Lib Consulting Releases 'Consulting Industry Chaos Map 2026'

Lib Consulting Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Gen Seki) has released the 'Consulting Industry Chaos Map 2026' (hereinafter, 'the Map').

Recently, the consulting industry has seen continued grouping by major firms and integration, M&A, and restructuring by large corporate groups from different industries, shifting competition from individual companies to group total warfare. The situation where many companies, especially in the comprehensive domain, are under capital relationships has become clearer, and the industry structure is entering a new phase.

The 'Consulting Industry Chaos Map 2026' is a revision of the previous 'Consulting Industry Chaos Map 2025'. It maps a total of 81 companies that are primarily engaged in the consulting business and operate at a certain scale with regular employees, based on their main support areas.

As in previous years, we have also created a map showing the number of employees at each firm based on our own research (see Table 2), and a map of consulting companies based on their investment relationships with major B2B corporate groups such as advertising agencies, general trading companies, and major SIers (see Table 3). We hope this will help in understanding the overall industry picture, the positioning of each firm, and their scale and capital relationships.

Summary of the Consulting Industry Chaos Map 2026 Edition

① Continued Growth of the Consulting Industry

The consulting industry has become a major industry with 151,702 employees in 2026. Comparing the number of employees only for companies continuously listed from last year's Chaos Map, it increased from 141,563 (2025) to 147,149 (2026), an increase of 5,586 (approx. 4%), indicating continued growth.

② Dilution of Specific Category Trends

In past Chaos Maps, notable growth was seen in specific categories such as 'Strategy x Digital' in 2022, and 'Comprehensive x Digital' and 'Large-scale Comprehensive' from 2023 onwards. While there are still some differences in growth rates by category this year, the reality is that it largely depends on the rapid growth of a few companies within a category. Therefore, the trend for specific categories is weakening.

③ Essentialization of Generative AI

In the generative AI field, excluding M&A and group integrations, there has been no rapid growth of AI-specialized boutique firms. The background to this is presumed to be that knowledge and implementation capabilities regarding generative AI have become an essential function for all consulting firms, making differentiation through AI solutions difficult. Existing comprehensive firms with abundant client bases and talent continue to show a strong presence in the generative AI field as well.

④ Continuation of the 'Group Total Warfare' Era

The situation of the past few years continues, and the era of 'Group Total Warfare', where large corporate groups compete with comprehensive consulting power, has arrived. Movements are prominent, centered on major comprehensive firms, to add subsidiaries and affiliated companies with specialized functions in strategy, digital, M&A, and business process reengineering to their groups, as well as restructuring within groups. This is accelerating the structure aimed at providing one-stop value to clients for all their management challenges through the entire group. Additionally, major B2B corporate groups such as advertising agencies, general trading companies, and SIers continue to invest in consulting companies, strengthening their moves to integrate their core businesses with consulting functions to offer everything from strategy formulation to execution support and operations.

Number of Employees of Companies Listed on the Consulting Industry Chaos Map (Table 2)

Consulting Companies Receiving Investment from B2B High Value-Added Service Companies (Table 3)

*Companies receiving a certain percentage of investment from companies such as trading companies, advertising agencies, and SIers are colored. The parent company is excluded.

Consulting Industry Category Employee Growth Rate Ranking (Table 4)

*Companies listed on the Chaos Map have been partially deleted/added from the 2025 edition.

*Categories listed on the Chaos Map have been partially changed from the 2025 edition.

[Regarding Logos and Company Names]

The logos, company names, and employee numbers listed in this Chaos Map may not have received prior consent from the respective companies. If there are any issues with the specifications, we will respond promptly. Please contact us at press@libcon.co.jp.

[Request for Citation and Reprint]

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[Lib Consulting Co., Ltd. Company Overview]

Representative Director: Gen Seki

Established: July 2012

Location: [Tokyo Head Office] 29F, Tokyo Nihombashi Tower, 2-7-1 Nihombashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo

[Branch] Thailand Branch (Bangkok)

Business: General management consulting, DX consulting

Corporate Site: https://www.libcon.co.jp/

Mobility & Energy Practice Site: https://www.libcon.co.jp/mobility