Consulting® APRIL 2018 21
innovations were possible and then have their
workers participate in experiential learning on
the model factory’s advanced production lines.
That model helped McKinsey zero in on two
longstanding and pervasive consulting challenges, Simon notes:
1) Getting clients to think big
enough in terms of the scope of improvements
and services they should commit to; and 2)
Helping clients achieve the behavioral and
mindset shifts necessary to sustain the improvements after the engagement concluded.
This offsite offering, Simon adds, hit upon a
“sweet spot” of providing something familiar for
clients to relate to (e.g., a production line, albeit
a state-of-the-art one) while getting clients “far
enough from their own world so that they can
think differently.”
The current crop of more broadly-focused in-
novation centers are carefully architected to help
clients think differently, thanks to their sleek de-
sign and impressive technology offerings – and
also to the condensed product- and solution-
development sessions that many firms conduct
with clients. Rather than serving the purpose of
sustaining improvements, many of these activi-
ties are designed to give clients a taste of the
longer and larger collaborations and projects that
firms want to take place once their intensive ses-
sion within the innovation center concludes.
Trebino describes a consumer products client
that visited a KMPG ignition center to discuss a
procurement challenge. As the ignition consult-
ants listened to and probed the problem, they
brought in colleagues with other forms of ex-
pertise—including data analytics, digital visuali-
zation and tax technology—to contribute to the
brainstorming session. A challenge that the cli-
ent initially thought centered on procurement ef-
ficiency turned out to be larger, and the potential
solutions featured some alluring tax-planning
opportunities. Trebino notes that the work inside
the ignition center frequently starts with a client
problem or idea, or even the rapid development
of a prototype, and then progresses to an actual
client-site implementation as well as post-imple-
mentation support.
EY’s recent wavespace engagements include
helping an agricultural company’s IT function
develop new digital capabilities while embracing agile implementation; helping numerous
healthcare and life sciences stakeholders rethink
the cancer-treatment supply chain; and guiding a
number of client teams through activities related
to blockchain and digital corporate finance opportunities.
The primary focus of BCG’s ICOs is to deliver an interactive Industry 4.0 experience for visitors, according to Rachidi. A client team from
an industrial good company recently visited one
of BCG’s innovation centers in hopes of gaining a more comprehensive and precise overview
on market opportunities, including those related
to 3D printing, in additive manufacturing. The
team left the ICO with a list of potential acquisition targets, a business strategy for launching a
new technology offering and a roadmap for implementing the new strategy.
Key Measures and
Long-Term Questions
The comparatively narrower focus of BCG’s
ICOs (companies with manufacturing operations and vendors with offerings in those areas)
enables Rachidi and his colleagues to deploy a
mix of high-level and specific success measures.
While noting that clients who participate in ICO
activities achieve improvements in their data
infrastructure and governance structures, Rachidi also says that the purpose of the ICO is to
help global companies notch more quantifiable
improvements, such as productivity gains and
ramp-up time reductions.
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