Synopsis
Consulting is a reflection of derived demand, mirroring the state of the economy and business confidence. As economic activity picked up after the second Covid wave, top consulting firms witnessed record growth in client engagements. “Our best year ever! We have tripled our business in the last five years despite the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Karan Singh, MD, Bain & Co. “And we have been sold out since September last year.”
iStockThe Big Three in global strategy consulting, McKinsey,
and Bain, are witnessing a sharp uptick in demand for their services – so much so that adding assignments is a challenge – as companies grapple with sudden market shifts, multiplying digitisation needs, and replacement of cost with growth as priority.
Consulting is a reflection of derived demand, mirroring the state of the economy and business confidence. As economic activity picked up after the second Covid wave, top consulting firms witnessed record growth in client engagements. “Our best year ever! We have tripled our business in the last five years despite the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Karan Singh, MD, Bain & Co. “And we have been sold out since September last year.”
Industry leaders say that given the demand, the top three firms might close FY22 with combined gross revenues between ₹5,500 crore and ₹5,800 crore and 225-235 partners despite the Covid impact.
Client briefs now revolve around digitisation, technology disruption, rethinking supply chains, restructuring costs, profitability, M&A and PE transactions, and adapting to new ways of working.
“The briefs are all about ‘winning the discontinuity’. Every market is seeing a polarisation – the difference between leaders and laggards is becoming larger. We are helping a lot of companies embrace the change – be it by restructuring, streamlining cash flows, embedding technology or creating the next leg of growth,” said Gautam Kumra, managing partner, McKinsey & Co, Asia.
Right now, the consulting firms are witnessing two-speed demand from India Inc.
There’s heavy demand from IT services, tech companies, financial services, healthcare, government and public service companies and moderate to high demand from industrials, hospitality, auto, energy and steel.
“Last year, there was a slowdown in demand during one quarter, but the need for consulting multiplied manifold during the pandemic,” said Alpesh Shah, managing director, BCG India.
“Almost 70-80% of assignments in the last few months have been long-term assignments.”
As clients are demanding more tech-led, data-driven solutions, the white-shoe firms have had to invest aggressively in IP, new technology, hiring new experts, and building new products.
“Our clients are being very bold and reimagining their businesses. We will have to do the same to be at the cutting edge of the advisory business. Times of turbulence are often crucibles of opportunity,” said Singh of Bain.
Since consulting is a difficult business to scale up, most firms have continued hiring from B-schools and top colleges, and laterally through the pandemic to create capacity to service growing demand.
Between the three consulting majors, they would have added more than 350 people to their India business by the end of FY22.
“We have kept up the tempo in hiring even during the pandemic because creating capacity in consulting takes time and we want to be future-ready,” said Shah of BCG.
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SynopsisConsulting is a reflection of derived demand, mirroring the state of the economy and business confidence. As economic activity picked up after the second Covid wave, top consulting firms witnessed record growth in client engagements. “Our best year ever! We have tripled our business in the last five years despite the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Karan Singh, MD, Bain & Co. “And we have been sold out since September last year.”iStockThe Big Three in global strategy consulting, McKinsey, and Bain, are witnessing a sharp uptick in demand for their services – so much so that adding assignments is a challenge – as companies grapple with sudden market shifts, multiplying digitisation needs, and replacement of cost with growth as priority. Consulting is a reflection of derived demand, mirroring the state of the economy and business confidence. As economic activity picked up after the second Covid wave, top consulting firms witnessed record growth in client engagements. “Our best year ever! We have tripled our business in the last five years despite the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Karan Singh, MD, Bain & Co. “And we have been sold out since September last year.” Industry leaders say that given the demand, the top three firms might close FY22 with combined gross revenues between ₹5,500 crore and ₹5,800 crore and 225-235 partners despite the Covid impact. Client briefs now revolve around digitisation, technology disruption, rethinking supply chains, restructuring costs, profitability, M&A and PE transactions, and adapting to new ways of working. “The briefs are all about ‘winning the discontinuity’. Every market is seeing a polarisation – the difference between leaders and laggards is becoming larger. We are helping a lot of companies embrace the change – be it by restructuring, streamlining cash flows, embedding technology or creating the next leg of growth,” said Gautam Kumra, managing partner, McKinsey & Co, Asia. Right now, the consulting firms are witnessing two-speed demand from India Inc. There’s heavy demand from IT services, tech companies, financial services, healthcare, government and public service companies and moderate to high demand from industrials, hospitality, auto, energy and steel. “Last year, there was a slowdown in demand during one quarter, but the need for consulting multiplied manifold during the pandemic,” said Alpesh Shah, managing director, BCG India. “Almost 70-80% of assignments in the last few months have been long-term assignments.” As clients are demanding more tech-led, data-driven solutions, the white-shoe firms have had to invest aggressively in IP, new technology, hiring new experts, and building new products. “Our clients are being very bold and reimagining their businesses. We will have to do the same to be at the cutting edge of the advisory business. Times of turbulence are often crucibles of opportunity,” said Singh of Bain. Since consulting is a difficult business to scale up, most firms have continued hiring from B-schools and top colleges, and laterally through the pandemic to create capacity to service growing demand. Between the three consulting majors, they would have added more than 350 people to their India business by the end of FY22. “We have kept up the tempo in hiring even during the pandemic because creating capacity in consulting takes time and we want to be future-ready,” said Shah of BCG. (Catch all the Business News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.)Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.ETPrime stories of the day