We are delighted to receive two awards in the "Best of Consulting Mittelstand 2021" award from WirtschaftsWoche: Intero Consulting was awarded 2nd place in the Operations (IT Sourcing) category! In the Technologies (Shared Services) field, we were awarded "qualified"! On this page we present our winning projects in the individual categories.
We have been awarded!
Winning projects A portrait of the winning projects from the individual categories
Operations (IT sourcing): Negotiation project with software monopolist takes 2nd place!
The software and hardware bundling contract between one of the largest IT providers and a leading German financial services institution is coming to an end and it is imperative that a follow-up contract is negotiated. Most of the products and services are strategic and business-critical components and the supplier is in a monopolistic position for a large proportion of these.
The customer started the project to analyse requirements and negotiate the follow-up contract approx. 1 year before the end of the contract.
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Challenges
The project team is confronted with further challenges, including:
- High cost pressure and downsizing targets in the client company
- Uncertain demand development with a long observation period
- Complex contract and licence conditions and non-transparent offers
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Support service Intero Consulting
Intero Consulting supports the project in particular with:
- Specialised knowledge of the supplier's complex contract, pricing and licensing issues and a high level of understanding of the respective advantages and disadvantages, dependencies and risks,
- A tried-and-tested methodology for defining target prices for the individual contract components and evaluating the overall contract,
- Definition and coordination of the negotiation strategy with the involvement of stakeholders and management.
Together with our client, we were able to successfully implement the project and negotiate an attractive follow-up contract under the given framework conditions.
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Successes
The successes of the project that should be emphasised are
- Cost savings: the running costs for the new contract period can be reduced by a high single-digit million amount per year compared to the actual costs.
- Transparency: a transparent billing model based on the polluter-pays principle with the option of initiating targeted reduction measures.
- Security: Fixed conditions for additional requirements during the term and extension conditions for the follow-up period offer planning and cost security.
Project phases
We are also delighted with the excellent feedback from our customer on the trusting, pleasant and professional cooperation in all phases of the project.
Technologies (Shared Services): IT transformation project was awarded "qualified"!
In a German banking group, the IT operations of a subsidiary are outsourced to the parent company. As a result of the relocation, the parent company becomes the IT service provider for its subsidiaries for the first time.
The two IT directors commission a due diligence. The aim is to achieve a positive long-term business case in terms of ensuring sustainable operations, costs, risks and dependencies.
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Challenges
Various challenges need to be overcome:
- Parent company has not yet acted as an external IT service provider,
- No structure in place for shared services in IT operations,
- Procedure to be defined for the evaluation of IT insourcing,
- Tight schedule for due diligence and implementation.
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Support service Intero Consulting
Intero Consulting supports the parent company in carrying out the due diligence and the subsequent implementation of the project:
- Expertise in business case methodology and structure,
- Several years of experience with group-internal IT service providers in developing the cooperation model and setting up efficient governance,
- Expertise in the management of internal IT services (structure, cost allocation, management levers) in the creation of a standardised service portfolio.
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Successes
Together, significant improvements were achieved at the end of the two-year project. The subsidiary's IT operating costs were reduced by 40% compared to in-house operations. At the same time, sustainable IT operations are ensured by using the Group standard. Last but not least, service management at the parent company was professionalised. The dimensions of the project can also be seen in the graphic below.
In addition to our contribution in terms of content, we put further arguments in the jury's favour:
- Excellent communication in the project at all levels,
- Convincing realism - the business case from the due diligence was even exceeded by the project,
and the most important criterion for us - our satisfied contacts at the client, who particularly appreciated our absolute reliability, loyalty, methodical expertise and high quality.
Background to the award
The "Best of Consulting Mittelstand" award is presented every year by WirtschaftsWoche. The best client projects from various consultancies are assessed by a scientific advisory board and a jury. The prizes are awarded depending on the turnover of the company and the segment (e.g. operations, marketing, sustainability). Further information on the award can be found here.
We are delighted that we were able to convince the Wirtschaftswoche jury and would like to thank them for the award.
