A.T. Kearney Benelux partners with JADS for Digital Transformation

Global strategy consulting firm A.T. Kearney has joined forces in the Netherlands with JADS, a collaboration between Tilburg University and Eindhoven University of Technology, to further build capabilities and expertise in the field of data science. “Data science is at the core of A.T. Kearney’s Digital Transformation practice and this partnership enables us to fortify our local partner ecosystem,” says Stef Oud, partner at A.T. Kearney in Amsterdam.

Digital technology is rapidly advancing and becoming increasingly important in daily life and in the corporate world. Corporates, however, struggle with their digital transformation and are urged to adapt quickly by  being ahead of changing customer preferences for example and new entrants in their markets. To successfully navigate change, a full suite of capabilities, expertise and tooling is needed, remarks Stef Oud, who is a leader in A.T. Kearney’s Digital Transformation practice in the Benelux.

“Very few companies (possibly none) have in-house the deep expertise and resource capabilities needed to design and execute digital transformation,” he says, pointing at the fact that, as it stands, an estimated two thirds of digital transformation projects fail to meet their pre-set objectives. Stef Oud lauds A.T. Kearney for having “one of the largest digital and analytics teams” comprising of analytics practitioners, data scientists, and data engineers. Capitalising on an ecosystem with partners that cover all areas of service, the consultancy can provide a “full-service end-to-end offering” to its clients. 

He describes the new partnership with JADS as “an excellent and powerful example” of how the consulting firm is building a complementary partner network. “With this partnership in research, A.T. Kearney strengthens its data science capabilities in the Benelux by gaining access to the latest thinking and (academic) developments in the field of data science.”The firm’s newest partner JADS – Jheronimus Academy of Data Science – is labelled by scholars as a unique concept in the Netherlands. Established by the Province of North Brabant, the Municipality of ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Tilburg University and Eindhoven University of Technology, the cooperation allows students to study Data Science through bachelor, graduate and PDEng education programmes at three different locations. Research developed by students is trialed and tested at Data Science Centers, and, if successful, applied within existing ecosystems. “This unique cooperation creates a leading knowledge infrastructure in the country,” explains Stef Oud.

An example of this lies for instance in research by an A.T. Kearney doctoral candidate on uncovering the early warning signals of digital disruptions in established markets. “For incumbents it is important to understand the anatomy of digital disruptions to eventually become proactive and disrupt themselves, thereby converting a potential demise into a new source of competitive advantage.” 

Another benefit of the partnership with JADS, he adds, is that A.T. Kearney can tap into a continuous stream of data science talent. The firm eyes the very best talent in the marketplace, but faces stiff competition from the other of the globe’s top strategy consultants.

A career in strategy consulting 

For JADS, the collaboration with the Amsterdam-based consultancy allows its students to broaden their horizon with a career perspective in consulting – the most in-demand industry for launching a career according to a recent survey among students. Supporting this, A.T. Kearney has a range of internships available each year for JADS students, allowing them to experience strategy and management consulting first hand and work on challenging board-level topics for A.T. Kearney clients.

In the case that students enjoy their spell and make an impact, then a consulting career lies ahead, says Stef Oud. “Students can then become part of A.T. Kearney’s analytics team that focuses on topics such as predictive modelling, pricing analytics, real time decision making, and network/inventory/transportation optimisation.”