samedi 22 août 2015

Utilizing International Strategic Consultants In Design Effective Plans

By Ruthie Livingston


To survive in the volatile economic times and take advantage of the available opportunities, businesses need to develop a strategic vision. A good business strategy helps the business maintain sustainable competitive advantage without sacrificing its profitability. The business may not have the expertise to develop the relevant strategies in the worldwide marketplace Thus, hiring an international strategic consultants would be the best idea.

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.

The dynamism in the global market place dictates that a company must be always looking for ways to diversify its sources of revenue. Relying on one or two streams of income may put the company into a risk of failure should there be a change of policies, customer preferences or emergence of new technologies. A consultant helps the company develop credible innovation processes, product development and assist in building robust brands in global marketplace. Furthermore, the consultant helps uncover customer needs and develop innovative solutions to meet such needs.

The employees of a firm are its most valuable resource. An effective team is innovative, creates quality and value for clients, and is able to reach the set goals. Business turns to consultants in the development of an efficient business model, organizational design, performance management, leadership management, and selection of quality business service providers for its own needs.

As the business grows, it is important to cater for both vertical and horizontal growth. Mergers and acquisitions are part of horizontal integration that enables rapid growth given that the market is already there and all the systems are in place. To achieve this on a global scene, a company requires an experienced consultant to offer expert support in all areas of mergers and acquisitions, target identification, due diligence, screening, and post-merger integration of both firms.

A functional strategy results from breaking down other strategies small manageable policies. It includes planning of daily activities of the firm that include human resource, finance, information technology, and procurement. A business may be in need of getting finance to expand and access new markets, manage its working capital overseas or training on the use of performance management systems like SAP.

Strategies are of no use if they are not put into practice. While it may be easy to develop a plan, executing the plan is much harder. Strategy execution requires training, best practices and ability to measure results. A consultant may come in handy in devising an implementation roadmap, managing the change process, measuring success, and training the staff on the new systems.

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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