The Pilot Group

What The Pilot Group does

The Pilot Group LLC is a privately-held management consulting firm headquartered in the Chicago area, registered as an LLC in Illinois, and founded by Ted Kubala. The firm specializes in implementing supply chain and value chain solutions for manufacturing and distribution company leaders who carry operating or financial responsibility. Its service portfolio is organized around three pillars: Strategy Development (value chain architecture, business startup advisory, IT planning); Operations Improvement (best business practices, business turnaround, benchmarking, Activity Based Management, Six Sigma deployment, sourcing optimization); and Enabling Technologies & Systems (benefits realization, project management, vendor selection, applications development, change management). The Pilot Group is positioned as a professional services practice rather than a technology or software company, with no patents, APIs, or proprietary digital products disclosed.

The firm serves US and international manufacturing and distribution leaders across at least ten verticals, including aerospace, computer equipment, consumer products, distributors, electronics, food products, life sciences, medical devices, metalworking, and printing. Documented client engagements include a $5.0 billion computer equipment manufacturer (lead time reduced >90%, $50M+ annual savings), an $800 million computer value added reseller (service levels 95%-98%, inventory turns +60%), a $1.5 billion power distribution and control equipment manufacturer ($90M+ opex reduction), a $100 million irrigation products manufacturer (Activity Based Management deployment), and an international medical device sterilization company with 40 facilities across 14 countries. Client revenues range from $5 million to $5 billion, demonstrating mid-market and enterprise coverage.

Revenue is generated through project-based professional services engagements with no disclosed pricing model, no published rates, and no subscription or recurring component. The go-to-market is direct and sales-led, relying on founder-led executive outreach, a corporate website (thepilotgroup.us), and a single inbound phone line (888-754-7044). The firm has no disclosed funding, no parent company, no institutional investors, no listed partnerships, no social media presence, and operates from a single Chicago location, consistent with a tightly-held independent consulting practice.

Name

The Pilot Group

Legal name

The Pilot Group LLC

Website

https://thepilotgroup.us

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The Pilot Group LLC is a Chicago-based management consulting firm that provides supply chain and value chain optimization services to manufacturing and distribution company leaders across aerospace, computer, medical devices, and power distribution, delivered through founder-led project engagements.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Business Consulting Services: Professional consulting services revenue generated through project-based engagements with manufacturing and distribution companies. Engagements include strategic improvements to value chain architecture, operations improvement programs, and technology infrastructure implementation support.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Pilot Group is a management consulting firm that helps manufacturing and distribution companies achieve sustainable competitive advantage through value chain and supply chain optimization. Engagements span three service areas: Strategy Development (value chain architecture, business startup, IT planning), Operations Improvement (best business practices, business turnaround, benchmarking, Activity Based Management, Six Sigma, sourcing optimization), and Enabling Technologies & Systems (benefits realization, project management, vendor selection, applications development, change management).

Product overview

The Pilot Group is a management consulting firm offering professional advisory services, not a software product company. The firm provides consulting engagements organized around three core service areas: Strategy Development (including value chain architecture, business startup, and IT planning), Operations Improvement (including best business practices, business turnaround, benchmark development, Activity Based Management, Six Sigma deployment, and sourcing optimization), and Enabling Technologies & Systems (including benefits realization, project management, vendor selection, applications development, and change management). These are professional consulting service offerings delivered by human consultants, not packaged software products, platforms, or modules.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Strategy Development Consulting
• Operations Improvement Consulting
• Enabling Technologies and Systems Consulting
• Business Turnaround Consulting

Quantifiable outcome

• Lead time reduction exceeding 90% and annual savings in excess of $50 million for a $5.0 billion computer equipment manufacturer through business transformation.
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Boston Consulting Group: Global strategy consultancy with a dedicated Operations & Supply Chain practice serving manufacturing clients across aerospace, industrial, and consumer products, overlapping with The Pilot Group's target verticals.
• Deloitte Consulting: Largest professional-services firm with a sizable Operations Transformation and Supply Chain practice serving industrial clients across ERP, value-chain, and turnaround mandates directly comparable to The Pilot Group's offerings.
• Bain & Company: Global management consultancy with deep operations and supply-chain capabilities serving industrial clients; competes at the upper end of the transformation engagements The Pilot Group targets.
• McKinsey & Company: Global strategy and operations consultancy whose Operations Practice competes for the largest manufacturing value-chain transformations; functions as a broader incumbent against which boutique firms like The Pilot Group position themselves.

Direct peers

• Riveron Consulting: Operations and performance-improvement consulting firm serving middle-market and enterprise industrial clients on supply-chain, finance transformation, and operational turnaround — directly comparable service mix and client profile.
• Alvarez & Marsal: Operations and turnaround consulting firm that, like The Pilot Group, specializes in performance improvement and restructuring for industrial and manufacturing clients, often competing for similar distressed-asset and value-chain mandates.
• Huron Consulting Group: Mid-sized consulting firm with an operations and supply-chain practice serving industrial and distribution clients; competes for similar transformation and ERP-implementation mandates.
• Chainalytics (now part of Accenture): Supply-chain advisory firm that, like The Pilot Group, focuses on end-to-end value-chain optimization for manufacturing and distribution companies, addressing similar procurement, inventory, and network-design problems.
• West Monroe: Mid-sized operations and technology consultancy serving industrial, distribution, and private-equity-backed clients with supply-chain, ERP, and operational-improvement work — directly comparable in size and client profile to The Pilot Group.
• Kearney (formerly A.T. Kearney): Global operations and supply-chain consulting practice that overlaps directly with The Pilot Group's value-chain and manufacturing-operations improvement offerings, especially in industrial and aerospace verticals.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 The Pilot Group