There are several methods of product IT consulting, by applying which the consultants will collect and analyze data on your company’s operation, and advice on the best ways to improve your business performance.
- Benchmarking
This is a method where IT consultants will compare the metrics of your company with the metrics of your competitors. This will equip the consultants with necessary information on why your competitor is doing well in certain aspects. Based on the collected data, it will be easy for the consultants to advice you on areas where you need to improve, so that your company will succeed. Common metrics which can be used in benchmarking include: production costs, process cycle time, revenues and employee turnover.
- Balanced scorecard
This implies tracking important aspects in a company as a way of facilitating organizational improvement. The indicators measured are beyond financial metrics. After assessing the important metrics in a company, consultants are able to come up with recommendations which are aimed at improving the performance of a company. Some of the components tracked include: earnings, revenues, market share, employee morale, quality and customer satisfaction metrics.
- Porter’s five forces
This is an IT consulting method developed by Michael E Porter. The method uses five forces in an industry to come up with effective solutions. The five forces include:
• Competitor rivalry
• The threat of substitute offerings
• The bargaining power of suppliers
• The bargaining power of buyers
• The threat of new entrants
The five forces are assessed to identify ways in which they affect an organization. Adjustments can be made in the organization setup to come up with an action plan, which will make it easy to improve business operation.
- The GE-McKinsey Nine-Box Matrix
This is a method which was developed by McKinsey and Company in the 1970s. It is a matrix which is used to prioritize investment in different business units. It can be used to assess different types of companies. In the matrix, opportunities are categorized in different categories, such as high, medium or low.
- The BCG Growth-Share Matrix
The matrix was developed by Boston Consulting Group. It is a method which is used to assess relative strength of product lines in different portfolios. In this method, product lines can be assigned in quadrants, such as cash cows, stars, question marks and dogs. The quadrants make it easy for the company to work on different areas of weakness which prevent them from performing better.
- Core Competencies
The method focuses on identifying the company’s competency. This is very helpful in positioning the competitive advantage of the company. A core competency refers to competency in an area not dominated by competitors. It helps companies deliver unique value to consumers. This helps the company to achieve great advantage over the competitors.
