Does anyone have any insight to the type of work ATK's Procurement & Analytic Solutions group do?How does this compare to the MC side of things?What are potential exit options 4-5 years down the line if one were to join said group?Currently have 3 years consulting experience and looking to make a move.Thanks in advance.

Hi. I have spent the last 2.5 years in PAS at ATK. If you are a Consultant who has experience in Procurement, or wishes to develop expertise in this area, then in my opinion it is the best place to be (I have also worked for a Big 4 player). PAS tend to work with the MC side of the business on most projects, you will be expected to travel internationally, you will work on strategic high impact projects for major clients, expectations are high and the work is demanding. In my opinion, ATK are the number one recognised firm in Procurement Consultancy. Of course, others may wish to argue this point - but I'm sure the general consensus will support this.

Thanks anon for the insight. No offence, but your response seems like something HR (or a partner) would say.Could you offer any further insight regarding the length of projects? "Typical" engagements?Is the international travel European based or further afield? How much notice is given for international travel?What's the morale like? How about the pipeline of work (I assume it's high as I've seen job adverts on the web)?What about exit options (less of a concern)?

Hi, you're right to question any points of view provided on such a forum.Projects can range from 6 weeks for a typical Opportunity Assessment, to 3-6 months for a strategic sourcing intitiative.Typical engagements include the aforementioned strategic opportunity assessments, actual category sourcing, post merger integration sourcing work, procurement transformation, benchmarking etc.European travel is mandatory, you can work further afield if you express a preference for this. With regards to European travel, notice could be 1 or 2 days, or over a week - depends on individual circumstances. Not sure about international travel as I didn't experience this.Morale is good, this area of ATK's business is growing quickly and is increasing in prominence internally as well. Possibly linked to the economic environment and company's needs to cut costs, procurement work is hot at the moment.Exit options are good, however, it is surprising how many industry people involved in procurement are not as aware of the ATK brand and seem to be more impressed by a Big 4 brand. Of course, other consultancies are more than aware of ATK's brand.hope that helps

Anon, Thanks for the further insight, it's very useful. Just a few more questions .....When you say European travel is mandatory, does that mean most (or a significant proportion) of the clients are based outside of the UK or just that if a European project comes up, there's no choice of deferring and choosing a home based role?What would you say are the disadvantages of working in PAS over another service line? What of ATK in general?Is a move to another service live (e.g. M&A, strategy or marketing & sales) possible? If so, is it common?I once worked with a colleague who was ex-ATK who didn't have a bad word to say about the firm. Granted, this is only one data point, however, what would you say is the general mood of consultants working there?Thanks

P&AS functions as a European team, so being based in the UK does not necessarily mean you're confined primarily to projects in the UK. The three VP's who run P&AS in Europe work very closely together and look at the European workforce as a mobile one. I would say you are as likely to be in Europe as you are to be in the UK, if not more so.P&AS prides itself on putting Consultants on to projects who have real experience in said industry or category. Therefore, you are often assigned to a project based on your very specific skill set. This means it's not so easy to turn down project A, and ask to be on project B - as your skill set may not match. Other consultancies, particularly Big 4 sell in larger teams at a lower rate, and so can better 'hide' consultants who don't have a good match in terms of skill set, this doesn't happen at ATK with leaner teams being charged out at higher rates, with the expectation from the client that the Consultants should "know their stuff".Working in P&AS means you will only work on Procurement based projects, whereas your MC colleagues will often work on Procurement projects, but also have the opportunity to work in other areas of Management Consultancy. This can be seen as a disadvantage, or fit your needs completely, allowing you to develop a real deep skill set in Procurement.I don't know anyone since I've been at ATK who has moved from P&AS to the MC side of the business. This doesn't mean it can't happen, just that I haven't seen it.

Thanks Anon ... I'll be shooting off an application soon.