Originally published November 27, 2020, updated January, 28, 2022
If digital transformation sounds like a hot topic as of late, that’s because it is. Our dependence on screen time, our insatiable appetite for new gadgets and applications, our frighteningly quick adoption rates of new digital tools, sooner or later, tends to spill into the business world. Businesses, particularly in B2B eCommerce, can benefit greatly by using digital transformation consultants to help them navigate through this process.
Digital transformation is a strategy-led change to migrate business processes into the digital realm. This means adopting digital automation tools, applications, and workflows to improve efficiency, performance, and customer experience. In doing so, brands achieve agility and secure competitive advantage.
Despite these gains, a digital business transformation is arguably the most difficult decision an organization is likely to make. Many businesses are not prepared for disruptions due to old-school thinking, siloed organizational structures, and little if any consideration of the big picture. Chief Information Officers and their respective IT departments must stay closely engaged with activities they support, otherwise, the digital transformation journey risks morphing into a recipe for disaster.
Not surprisingly, digital transformation is something that is plagued with an inherent dose of organizational resistance. Overcoming such resistance and change management challenges usually requires a plan, a process – which usually comes with outside perspective and help. The popularity of digital transformation consulting services is a testament to this, as brands strive to exploit digital innovations while harboring sizable reservations in doing so.
What is Digital Transformation Consulting?
Digital transformation consulting is a service that helps companies identify and implement strategic digital technologies to become more profitable and future-proof their business.
Digital transformation consultants analyze the organizations’ requirements, existing resources, and their ability to scale. Based on their findings, they recommend the right digital processes, tools, and platforms, and also develop an implementation strategy to guide a company through the digitization journey.
How Can Digital Transformation Help Grow Your Business?
It helps to think of digital transformation as a technological and cultural change that applies to all areas of business operations. Embarking on a digital transformation journey is not a sprint, but a marathon – one that is guided by the ever-shifting fabric of customer expectations, individual pain points, competitors, and market trends in a given industry.
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As a popular proverb goes, the best time to start was yesterday, and the second-best time is now. So, it’s never too late for companies to get rid of legacy systems and build their digital muscle.
Out of the 400 C-level business leaders polled by Wipro Digital, virtually no one claimed that their digital transformation efforts were a waste of time. To understand why that is, we’ll share some benefits of digital transformation and some business cases for pursuing a digitalization strategy:
1. Improve the customer experience
Advancements in technology have changed what customers expect from brands. Companies can now use digital tools to collect critical customer data. By leveraging data analytics combined with digital technologies, like eCommerce and CRM, brands can deliver consistent, customer-centric experiences, build long-term relationships, and promote loyalty among their customer base. In doing so, companies differentiate themselves in the sea of competition.
2. Offer a better working environment
Aside from customers, employees are also attuned to new technologies. Making the step towards digitization does more than just increase productivity and efficiency in the workforce. It also empowers employees to drive innovation and creative solutions to business challenges. When employees are motivated and take on new frontiers, they remain in a constant state of learning.
3. Accelerate digitization of products and services
Digital transformation is not just about going paperless and automating routine tasks, which is something that characterized the early stages of digitalization. It now encompasses better data visibility, literacy, and analysis capabilities. With cloud computing and data centers at their disposal, companies can more efficiently track key performance indicators to discover how they can improve. By using digital products, like data analytics, organization leadership can make better-informed decisions to drive desirable business outcomes.
4. Remove guesswork around marketing efforts
How do you get the most bang for the buck out of marketing? By matching customers to the right product as quickly and efficiently as possible. Today’s brands understand the importance of staying attuned to customer needs and offering a personalized experience at every touchpoint. Digital tools like artificial intelligence (AI) enable marketing teams to create more effective marketplace campaigns.
5. Stay competitive and better react to changes
Want more agility in decision-making, technology adoption, and human resources? That’s a great excuse for digital transformation. Being at the forefront of digital trends allows you to faster react to market shifts, putting you at an advantage in your industry.
An agile company is better prepared to pivot and secure business growth when unpredicted circ*mstances, like the Covid-19 pandemic, arise. The right digital tools are essential to being able to adapt your business model, so your company can meet changes head-on.
6. Increase the profitability of your business
When you improve customer experiences, engagement and loyalty follow suit. Since it’s widely known that loyal customers are easier to sell to (and sell more to), digital transformation opens up the floodgates to new market segments, purchase channels, customer types, and other profitable avenues.
Even though the idea of digital transformation may require some selling to company peers and higher-ups, your greatest ammunition will be the data on successful digital transformation initiatives seen in other companies. Consider case studies or stories on how a digital transformation initiative improved a specific aspect of a company – from better serving its market, customers, and shareholders. Think about case studies that showcase how a digital transformation project helped increase revenue and business value, resolve specific issues, and resulted in a tangible ROI.
Questions to Ask Your Shortlisted Digital Transformation Consulting Firms (FAQ)
Digital transformation demands a level of organizational readiness. Getting results from any digital strategy means making difficult decisions such as tearing down the walls protecting your operations, digital teams, and customers.
Adopting disruptive technology means first assessing your capacity for change. You need a measured approach to crafting a digital transformation strategy. That’s where digital transformation consulting services can be of great value.
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In fact, the best digital transformation consulting agency will seek to understand not only your current operations – but also your level of digital experience. They may need to broaden the scope of your digital teams to better serve digitalization goals. They may need to examine your customer networks, sales efficiency, supply chain management, and technology infrastructure for any untapped opportunities.
Secondly, working with digital transformation consultants means opening up to new, collaborative styles of leadership and relinquishing control in order to uncover underutilized ideas, resources or ways of doing things.
The start of a digital transformation journey can raise many questions. Here are some of the important ones companies should not shy away from asking their prospective solution integrators:
Q: What is your experience in our line of work?
A: The consultant you decide on should not only offer you the resources to visualize your objectives, but also help you in developing your digital transformation strategy. If you want to minimize losses and avoid surprises, it’s best to narrow your search to digital transformation consulting companies that have experience and expertise in working on projects specific to your industry environment and line of work.
Q: How well do you understand our specific needs?
A: Have a discussion on the state of affairs around your current technologies and business processes. Your digital transformation consultancy should be able to step in your shoes and understand your competitive advantage, pain points and long-term challenges. Be wary of solution providers who overstate their abilities and expertise, particularly if they have limited implementation experience in certain project or industry types.
Q: What is your training and education model?
A: Regardless of the size, scope, and roadmap of your transformation, you’ll need to get your stakeholders, employees and end-users up to speed. Whether you decide to utilize digital transformation consulting services for all or part of your training needs, it’s best to dot these i’s early on.
Q: How well can you integrate with our workflows?
A: To understand what you’re up against in terms of disruptions to business processes, ask how your digital transformation consultant plans to utilize data crucial to your operations. Find out how their work will affect yours and whether they can adapt their solutions around you.
Q: Who owns the intellectual property?
A: Should you purchase an off-the-shelf product or build a bespoke solution you own all the rights to? Your answer may lie in whether or not you’ll be exposing yourself to vulnerabilities or diminishing your competitive advantage by sharing business activities with a third party.
Q: What is your development method?
A: Agile software development is one of the most highly effective approaches to project delivery. It provides room for change, particularly as the project commences and enters different phases. This offers many advantages such as continuous improvement, alignment to business values, greater cost control and risk reduction.
The Best Digital Transformation Firms, Consultants, and Companies List
It’s no secret that organizations need serious help with their business strategy when technology is shifting from under their feet. Fortunately, there are a number of digitally “capable” consultancies with a full spectrum of solutions to help reach every digital transformation goal you may have in your sights. They have experience managing initiatives surrounding analytics, software implementation (B2B SaaS marketplace and eCommerce platforms, mobile apps), cloud migration, cybersecurity, or managed services.
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Here are some of the top digital transformation consulting firms possessing a diverse set of specializations and experience in working with projects across various industries:
| Company | Region | Expertise |
| Americaneagle.com | Global | Web design, development, hosting, and digital marketing |
| Smile | Global | Open source solutions, including bsuiness apps, IoT, cloud deployemnt |
| Keyrus | Global | AI, data & analyrics, cloud and security, digital experience |
| Inviqa | Global | eCommerce implementation, content management, digital strategy, experience design |
| AAXIS | Global | Digital commerce, CSP digital enablement, managed services |
| AOE | Global | Open source enterprise web solutions, AI, IoT, order management, cloud automation |
| Synolia | France | eCommerce, business intelligence, PIM, and CRM projects |
| Agence DN’D | France | Web consulting, design, experimentation, customer engagement, development, and eCommerce |
| Decade | France | B2B and B2C eCommerce design and implementation |
| Kiboko | France | eCommerce, PIM, CRM and ERP configuration and development |
| Niji | France | Consulting, design, and technology implementation for large enterprises and SMEs |
| Antadis | France | eCommerce consulting and digital strategy, UX/UI design |
| Turbine Kreuzberg | Germany | Custom-made eCommerce projects, UX, UI, online marketing and web app development |
| Madia BV | Netherlands | Full-service eCommerce, platform development, ERP, B2C & B2B consulting |
| DMK | Germany | Design and development of CRM, eCommerce, order management, CMS, and self-service systems |
| D-I-S | Germany | B2B and B2C eCommerce projects, web design, marketing, and ERP integrations |
| ALGORITMA | Italy | B2B and B2C eCommerce implementation, mobile app, web site and web app developments |
| MultiMedia | Italy | B2B eCommerce, IT consulting, infrastructure management |
| Alpine | The USA | ECommerce, enterprise architecture, and application development; risk, threat, fraud, and compliance management |
| Razoyo | The USA | ECommerce development, hosting, migration support, custom system integrations |
| Xngage | The USA | B2B digital commerce, enterprise architecture, ERP, CRM and PIM systems |
| Luminos Labs | The USA | ECommerce implementation and integration |
| Lokion | The USA | IT project development, digital mapping, platform implementation, and UX strategy services |
| Summa Solutions | Argentina | ECommerce solutions, B2B, B2C, CRM, ERP, PIM and OMS integrations |
| AN Commerce | Mexico | Omnichannel business solutions for B2B and B2C |
| Aligent | Australia | Omnichannel eCommerce, automated merchandising and personalization |
| ENABLED | Australia | Omnichannel retail, IoT, microservices & APIs, web app and mobile app development |
Top International Digital Transformation Consultants
Americaneagle.com
https://www.americaneagle.com/
United States, Switzerland, UK, Bulgaria
Americaneagle.com has been helping its clients transform their digital mindset by providing complete web design, development, hosting, and digital marketing services for over 25 years. With a team of 500+ skilled professionals, Americaneagle.com is focused on achieving measurable, scalable results and exceeding goals for all its clients.
Smile
France, Benelux, Switzerland
Smile specializes in open source digital services from consulting to design and execution. Nearly 1700 individuals contribute to hundreds of strategic digital projects for French and European key accounts with the most innovative solutions and software.
Keyrus
France, Switzerland, Belgium, United States
Keyrus specializes in all aspects of digital data transformation and the latest technology adoption. With more than two decades of experience in using data science and digitalization for accelerating transformation and business performance, Keyrus has offices in 18 countries.
Inviqa
UK, Germany
Inviqa specializes in digital Commerce platforms, content management, and other digital technologies to accelerate digital transformation. They employ over 200 software engineers, consultants, and business managers to deliver spectacular digital expertise.
AAXIS
https://www.aaxisdigital.com/
United States, Chile, China
AAXIS specializes in digital transformation analysis, strategic planning, and implementation for those looking to maximize growth using data, emerging technologies, and customer experiences. They have experience in working with large enterprises and small businesses alike.
AOE
United States, Germany, Switzerland
AOE specializes in open-source enterprise web solutions. Clients all over the world use their eCommerce solutions, web portals and mobile platforms. In addition, AOE offers expert services throughout the customer lifecycle.
Top Digital Transformation Consultancies in Europe
Synolia
France
Synolia specializes in the implementation of eCommerce, business intelligence, and CRM projects. Synolia is the French leader of global eCommerce and CRM Open Source platforms with more than 550 clients.
Agence DN’D
France
Agence DN’D specializes in digital solutions in web consulting, design, experimentation, customer engagement, development, and eCommerce. They take part in all key steps of the project lifecycle to develop quality innovative solutions their customers love.
Decade
France
DECADE specializes in eCommerce projects spanning the areas of design, implementation, and success metrics monitoring. They’ve amassed dozens of years of experience in empowering B2C and B2B customers to launch successful projects.
Kiboko
France
Kiboko specializes in eCommerce business solutions, configuration, development, and compliance. They have experience with various eCommerce, PIM, CRM, and ERP solutions depending on the client’s business needs and investment goals.
Niji
France
Niji is a consulting, design, and technology implementation company serving clients in all sectors, from manufacturing to wholesale. Niji offers a full range of services across the entire value chain to bring enterprises, SMEs, and B2B sellers to make the most of their digital transformation strategy.
Antadis
France
Antadis is a digital eCommerce consultant focusing on open source solutions. Founded in 2002, Antadis has been helping various B2B businesses transform their brand, commerce, and customer experiences through a clear integrated strategy.
Madia BV
Netherlands
Madia BV specializes in a wide array of eCommerce solutions and capabilities through creative infusion, marketing, and technology. They drive business innovation with cross-channel, platform development, ERP, B2C & B2B consulting.
Turbine Kreuzberg
Germany
Turbine Kreuzberg specializes in developing custom-made eCommerce projects tapping into opportunities in digital transformation. Their area of expertise also covers UX, UI, online marketing, and web and app development.
DMK
Germany
DMK specializes in a wide variety of B2C and B2B web solutions. Their talents lie in strategy, design, and development of IT projects, including CRM, eCommerce, order management, content management, and self-service systems.
D-I-S
Germany
D-I-S commerce specializes in eCommerce projects for businesses of any size and category. Experienced with both B2B and B2C customers, D-I-S offers companies solutions in web design, marketing, management, and ERP integrations.
ALGORITMA
Italy
ALGORITMA specializes in B2B and B2C eCommerce project development, including web, iOS, Android, CRM, and other custom software solutions. They operate in many industries and sectors across Italy and the world.
MultiMedia
Italy
Multimedia Point specializes in software services to companies of all sizes. They manage infrastructure, software, and supported services including ERP as well as cloud systems.
Top Digital Transformation Consultants in the Americas
Alpine
United States
Alpine offers eCommerce solutions for companies of any size over various industry verticals. They are experts in enterprise architecture and application development. They also provide advisory services for risk, threat, fraud, and compliance management. Alpine has been headquartered in the Midwestern United States since 1996.
Razoyo
United States
Razoyo specializes in eCommerce business solutions ranging from design, advertising, SEO optimization, eCommerce PCI compliance, and other aspects of digital transformation. Razoyo is based in Texas and counts a multitude of small businesses among its client base.
Xngage
United States
Xngage specializes in digital commerce solutions for B2B manufacturers, distributors, and wholesalers. They are leaders in enterprise architecture, ERP, CRM and PIM systems, APIs, and more. Xngage is based in Ohio.
Luminos Labs
United States
Luminos Labs is the US and Romanian-based systems integrator that helps distributors, manufacturers, and retailers implement and integrate best of breed digital commerce ecosystems that attract, convert, and retain more customers.
Lokion
United States
Lokion is a full-service provider of development, digital mapping, platform implementation, and UX strategy services. Lokion has a multitude of successful cases with clients, helping them build loyalty, generate revenue, and drive eCommerce engagement for more than 20 years.
Insart Software
United States
Insart helps fintech teams build innovative, secure, and cost-effective solutions with its broad expertise and a team of software engineer experts. Insart is a pioneer in the legacy financial sector and in leveraging digital technology to make inroads in the industry.
Summa Solutions
https://www.summasolutions.net/
Argentina
Summa Solutions specializes in eCommerce solutions with a global reach. They boast a long, proven track record of B2B, B2C, CRM, ERP, PIM and OMS integrations for digital business transformation. Summa Solutions is based in Argentina and Mexico.
AN Commerce
http://ancommerce.anglobal.com/
Mexico
AN Commerce specializes in omnichannel business solutions for brands and retailers. They work in assisting clients to implement B2C and B2B solutions, including business strategy, eCommerce, PIM, and more.
Top Digital Transformation Consultants in Oceania
Aligent
Australia
Aligent specializes in eCommerce solutions. They are pioneers in the field of omnichannel, frontend, and integration development. Aligent is proficient in automated merchandising and personalization.
ENABLED
Australia
Enabled specializes in digital innovation, scalability, and security across business disciplines. They work in dedicated teams with architects, developers, UX designers, and business strategists developing one-of-a-kind web experiences.
Pick a Trusted Partner to Transform Your Organization
With the growing complexity of business processes and technologies needed to support them, it pays to settle on a digital transformation agency that understands the intricacies of your industry. A consultant experienced in your field can execute your project successfully and get you up and running quickly.
In the end, no one knows your business and where it should be better than you. The best digital transformation agencies and consultants will work extensively with all key members of your team on a consistent basis, ensuring everyone is comfortable with the pace and direction of progress.
Digitalization is disruptive and settling on a reliable partner to guide you on this difficult journey is no less challenging. As a result, it’s difficult to evaluate a digital transformation consulting agency the same way you would a traditional software vendor. Adapt your vetting methods or RFP processes to consider stages of delivery, near-term and long-term value promised by your consultant.
Even if transformation seems like a tall order, there’s really no better time to start than now. Learn about OroCommerce and how it can help you scale eCommerce and make your digital transformation success.
The job of a digital transformation consulting firm is to identify and recommend an ideal set of digital tools and technologies and then create a strategic implementation roadmap. In doing so, digital transformation consultants help companies improve business processes, expand to new markets and keep up with the competitive landscape.
Here’s a typical workflow of a digital transformation consulting firm:
- Assess the company’s current position and needs.
- Develop clear strategies around digital solutions and technologies.
- Assist in the development of business cases for new digital transformation projects.
- Analyze and design critical user journeys.
- Help during the implementation.
Our list of top eight digital transformation consulting firms in the UK include:
- Accenture
- Deloitte
- McKinsey & Company
- BearingPoint
- Bain & Company
- Coeus Consulting
- KPMG
- Roland Berger
