www.pa-bs.com

How we differ from competitors

It is not easy to select a consultancy. At first sight, they all look the same: impressive international references, elegant offices, young well-educated consultants. However, the firms differ and these differences can have a big impact upon the value of services received.

Palo Alto's competitors are big international consultancies. We are like them in some respects:

we offer similar services
our Clients are senior executives
our consultants are well educated
our consultants have international experience

However, we are unlike our competitors in other respects:

Palo Alto vs. Competitors

Difference	Competitors	Palo Alto	Consequences
Market	Central-Eastern Europe represents less than 10% of revenues	Central-Eastern Europe represents 100% of revenues	Central-Eastern Europe is our only priority

Education	Few consultants have MBAs or equivalent degrees	Most consultants have MBAs or equivalent degrees	We are educated in the services we provide

Experienced consultants	Most of the consultansts assigned to a project full time have under 3 years of experience	No consultants have under 3 years of experience	We do not use projects to learn our trade, but to practice our trade

Senior consultants	Every senior consultant, with over 10 years of experience, oversees 20-40 junior consultants with less than 10 years of experience. Consequently, he spends all his time winning work and administering his young colleagues	Every senior consultant oversees 2-4 junior consultants. He devotes the majority of his time to servicing the Client and increasing the professional qualifications of his young colleagues	The Client receives services of our senior consultants really, not just symbolically

Local experience	Teams are typically international. Managers and experts frequently have limited experience in former communist countries	Teams are international, but each member has worked in Central-Eastern Europe for at least several years	Our consultants know the local languages, business, culture and society. They can adapt Western solutions to local conditions

Experience in consultancies	Consultants have experience in only one consultancy	Consultants have experience in several consultancies	We know tools and methodologies used by many consultancies, so we can select the optimal ones for each problem

Experience outside consulting	Hardly any consultants have experience outside of consulting	Almost all consultants have experience outside of consulting	We can understand the Client better and distinguish between theory and practice

Employment	Thousands or tens of thousands	Less than 20	We are more flexible and react to the Client's needs faster

Tenders	Many projects are won through tenders	As a rule, does not participate in tenders. Wins projects because the Client knows, values and trusts the team	We have strong and durable relations with the Client

Partners	Offer a wide array of services globally, so nearly every other consultancy is a competitor	Offers a narrow scope of services, only in Poland. Consultancies with other narrow specialization or not conducting business in Poland are not competitors but partners	We cooperate with other consultancies who are leaders in their fields, so we can offer the Client the best tools and cutting edge solutions

Brand	Big, old, known and respected. Engaging them creates no risk that the boss will criticize, even if the project fails	Small, young and known only to our Clients. Does not offer a brand, just the highest quality at competitive prices	If the goal of engaging consultants is anything other than solving the problem or creating real value, we are not a good choice

Implementation	Design strategies and new solutions with much analysis and creativity. Present recommendations in impressive reports and presentations	Conducts analysis and prepares recommendations with, rather than to, the Client. Focuses on the implementation, rather than presentation, of its recommendations	Our work is visible more in the Client's financial performance than in Excel and PowerPoint

Costs	Incur significant expenditures in first-class flights, 5-star hotels, haute cuisine, elegant offices and flamboyant events for Clients	Lifestyle is simpler. Events for Clients are focused on intellectual value rather than entertainment and dazzle	We spend much less money on administration, travel, entertainment and other things which have little impact on value we create for the Client. We pass the savings on to the Client

Fees	Fixed hourly or project fee. Its magnitude is not a function of value created	In addition to fixed hourly and project fees, also offers fees based on value created	The Client has mathematical certainty that he will receive more than he will pay