ZS Associates is a great firm that has steadily risen to international prominence over the past couple of decades. Founded in the 1980s, the firm was originally laser-focused on data analytics - specifically for sales within the pharma space. While data analytics is now a trending business buzzword, ZS Associates has been actively integrating analytics into its core functions for over 3 decades! Today, ZS Associates operates as a strategy & operations firm in over 10 core industries in the U.S. and around the world. It is a fantastic place to work, and offers plentiful exit opportunities to boot. Watch as Jenny Rae, gives an overview of ZS Associates and reasons why you may want to give this firm a close look!
ZS Associates Overview- YouTube Transcription
ZS Associates. Have you ever heard of this firm? It's getting a lot of traction these days because there are a couple of main areas that ZS has really excelled as a boutique consulting firm, and we want to highlight them for you today.
I'm Jenny Rae La Roux the Managing Director of Management Consulted, and we bring you up-to-date information on amazing firms. Both big firms like McKinsey and Deloitte, and smaller up-and-coming firms like ZS Associates. Our goal is to explain what's great about them, what the work is they do, and why you might want to think about working there. For ZS in particular, there's a couple of main reasons why this firm has hit the international stage, and what they're doing about it. Let me just give you a little bit of history about ZS.
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Historical Overview of ZS Associates
Many consulting firms began with some kind of expertise in a field. But ZS was a little bit different. ZS was founded by data scientists, some of the early data scientists- PhDs in their fields. And their goal was to use data to solve problems inside organizations. And because of that they were really ahead of the curve when they were founded, but their day has come now when "data" is the ultimate buzzword in business. ZS Associates built a lot of its great reputation on its work in the Pharma and Life Sciences practice.
Practice Areas
And they began doing three main functions in Pharma and Life Sciences. First, they were focused on sales. Second, they were focused on marketing. And third, they were focused on sales operations and technologies. So they were focused not just on the practice of how an organization sells, but also on equipping them with the tools and software to do so. As such they built a great reputation for being able to do Salesforce and marketing strategy, which is clearly portable to a lot of different industries.
And they've expanded their industry focus to work in other places such as energy. They work for the private equity sector, and they work for over ten core sectors inside the US today.
Hiring
Now one thing that's really interesting for you to know, is that ZS is a very active hirer, both from undergrad and from MBA programs. They also have a special interest in specialized Master students who are focused on data analytics. The career progression is pretty accelerated, because as you work up in the organization it's a standard consulting firm where you have the data analysts that are grunting through the data in the early days. And then you ultimately move up to Project Manager, and then Partner or Sales status.
ZS Headquarters, Locations, and Training
ZS has over 20 locations in the US as well as in Europe and Asia. It's headquartered in Evanston, Illinois, so great solid Midwest foundation. ZS also has thousands of employees so you're not alone. This isn't a tiny boutique firm that doesn't have an established brand. It's a great company that has thousands of employees and the structure and the training that comes with that.
ZS Associates Exit Opportunities
One final thing that's important to note about ZS, aside from the interesting work that you'll do, and the great career opportunities to progress, and the interesting places that they hire, is that it's an amazing foundation if you do want to go into other organizations that are focused on sales and marketing strategy. Which is a huge part of every business operation. They also are a great stepping stone for other consulting firms because of the grounding that you get in data analytics. So we recommend the ZS as an amazing place to start your career.
Wrap Up
There's a lot more to be found in our firm profiles within our article guide. If you're prepping for a ZS Associates interview, or if you're just interested in finding out more about the firm through our Coaching Services, we can absolutely help. We also have more information in our firm profiles and on social.