Chicago-based management consulting firm, Lotis Blue, modernized their operations stack and were able to save in license costs, run a leaner team, and improve their efficiency.
Lotis Blue Consulting is a U.S.-based management consulting firm headquartered in Chicago specializing in workforce strategy, leadership development, and organizational transformation. Their team helps large enterprises navigate complex talent and change initiatives through a mix of data-driven insight and tailored consulting. Clients include GE, Patagonia, and Booz Allen.
Simpler tool stack helping Lotis Blue run their team with less admin overhead, improving profitability.
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Savings on license costs when changing from legacy systems to modern platforms.
Clarity on staffing: the team knows who's available and when in real-time by looking at one system.
Lotis Blue, a management consulting firm where every consultant’s time directly impacts revenue, was previously using Salesforce CRM and Klient.com PSA to manage operations. While robust, the setup had become too complex and expensive for what they needed, often pulling team members into administrative work instead of billable client projects.
With support from Operating and Operating's solutions partner, The Operations Company (I know, Operating and The Operations Company... match made in heaven!), Lotis Blue migrated to a lighter, more efficient stack: HubSpot CRM paired with Operating as their professional services automation (PSA) platform. This shift allowed the firm to streamline resource planning and staffing, ensuring that high-value consultants stay focused on client delivery instead of internal coordination.
The new system gave the firm real-time visibility into utilization and availability. Principals can quickly staff engagements with the right people without losing time on copying data from one system to another.
By replacing a complex, maintenance-heavy setup with Operating and HubSpot, Lotis Blue reduced overhead, improved consulting utilization, and kept schedules aligned across the team. The firm now operates with greater efficiency and ensures that its most expensive resource, its consultants’ time, is always allocated where it drives the most value.
Operating is used across the business to manage day-to-day planning and keep teams aligned.
Lotis Blue also runs bi-weekly resource planning meetings using Operating to align on priorities and review the big picture. The system keeps everyone working from the same source of truth.
Lotis Blue relies on three core features to run resourcing effectively:
The shift to Operating brought immediate improvements:
For a consulting business where time is valuable, simplifying the system freed up resources and improved overall performance.
“We’ve had a great experience with Operating so far. The platform is simple, clear, and lets us focus on what matters without extra complexity. The onboarding support from Operating made the transition smooth and fast. We were up and running quickly, and the team immediately saw the value.”
— Jay Russell, Principal at Lotis Blue Consulting
Lotis Blue integrates Operating with HubSpot CRM. As soon as a deal progresses in the pipeline, it appears in the Horizon view for early staffing and capacity planning. This gives the team better visibility into upcoming work and improves coordination between sales and delivery without the need for manual updates.
Lotis Blue replaced a complex, expensive PSA setup with a leaner, more effective combination of Operating and HubSpot. The shift reduced licensing costs, eliminated manual overhead, and gave the team a clearer, faster way to manage staffing, utilization, and planning. With better visibility and a modern system that fits their workflow, Lotis Blue is able to run operations more efficiently and profitably.
