International consultancies dominate the market

In fiscal 2020, the total revenues of the 15 largest management consultancies declined by an average of 6.1 percent. The leading international consulting groups, on the other hand, increased their revenues by an estimated
1.6 percent slightly.

Consulting firms with a heterogeneous range of services or a focus on sectors such as banking and insurance as well as the public sector came through the pandemic better overall. In the current fiscal year 2021, however, the growth rates of the pre-crisis period are expected to be exceeded: The top 15 German consultants forecast average growth of 8.7 percent, while the international consulting units aim to grow by an average of 10.3 percent.

These are the initial findings of the new Lünendonk study, to be published in July, in combination with a list of the 15 leading management consultancies with headquarters and majority share capital in Germany. In 2020, Roland Berger remained the largest consulting firm of German origin despite a decline in revenues.

With sales of 590 million euros, output fell by 8.1 percent, but the number of employees remained constant at 2,400. Simon-Kucher & Partners follows in second place with total sales of 361.5 million euros. Q_Perior continues to rank among the top 3 German management consultancies with total sales of 225 million euros.

The German management consulting market is clearly dominated by the international consulting groups. For example, the leading international providers on the Lünendonk list generated an estimated EUR 8.2 billion with consulting services in Germany in 2020. The market leaders are the two international strategy consultancies McKin-sey and Boston Consulting Group, followed by the advisory units of the major auditing firms Deloitte and Pricewaterhouse-Coopers and the consulting unit of Accenture.

Against this background, it is therefore hardly surprising that each of these companies is named as a strong competitor by at least 25 percent of the companies surveyed in the Lünendonk 2021 study "Management Consulting in Germany".