Finding new solutions to challenging problems

Innovation Consulting

What if there were a scientifically sound, time-tested methodology for identifying and implementing untapped opportunities for optimization? As an innovation consulting firm, KBC has scientifically analyzed thousands of successful innovations and identified patterns. Based on this, we have developed a systematic, repeatable methodology that enables you to solve even complex challenges, such as radically reducing product costs.

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John Dowling

Partner

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John Dowling

Managing Director at BOLD KBC Center for Innovation

Challenges in Innovation Consulting

Innovation doesn’t happen overnight. Companies often face the challenge of how to achieve growth in stagnant markets, how to realistically meet cost targets, or how to solve technical challenges in production. As an innovation consulting firm, KBC combines concrete, science-based methodologies with in-depth expertise: We thoroughly familiarize ourselves with the specific subject matter while working closely with the experts in your company.

To foster an innovative mindset, we deliberately challenge old ways of thinking through workshops and projects. Building on this foundation, we systematically develop new ideas that drive your business forward.

The threat posed by shrinking markets

Profits are plummeting because your industry is losing momentum, products are becoming interchangeable, and a price war is breaking out.

Product costs are too high

Cost pressures lead to decisions that compromise quality, performance, or sustainability.

Tried-and-true processes fail

High resource consumption, bottlenecks, or complex processes call for new approaches that go beyond established routines.

Lack of information on which to base decisions

Your company is investing in innovation without knowing which approaches are cost-effective and scalable.

Innovation is going to waste

Ideas may arise from time to time, but they have little impact as long as the structures needed to develop them further are lacking.

Ways to foster innovation that work in day-to-day operations

In addition to innovation management, KBC’s range of innovation consulting services includes innovation strategy consulting as well as innovation in manufacturing, digital innovation, and innovation portfolios.

Effectively embedding innovation management

Many companies have excellent ideas—but they lack an innovation system to turn them into marketable solutions. In its innovation management consulting, KBC focuses on disruption rather than merely optimizing processes: While traditional methods lose their effectiveness over time, our approach— The BOLD Way —drives disruptive change, including in cost reduction. Because true change can only be achieved through radical approaches.

Innovation Strategy Consulting – Refining Business Models

When markets change, it puts pressure on skills, technologies, and value creation. At Innovation Strategy Consulting, we approach disruption methodically: Based on scientific analysis and comparisons of thousands of successful innovations , we refine your business model options. Together with your team, we systematically develop viable scenarios that enable growth, radically reduce costs, and open up new target markets. Employees actively shape the change—and the change is reflected in day-to-day operations.

Harnessing Innovation in Manufacturing

Technical challenges typically arise when production, processes, or resources reach their limits. KBC identifies opportunities for you to improve efficiency, optimize material usage, and implement new production approaches. Whether it’s water consumption, throughput, or automation, our solutions are based on a precise analysis of the actual problem and consistently practical approaches. We deliver measurable improvements that reduce your costs, conserve resources, and make innovation sustainable.

Strengthening Digital Innovation

Digital products and services open up new business opportunities—provided they are strategically integrated into your company’s overall strategy. KBC evaluates technological potential, prioritizes digital use cases, and develops structures that accelerate decision-making and reduce your risks. This allows you to turndata, automation, and AI into clear competitive advantages— for digital transformation that makes a tangible difference in your day-to-day operations and boosts your revenue.

Managing innovation portfolios with a focus on impact

It’s often difficult to see which initiatives create real value and which merely tie up time and resources. This is exactly where we come in, working alongside you. Through our innovation portfolio consulting services, we help you organize your ideas, realistically assess their benefits, costs, and risks, and set clear priorities. KBC brings together market insight, technical feasibility, and economic viability—ensuring your budget is allocated where it makes the biggest difference.

Innovation Consulting by the Numbers

Development costs

CAPEX

Quality costs

BOLD KBC Center for Innovation

We take a radical and disruptive approach to innovation consulting. To combine creative methods with practical feasibility, we founded the Entity BOLD KBC Center for Innovation : Here, we tackle complex challenges in sustainability and transformation —and create solutions that are both economically viable and technologically feasible for you.

This is how we view innovation as a management consulting firm

Innovation happens when relevant problems are solved—not when a method sits unused on a shelf. We start with the real needs of businesses and develop solutions that work in everyday practice and are economically viable.

John Dowling, Managing Director at BOLD KBC Center for Innovation

Industries we advise on innovation

Automotive

Industry & Mechanical Engineering

Technology

Answers that advance innovation goals

The key question is not so much the price as the value. Innovation consulting pays off when it solves a specific, relevant problem. That’s why KBC always starts by clearly defining the scope: What exactly is the issue—and what added value can a project realistically deliver?

This approach creates a project framework tailored to your specific situation—no one-size-fits-all packages, no unnecessary service modules. This allows you to invest strategically in initiatives that deliver real value, rather than in methods, workshops, or ideas that fizzle out in day-to-day operations.

Many companies sense that something isn’t working anymore: growth has stalled, costs are rising, or a technical problem is holding back entire departments. In situations like these, our innovation consulting can help you regain your bearings—especially when it’s unclear where the actual bottleneck lies and which levers will really make a difference.

KBC helps you address these very questions and integrates business models, technology, and operational realities into a strategy that drives tangible progress for your company. This doesn’t always require a large-scale project—even smaller initiatives that serve as the “missing link” to what you already have in place can solve concrete problems.

As an international boutique management consulting firm, the KBC team advises companies in Germany, Europe, the U.S., Africa, and Asia. Many companies seeking innovation consulting in Munich or Germany face challenges that extend far beyond national borders. This is precisely where our international experience comes into play. KBC combines a deep understanding of regional markets with a global perspective—ensuring that innovation has an impact in every region.

We always start by asking: What exactly do you want to change or achieve?

To this end, KBC uses scientifically developed methodologies to evaluate and implement ideas in a structured manner. Your team brings the technical expertise, while our consulting team provides innovation know-how, structure, and experience.

There is one more crucial factor for success: mindset. Innovation can only succeed if existing ways of thinking are challenged. That is exactly what we work on in workshops with your team.

Experience shows that this is a common starting point: there is a sense that the need for action is growing—but it’s unclear exactly what’s causing it. This is precisely where innovation consulting can help: by sorting through issues, revealing connections, and asking the right questions.

KBC helps your team analyze the situation in a structured way: What factors are currently affecting costs or feasibility? What are the root causes? And which issues deserve priority right now? Only then do we decide together what the next steps should be—and which solutions will deliver real value.

John Dowling

Partner

I'll be happy to advise you

Whether it’s innovation management consulting or innovative approaches to production and digitalization: In a brief discussion, we’ll determine which steps make sense and how KBC, an international boutique consulting firm based in Munich, can help you move forward.

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