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    Case Study

    Reinventing the professional services firm model: The SMA TOD® platform

    By Goutam Challagalla, Raghu Batta and Bernard J. Jaworski
    18 pages
    July 2020
    Order this case study
    Reference: IMD-7-2160

    The conventional wisdom in professional services firms is that the entire relationship is a “high touch experience” – from initial conversations, proposal drafting, and workflow management to the final delivery of the work product. This is true of law, accounting, engineering, architectural, management consulting, and other forms of professional services. Ajay Patel, CEO and case protagonist, recognized that this high-touch experience is fraught with many problems. He and his team decided to build a proprietary online platform that is revolutionizing both the demand-side and the supply-side of professional services. The case focuses on the process whereby clients co-create their consulting team through active participation. The aim was to speed up the process, reduce all friction points, and do value pricing.

    Learning Objective
    • Understanding how a digital platform can disrupt an industry and its core business model.
    • Debate the benefits and costs of having completely transparent, real-time access to the entire human resource pool of the firm.
    • Debate merits of a new pricing strategy that does not allow for negotiation on the part of clients.
    • Discuss the talent management benefits – recruiting, project assignment, rotation, and promotion – of the TOD system.
    Keywords
    Strategy, Technology, Disruption, Information Technology, Transparency, Platform Strategy, Platform, Customer Journey, Customer Experience, Co-creation, Pricing, Business Model
    Settings
    Northern America, United States of America
    SMA, Services, Information Technology, Information Technology Services
    2015 - 2020
    Type
    Field Research
    Copyright
    © 2020
    Available Languages
    English, Russian
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    Video
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    Reference IMD-7-2620
    Copyright ©2024
    Copyright owner IMD Copyright
    Organization Daikin Industries
    Industry Consumer Goods, Home Appliances
    Available Languages English
    Contact

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    By Kazuo Ichijo and Yunfei Feng
    Case reference: IMD-7-2618, © 2024
    Read more
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    By Joep de Caluwé
    in I by IMD
    Summary
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    Read more
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    By Jean-Claude Gallet
    in I by IMD
    Summary
    How quick thinking, strategic choices, and trust in the team kept one of the world’s most iconic landmarks from destruction – lessons every leader can apply in times of crisis.
    Read more
    Contact

    Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

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