How we help you
Wipfli’s business strategy consulting services help you create an actionable, agile strategy that’s capable of holding up to the constant disruption organizations face today.
Know the obstacles limiting your performance and how to overcome them.
Develop and implement an effective strategic plan that keeps your organization agile.
Plan for the technology investments that deliver real value.
Execute your strategic plan and keep your organization aligned.
Guidance from vision to execution
When day-to-day demands make it difficult to focus on the future, our strategy consulting services help you step back and establish a clear direction forward. We offer end-to-end support to create a shared vision for your organization’s future and turn strategic priorities into measurable results.
Explore our services
Wipfli’s dedicated advisors focus on helping your organization identify its strategic priorities and develop actionable plans grounded in real data and organizational realities. Using a tailored methodology aligned to your unique needs, we help create strategies that are both practical and positioned for long-term success.
Data-informed approach
Wipfli’s business strategy consulting services go beyond facilitating planning sessions. We work closely with your organization to gather and analyze data to understand the factors affecting your performance.
We offer:
- Future forces and scenario planning leveraging innovative technology.
- Custom survey administration.
- Stakeholder or community needs assessments.
Three levels of strategy support
Our strategic planning services offer your organization three levels of support:
- Transactional planning: Sustain your performance by finding new ways to increase efficiency, eliminate waste and improve how you use your assets.
- Forecasted transformational planning: We analyze your performance and compare it to shifts in your organization to better understand the gaps you need to address. From there, we help you develop a plan to meet your organization’s future needs, including organizational, process and infrastructure improvements.
- Revolutionary transformational planning: We help you redefine and regenerate your organization’s advantage. Whether you need new lines of business or delivery models, we can help you innovate and transform your organization to better suit your vision of the future.
Wipfli’s services don’t stop at a paper plan. After helping you define your vision and strategic priorities, we navigate the barriers, complexities and opportunities that arise during execution.
Our strategy support services include:
- Implementation: We align your people, technology, culture and operations to help move your strategy from concept to execution and support successful adoption across your organization.
- Financial sustainability and revenue diversification: We help you evaluate funding models, identify opportunities to diversify revenue streams and implement strategies that support long-term financial sustainability.
- Experience mapping: Our customer, member and technology mapping services help you understand your strategy through the lens of those you serve.
- Implementation risk management: We help you identify and mitigate the risks associated with your strategic initiatives, so that you can act with confidence.
Wipfli’s digital advisory team applies holistic ideation and planning to help your organization transform with technology. We work closely with you to understand and accelerate your vision with the right technology strategy. Whether you’re looking to reinvent your organization, integrate AI with your business model or have a road map for incremental improvement, our seasoned practitioners help ensure that every area of your organization receives targeted guidance.
Our digital strategy consulting helps you use technology to bring your vision to life through four essential components:
- Planning and ideation: Through collaborative conversations, such as Design Thinking workshops, our advisors help you envision what your organization can become and craft a strategy to achieve your goals.
- Technology initiative assessment and readiness benchmarking: Our team helps you blend technology with your mission and vision, guiding you through the software selection process so that you can maximize your ROI.
- CIO advisory: We provide interim, partial, consultative and mentoring services for the CIO role to help shape your organization’s digital strategy at the executive level. Our range of services can be tailored to your level of need, whether you want situation-specific guidance, fractional resources to augment your team or coaching to help your leadership reach their full potential.
- Program management: Wipfli specializes in orchestrating multiple technology initiatives, combining both internal and external resources to achieve strategic business outcomes. Our services start by assessing your current practices and providing you with actionable recommendations for improvements. We then help you build a robust program management office tailored to your needs and coordinate multiple projects within your program.
ARTICLE
Supply chain risk management: Tariffs, disruptions and more
Supply chain risks are growing. A multitude of complex, interconnected risk factors are driving volatility and putting new pressure on manufacturing CEOs and COOs to adapt in response. Implementing a practical supply chain risk management strategy can help. Keep reading to learn what that looks like and how to get started. What are the top supply chain risks? Supply chain risks are largely shaped by government policy, geopolitical events and international conflict. Key risks include tariffs, the wars in Iran and Ukraine, energy shortages and USMCA ambiguity, as well as raw material pricing volatility — all of which are deeply interrelated. Here are the major supply chain risks explained in more detail: Tariffs: The Trump administration’s tariff policies have added new costs to U.S. imports (current tariff rates add 10-50% to the price of imported goods), with the volatility of the tariffs themselves also presenting a challenge. International conflicts: The Iran war has pushed oil and gas prices up significantly, while the war in Ukraine has affected prices for other commodities like wheat and cooking oil (while also resulting in current and possibly future sanctions on Russian gas and oil). Rising energy demand: The wars are affecting supply, but a growing U.S. demand for energy that’s driven largely by data centers has also pushed energy prices higher. Volatile raw materials pricing: Raw materials prices have continued to climb higher, including crucial materials like metals and resin, with supply chains for molds and dies also heavily disrupted. USMCA ambiguity: We don’t know whether the USMCA negotiations will successfully result in a new iteration of the trade agreement, creating additional uncertainty for manufacturers, especially those with cross-border operations. Driver shortage: New U.S. policies have limited the labor pool in the trucking industry, making it harder to move goods. Ending the wars with Iran and Ukraine may be a tall order for the average manufacturing business to take on. But that doesn’t mean you’re helpless here either. How do you implement a supply chain risk management strategy? Implementing a cohesive supply chain risk management strategy can help your manufacturing business weather the storm of today’s supply chain risks. The key here is to stop worrying about what you can’t control and focus on what you can do: 1. Map your supply chain Mapping your supply chain will help you better understand your specific risks so you can take steps to mitigate them. To do this, identify each of your vendors, evaluate all your different supply chain inputs throughout the entire process from quote to cash, consider how long you’re holding raw materials and finished goods, and note when payments are made. 2. Identify alternative vendors Based on your supply chain mapping, explore whether alternative vendors or geographies could lower costs or reduce volatility. For example, switching vendors to a lower-tariff country could help, as could finding a U.S.-based vendor willing to absorb certain tariff costs on its end. 3. Monitor supply chain pricing Designate someone on your team to monitor supply chain pricing and tariff updates. This can help your business react more quickly to changes , which is especially important in today’s volatile environment. 4. Rework costing and quoting Your expenses have changed, and your costing and quoting needs to reflect that. Rework it all to take today’s supply chain environment into account and price in tariff costs and volatility. 5. Find operational efficiencies Finding operational efficiencies and getting creative with AI can help you offset higher supply chain costs. Automation can be a game-changer here , especially if you use tax incentives like bonus depreciation and qualified production property to lower the barriers to entry. 6. Do scenario planning Planning for supply chain risks helps you better prepare to meet them. Game out different scenarios like tariff hikes or oil price spikes to evaluate what that could mean for your business and how you should respond. 7. Reevaluate customer and vendor contracts As you negotiate new customer and vendor contracts, take rising costs and volatility into account. Prioritize flexibility here: You don’t want to get locked into a long-term contract only to watch your costs spiral due to factors that are out of your hands. Shrinking margins mean the time to act is now In Wipfli’s recent survey of 456 manufacturing executives, those leaders reported that profitability is declining across the board . Today’s volatility has contributed significantly to that margin pressure, which means that acting to mitigate supply chain risks can help relieve it. The time to act is now. Businesses that adapt to today’s challenges will not just get through them but become more flexible and efficient in doing so. However, those who wait too long will only fall further behind the eight-ball — until it may be hard to catch up.
ARTICLE
Tribal Home Energy Rebate Program: A Guide for Tribes
The Tribal High-Efficiency Electric Home Rebate (HEEHR) Program gives federally recognized tribes and Alaska Native Corporations grants to help their communities reduce energy costs and modernize their homes. The application deadline is December 11, 2026. DOE reopened the program and extended the deadline in 2026 under Program Notice 26-3, which included updated rules, so a plan drafted under the earlier guidance needs a fresh look. If your tribe hasn’t yet acted, there is still time to claim its share. Keep reading to learn more about the grants and strategies your tribe can use to help ensure your community gets the most benefit out of the money. What is the Tribal HEEHR Program? The U.S. Department of Energy’s Tribal High-Efficiency Electric Home Rebate Program provides up to $ 218.5 million to Indian Tribes and Alaska Native Corporations to develop, implement and subsidize residential energy-efficiency, electrification and appliance-upgrade projects. The grant uses a formula-based allocation. Each tribe has a specific amount set aside for them. You’re not competing against other tribes for a shared pool. You simply need to apply and demonstrate that you have a plan to use the money effectively. Tribes can form a tribal consortium, which allows them to pool administrative funding and administer programs more efficiently. Tribes can join a consortium at any point prior to application submission, with approval from a Tribal Council Resolution or a Head of Government letter. What Tribal HEEHR money can be used for Tribal HEEHR funds are allocated to help low- and moderate-income households make energy upgrades to their homes. Rebates can cover up to full project costs for low-income households (less than 80% of the area median income) and up to half of project costs for moderate-income households (80–150% of the area median income). Individual homes are eligible for up to $14,000 in rebates. Here is a breakdown of the approved upgrades and of how much money is available for each: Improvement Maximum rebate Electric heat pump HVAC system $8,000 Electric circuit panel upgrade $4,000 Electric wiring upgrades $2,500 Electric heat pump water heater $1,750 Insulation, air sealing and ventilation $1,600 Electric stove, cooktop or oven, heat pump, clothes dryer $840 Restrictions of note include: Homes must use rebates for insulation and air sealing prior to installing heating and cooling upgrades, unless their insulation and sealing meet DOE and tribal standards. Rebates cannot be used to switch from a gas, oil or other fossil-fuel appliance to an electric appliance. They can be used to replace existing electric equipment with more efficient electric equipment. In practice, that means the $8,000 heat pump rebate applies mainly to homes that already heat and cool with electricity. Why tribes should pursue this funding now This is money that can help tribal members and the overall economy in your community. There is no reason to let the opportunity go to waste. When you put this money to work, the benefits could include: Lower energy bills: Utility rates have been going up. The spikes are significant in many regions. More efficient appliances equal smaller utility bills. For low-income households, those monthly savings can go a long way. Modernize your housing stock: If your tribe owns homes that members live in, this is an opportunity to upgrade those houses at reduced or no cost. Economic stimulus: If the work installing insulation, heat pumps and other appliances goes to local businesses, that’s money and jobs that stay in your economy. Workforce training: Organizations such as Green Summit can pair the installations with training and mentorship for tribal members, including HERS Rater and Rating Field Inspector pathways, so the knowledge stays in the community. Layer grants to maximize your return HEEHR funding doesn’t have to work in isolation. The rebates can be combined with other federal and state programs, such as the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) . The key is to be strategic in how you allocate grant money. Avoid spending general funds to pay for projects or appliances that grant money could cover. Prioritize the use of general funds for items and services that are out of scope for federal and state awards. How tribes can get started Think of this program like a construction project. You wouldn’t break ground without a blueprint. The same applies here. Before you put the money into action, you need to: Know your community and make a plan Be sure you have the relevant data for your community. How many homes are owned by the tribe? How many citizens are homeowners in the area? Have you gathered the income data for each household? Then decide what upgrades your tribe wants to prioritize. Whether it’s more heat pumps and appliance changeouts for energy efficiency or panel upgrades to support electrification, it’s ultimately up to the tribe to decide which upgrades to implement. Climate and geography should drive the tribe’s strategy. In northern regions, insulation, air sealing and cold-climate heat pumps may offer significant value. In warmer regions, conventional heat-pump systems or other eligible electric upgrades may be a better fit. Build a fraud, waste and abuse mitigation plan The DOE is focused on preventing waste, fraud and abuse within the program. You’ll need to demonstrate that your grant funds were spent on the projects they were intended for. Documentation isn’t just good practice; it’s a compliance requirement. Whether it’s tribal staff or a third party conducting inspections, everything should be documented. GPS-verified and time-stamped photos should be taken before and after each project. DOE mandates include address verification to ensure that a single address doesn’t receive rebates for the same component through a similar program. For example, if a household claims an HVAC heat pump under the Tribal HEEHR program, it can’t also claim an HVAC heat pump under a state program. However, it could potentially take an HVAC heat pump under one program and appliances, stoves or electrical panels under the other. Find the right partner It’s strongly recommended that tribes bring in outside help. With income verification, compliance requirements and data reporting, the program is complex. Navigating it solo adds unnecessary risk. Get a partner familiar with the program, document everything and have a very good plan in place. If those three things are taken care of, distributing funds, certifying funds and supporting any DOE audits becomes a much smoother process Read more AI for tribes: Managing risk and maximizing impact How GASB 103 and GASB 104 will impact tribal governments Don’t let tribal energy grants jeopardize your energy tax credits
ARTICLE
Manufacturing risk management: Key threats and action steps
The manufacturing industry is in the midst of a volatile period. Manufacturers must overcome risks like tariffs, supply chain disruptions, international macroeconomic pressures from the wars in Iran and Ukraine, AI growing pains and more — all while protecting profitability. Implementing an effective risk management strategy can help your manufacturing business navigate today’s risks. Keep reading to learn more, plus how to assess and mitigate your own top risks. Why risk management matters for manufacturers Manufacturing businesses are currently operating in a high-VUCA environment. The acronym, which stands for volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity, describes many of the key pressures manufacturing CFOs and COOs face as they try to maintain smooth operations and combat shrinking margins. Risk management is a way to bring a little stability to that high-VUCA environment. There’s so much you can’t control — tariffs, international trade, wars, government policies — but by focusing on what you can do within your own four walls, you can still manage your risks enough to protect your value and operating income. This often starts with a mindset shift. If you’re willing to let go of your old ways of doing business and embrace changes like new technology or revamped processes, you’ll have taken a big first step towards making your business stronger and more adaptable. What are the major risks facing manufacturers? Manufacturers today face risks like supply chain concentration, workforce shortages and cybersecurity threats. Those risks are compounded by big-picture, geopolitical issues like tariffs and international conflicts, as well as the ongoing rise of AI. Top risks for manufacturers include: Tariff risks: Most U.S. imports are now tariffed at between 10-50% , raising materials costs for many manufacturers while also putting additional cost pressures on consumers. Geopolitical risks: The wars in Iran and Ukraine have strained supply chains and caused price spikes for oil and other essential commodities. Workforce risks: Manufacturing’s perennial labor problem hasn’t gotten any easier, with both worker shortages and high labor costs continuing to pressure businesses. Supply chain risks: Many manufacturers still put too many eggs in one basket, relying on overly concentrated supply chains with respect to both vendors and customers. AI risks: While AI can deliver significant benefits to manufacturers , the technology comes with major risks too , especially in areas like data privacy and shadow AI . Cybersecurity risks: Cybersecurity has increasingly gone from just an IT concern to a significant financial risk , as ransomware attacks or data breaches can lead to financial, operational and reputational harm. Shrinking margins: Rising costs on many fronts are cutting into margins, making it harder for manufacturers to get or stay profitable. Production risks: Depending on industry or process type, manufacturers also face production-specific risks around issues like safety and wasted open capacity. How to assess manufacturing risk Your manufacturing business may deal with many of the industrywide risks covered in this article, but it could also face others more specific to your region or niche within the industry. Conducting a manufacturing risk assessment can help you understand your unique risk environment and develop a strategy to mitigate it. Here’s a practical risk assessment framework for manufacturers (a risk advisory firm can help you work through it): 1. Identify and document risks Identify the risk areas and individual risks that could affect your business. This will likely include industrywide risks like tariffs or cybersecurity. Also consider factors more specific to your business, like a mission-critical employee who’s due to retire or production risks like food or chemical safety. 2. Assess the likelihood and impact of each risk Once you have a list of risks, assess each risk based on likelihood and impact. You can rate each of these factors using a scale of low, medium or high. 3. Prioritize risk based on likelihood and impact Prioritize your risks based on likelihood and impact, as well as your essential business objectives. For example, if supply chain disruptions are both high-likelihood and high-impact, that’s a risk you’ll want to tackle right away, while a low-likelihood, medium-impact risk will likely be much lower on your priorities list. Your C-suite should also discuss risk tolerance. 4. Identify existing controls and gaps Assess the controls, policies and procedures you already have in place to mitigate your high-priority risks. This will also help you identify control gaps that need to be filled, like a lack of AI governance or an ineffective system for tracking tariff costs. 5. Develop risk mitigation strategies Develop a risk management roadmap to tackle your top priority risks. This will typically include establishing new controls or policies to manage risk, as well as training, scenario planning and strategic steps like technology upgrades or inventory management changes. 6. Assign risk owners and accountability To ensure your risk management roadmap actually gets implemented, assign owners to each action step. Creating a system of accountability, like regular reporting at the C-suite or board level, can also help drive follow-through. 7. Monitor and assess risk regularly As you implement your risk management roadmap, continue to regularly monitor your risk environment and periodically reassess. Risks are constantly evolving, so your risk management strategy needs to be, too. How can manufacturers mitigate business risks? Implementing a risk management strategy can help manufacturing CFOs and COOs mitigate their top business risks. Depending on the results of your risk assessment, you may wish to consider strategies like: Work with a risk management advisor An advisory firm that works with manufacturers to manage risk and improve performance can help your business navigate today’s high-VUCA environment. Look to an advisor to conduct your risk assessment and help you implement internal controls, operational changes and strategic shifts to manage your risks. Strengthen supply chain resilience Diversify your supply chain to mitigate tariff and disruption risks. Start by mapping your supply chain and identifying possible alternatives for both sourcing and customers. You may also want to do a reshoring or nearshoring evaluation to determine if either could make sense for your business. Improve operational processes and controls Running your business more efficiently can help protect your margins from surging costs . One idea: Implement production monitoring to get a clearer sense of how your production is performing on a day-to-day basis (you’ll get a dashboard showing red or green status for your machines) so you can establish a baseline to improve on. You can also use AI to make predictive maintenance recommendations to reduce your risk of machine downtime. Strengthen your analytics The more data you have, the better you understand how your business is performing. This applies to not just production line performance but also areas like costs, pricing, inventory and organizational performance — all of which can help you identify inefficiencies and understand how what happens in your plant impacts profitability. Implement strong cybersecurity and AI controls You need effective controls for cybersecurity , data protection and AI. This typically includes establishing technology governance , implementing ongoing cybersecurity training and taking steps to make your business more cyber resilient . Improve financial forecasting and scenario planning CFOs should take advantage of AI’s analytical capabilities to do extensive financial forecasting and evaluate the impact of various scenarios. Forecasting and scenario planning can help you to both understand potential risk areas and decide which to prioritize in your risk roadmap. Regularly reassess risks and update controls and strategies Don’t assume today’s risks are the same as tomorrows. Make risk management an ongoing, living practice that includes periodic reassessments and updates to your controls and strategies. Stop putting off succession planning Succession planning isn’t just about who will own the company 10 years from now. Engaging in a thoughtful succession planning process makes your whole business more stable by ensuring continuity of knowledge after a long-time employee retires, passing sales relationships from one generation to the next and giving employees a path to move up in the business. Don’t ignore valuable tax opportunities Manufacturers can often offset margin pressures using tax incentives. Depending on the circumstances, these may include R&D tax credits , bonus depreciation or qualified production property , state-level incentives and even sunsetting energy efficiency deductions like 179D that could still apply to plant upgrades you’ve already made. Read More Can the qualified production property rule help your manufacturing firm reduce tax payments? Cybersecurity in manufacturing: Strategies to mitigate risk Manufacturing trends: What 456 leaders say about the industry today.
Reach out to our team
FAQ
Business strategy consulting primarily helps organizations identify their desired future state and develop a plan to achieve it. A strategy consultant should help leadership gain an objective perspective on an organization’s priorities and the critical gaps that need to be addressed.
Business strategy consulting includes strategic planning and the related support organizations need to plan effectively, including performance analysis, organizational alignment, priority identification and stakeholder engagement.
It can also help leaders answer critical questions, such as:
- What opportunities might we be overlooking?
- What challenges have similar organizations faced that we can learn from?
- What industry trends should we be preparing for now?
The main benefit of business strategy consulting is that it helps leadership gain clarity around a future vision for their organization. When all teams have a shared understanding of the organization’s future, it’s easier to:
- Accelerate progress towards goals: Alignment means teams aren’t limited by working with competing priorities and directionless decision-making.
- Focus resources: A defined strategy means leaders can confidently invest time, people and resources in the initiatives that can make the greatest impact.
- Improve performance: Strategic clarity helps staff connect their work to organizational goals, leading to improved execution and outcomes.
- Maintain accountability: Clarity around ownership and expectations makes it easier to track progress and hold teams accountable.
- Manage more profitable, sustainable advancement: Growth strategy consulting helps organizations make intentional decisions that support long-term growth.
Yes, Wipfli provides end-to-end services that can help you both define and execute your strategy.
Our strategic planning and corporate strategy consulting services focus on developing strategies that are aligned with your goals and providing continuous support that turns those plans into action. Because strategy is an ongoing process, we can also help you evaluate progress and adapt plans as conditions change so your organization stays focused on achieving its objectives.
Leaders often hire business strategy consultants during scenarios including:
- When they are struggling to identify and overcome challenges to growth.
- When they are preparing the organization for significant change.
- When there is misalignment around priorities, or the organization lacks a clear future direction.
- When an organization needs to adapt to evolving industry, regulatory or market conditions.
- When leadership needs an objective perspective on opportunities and performance gaps.
LET'S CONNECT
We’re ready to provide you with the practical strategies and hands-on implementation support you need to transform your organization’s trajectory.
