External brain service refers to the professional, independent and objective management and business problem solutions provided by consulting companies to customers, which is one of the core businesses of consulting companies. The quality and effectiveness of external brain services not only affect the reputation and revenue of consulting firms, but also affect customer satisfaction and loyalty. This paper analyzes the definition, characteristics, value and process of external brain service, and puts forward the best practices and suggestions to improve the quality and effect of external brain service, including: clarifying customer needs and expectations, selecting appropriate teams and methods, maintaining communication and feedback, focusing on project management and risk control, focusing on project delivery and follow-up, etc. This paper also combines the specific case of Shangpu Consulting Company to show the application and effectiveness of external brain services in different industries and fields.

External brain service refers to the professional, independent and objective management and business problem solutions provided by consulting companies to customers, which is one of the core businesses of consulting companies. External brain service can help customers find the best strategic direction, organizational structure, operation mode, innovation mechanism, etc. in the face of complex and changeable market environment, so as to enhance the competitiveness and sustainable development ability of customers.

External brain services have the following characteristics:

Externality: External brain services are provided to customers by consulting companies as third-party organizations. They have strong neutrality and objectivity, can avoid internal conflicts of interest and subjective biases, and can look at problems from a global and long-term perspective.

Professionalism: External brain services are provided by professionals or teams of consulting companies, with a high level of knowledge and experience accumulation, and can use advanced concepts, methods, tools, etc., to conduct in-depth analysis and systematic solution of customer problems.

Temporary: External brain services are provided for specific customer problems or needs, with certain time constraints and goal orientation. Once the project is completed or the goal is achieved, the consulting company will exit or move to the next stage.

External brain services have the following values for customers:

Provide new perspectives: External brain services can help customers break the mindset, examine their own strengths and weaknesses from different perspectives, discover potential opportunities and risks, and expand their ideas and choices.

Provide new knowledge: external brain service can help customers obtain the latest industry trends, market information, technology trends, management concepts, etc., and enhance customers' learning ability and innovation ability.

Provide new solutions: External Brain Services can help customers formulate strategic planning, organizational design, process optimization, product development and other solutions that meet their own characteristics and goals, and assist customers in implementation and evaluation.

Provide new resources: external brain services can help customers use the consulting company's human resources, material resources, information resources, etc., to make up for the customer's own lack of resources, improve the efficiency and effectiveness of customers.

The general process of external brain services consists of the following steps:

Determine the scope of the project: the consulting company communicates with the customer, understands the customer's problems and needs, clarifies the project's objectives, content, time, budget, etc., and signs the contract.

Information collection: The consulting company collects internal and external information related to the project and establishes an information base through literature, interviews, surveys, data analysis, etc.

Analysis of the problem: The consulting company uses logical analysis, causal analysis, comparative analysis, comprehensive analysis and other methods to summarize the information collected, identify the nature and root causes of the problem, and propose assumptions and verification methods.

Suggestions: Based on the results of the problem analysis, the consulting company proposes feasible solutions and evaluates the advantages and disadvantages, risks and benefits of the solutions, taking into account the actual situation and target requirements of the clients.

Implementation plan: The consulting company and the customer jointly formulate the implementation plan of the plan, clarify the division of responsibilities, resource allocation, progress control, etc., assist the customer to implement the plan, and provide supervision and guidance.

Evaluation effect: the consulting company and the client jointly formulate the evaluation criteria and methods of the scheme, check and evaluate the implementation effect of the scheme regularly or irregularly, and make adjustments and improvements according to the feedback.

In order to improve the quality and effectiveness of external brain services, consulting firms can refer to the following best practices and recommendations:

Clarify customer needs and expectations: the consulting company should fully understand the customer's problems and needs, as well as the customer's expectations and requirements for the project before the project starts, avoid misunderstandings or deviations, and ensure that the project objectives are consistent with the customer's objectives.

Choose the right team and method: when setting up the project team, the consulting company should consider the professional background, experience level, communication ability, etc. of the team members, as well as the collaborative relationship between the teams, so as to ensure that the team can complete the project tasks efficiently. When selecting a project method, the consulting company should consider the applicability, effectiveness, innovation, etc. of the method, as well as the degree of matching between the method and the data, to ensure that the method can solve the problem scientifically.

Maintain communication and feedback: The consulting company should maintain close communication and feedback with customers during the project process, report the progress of the project in a timely manner, solicit opinions and suggestions from customers, resolve possible problems or conflicts, and enhance trust and cooperation between both parties.

Focus on project management and risk control: The consulting company should focus on project management and risk control in project implementation, formulate a reasonable project plan, and implement it in accordance with the plan, monitor project progress, quality, cost and other indicators, and promptly identify and respond to possible risks or changes.

Focus on project delivery and follow-up: The consulting company should focus on project delivery and follow-up after the project is completed, submit a complete, clear and standardized project report to the customer, and explain the problem analysis and suggestions in the report in detail, and provide follow-up support or services according to the customer's needs.

Shangpu Consulting Company is a professional management consulting company, providing external brain services in the fields of strategy, organization, operation, innovation, digitalization, etc., serving customers covering various industries and fields, including finance, manufacturing, energy, medical care, education, government, etc. With its professional team, innovative methods and high-quality service, Shangpu Consulting Company has won the trust and praise of customers, and has become the leader and benchmark of external brain service.

The following are some specific cases of Shangpu Consulting, which show the application and effectiveness of external brain services in different industries and fields:

Financial industry: Shangpu Consulting provided a large bank with external brain services for digital transformation, helped the bank establish a customer-centric digital strategy, optimized the bank's product design, channel management, risk control, etc., and improved the bank's revenue growth, customer satisfaction and market share.

Manufacturing industry: Shangpu Consulting Company provides an automobile manufacturer with external brain services for supply chain management, helping automobile manufacturers to establish a flexible, efficient and sustainable supply chain network, realizing the visualization, coordination and intelligence of the supply chain, reducing the cost and risk of the supply chain, and improving the efficiency and quality of the supply chain.

Energy industry: Shangpu Consulting Company provided an energy efficiency external brain service for a power company, helping the power company to formulate a comprehensive energy efficiency improvement plan, covering power production, transmission and distribution, power management and other links. Advanced technology and equipment save energy consumption and reduce carbon emissions.

Medical industry: Shangpu Consulting provided a hospital with medical quality external brain services, helping the hospital to establish a patient-centered medical quality management system, including medical quality standards, monitoring indicators, evaluation methods, etc., through data analysis and process improvement, improve medical quality and safety.

Education industry: Shangpu Consulting provides a university with educational innovative external brain services, helping the university to design an education model that meets future education trends and needs, including curriculum, teaching methods, evaluation mechanisms, etc., using digital technology and The platform realizes the individualization, interaction and openness of education.

Government industry: Shangpu Consulting Company provides a city government with external brain services for urban planning, and helps the city government to formulate an urban planning plan in line with the vision and goals of urban development, involving urban spatial layout, transportation system, public facilities, environmental protection and other aspects, so as to realize the beauty, livability and sustainability of the city.