Management Consulting in China

FIDUCIA'S NEW CHINA CONSULTING MANAGER, STEFAN KRACHT, HIGHLIGHTS THE IMPORTANCE OF RELIABLE DATA – AND THE CHALLENGES INVOLVED.

China Focus (CF): First of all, congratulations on Fiducia's 25th anniversary! How does it feel to work for a company that has been doing business in China and Hong Kong for such a long time

Stefan Kracht (SK): Thank you but I cannot take much credit having joined only in 2005. My parents' entrepreneurialism combined with the Fiducia team's energy made 25 years of success possible. That combination is great to work with, as many of our employees have been with us for over ten years and possess a vast amount of expertise and client relationships. I count on my China business experience to add to this valuable base that Fiducia has accumulated as a company.

CF: Why did you join Fiducia?

SK: In 2004 my parents realised that the flexible, opportunistic style of earlier years was unable to accommodate clients' demands and the growing size of our business. So they sought to professionalise service execution and client handling, an approach I personally identified with strongly and where I felt I could add value. This view was shared by my parents based on my educational background and experience having worked for over eight years in strategy consulting and trading companies in Europe and China and as an entrepreneur in Shanghai. Therefore my main focus in the first two years at Fiducia was to restructure our organisation and strengthen our company culture. At the same time, we combine these improvements with traditional values and the past entrepreneurial flexibility ("know the new but preserve the old"), which has reinforced our team's sense of pride of being part of Fiducia and which is showing strong results.

CF: What specific services does Fiducia's China Consulting (CC) department offer?

SK: We provide management consulting services for international companies operating in China or planning to enterSK: We provide management consulting services for international companies operating in China or planning to enter the Chinese market. These services include but are not restricted to Sourcing Strategies; Growth and Entry Strategies; Market Maps (Industry/ Competitor Analyses); Location, Supplier, Distributor and Partner Analyses; Product/Customer Segmentation, and Company Acquisition Searches. Clients turn to us when they require experienced, dedicated support for information or advice they are unable or do not have the time, resources or expertise to obtain.

CF: What is your impression after the first 100 days as head of the China Consulting department?

SK: My first impression was that I took over a strong, diverse team with an established methodology and a high quality level of output; all of which is reflected in the high client retention rate. Yet we are facing increasing competition as the Chinese consulting market becomes more mature and comparable to Western countries. The entry of wellknown Western and local players has resulted in increased competitiveness in serving clients as well as finding and retaining consulting staff. Based on my personal experience in consulting and in dealing with opportunities and challenges in China, my aim is to strengthen our team by further developing our industry focus and methodology – which promises to be exciting and probably not comparable to the typical "Western" business practice.

CF: What is different about advising companies in China?

SK: First of all, there is the sheer size of Chinese markets which are often very large (both geographically and economically) yet fragmented in terms of regions and sectors. As extensive research has shown, it makes sense to divide China into economic regions based on factors such as population density, GDP, income per capita, foreign direct investment and infrastructure. Secondly, as information that goes beyond plain macro data is generally scarce, outdated and unreliable, our methodology leans toward a qualitative approach, for instance through direct, personal interviews with industry experts and our clients' competitors. We are able to carry out these interviews not only based on our past project track record but also due to the fact that Fiducia actually implements many clients' plans including their back-office work.

"I am proud to be a part of this team."

Stefan Kracht, Manager China Consulting, Fiducia

CF: Isn't this very resource intensive and time consuming in a huge country such as China?

SK: Yes it is. But only through this hands-on approach, by actually travelling all over China to conduct face-to-face interviews, can we generate data our clients can rely on to make good decisions. We are able to give strong advice because we have visited the factories and talked to the people on the ground. For example, if our consultants have seen with their own eyes that a certain manufacturer can build a certain amount of products per day and can actually generate a defined amount of revenue or profit, this is powerful information for a client, which makes the frequent travelling to remote places in China worth the effort.

CF: Are you always able to get the information your clients require?

SK: It can be difficult at times to get relevant and precise data, even through our direct approach. In such cases, reading between the lines, understanding the interviewed person's cultural background and triangulating data from multiple sources helps us to test our hypothesis and to understand the full picture. For instance, we send out mixed teams, composed of Chinese and Western consultants, which enables us to look at situations from different angles in terms of conceptual understanding and language. At the same time, we adhere to strict ethical guidelines so as not to gain false information or to compromise our clients' integrity and plans.

CF: In your opinion, what factors are crucial to Fiducia's continued success over the next 25 years?

SK: We at Fiducia want to be the preferred independent professional service provider for international companies in China and Hong Kong. To achieve this ambitious goal all Fiducia employees have to be committed to and professional in consistently delivering the high-quality service our clients value. On the other hand, it is critical to keep our employees happy and to make sure they are proud to be on board. I certainly am proud to be part of this team.

» Latest News Index
» Subscribe Fiducia Newsletter