Management Consulting: Our practices

We support businesses in unlocking their innovation potential, based on the sound exploration of market environment, complementing knowledge on digital business models and possibilities, as well as a deep understanding of business needs.

Through market-driven ideation, cross-functional alignment along the entire innovation chain, and end-to-end ownership for innovation, we ensure that product launches no longer fall short of their projected targets. We also help our internal clients reach their sustainability goals, e.g. by circular solutions that reduce waste, save fossil resources, and help reduce CO₂ emissions. 

Project examples:

• Adjusting the operating model and steering of a BASF operating division towards increasing sustainability requirements
• Exploring and ideating circular economy-business models in various business units
• Elaborating data strategies of business units for collaborative ecosystems (such as Catena-X)
• Improving BASF`s overall innovation performance through a new corporate innovation set-up as well as the adoption of novel concepts

Dynamic markets and shifting customer requirements are crucial challenges for BASF. The Marketing & Sales practice offers comprehensive solutions to meet these challenges. These solutions include both strategic concepts and operational measures and are based on a thorough understanding of markets, customer requirements, and competitor environment. Among other things, we also provide support during the process of defining and implementing the product and customer portfolio and pricing, and we design market launch strategies. That way, we make an important contribution to BASF’s successful long-term growth.

Project examples:

• Value-capturing models of lower carbon footprint products
• Improving pricing excellence in various operating divisions
• Value capture from introduction of "Salesforce"

We support BASF’s businesses in answering critical questions when elaborating a new business or divisional strategy. Our practice looks at businesses' reaction to changes in strategic focus (“where to play”) via jointly defining a new target operating model (“how to win”). Typical design elements include the go-to-market approach, innovation set-up, value chain set-up as well as organizational structure, roles & responsibilities and key processes.

• Re-structuring of BASF's research division and all research activities
• Definition of new target operating model for a BASF operating division
• ROCE improvement for an operating division

We support the full post-merger integration / carve-out life cycle – from due diligence through implementation execution all the way to a handover from project to line organization.

Jointly with our clients, we develop tailored value enhancing integration and carve-out concepts, and we ensure value capture via a rigorous implementation approach, coordinating and aligning all stakeholders. By developing the tailored concepts right from the beginning we provide valuable insights, guidance, and synergy areas to the due diligence and negotiation teams, and assure a seamless project ramp-up after signing.

Project examples:

• Acquisition of approx. 50% of the world's largest offshore wind park
• Carve-out of BASF's construction chemicals and BASF's pigment business

We support internal clients in achieving people performance and long-term success in their transformational projects.

Our contribution starts in the concept phase of projects. Business objectives in mind, we identify the people impact of targeted changes, derive effective roadmaps for readiness and engagement, dissolve performance barriers and support a hands-on, sustained implementation. Sample deliverables are effective change communication, (middle) management and employee mobilization, group enablement, and change leadership coaching.

Project examples:

• Leadership journey and culture development in newly carved-out BASF business
• Purpose definition and agile transformation of BASF's Corporate Communications unit
• Change workstream for the post-merger integration of a major part of the Bayer Seeds business into BASF Agricultural Solutions

As part of our global unit, our regional cosulting service units in North America, South America and Asia/Pacific provide bundled expertise for Management Consulting concepts, projects, methods, enablement, and sustainable implementation.

Our regional units are solution providers, implementation supporters and know-how hubs for our clients in the respective region.