Management Consulting Services

Industry Profile Report

Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters

Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.

Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.

Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.

Industry Profile Excerpts

Industry Overview

The 75,900 management consulting firms in the US assist businesses and organizations with administrative, strategic, and management-related issues. Major revenue categories include strategic and financial management consulting and implementation services. Firms may also offer operations and supply chain, marketing, and human resources management consulting services. Customers include businesses, institutions, non-profit organizations, and government entities.

Competitive Bidding

Many clients use competitive bidding when soliciting management consulting services and preparing bids is a costly process for consulting firms and requires significant amounts of managerial time and effort.

Dependence On Highly-Skilled Labor

Management consulting firms solve complex business problems and rely on highly-skilled, educated, and experienced industry professionals to provide consulting services.

Industry size & Structure

The average management consulting services provider operates out of a single location, employs 8-9 workers, and generates about $3 million annually.

    • The management consulting services industry consists of about 75,900 firms that employ about 664,000 workers and generate about $232 billion annually.
    • The industry is fragmented; the top 50 companies account for 41% of industry revenue.
    • Large companies include McKinsey and Company, Booz Allen Hamilton, Boston Consulting Group, Bain, and Accenture. Most large firms offer comprehensive services and operate nationally and internationally.
                              Industry Forecast
                              Management Consulting Services Industry Growth
                              Source: Vertical IQ and Inforum

                              Recent Developments

                              Mar 7, 2023 - US Manufacturing Activity Slows
                              • Signals are increasingly pointing to a slowdown in demand for US manufactured goods as consumers and businesses rein in spending amid rising interest rates, according to The Wall Street Journal. In February, new orders for manufactured goods dropped for the sixth consecutive month, according to the Institute for Supply Management. Manufacturing output is also down about 1.7% from a post-pandemic high reached in April, according to a three-month moving average of Federal Reserve data. The Fed’s efforts to slow inflation through interest rate hikes has pushed up borrowing costs for expensive consumer items and business equipment purchases. Amid higher borrowing costs and weakening demand, manufacturers may look to consultants to help them navigate a tougher economic environment by improving efficiencies.
                              • The rate of US business applications, a demand driver for consulting services, increased 0.9% in January 2023 compared to the prior month, according to the US Census Bureau. The Midwest posted the strongest growth in January business applications, with a rise of 2.8%, followed by the Northeast and the South, which saw rises of 1.7% and 1%, respectively. Business applications in the West fell by 1.1%. Of the 20 major industry sectors tracked by the Census Bureau, all but seven posted growth in business applications in January, led by utilities (up 55.1%), arts and entertainment (+7.6), mining (+7.3%), accommodation and food services (+6.3%), and real estate (+5.8%). Industry categories that posted declines in business applications in January were retail trade (down 4%), wholesale trade (-3.7%), unclassified (-2.4%), agriculture (-3.5%), information (-1.3%), and manufacturing (-1.3%).
                              • After a spate of high-profile layoffs at major tech firms, including Alphabet and Meta, some executives feel like they are regaining some of the leverage they lost as they struggled to hire enough workers and raised wages during the pandemic, according to The Wall Street Journal. While the US job market is still tight amid low unemployment and millions of unfilled jobs. However, job growth in December was the slowest in two years. With the recent uptick in large companies announcing layoffs, some managers may feel they have more leeway in salary negotiations and enforcing in-office work requirements. Worries about a possible recession and concerns about right-sizing corporate headcounts could drive demand for management consulting services.
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