Consulting is a comprehensive research and development through the knowledge and experience stored in some people's minds and the comprehensive processing of various information materials. Consulting produces the comprehensive benefits of intellectual labor and plays the role of consultant, staff officer and external brain for decision makers. Latin consultation means consultation, which means discussion and consultation. In ancient China, "consultation" and "question" were originally two words. Consultation meant discussion, and asking meant asking. Later, they gradually formed a compound word, which means inquiry, planning, discussion and consultation. As a social activity with personnel and services, it has developed in military, political and economic fields, and has become an important means to assist decision-making in social, economic and political activities, and has gradually formed an applied soft science.
Consultation means that the employer signs a contract with an engineering consulting company, and the consulting company is responsible for providing suggestions or solutions to the technical problems raised by the employer. The scope of services is wide, such as feasibility study of projects, design and review of technical schemes, drafting of bidding task book, improvement of production technology or products, procurement of equipment, supervision and guidance of engineering projects, etc. Especially in developing countries, they often lack the technical strength or experience to solve some technical problems. Hiring foreign engineering consulting companies to provide consulting services can avoid detours or waste of funds. Because consulting companies have rich scientific knowledge and technical information, they can help employers choose advanced and applicable technologies, find more reliable technical suppliers and obtain better quality machinery and equipment at reasonable prices. Although employers have to pay a consulting fee, the savings they get far exceed the consulting fee they pay, which is beneficial to employers after all.