UMS Advisory is an Arlington, Va.-based firm focused on the real estate and facilities management market. The niche firm serves mainly the global Fortune 200 , including Pfizer, Kraft Foods, Sprint, Morgan Stanley and Toyota. UMS was founded in 1993 and has been growing steadily since the Great Recession. In that time, Rakesh Kishan, President and CEO of UMS Advisory, estimates his firm has delivered savings of more than $500 million to clients—mostly from outsourcing work. Kishan says it's time to let people know what UMS has been up to. "We haven't really made any significant or sophisticated play in marketing or outreach. Thus far, almost all of our business has come from references, but I think it would be foolhardy of us to think we could continue to expand without us making a conscious effort to let people know who we are." Kishan sat down with Consulting One-on-One to discuss UMS and the market it serves.
Consulting: What do you think differentiates UMS Advisory in the real estate and facilities management space?
Kishan: What's unique about us is that we're a small firm with less than 50 people, but we have many of the attributes of a much larger firm. We bring much more to the table than most niche firms. We are actually an international firm. We have an office in Europe and an office in North America. Right now we're almost equally split in our North American and European work, and we do some work in Asia, as well. So, we're incredibly diverse geographically. Also, our clients are almost exclusively Fortune 200 . We play at the very high end of the spectrum, especially for a firm of our size. And we have, I think, outstanding thought leadership. We have our own publication; our own conference and a consulting tool kit that's very diverse. Now more than ever, clients are demanding market intelligence and thought leadership. That's one of the biggest changes I've seen in consulting.
Consulting: How so?
Kishan: Well, a lot of the services that companies once needed consultants for have been brought in house. For instance, running a regression model was a difficult thing 20 years ago and would've required a consultant to do an analysis. Clients don't need that anymore and can have their own MBAs do analysis. What clients want now is experience. They are looking for experienced-based insights. They are looking for not only solutions, but implementable solutions. It's become incredibly competitive; you really have to bring something to the table.
Consulting: Who are your main competitors?
Kishan: We compete mainly against the Big Four, but also against some smaller niche firms. Our competitors are formidable, especially if they've helped the client solve some other problem in another area such as information technology, finance or accounting. There's this natural thought in procurement, I think, of sticking with a firm they know and believing they don't need a separate firm for real estate. That's a challenge—we never even get to compete for some of the best work. That's frustrating.
Consulting: What type of work are clients looking for from UMS?
Kishan: There's lot of interest in outsourcing. Should they outsource at all? How should they execute? Should they start with North America first and then roll it out across the world? Or should they take a global approach from the start? Internally, procurement may say global is best but will the market support it everywhere? Outsourcing is very complicated; these are multi-billion-dollar deals. Most firms of our size don't know how to manage such a complex communication and project management infrastructure.
Consulting: What's the status of the firm right now?
Kishan: We've been experiencing double-digit growth over the last several years. We did face a lot of pressure when the recession first hit, but we survived and are now thriving. Some of our competition has gone away and didn't make it through the recession. But these days, we can't seem to hire people fast enough. We'll probably see a 25 percent increase in headcount over the next year or so.
Consulting: Do you have a hard time finding talent?
Kishan: It's such a difficult economy so it's almost impossible to find good people; and when we do, they usually have multiple offers. So, it's a challenge. Niche firms have to be equally professional and equally as talented as the bigger firms in the industry. Anyone can call themselves a niche firm, but if you don't bring talent and experience to the table, you won't be around very long.
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