Who are consultants you can hire to create a more efficient company?

[Davidl]

Looking at small to large sized businesses what type of consultants are hired in order to create a more efficient company?

Business analyst
Accountant - analyse financial
Marketer

What are others consultants that large companies hire? Nike, Apple, reebok, mcdonalds for example. Surely with their resources they have a large budget to hire consultants/companies in several different areas of the company.

With companies that are that large do they typically not have to hire outside help as they have marketers on the payroll or are some of these tasks outsourced to large firms that deal with marketing?

[Freelancier]

Generally speaking, large companies hire for most day-to-day operations and that includes marketing, accounting, etc. They outsource the "we need this once in a while and it's a specialized activity that requires a type of resource that is scarce" jobs, like network security audits. They might also have specific projects that also involve outsourcing if the project has a defined duration and the resources aren't available for hiring the people necessary, so consultants get brought in for those.

What are you really trying to figure out?

[Harold Mansfield]

It really depends on what area you need to overhaul. It's not one sized fits all. Efficiency experts tend to specialize in things like customer service, shipping and fulfillment, manufacturing and so on. I know a guy that specializes in Restaurants and Bars and he's good at whipping a place into shape, but he doesn't also do Distribution Warehouses.

As Freelancer said, what area are you having trouble in? I'm sure there's a guy (or gal) for that.

[Davidl]

Its hard to explain what exactly I'm looking for..

The best way to describe it is that I'm looking at what big companies do that make them efficient (what they do and why they do it) and if they can be applied to a small business realistically. That way when I start a business I can have options that I didnt know that was there.

[Freelancier]

Big companies... efficient? Not so much. Instead, they have the money to mask their inefficiencies by having products/services that people are happy to buy. It's only during bad times that they look to improve their productivity by jettisoning people and trying to do the same things with fewer people, and in that process they find the efficiency gains they didn't even bother to look for before that.

Or, I could just be a raging cynic. :)

[Harold Mansfield]

Its hard to explain what exactly I'm looking for..

The best way to describe it is that I'm looking at what big companies do that make them efficient (what they do and why they do it) and if they can be applied to a small business realistically. That way when I start a business I can have options that I didnt know that was there.

I don't think you will find a catch all efficiency resource. Work on doing what you need to get started. There's no way to know where your shortcomings are until they happen or without any kind of specifics of where you think you need help.

You may find some industry specific resources for start ups and DIY's. Search out those.

[Brian Altenhofel]

Big companies... efficient? Not so much. Instead, they have the money to mask their inefficiencies by having products/services that people are happy to buy. It's only during bad times that they look to improve their productivity by jettisoning people and trying to do the same things with fewer people, and in that process they find the efficiency gains they didn't even bother to look for before that.

Or, I could just be a raging cynic. :)

It's not that they "found" the efficiency gains during the bad times, it's that the bad times created a PR opportunity.

[Fulcrum]

Its hard to explain what exactly I'm looking for..

The best way to describe it is that I'm looking at what big companies do that make them efficient (what they do and why they do it) and if they can be applied to a small business realistically. That way when I start a business I can have options that I didnt know that was there.

Are you talking retail, manufacturing, assembly, storage, etc?

I can tell you from experience that a small company can be more efficient and flexible than the big players. I half lost a job to the largest player in the world for wood cutting products that I could have delivered in 1/3 the time. I say half lost because the customer still ordered through me but wanted the name brand product (my quality is equal to the name brand and my price was similar).

[patrickoleary]

I'm a lurker on the forums. I love all of the conversation here. I registered to respond.

I am a partner in a small, boutique consulting practice. We specialize in productivity improvement - retail, distribution, manufacturing, aerospace, etc. [Edited by Mod. First post, Solicitation for private contact]

The one thing I would say even if you aren't interested in talking to me is to look up an Industrial Engineer. That's what my degree is in, and we focus on making things more efficient using tools and techniques that apply in many places. The interesting thing about it is, it's a different way of thinking. So often, companies and people in those companies are focused on growing the business that they forget about the simple things that help them deliver effectively to their clients. Someone on here mentioned how dysfunctional larger companies are, that's true to an extent.

Thanks. I'm going to have to start posting more often.

[poleary2000]

I'm a lurker on the forums. I love all of the conversation here. I registered to respond.

I am a partner in a small, boutique consulting practice. We specialize in productivity improvement - retail, distribution, manufacturing, aerospace, etc. [Edited by Mod. First post, Solicitation for private contact]

The one thing I would say even if you aren't interested in talking to me is to look up an Industrial Engineer. That's what my degree is in, and we focus on making things more efficient using tools and techniques that apply in many places. The interesting thing about it is, it's a different way of thinking. So often, companies and people in those companies are focused on growing the business that they forget about the simple things that help them deliver effectively to their clients. Someone on here mentioned how dysfunctional larger companies are, that's true to an extent.

Thanks. I'm going to have to start posting more often.

Sorry about that. I was excited because I saw a question in my field of expertise.

[Harold Mansfield]

Sorry about that. I was excited because I saw a question in my field of expertise.

No problem. Happens all the time.

[RobertL]

Well known consulting companies are very expensive and based on my experience they deal mostly in ways to dodge taxes rather than streamlining operations. I think your best bet is to hire senior college students to do this for you. They cost a tiny fraction. Now, two thirds of them are not very good so that money will be largely wasted. Statistically you have to outsource it three times to get it done right. But 3 times a tiny fraction is still a small fraction.

[Bobjob]

I have a very small business. I found that our local university has a free business consultant. He came out, found out what we were tying to accomplish, and introduced us to people who could help. I cannot say enough good things about him and the service the university is offering.

[SmallBizOrg]

You don't know what you don't know...it's not uncommon for small business owners who know to do what they do but wonder what are they missing, how to make a real business out of their skills. As previous answers suggest, there is no "right" answer, no magic solution that fits all.

But there are a few general functions that all businesses need to manage: Strategy, Marketing, Finance, Operations, Human Resources and Research and Development. These are the areas that all business schools, all MBA programs around the world cover. We summarized all these areas on the website specifically to help people in your situation get a high level understanding of what they should think about.

So I suggest you start from that high level and zoom in and think of specifics of your business idea. Think what do you need to do to create and deliver your service or product (Operations), what would be your best bets in terms of making people find out about your offering (Marketing), how much would all that cost and how much could you get in revenues (Finance), whether you would need help and how would you find talent , hire, pay, motivate etc potential employees (HR) and how to stay on top of your market, production/delivery methods, how to keep reducing costs and develop new services/product to stay ahead of competition (R&D).

And lastly, it is ideal to compile all that thinking in a business plan, put some numbers around each item, make assumptions when you don't have enough information. That would be your "Strategic management", deciding what products/services to offer, in what markets, based on where may be your biggest and most certain profits, after recognizing the costs involved in each alternative.

You can brainstorm on any particular issue, search on the internet etc but you need to start with a big picture first to know what you are looking for.

Again, there are no "right" answers but you can also try to talk with a "business coach", ask around in your area, accountants and bookkeepers have a lot of relationships with other services providers, etc.

Hope this helps.

[yoligrana]

Its hard to explain what exactly I'm looking for..

The best way to describe it is that I'm looking at what big companies do that make them efficient (what they do and why they do it) and if they can be applied to a small business realistically. That way when I start a business I can have options that I didnt know that was there.

Hi Davidl,
Yes, what big companies do can be applied to small and medium sized business.