Big 4 Consulting Firm Saves 17% with Direct Sourcing Strategy

Situation

Improving Talent Access through Direct Sourcing

A Big 4 consulting firm was looking for a way to enhance their VMS functionality, obtain better access to the types of independent talent they needed, and reinforce compliance. They decided to part ways with their current engagement supplier, who was unable to follow through on numerous initial promises. By choosing MBO as their partner, the firm was able to strengthen their compliance and engagement practices through a flexible direct sourcing program that prioritized cost savings by moving away from the traditional staffing supply chain.

By disintermediating the traditional staffing supply chain, the consulting firm is saving 17% in costs year-over-year.

Solution

Moving Beyond Just Compliance

Working closely with leadership at the consulting firm, MBO helped grow their independent contractor program office from one person to 20 internal recruiters and moved the firm away from a compliance-only program to a direct sourcing model.

Here's how we did it:

Phase I: Identified Incumbent Independent Contractors

• The consulting firm selected MBO as their compliance and engagement partner for their advisory practice. All advisory independent talent and spend was transitioned to MBO within the initial 18 months of inception. MBO reviewed the incumbent independent contractor population and discovered a huge cost savings opportunity by incorporating direct sourcing strategies rather than relying on third-party providers to find and engage talent.

Phase II: Expanded Project Scope to Enable Advisory Direct Sourcing of Independent Talent

• MBO assisted the consulting firm in establishing both their PMO and internal recruiting capabilities in order to reduce their reliance on third-party labor and increase the amount of talent directly sourced through the MBO platform.
• Via strong advisory services and dedicated relationships at both the program office and executive level, MBO helped the firm to establish and grow a program that now numbers more than a dozen employees dedicated to managing independent labor, recruiting, and management.
• Further, MBO bolstered compliance practices and built out APIs to minimize friction between the program office and the recruiting team, resulting in significant efficiencies and labor savings for the firm. As a result, the program has now moved 80% of their third-party labor spend to the MBO platform.
• With MBO as a continued partner, the consulting firm is working to replicate the success of the program they developed firm-wide by expanding the program to include a technology-focused group within the firm which traditionally spends up to $300M annually on third-party labor-a number which is expected to greatly decrease by incorporating program strategies.

Results

Streamlined and Growing: From Direct Sourcing to Workforce Optimization

By disintermediating the traditional staffing supply chain, the consulting firm is saving 17% in costs year-over-year. MBO helped the firm create and operationalize a direct sourcing program model that they can expand firm-wide. In future years, if the consulting firm is able to capture 50% of their third-party spend via direct sourcing, they expect to realize $53M in annual cost savings.