Consulting Services Industry Profile

The US consulting services industry includes about 130,000 firms with combined annual revenue of about $140 billion. Major companies include Accenture, Bain, Booz Allen, Deloitte Consulting (an affiliate of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu), and IBM Global Services. The industry is fragmented: the top 50 companies account for less than 30 percent of total industry revenue.

The worldwide consulting services industry generates more than $250 billion annually. Major international management consulting companies include PA Consulting Group (UK), Roland Berger (Germany), and Tata Strategic Management (India).

The industry includes companies that provide management, scientific, and technical consulting services, including specialized services such as environmental, human resources, logistics, and marketing consulting. IT consulting, a related specialty, is covered in the Information Technology Services industry profile.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Demand is driven by the needs of businesses, nonprofit institutions, and government agencies for outside advice. The profitability of individual companies depends on the efficiency of their operations and their ability to maintain a steady flow of business. Large firms have advantages in being able to offer broad ranges of services and to take on more complex projects. Small firms can compete effectively by specializing. The industry is labor-intensive: average annual revenue per worker is about $140,000.

PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Major services include strategic management consulting (nearly 40 percent of revenue), business strategy and planning consulting (25 percent), and marketing management consulting (15 percent).

Management consultants advise senior and middle managers about the ...