Industries

PA believes that strong strategies must be based on deep understanding of industries, and that when it comes to implementation, one solution or approach does not fit all industries. Our in-depth industry understanding is a decisive factor in designing the best strategies and solutions for our clients.

For a quick overview of current issues in key industries please follow the links below.

Utilities asset management: the high stakes of success and failure Dramatic and sometimes deadly outcomes can result from ineffective asset management. Yet customer and shareholder expectations of improved efficiency and performance levels keep increasing. Only an holistic asset management framework can safely improve customer service, maximise profits and help organisations gain competitive advantage.  Achieve continuous improvement in key asset management areas – process, data, systems, people and organisation, performance management and strategy >more  Asset management – adopting and adhering to an approach to assess the current state of asset management capability, identifying areas for improvement, implementing action plans and continuously demonstrating improvement >more

Harnessing technology for defence networks Rapid improvements and innovation in technology offer new opportunities for Network Enabled Capability and Network Centric Warfare – and the potential to realise their potential sooner. In the latest edition of NECWORKS, academic, military and industry authors consider the founding layer of technology – how it is procured, used and operated, and how defence can harness its rapid evolution.  General Sir Mike Jackson – remember that technology serves the human being >more  The latest issue of NECWORKS – authoritative commentaries from external contributors on NEC and NCW >more  Delivering successful projects for over 60 years – more about PA's defence sector expertise and capabilities >more

Telecoms Survival of the fittest Fixed and mobile telcos face key challenges from the Internet: IP telephony is eating into voice revenues, while customers demand cheaper voice calls and richer data services. Yet PA's insights indicate that incumbent telcos can not only survive but prosper, exploiting these rapid changes in the industry.  Divide and conquer – To compete in the media, content and IT markets, fixed telco operators need to create flexible, independent organisations >more  'Viewpoint on telecommunications' – productivity gains of 20-30%, next-generation telcos, making WiMAX viable – these and more insights in this new publication >more  More about PA's award-winning telecoms expertise – working with the full range of players in the market: operators, equipment manufacturers, regulators and financiers >more

Financial Times spotlights PA’s award-winning work in Georgia The FT features PA's dramatic turn-around of the Republic of Georgia's failed electricity utility UEDC. It reports: “It was an upsetting and sometimes dangerous job… The fate of 700,000 electricity consumers was hanging in the balance.” Today, says the FT, the UEDC “stands out as a beacon of what fearless, dedicated leadership can do.” Mission improbable – the full FT story of PA's work for the Georgian government and USAID >more The case study of this project – the Overall Winner at the consultancy business 'Oscars' >more More about our international development capability – PA's global reach, depth and quality of service >more

Build a high-performance supply chain Today's market leaders are creating high-performance supply chains that deliver differentiation, cost advantage and risk mitigation. Achieving this requires a solid foundation of performance principles, competencies to sustain that performance, and the levers to control it. Above all, high-performing supply chains keep it simple and keep it visible. Building a high performance supply chain - Above all, 'keep it simple, keep it visible' >more Need help with your supply chain ? - Download this new guide to PA's expertise >more PA's supply chain expertise - view our skills and methods, publications, case studies and... >more

Healthcare:  Managing risk and complexity to solve life sciences and healthcare issues Complexity is challenging capability. Development programmes are becoming more complex than ever before; the threat of disease pandemics continues to increase; pharmaceuticals purchasing and distribution is costly and inefficient. However, there are strategies for restoring order from apparent chaos, as our Impacts journal demonstrates:   Implementing risk-based programme management – Few programmes run in the 'safe zone' – PA's experience shows how problematic programmes can be rescued – and prevented >more   Pharmaceutical procurement: the case for change – PA's new service will drive down costs, simplify administration and improve visibility of the supply chain for hospitals and manufacturers alike >more   Meeting the threat of an avian flu pandemic – Advance planning supported by simulation models can significantly improve response times and effectiveness >more   Life sciences and healthcare portal – More about PA's healthcare resources in 14 centres of expertise >more

Defence:  Delivering results in a dynamic environment The defence sector's challenges range from improving acquisition performance, often in complex programmes, to realising the potential of NEC and NCW. Meanwhile governments and industry are pursuing strategic partnering relationships in the drive for efficiency and enduring change. PA's comprehensive sector knowledge and experience is generating key new insights:   Creating a winning defence team – recent challenges require government and industry to collaborate more closely than ever >more   Realising the potential of NEC and NCW – our new journal NECWORKS gives authoritative commentaries from external contributors on NEC and NCW >more   Delivering successful projects since 1943 – more about PA's defence sector expertise and capabilities >more

Insurance:  How to improve your bottom-line results The insurance sector's long-standing focus on cost reduction implies that quick wins are unlikely, but significant cost reductions are being achieved. Profit opportunities are being unlocked by organisations that are prepared to think creatively, through for example PA's award-winning work in helping clients successfully implement 'lean manufacturing' techniques.  Get stronger - 'lean' on your people - a lean approach can deliver immediate results as well as build capability for long-term improvement >more   Profit from an increasingly competitive market - New strategies for motor insurers coping with customers who increasingly play the field  >more   'PA perspective on European insurance' - our new journal offers more insights into the cost-improvement challenges facing this sector >more

Manufacturing  The five objectives your competitors are pursuing PA's analysis of 65 manufacturing companies finds they share five key leadership objectives: innovation, cost reduction, offshore manufacturing, supply chain and brand values. Our latest Viewpoint journal for senior executives identifies the opportunities and recommends best practice for each of these imperatives:   Introduction - what the leadership of top-performing manufacturers are executing relentlessly >more   Make it cheaper and better - we've identified opportunities for 25% cost reductions while also improving quality >more   Supply chain takes pole position - How to take and maintain a leadership position in supply chain performance to win business >more

Healthcare  Solving health issues at micro and macro levels The hypodermic syringe is fiddly, unloved and potentially dangerous. The answer - says PA's new Impacts journal - is better auto-injectors. Healthcare issues in Africa are more fundamental, such as creating a sustainable medicine supply infrastructure. PA is helping to identify a solution that enables Africa to help itself.   'Impacts' healthcare journal - the latest issue covers the future of injections, building future blockbusters, sourcing for success, and... >more   Africa: a sustainable healthcare solution - the roadmap to an African medicine supply infrastructure >more   Life sciences and healthcare portal - More about PA's healthcare resources in 14 centres of expertise >more

International development:  refocusing donor programs that deliver benefits to people PA believes that leadership among donors, awareness of the development cycle as a 'value chain', and empowering people to participate in solving their problems, will help create the most effective and sustainable economic and social gains for communities in need.  Introduction: how a value chain approach delivers benefits to people – deploying donor budgets for maximum economic and social returns >more  Formulating privatization policies for water – how PA helped Uzbek farmers increase yields through improved irrigation and local empowerment >more  Scaling up AIDS treatment programs in developing countries – private providers are a critical but untapped resource for delivering treatments  >more

Retail sector  Effective solutions to complex issues The retail marketplace is among the most competitive and dynamic in the world. Retailers must continually balance complexity, responsiveness and innovation to maintain customer loyalty, sales and margin. PA has developed effective solutions to the major challenges faced by retailers today, including:   Beating the odds in retail buying – how to get the best balance of product costs, lead time and re-order policies >more   Price optimisation – managing the most significant driver of retailer profitability >more   Customer insight – gain superior business performance by generating real customer insights >more

Postal sector  Can we create a bright future for mail ? The international postal market is on a path of liberalisation. Whether this leads to competitive threat or market opportunity is a subject for debate. In our new Viewpoint publication we show that, if we broaden our horizons to consider new markets and learn from other industries, we could not only protect our market - we could grow it to deliver increased revenues and profits.   Viewpoint on the postal market - broadening our horizons to consider the communications market, learn from others' experiences, and transform business models >more   2006 - a year of promise in the mail market - for the first time the £6 billion UK mail market is truly opened to competitive forces >more   More about PA's expertise in the postal sector - We work internationally with postal administrations as they transition into commercial organisations >more

Retail banking  Opportunities for profits and savings in the branch network Bank outlets are under pressure to be more retail-focused and increase branch profits, while simultaneously delivering demonstrable cost and process efficiencies in products and services - all this in the face of fast-evolving consumer and regulatory expectation. PA is pleased to showcase some of the thinking behind its successes in helping clients to master these challenges.   Tellers or sellers? - Just how 'retail' should retail financial services outlets be? >more   Revitalizing branch banking - Driving evolution by challenging traditional branch banking paradigms >more   Direct debit - friend or foe?  >more   Payments, profits and the impact of SEPA >more  More about PA's expertise in financial services >more

Telecoms:  The technology race, fickle customers, revenue growth Successful telecoms providers maintain traditional business disciplines while identifying clever solutions to complex challenges and competing priorities. PA's telecoms experts can help optimize your business - from negotiating network outsourcing contracts and finding new revenue sources to delivering profitable mobile data services.   Getting the right deals for legacy and next generation IP services >more   Mobile data is more about data than mobility: building the case for MNVOs to offer data services >more   PA - leaders in 3G consulting and product development  >more

Healthcare  Managing an era of unprecedented change To drive the search for new drugs, the healthcare industry must generate sufficient cash - but funding is being eroded by many events. To survive and ultimately thrive, the sector's practices must change radically. PA's unique abilities support the industry in drug discovery and commercialization, R&D productivity, the design and delivery of pharma products and drug-delivery devices. And our healthcare policy expertise helps clients plan for regulatory and payer issues, and manage the delivery of change - as these links demonstrate:   Successful delivery in a devolved health service - traditional approaches are inadequate  >more   Strategies to improve R&D productivity - findings from a major US leadership summit  >more   Success in the new partnering model - effectively managing transaction costs is the key  >more   Transforming development productivity - the benefits of end-to-end automation >more Postal industry  Customer insight - the route to success The postal industry is facing accelerating change and increasing competition. Under these pressures, the need for postal service providers to understand their customers - what they need, what they value - is vital. With PA's sector knowledge and skills, service providers can drive their market - not just respond to it.   Postal customers' needs in the 21st century  >more  Developing services for recipients of mail - survey results  >more  The skills and experience of PA's postal industry consultants  >more Wireless  Radical change is sweeping through the mobile world Technical, market and regulatory changes are breaking the stranglehold of incumbent mobile players. The boundaries between fixed and mobile operators are breaking down; new entrants are offering niche products and services; and regulators are distancing themselves from setting standards. How can you best defend against and exploit these trends ?   'On wireless' newsletter - Equipment vendors are cutting costs and moving up the value chain  >more  New wave of handset manufacturers  - They design and build handsets for branding with OEMs' names  >more  Leaders in 3G consulting and product development - PA's end-to-end capabilities in 3G, from handset strategy and infrastructure development to service design and IPR expertise  >more Energy: shortages, surplus and the search for value Energy costs and their economic and security consequences are again concerning businesses and governments around the world. In 'Viewpoint on Energy' PA's energy experts provide their insights into the major trends unfolding - invaluable guidance for prioritizing goals, opportunities and risks in today's volatile energy market environment   'Viewpoint on Energy' - executive summary. Industry reforms, asset ownership, renewable energy, LNG - the flexible fuel... >more  New money vs. strategic players? Are recent changes in generation asset ownership for the long-term? >more  Winds of change? What does the past tell us about the future of wind energy? >more