A company’s strategy for knowledge management should reflect its competitive strategy.
Creating Value for Customers.
Randall Love’s approach to implementing the information system is typical of consulting companies where the efficient reuse of codified knowledge is essential because they are dealing with similar problems over and over. In such firms, the service offering is very clear: the customer benefits because the consultants can build a reliable, high-quality information system faster and at a better price than others by using work plans, software code, and solutions that have been fine-tuned and proven successful. That’s not to say that the process operates on automatic pilot. It’s like building with Lego blocks: consultants reuse existing bricks while applying their skills to construct something new.
Strategy consulting firms offer customers a very different kind of value. Consultants like Marcia Blenko tackle problems that don’t have clear solutions at the outset. They seek advice from colleagues to deepen their understanding of the issues, but in the end they must create a highly customized solution to a unique problem. Because their clients’ problems are difficult and one of a kind, the consultants can charge high fees for their services.