Simon-Kucher launches own solutions business: Engine
Global consulting firm Simon-Kucher & Partners has launched a new solutions business, bringing together more than 35 years of experience and over 20 tools to the market.
Branded as ‘Simon-Kucher Engine’, the new business is part of the firm’s strategy to become a €500 million company and an “end-to-end provider” in its areas of expertise. Founded in 1985, Simon-Kucher & Partners specialises in three topics: commercial strategy, sales & marketing and pricing.
The global firm (40+ offices worldwide) has over the years grown into a consulting market leader in these segments, and now, with its new venture, Simon-Kucher aims to achieve a similar position in the solutions segment.
“We are confident that our intelligent engines, smart toolkits, and platforms for digital interactions with clients and teams will open up completely new worlds for companies in terms of pricing, marketing and sales,” said Wolfgang Johann Mitschke, Managing Director of Simon-Kucher Engine.
Among the digital tools within Simon-Kucher Engine’s portfolio are: Price Map, a tool that helps structure pricing; Peer Pricing, a tool that supports sales negotiations with benchmark data; Price Wargaming, a tool that simulates pricing battles for better decision-making; New Product Pricing, a tool that helps companies price their innovations; and TradeStrat, a platform that offers trade-term and discount insights.
“We offer companies straightforward and easy-to-implement software solutions that support executives in making quick, well-founded, and automated pricing, sales, and marketing decisions – in order to help them improve their top-line growth,” said Mitschke.
Andreas von der Gathen, the CEO of Simon-Kucher, said that Simon-Kucher Engine brings two main benefits to the firm. First, it provides Simon-Kucher with an early mover advantage in a high growth market. Commercial departments are rapidly turning to technology to drive insights and improve their decision-making, and “as a market leader in pricing and sales & marketing, we know what clients wants and need.”
“We see great growth potential in our new tech company: Engine,” said Von der Gathen
Second, the move deepens Simon-Kucher’s offerings to clients, adding a more ‘run-the-business’ offering to its traditional strategic consulting proposition. This means that the firm will be able to provide a more “end-to-end” solution, and meanwhile reap the benefits from having a solutions business – a longer term client relationship and hence more ownership, as well as a more predictable stream of revenues (as opposed to consulting).
“Simon-Kucher Engine will help us meet our clients’ needs even better than before. The tools will help us transform recommendations, know-how and best practices into tangible results for our clients.”
Other major consulting firms that have a solutions business include McKinsey & Company (over 50 solutions across sectors), Bain & Company (most of which focus on commercial improvement and transactions) and Mercer (a suite of HR solutions).