 need to be executed in order for them to make any sense to the business. Most businesses have a problem putting the plans into action due to the resources needed, training and logistics that are put in place in the implementation stage. A consultant can be at hand to assist in developing roadmaps for implementation of the strategies, managing change, training the workforce on the new systems and measuring the progress.

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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