MSc consulting project Ongoing
SME consulting with a real client
A student consulting team working with a real Swiss SME (name confidential) on its organisational challenges, from securing the client to assessing its operations.
Where are the client's organisational bottlenecks, and what should they change first?
This project is running now. This page explains the setup and our approach, and I will add the agenda and the results as the project moves forward.
The setup
Unlike most student projects, this one starts without a client. As a team, we have to find, approach and secure a real Swiss SME ourselves, then agree on a scope and deliver a consulting engagement. That makes it closer to real consulting than any case study: the first deliverable is winning the client’s trust.
Our approach
- Secure the client and agree the scope. Understand what the owners actually want solved, and what success would look like for them.
- Assess the operations. Interviews with the people who run the business, workshops, and a look at the data they have.
- Map workflows and isolate bottlenecks. Where time, money or information gets stuck.
- Recommend and document. Clear, prioritised actions that a small team can implement, documented so decision-makers can act on them.
My startup survival study showed that most Swiss companies are small and fail on how they are run, not on lack of funding. This project is the practical side of that finding.
What I am learning so far
How to run a real client relationship from first contact to an agreed scope, and how to keep a team aligned when the client’s priorities shift. The client’s name stays confidential.
