In our strategic consulting work, we support companies in developing a precise understanding of their situation across market, portfolio, development and organisation. Many mid-sized industrial businesses operate with a combination of technically demanding products, historically evolved portfolios and complex organisational structures. When these need to respond to changing markets, technological shifts or regulatory requirements, a need for strategic clarification arises.

In such situations, companies rarely come with clearly defined questions, but rather with a sense that their existing decision-making logic is no longer effective. This is where we step in: we analyse the situation systematically, make interdependencies visible, and derive prioritised fields of action. Together, we define objectives and guiding principles that align decisions on portfolio, innovation and organisation in a clear and actionable way.

Companies typically seek strategic consulting in phases of heightened uncertainty. Leadership senses the need for action, but cannot clearly identify where the most effective leverage lies. Changes in markets and technologies call previous assumptions into question, the portfolio no longer provides clear direction, and decisions become harder to justify.

This need for strategic clarity often arises because clear target visions are missing or cannot be translated into binding development decisions. Initiatives run in parallel without a clear order of priority, and decisions are no longer taken and implemented consistently. Under increasing external pressure, these ambiguities turn into a significant business challenge.

The 360° analysis is one of Squareone’s core assessment formats. In a short space of time, it provides a well-founded external perspective on the business – highlighting potential, weaknesses, implicit patterns and strategic leverage points.

As part of the review, we analyse the market, competition, product and solution portfolio, development and innovation processes, and organisational structures. This analysis is complemented by interviews with relevant stakeholders. The findings are then structured, presented in a visually clear format, and discussed in a joint session to build a shared understanding of the starting point.

The 360° analysis does not deliver ready-made solutions, but it does provide a robust basis for decision-making in the next stage of strategic work.

Building on the 360° analysis, the core strategic work begins. The identified patterns, opportunities and weaknesses are jointly assessed, evaluated and put into context. The aim is to clearly identify and prioritise the strategically relevant topics, and to translate them into concrete strategic action areas, initiatives and workstreams.

On this basis, mission, vision and business objectives are refined together so that they function as actionable strategic guidelines – shaping portfolio and innovation development as well as the organisation itself.

For over 20 years, Squareone has worked with industrial companies developing technically demanding products, managing complex portfolios and operating under high expectations in both development and organisation. What sets us apart is the combination of strategic analysis with a deep understanding of product development, design, technology and industrial processes. We always consider strategic decisions in the context of portfolio and product logic, taking into account their impact on development effort, product variety, scalability and organisational structure.

This combination of strategic perspective and hands-on development experience enables us not only to support companies in defining target visions, but to shape strategies in a way that remains viable across development, organisation and implementation.

If required, we support you from strategic analysis through to the implementation of development projects and innovation processes. Thanks to our capabilities across strategy, development and execution, you can rely on the continuity and consistency of our approach.

You can commission individual services or work packages, or engage with us in an integrated, end-to-end process. Where companies are looking to fundamentally realign their portfolio and development activities, we support them through multi-year transformation engagements. An overview of our service areas can be found here: