In the last three decades, the concept of In-House Consulting has established itself successfully, especially in large companies. The number of companies in-sourcing consultants is estimated to be at around 120 consulting departments in Germany. These are a real alternative to external consultants, not least because of the increasing demand to save costs.

The growing number of in-house consulting departments (ICE) gave rise to a new consulting service. Classic management consultancies should ask themselves if these “new competitors” are serious rivals in the strategy and management consulting markets, or if clients see the services of their ICEs as supplements to external consulting services.

Since 1994 Lünendonk annually has been indentifying the 25 consultancies with the highest revenue, at least 60 percent of which is generated with classic management and corporate consulting. The results are used to publish a comprehensive study, titled “Leading Management Consultancies in Germany”. The Lünendonk^® Lists are recognised as market barometers – by the media, suppliers and client companies.