Consulting Services

Consulting Services

With RFID mandates, Sarbanes-Oxley
and supply chain challenges still burning bright for most consumer goods firms, the consulting arena in 2005 was in high demand. Working with a lion's share of the top consumer goods firms, Deloitte once again nabs the top spot. The company's ability to work seamlessly with firms big (Heinz) and small (Tasty Baking) is a testament to how well it is able to adapt to shifting industry trends while catering to the needs of its customers. The past year was also a good one for industry stalwart IBM as the firm nabbed major business from Unilever, which turned to IBM for a seven-year outsourcing contract aimed at transforming its financial transaction services in Europe. IBM Business Consulting Services will use sites in India, Poland and Portugal to handle Unilever's purchase-to-pay, general accounting and bill-to-cash functions. Hitachi Consulting, the business and IT consulting company of Hitachi, Ltd., bolsters its services to the consumer goods industry this year with the appointment of operations and IT strategist Stephen Brant, vice president and industry practice leader. Brant, formerly of Anderson, is now leading one of Hitachi Consulting's largest industry practices, including Mary Kay, IHOP, Birkenstock and Viking Range as valued clients. Rounding out the top 10 is newcomer Cognizant, a firm that has further strengthened its relationship with Pfizer Global Research and Development. Earlier this year, the duo announced a multi-year relationship to provide high-end business process outsourcing solutions. On top of outsourcing, expect the consulting community to ramp up product innovation efforts as the final costs are wrung from the supply chain.

Breakout Winners
Customer Experience
The hot-button consulting topic of the year was RFID. Consulting firms that help clients meet mandates while realizing a return will reign supreme in 2006. "Clarkston implemented more than a point solution. They partnered with us to take our 'must do' project and turn it into a strategy and plan for the future," says Russ Brown, director of information services, Russell Corporation.

Small/midsize business
Keeping an eye on growth while maintaining agility is just as important to mid-sized companies as it is to large firms. How that objective is obtained makes all of the difference. Assistance from IBM is bringing Pressman Toys closer to a perfect balance between supply and demand. "The key is to produce exactly what you need when you need it, and that's why an integrated system is vital," says Alan Novick, director of information systems, Pressman Toys.

RFID SERVICES

As RFID implementations continue to take
hold, slap-and-ship solutions will continue to fade. More consumer goods firms will begin to realize the benefit of seizing data from the EPC. These companies that are able to drive insights to action first will be far ahead of the curve while those that don't will obviously suffer. Helping ease and understand these integration pains will continue to be a boon for RFID service providers.

While IBM sells a slap-and-ship solution to help meet mandates in a hurry, the company is also wise to offer vendor management and help desk capabilities.
Flexibility is also key, which is why ADT ranks at No. 2. and also takes home first place for Customer Experience in the RFID Services category. ADT's solutions are based upon the premise that no single RFID technology is best suited for all the market requirements that exist. This philosophy will bode well for the RFID services vendor community going into 2006.

Breakout Winners
Customer Experience
ADT's RFID approach is to offer RFID solutions that work with industry-standard protocols -- and that allow users to expand and change their RFID networks as the technology evolves.

Small/midsize business
At Nice-Pak Products, Verisign understands critical business processes to help build a foundation for long-term strategic vale from RFID.