Expertise

Roland Berger Strategy Consultants works with leading light and commercial vehicle manufacturers, automotive distributors and retailers, as well as automotive suppliers and automotive service providers around the globe.

In close cooperation with our clients, we solve a wide range of strategic issues and operational problems at every stage of the automotive industry value chain. Our teams develop strategies for new products and markets, adapt organizational structures, guide our clients through post-merger integration and help realize innovative cost-cutting concepts. We develop creative strategies and implement practical solutions, always aiming to exceed our clients' expectations.

The Automotive Competence Center is one of the largest industry Competence Centers of Roland Berger. Our teams consist of highly talented individuals, whose industry and consulting experience guarantees that we can generate tangible value for our clients. Hundreds of successful projects in the past decade have made us a leading player in the automotive consulting arena.

Our clients include leading construction and development companies and the largest construction materials producers. We offer them innovative approaches and tools to deal with challenging tasks, from operational excellence to corporate strategy development.

We launched our activities in the construction market in CIS in 1993 and during the following years realized large-scale projects for well-known international and local construction companies interested in regional or global expansion, selection of the most profitable segments in the real estate market, or focus on single links along the value chain. We develop successful approaches for all types of construction materials projects, from raw materials to finished products.

Today, we have a team of consultants specialized in Construction and Real Estate. All of them are experienced in handling complex industry projects, which require non-standard approach and high competence level in functional areas such as strategy, restructuring, and marketing. In order to leverage our knowledge, we regularly engage international experts to take part in our projects; they have work experience with global construction companies. Among them, there are talented engineers and architects as well as managers of real estate funds.

Technological change and globalization are the factors changing the society today. Governments are shaping this process, but also have to adapt to the new environment.

Dynamic globalization is increasing the need for international alliances and joint initiatives to meet the common challenges. At the same time, international trade and capital flows are leading to ever increasing competition between countries, thus putting pressure on domestic policies for both developed and developing countries. Also, demographic change is challenging the established social security systems and calling for major shifts in the social architecture.

These are the topics facing our public sector teams as they work with their clients. We:

• Develop strategies that respond to today's challenges and make practical recommendations in all areas of public policy
• Use our expertise to support the transformation of public administrations into modern, people-friendly institutions and increase efficiency
• Advise companies and investors on how to turn previously publicly funded activities into successful businesses, e.g. with public private partnerships (PPP)

Our team merges knowledge and experience from a wide field of educational and professional backgrounds. This multidisciplinary approach helps us understand our clients' needs and customize the best solution for them. As the leading public sector strategy consultancy and a well-established partner of governmental institutions, such as those in Germany, CEE and Russia, Austria, France, and Italy we have proven that our ideas work in practice. We support our clients with a network of distinguished experts in politics, academia and society

The power and gas business is a pillar of Roland Berger's business. We have more than 120 professionals worldwide dedicated to this field. Our project portfolio comprises more than 250 projects in over 20 countries worldwide.

We serve the leading power and gas companies and help them tackle challenges in three areas: First, corporate issues such as strategy, post-merger integration, performance improvement and reorganization. Second, functional issues such as marketing and value management. And third, value chain issues from exploration to retail.

The need for individual solutions is acute: Power and gas companies have very specific structures, the markets are constantly changing and the players are realigning their competitive positioning. At the same time, companies must deliver shareholder value, be socially responsible and create or maintain their competitive advantages. Helping our clients tackle all these challenges is our mission.

We also serve industrial clients that depend on power and gas. Volatile prices mean they face massive uncertainty regarding their cost position. We develop sound models that help validate decisions made, drive make-or-buy decisions and help assess opportunity/risk profiles of different contractual solutions. What's more, our supply and demand side experience has made us the consultant of choice for regulatory issues.

With all our clients, we share the belief that knowledge of the industry, functional expertise and a local "feel" for the situation must be combined to produce the best results possible.

With the high prices for raw materials, players from emerging markets, which are able to provide lower production costs, are putting pressure on their European competitors. Intensifying research and development is one way to face the challenge: innovative technologies and products are competitive advantages that keep established companies ahead of their low-cost competitors.

Penetrating new markets or market segments and relocation of production facilities to Eastern Europe or Asia to reduce costs is another way to keep ahead of the game. In the current conditions of strengthening competition, it gets harder and harder to Central European players to establish themselves internationally. To provide a competitive product, companies are in need for a clear strategy and a giant leap in efficiency improvement.

Given the diversity of the machinery and electrical engineering industries, there is not just one "correct" approach to supporting our clients. Our projects cover a wide range of topics and solutions.

Roland Berger Strategy Consultants works in mixed teams that combine our functional knowledge with the industry expertise of our electrical engineering specialists.
We cover all strategic issues for this industry, from reducing costs to achieving operational excellence to supporting growth. In the environment characterized by medium-sized players we tackle different issues in holistic cost reduction or operational excellence programs.

Furthermore, we develop strategies to expand business fields and boost sales. Growth strategies come into play when coordinating the product portfolio, developing new service business models, and making the sales organization more professional. Opportunities for optimizing the cost base can be found in product design, improved purchasing and supply chain management and the professionalization of the global footprint.

What does Web 2.0 mean for content production? When will mobile media become ready for the mass market? What will shape the media business in the next 5 to 10 years? Media and entertainment have never been so dynamic: With the advent of the Internet and mobile media, the industry has experienced dramatic upheaval over the last decade.

We have seen the rise of new business models and innovations, such as IP and mobile TV, online communities, portals and free newspapers. These changes are reshaping the entertainment value chain. We are also observing dramatic shifts in consumer behavior, such as an increasing demand for customization and customer empowerment.

The need for innovative business models is growing, and only those who understand how to create premium content and present unique, individualized products to both consumers and advertising clients will be able to stay in the game. CEOs ask us to jointly design strategies and align operations in order to successfully address these issues in an environment that keeps reinventing itself.

Comprehensive experience

The InfoCom team for media and entertainment helps media executives actively develop and enhance their businesses. We cover all sectors: From traditional book publishing and regional and national newspapers, to radio, television, film production as well as new areas such as online and mobile business. Our project portfolio encompasses a whole range of services for our international clients: we define growth strategies, improve revenue and redesign processes. In all this we adhere to our core philosophy: Our support does not stop after the concept phase, but we stay with our clients through implementation until we have achieved results.

New growth opportunities for media groups

Every strategy approach for our clients is unique, whether it be strengthening the core business or diversifying and playing a new game. We can provide support for focusing on in house innovation and organic growth, investing in early-stage ventures or acquiring established businesses. We work with our clients to develop tailor-made strategies for their specific needs and growth plans. We jointly assess strengths and weaknesses, anticipate trends in consumer behavior, identify growth potential and design implementation plans. In recent years, we have assisted numerous media companies in developing strategies to increase and broaden revenue streams and prepare for tomorrow's challenges.

Operational excellence

Some media segments, however, are experiencing downturns because customers are defecting to other media and advertising spending is in steep decline. Whatever the problem, aligning operations is a key priority for all our customers.
Over the past few years, we have supported companies in all media segments to improve operational excellence. Our projects have focused on pre-press facilities, TV production units and central functions of media conglomerates. We help these companies restore their competitiveness and prepare for sustainable operational excellence – each time with a very specific and targeted approach

At the moment, the steel market is being dealt a new hand. Mergers and acquisitions are practically a daily occurrence, and long-established steel companies are now obliged to deal with growing competition from brand new players.
With its team of seasoned experts, Roland Berger Strategy Consultants supports international steel companies in developing strategies for the future. Our project teams are made up of industry experts and strategy, operational excellence or cost management specialists. Thanks to our worldwide network of experts, we develop global solutions without losing sight of local particularities.

Together with our clients, we develop diversification and market entry strategies. We also provide M&A support and find potential partners for strategic alliances all over the world, from Eastern Europe, to Latin America or Asia.
In Ukraine and CIS, mining, metals and metal processing sectors are among core industries in our practice. Our first metallurgical project in the region dates backs to the years before our Moscow office opening in 1994. During 15 years in Ukraine and CIS, our consultants have handled over 30 projects for mining, metallurgical, and metal-working companies. We boast a team consisting of highly-experienced consultants, project managers and partners committed to solving our clients' strategic and operational issues while continuously monitoring the industry.

Due to its vast experience in metallurgical and mining industries in Ukraine and CIS, we have developed a unique know-how on analyzing markets, business processes reengineering, developing organizational structures, KPIs and motivation systems, calculating business plans as well as on diversification strategies and new markets entries, formation of international strategic partnerships, and in M&A field.

In cooperation with our clients, we determine their next moves to achieve considerable improvements in operational and strategic performance.
Our recommendations supplemented by implementation roadmaps help our clients to strengthen their leading positions, enter new markets and increase profitability and operating income.

Today, consumers are far more demanding and unpredictable than they once were. While they want more quality and value for less money, time, and effort, their consumption needs and desires change depending on the occasion. For instance, a single consumer may buy groceries at a discount supermarket in the afternoon and eat out at a premium restaurant the very same night.
In this kind of environment, new consumer needs are constantly emerging, as people demand that integrated product-service solutions be available anywhere, anytime.

For this reason, retailers and consumer goods manufacturers must come up with new strategies to meet their consumers' needs beyond traditional shopping occasions. To this end, new business models need to be taken into account that blur the line between manufacturer and retailer, as both must meet new consumer needs.
In light of these new challenges, consumer goods manufacturers and retailers must constantly review their activities. More precisely, they must update brand/product portfolios and value chains need to exploit new market opportunities. They should also enhance current market approaches to create value for both consumers and themselves.

This is where the Consumer Goods & Retail Competence Center comes in. We focus on the consumer and offer our clients market-driven, rule-breaking strategies that work. Expert teams in FMCG (fast moving consumer goods), retail and fashion/luxury/sports focus on the needs of these specific industries. They offer advice on a broad range of relevant issues, from corporate restructuring and organization to brand management and supply chain management. As a result, they cover the entire consumer goods value chain.

Both fixed-line and mobile markets have become more complex than ever before. While problems such as price erosion, new competitors and customer churn still need to be solved, new technologies such as VDSL and LTE, and new services such as IPTV or mobile TV, need to be launched to gain a competitive edge.

Our projects demonstrate that we help clients solve their problems by focusing on key issues and applying proven know-how, approaches and tools. Our consultants deliver tangible results that create value. These range from preventing customer churn in the fixed-line and mobile business to establishing operational excellence; from IPTV launches to supporting recent major acquisitions; from strategy to restructuring. Our specialists know your business, no matter if you are an incumbent or a new market player, an MNO or an MVNO, a buyer or seller. We always deliver bottom-line results.

Travel and tourism has come a long way. And so has Roland Berger's expertise in this area. From our company's very beginnings, we have been involved in shaping and advancing the tourism industry. With the company's first major project concluding in the merger of Touropa, Scharnow, Hummel and Dr. Tigges into giant tour operator TUI, and many other projects that have been carried ever since, Roland Berger has an impressive track record of almost 40 years in the tourism industry.
International crisis and radical changes in competition and customer demands create new challenges for tourism and transportation industries – to achieve further growth, business models have to be rethought and realigned.

The steady increase of competition through low cost carriers and direct online offers is disputing tour operators' traditional client segments in the packaging market. And product differentiation within the industry is becoming increasingly difficult. Consequently tour operators have to boost up in flexibility and realign products, brand and distribution channels with the new market constraints and customer demands.

At the same time, the transportation industry is undergoing significant changes. Ongoing deregulation, privatization, consolidation in alliances, and mergers and acquisitions present opportunities and challenges to players both old and new

Roland Berger is at the forefront of these ground-breaking changes, offering a broad range of management consulting issues. We have the required knowledge and experience in the travel and tourism market, as our client portfolio includes airlines, airports, railway companies, public transport providers, tourism operators, hotels, logistics service providers, ports and shipping companies. Using their international background, entrepreneurial spirit, and in-depth expertise and experience, our consultants work in partnership with you to successfully implement innovative, intelligent and individual solutions. This approach has enabled us to achieve outstanding success for our clients worldwide.

The changes in healthcare are characterized by tendencies such as constantly changing framework, converging submarkets and changing roles of market players, a pace of innovation, fierce competition and new customer needs.

Our Pharma & Healthcare Competence Center supports all players in seizing opportunities and mastering their challenges: health insurance companies, hospitals, new healthcare industries, rehabilitation clinics and wellness centers, pharmaceuticals and medical devices companies.

Besides the traditional consulting areas such as marketing, organization, cost cutting or M&A, we also provide input from our intensive analysis of current market trends and developments.

Numerous and diverse projects mean we know all player types and take an integrated approach to viewing the healthcare market.

For pharmaceutical companies, discovering and marketing promising innovations is getting more difficult, expensive and risky – and hard for individual ethical pharmaceutical suppliers or biotech firms to finance on their own. Establishing a well-organized and competitive network is becoming increasingly crucial for success. We provide a fresh perspective on aligning your operations along the entire value chain: reviewing your corporate management structure, improving your R&D performance, launching blockbuster products efficiently, increasing your marketing and sales effectiveness, implementing new supply chain capabilities and developing best-in-class support functions. Also, we discover new growth opportunities on emerging markets such as partner search or joint venture management.

The pharmaceuticals market is driven by pressure on margins, the onslaught of generics and ubiquitous cost containment efforts. To hold their own, generic suppliers must achieve cost leadership – all the more so as governments and health insurers increasingly favor cheap products to reduce overall spending. Aspiring leaders develop and implement innovative market strategies, strive for continuous globalization, manage commercial excellence and excel at managing the supply chain and optimizing production sites. And we help them do so.

Roland Berger offers suppliers customized approaches that take their different business models into account, covering areas such as:

• Commercial excellence
• R&D excellence
• Operations excellence
• Management and organizational excellence
• Business development and partnering excellence

The financial services sector is facing major challenges worldwide. Rapidly shifting parameters and dramatic increase in competitive intensity are making it ever harder for companies to pursue business models that are stable in the long term.

We support our clients in adapting to the changing conditions and to develop successful business models for the long term. We help them revise and adjust their strategies and realign their structures and processes.

We support all sectors of the financial services sector - major banks in the wholesale and retail business, insurance companies, brokerage firms, government-backed institutions, and other financial services companies.

We have worked with the leading global financial services companies on a wide range of issues. Our knowledge and comprehensive industry experience allow us to help our clients find the right strategy and put it into practice. Our international network guarantees worldwide expertise combined with a local presence

Companies in the chemical industry are extremely diverse. They produce millions of tons of commodities such as methanol and polyethylene. But they must also be able to produce tiny volumes of specialty chemicals. Just as varied are their challenges and success factors. What's more, chemical companies are often at the center of public attention, given technological sensitivity and safety issues.

The global chemicals team of Roland Berger Strategy Consultants is as international as the industry it serves. It covers mature markets like Western Europe as well as booming consumer regions like China and upcoming production regions in the Middle East and CEE.

The chemicals team provides a comprehensive range of consulting services covering topics from strategy (e.g. value chain positioning, M&A) to operational excellence (e.g. pricing, supply chain management, organization). Roland Berger's exceptional experience with sectors that are customers or suppliers to the chemical industry helps us deliver tangible and sustainable results for chemical companies. This expertise is rounded off by extensive experience in non-core but equally important topics such as corporate social responsibility.

Roland Berger Strategy Consultants stands for tailor-made, innovative and convincing strategies that work!