The Partnering Group
The Partnering Group is a privately-held Ohio-based international management consulting firm founded in 1993 that delivers practitioner-led strategy and category management advisory to enterprise retailers, CPG manufacturers, foodservice operators, private equity firms, and select technology and healthcare clients across 45+ countries.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1993
- HeadquartersCincinnati, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What The Partnering Group does
The Partnering Group (TPG) is a privately-held, US-domiciled (Ohio) international strategy and general management consulting firm founded in 1993, operating with 101-250 employees across an 18-capability service portfolio organized around retailers, consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers, foodservice operators, private equity, and adjacent technology, healthcare, and consumer electronics clients. The firm's value proposition rests on a practitioner-led delivery model in which partners, drawn from former executive roles at enterprises such as Walmart, Tesco, Ahold Delhaize, Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Johnson & Johnson, and Novartis, work directly with client leadership on engagements spanning category management, revenue growth management, digital commerce, supply chain, organization transformation, and innovation. Proprietary content includes the Category Leadership 360 (CL360) methodology and the Full Plate foodservice category management process, deployed alongside omnichannel analytics and AI capabilities delivered through technology alliances with Market6, InReality, Daisy Intelligence, and UpClear.
TPG generates revenue through project-based professional services engagements priced by scope, team composition, and duration, with no publicly disclosed rates or subscription/SaaS product. Go-to-market relies on enterprise field sales reinforced by partner-led thought leadership at industry associations and conferences (FMI, Shop.org, Category Management Association, PLMA, Shopper Marketing), supplemented by white papers, webinars, and case studies. Direct engagement with C-suite buyers and partner-led business development drive the pipeline. The firm claims penetration of 84% of top CPG suppliers and 56% of top retailers globally, with practitioner-partners operating across 45+ countries in North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia, and EMEA. Operations are organized regionally with Managing Directors covering the Americas (Mike Holcomb) and EMEA/APAC (Ian Hogg), under CEO Frank Grossi.
Ownership is a partnership model typical of professional services firms, with no disclosed parent, external investor, or institutional capital. The firm has no public filings, no disclosed funding rounds, no completed M&A, and no announced exits; financial information is not made available. Documented outcomes include quantified engagement results such as 10-30% improvements in ecommerce fulfillment units picked per hour, 18% efficiency gains in reverse logistics, and $20M+ in operational expense savings from supply chain work.
The Partnering Group firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Partnering Group
- Legal name
- The Partnering Group, Inc.
- Website
- https://thepartneringgroup.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1993
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- The Partnering Group is a privately-held Ohio-based international management consulting firm founded in 1993 that delivers practitioner-led strategy and category management advisory to enterprise retailers, CPG manufacturers, foodservice operators, private equity firms, and select technology and healthcare clients across 45+ countries.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Partnering Group industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Management Consulting
- NAICS
- Other Management Consulting Services (541618), Marketing Consulting Services (541613)
- SIC
- Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Strategic Partnerships, Alliances & JVs Advisory (BPAHADAI)
Keywords
Where The Partnering Group is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Cincinnati
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
The Partnering Group business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Strategy & Management Consulting: Global strategy and general management consulting engagements with top retailers, distributors, and consumer product companies worldwide. Engagements include organization transformation, sales optimization, category management, digital commerce, and supply chain advisory services.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
The Partnering Group product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Partnering Group is a global strategy and general management growth consultancy that delivers practitioner-led advisory services across 18 capability areas including Strategy, Category Management, Digital Commerce, Revenue Growth Management, Supply Chain, Organization Transformation, and Sales. Engagements are sold directly to enterprise clients through partner-led consulting projects spanning organization transformation, sales optimization, category management, digital commerce, supply chain, and innovation advisory.
Product overview
The Partnering Group (TPG) is a global strategy and general management growth consultancy that offers a comprehensive portfolio of advisory services rather than a unified software product. The firm's consulting practices span 18 distinct capability areas including Organization Transformation, Sales, Learning & Development, Logistics, Revenue Growth Management, Digital Commerce, Category Management, Buying and Merchandising, Strategy, Brand Strategy & Execution, Marketing Performance, Innovation, Data/Tech/AI, Insights/Research/Influence, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, and Store Operations. These services are delivered through practitioner-led consulting engagements where former executive leaders work directly with clients to develop transformative strategies and operationalize solutions.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Strategy Consulting Corporate strategy, growth strategy, and business planning consulting services for retailers, CPG companies, and other enterprise clients.
- Category Management Consulting Retail category leadership consulting including assortment optimization, space planning, and shopper insights for retailers and CPG suppliers.
- Digital Commerce Consulting eCommerce strategy, omnichannel marketing, digital shelf optimization, and marketplace selling advisory services for enterprise retail and CPG clients.
- Revenue Growth Management Consulting Analytics-driven consulting for trade promotion management, pricing strategy, and revenue optimization, including RGM systems implementation and change management.
- Supply Chain Consulting End-to-end supply chain consulting including procurement, manufacturing, and operations strategy for retailers and CPG companies.
- Organization Transformation Consulting Consulting practice focused on organizational design, restructuring, and transformation programs to help companies evolve their structure and operations.
- Sales Consulting Advisory services for go-to-market strategy, sales organization design, and commercial capability development.
- Learning & Development Consulting Capability building programs including functional training, talent development, and leadership education services.
- Logistics Consulting Supply chain and logistics optimization consulting including transportation, distribution, and warehouse operations.
- Buying and Merchandising Consulting Retail merchandising strategy, private label development, and supplier collaboration services.
- Brand Strategy & Execution Consulting Brand development, marketing strategy, and brand activation consulting.
- Marketing Performance Consulting Marketing analytics, campaign optimization, and marketing ROI improvement programs.
- Innovation Consulting New product development, innovation strategy, and NPD (new product development) capability building.
- Data, Tech & AI Consulting Advanced analytics, AI-enabled insights, and technology integration consulting for data-driven decision making.
- Insights, Research & Influence Consulting Consumer and shopper research, market insights, and analytics services.
- Manufacturing Consulting Manufacturing excellence, operational efficiency, and production optimization consulting.
- Store Operations Consulting Retail store operations best practices, eCommerce fulfillment, and merchandising execution services.
Quantifiable outcome
- +10-30% improvement in Units Picked Per Hour for ecommerce fulfillment
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use The Partnering Group
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
The Partnering Group technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
The Partnering Group partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- InRealitycoreStrategic retail analytics partnership combining TPG's proven strategy and business processes with InReality's cloud-based retail analytics. The alliance delivers new analytic applications mapped to industry best practice process and operational models, helping retailers and consumer goods companies improve performance and profitability.
- Daisy IntelligencecoreStrategic retail partnership with Daisy Intelligence to deliver AI-powered retail analytics solutions. The partnership leverages TPG's retail consulting expertise with Daisy's artificial intelligence capabilities to help clients make better merchandising and pricing decisions.
- Market6coreStrategic alliance with Market6 to deliver new analytic applications based on proven business processes. Combines TPG's proven strategy and business processes with Market6's cloud-based retail analytics platform to help retailers and CPG companies improve performance.
- International Foodservice Manufacturers Association (IFMA)coreIndustry-wide initiative to establish best practices for category management in the foodservice industry. Partnership includes development of Full Plate, TPG's Foodservice Category Management Process of the future. The collaboration created the industry's first inclusive foodservice category management best practices initiative.
- comScoreminorJoint study on social and mobile commerce impact on shopping research and purchase process. Second annual joint US consumer study focusing on impact of social media and mobile on shopping behavior.
- Shop.orgminorJoint study with comScore and TPG on social and mobile commerce impact on shopping research and purchase process. Second annual joint US consumer study on impact of social media and mobile on shopping behavior.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
The Partnering Group competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Kearney: Global management consultancy with one of the strongest retail and consumer goods practices, historically competing with TPG for category management and supply chain engagements at large retailers and CPGs.
- Oliver Wyman: Global consulting firm with a dedicated Consumer & Retail practice addressing strategy, operations, and digital transformation for retailers, manufacturers, and distributors—directly overlapping TPG's core offering.
- McKinsey & Company: The largest global strategy consultancy with a Consumer practice serving retailers and CPGs on category, digital, and operations topics. Represents the upper end of competition for large transformation mandates.
- Bain & Company: Global strategy consultancy with a Consumer Products and Retail practice covering category management, growth strategy, and operations—closely mirroring TPG's core capabilities.
- Boston Consulting Group (BCG): Global strategy consultancy with a Consumer and Retail practice addressing growth, digital, and operational excellence for retailers and CPG manufacturers; a frequent competitor for enterprise engagements.
- Accenture Strategy: Large consulting and technology services firm with a Consumer Goods & Retail industry group that competes with TPG on digital commerce, supply chain, and category management mandates, often at greater scale.
- Deloitte Consulting: Big Four advisory firm with a Consumer & Industrial Products practice delivering strategy, operations, and technology consulting to retailers and CPGs—overlapping significantly with TPG's service portfolio.
Direct peers
- Slalom Consulting: Mid-sized consulting firm with strong retail and consumer goods practices and a local, practitioner-led delivery model that parallels TPG's boutique, partner-engaged approach.
- West Monroe Partners: Mid-sized management and technology consultancy with a Consumer & Industrial Products practice addressing digital commerce, supply chain, and operations—directly comparable in size and approach to TPG.
Others
- Information Resources Inc (Circana): Retail and CPG data, analytics, and advisory firm serving many of the same enterprise clients as TPG. While technology-enabled rather than pure-play consulting, it competes for analytical and category advisory budgets.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
The Partnering Group social profiles
Digital presenceThe Partnering Group financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Partnering Group leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles11 records
The Partnering Group funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Partnering Group M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Partnering Group
What does The Partnering Group do?
The Partnering Group is a global strategy and general management growth consultancy that delivers practitioner-led advisory services across 18 capability areas including Strategy, Category Management, Digital Commerce, Revenue Growth Management, Supply Chain, Organization Transformation, and Sales. Engagements are sold directly to enterprise clients through partner-led consulting projects spanning organization transformation, sales optimization, category management, digital commerce, supply chain, and innovation advisory.
Is The Partnering Group a public or private company?
The Partnering Group is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently operating.
When was The Partnering Group founded?
The Partnering Group was founded in 1993. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is The Partnering Group based?
The Partnering Group is headquartered in Cincinnati, United States, in the North America region.
How does The Partnering Group make money?
One revenue line is on record: strategy & Management Consulting.
Who are The Partnering Group's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Kearney, Oliver Wyman, McKinsey & Company, Bain & Company, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Accenture Strategy and Deloitte Consulting. Direct peers are Slalom Consulting and West Monroe Partners. Information Resources Inc (Circana) is listed as an others.
Does The Partnering Group have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Partnering Group.
What industry is The Partnering Group in?
The Partnering Group's product category is Management Consulting. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHADAI, Strategic Partnerships, Alliances & JVs Advisory. Its NAICS code is 541618 and its SIC code is 8742.