From Proposal to Delivery: Supplying Knowledge and Content Management Expertise to a Global Consulting Firm.

About the Client

By the mid-2000s, Company D had grown into one of the world’s largest management and technology consulting organizations, serving Fortune Global 500 clients across virtually every industry. Company D’s consulting services division was responsible for pursuing and delivering the firm’s client engagements, competing alongside peers such as Deloitte, IBM, KPMG, and Capgemini.

Industry Context

By the mid-2000s, knowledge management and content management had become an established, growing specialty within enterprise consulting, but many large firms had let their internal specialist bench thin out after the early-2000s KM boom cooled. That left a gap for firms whose partners could see legitimate client demand for KM work but couldn’t credibly bid on or staff it without deep, current specialist expertise. Boutique specialist firms filling that gap through embedded partnerships — contributing niche technical depth while a larger firm supplied brand, scale, and client relationships — became an increasingly common way for global consultancies to compete for specialized work without rebuilding an entire practice area from scratch.

Current Situation

An insufficient focus on the KM and content management area by Company D’s senior executives had caused the firm’s internal KM skills to diminish. A recruiting initiative launched to rebuild the practice couldn’t find enough experienced consultants with the requisite qualifications, leaving the firm in need of a ready source of talented specialists to augment its internal staff. Company D turned to Iknow to add the missing capabilities across all facets of KM and content management, recognizing Iknow’s specialists as among the best in the field.

• A capable firm unable to pursue a growing market. Despite strong brand recognition, global coverage, and over $10 billion in annual revenues, Company D’s partners could not pursue a growing market of KM and content management opportunities for lack of internal skills.
• Diminished internal specialist capability. Insufficient senior executive focus on the KM and content management area had let Company D’s internal skills in the discipline diminish over time.
• An unsuccessful internal rebuild effort. A recruiting initiative aimed at rebuilding the practice couldn’t find enough experienced, qualified consultants.
• No ready source of specialist talent. Company D needed a ready, reliable source of specialist talent it could deploy across both business development and delivery, not delivery staffing alone.

• Supply KM and content management specialist expertise to support Company D’s business development.
• Provide the same specialist expertise in delivery roles on awarded client engagements.
• Help build compelling business cases, value propositions, and proposals for prospective clients.
• Establish a durable, repeatable partnership Company D could call on across many client opportunities.

How Iknow Structured the Work

Iknow embedded its specialists across the full opportunity lifecycle rather than limiting its role to delivery, working with Company D from early business development through final project deliverables — reflecting Iknow’s managed KM services model for supplying senior specialist capability without the cost of full-time internal headcount.

Key Activities & Decisions

• Business development support. Throughout the sales process, Iknow’s consultants identified potential benefits, developed value propositions, and prepared business cases for prospective KM system implementations.
• Proposal writing and presentation. Iknow helped write and present Company D’s project proposals directly to prospective clients, contributing subject-matter credibility Company D could not have supplied internally.
• Delivery leadership roles. After assignments were awarded, Iknow’s consultants held critical project management and KM specialist roles on the delivery team.
• Workstream execution and synthesis. On each engagement, Iknow completed several independent workstreams, synthesized the findings, and created many of the final project deliverables.
• Multi-account delivery. In the first year of the Master Services Agreement, Iknow supported Company D in preparing more than a dozen project proposals and led and staffed projects at many accounts.

Stakeholders & Collaboration

Iknow served as prime contractor under a Master Services Agreement, working alongside the partners and delivery teams of Company D’s consulting services division across both business development and client project delivery.

Rebuilding Credibility to Win Work Company D Couldn’t Staff Alone

Company D’s partners could see real client demand for KM and content management work, but pursuing it credibly required specialist depth the firm no longer had in-house. Iknow addressed this by embedding its consultants directly into the sales process, not just delivery, so Company D’s proposals reflected genuine, current specialist expertise from the first client conversation rather than capability the firm would need to build after winning the work.

Delivering a High-Stakes National Rollout Under Real Time Pressure

The Company G engagement required rolling out a knowledge management system to more than 12,000 client personnel nationally in under six months, with Company D’s reputation and profitability both on the line. Iknow addressed this by taking ownership of several independent workstreams and holding critical project management and specialist roles on the delivery team, giving the engagement the structure and leadership needed to hit an aggressive timeline without sacrificing customer satisfaction or margin.

Quantitative Outcomes

• Business development volume: More than a dozen project proposals supported in the Master Services Agreement’s first year alone.
• Client accounts supported: Projects led and staffed at accounts including a major retailer, Company K, Company H, a major telecom operator, and Company G.
• Flagship delivery scale: A national knowledge management system rollout to more than 12,000 client personnel in under six months at Company G.
• Engagement duration: Three years.

Qualitative Outcomes

Iknow helped Company D win millions of dollars of consulting engagements it could not have credibly pursued without specialist support. At Company G, the partnership addressed the client’s business needs, delivered the project with very high customer satisfaction, and grew Company D’s revenue — outcomes directly attributed to the strong working relationship between Iknow and Company D. Since the original engagement, Company D has continued to use Iknow regularly to respond quickly to new leads and win additional business, evidence that the partnership has evolved from a staffing arrangement into a lasting, trusted relationship.

Timeline to Impact

Within the first year of the Master Services Agreement, Iknow had already helped prepare more than a dozen proposals. The relationship has continued well beyond the engagement’s formal end date, with Company D returning to Iknow with new opportunities.

Core Skills

• KM and content management specialist staffing
• Business development and proposal support
• Project delivery leadership
• Enterprise knowledge management system implementation

Methods & Frameworks

• Value proposition and business case development
• Embedded specialist delivery model
• Multi-workstream execution and synthesis

Technologies & Tools

• Enterprise knowledge management system implementations