What Avance does

Avance Moving Forward GmbH is a Berlin-headquartered transformation consulting firm founded in 2008 that helps organizations become resilient through integrated lean, agile, and digital methodologies. The firm operates through three sub-brands: Avance Consulting delivers project-based transformation engagements, AVANCE Academy provides workshops, coaching, seminars, and live online training on lean management and resilience, and Thor Ventures serves as a seed-stage venture capital and incubator arm supporting digitization-driven startups. Its proprietary R Company Framework unifies the offerings around six pillars — lean culture, agile performance, digital transformation, strategic alliances, knowledge investment, and people celebration — and incorporates the Cooke-Laferty Circumplex model licensed from Human Synergistics to measure organizational culture. Avance serves large enterprise clients across at least eight verticals including food/dairy, automotive and discrete manufacturing, healthcare, retail, utilities, logistics, banking/insurance, and construction, with documented outcomes such as CHF 45 million in cost savings over four years for Swiss dairy client Elsa and €2.5 million in savings plus 40% stock reduction for a Spanish bus manufacturer.

The firm is founder-led, with three Managing Partners — Thibault Heck (Berlin HQ), Jose Antonio Lopez (Spain, Latin and South America), and Roland Zelina (data-driven transformation) — and a Mentor (Ralf Hartleb). Geographic coverage spans D-A-CH (Germany, Austria, Switzerland), the Nordics (Oslo office), Ireland, Spain, the Benelux, and South America, with go-to-market executed via direct enterprise sales, content marketing through the corporate blog, and ecosystem referrals across the three sub-brands. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed for consulting engagements; Academy programs and Thor Ventures investments are similarly custom. Revenue is derived from professional services fees, training program delivery, and venture investment returns, with no public revenue figures, funding rounds, or institutional investors disclosed in the source data.

Name

Avance

Legal name

Avance Moving Forward GmbH

Website

https://avancegroup.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Avance Moving Forward GmbH is a Berlin-based boutique transformation consulting firm that helps large enterprises in Europe become resilient through lean, agile, and digital methodologies delivered via its R Company Framework across consulting, training (AVANCE Academy), and seed-stage venture investment (Thor Ventures).

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Business Transformation Consulting

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Other Management Consulting Services (541618), Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Enterprise Architecture & IT Operating Model (BPAHAEAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Advisory (BPAHAFAA), Micro-VC & Angel Funds (FSANAAAI)

Keywords

• Business transformation consulting
• Lean agile consulting
• Management consulting
• Organizational resilience
• Change management

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Consulting Services: Transformation consulting engagements helping organizations implement lean, agile, and digital processes to become resilient. engagements are project-based with scope defined per client.
2. AVANCE Academy Training: Workshops, coaching, seminars, and live online events teaching lean management, agility, culture, and resilience. Topics include coaching, workshops, teaser, inhouse, and live online formats.
3. Thor Ventures Investment: Seed stage venture capital and incubator supporting startups with coaching, consulting, and networking. Focus on cross innovations driven by digitization. Returns flow back into the consulting and training ecosystem.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Avance is a Berlin-based management consulting firm that helps organizations build resilience through lean, agile, and digital transformation methodologies. In addition to transformation consulting, the firm operates an Academy offering training programs and Thor Ventures, an initiative for startup investment, extending its scope beyond advisory into capability-building and entrepreneurship.

Product overview

Avance operates as a transformation agency with three integrated offerings: Avance Consulting (core consulting services), AVANCE Academy (training and knowledge sharing), and Thor Ventures (startup investment/incubator). The R Company Framework serves as the underlying methodology unifying all services, based on lean, agile, and digital principles for organizational resilience. The company also maintains a blog series sharing expertise on consultancy and organizational resilience topics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Avance Consulting: Transformation consulting services helping organizations become lean, agile, and digital
• AVANCE Academy
• Thor Ventures

Products and services

• Transformation Consulting Management consulting engagements that help organizations become more resilient by applying lean, agile, and digital transformation methodologies. Target buyers are enterprises seeking organizational change and operational improvement.
• Avance Academy Training and capability-building program associated with the firm's lean, agile, and digital transformation practices, providing structured learning offerings for client organizations and professionals.
• Thor Ventures Startup investment initiative operated alongside the consulting practice, supporting entrepreneurship and providing the firm exposure to emerging business ventures.

Quantifiable outcome

• CHF 45 million in cost savings achieved over 4 years for Swiss dairy client
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments10 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• AVANCE AcademycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKnowledge sharing platform delivering workshops, coaching, and training on lean management, agility, culture, and resilience. Provides educational programs in multiple formats including coaching, workshops, inhouse, and live online events.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Human Synergistics: Provider of the Circumplex model and culture/leadership assessment tools that Avance itself partners with and uses. Listed as an ecosystem participant / enabler rather than a competitor — relevant for understanding the cultural-measurement foundation underlying Avance's R Company framework.

Broad incumbents

• McKinsey & Company: Global management consulting leader with a dedicated Operations and Transformation practice serving large European enterprises. Broad incumbent representing the top end of the market that Avance competes against for large-scale transformation mandates.
• BearingPoint: European-headquartered management and technology consultancy with strong D-A-CH and Nordic presence. Broad incumbent providing transformation, operational excellence, and digital services that overlap directly with Avance's value proposition at a larger scale.
• Roland Berger: German-founded global strategy consultancy with deep D-A-CH roots and a strong operations/transformation practice. Broad incumbent offering overlapping transformation capabilities but at much larger scale and brand recognition than Avance's boutique position.

Direct peers

• Implement Consulting Group: Nordic-based transformation and management consulting firm serving Scandinavian and European enterprise clients. Directly comparable as a people-led change management and lean/agile transformation specialist with multi-regional European presence similar to Avance.
• Cassini Consulting: German boutique transformation and strategy consulting firm of comparable size, headquartered in Düsseldorf. Directly comparable as a mid-sized European firm specializing in operational excellence, lean transformation, and digital strategy — same buyer profile and engagement model as Avance.
• Valcon: European consulting firm specializing in operations transformation, lean, and data-driven consulting. Directly comparable as a mid-sized European peer with similar lean/operational excellence DNA and multi-country presence.
• Ayming: European consulting firm operating across multiple countries with performance improvement, operations, and transformation practices. Comparable mid-sized European peer serving enterprise clients with operational and organizational consulting services.

Emerging players

• agile42: Boutique consulting and training firm specializing in agile transformation, Lean-Agile adoption, and organizational change. Emerging player overlapping specifically on the agile and lean-agile training/coaching side of Avance's Academy offering.

Regional players

• C3 Consulting: Swedish management consulting firm focused on operational excellence and transformation in the Nordic region. Comparable as a Nordic-rooted lean/operations peer, though primarily serving the Scandinavian market where Avance also operates via its Oslo office.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Avance