Ending consulting roulette: BXT evolves from grand idea to engaged approach

Aspirational ideas while executing on BXT

Flight delays and cancellations spark anger in travelers and cost the airlines, in both revenue and brand, making predictive maintenance an easy sell to airlines looking for help. Delivering on the promise of being able to predict when a plane needs to be serviced, the positioning of the necessary technicians and parts, and how to best streamline, analyze, and improve the entire process requires an intricate understanding of an airline and its operating environments, the disparate data sets, and the regulatory complications requiring strict compliance. Most importantly, a consultancy needs to bring trust — deep, proven and sustained levels of trust — something PwC explicitly maintains it delivers, as the firm has stated, “We trade in earned trust.” PwC’s airline-based predictive maintenance case study demonstrates the firm’s ability to attack a client’s business problem, understand the user experience and apply a technology-infused solution, in addition to highlighting three of PwC’s current strengths: 1) earned confidence that the firm understands clients’ industry, regulatory and business intricacies, 2) client expectation that the firm will bring “aspirational ideas,” not simply routine consulting suggestions and solutions, and 3) evidence that the firm’s Business, Experience, Technology (BXT) approach has grown from a well-conceived goal to a functioning, well-engrained way of doing business.

Over two days, PwC hosted 50 analysts in its New York City offices, providing opportunities to meet PwC leaders and consultants from nearly every aspect of the firm’s advisory practice. In contrast to recent events, PwC opted to hold its Global Analyst Day sessions in somewhat traditional office spaces, rather than one of its dedicated Experience Centers, subtly reinforcing the message that its BXT approach permeates the entire firm and is not something that is practiced only at special locations. In addition, PwC discarded the traditional analyst day playbook, instead requiring attending analysts act as consultants while PwC professionals acted as clients, giving the analysts a better feel for PwC’s challenges and solutions.