Consulting - Management, Strategic, IT et all

[zanyzaphod]

Originally Posted by uRmad

Anyway, I ain't got much to contribute here, except for this very funny line that I read the other day from this site

Hmm, If ya think thats funny, u oughta read the Dilbert take on consultants...wicked n sooo full of malice

[Francesco CATtie]

A nice thread indeed by Psycho.

Off late I had been receiving PM's from many members about ERP, Consulting in ERP, and the job profile after an MBA in ERP. I shall try to answer a few queries based on my 1.5 years of experience in SAP an ERP Product.
I am not an MBA and joined as a fresher but was trained in Domain processes like Supply Chain Management, Finance, and Accounting, SD etc. I shall speak more from the Technical point of view of ERP.
There are 2 types of Consultants in SAP, Functional Consultants and Technical Consultants. MBA is not obligatory for either. But an MBA starts off his/her career as a Functional Consultant depending upon his/her area of specialization like MM, Logistics, PP, FICO, HR. At the same time, the FC will be generally trained in the technical aspects of SAP because Functional and Technical areas of SAP run hand in hand.
A Technical Consultant of SAP usually works on ABAP which is Advanced Business Application Programming. Depending upon the business requirements of a particular module, the TC customizes the already existing SAP code. For doing this, the TC looks up to the FC. Similarly, for the core technicalities of SAP, the FC will look up to the TC.

In a typical scenario, the Business Analyst or a FC designs the business logic for the client and the TC customizes the ERP Package as per the requirements by adding or removing code. It is at this place that the 'Consulting' comes in where the Business Analysts or FC's help the client choose the 'to be' business for obtaining the best results through leveraging the concept of the ERP Product. There are different ERP Products like SAP, Oracle, Baan, JD Edwards but which ERP product to go for is generally decided after looking at the 'as is' business and the nature of the business of the client.
Generally manufacturing companies go for SAP, Banking and Financial Institutions for Oracle Financials and Construction companies for JD Edwards. There can be deviations in these though. Once the ERP package the client wants to go is decided, the 'as is' business is thoroughly analyzed and the Business Analysts advice the client regarding the 'to-be' business. Once the whole process of analysis is done and the 'to-be' business is decided, an agreement is made with the client, which accounts for the targets which the Analysts promise. This is followed by the customization of the ERP package by the FC's and TC's.

My two cents about what I had experienced at my company.

Vijay

[guitar_killer]

nw, thtz sounds a vry captivating thread, thnks to Arun,
Well adding my 3 cents on this theme wud be, tht Consulting is one fo the most Taxing and exigent Jobs we have in any sector these dayz.
and something which i hv nt done since [Oct 2004] moi Joinin Date wud b my Official Intro
me an Enggr working with an US based Offshore Consulting Firm @ERP domain,bt has a pipelined exposure on Business analytics too, the adage of being an Consultant doesnt really rationalize in terms of ur Work exp[ as some1 earlier said] bt rather the Creme de Experience which counts majorly.
Me planing to get into the Strategic Consulting, bt the deflating angle being tht am still an Non-MBA.
Nw wnt to have some gyan frm biggies here @ Consulting, hv got a call from an an Major Consulting Firm who's got an Amazing startlets of IIM & Havard guyz on its board
Co. Applied: INDUCTIS
Role applied :would be as of an Associate Consulting in Marketing Strategy (Customer Segmentation, Customer Value Improvement, Driving Loyalty, Marketing Optimization, etc.) concretely into the IT arena.
can some1 throw a bit lite over the Co. brand image or the growth prospects..
Newayz wud b looking fwd for regular inflow of post @ this thread.

-Dilip-

[vaguefunda]

hehe... thread dying a slow death... goes to show how few ppl ppl are actually into consulting..... its a boon as well as our bane i guess.... as in it keeps u "exclusive" at the same time restricting the job opportunities...

newaz..... i am a business analyst in a very small consultancy which is in a very niche area..... while small has meant that my job responsibility is more, at the same time the brand name is missing... but then i guess our work more than makes up for it...

as to my background.... i am one of the ubiquitous engineers from IIT..... and while even the role of analysts is taken up by MBAs now, some firms still hire engineers..... thankfully but then i know an MBA is imperative if i am to make it BIG in this field..

as to the work i do... involves a lot of statistics... lot of number crunching..... lot of forecasting...... and unlike other types of consulting usually the cross questioning is lesser bcoz the clients are ignorant abt the field

newaz... so guyz in strat consulting like convolutedsignal... wht is the kind of projects that u handle?

[HitchHiker]

Originally Posted by vaguefunda

hehe... thread dying a slow death... goes to show how few ppl ppl are actually into consulting..... its a boon as well as our bane i guess.... as in it keeps u "exclusive" at the same time restricting the job opportunities...

Originally Posted by vaguefunda

as to the work i do... involves a lot of statistics... lot of number crunching..... lot of forecasting...... and unlike other types of consulting usually the cross questioning is lesser bcoz the clients are ignorant abt the field

dude, I doubt there's any kind of work I'd like more than consulting... I have been following this thread almost since it began... struck me as being one of the most intersting topics on PG! But I don't have any exerience in this field! biding my time... Will love to look into this and then get some gyaan...

For some reason, I don't see my self working at an established company... at least in the beginning... have been with a start-up for the past 18 months and theres something great about growth that I would like to have in a job post MBA... my dad's at this blue chip... all sorts of clout, benefits and all but such companies are too risk averse for my liking... even if they do new stuff, its along tested lines...

What I like about consuling is exactly the Problem Solving that is inherent in it... i would like to be at a Crisis-workout Specialist... thats usually an I-bank's area of course but the nature of work is consulting...

[convolutedsignal]

Ok I thought I'd kick back some life into this thread by posting a little bit about Strat consulting..

What is strat consulting?
Basically advicing companies on their strategy. Usually very specific to a certain area, HR, outsourcing, M&A and so on. The higher you go the more the companies need to pay. So its usually a case of swoop in , understand the mess, give sum data backed gyaan on how to clean the mess, actually clean the mess if the company asks you to and finally charge 200 dollars an hour while doing it

Who works there?
Contrary to popular perception, you don't necessarily need an MBA to work for a strat consulting firm. Every consulting firm has a divison of analysts working to back the consultants with specific data and also to provide a research backing in the form of syndicated research on specific markets/industries . A good proportion of analysts are engineers in addition to the regular MBAs. Also graduates from well known colleges also stand a good chance in the support category.

What do they do?
I am sure none of the MBA's are reading this so let me address the better half of the population- the engineers. You will have to analyse data. Simple no?? Not really. Very few engineering colleges in India have a hard problem solving approach to teaching and so not everyone will find the job of making some sense out of a bunch of data easy or appealing. Also it is my personal experience that other than students from colleges which test your problem solving ability others find it tough to get through the case studies. The thrill of the job lies in the challenge that you face every day trying to give some structure to some arcane piece of unstructured data. Of course there is a great deal of searching involved. In google we trust. But at the end of the day there is a certain degree of mental satisfaction involved like the one you get after solving medium level SUDOKU

What's the life like?
Pretty good actually. Most consulting firms are US based and do believe in concepts like a 10 hour workday and free weekends. Moreover the lifestyle is good because of added perks (healthclub, golf, theatre) The pay is good. The good thing about the pay is that they give you you what they claim and the bonuses are extremely performance oriented..and u get what u deserve.

So the BIG question; How do you get in?
India is on the verge of becoming a research hub (in the consulting context). The cheap cost of an Indian analyst is a major factor apart from our brilliant engineers. Most consulting firms take pride in the number of engineers they hire and India has abundant talent. Unfortuantely they are also very elitist because consulting firms byt default operate on a league mentality. So bein an IITian(the top 3) or a BITSian helps. I know a good number of Stephanians also in the hunt. You need a capability to analyse. Try the case studies at www.mckinsey.com or www.bcg.com . www.vault.com is an international portal for MBAs. and they have some really good articles and goodies for consulting jobs. try out the case studies. Get the ability to give shape to any form of unstructured data. Example: How many marriages happen every year in Delhi? Think about it.

I have put in a few points which I felt were of basic nature. Please note that the above points need not be relevant to IT consulting or operations consulting. And anyone who wants further info please use the thread to post questions. Will be helpful to all.I am also on the look out for a few research analysts (1-2) you have to fit in all the above qualities and so do pm me only after confirming this.

[DesiGuru]

convo Yaar good work... But you cant disguise your enormous verbal and DI skills by trying to say this clearly that after the top three IITs its BITS Now I am not saying you are not right... But I believe you could be should be more cryptic than this...

Anyways back to this thread... I think Consulting is quite sexy a field and along with finance i banks one of the only good reasons for joining a Bschool...
Maybe more after I learn more gyan from you consult studs...

K

[convolutedsignal]

Originally Posted by DesiGuru

convo Yaar good work... But you cant disguise your enormous verbal and DI skills by trying to say this clearly that after the top three IITs its BITS Now I am not saying you are not right... But I believe you could be should be more cryptic than this...

Anyways back to this thread... I think Consulting is quite sexy a field and along with finance i banks one of the only good reasons for joining a Bschool...
Maybe more after I learn more gyan from you consult studs...

K

When did I ever say after? And this is actually a matter of fact when it comes to consulting atleast Will not hold good if u take say Chemical engineering or civil

[DesiGuru]

Originally Posted by convolutedsignal

When did I ever say after? And this is actually a matter of fact when it comes to consulting atleast Will not hold good if u take say Chemical engineering or civil

You see this is the level of crypticness i am more comfortable with

K

[convolutedsignal]

Originally Posted by DesiGuru

You see this is the level of crypticness i am more comfortable with

K

@all others. This is just a bit of juvenile humor that is very characteristic of two very cynical and slightly insane buggers with a liberal dose of Post CAT euphoria...

@DG glad that I cud oblige