Built Around the Way Northern Thai Businesses Actually Work
Lanna Drift was founded in Chiang Mai to bring structured consulting methods to enterprises that don't have the headcount for full-time strategy staff.
← Back to HomeFrom the Craft Tradition of Lanna
Lanna Drift takes its name from the ancient Lanna Kingdom — a culture whose artisans were known for working carefully, measuring twice, and building things that lasted. We carry that orientation into how we approach consulting work.
The practice was established in 2012 by a small team of consultants who had spent the previous decade working with regional businesses across Thailand, Myanmar, and Vietnam. After relocating to Chiang Mai permanently, the founding team noticed a consistent gap: local businesses had real strategic challenges but little access to structured consulting support that understood the regional context.
Lanna Drift was built to fill that gap. Rather than offering open-ended retainers or vague advisory relationships, we design each engagement as a defined programme with a specific scope, timeline, and deliverable. This model suits small enterprise owners who need external support but want to know exactly what they're getting before they commit.
Today we work across a range of sectors — light manufacturing, professional services, hospitality, and retail — always within Northern Thailand and always with businesses that are genuinely trying to improve something specific about how they operate.
Mission
To make structured business analysis and strategic clarity accessible to small enterprises in Northern Thailand — through engagements that are scoped precisely, delivered honestly, and priced fairly.
Values
- Directness — we say what we find, including things that are uncomfortable to hear.
- Proportionality — recommendations are sized to your resources, not to a wish list.
- Ownership by the client — our work transfers knowledge to your team, not dependency on us.
- Confidentiality — everything shared with us stays within the engagement.
Where We Work
Based on Nimmanhaemin Road in Chiang Mai, we primarily serve businesses in Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Lamphun, and Lampang. Remote engagements are available for clients further afield.
Our Consulting Team
A small, senior team. Every engagement is led by a principal consultant — not delegated to a junior analyst.
Krittaphat Thipcharoen
Fourteen years of operational consulting across Thai manufacturing and distribution businesses. Leads the Small Enterprise Health Check programme and Supply Chain Resilience Review.
Nalinee Watthanakul
Specialist in brand positioning and market communication for regional businesses. Designed and leads the Brand Positioning Workshop programme. Previously with a Bangkok strategy firm for nine years.
Piyawat Sirichanthanon
Focused on supply chain analysis, supplier mapping, and inventory optimisation. Supports delivery of the Supply Chain Resilience Review. Background in logistics management across ASEAN sourcing networks.
Standards We Hold Ourselves To
Written Scope Before We Begin
Every engagement starts with a written scope document that confirms what will be reviewed, what will be delivered, and what falls outside the engagement. No ambiguity about what you're buying.
Mutual NDA as Standard
We sign a mutual non-disclosure agreement before any substantive discussion of your business. This is standard practice, not an add-on — your information is protected from the first conversation.
Senior-Led Delivery
Engagements are led by a principal consultant throughout — not scoped by a senior and delivered by a junior. The person you meet at the start is the person doing the work.
Defined Timelines, Respected
We commit to programme timelines and hold to them. If scope needs to change, we discuss it openly and adjust the agreement in writing before proceeding.
Knowledge Transfer Built In
Every engagement includes a structured handover session. We explain our reasoning, walk your team through the findings, and answer questions until the report is genuinely understood and usable.
Independent, Unconflicted Advice
We don't accept commissions or referral fees from any supplier or service provider. Our recommendations are based solely on your situation — we have no financial interest in any particular outcome.
Business Consulting in Northern Thailand
Northern Thailand's business environment has its own characteristics — proximity to the Myanmar and Laos borders creates specific supply chain considerations, the Chiang Mai creative economy shapes brand positioning challenges differently than Bangkok, and the region's mix of family-run enterprises and growing SMEs presents operational questions that generic consulting frameworks don't always address well.
Lanna Drift's consulting programmes are developed with this context in mind. Our operational analysis draws on actual data from Northern Thai businesses — supplier lead times from within the region, staffing cost structures relevant to the Chiang Mai labour market, and customer acquisition patterns appropriate to local distribution channels.
This regional grounding means that what we recommend is achievable within the constraints your business actually faces, not within the constraints that would exist if you were operating from a Bangkok CBD office with a larger team and a different cost base.
Curious whether we're a good fit for your situation?
An initial conversation costs nothing. We're happy to discuss your business context and whether one of our programmes makes sense for where you are right now.
Start a Conversation