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Alumni Consulting Lab Summary
Consulting Process
Based on participants’ skill sets and preferences, Professor Hunsaker, the Alumni Consulting Lab team, and our Ecuadorian partners will match participating Alumni Consultants with Ecuadorian companies seeking business support. Before meeting with Alumni Consultants, clients will define the business challenge they’d like to work on. Challenges may be related to marketing & sales, organizational structure, operations, or other strategic initiatives. Consultants will be immersed in client organizations—focused on discovery, analysis and feedback around their clients’ defined business challenges—as well as the local business and cultural climate.
Thunderbird Faculty will provide expert content on consulting best practices, the South American business environment and on-call support to Alumni Consultants. Alumni will work with their client organizations - while also learning about the other projects - and therefore have a deep cultural and economic experience that would not be possible without local insight.
Enjoy immersive, impact-driven travel while building needed capacity in local entrepreneurs – as only Tbird can.
Client and Project Overview
In Quito we will work with growing and ambitious companies that represent a range of industries and challenges. Below is a brief description of the projects conducted during the Bogotá, Alumni Consulting Lab in August, 2017. These profiles provide a good example of the companies we want to work with, and of the Alumni experience.
To learn more about the experience, read an article by one of the participants in our last Colombia Lab.
I3net
An IT solutions company that recently launched a service to provide educational content to classrooms around the world that don't have reliable access to the Internet. Thunderbird alumni consultants re-imagined the entire business model and strategy and delivered a “version 2.0” which addressed themes including an updated product offering, target market, pricing strategy, and digital marketing plan.
Pais Emprendedor
A manufacturer of high quality cheeses that are sold throughout Colombia. The Thunderbird team analyzed the company’s operations and provided recommendations to better leverage company resources (i.e., personnel, machinery) to decrease costs, increase margins, and improve product quality while serving more customers.
Menntun
An e-learning platform offering a variety of educational products and services to healthcare providers. Thunderbirds studied the company’s business model and assessed the success and financial contribution of each of the company’s products/services. They helped the organization priortize which products/services to invest in, both from a financial and human capacity standpoint.
Frontis 3D
A producer of architecturally impressive building facades that is experiencing a period of rapid growth. Thunderbird alumni consultants examined the organization’s internal processes and made recommendations on what would need to be done (i.e., change organizational structure, create new positions) in order to scale effectively and efficiently.
Sample Days
Day 1 – Welcome and Discovery
Day 1 – Welcome and Discovery- Introductions
- Company overview presentations by clients
- Traditional Ecuadorian lunch
- Group visit to client offices (tour operations and Q&A with company executives)
- Overview of Ecuadorian business environment and consulting best practices with Professor Hunsaker and local contacts
- Group dinner
One to One Working Day with Client
One to One Working Day with Client- Discovery: Interview management and key stakeholders
- Discovery: Brand visioning exercise with management
- Discovery: Overview of financial statements with management
- Lunch with client
- Field: Market research at point of sale
- Feedback: session with management on preliminary insights
- Group dinner with local alumni
Note: *Actual working days will be based on individual client needs.
To learn more about the Lab experience, read an article written by one of the participants in the first Alumni Consulting Lab in Colombia.