Cardea - your independent guide for navigating the consulting market.

Your guide to making the most of external consulting in a focused and effective way

With rising complexity, rapid changes, and increasing cost pressures, companies face a big question: how can they use external consulting to generate real, measurable value?

While keeping costs under control is important, innovation, growth, customer focus, and competitiveness are still the main drivers of success. The right external consulting company can boost these areas if chosen wisely, integrated smoothly, and focused on delivering real results. The key is finding the sweet spot between short-term efficiency and long-term, sustainable growth.

A new kind of consultant is becoming increasingly important

The market keeps changing, and these days it’s not just concepts people are looking for, but consulting partners who:

✨ think strategically while mastering operational implementation,

✨ take responsibility for business results,

✨ successfully bringing together technology, methods, and people,

✨ guiding change with empathy and making it a core part of the organization.

👉 In short, consultants who collaborate to shape ideas, share accountability, and deliver tangible results.

What this means for our clients

This shift is also redefining the role of consulting buyers. External consulting is no longer just an isolated source of expertise, but a collaborative process of co-creation.

Companies are shifting from being just “buyers” to becoming active architects of their own consulting engagements.

Key elements for building successful consulting partnerships

• Clearly define objectives rather than relying on vague service descriptions.

  Consulting is always focused on delivering results, making an impact, and providing valuable benefits.

• Flexible, goal-focused teamwork

  Consulting services are customized to meet specific goals and can be combined as needed—flexible, targeted, and easy to manage.

• Focused coordination of internal and external resources

  What resources are available internally, and which skills are missing? Does consulting serve as a source of inspiration, an implementer, an enabler, or a sparring partner?

• Concentrate on skills that enhance effectiveness

  Clear, proven abilities and complementary skills are key to making the project a success.

  
  

👉 Consulting should empower rather than create dependency, with knowledge transfer and strong organizational anchoring: the critical process of embedding new behaviors, strategies, or changes into an organization’s culture and daily operations to ensure long-term sustainability and success.

What modern consulting needs to accomplish today

Companies should choose consulting partners who:

• respond flexibly to volatile market and economic conditions

• possess a thorough understanding of the industry

• demonstrate cultural and organizational empathy

• assess and make use of technological possibilities in a practical way.

• always keep practicality and feasibility in mind.

👉 These days, consulting isn’t effective without solid expertise in technology, tools, and data.

Transparency as a key factor in choosing the right consultant

Finding the right consulting partners is increasingly moving toward specialized networks and platforms that offer comparability, quality, and guidance. This approach turns external consulting into a strategic tool that helps companies stay agile, customer-focused, and ready for the future, even in uncertain times.

Cardea – your independent guide for navigating the consulting market

Cardea delivers the transparency and direction needed, connecting companies with consulting partners who genuinely align with their goals.

How Cardea provides support tailored to your needs

🏆 Delivery & Execution – Implementation with impact.

Cardea connects with consulting partners who have proven expertise in delivering complete solutions, from strategy through to implementation.

→ so you can skip the pre-qualification and focus on quality from the very beginning

🏆 Added value and results – Execution with impact

Cardea assesses consulting services by looking at real outcomes and clear benefits for customers.

→ To make sure decisions are based on facts and focus on quality

🏆 Technology and data – Embracing solutions built to last

Cardea looks into methods, tools, and levels of technological maturity, including AI techniques and digital platforms.

→ so you can work with consultants who operate efficiently, embrace modern practices, and deliver state-of-the-art solutions

🏆 Strong client relationships and cultural fit - Key to create partnerships based on equal terms.

Cardea considers the culture, working methods, and values of potential partners.

→ Fostering cooperation, trust, and respect within your organization.

🏆Knowledge Transfer – Building skills that last

Cardea evaluates how well consulting passes on knowledge and empowers your organization.

→ so the results have a lasting impact and can be built upon internally

🏆 Prices & business models – Fairness and comparability

Cardea brings clarity to pricing models which focus on delivering results.

→ to get the best balance of price and performance and maximize your return on consulting

👉 Cardea makes managing external consulting easy, measurable, and impactful.