Two milestones for Comatch: 2.000 consultants and 300 projects

Comatch, an online marketplace for independent management consultants and industry experts, has recently achieved two milestones. Within two years of launching, the digital consultant managed to break through the barrier of 300 projects and 2.000 professionals.

Launched in Germany in March 2015, Comatch has since on the back of stellar growth expanded its wings to the Nordics, the Netherlands and the Middle East. The firm, which was founded by two former McKinsey & Company consultants, helps companies of all sizes with their sourcing needs for external consultancy and project delivery support.

The consultant community has come off to a flying start in 2017, growing its independent consultants and experienced professionals database to over 2.000 consultants. The team admitted went through a robust selection process – according to Comatch co-founder Jan Schaechtele almost 4.000 consultants have applied to sign up since the platform went live. “To be welcomed into our network you need a minimum of two years’ experience in high-end consultancy or ten years industry experience as well as the ability to convince during an interview”, he explains. 

Comatch has to date spent more than 2.000 hours interviewing candidates, which equates to nine weeks of telephone calls around the clock. “It’s a lot of work, but essential; only then are we able to guarantee the highest level of consultancy for our customers”, remarks the co-founder, who established the digital firm together with Christoph Hardt.

From a project perspective, over 300 engagements have been facilitated to date, up strongly from the roughly 50 projects staffed after Comatch’s first year of operations. The spread of projects to its community – a critical success factor for any commercially driven network – is high: 90% of all consultants have had a project proposal submitted to them within the last year. 

Track record of consultants

The network’s footprint spans a wide range of industries and areas of expertise. At the heart of consultant profiles are strategy and business consulting skills, with many of the consultants in the database holding a background in strategy consulting (e.g. formerly at McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Roland Berger, Strategy&, etc) and management consulting (e.g. experience with the Big Four, Accenture, Oliver Wyman etc). A deep-dive into the database further learns that the consultants come from over 50+ different countries and combined speak 56 languages at a native speaker level, a feat which resembles the growing globalisation of consulting and project work, as well as Comatch’s rapidly expanding base.

“Comatch has become one of the most important providers of premium consultancy services in Germany and Central Europe”, states Schaechtele. By leveraging its momentum, as well as its financial muscle – the firm is private equity backed – Schaechtele and Hardt have set the goal of becoming the “leading online marketplace for freelance consultants and industry experts in Europe”. The company’s next big move is an expansion to France planned for Spring 2017, say the co-founders – the French management consulting industry market is estimated to be worth €4.1 billion, which makes it the continent’s third largest advisory landscape following the UK and Germany. 

The consultancy network, which is based in Berlin and has a team of 31 employees, however finds itself in a heating ‘winner takes it all’ market, competing with the likes of Movemeon, Talmix (formerly MBA & Company‎), expert360, blur, or even Eden McCallum, which conducts a more traditional approach to sourcing at the top-tier level.

According to a recent study which involved 251 independent management consulting professionals, advisors in the field are highly satisfied with their job.