Professional Services Sector Industry Profile

Companies in this industry provide specialized professional, scientific, and technical activities for others. Major firms include AECOM, Bechtel, DXC, IBM, IQVIA, Jacobs, Latham & Watkins, McKinsey & Company, and Omnicom (all based in the US), as well as Accenture (Ireland); Capgemini (France); and Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and WPP (all based in the UK).

North America was the largest market for professional services, followed by Western Europe and Asia Pacific, according to the Business Research Company. South America and Africa were the fastest-growing regions in the industry.

The US professional services industry includes about 910,000 establishments (single-location firms and units of multi-location firms) with combined annual revenue of about $1.8 trillion.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Professional services providers face a number of challenges, from dependence on corporate spending and trends in the global economy to customers or potential customers choosing to do the work themselves. While the average business may not decide to in-source architectural plans for a new office, accounting, marketing, and IT services can all be brought in-house and often are.

Large companies are better positioned to win national accounts. Small companies can compete effectively by offering highly specialized services or focusing on a single geographic region or local market; they typically also have less overhead, which allows them to charge less. The US industry is highly fragmented: the 50 largest firms account for less than 20% of revenue.

Competitive Advantages:

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