Boston Consulting Group posts strong revenue growth to $7.5 billion
Big Three strategy firm Boston Consulting Group (BCG) had underlying revenue growth of 19% to reach global sales of $7.5 billion in 2018. The firm’s global workforce also grew from 16,000 to 18,500 employees in 2018.
The year also marked the fifth consecutive of double-digit growth for BCG, according to the consultancy’s CEO Rich Lesser. A large part of the firm’s continuing success is attributed to its accelerated focus on innovation and digital. “The capabilities of our talented and diverse workforce, and our investment in innovation and cutting-edge solutions for our clients are at the root of our consistently strong performance,” Lesser said.
Lesser added that digital offerings, as well as analytics and data science advisory, which doubled in size last year, played a central part in BCG’s growth, and will continue to be a strategic priority. Roughly one-third of the consultancy’s revenue across regions and practice areas had a substantial digital component.
BCG has been working to strengthen its important tech-focused subsidiaries. BCG Gamma delivers data science and analytics capabilities; BCG Platinion provides IT architecture, implementation, management, design thinking, and cybersecurity services; and BCG Digital Ventures focuses on corporate investment and start-up incubation. BCG also has substantial technology capabilities across its core consulting areas.
Though BCG is still a consulting firm rather than a technology company, it recently rebranded its logo and imagery to more clearly convey its technology focus. The previous logo, reminiscent of a law firm, was scrapped for a more tech-inspired sans-serif font, and its new background imagery has the strong air of a science and technology firm. BCG also dropped the formality of “The Boston Consulting Group” to simply “Boston Consulting Group.”
Most consulting firms are champing at the bit to emphasize their technology-focused orientations, as those are the types of advisory services clients are increasingly seeking, and – as BCG’s spectacular growth has demonstrated – it’s also where the money is.
BCG’s growth places the firm as the second-largest MBB (McKinsey, BCG, Bain) consulting firm in terms of employees and revenue. McKinsey had 25,000 employees and approximately $10 billion in revenue in 2017, while Bain & Company had 8,000 employees and approximately $3.8 billion in revenue.
BCG is also the second-most prestigious global consulting firm according to a survey of 17,000 consultants by Vault.com. McKinsey ranks first, while Bain comes in third.
“As we look towards the next decade, and what it will take for companies to win in the 2020s, we are deeply committed to ensuring that our clients are well-equipped to meet the challenges and opportunities of a fast-changing world,” Lesser said.
