Boutique vs. Large-Scale Consultancies: Choosing the Right Partner for Your Project

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Most delay and planning instructions don’t need a 200-person consultancy. Some do. The choice gets easier if you start from the problem rather than the brand.

When a large firm is the right call

  • The dispute needs delay, quantum, engineering and forensic accounting experts under one roof, on one timetable.
  • A framework or panel names the supplier, or the Client’s procurement rules set a PI insurance level a small firm can’t carry.
  • The job needs a standing controls team of 10 or more on site for years.

When a boutique fits better

  • The question is time: a rejected programme, a stalled compensation event, an EoT refused, an adjudication notice on the desk.
  • Continuity matters. The person who built the programme record should be the person who explains it.
  • Pace matters. Under NEC4 the Project Manager has 2 weeks to accept a programme (31.3) and 1 week to reply to a compensation event notification (61.4). Your adviser has to move at that speed.
  • Conflicts. A firm with dozens of live framework relationships can be conflicted out of the matter you need help with.

5 questions to ask either

  1. Who will do the analysis, and who signs it?
  2. Has their delay analysis been tested in adjudication, and what was the result?
  3. Which SCL Protocol method do they propose, and why does it suit your records?
  4. If they are acting as independent expert, have they prepared or advised on the claim? They shouldn’t have (CPR Part 35 where it applies).
  5. What PI cover do they hold?

VERTX is a boutique by design. The director scopes the work, does the analysis and signs the report. If your matter needs a multi-discipline team, we’ll say so on the first call.

Talk it through with the director: info@vertxprojectcontrols.co.uk, or book a consultation.

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