Consulting activities  are a critical element of the business environment.

In today's rapidly changing world, when in order to stay afloat it is necessary to make tough decisions, change the established structure of the company, introduce new techniques and technologies, the key role is played by the selection of experienced specialists who are able to carry out the necessary “reanimation” of the company.

As a rule, enterprises, having exhausted the possibilities of solving problems of increasing competitiveness on their own, are increasingly turning to consultants in attempts to solve these problems. However, consultants are increasingly being turned to not only by organizations in crisis, but also by successful organizations seeking to become even more competitive and efficient.

​We provide consulting services on a wide range of issues in the following areas:

• SC Center for the development and implementation of SCM and innovation (consulting in the field of optimization of production, logistics and management)
• School of Service (consulting in the hotel and restaurant business)
• Center for Certification and Human Resource Management (HR Consulting)
• Design and engineering center "Industry Engineering Management Center" (Engineering consulting)

The experienced and creative team of the Silk Road Research Center helps its clients achieve success using a unique combination of a first-class reputation, best international practices and professional standards with in-depth knowledge of the specific markets of Kazakhstan and the CIS countries.

Areas of activity of the center:

• GOVERNMENT SECTOR
• CORPORATE SECTOR
• INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS (donors)

The Silk Road Research Center provides consulting services and services for the preparation of industry and case studies:

1. Development of a business development strategy

(corporate, product, functional, innovative)

2. Optimization of the organizational structure and management system of subsidiaries

3. Optimization of key management systems (strategic planning, investment management)

4. Management of production assets (cost reduction, optimization of business processes, etc.)

5. Improving operational efficiency (diagnostics, benchmarking, cost reduction, optimization of business processes, etc.)

To maintain competition in the market, it is necessary to optimize business processes. In this regard, it is proposed to introduce various management systems, such as CRM, Lean Manufacturing and others. This implementation allows you to optimize and systematize the company’s business processes.

At the implementation stage, proposals developed based on the results of consulting are implemented. There are established deadlines, tasks and a guaranteed result in the form of optimization of certain processes and cost reduction.

The introduction of management decisions and a process approach to company management involves a change in the company’s management structure and the adoption of key principles of process management, including:

- priority goal of the company’s activities

- creating a quality product.

- The product is created by people performing processes;

- strategic advantage is concentrated in people and information;

- the number of levels of company management should not exceed 4.

As part of projects for introducing a process approach to the management of a client’s company, consultants from the Silk Road Institute carry out the following stages of work:

• Description of the company’s business processes at the moment – “as is”
• Analysis of the described processes - “as is”
• Modeling of company processes - “as it should be”
• Training staff and management in the process approach to organizing activities
• ​Implementation of changes according to the conceptual business model - “as it should be”
• Supporting the company’s activities after the implementation of the model – “as it should be” for six months.

World experience shows that competent and rational implementation of all, without exception, business processes in a company’s work is extremely rare. High quality of the final product or services, as well as minimizing their cost, is achieved through narrow specialization in certain groups of processes. In conditions of saving human and financial resources, it is more profitable for enterprises to close non-core departments and divisions, since due to this they get the opportunity to purposefully and effectively develop priority areas of their activities. In the presence of a competitive environment, it is this factor that is decisive for making a decision to switch to outsourcing.

Outsourcing is the process of a company transferring part of its production or business processes to another company that is an expert in this field.

In general, the outsourcing market is divided into two main segments: outsourcing of intellectual services (information processing; research, project development, programming and other technical work) and industrial outsourcing. Industrial outsourcing is the production and supply of blanks, hardware and components, and, on the other hand, it is the performance of some auxiliary functions and operations to ensure production of products (accounting, warehousing, repair and maintenance of equipment, advertising, cleaning, logistics, etc. .).

Benefits of outsourcing:

• From an economic point of view, hiring an outsourcer allows a company to significantly reduce costs. After all, the company will not have to maintain an additional structure and increase its staff. Transaction costs may also decrease. Some fixed costs can be transformed into variable costs depending on the needs of the company in a particular period of time.
• From the point of view of implementing strategic objectives, outsourcing makes it possible to concentrate resources on core production, as well as improve operational control. In addition, the process of introducing new technological or management operations is facilitated.
• On the technological side, outsourcing opens up access to higher technologies. If the staff does not have the necessary specialists, they can be attracted through an outsourcing program. The quality of service when engaging an outsourcer increases significantly, since the third-party company undertakes to control the quality of the work provided under the contract.

The experienced team of the Silk Road Institute of Logistics and Business is integrated into the customer’s production system and functions in it for a certain period of time in order to establish the work and interaction of certain processes and departments.