Icon Iimb Casebook 12 (B)

IIMB Casebook and
Industry Reports
2022-23
Volume 12 (b)
ICON – Consulting Club

IIM Bangalore
ICON, IIM Bangalore 1

Copyright
© 2023, ICON – Consulting Club, IIM Bangalore. All rights reserved.
This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any
form by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise – without prior written permission of
ICON – Consulting Club, IIM Bangalore. For permission requests, write to ICON at icon@iimb.ac.in.

Foreword
This casebook documents the interview experiences of the students of IIM Bangalore. The aim of sharing these
experiences is to inform students about the case interview experiences of past batch and to help them prepare for
their placements accordingly. The experiences listed below are not necessarily the best or the only way to handle case
interviews. They only serve to give students an idea of what to expect when they walk into a case interview. Every
individual could have his/her unique way of tackling consulting interviews, each of which could be correct.
This document has contributions from students who appeared for campus interviews conducted by consulting firms
during the final placement process of the Batch of 2020-22 and summer placement process of the Batch of 2022-24.
The interview experiences have been sorted based on the type of case, consulting firm, difficulty and the round in the
selection process.
In this edition, to provide holistic preparation for the case interviews, we have included 18 industry reports as well.
The aim of these reports is to provide a basic understanding of the industry's value chain, key performance metrics,
current market trends and major drivers for cost, revenue and growth. Even though having industry-specific
knowledge is not mandatory for case solving, having a basic industry understanding helps tackle case interviews better.
Team ICON wishes you the very best for your summer placements!

Contents - I
S.No Particulars Difficulty Company Page S.No Particulars Difficulty Company Page
I. Introduction 7 18 Gig Workers Business Model Moderate BCG 58
II. Profitability Framework 11 Multibillion Dollar Textile
19 Challenging BCG 61
Conglomerate
1 Retail Store Easy Bain 13
20 E-Commerce (Furniture Segment) Moderate Kearney 64
2 Private School Easy Bain 16
21 Home Textile Manufacturer Moderate Kearney 66
3 Airport Profits Easy Bain 19
22 Telecom Operator in the 80's Moderate Strategy& ME 68
4 Restaurant Owner Moderate Bain 21
23 After School Tutoring Client Moderate LEK Consulting 71
5 Biscuit Manufacturer Moderate Bain 24
24 Uber for Helicopters Challenging GEP 74
6 Travel Agency - IT Infrastructure Easy Kearney 27
III. Pricing Framework 78
7 Hair Salon Moderate Kearney 30
25 Factory Owner Easy Bain 79
8 Grocery Retail Chain Moderate Kearney 32
26 New Medicine Launch Moderate McKinsey 81
9 Hedge Fund LLP Moderate Kearney 34
27 Autism Digital Therapy Product Moderate McKinsey 83
10 Pump Manufacturer Challenging Kearney 37
28 Tooth Brush Manufacturer Moderate Accenture 85
Strategy&
11 Bike Manufacturer in Nigeria Moderate 40
ME 29 Coca Cola Pricing Moderate GEP 87
12 Beauty Product Manufacturer Moderate Accenture 42 IV. Growth Framework 90
13 Retail Jewellery Chain Moderate Accenture 44 30 iPhone Manufacturer Easy BCG 92
14 Non-Profit Church Organization Challenging Accenture 46 31 Increasing WhatsApp Pay Share Easy BCG 94
15 Infra & Construction Company Challenging McKinsey 48 32 Express Logistics Company Moderate Kearney 96
III. Market Entry Framework 51 33 Fantasy Sports Company Moderate Bain 98
16 EdTech Business Strategy Easy McKinsey 53 34 Pharmaceutical Company Moderate Accenture 100
17 Senior Citizen Business Idea Challenging McKinsey 55 35 E-Commerce Client Moderate Strategy& 102
Contents - I
S.No Particulars Difficulty Company Page S.No Particulars Difficulty Company Page
36 French Newspaper Distributor Moderate Strategy& ME 105 51 Squash Balls Easy Bain 146
37 Ministry of Railways Challenging Strategy& ME 108 52 Fantasy Sports App Challenging Bain 148
V. M&A & PE Cases 111 53 EV Market in India Moderate McKinsey 151
38 Healthcare Facilities Moderate BCG 54 Snow Melting Liquid Moderate McKinsey 154
39 Army Cantonment Hotel Moderate Accenture 55 Tennis Balls Consumption Moderate Strategy& 156
Pre-Kindergarten School 56 Global Aircrafts Moderate BCG 158
40 Moderate McKinsey
Investment
57 Perfume Retailer Challenging Auctus Advisors 160
41 Coal Mine Investment Challenging McKinsey
S.No Industry Reports Page
VI. Unconventional Cases 121
1. Airlines Industry 163
Firing Strategy for Twitter
42 Easy BCG 122 2. Automobile Industry 164
Employees
Cancellation Rates of a Cab 3. Cement Industry 165
43 Easy BCG 124
Aggregator 4. E-commerce Industry 166
Transport Infrastructure
44 Easy ADL 127 5. Financial Services – Asset Management 167
Improvement
6. Financial Services – Banking 168
45 Construction Company Moderate Bain 131
46 Indian Football Fanbase Moderate Bain 133 7. FMCG Industry 169
47 Consulting Firm Expenses Moderate Kearney 136 8. Food Processing Industry 170
48 Boiler Manufacturing Company Moderate Strategy& 139 9. Healthcare Services Industry 171
49 Football Match Moderate Strategy& 141 10. Hospitality Industry 172
50 Women Driving in Saudi Challenging Strategy& ME 143 11. Insurance Industry 173
VII. Guesstimates 145 12. Iron & Steel Industry 174
Contents - III
S.No Industry Page
13. IT & ITeS Industry 175
14. Logistics Industry 176
15. Oil & Gas Industry 177
16. Pharmaceutical Industry 178
17. Retail 179
18. Telecom Industry 180

Approach to Cracking Case Interviews

Introduction – Case Interviews
v Personality based ques. (5 min); Case discussion (20-30 min); Closing ques. for interviewer (2
min)
v Know your CV well→ personality ques are based on CV to break ice and getting to know you
Case Interviews v Case discussions don’t have a predetermined answer. Evaluation is based on approach, exercising
judgements and steering through the problem statement
v Real life consulting project, that the interviewer was involved in → basis of case discussion
v Consult projects can vary from 2-3 months to even a year → condensed into minutes for
Business Case interviews
v Provided as a 3-5 statement caselet introducing the client and problem faced by them
v Can be number based or strategy driven; guesstimates can be a part as well
v Test the ability to perform on the job in a similar setup as the case-interview (consult-fit)
v Understand thought process of the candidate and capability to make decisions/ prioritize
Why Case Interview? v Put you under same pressure, like any consult project, to assess your poise, self confidence and
communication skills (interpersonal skills)
v Drawing on personal experiences, if any, can come very handy – appreciated by interviewer

Introduction – Case Interview Process
Interview Stage What to expect? Skills Tested
v Interviewer tells about the business problem and objective v Ability to listen
Case Interview and synthesize
v Ask clarifying questions; ensure you heard the question correctly
Question
v Ask for time to structure the problem at hand v Structured

Developing the
v Come-up with a structured MECE approach quickly thinking
structure v Communication
v Use a hypothesis driven approach for case solving v Problem solving

Case Analysis v Ask relevant questions, use 80-20 rule appropriately v Analytical skills
v Case can get number intensive v Communication
v Creativity
Summary/ v Summarize the case with recommendations backed up by insights discovered
v Concision
Recommendation in the case
v Communication
Questions for v Opportunity to show enthusiasm towards consulting v Consulting fit

Interviewer v Ask relevant, non-generic question

IIMB Profitability Cases
2022-23

Profitability Framework - Revenue
Preliminary Questions
Profit
• Clarify objective, quantum of change in
profit and timeline
Revenue = Core & Non-core sources like
Revenue Cost
• Geography - Location of the firm, its Advertisement, Parking, VAS,
branches Reinvestment
Selling Price Number of (What product in the
• Business Model – Where does the firm lie Product Mix portfolio; apply 80/20)
per Unit Units
in the value chain? What are its revenue
streams and distribution channels?
Supply Demand If relevant, use industry value chain
• Understand customer segments
• What is the product mix? Any new

differentiation/ change in products? Number of Avg Order Order
Value Chain
Customers Amount Frequency
• What is the competitive landscape?
During For a manufacturing firm,
Primary Support
Pre Service Post-Service use Need, Awareness, Accessibility,
Activities Activities Service
Affordability, Customer Experience
Procurement SG&A Macro

Firm Level Industry Level
(PESTEL)
Manufacturing Infrastructure & IT
Distribution Human Capital
Post Sales Service

Profitability Framework - Cost
Research and Development
Support Activities
Financing costs
Branding and Advertising
Human Capital (Capacity x Efficiency x Utilization)
Selling, General & Administrative
Cost Procuring Raw Distribution and

Manufacturing Post Sales Service
Materials Storage
Primary Activities
● Cost of raw materials ● Plant maintenance ● Number of distributors x ● Number of customers x

avg order amount x frequency Frequency of service x cost
● Transportation & Packaging ● Idle capacity opportunity of orders incurred
costs costs
● Transport & Packaging ● Spare parts, returns,
● # Suppliers x Contract ● Wastage, wear and tear replacements, waste
amount; Duration ● Intermediate Storage
● Setup time, cost
●Distributors x Avg Distance
from hub x Cost per km

Retail Store Profitability | Easy | Bain (Buddy)
Your client is the owner of a retail store which has been facing a decline in profits. You have There has been no supply side constraint.
been hired to identify the root cause of the problem and provide recommendations.
Since demand has fallen, has the number of customers reduced or the average basket size?
I would like to know more about client before proceeding. Does the client have only one
Number of customers coming to the store have declined.
store or are there more outlets? Where is the client’s business located? Additionally, can
you tell me what does the client sell through these retail stores? Since we know the demand has gone down, I would like to explore the entire customer
journey. It can be broken down into three parts – pre-purchase, during the purchase
Sure! The client has multiple stores but the decline in profits is specific to just one store,
experience, and post-purchase experience. Do we know where the problem lies or should I
located in Mumbai. The client sells all types of clothing and accessories. explore each in detail?
Where is this store located within Mumbai, a high-crowd street or a mall maybe?
Let’s explore the pre-purchase journey.
Yes, the store is located in a famous mall which has a good footfall of customers.
For pre-purchase journey, we will trace the customer’s path from the beginning to the store.
How long has the client been facing this problem and do we know the quantum? Also, is the This will include the navigation and search of the mall, travel to the mall through public
problem client specific or are other competitors also facing this issue? (cab, auto, metro) or personal vehicles, parking facilities at the mall, navigation inside the
mall (info desks, escalators, sign boards, etc.) and finally exploring issues on the floor on
The client has been facing this issue for a couple of months now and the problem is specific
which the store is located.
to the client.
That seems like a comprehensive breakdown. The store is located on the second floor of the
Now that I have an understanding of the problem, I would like to breakdown profits into
mall. What do you think are the possible issues on the floor?
revenues and costs of the store. Do we know if revenues have declined, costs have
increased, or both changed simultaneously? Issues on the floor that could hamper the customer shopping experience can be categorized
into floor layout, construction, cleanliness, and store-front display.
The revenues have declined.
What could be the problems under cleanliness?
For a retail store, The revenues would largely be from the sales made which can be broken Essentially, cleanliness issues would include cleanliness of the second floor - in particular,
down as number of units sold x price per unit. Is it fair to assume that revenue from value the area around the client’s store since the competitors are not facing this issue, cleanliness
added services would not affect the profitability? at the store front and hygiene conditions of nearby washrooms, dustbins and food courts.
Yes, fair assumption. We do not provide other services. Our prices have also remained Correct, the washroom located adjacent to the client’s store has not been kept clean for a
constant in the last few months. while now due to which it has started smelling. This is having a direct impact on the number
of customers entering the client’s store.
Since number of units sold has declined, has there been a fall in demand or is there a supply
side constraint in meeting the demand? Do we know why this is happening? Also, whose responsibility is it, the client or the mall?

This is the mall’s responsibility. The problem is arising due to lack of staff. There is no staff
assigned for the second-floor sanitation. What do you recommend?
There are two ways to deal with this. On the mall’s part, the management can close the
washroom in the short run if it is not able to manage the staffing and in the long term, hire
more staff for the second-floor sanitation. Additionally, the mall’s management can look to
rotate the existing staff to do cleaning shifts across the floors and hence, keep the
washrooms clean.
Let us assume that shift rotation and hiring new staff is not possible for the mall right now.
Also, these are out of the client’s control. What can the client do to improve revenues?
The client can do various things to recover the lost sales. Firstly, they can look at alternative
channels of sale like setting up a website and sell through online aggregators. The client can
move the current store to another floor or whole other location, if possible, in the long run.
Currently, the client can even look into some negotiations with the mall and hire a new
cleaning staff on its own expense.
Great! We will wrap up the case here.

• The client is a retail store facing declining revenues

Case Statement • The store is in a mall and the issue is client-specific
• Need to identify root cause and give recommendations to improve profits
Interviewee Notes Structure/ Framework

Profits
• Floor located on the second

floor of a popular mall in Cost Revenues
Mumbai
Price per unit Number of units sold
• Client specific issue
• No change in prices or supply Demand constraint Supply constraint

capabilities – customers
coming to the store have
Number of customers Average basket size
reduced
Pre-purchase During purchase Post-purchase
Journey to the mall Parking Navigation inside mall Floor specific issue
Layout Construction Cleanliness Store front/ display
• The mall should hire new staff or rotate the current staff across floors
Key Takeaways • The foul smelling washroom can be closed in the short run
• The client can look at alternative selling channels like a website, online aggregators or setting up the retail some elsewhere

Private School Profitability | Easy | Bain (Buddy)
Your client is a private school owner. They have reached out to you to identify the reason for Fees collected by the school can be further broken down into number of students per class x
declining profit in the last year and to turn this situation around. number of classes x fees per student. Have any of the factors changed in the past year?
Before I deep dive into the case analysis, I would like to get more information on the client Yes, the number of students per class has reduced.
and their current situation. Can I go ahead and ask few preliminary questions? Is the school facing some challenge with capacity and has reduced the maximum number of
Sure, please go ahead. students that can be accepted or is it facing reduced demand of enrollments?
I would like to know what kind of school it is and where it is located. The number of classes have remained the same so has the intake capacity. We are seeing a
decrease in enrollments.
It is a private CBSE board school and has classes from nursery to class 12. It is one of the top
schools in Jharkhand and has huge real estate/ campus located on the outskirts on Ranchi. In that case I would to go through the student journey to figure out why has the number of
They charge premium fees compared to most of the other schools in the same state. enrollments decreased. I would like to break up the journey into 3 phases – (a) Student’s
(Parent’s) decision to join the school (b) Student’s time spent in the school (c) Post school
Thank you for the information, could you tell me about the competitive landscape i.e., other experience.
schools present in the same area? Are they facing similar issue of dropping profits?
1. The decision to join the school depends on the legacy of the school, awareness, quality
Within Jharkhand there are 3 other schools we largely compete with, and they are doing of education
fine with respect to their profits. 2. A student’s time in school will depend on the school timings, people s/he interacts with,
infrastructure, external factors affecting student experience
Got it, so I can assume this is an internal client specific issue and not an external industry 3. Post school experience will be the value add the school gives to the student
wide trend.
That is a comprehensive breakdown. Could you tell me how will you evaluate the value
Yes, your assumption is valid.
addition of the school post graduation?
Have we seen a drop in revenues in the past year or increase in cost or both?
Value addition or the legacy even can be checked by 1. the school’s ranking 2. alum base and
We have observed both effects. Let’s focus on drop in revenue first. where they currently are 3. the board examination scores and standing among other CBSE
schools.
Sure, since our client is a school, they will have multiple streams of revenue. Major stream
is student fees. Next if we provide boarding option then boarding/ lodging fees. Next would Okay, fair enough. You can focus on the student journey during school hours. We have not
be bus/ transportation service fees, daily meals, donation/ endowments. Since it is a school, changed our timings, nor are there any external disturbances that hamper the student
I would ignore the revenue from any research grants/ publications. Have we seen a drop in experience. You can tell me more about what do you means by the people the student
revenue in any specific stream or multiple streams? interacts with.
Good analysis. We are seeing a drop in the primary stream that is the fees and by a function In the school, a student can interact with peers, teachers and the administrative staff. Would
of that a drop in bus and daily meals as well. You can focus on only fees for now. you like me to look at any one in particular?

Can you further analyze peer interactions and possible reasons as to why are they affecting
our enrollments?
Sure. The peer interactions might have made the environment not conducive for studying. I
can currently think of 4 reasons for the same
1. The students are not equally motivated to study
2. Few students are unruly and noisy making classes difficult to understand
3. Few students are overly competitive and not helpful
4. There have been incidents of bullying in the school
Have we seen any of the following reasons hampering the student’s school experience?
Yes, you are right. We have been experiencing an increase in bullying. Recently RTE was
implemented which mandated that private schools take in students from tribal and
economically backwards communities. Once that began, these students were slow to pick
up pace. Adding on, due to cultural differences, they found it difficult to fit in. The current
students did not get along with the new students and bullied them. As retaliation, the new
students engaged in violence. Seeing this, the parents are now reluctant to send their
children to the school.
Due to violence, we are seeing an increase in the cost of repairing infrastructure.
Could you think of what solutions can be implemented?
Sure. In the short term the school can first address the violence and bullying with strict
actions and sensitivity training. The new students who are enrolled can be given extra
classes to catch up with rest of the students.
In the longer run, the school should position itself as a school that encourages equality and
does not stand discrimination. The school can launch programs that start training the tribal
kids before they join the school, so they are more comfortable when they join the
classroom. The other students should be encouraged to befriend the new students through
buddy programs.
Good suggestions. We can wrap up the case.

• Decline in the profitability of a private school

Case Statement • Analyze the reason for the decline and provide recommendations to improve profits
Interviewee Notes Structure/ Framework Profits
• The type of school and Revenue Costs

students’ profile is important
Boarding fees Bus/ Meal Donations
to ask Fees
Services
• Address different revenue
streams for the school # of students/ Class Classes Fees/ Student
Decision to join school Student experience in school Post school value add
External
Timing People Infrastructure Disturbance
Peer Teachers Admin
Motivation Unruly Competition Bullying
RTE
• Identifying different revenue streams is essential and a good way to MECE. In case of educational institutions also account for endowments and grants.
Key Takeaways • Use solutions that are feasible and divide them in short and long term solutions.

Airport Profits Profitability | Easy | Bain (Partner)
Your client is the owner of Delhi Airport. The airport is facing decline in profit, the owner Correct. Now it has been observed that the revenue coming from of the perfume shop has
hired you to identify the core reason and provide suitable recommendation. declined which is causing the overall decline in the airport's profit. Can you figure out the
reason behind the decline in the revenue of this shop and suggest some remedies?
Before diving deep into solving the problem, I would like to know bit about the client. Can I
ask some preliminary questions about the client? Yeah, sure sir. As we know the revenue is the function of price per unit * number of units
sold * product mix. Did we note change in any of the above factor?
Yeah sure, go ahead!
There is decline in number of unit sold. Other two factors are same.
Since how long our client has been noticing the decline in profit? Is it industry wide issue or
specific to our client and is there only 1 airport in Delhi (no other competitors)? Apart from Oh okay, so the number of units have been declining, the problem can be supply side or the
that, are we concerned about domestic airport or international too? demand side. Do we have any information about if there is a supply constraint or a demand
crunch?
So, the profit has been declining since last quarter. The decline is specific to our client and
there is only 1 airport in Delhi. We can limit our scope to domestic airport only for this case. The supply has remained constant, problem lies in the demand side of it.
Okay sir, I think I have enough information about the client. I can now breakdown the The demand is again the function of number of customers*average order value*order
problem. Can I take few moments to structure my thoughts? frequency. Since there are limit customer who do repeat purchase at airport, we can focus
on the number of new customer decline. Did we notice decline in the average order value?
Yeah sure!
Interesting observation about the repeat customer. No, the average order value is almost
Alright! I am ready with my approach. So, the profit is the function of revenue and cost.
constant. You can move ahead with the reasons why the number of cust. are reducing?
Either the revenue has been going down or the cost has been increasing. Do we have any
idea about any of the above? Alright sir, here the problem could lie in one of the three factor – presales, during sales and
post sales service. Do you want me to focus on any of them?
Yes, the revenue has been declining. Can you think of the source if revenue in a typical
airport operation? There is an issue in presale part. Can you figure out that?
Sure, the revenue at any airport generates from the flight operations, parking fees, airport Sure sir. The problem can with the awareness of the product that the perfume shop is
freights, retails shops, advertising space sell inside and out the airport etc. Have I covered selling or the awareness about the brands. Apart form the other problem could lie in the
everything? accessibility to the shop, customers might not be able to reach the shop due to some
obstacle around the shop. Also, the kind of the customers which are coming to the shop
Yes indeed! So, there is problem in the one the shops which is operating inside the airport.
might not be able to afford the prices which the shop is offering. At last customer could be
Can you tell different types of shops which operate in airport?
unsatisfied with the services which are being provide at the shop or the staff behavior.
There are 3 types of shops inside any airport – food & beverages, accessories, services like
massage etc. Right, so there is some construction work going just outside the perfume shop which
affected the accessibility to the shop. In the interest of time, we’ll stop here. Thanks!

Airport Profits Profitability| Easy| Bain (Partner)
• Decline in profits of the airport

Case Statement • Find of the reason and recommend the resolution for the same
Interviewee Notes Structure/ Framework Accessibility Reach
Flight
• One 1 airport at Delhi, no operation Awareness
other competitor
Pre-sales
• Focus on domestic airport
Airport Affordability
• Decline specific to our client Freight
Cost
• Happening since last quarter Airport’s Number of
Profit During sale Adaptability
Revenue Parking fees customers
No. of Supply
Food & units
Advertising Beverages Post sales
sold Demand Average
order
value
Shops Accessories Revenue price per
unit
Additional Order
services Product Frequency
mix
Key Takeaways • Break down the problem at each step using MECE
• Pre sales problem can be structurally addressed by using 4As framework

Restaurant owner Profitability | Moderate | Bain (Buddy)
Good morning. How is everything going on your side ? Revenue here can be: Average spend per bill x Average # of bills. I am assuming # of tables
Good morning, sir. Everything is going well. usually wouldn’t have reduced, so do we understand if the average number of bills being
served at the restaurant in a day and/or the average amount spent per bill has decreased?
Amazing! I want you to solve a problem for our client. Our client is a restaurant owner and
The average amount spent per bill has not changed but the number of bills or rather the
operates two restaurants in Mumbai (for the sake of simplicity let’s name them R1 and R2.
Theses are located in BKC which is a business & residential location in Mumbai. Both of the number of customers visiting the restaurant has decreased.
restaurants have shared kitchens. R2 is facing a decline in profits. Could you help them find
Understood. Basically, # of customers here would be # of tables * number of bills per table. I
out what’s wrong and recommend certain solutions?
am assuming number of tables have not been reduced, so for the other bucket to reduce
Interesting. So before analyzing the issue, I would like to ask a few more clarifying questions there can be one or both of the following two issues: Either we have not been able to either
to understand the situation or the context here better. attract customers to the same degree as earlier (demand generation issue) or the overall
Yes. Please go ahead. service sees supply side constraint for not being able to service the demand faster (service
issue or upstream issues).
What type of restaurants are we talking about? Are they fine or casual dining, fast food
Fair, we cannot say that on average the number of people wanting to visit the restaurant
cafes/chains, pubs or clubs? Lastly, my existing hypothesis is this being a client specific
problem, given we know that R1 is not facing any losses. Let me please know otherwise has declined, so you can proceed with the other hypothesis
Great, so these restaurants are premium casual dining spaces with average revenue per This implies that the customers visiting the restaurant have decreased because our service
head as INR 1300-1600. Also, your assumption is right; this is a client specific problem. per bill per table has been slower/ not up to previous standard and thus, limiting the # of
bills per table.
Understood. Also, fine dining restaurants can be multiple cuisine or single cuisine, do we
have more information on this? This will help me imagine the situation better Yes, correct. In fact, the firm has observed a decline in the number of bills per table .
That’s a very good question – So R1 offers Italian cuisines and R2 offers thai cuisine. To understand the reason behind the same, I would like to analyze the customer journey by
dividing it into three parts. The first part of the journey will start with the decision to eating
Alright, thanks for this. I think I have enough context and a good initial point to structure my food till reaching the restaurant. The second part will include the experience/service inside
thoughts around the problem. May I take some time for the same? the restaurant and the third part will include the journey during payment and exiting the
Yeah sure. Please take your time. restaurant.
The decline in profits could be due to increase in costs or decrease in revenue or a Sure, please go ahead.
combination of the both. Do we understand already for which side the problem lies? To finalize the client’s restaurant to eat, the customer needs to be ‘aware’ about the
The revenues have declined significantly, while the costs have remained the same. restaurant. Its availability on Zomato and Swiggy for dine out, discounts and benefits
offered, mode of convenience and connectivity.

Restaurant owner Profitability | Moderate | Bain (Buddy)
The customer will then check the price of the restaurant to ensure ‘affordability’. Finally, Yes, correct. There is no issue in terms of staff, but utensils have been a major problem
once the restaurant has been decided, the customer will head towards the restaurant. The given sharing the kitchen is there. Also, since R2 caters to Thai cuisine precook mix is a
restaurant should be ‘accessible’. Mismatch in location from google maps, change in routes limitation and chefs have to prepare all the dishes from scratch leading to an increase in the
or route blocks due to construction activities, difficulty in parking spaces etc. could waiting time for customer and with limitation of the utensil, Thai-cuisine restaurant faces
negatively impact the decision to visit the restaurant. Do we know is there any problem much more of an issue. Now that you have identified the issue, recommend certain
here? solutions for the client.
No there is no problem on this side. Please move to the next stage. I would like to divide the recommendations into short term and long term.
Under short term, since there is a limitation of precook and also, we are located in an office
Once, the customers reach the restaurant, they may have to wait before their turn comes. space. I feel corporate employees would be looking for a quick grabs during the breaks.
Then they enter the restaurant and take a seat. The seating arrangement, presentation of Hence, we can prepare a precook for the high running dishes during some peak hours to
cutlery and other amenities will affect the overall perception. The customer places an order avoid any waiting time for our customers. In terms of shared kitchen – a clear demarcation
using a menu, where the presentation in the menu is important. Having placed the order, of counters and utensils can be made to avoid any delays and confusions.
the waiting time, waiter’s hospitality and food quality and quantity will be important.
Once the customer has finished eating, I would consider the factors like ease of payment, For long term, given the expertise is currently limited to thai chefs-we can focus on training
ease of finding cab services, customers allowed to wait at the restaurant etc. They may have the staff who could directly help the chefs by preparing the precook and the chefs can focus
to take a transport mode to visit another place. The restaurant may engage in loyalty on other immediate needs related to preparation of thai dish. Also, a platform could be
programs as well. Do we know where exactly is the issue ? developed where customers can preorder their dishes online and can pick them up in a
The journey looks comprehensive. So, in our client’s case waiting time after placing an stipulated period of time.
order has increased . Could you think of possible reasons for the same?
Those are some great recommendations. Nice interacting with you. All the best !
Great. Since the service time has increased. It could be due to the procedure that is
incorporated in taking an order, queuing it and then preparing the food. For example,
number of waiters could have reduced in taking order. In preparation, delay can occur due
to:
1) Way preparation was done earlier vs now (e.g., precooked mix is used)
2) Chef could have been replaced with an inexperienced chef.
3) Since the kitchen is shared between R1 and R2 – availability of counters, utensils and staff
can also be a reason for increased waiting time.

Restaurant Owner Profitability | Moderate | Bain (Buddy)
Your client is a restaurant owner and operates two restaurants in Mumbai (for the sake of simplicity let’s name them R1 and R2. Theses are in
Case Statement BKC which is a business & residential location in Mumbai. Both the restaurants have shared kitchens. R2 is facing a decline in profits. Could you
help them find out what’s wrong and recommend certain solutions?

Pre-dining During dining Post dining
• Type of restaurant Profits
Accessibility Entry and waiting Loyalty program
• Type of cuisines
Affordability Seating
Transport
• Industry wide/ client specific Costs Revenue arrangement
Awareness Staying back
• Customer journey mapping Menu
Service time
Average spent Average no. of
per customer customers
Food quality
Number of Number of
tables bills/table
(customers)
• While moving from one phase of the customer journey to another (say from pre phase to the during phase), one should confirm from the interviewer if
Key Takeaways she has covered all the aspects. This ensures that one doesn’t move back and forth the phases of the customer journey.
• Structure the recommendation to short term and long term and do not give a laundry list of suggestions.

Biscuit Manufacturer Profitability | Moderate| Bain (Buddy)
Your client is a biscuit manufacturer who has been facing a decline in profits for 6 months Good, I think you’ve covered everything. There is a problem in storage. How would you go
and they want your help in this situation, please proceed. about analyzing it?
Before I jump into finding the potential root cause for the problem, I’d first like to know our Before going onto the factors affecting storage, I want to get a better idea of the current
client better. When we say they are a biscuit manufacturer, is it fair to assume that their storage system. Having worked in manufacturing, our storage facility was built in right next
product offerings are just biscuits and if yes, are we looking at a conventional biscuit like a to the factory. Once the product is stacked and packed onto palettes, they are transported
Parle-G equivalent or should I know of any other product attributes? to the WIP area from where they were further sent to the DC which was also in close
proximity. Do we any information on how and where this storage is taking place for our
It is a fair assumption, our client offers only one type of biscuit and can be considered as a
client?
Parle-G equivalent.
Perfect, the process seems almost similar except for some minor alterations. Our client’s
Okay great, I’d also like to know about our client’s geographical presence and where they lie
factory is in the outskirts of Bangalore while the warehouse for storage is within city limits.
on the value chain?
The biscuits travel from the factory to the warehouse from where the distributors collect it.
The client is only present in the southern part of India and holds a high market share. They
Okay, now I’d like to consider some of the factors which affect the warehouse. I would like
are involved in manufacturing of the biscuit and then there is zonal distribution by third
to categorize it into internal and external factors. In internal factors we would consider
party.
capacity, packing, transport within warehouse, employees and external factors could be the
Sure, I see that our client is a market leader in a fragmented biscuit industry. Is this problem environment, legal restrictions, infrastructure around facility etc.
of declining profits being faced by client only or this phenomena has been observed across
While you’ve listed valid factors, I’m afraid our problem might not lie in these. Could you
the industry as well?
think more on the analysis?
No, other players in the industry have not been facing such an issue. Right, I’d like to back track a bit and modify my structure here. Let’s consider the journey of
Okay, I believe I have enough information to proceed now. I’d like to go ahead with a basic a biscuit packet, I would define it as a pre-storage, during storage and post-storage process.
breakup of profits into revenue and costs. Do we have any data or information to indicate a In the pre-storage part, we consider the journey of the biscuit from the factory to the
decrease in revenue or an increase in cost or both happening simultaneously? warehouse. During storage would encompass the biscuit’s journey from the receiving of the
biscuit till the distributor collects it. And post-storage would include the process of the
The revenue has remained fairly constant while we’ve seen an increase in costs. biscuit leaving the warehouse facility. Should I proceed with analyzing each part?
In that case, I would like to focus on the cost side. Considering it’s a manufacturing setup, I’d That seems like a better approach, could you look further into the during storage part only.
like to consider the value chain starting with R&D, Raw materials, Manufacturing and
Processing, Storage and Transportations, Distribution, Marketing & Promotion and post During storage can be analyzed with people, process and technology. Would you want me
sales services including inbound and outbound logistics. Do you think I’ve covered all the to drill deeper into each of these levers?
major levers and if yes, do we have any information on a cost increase in any of these? Maybe you can explore more on the process aspect, what factors would you consider?

In process, I would include Storage utilization, Packing fraction and methods, Utilities and
Rent, Efficiency and Machinery. Do you think I have covered everything, or should I dig
deeper?
This seems sufficient for now, what do you mean by efficiency here?
In the context of a processed in storage facility, efficiency could be seen as no. of biscuits
that are good to proceed to a distributor, essentially considering it as a measure for
wastage. Am I on the right track or is there something I’m missing here?
You’re moving in the right direction; we have seen an increase in the wastage numbers in
the past few months. Could you help us understand why it could be happening?
Yes, wastage could be due to physical damage which could be visible i.e damaged packaging
or invisible i.e damaged biscuits or both which makes the biscuits not eligible for sale. Since
biscuits are a perishable good, expiry beyond their shelf life could lead to wastage as well.
Yes! That seems to be the problem, the number of biscuits expiring have increased, what do
you think could be happening in the warehouse?
The first thing which comes to my mind is the concept of FIFO and LIFO. It could happen
that the client was using the FIFO method of first-in-first-out earlier and then switched to
LIFO last-in-first-out which means that the older biscuits would expire, and the newer ones
are out of the facility before the old ones.
Perfect, it so happened that one of the gates of the warehouse got damaged which led to
the drop-off of biscuits from the factory and the collection by the distributor’s trucks started
happening from the same gate. This led to the older biscuits being pushed to the back of
the warehouse. That should be all, we can stop the case here, thank you.

• Client is a biscuit manufacturer and has been facing declining profits for 6 months.
Case Statement • Analyze the situation and identify reasons for the same.
Interviewee Notes Structure/ Framework Profit
• Client is a market leader in

southern India with one major Revenue Cost
product offering.
• Only involved in Marketing Sales & post

Raw Manufacturing &
manufacturing of biscuits in R&D Storage Transportation Distribution and sales
material processing
the value chain. promotion services
• Basic breakup of profits into

revenue and costs and value Pre-storage During Storage Post-Storage
chain in a manufacturing.
Revenue has remained same,
there is an increase in costs. Process People Technology
• Issue was in the warehouse

storage and product outbound Storage Efficiency/ Utilities
method. Packing Machinery
utilization Wastage and rent
• Draw parallels to experiences if there is existing knowledge of product, for better communication and crisp questions.
Key Takeaways • Be thorough with base value chain in manufacturing cases, customer/product journey analysis helps in almost all cases if you’re stuck during case
solving.
• Focus on dissecting and MECE at each level, ask permission to re-modify structure if you realise the current approach might not yield results.
Travel Agency – IT Infrastructure Profitability | Easy | Kearney (Buddy)
Your client is a travel agency, and they are facing increased IT costs for the past 1 year. They Considering hardware related costs, and the concerned window period of 1 year, the
have now hired you to diagnose this problem and provide them with some solutions increase in costs could be attributed to the purchase of new hardware, the upgradation of
existing hardware or the repair of the defunct hardware. Do we have data on which of these
Thank you for the case. Before I proceed with the analysis, may I ask a few preliminary components attribute to the increase in costs?
questions regarding the case?
Yeah, we do have data on that, but I am not quite sure of what all are being included under
Yeah, please go ahead. the hardware category. Could you probe into it further and list down the various
May I please know the geographic locations that the client operates in and if in case there components that could be considered?
are multiple locations, are the increased costs observed across all locations or is it specific Yeah, sure. So, hardware costs for a traditional travel agency could comprise of desktops
to a particular location. In addition, could you please also clarify if this is an industry wide which would include components such as the monitor, mouse, keyboard, CPU, inverter
scenario or localized to our client. (considering the location of the client) or it could include laptops. In addition to the above,
Our client is operating pan India and the increase in cost is prevalent across all locations in hardware could also cover the central servers, the printers & the fax machines that the
India currently. The issue is specific to our client. company employs. These components could attribute to the change in costs.
May I also know the type of products and services that the client offers? For example, do Yeah, you are in the right track. The laptop costs have been increasing for the past 1 year.
Can you think of some reasons for the same?
they cater to the air travel segment, the railway segment, or roadway segment, or is it a
combination of all of them? Sure, so an increase in laptop costs could be affected by recent purchases of new laptops, or
Okay, so they help the customers book tickets for air travel, hotels and railway travel. These it could be because of an increase in repairs of existing laptops, or it could be due to the
upgradation of the existing laptops such as upgrading the RAM, the SSD, battery, etc.
are the only 3 segments that they operate in.
Thank you for the information. I will now delve into the case. So, when we consider the IT For simplicity, lets assume that this cost is only due to the purchase of new laptops and that
too for the new employees that they are hiring. We are not undergoing any sort of
costs for a travel agency, there could be multiple components involved. Hence, I would like
to categorize them as Software related costs and Hardware related costs. Software cost upgradations, but if a laptop has malfunctioned, we replace the laptop for the existing
employees. So, it is just new purchases and replacements and not upgradations.
could be incurred for utilizing software such as ERPs, CRMs and booking management
systems. Do we have information on the software that the company deploys? Got it, thanks. Based on the information provided, I am assuming that a significant portion
Right, so we don’t have data on the software that the company uses, but you are on the of the cost are due to the purchase of new laptops and hence I would like to focus on the
same. The increase in costs could be attributed to an increase in hiring which would lead to
right track, please proceed.
a budget overshoot, purchase of a single standard model for all employees irrespective of
A company’s infrastructure has software as the primary component and hardware as the their needs for example, providing over configured laptops for base level employees, or
secondary component. I would now like to focus on the hardware category for the analysis. there could be a policy change regarding the laptop procurement.
Okay, please go ahead. Yes, you have identified correctly now, There is no standardization of models for the past
Year. During the beginning of the last year, the contract with the vendor for our client who
used to provide standardized model of laptops got terminated. Instead of re-entering the
contract, our client implemented a new procurement policy stating that the employees
could buy their own laptops and the get them reimbursed from our client. Do you see any
problem with this policy?
Yes, thank you for the information. I see that this policy is particularly detrimental to our
client as there is no upper cap on the amount that one could spend on their laptops. Also
the lack of a standard operating procedure delineating the hardware, software and pricing
cap could cause adequate problems to the cost structure.
Yes, that is true. You have identified the problem. Now could you provide some
recommendations to the client?
Sure, so I would suggest the following to the client,
1. Document the rules & regulations into a SOP and implement it urging the employees to
adhere to the instructions.
2. Buy the base model laptop which could save significant amount of money and reinvest it
into a robust cloud infrastructure so employees could work on virtual environments.
3. Refurbish old laptops or procure refurbished laptops from vendors and pair the same
with a cloud infrastructure.
4. Negotiate a contract with a vendor to leverage economies of scale to bring down costs.
Bulk orders could attract volume discounts.
Those are good recommendations, Thank you. We could close the case now. All the best.
Thank you so much. Have a nice day.

• Client is a travel agency who operates pan India. They have been facing increased IT cost for the past year.
Case Statement • As consultant find the reason and provide your recommendations

Profit
• Increase in costs is directly
provided in the case
• Based on the services they
Revenue Cost
provide, costs could be
classified as hardware and
software
Hardware Software
• Delineating various hardware
and analyzing the root cause
Cost Cost
reveals the issue.
• Client has been facing issue Desktop Printer & Fax
Laptop Cost Server Cost
for the past 1 year. Hence a Cost Machines
recent change has caused the
issue • Monitor
• Keyboard No standardization
• Mouse and
• CPU policy changes
• UPS
• Used the Profitability framework, directly by analysing the cost.

Key Takeaways • Asking preliminary questions helped narrow down the scope. This also helps in structuring ones thoughts and delivering key analysis.
• Considering out of the box components such as cloud computing earns brownie points.

Hair Salon Profitability | Moderate| Kearney (Buddy)
Your client is the owner of the hair salon at IIMB and is worried about the drop in his profits Not really. His service offerings have remained the same since the salon’s opening and the
recently. He would like your help in understanding the issue and a resolution for the same. prices were last updated more than a year back .Interestingly our client has also observed
that the number of students visiting the salon is more or less the same as it was 6 months
back. Can you think of what else could be the cause?
Okay. Before I proceed with the analysis of the case, I would like to ask a few clarifying
questions to get a better idea about the context. Shall I go ahead? Sure. If I think along the customer journey and since we know that the number of
customers has remained the same, it could be that the students are visiting the salon but
Yea sure! not availing any services due to reasons like huge waiting time or hygiene concerns. There
might be a drop in the frequency of visits of the customers. It might also be that they are
Has our client noticed how long has it been since the profits started dropping and by how
availing the services but not as many as they used to, meaning those who availed hair cut
much has it been? Do we also know if the situation is same for other salons as well? and head massage previously are now demanding only hair cut. There is a possibility that
There has been a 2-3% drop consistently for the last 6 months that’s of concern to our client some of them might not be paying for the services at the salon tricking the owner.
and none of the other salons are known to have been facing profit drop
Okay. Since our client is the salon owner at IIMB, can I know if they cater only to the needs Well it seems like students are availing the services as they used to before and the owner is
of IIMB students and if it is a franchisee of a salon operating elsewhere or a standalone diligent to ensure that everyone pays. But interesting point! Give a thought to the revenue
one? Is it the only salon in the campus? Also, what are the services that they offer at the realisation itself and see if you can find something.
salon?
Has there been any change in how the payments are made recently. Did he introduce any
There is only one salon in the campus, and it is not a franchisee of any other salon. They new system that might be eating up some of his revenue like a service charge? Or has there
offer hair cut, hair color and head massage and these facilities can be availed by the been any policy change where he must share a part of his earnings with some other party?
students of the institute.
Perfect! He has been onboarded into a new payment system trial by the institute, where he
Alright. The drop in profits could be due to increase in costs or a decline in revenue or a is paid at the end of the month from the amount deducted from student account. The
relative change in both, that is affecting profits negatively. Do we know if any of this is the platform also charges a small amount as service charge per each customer transaction.
situation with our client? Could you think some ways he can overcome this?
There has not been any significant change in cost for the past two years and our client has He can either opt out of the payment system and revert to how it was earlier or leverage
noticed that his revenues are dropping. the convenience of the platform to get more customers to his salon. He can also negotiate
Okay, so that might be pointing to a change in the pricing of his offerings, or a decrease in with the institute on how should the service charges be borne.
the number of customers coming to the salon or it could be that he has added or dropped Thank you! We can close the case
any of his service offerings. Has any of this been the case with our client?

Hair Salon Profitability | Moderate| Kearney (Buddy)
• Client is a hair salon owner

Case Statement • Identify the cause for drop in profitability and provide recommendations
• Small drop in profits for the Revenue

past 6 months. Realisation
• Salon offers hair cut, hair
Drop in Profit
color and head massage to
students at college. Payment not
• Drop in profits specific to our done
client. Increasing Decreasing
• No change in costs. cost Revenue
• No change in offerings or Delay in
price of offerings or no of
customers recently. payment
Number of Revenue per Number of Price of each
• New payment method
customers customer services offered service
introduced.
Transaction
charges
• Interviewer wanted the candidate to think beyond the typical profitability framework.
Key Takeaways • Covering all possible reasons and a structured thought process can help narrow down to the actual cause
• Could have clarified if there is any alternate source of income at the salon, like advertising or sale of any cosmetic products to cover all possibilities

Grocery Retail Chain Profitability | Moderate | Kearney (Buddy)
Your client is a grocery retain chain owner and is facing decrease in profits. He needs you to Just to have a clear understanding before proceeding, I want to know if we are supplying
find the root cause and provide recommendations for the same. the same quantity as we used to?
I would just like to reiterate my understanding of the problem statement. Our client is a Yes.
grocery retail chain owner and is facing decreased profits. We need to analyse the situation
to reach the root cause and recommend the solution. Great. Since there is no issue at the supply side, the demand from customer’s end has
decreased for such goods. To analyse this further, I am going to go through the complete
That’s correct. customer journey i.e. pre-purchase, during purchase and post purchase. We also know that
the number of customers visiting has remained same, so I will ignore the pre purchase part
Thank you. Before proceeding, I have a few clarification questions. Shall I go ahead?
and focus on the during purchase of the customer journey.
Sure.
Go ahead.
What are the location of the grocery stores? What is the timeline of the issue that the client
has been facing? Is it particular to one store or all the stores? I will divide the during purchase into three parts: journey till fruits & veggies section, buying
the goods and payment process in the end. The first part will comprise of the ease of access
The chain is located Pan-India. The client is facing this issue from past 6 months and it is to that section, ambience(lights, AC), second part involves presence of salesperson,
particular to one store. affordability of goods, getting the goods from shelf(nametags, pricetags), weighing and
I would also like to know whether this is an industry-wide issue or specific to our client. packaging and the third part consists of queue for the payment and payment options. Issue
Also, is it being faced in any specific product category e.g. perishable or non-perishable. in third part would have affected sale of other products as well so I will ignore that. Do we
have any information whether there has been any change in the display or ambience of the
It is specific to our client and is being faced in fresh fruits and vegetables category. store or any of the other factors that I have mentioned?
Alright. Since we are facing decreased profits, it can be attributed to decreasing revenues or Okay. The customers are perceiving the goods to be expensive. There is some issue with
increasing costs. Do we have any information on the same? pricetags.
Yes, we are facing decreased revenue. The change in perception could be due to two things: the unit of pricetag has changed or
the pricetags are not reflecting correct price.
I would like structure the problem by formulating for revenue. It can be written as number
of customers visiting the store*% of customers buying fruits & vegetables*avg value/ You are right. The pricetags are not reflecting correct price. Since these are perishable
customer. Do we know if any of these factors has gone down? goods, the price keeps changing and the store management is not changing the tags
simultaneously. Thank you, we will close the case here.
The avg value of order has gone down.

Grocery Retail Chain Profitability | Moderate | Kearney (Buddy)
• Client is a Grocery Retail Chain owner which has Pan-India presence.

Case Statement • Client is facing decreased profits from past 6 months and wants to understand the root cause of the same. Advice the client on the same.
Profit
• Profit decreased in past 6
months in fresh fruits &
veggies
Revenue Cost
• Only one store problem, not
industry-wide problem
No. of customers % of customers Avg. order value

visiting making a purchase per customer
Supply Demand
Pre-Purchase During Purchase Post-Purchase
• Used profitability framework- demand side issue.

Key Takeaways • Asking the product category facing the issue was a key question. It helped to drill down to the variability in prices of such products.
• Creating buckets in the customer journey to analyse the demand side issue helped to maintain structure throughout the case.

Hedge Fund LLP Profitability | Moderate| Kearney (Sr Manager)
Your client is MNP Partners, a hedge fund in US. Over the last 2 years, they have seen a So, revenues of a hedge fund can typically be divided into management fees (%age cut of
decline in profits of the firm. They have hired you to turnaround the situation. initial investment) and performance fees (fees for generating positive returns beyond
certain cutoff/benchmark). Has the company seen a decline in any of the revenue streams?
Just to get a high-level sense of the business and industry situation, can I ask a few
preliminary questions before we delve deeper into the problem? That’s a fair split of revenues. The performance fees hasn’t seen much change. However,
the management fees has declined. I have a few numbers that can help you drive this
Sure, please go ahead. further. 2019- AUM: $1.6bn @2%; 2020- AUM: $1.8bn @1.5%; 2021- AUM: $1.9bn @1.5%.
Could you please help me understand the following- 1. What is the AUM of the firm? 2. Interesting. So, I can see that the Management fees as a percentage of new fund deposits
Does the firm primarily invest only in U.S. Securities? Or do they also have offshore has declined. Further, the growth of new funds to the total AUM have not grown enough to
investments? 3. What kind of asset classes does the firm invest in? cover the same. And we know that competitors haven’t been experiencing the same.
Alright, that’s quite comprehensive set of questions. The firm has an AUM of $2.1bn. There Yes, Spot on. The client had cut down on the management fee in response to the COVID-19
have been no new fund raisings or redemptions in any of the sub-funds in the past 2 years. Pandemic to attract more investments, but the volume growth has not been as per
It invests in all asset classes including synthetic products and they have dedicated strategies expectation. Why do you think this could be happening?
for the same. Typical investors of a hedge fund are high net worth individuals. Their primary concern is to
Alright, Additionally, Is declining profitability a case with client’s competitors in the industry earn a return on their investment and hence they are not very sensitive to changes in
management fee cut as long as the funds performance is up to the mark.
as well? And Is this a problem with a particular strategy or asset class?
Great, Let’s move on to the costs now.
The returns have dampened for our client across strategies since the past 2 years but that’s
not been the case with our competitors. The costs of a hedge fund can be divided into 3 categories: Software costs, Employee costs
and Operational costs. Do we have any information on any of these costs having changed
Alright, I believe I have a fair understanding of our client’s situation. I’d now like to
for the company in the past 2 years?
breakdown the problem further.
Sure, Go on. Client’s software and technology costs have increased sharply in the past 2 years. Can you
think of why that could be happening?
Profits is a function of Revenues and Costs. Do we know if revenues have declined, or costs
have risen or both? During COVID, the company might have had to make a sudden shift to work from home
Both revenues and costs have changed negatively for us. Let's start with the revenues and setup which would have lead to increased costs for both hardware like laptops and other
then look at the costs. peripherals for employees and softwares which could no longer be shared by employees in
an offline setup.

Bang on, the company has seen sharp rise in the cost of Bloomberg and Eikon softwares
since it had to invest heavily to provide 1:1 access to its employees. While the competitors
negotiated with the data vendors to provide shared access in a work from home setup as
well. What would be your recommendations to our client?
I would like to make following recommendations
• Negotiate with vendors to provide shared access to softwares for the employees.
• Execute time management plans and resource planning to ensure seamless movement to
the proposed plan.
• Explored the possibility of gradually increasing the management fee back to the industry
standard in consultation with investor relations team.
Thanks. We can close the case now.

Case Statement • Client is a Hedge fund based out of U.S.

• They are witnessing a decline in profits since the past 2 years. Advice on the same.
• Declining revenues and rising Profits

costs
• Management Fee data

2019- AUM: $1.6bn @2%
2020- AUM: $1.8bn Revenue Costs
@1.5% 2021- AUM:
$1.9bn @1.5%
Software &
• High Software and technology Performance Management Operational
Employee Costs Technology
costs Fees Fees Costs
Costs
New
% Cut
Investments
• Hedge fund industry is different from usual industries. It is fine to clarify with interviewer about the revenue streams if required.
Key Takeaways • If interviewer mentions the timeline of the case, it is important to keep the exogenous macro events in mind while solving. (COVID 19 in this case)
• Always keep competition in mind

Pump Manufacturer Profitability | Challenging | Kearney (Buddy)
Your client is a pump manufacturer who has been facing a decline in profitability. Kindly Okay. Profit may be split down as follows: (revenue – cost). I'd like to know if the declining
analyze and suggest solutions. profits are the result of dropping revenues/increasing costs or of both.
Got it, thank you for the question. Before I start off with my analysis, I would like to ask a You can focus on costs.
few clarifying questions.
So, I would like to investigate the value chain which I would mainly divide into – Pre-
Sure! Go ahead. Production, production & postproduction. Could you please tell me if any of these have
been a bottleneck?
To better understand the company, I would like to know about the client's product mix, the
target segment it caters to, and the part of the value chain they are present it. Can you further elaborate on the post-production phase?
So, our client currently has 2 types of pumps in the market - Retail pumps for households Sure, the post-production phase primarily includes – storage & transportation, distribution,
and Industrial Pumps for the commercial sector. Manufacturing and distribution are done by marketing, and post-sales support.
the client. Our client provides check-up and maintenance services for our industrial clients. So, the
Can you let me know about the geographical areas the client is present in, and whether it problem is observed in the post-sales service i.e., the warranty period.
has been facing a decline across all regions? Right, the key components in this context associated with post sales servicing journey
They operate globally in areas such as the USA, Europe, Middle East. But the problem is would mainly be – man, material & method. Man would include the salaries and any
specific to the Indian region. variable human capital cost, the material includes the cost of the spare parts used, &
method includes any design changes in the pump or incorporation of any new repair
To better understand the market, can you tell me about the competitive scenario in India? technique, etc.
The market is currently very fragmented, we have a couple of big players, and the rest are The cost of spare parts has increased.
small domestic players.
The total cost of spare parts can be written as cost per part X Volume of spare parts. Can
Can you tell me about the quantum of decline and for how long the client has been facing you let me know which might be an issue?
this issue?
So, the volume of spare parts has risen significantly. Can you identify the reasons?
Compared to the competitors we have seen a 10-20% YoY loss of profits. We have been
facing this decline for the last 2 to 3 years. The number of spare parts can increase because of 2 reasons – the number of spare parts
per breakdown has increased or the number of breakdowns has increased.
Noted. I think I have the important points to start my analysis, I will briefly summarize the
key points to make sure I have the correct details (*summarizes the main points). Is there Right, The number of spare parts used has increased because of frequent breakdowns of
anything else I should know before I start? the pumps. Can you think of any reason?
Yeah, you can start with your analysis. The number of breakdowns can be attributed to internal & external factors. In internal the

quality of the pump & material used, accurate pump specifications, etc. External factors
would include improper employee handling, pump specification to fluid mismatch, etc.
Well, the quality of our pumps has decreased because of the poor quality of materials
supplied by our suppliers leading to higher failure rates. Can you recommend anything to
tackle the issue?
Sure, we can divide the recommendation into the short and long term.
Short term:
1. Set a non-negotiable minimum quality standard for the suppliers
2. In-house quality checks to assure the grade of raw materials
Long term:
1. Change suppliers if the current sources can’t meet the quality threshold
2. Incorporate multiple suppliers to avoid high dependence on one supplier
3. A cost-benefit analysis to be done for recalling faulty pumps & replacing them or
providing added services in order to maintain long-term customer relationships.
Good job, we can close the case here! All the best.

• Decline in the profitability of a pump manufacturer

Case Statement • Identify the problem and suggest recommendations for the same

• The client is a global pump
Profit
manufacturer but facing
decline only in the Indian
region. Post-Production
Revenue Cost
• Start with the profitability Value Chain
framework, focus on costs
• Use of exhaustive steps Raw Inbound Logistics & Storage & Outbound
Production Post Sales Service
involved in the (porter’s) Material Storage Logistics
value chain
Spare parts
Pre-Production
Volume Price
No. of spare parts/

No. of breakdowns
breakdown
• A good structure in precise preliminary questions and applying MECE wherever required is important to keep the interviewer engaged, as well as not
Key Takeaways presenting them with a laundry list
• Take interviewer buy-in at every step. Summarize the problem statement after all preliminary questions and summarize the case approach before
presenting recommendations

Bike Manufacturer in Nigeria Profitability | Moderate | Strategy& ME (Buddy)
Your client is a Bike Manufacturer based out of Nigeria and has been facing declining So, the issue can be from demand side or the supply side. Demand side issue would mean
revenues for some time. You have been hired to identify the reason. that the product demand from the customers has fallen. A supply side issue would mean
Before diving further, I would like to ask a few preliminary questions to get a better that we are not able to cater to the demand in the market. Given the fact that only bike taxi
understanding of our client. Does our client only manufacture bikes, or do we control end- segment has taken a hit, it is more likely to be a demand side issue.
to-end distribution? Is Nigeria the only location we are operating in? Which different
Yes, that’s correct.
models of bikes do we sell? What does the competitive landscape look like? How long have
we been facing the declining profitability?, and what is the quantum of the drop? To identify the root cause, we can look at the customer journey and try to identify potential
problems at each stage. For this case, we can look at why the customer is buying the bike,
Lets say we control the end-to-end distribution, Nigeria is the only geography we are
the decision-making metric between different competitors, the distribution network and
operating in. Apart from our client, Suzuki and Bajaj are the major players in the market. Let accessibility, financing options available at the time of purchase, and after sales.
us just assume that there is only one standard model that we are selling. And we’ve been
facing the declining revenues for about a year now and by about 10%. That’s a fair breakdown, lets look at the probable reasons under these heads.
Got it. Have our competitors faced any decline in profitability or is it just us? Also, has the The customers are buying the bikes to be used as bike taxis. There could be a fall in the bike
total market size changed over this duration? Finally, do we have any information on our taxi industry in general. Coming to decision making metrics, customers would look at things
customer segments and their contribution to total sales? such as mileage, longevity and ruggedness of the vehicle, dimensions of the bike, comfort
Our competitors are doing fine. The market size has increased by around 20% over the past for the driver and the pillion. The number of retail outlets would impact the ease of buying
year. Also, why don’t you tell me what the potential customer segments could be. a bike. Looking at financing, the interest rates, duration and ease of availing the options
would be considered. Finally, for after sales, the availability of parts, prices and labor costs
So, considering bikes in Nigeria, the major customer segments should be commuters from would be looked at.
the middle/low-income segments, bike taxi service providers and delivery personnel. Am I
missing anything? Also, do we have an information if the decline in revenues is due to any Can you dive deeper into the dimensions of the bike, what do you mean by that?
of these segments? Dimensions of the bike can influence multiple things. It could impact the maneuverability of
That’s correct, these are the primary segments. And the revenues have been declining in the bike in traffic conditions. The length of the seat can impact the comfort of the bike taxi
the bike taxi segment. customers and the number of people the drivers can carry in a single ride.
Is there any point of differentiation between the products offered by us and our major Correct, Bajaj has come out with a new model last year with a longer seat. The taxi drivers
competitors. Also, has any competitor launched a new product in the time frame? can fit 2 customers in a single ride, as a result they are preferring their model over ours. We
can close the case here. Thanks.
There have not been a lot of technical advancements in the bike industry in the Nigeria for
the past 5 years, so the products have stayed stable. Before coming to new products, tell
me how would you analyze the reason.

Bike Manufacturer in Nigeria Profitability | Moderate | Strategy& ME (Buddy)
• Client is a bike manufacturer in Nigeria and controls end-to-end sales and distribution.
Case Statement • Revenues are falling for the bike taxi customer segment for the past 1 year. Need to identify the reasons.

Revenue
• Nigeria as an economy is
similar to India. Customer Number of Revenue per
segments would be similar as
Customers Customer
well. Customer Journey
• The market size for bikes has
increased. The competitors Buying Decision Making Distribution
Financing After Sales
are doing well. The issue is Decision Metrics Network
with our product or company.
• MECE the factors along Mileage

customer journey to identify
potential reason. Longevity
Comfort
Dimensions
• Get a complete understanding of the client and market before progressing.

Key Takeaways • Understand the customer segments to identify the root cause.
• Follow the customer journey, breaking down and listing potential reasons along each step.

Beauty Product Manufacturer Profitability | Moderate | Accenture (Buddy)
Your client is one of the leading manufacturers in personal beauty care. From past 2 years That’s a good point and fair assumption. You may continue with the demand
there has been decrease in sales and they have moved from 1st to 2nd position in terms of
Within demand, I’d like to divide it into product, place and promotions. Since problem is not
market share. You have been hired to identify the problem and provide solutions to it.
across the channels, there shouldn’t be any issue with the products. Now with places and
Before proceeding to case, I’d like to ask you a few clarifying questions about our client. promotions, we will have to focus on modern trade and e-commerce separately.
What products does our client produce in personal beauty care? Where do they operate?
Correct. Let’s focus on modern trade first and then we’ll move on to e-commerce
What is competitive landscape?
Few aspects I can think of regarding place and promotion in modern trades are: Promotion
The client mainly produces color cosmetics which includes foundation, eye shadow, lipstick,
banners/kiosk, Discount coupon/membership offers, Company sales advisor, product trials
blush, and more. With respect to geography, they operate pan India. There is one major
and lastly placement of the product in shelves. Do we see any of these change with time?
competitor which is leading the market share currently.
That’s a comprehensive list, but we do not see any changes for us in these items with time
Oh, that’s interesting! And may I know what part of value chain they operate in and how is
the distribution done? Since there is no change with respect to time, I’d like to benchmark it with our competitors.
Are they doing any of these things differently?
The client mainly operates from production till distribution. Further, they have omnichannel
distribution wherein they have 3 channels. One is traditional channel through distributors Exactly! Our competitors have appointed beauty advisors who sell the product near within
and stores, second is through modern trade, in which supermarkets like DMart comes and the stores on aisle with beauty products. Now that we have solved for modern trade, let’s
last is online channel through their own website. focus on e-commerce
Are we having the drop among all channels or is it particular to any of them? Sure, in e-commerce, I’d like to have similar list but in digital context. There can be changes
in digital marketing, payment discounts, UX/UI of website, AI enabled trials or chat box
The decline is more evident in modern trades and e-commerce. We may ignore the channel
advisor. Is there any changes in them with time or with competitor?
with distributors and retail stores.
That’s good, and yes, our competitor has enables AI for product trials to match colours etc.
Sure, thank you. Now I’d like to break the sales into avg. price per product, no. of customers
Why don’t you quickly give some suggestions, and we can close the case after that?
and avg no. of products per customer. Should we focus on all of them or is there specific
change in any one of them? Sure, I’d like to divide suggestion in two parts long-term and short-term. In short-term,
company can enable trials in stores and few discounts/ product bundling whereas in e-
The prices have been constant and there is no major change in avg no. of products per
commerce, company can consider return policy for unused products if the displayed colour
customer. You can focus on no. of customers, there is a significant decline in it.
doesn’t match with delivered product. Whereas in the long term, company can have
Within no. of customer, I’d further divide it in demand and supply but since the problem is promotional campaigns where they’d be educated about our product, in a similar way our
limited to few channels, it is unlikely that this would be issue of supply. Is it fair to assume competitor has been doing and for e-commerce, they can get the chat bot to suggest
that problem lies with the demand? products according to customer needs.

Beauty Product Manufacturer Profitability | Moderate | Accenture (Buddy)
• A leading manufacturers in personal beauty care.

Case Statement • From past 2 years there has been decrease in sales and they have moved from 1st to 2nd position in terms of market share
• Color cosmetics Revenue

• Pan-India
• Problem only with Modern
trade and e-commerce # of # of product
• No change in price, place and Product price
Customers per customer
promotions
Demand Supply
Product Place Promotion
Modern
Conventional E-commerce
Trade
Key Takeaways • After bucketing, benchmarking can be done on both time and internal/external basis

Retail Jewellery Chain Profitability | Moderate| Accenture (Buddy)
Your client is a retail jewellery and facing decline in profits. You have been hired as a Focus on number of customers, we have seen a steady decline in number of customers.
consultant to identify the issue and provide solutions.
Decline in number of customers is a function of supply-demand, pricing, product quality and
Before drilling down into the problem, I would like to ask a few clarifying questions about customer experience/service. Do you want me focus me on any of these or investigate any
our client. What geographical location does the client operate in? Does it have physical other factors?
stores and/or online retail channel as well?
Please focus on customer experience, all other factors are fine.
Client operates pan-India and has both offline and online channels for retailing.
Alright! I would do customer journey analysis here. I would divide customer journey into
Thanks. For how long have the profits been decreasing? Is this decrease in profit specific to three phase mainly pre-purchase, during purchase and post purchase. In the pre-purchase
our client or competitors also facing the decline in profits? Is it restricted to a particular phase, I would investigate factors such as website accessibility, SEO workings etc. In the
retailing channel? during purchase phase, I would look into factors like buying experience, product
accessibility, selecting products, reviews, payment system etc. While in post purchase
Profits are on decline since last 6 months. This is a client specific problem. You can focus on
phase, I would look into product quality and aftersales service.
online channels (client has website) of retailing as it has been facing decline in profits.
This covers almost factors. However, I would like you to focus on during purchase phase.
And this decrease in profit in online retailing has been observed by our competitors as well?
I see. Is there any issue with the product accessibility or selection?
The decrease is specific to our client.
There hasn’t been any issue with our website or buying experience however in recently
Sure. Let me just reiterate the case once to make sure I have understood it clearly. Our
done survey, customers were preferring trial options before buying decision.
client is a jewellery retailer in India which has been seeing decreasing profits for the past 6
months in the online retail business. This decrease is specific to our client, and we want to Does our website have any trial feature for the jewelry? Has our competitor been offering
analyze the reason behind the decrease in profits and come with recommendations for the any special trial options?
client. Do we have any other objective?
No, our website doesn’t have any product trial feature yet, but our competitor has come up
No, that’s all. You can continue. with a feature which uses AR/VR technology and allows user to see how a particular
jewellery would look on their body (for e.g. a necklace on face)
Thank you! Profit can be broken down into revenue and cost. I would like to understand if
the declining profits is due to declining revenues or increasing costs? Alright! Given that customers are conscious on how particular jewellery would look before
Revenues are on decline while the costs remain relatively same. making a buy decision, the trial feature built by our competitor is driving the customers
towards it and we are facing the decline in number of customers and subsequently in
Revenue is nothing but number of customers * revenue per customers * purchase profits.
frequency. Therefore, either the number of customers are not enough or the basket size per
Great. Thank you for the comprehensive analysis. We can close the case here.
customer is very less or repeat customer are very less. Do we have any information on
which part is reducing.

Retail Jewellery Chain Profitability | Moderate| Accenture (Buddy)
• Decline in profitability of online retailing channel of jewellery chain

Case Statement • Analyze reasons for decline and provide solutions to overcome

Profit
• Improve profitability with a
focus on revenues Costs Revenue
• Client specific problem

No. of Customers Revenue/Customer Purchase Frequency
• Customer survey depicts
preference to trial options
Supply-Demand Customer Experience & Service Pricing Product Quality
Pre-Buy During-Buy Post-Buy
Website Functionality Trial Option Product Selection
Key Takeaways • Understanding the consumer journey is the key to arriving at solution.
• Breaking down the customer experience to get down to delivery time is the important step.

Non Profit Organization - Church Profitability | Challenging | Accenture (Buddy)
Your client is a church. They are observing reducing operating surplus and want to Is it because the Church is failing to provide a platform for the conveyance of the events?
understand how to overcome the same. What would be your recommendation to them? Either due to poor human resourse availability or poor maintenance of the Church?
Thank you for the case statement. By operating surplus do we mean the difference between Correct, the Church is in dilapidated condition and requires reconstruction.
revenue and expenditure - i.e., the surplus or deficit - accruing from operations.
Okay, now we will try to identify why the revenue from tickets have gone down for the
Yes, that is correct. museum. Do we know if the factors affecting tourist attendance are contributed to the
internal or external environment to the church?
Alright, I would like to approach this with a revenue side and a cost side analysis. Do we
know if the Church is facing both revenue and cost problems or only one of the two? The tourists are being driven down by external factors primarily.
The Church has seen reducing revenues over the last 6 months, costs have remained same. To understand the changes in the external factors I would like to identify if there were any
Alright, I have a few questions around the church, and there on I will try to identify their political, economical, social disruptions or instability in the country.
sources of revenue. Yes, Spain has seen a lot of riots in the recent months and tourist do not feel safe to travel
Okay! to the region where the church is located. What recommendation do you have for the
Church.
Where is the church located? How old is the church? Has there been any changes in the # of
people visiting the church? Has there been any change in the internal and external The recommendations can be broken into short term and long term. In the short run the
environment? Church should take immediate efforts to renovate the structure and revive income from
rent for private gatherings. In the long run the Church should lobby with the government to
The church under consideration in located in Spain. It is a 100-year-old church has seen # of ensure tranquility in the region and create safe channels for tourist and pilgrim passage.
people visiting it reduce over the observation period. The church can also inspect opportunities with updating the ticketing system in the
Sure, I would like to state some sources of revenue for churches, maintaining grants from museum to digitalize the process for better management and record capture.
government (in case of Spain the Catholic Royal family will provide the grants), donation Thank you for the analysis. Let’s wrap it up here.
from church goers, fundraising events, community service engagements, revenue from
allowing private events at churches, etc. Are there any that I am missing out?
That is comprehensive, the revenue from booking for private events has gone down and
another source of revenue is the museum with the Church which has seen a declining
tourist crowd.
Thank you for the additional information. First, I would try to understand why the bookings
for private events have gone down.

Non Profit Organization - Church Profitability | Challenging | Accenture (Buddy)
Case Statement • The client is a church

• They want to recommendations to arrest negative operating surplus

Profitability
• The Church is in the European
country of Spain
• The church has seen a drop in
revenue Cost Revenue
• Identify the revenue channels
• Check if there are external Order
factors beyond the church’s # Customers Product Mix
Frequency
control as tourists are
involved as well
Rent for Private
Tourists
Ceremonies
External factor Internal factor
Political and social Poor maintenance of old church

tension infrastructure
Key Takeaways • Every entity an be considered as business entity and a revenue model can be structured
• Importance of identifying key stakeholders as it drives better decision making while solving a case (eg. choosing to inspect external factors for tourists)

Infra & Construction Company Profitability | Challenging | McKinsey (Buddy)
Your client is an Infrastructure & Construction Company based out of New Delhi. They have Got it. Is it also reasonable to assume that only significant revenue generation would be
missed meeting their yearly cash-flow target twice in a row. Diagnose the problem and through toll collection?
provide recommendations.
Yes. That’s fair.
Interesting. Before I deep dive into the said issue, I’d like to ask a few preliminary questions
Alright, so revenue through toll collection would be the product of the average number of
to understand the problem better. Is that alright?
vehicles passing through the toll plaza and the average toll collected per vehicle. Have we
Yes, sure. Go ahead. seen any decline in these numbers?
Great. So, in which all geographies does the client operate? Does it undertake projects just The average toll collection per vehicle seems to be as expected. You can explore the reasons
out of New Delhi? Also, to understand the revenue streams, do we know what type of for the declining average number of vehicles through the toll plaza.
projects are undertaken by the company?
Alright, so there’d be basically two types of vehicles - passenger and commercial. As I
The client is fairly new to this business and is currently operational only in two regions – understand, commercial vehicles usually form the bulk of the revenue, so I’d like to analyze
NCR & UP. It has decided to either undertake highway construction projects or venture into them first. Does that seem reasonable?
building commercial offices. Although there are multiple projects in the pipeline, as of now,
there are only two active projects. One is a newly constructed highway connecting Well, the dip in numbers at 25% is more prominent for passenger vehicles than it is for
Ghaziabad with NCR and another is a newly built office space in Delhi. commercial vehicles. You can consider passenger vehicles to be our only point of focus for
now.
I see. Do we know the percentage share of the revenue from both these projects? Also,
when were these projects completed? And are both these projects off their target? Interesting. So, there could be multiple reasons for this decline. Firstly, we can look at the
need for this newly built highway. There could be alternative shorter routes that are being
Well, more than 90% of the client’s annual revenue comes from the highway project. Both preferred currently. It could also be that people are not aware of this new stretch or maybe
projects were completed 2 years back. For now, you can focus on the highway project. The the connectivity with the city roads is not great and that is making it inconvenient to access.
office space seems to be doing fine. There could be further issues with toll rates or the collection process which might lead to
Got it. So, let me start by breaking down the problem. Since we are unable to meet our queuing and making the highway less preferable. Lastly, we also look if the drivers are
designated cash-flow targets either we’ve estimated them incorrectly or we are seeing a having a sub-par driving experience on this highway. This could be because of multiple
variation from what was expected. Do we have any info on the validity of our estimates? reasons related to the safety and quality of roads, lighting, and availability of secondary
services like hotels, restaurants, repair shops on the highway, etc.
The estimates seem to be accurate and reasonable.
Good, this seems exhaustive. Well, there have been safety concerns about the highway with
Okay, since the highway construction project has been completed 2 years back, is it alright
multiple reports of theft and accidents since its inception. This has led to vehicles not
to assume that cash outflows right now would be insignificant? preferring this route late in the night. Thank you for the comprehensive analysis. Let’s close
Yes, for the purpose of our analysis you can focus just on the cash inflows. the case here!

Infra & Construction Company Profitability | Challenging | McKinsey (Buddy)
• Infra & Construction Company missing the estimated cash inflows due to reduced revenue from one of their highway projects.
Case Statement • Figure out the root-cause and provide recommendations
Interviewee Notes Structure/ Framework Net Cash

Estimates
Flows
• Context: Geography – only in
NCR and UP, Company – new Cash Cash
player with few projects,
Inflows Outflows
Product/Projects –
Construction of Highways &
Offices Average toll collected Avg. number of
per vehicle vehicles
• Decline in revenue because of
a 25% decline in the number
of vehicles passing through Commercial Passenger
the highway.
• Issues of safety and During Post

Pre Process
accidents. Process Process
Toll Collection &

Need Awareness Accessibility Affordability Experience
Payments
• While considering cash flows consider possible issues with estimations along with both inflows and outflows at any point
Key Takeaways • Used the profitability framework to drill down to the core of the problem i.e. – the declining number of vehicles at night. Further divided into pre-
process, during the process, and post-process. Pre-process: Need, Awareness, Accessibility, Affordability. In Process: Toll collection process and
payments. Post-process: Experience – Hygiene & Additional

IIMB Market Entry Cases
2022-23

Market Entry Framework
Basic structure Good to know frameworks
Market Entry
Using 2 by 2s for final decision like degree of
1 control vs investments; competition vs own
capabilities or your own set of parameters
Strategic Industrial How to
Objective Conditions Enter?
- Why to enter? - Addressable

Market market Porter’s 5 forces: Good to get the context of
Attractiveness Organic Inorganic 2
- Target Metric - Growth rate industry as a whole
- Profit Margin
- Joint venture
- Market structure
Customers - Acquisition
- Reaction to entry
- Segments 5Cs: Company, Competitors, Customers, Context,
3
Collaborators → very useful in scoping
- Price, Product,
Competition Place, Promotion
Value Chains for various industries to understand

Barriers to - Financial constraints 4
- Capabilities/Resources
nuances of market entry and objective metrics
Entry
- Suppliers
- Govt. Regulations
- Patents, IP

Market Entry Framework (contd.)
Preliminary Questions Risks
• Clarify objective, growth quantum and Internal External

targeted timeline
- Constraints
• Geography – Why are we looking into this Industry level Macro
- Resources Factors
geography? Have they launched this
product in another market? 1. Risks Involved
Market
• Business Model – Where does the firm lie Customers Competitors Barriers to Entry
Attractiveness PESTEL
in the value chain?
- Addressable - Market Price, - Financial constraints Regulations
• What are the existing products/ services, market structure Product, - Capabilities/Resources Currency Fluctuations
capabilities and expertise of the firm? - Growth rate - Reaction to Place, - Suppliers
- Profit Margin entry Promotion - Govt. Regulations
• Who are the target customers? Market - Segments - Patents, IP
size and price sensitivity
Economic Feasibility: Mkt Size x Mkt Share x (Price – Variable cost) – Fixed Cost
• Any side-effects of product? 2. Market Size
and Share Solve the guesstimate to calculate market size, qualitatively find achievable market share
• Pricing – given or required, ask for
targeted margin
Organic Joint Venture Acquisition
- Retain business control - Less investment - Extend market scope

Advantages - Build Experience Curve - Local Expertise - Utilise local expertise
3. Modes of Entry - Boosts Brand Image - High Scale and Scope - Produce synergy
- High Capex - Limited Control - Significant Investment

Disadvantages - High Commitment - Brand Dilution Risk - Threat to Brand Value

EdTech Business Strategy Market Entry | Easy| McKinsey (Partner)
Your client is an engineering and construction company. It does all sort of construction such That sounds good. Consider any tier 2 college in Bangalore (Ramaiah for instance). The
as oil and gas refineries, equipment, rails, roads, power plants, etc. They have their own client is planning to offer a range of 20 unique courses. What are the value propositions that
Tech Services as well. The client is now considering entering into the EdTech business. It is can be offered to different stakeholders?
not like any conventional EdTech business (like Byjus, Unacademy etc.) existing already. The
client is considering collaborating with engineering colleges and offer courses to the Okay, I would like to look at three different stakeholders:
students. Suggest ways to strengthen their position and what partnerships should your 1. College administration – The college will be benefitted with the additional revenue
client build? through the EdTech platforms. Collaborating with a good company would also increase
its brand name, admissions and rankings.
This is a really interesting problem. This proposition seems to be quite different. May I know 2. Faculty – Our client can collaborate with the faculty of the college to curate content that
what is the objective of our client to enter the EdTech business? is relevant to the existing curriculum. Publishing such content on their platform would
also increase the rankings of the faculty members.
Our client sees great potential in the EdTech business and wants to diversify for growth. 3. Students – The courses will offer students with convenience of studying and quality
content. The client can also provide job opportunities to students who subscribe to the
Which geography does our client operate in? And do they want to target colleges from the courses.
same geography?
That is an interesting proposition. Can you suggest what should the selection criteria for a
The client operates in India, and they are looking to collaborate with Indian engineering job should be? Should all the students who subscribe to the course be offered with a job?
colleges. Should our client alone provide job opportunities?
Our client should consider the following things:
Alright! In that case, I would like to look at four things; first – which college our client should
1. Apart from academics, our client can offer live projects happening in the company or
target; second – which courses to offer; third – how to build the platform, integrate courses
simulations as a part of their curriculum and evaluate students cumulative based on
and onboard students; and fourth – the future outlook for the client. Does the approach
academic scores, performance in simulations and live projects. The client should also
sound right? What should I look at first?
consider extra-curricular activities for selecting students.
The approach sounds good. I would like you to look at which colleges to collaborate. 2. Job opportunities should be provided to students with top performance in the courses,
maybe top 5%ile of students who subscribe to the courses. If the client offers jobs to all
Sure. In that case, I would like to divide the total engineering colleges in India into different students, they might get complacent to complete the course with dedication.
tiers – tier 1, 2 and 3. I believe tier 1 colleges are already well-established and hence it 3. Jobs will be provided primarily by our client. However, they can also integrate with
would be difficult for any EdTech business to take off in such colleges. Tier 2 colleges are different other companies to help students find out jobs, thus strengthening their brand
good to start with, since they are huge in number and it also seems like a lucrative incentive image.
for new admissions.
Thank You. This was a good discussion. We can close the case now!

EdTech Business Strategy Market Entry | Easy| McKinsey (Partner)
• Engineering and Construction company wants to enter EdTech Business.

Case Statement • Client wants to develop collaborations with different engineering colleges and stakeholders.

EdTech
• Focused on building relations Business
with existing engineering
colleges
• Tech Services with a revenue
of $5-10 Bn and great Which Which How to develop Future
capabilities in the digital college? courses? the platform? outlook?
space.
Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3
College Faculty Students

Admin
Selection Who should Recruitment

criteria offer the job? number
• No conventional framework used, conversational case.

Key Takeaways • Think more in the perspective of incentives to different stakeholders involved in the process rather than just the client to make the value proposition stronger
• Take time before steps when you feel uncertain. Ask your interviewer if your approach is right and take his/her confirmation at each step.

Senior Citizen Business Idea Market Entry | Challenging | McKinsey (Partner)
Your client is a real estate developer. He wants to venture into new business idea catering to by younger or middle-aged folks who find older citizens lacking in speed and thereby avoid
60+ age category which seems like a lucrative target segment to him. There are multiple playing with them. So maybe we can look into this category where we can look to build an
unicorns in US under the given category. Why don’t you help your client with few business idea around community of sorts. Old folks have different taste in music and movies so
ideas which he can venture into. Assume you are developing a full-fledged startup. maybe we can look something in Entertainment segment. Older citizens want to spend
more time with their family especially their grandkids so maybe we can think of some idea
Before moving on with the case I want to ask few clarifying questions. What exactly does
to engage both generations. Hence, we can look into the Fun segment. These are few broad
our client do ? Does our client want to venture into the real estate segment or onto a new
categories which I could think of.
business all-together ?
Can you list down top three categories among these and rank them ?
Client has multiple real estate complex. He has also made a first in class real estate complex
for 60+ citizens with all the amenities taking care of need of older citizens. He doesn’t want I’ll put Health segment as 1st, Medical as 2nd and Food as 3rd.
to hear about business idea related to real estate and wants you to come up with
What’s the reason for keeping Medical and Food as 2nd and 3rd respectively ?
something new.
For medical, we are trying to enter a niche segment of an already established business
Got it. I would like to lay out broad structure highlighting various buckets under which
industry and the players present in the space can easily tweak their product offering with no
various business plan can be detailed out.
or minimal capital investment to cater to said category and capture the market share.
Sure, go ahead. Similarly in food segment although the personalized food category for older citizens is a
novel idea, the already established player can tweak their existing business model to cater
So since most of the old people would be retired and may want to explore or travel around
to the needs of old with no or minimal capital, whereas this is not the case in health
during these time so Travel would be one segment we can look into. Old people often face
segment.
trouble with regard to collection of pension so maybe we can do something around
Banking/Financial Service. Old people have a different food requirement which is in stark Okay. How do you aim to monetize the gym category under health segment ?
contrast to younger age group so we can think of something around Food Service segment.
If it’s our client, then he can directly offer the service in the old complex he has developed.
Medical segment is one where we can look too, it can be further subdivided into two
categories – a. Checkup – Old people have to undergo health checkup quite often so this is I want you to think in terms of some third-party service provider providing the said service.
one category we can look at. b. Prescription – Old folks need constant requirement of
medicine basis their health status, so this is one more category we can look at. We can Okay got it. Then the said provider can directly contact our client to provide service in his
further look into Health segment wherein it can be further subdivided into two categories – complex. The service provider can also tie up with the doctors/clinics where these senior
a. Gym - As far as old folks are concerned, there is no gym that caters to them. No citizens go to for their physio/health check up.
gym/trainer is equipped with training old citizens, nor the equipment present serve the
Okay. Tell me which category will have the highest spend by the older citizens.
relevant purpose. So maybe we can look into this category where we can look for senior
citizen specific gym facility dedicated to training just older folks b. Sports – Older citizens
When we consider the Travel segment, it would not entail much spend as the travel for
often find themselves lacking to find a player to play with. As sports facility is mostly used

most of the senior citizens would not be a frequent activity and mostly a bulk spend for
would be made for the occasional travel. For Banking/Financial segment, the spend is again
not much as the banking services in itself don’t require much spend. For food segment, we
know that the food requirement of older citizen is different and mostly majority prefer
home cooked food. Hence this segment also doesn’t entail much spend. Older citizens
undergo regular health checkups and have different medicinal requirements so Medical
segment would be one in which spend would be high. Under Health Segment, as
mentioned present gyms don’t cater to the present need of senior citizens so presently, I
don’t expect any spend in gym category. Similarly in sports category, the only spend might
be of club membership. So, in overall health category the overall spend is minimal. All the
major OTT subscriptions are under 1k so the spend in Entertainment segment is also
minimal. Lastly Fun segment is something that has not yet been ventured into so the spend
again is minimal or non-existent. Hence, Medical segment entails the highest spend by
senior citizens
Okay. Thank you. We can stop here.

Case Statement • Client is a real estate developer and wants to venture into new business catering to 60+ age category
• Client has developed a real estate complex catering to needs of senior citizens

Business Idea
• Client doesn’t want new idea
to be in real estate segment
and wants to venture into new Existing Competency New Category
segment altogether.
Idea Map
Possible Business Ideas
Ranking/
Travel Food Medical Health Entertainment Fun
Financial
Check-Up Prescription Gym Sports
• Try to be as broad with your ideas as possible

Key Takeaways • Try to give reasons for all the assumptions or ideas.
• Aim is to show the interviewer how extensively can you think given the time constraint and unconventional case model

Gig Workers Business Model Market Entry | Moderate | BCG (MD)
Your client is a startup that trains engineering graduates for entry level engineering jobs. workers say for a particular project. So, the trainees will serve as their employees on
They are currently thinking about venturing into a new business model where they train contractual basis, right? And the client will charge the organization by evaluating the project
these graduates and send them as Gig workers to different organizations and charge them work, and number and competency of the trainees being appointed for the same.
for the services. Discuss about the viability of the new business model.
Yes, that’s the correct understanding. Does this sound interesting to you?
Thank you for the case. To develop a better understanding about the client capabilities I
We can approach the reconfiguration idea in the following manner, we can talk about the
have some preliminary questions about their current business model. I would like to know
market opportunity, the risks and benefits associated followed by checking the financial
where is the start-up based out of, what is its operational model and what are the current
feasibility for the new model.
revenue streams for the startup.
Assuming that our client is preparing trainees for an entry level job in an IT company. Let’s
They are operating in a tier 2 city. They have physical training centres where students enrol
themselves for 3-6 months industry training along with interview preparations. They even talk about the status quo, these IT firms hire in large numbers and spend huge costs in
training the employees. There’s a lot of attrition among new employees and level of
have training programs for people who have some work experience. Can you think about
their probable revenue streams? competency remains low for significant number of hires. Our startup essentially is taking
away the hefty hiring and training costs while ensuring competency of the employees.
Their probable revenue streams can be split up into two, core and non-core revenues. The Also, IT firms have a lot of project-based work and need varying resources at different
enrolment/ course fee that they charge the students forms their primary source of revenue. times, the contractual nature of the job will help them save costs as they wouldn’t be
Since it’s a training center, firms who are looking to hire competent candidates without required to pay the employee on a yearly basis but on project basis. So, from a firm’s POV
having an elaborate hiring process can reach out to our organization for some quick hiring. the idea seems attractive. If our client ventures into the new business model the market
This can bring us some non-core revenue. acceptability will be high.
That sounds fair. Can you talk about some cost heads that the client might be incurring. Alright, talk about some risks associated with this business model.
Since it’s a physical training center there will be significant infra requirements that will form Several risks associated are –
a majority of the fixed cost that the client incurs, this includes leasing/ renting the training 1. The industries have varying scope and dynamic nature hence there is a need of
centers, setup costs, computer devices to setup learning labs, course instructor fee along continuous training to ensure the competency and quality of our talent pool. Our
with admin and maintenance costs. Significant amount of cost also goes in marketing training cost overheads will always be high.
activities. 2. Our trainees may leave us after acquiring the initial training and find jobs on their own
rather than being our resources for the gig work.
Why do you think this startup is interested in reconfiguring its business model? 3. Not all of our talent pool will be always appointed in gig work and there will be
individuals who will be sitting idle, but we will have to pay them despite no work.
Before answering that I would like to confirm if I have the correct understanding of the new 4. Firms would try to poach good employees and will eventually try to eliminate us from
business model. So, the client will be sending their trainees to different organizations as Gig the equation. Ultimately best of our talents will be sieved out.

Okay. I want to know your approach for pricing this. There can be another reason for reluctance for such firms they would want such employees
to stay longer as they have dedicated enough time in understanding the firm’s business and
Okay, we will charge the firms variably as we have a talent pool with varying level of work
project requirements, they will lose on team synergies if they go for contractual model of
experience as per the firm’s project need, we will have customized pricing.
work.
I will start with industry standard for entry level engineering jobs, is it fair to assume that an
IT firm will have to pay 5 LPA for an employee for a year and maybe a 10% hike as the level Any concluding notes or suggestions for the client?
of experience increases? Also, for simplicity can we assume that a firm will need the
Our client should reconsider this business decision as the pricing is the pain point. Price can
resources for a period of less than a year?
be made viable only and only if at least 90% of the talent pool is appointed at any given
Fine you can assume that, consider that we have a talent pool of 1000 people with 600 point which is a very optimistic scenario. Even enormous trainings can not ensure such
freshers, 300 with an experience of 1-1.5 years and 100 with an experience of 2-3 years. numbers and quality of the employees will go for a toss if the talent pool increases.
Consider that you have to pay your resources for the entire year irrespective of whether
they were appointed by a firm or not. The client should work on optimizing their current practice, they can look into expanding
their business by introducing online/ hybrid training programs this can help reduce the infra
Alright that brings us to the fixed cost that the client will have to incur in terms of salaries.
and training costs. Also, they can provide hiring and training services to the firms where
We have 5LPA, 5.5LPA and 6LPA packages. The total cost comes out to be 52.5 Crores for a
they essentially aren’t required to pay salaries to the talent pool.
year and additionally we will have some other costs such as infra, training, admin and
maintenance cost. Do we have any idea about how much it adds up to? Also as discussed Good. It was nice talking to you. Thank you.
not every employee will be appointed to a job at a given point, do we have any idea about
the resource utilization in terms of percentage?
Consider other costs to be 7.5 Cr for a year. And at any point we will only have 60% of the
pool appointed to a job.
Alright a fixed cost of 60 crores and only 600 people employed at once. For breakeven we
would have to charge 10L per resource for a project work. And to make our venture
profitable we can keep a fair margin of 10 -15 % as profits. This leads to 11L or 11.5 L per
resource.
Do you think is pricing is reasonable, what should our client do?
This is more than double the amount the firm currently pays to their employees. They could
have two resources instead of one if they go through their usual route of hiring and training.
This pricing would not work as firms will be reluctant to pay such an amount.

• Client trains engineering graduates for entry level engineering jobs

Case Statement • Venturing into a new business model of sending these trained employees as gig workers in different organisations
• Objective: Identify the viability of the new business model

• Operating in a tier 2 city Market Entry
• Impart 3-6 months of
physical training & interview
preparation Market Risks & Financial
• Revenue Streams– Enrolment
Opportunity Benefits Feasibility
fees, commission for
conducting hiring processes
for orgs Varying Absconding Volatile Poaching from
Pricing
training scope trainees demand Firms
• Cost Heads – variable training
costs, fixed infrastructure,
rental & staff costs,
marketing costs Benchmark Cost Based Value Based
based Pricing Pricing Pricing
Industry CTC
& growth rate
Key Takeaways • Delving into the reason why the firm is venturing into the new business model is essential
• Giving a verdict on the financial viability and ways to act upon it was well received by the interviewer.

Multibillion Dollar Textile Conglomerate Market Entry | Challenging | BCG (Buddy)
Your client is a leading multibillion dollar player in the textile business in India. They wish to Technical textiles have several applications across many industries. To gauge market
launch a technical textile business outside of India. They need your help in evaluating which attractiveness, we would have to think of which industry our client wants to enter? Does
geography to launch the product in. the client have any preference?
Before we go forward, I have a few questions regarding the client and also the product. Good observation. Technical textiles mainly has applications across the travel tech( for
What do we mean by technical textiles? Does the client have any history of launching a automobiles and aeroplanes) and med tech(for PPEs, masks, medical equipment). What
product/business outside of India? factors would you look at when evaluating which industry to enter?
There are two types of Textiles- Conventional Textiles and Technical Textiles. Conventional Two main criteria: a) Industry Growth b) Adoption of technical textiles in that industry.
Textiles are your regular textiles used largely for making everyday fabrics(clothes, sheets, Assuming this is post covid, we would have seen significant adoption in med tech while the
etc.) with aesthetic and some functional value. Technical textiles are fabrics that focus on adoption in travel tech would be more or less stagnant. The Medtech industry would have
functional value and have a technical application. For e.g. fabric in fire fighting, fabric in PPE grown during covid and would see some stagnation in the coming years. Considering the
kits, fabrics in automobiles and aircrafts. boom in travel post covid, the travel tech industry would be growing.
The textile player has a rich legacy in conventional textiles but is launching a business in Good points. Assume our client has chosen one of the industries as per your
technical textiles for the first time. They have some limited business globally but are mainly recommendation. What other factors would you look at while evaluating the market
based in India. attractiveness?
Thanks! Why are they thinking of launching a business in Technical Textiles? Okay, once we have estimated the market size for our chosen industry, we need to look at
They have recently acquired a German company that specialises in technology for technical the market share it can capture in the near term. We would look at the competitiveness in
textiles. They want to leverage this in launching a product overseas. the market and see if the market is consolidated or fragmented. We would also look at the
history of previous entrants and how much market share they captured initially.
Does our client have a specific goal in mind?
Great. In most of the countries the technical textile market is characterized by a high HHI
In the short run they wish to gain some market share in the chosen geography and Index. Knowing this, how would you assess attractiveness?
eventually consolidate as a profitable major player in the market
A high HHI index would mean that the industry is highly concentrated. This would mean the
Great! I want to start my analysis by focusing on gauging the market attractiveness through few large players are creating barriers of entry. In the context of technical textiles, this could
evaluating the market size they can capture in the near term and then focus on operational be industry lobby, regulation or patents. Would you like me to think of more?
feasibility by looking at our competition, value chain capabilities and finalizing on a mode of Good catch! A few multinational textile companies(industry leaders) have created a lobby
entry. Does this approach look okay? which keeps updating regulations making it tough for new entrants to sustain in the market.
Great! Let us focus on market attractiveness. Please proceed How would you counter this issue?

Multibillion Dollar Textile Conglomerate Market Entry | Challenging | BCG (Buddy)
We can think of two approaches: a) Partnerships – Have a joint venture with an existing
leading company to launch our product in that geography. b) Government/Political support:
Choose a country which has good bilateral trade agreements with India, making it easy to
enter the market.
Good points! We can close the case now! Thank you.
Thank you!

Multibillion Dollar Textile Conglomerate Market Entry| Challenging | BCG (Buddy)
• A leading Indian multibillion-dollar textile conglomerate wants to enter a market overseas in the technical textiles business.
Case Statement • Has a limited presence globally but has recently acquired a German company specializing in technical textile products.
• Important to keep listing

major factors at each stage-
Market
some industry knowledge was
Attractiveness
helpful
• Interviewer looking for
creative ideas. Conventional Industry Barriers to
approach less supporting. Market Size Competitiveness
Selection Entry
Industry Joint Regulatory Bilateral Trade

MedTech Travel Tech Adoption Technology
Growth Venture Lobby Partner Country
• Asking relevant questions upfront is key to solving the case. Tendency to go down the rabbit hole as case statement is brief.
Key Takeaways • Taking buy-in from interviewer during market attractiveness MECE is important.
• Choosing criteria for evaluating which industry to choose was critical. Interviewer looking for creative insights.
• Some industry insight was helpful. Useful to know what factors govern markets in traditional industries.
E-commerce (Furniture segment) Market Entry | Moderate| Kearney (Partner)
You client is an e-commerce company which is currently in apparel segment currently and consider the average family size Urban to be 4 and rural to be 5 to get the number of
wants to enter in online furniture segment. Can you please analyze the current market and household in each segment. Then we can divide the furniture consumption into two
suggest if you client should enter in the market or not? categories as durable and nondurable and get the average annual consumption. We can
consider the average life of durable furniture as to be 15 years and non-durable to be half of
Before analyzing the current market, I would like to understand more about the client. Can I
it. Summing all this up, we will we the final annual consumption in India.
ask a few questions regarding the same?
That seems correct! Can you think of what will be the consumption pattern and customer
Yeah sure.
base?
May I know the where does the client operate majorly? In what specific segment of apparel
There will be two kinds of customer first will be who are buying a new furniture and second
does our client operate? Which kind of market do they serve B2B or B2C? What is the
will be the group of people who are looking for replacement of old furniture. The
objective behind entering in furniture segment? Who are the major players in the market as
consumption will be again be of two type new and repeat customers.
of now?
Nice! Now can you think of other factors which will help us to decide market attractiveness?
Nice! So, our client is currently operating only in Indian market with major competitor as
Myntra, Flipkart and Amazon. They are serving every segment, majorly women apparels and Other factors that will help us to decide can be market growth rate, profit margin, customer,
concentrated on in B2C market. The client has done some preliminary research and found competitions, barriers to entry, delivery cost, warehousing cost, return policies etc.
out that the online furniture segment is something which is untapped as of now and seems
That sounds good, now you move ahead with the second part of the analysis.
to have lot of potential.
To understand the operation viability, we should look at the value chain of online furniture
I think I have all the required information to proceed with my analysis. Can I take few
segment. It starts with procurement of material that also includes onboarding vendors then
moments to structure my thoughts?
we have inventory management where we must decide the optimal inventory as per
Sure! demand then operations where we must look at the current our application and if needed,
we can build a new app. Finally, we have distribution, marketing and post sale services in
Alright, so I would like to divide the analysis in two parts, first I will analyze the market
which we must decide how will we capture the market and retain customers
attractiveness then I will go in to check the operation viability and financial feasibility of our
client. Does this seem correct approach? Pretty comprehensive. Can you investigate way to enter in the market now?
Interesting! This seems fair approach. Please go ahead! We can enter in the market either organically by setting up our own operation from scratch,
or we can acquire small player who are currently operating in this segment, or we can do
To start with market attractiveness, I would first like to understand the total addressable
joint venture with a bigger firm. I would like to add one more point here that we can
market in India then we can look at other factors.
leverage our current customer base to market our product as we are doing well in apparel
You can just tell me the approach how will you reach to that number. market and furniture in mutually exclusive from that.
Okay sir. I will first divide the Indian population into two parts Urban and rural. Then we can That is a great idea. I think we can close the case here! Thank you.

E-commerce (Furniture segment) Market Entry | Moderate| Kearney (Partner)
• Apparel ecommerce client who wants to online furniture segment

Case Statement • Analyze the market and suggest the way to enter

Entry in New
segment
• Only operated in Indian
market
• Major competitors – Myntra,
Flipkart, Amazon Market Financial
• Operating in B2C segment Operation viability
attractiveness feasibility
• Done preliminary research
and market seems attractive
Ways to enter
Guesstimate Value chain
(Organic vs
market sizing analysis
Inorganic)
Other factors
Key Takeaways • Divide the market entry problem in 2 parts always – market attractiveness and (financial feasibility and operation viability)
• Try to incorporate information provide upfront while providing recommendation

Home Textile Manufacturer Market Entry | Moderate | Kearney (Buddy)
Case Statement: Our client is a Home Textile Manufacturer. They have developed a new The market seems attractive enough. Let's get into market sizing.
bed sheet range and they want to launch this product in UK market. Help the client in
devising a strategy for the same. Sure. I would first like to divide the entire UK population into 2 parts – Urban and Rural.
Before I delve into the problem, I would like to ask a few preliminary questions to Then I would divide each of them by average family size i.e., 4 for urban and 6 for rural, to
calculate the total number of households. Next, based on the income I would further divide
understand our client better. What kind of products does our client offer and what is
both the categories into 3 parts- High income, middle income and low income. Next, I
the revenue breakup? Where does our client lie in the value chain and where does our
would concentrate mainly on the high- and middle-income class who would be willing to try
client operate currently ? How does the competitive landscape look like?
this product. Based on the requirement of the type of product, I would further divide these
Our client manufactures Bed linen, Bath linen and Kitchen linen. The revenue breakup is two categories into 2 parts i.e., single bed sheet and double bed sheet. Also, I would factor
30%, 40% and 20% respectively. Apart from manufacturing, our client also handles 50% in the frequency of purchase for both these categories depending upon the life of the bed
of the distribution. Rest is handled by a 3rd party. Currently our client operates in US, sheets i.e., Bed sheets bought in 1 year = ((Population*Avg no of bed sheets owned)/life of
UK, India, Germany and Japan. It is a completely new product. There is no similar bed sheets). Hence, Market size = (Population)*(%Urban or Rural population/average family
product in the market. size)* (%High income or middle income)*(single or double bed sheets required)*(%Willing
to purchase)*(frequency of purchase in 1 year)*(Price of single or double bed sheet). Is this
Is there any thing unique about this new bed sheet range that our client wants to an exhaustive list or am I missing any factor ? Do we have any data for the same?
launch in UK? At what price would our client be launching this product? Also, what is
the main objective of entering the UK market ? This seems a very comprehensive approach. No need to get into the numbers. Can you tell
me top 3 entry barriers that our client would face in this market ?
Good question. This new bed sheet range has a unique temperature regulating
property. Depending upon the ambiance, it automatically adjusts the temperature. The
price would be around 40 pound per bedsheet. Their main objective is to maximize Sure. Firstly, our client might face a threat from substitute products like heaters, woolen
profit in coming 2-3 years. wears and coats. Secondly, since it is a new product in the market, there’s a high chance
that other competitors might copy the technology and launch similar products. Hence, our
Now that I know enough about the client, I would like to get into strategizing part. I client should file a patent for this product as soon as possible. Thirdly, our client might face
would divide the entire market entry strategy into three parts – Market attractiveness, dilution in the sales of their current products like woolen bed sheets and blankets due to
their new product launch.
Economic viability and Operational viability. Does this seem a fair approach ?
Yes. This seems fair.. Okay. Those were actually a few of the entry barriers that our client faced. It was nice
interacting with you. Let’s close the case here.
Sure. Under market attractiveness I would first like to analyze the macroeconomic
factors and then would like to do industry analysis. After that I would like to do market
sizing for the product.
Home Textile Manufacturer Market Entry | Moderate | Kearney (Buddy)
• A Home Textile Manufacturer has developed a new bed sheet range.

Case Statement • Market entry strategy needs to be decided.
• Main objective is to maximize profits in 2-3 years.
Interviewee Notes Structure/ Framework Market Entry
• New bed sheet range does not

Market Attractiveness Economic Viability Operational Viability
have any competitor
• It has a unique temperature Macroeconomic Factors Industry Level Market Sizing

regulating property
• Bed sheet costs 40 pounds UK Population

each
• Operates in US, UK, India, Urban Rural

Germany and Japan
Avg Family Size = 4
• Market sizing of bedsheets
• Entry barriers High Income Moderate Income Low Income
No of single or double Yearly purchase frequency = Pop*%willing to purchase * avg no of

bed sheets required bedsheets owned/life of bed sheets
• Explain your market entry strategy by dividing it into adequate buckets

Key Takeaways • Include the product SKU in market sizing
• Make valid assumptions wherever necessary in market sizing

Telecom Operator in the 80’s Market Entry | Moderate | Strategy& M.E. (Buddy)
Your client is a Telecom operator in the US in 1980’s. They run telecom landlines in the US Seems fine. Tell me how you would go ahead to segment the market?
market. They want to get into the home security business and want you to assess if they
Next, I would like to split the market on a rural-urban basis and divide each group into the
should enter this segment or not.
relevant income segments such as low, medium, high. I think home security will be relevant
That’s interesting. Before I get into the analysis, I would like to understand the client better. only to middle- and high-income segment of the market, so I’ll make assumptions
What part of the landline value chain does the client serve in? Do we have any information accordingly while sizing the market. I’ll also look at the ratio of apartments, gated
about the market structure and competitors? communities and individual homes. Do we have any information about the proposed pricing
of the product to confirm if my assumptions are fair?
So, the client provides end-to-end landline services in the market. They operate the total
value chain themselves. They are a monopoly in the US and there are no competitors. Seems fair. We currently charge 30$ a month for the landline service. What do you think
should be the relevant pricing model for the home security device?
Understood. So, what type of home security business do they want to get into? Will they
service only the existing customers? What is the primary objective of wanting to get into For the device, I think it is something that will be used by households for longer durations.
this segment? So, instead of charging a high upfront cost, does a monthly fee seem relevant here?
The home security product is a hardware-based, plug & play system that alerts the Yes, that seems relevant. The proposed pricing for the device is 12$/ month. Let’s assume
homeowners about attempted break-in attempts. It is connected to the landline system and that your market sizing gives you 10Mn eligible households. What would be the market
calls 911 in case a break-in happens. They currently want to target existing landline size?
customers. The primary objective is growth and increase in revenues.
The annual market size in this case would roughly be $1.4Bn (10Mnx12x12)
Great. I think I have a fair idea about our client. I’d like to start by assessing this new
business line from 3 perspectives: Financial Feasibility (What is the market size? How much What is your opinion on the market size? Is it big enough?
can we capture? Profitability analysis?), Operational feasibility (Do we have the operational
On the outset, the number does seem big enough for the 80’s market. But I would need to
capability to actually implement the business?), Market Attractiveness & Risks (How
benchmark this value to get a more accurate idea.
attractive is the market and are there any risks to enter this segment?)
Okay, you can start with the financial feasibility. Let’s start with sizing the potential market. Fair, let’s say that the market size is desirable. How will you analyze the profitability now?
To size the market, I would like to go with the demand side approach and start with the Profitability is a function of Revenue & Costs. We know that the revenues are 144$/unit per
population. The current population of the US is around 34 Cr. Assuming a low growth rate of year. To break down the costs, I’d like to understand more about the value chain that we
1-2%, the population in the 80’s could have been roughly 20-21Cr. Because it is a home plan to set up. Will we make the device in-house or source it from another manufacturer?
security product, we must look at the number of households. For US, I would like to assume
a family size of 3 because they usually have nuclear families. That brings the number of Good question. We plan to purchase the device from a Chinese manufacturer and the total
houses to 21/3 = 7 Cr households. Does this seem like a fair starting point? cost per device is $300. There are no other costs of production for now.

Okay, home security is something that people buy for longer terms. If I assume that people I think that each of these touch-points can be used to drive awareness in the customers.
would use the device for an average of 5 years, the total revenue comes up to be $720 During the maintenance, the staff can visit the customers and inform them about the new
(144x5). To break even, the customers will have to use the device for 25 months (25x12). device. Secondly, we can put a voice prompt which introduces the product when customers
Does that seem okay? dial calls. However, this might be a little intrusive. Thirdly, because the telephone bill is
generated monthly, a brochure can be sent to the customer when sending or collecting the
Seems fine. Let’s move ahead. What next? monthly bill. These strategies will ensure that we keep our marketing expenses zero by
Next, is the operational feasibility. We’ll have to check if we have the operational leveraging our current operational network.
capabilities to launch this new product. This includes R&D, raw material procurement, Great suggestions. I think the third option seems to be the best one. We can close the case
inbound logistics, warehousing/storage, outbound logistics, selling strategy. But because here.
we’re procuring a ready-made device, I think that we don’t have to work on R&D and raw
materials. Do you want me to focus on any of these aspects in particular?
Let’s assume that the operational capabilities are sorted until outbound logistics. Let’s focus
on selling strategies
Okay, so the selling strategies will include administrative aspects and the marketing aspects
of it. Under administrative aspects we’ll have to check if our current workers have the
capabilities to install the home security system or if we will have to hire new workers. We
also need to plan the marketing strategies to create awareness and drive purchases.
Good insight. Our current workers can install the new product, we don’t have to hire any
new workers. Also, our client wants to keep the marketing expenses to zero. How would
you go about this?
That’s great. To keep our marketing expenses zero, I think we will have to leverage our
existing landline operational network in the market. I can think of 3 specific touchpoints
where we interact with the customer: routine maintenance of telephone lines, Calls made
by customer, monthly payment collected from customer. Do these seem okay?
Good breakdown. How would go about utilizing these customer touch-points to minimize
our expenses?

Case Statement • Client is a landline provider in the US in 1980’s. They want to enter the home security business
• They want to figure out if they should enter this product category

Market Entry
• Monopoly, landline business,
US, 1980’s Operational Market Attractiveness/
Financial Feasibility
• New home security product Feasibility Risks
launch
• Wants to assess profitability
Market Size & Share Profits Value Chain Analysis
• Monthly subscription is $12
for the security device
• Marketing costs need to be Household Approach Revenues Costs Resources & Capabilities
zero
Selling Capabilities
Marketing Touch Points Administrative/ Set-up
Maintenence Customer Calls Monthly Billing
Key Takeaways • Clarify the business model & value chain of the client, and the objective of market entry in the start of the case
• Double check the assumptions made with the interviewer to ensure that you’re on the right track

After School Tutoring Client Market Entry | Moderate | LEK Consulting (Manager)
Your client is an after-school tutoring client who is looking to explore entry into the Indian So, for market sizing, I’ll focus on calculating 3 values: Total Addressable Market (TAM),
market. Analyze the available opportunity and arrive at decision parameters which can be Serviceable Addressable Market (SAM), and Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM). To
used by the client to arrive at a decision. calculate TAM, I begin with total population of India as 1.4Bn. Since median age of the
country is 28 years, I can assume that number of people in age range of 0-28 is 700 Mn.
I would like to understand more about the client to gain better clarity about the problem.
Does it sound good so far?
Does the client have previous experience in running such a business? What are the target
customer segments, and are their other players also competing in the same space? Yes, the approach is fine. Carry on.
The client is focused on school going children as their target consumers. You can consider Next, we calculate number of children in age group 5-17 years old. Assuming uniform
children in grades 1 to 12. There are 10 companies in total in the market, including our distribution of age, number of children in target age group is (12/28)*700Mn = 300Mn.
client who are offering similar services. For our client, this is a first time venture. Assuming a rural to urban split of 2:1, we get 200 Mn children in target age group in rural
That information is very helpful. I would further like to understand more about the product areas, and 100Mn children in urban areas. The number of school going children in this age-
offerings from our client, how they are priced, how does the client plan to handle group is calculated by using Gross Enrollment Ratio.
distribution of its products, and what are the available promotion channels? That is correct. It is good that you know Gross Enrollment Ratio. Tell me, if GER of India is
Great questions. The product is a tablet computer with an application where students can 0.7, and GER in rural areas is 0.6, what is the GER of urban areas?
access the content. While some part of the sessions are live-streamed, there is a proportion Well, let the GER be x. So, 0.7*300Mn = 0.6*200Mn + x*100Mn. This gives us GER of 0.9 for
of content that is pre-loaded. The device is priced at Rs 1 Lakh/student/year. Since it’s a new urban areas. So, TAM here is school going children in age group 5-17 years, i.e., 210 Mn.
venture, client is open to suggestions on retailing and promotion strategies.
Very good. Tell me how you would proceed with calculating the SAM? Assume a share of
So, let me summarize the case for clarity. Our client is an after school tutoring client, wallet of 20 times.
looking to setup a market for its product, which is a tablet-based device. Its target customer
segment is school going children in age group 5-17 years. The device hosts both offline and Okay, since share of wallet is 20 times, we need to assume a minimum parent income of 20
online content and product is priced at Rs 1 lakh/student/year. The client wants us to lakhs per year to afford this device. We can use income tax data to calculate number of
analyze the entry opportunity in the market. Does that sound good? people who fall in this category. Assuming total taxpayers to be 3.5 crore, we know
minimum income required to pay taxes is Rs 5 lakh/ year. Assume 5 tax slabs beyond 5
That’s a good summary. Go ahead. lakhs, with highest slab being 20 lakhs and above. So, number of people earning 20 lakhs
Great. So, for my analysis, I look at two aspects: external factors and internal factors. Within and above is 70 lakhs.
external factors, I would proceed first by doing a market sizing followed by an industry Good. This is an intuitive analysis. How will you use this data now?
attractiveness analysis. Within internal factors, I would focus on operational feasibility,
availability of financing and possible risks. So, percentage of population with required income is (70 lakhs/1.4Bn)*100 = 0.5%. So, 0.5%
of children among my TAM of 210Mn can actually afford my product. This leaves me with
That sounds comprehensive. Let's begin with market sizing. Tell me your approach. 1.05 Mn children who can afford my product.

What other factors will you consider when looking at SAM? Analyse each lever with respect to this case.
Among the children who can afford my product, there will be many who may not opt for So, changing price will not really impact sales as a whole, since the demand among the
after school coaching. Among those who want coaching, many may prefer physical classes target customer segment is price inelastic. Our client can focus on increasing volume of
to online tutoring. Assuming that 10% of the 1.05 Mn children are actually interested in our sales by expanding their distribution network and advertising costs. However, for a newly
service. That leaves me with a SAM of 1.05 lakh. setup business, the cost of expanding reach at this scale might be very high.
Finally, I believe the client can focus on creating a differentiation in the market by providing
Excellent. That’s very close to the number we actually got in the case. Assume SAM to be 1
a better range of services. A key target market could be the high stakes examinations
Lakh. Next tell me the SOM and total potential revenue that our client can hope to capture.
market such as JEE, NEET etc. The client can also focus on unbundling its offerings and
We know that including the client, there are 10 companies in all that provide similar expanding into a market purely based on educational content. Lastly, the client can explore
services. Do we have any data to indicate whether the client’s product is differentiated in expanding into new geographies with similar curricular structures.
any manner?
These are great recommendations and in line to what we did while solving this case. Great
No. Assume each firm provides identical offerings. analysis overall. I really enjoyed our conversation!
Then, we can assume the market to be equally divided among each firm. This gives a SOM Thank you, sir. I really enjoyed discussing this case with you. Hope you have a pleasant day
of 10,000 students for our client. At the current prices, our client can capture a potential ahead.
market revenue of Rs 100 crores.
Alright. Thanks a lot. Let's close here.
Okay, so at this revenue level, should the client actually make the decision of entering the
market?
To decide that potential revenue is not the only number I would focus on. Its also important
to understand what margins our client can hope to make by selling these products. To
calculate profit margins, we can look at the cost structure of the business by analyzing the
overall value chain. Next, we calculate PAT to understand burden of fixed assets, leverage
and taxation for this business. All these will be factors in my analysis
That sounds comprehensive enough. Suppose the client tells us that he is unhappy with the
current market share and wants us to explore ways to expand market share. What would
you recommend to the client?
When we talk of increasing market share, our focus is on topline or revenue growth. There
are 3 levers of revenue growth: price of the product, sales volume, and product offerings.
We can individually analyze each lever to check its impact on market share.
• Client is an after-school tutoring service provider

Case Statement • Looking to expand into the Indian market
• Client has asked us to evaluate the attractiveness of the opportunity

Total Addressable Serviceable
Serviceable
• Target customers: School Market Obtainable Market
Addressable Market
going children in grade 1-12
(Age 5-17) Total Population SOM = SAM/
• Product provides both offline (1.4 Bn) Share of wallet to number of identical
and online content find affordability firms
• There are total 10 firms
(including client) providing
Below median age Above median age Calculate % of TAM
similar services SOM = 10,000
(700 Mn) (700 Mn) who can afford my
• Price = Rs 1 lakh/student/year
product
• Assume a share of wallet of 2
times to evaluate affordability
Age 5-17 Remaining
(300 Mn) (400 Mn) Filter further based
on customer appeal
Age 5-17 that go to Total children in age

= GER X
school 5-17 (300Mn) SAM = 1 Lakh
• Structure the problem following MECE approach at each stage

Key Takeaways • Long cases are intended to test patience. Stand firm on your analysis.
• Market sizing should be done by calculating TAM, SAM, SOM.

Uber for Helicopters Market Entry | Challenging | GEP (Partner)
Your client wants to start an Uber for helicopters. They have several questions: Considering a similar service has started in Bangalore recently, offering helicopter rides from
1. What do you think of the proposed idea? the city to Bangalore, I would suggest that the client targets the major Indian cities. We can
2. Where would you start this service? target the primary 4-5 cities to begin with- namely Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai.
3. Who will the customers be and why would they pay? Moreover, we can look at hill stations as well, where helicopter services are already an
4. Also, do a guesstimate and calculate the market size for this service. acceptable mode of transport. For instance, religious places like Vaishno Devi.
Before I begin tackling all these issues, I’d like to ask a few clarifying questions about the Where would the destinations be for the helicopter rides in these cities?
company. What is the client’s objective behind doing so? Are there any specific metrics the If we consider the example of recently started helicopter rides in Bangalore, the proposed
client is looking to track to check their progress?
advantage is dodging the infamous traffic of the city. We can leverage such advantages in all
The client is simply looking to start this new service and make money. these cities and target the highly frequented decisions. For instance, in Mumbai, we can
start rides from the city to airport or from the city to Khandala and nearby tourist
Alright. And is the client looking to start this business in India only or should I consider
destinations. In Delhi, the obvious trip is from the city to Gurgaon, but we need to consider
international operations? that the metro infrastructure in Delhi is very good. So, we can target the popular
India only. destinations from Delhi such as Jaipur, Agra, etc. In hilly areas, we can obviously offer time-
saving and quick transport.
Alright. And what does the client do currently?
Great points! Please move ahead.
Why do you think that is relevant here?
I am trying to understand the starting point for the client. For instance, I would like to Sure. Since there would be very high costs involved, the customers would come from the
understand whether the client owns a fleet of helicopters or is there a plan to lease these ultra-rich class of the population, at least to begin with. We can divide India’s population in
vehicles? 60-30-10, i.e., Poor-Lower Middle, Upper Middle, and Rich class. I would say that
considering this is a new service and high costs are involved, the early adopters would come
You can assume that we have money. There is no other information that I can help you with. from only half of the rich class, i.e. only 5% of the population, at most.
Sure, I’ll just take a minute to structure my thoughts before I begin with the analysis. Great! Can you tell me why customers would pay for this service?
Sure. I’ll leave the room for five minutes. I hope that’ll be enough for you to find the Since the customers would come from the ultra-rich section, they would be willing to pay
answers. for the time-saved and convenience on offer.
(Upon the interviewer’s entry) I think that the major advantage of the proposed service
would be the time saved and of course the luxury and convenience on offer.
Sure. Please move on to the next questions. Where would you start this service?

Uber for Helicopters Market Entry | Challenging | GEP (Partner)
I want to say that these would be people who take chartered flights or always travel
Fair enough. Let’s move on to the guesstimate. No need to be very strict about the
business class. But since we started with the idea of ‘Uber’ of helicopters, I believe the
numbers. Just give me the approach with loose numbers and make assumptions wherever
motive should be to make the service as affordable as possible in the future.
necessary.
Great! That’s what I was looking for. We can close the case here. Thank you.
Sure. Let’s assume we are targeting 4 major cities. Considering Mumbai’s population is
approx. 2 crore, Delhi’s is a little more, and Bangalore’s is a little less, we can assume the
mean population to be 2 crores. That gives us a total target population of 8 crores. Again, I
would divide this population into buckets of 60-30-10 in terms of wealth or economic
prosperity. That leaves us with a population of 80 lakhs. Again, considering the nature of
this service, it’ll take time to pick up with customers. At the most, if we assume to bring
50% of this segment into the fold, we end up with a population of 40 lakhs.
Great! How will you price the service?
It has to be value-based pricing in this case. Let’s assume an average trip of 1 hour. Now, a
salary of 30-40 lakhs puts you in the upper class of Indian population comfortably. Since we
are targeting the ultra-rich section, I am going to assume an income around 60-70 lakhs,
(72) for convenience. This gives us a monthly income of 6 lakhs or 20,000 per day. If we
assume a workday of 10 hours, that leaves us with an hourly income of 2000. If it’s an hour-
long trip with a helicopter, it would save at least 3 hours for the customer. Therefore, we
can easily price the service at 8000-10000 rupees.
Nice points! Anything else you are missing?
Yes. We arrived at a population of 40 lakhs. Because we did not do age-segmentation, we

need to look at families. Assuming a family size of 4, we arrive at 10 lakh families. Not going
into the occupancy capacity of the helicopter, if we assume, on average, 2 members from
each family to become a customer in the first year, we arrive at a number of 10
lakh*2*10000, i.e., a market size of 2000 crores.
Wonderful! You have mentioned the ‘ultra rich’ section a couple of times. Can you tell me
some traits of this target segment? Like their profession or other traits?

Uber for Helicopters Market Entry| Challenging | GEP (Partner)
• The client wants to start an Uber for helicopters.

Case Statement • Need to answer multiple questions – including where will you start the service, who will the customers be and why will they pay.
• Also, a guesstimate of the market size is required.

Market Size
• Uber for helicopters
4 Major Cities
• No other information on offer. (8 Cr Population)
• Budget is not a constraint,
only the approach is required. 60% - 480 lakh 30% - 240 lakh 10% - 80 lakh
Poor & LMC Upper MC Rich
50% adoption
40 lakh
10 lakh families Price

(4 members each) Rs 10,000/ head
Market Size
Rs 2000 Cr
• Important to control nerves when the interviewer does not share any information. Keep in mind that if there is no information, they’re looking for the
Key Takeaways approach only.
• Always state your assumptions out loud and buy in the interviewers before proceeding.

IIMB Pricing Cases
2022-23

Pricing Framework
Market Price
Value to consumer
Profit to seller
• Brand Pricing
GAP
• Quality
• Innovation
• New-found utility
Inward Looking External Looking
Cost
Cost Based Benchmarking Value Based
Costs Returns Industry Features - Willingness to Pay

- Opportunity Costs
- Extrapolate Benefits
- R&D, one time costs - Markup - Structure
- Additional Features
- Production costs – - Margins - Feature of Others
Substitutes, - Differenciating sbenefits
Fixed & Variable - Breakeven Period
Complements or other - Others’ Price range
- Other specific costs - Payback Period proxies

Factory Owner Pricing | Easy | Bain (Partner)
Your client owns factories which they lease out to a manufacturing firm. They are currently This means additional annual savings of INR 5 Cr. Hence, the client can price the automated
exploring whether to automate the factory or not and, if so, the new pricing. Could you factory lease at an additional INR 1-5 Cr. You told me that we are already competitive in the
advise them on this? pricing; hence we will need to find a benchmark we can take to price between INR 1-5 Cr.
I would like to ask a few preliminary questions about the client. Could you let me know a bit That’s correct. Can you think of some options?
about their factories and current pricing system? Also, why are they looking into
I can think of 3 options:
automation?
1. Look in the past to see how price increases were negotiated and what might be the
The client owns three factories in Coimbatore and leases them to textile manufacturing appetite of the textile firm
firms. Their current pricing is an annual lease and is competitive with the market. The client 2. Try getting industry data on what are the percentage increase in lease prices when new
wishes to see if they can increase their profits with automation. Can you think about where efficiencies are introduced
all there will be cost reductions through automation? 3. Initially propose an increase of INR 1Cr with gradual increase of INR 50L each year
I would like to map this on the value chain. So, the factory process for the textile firms can That sounds good. Thank you for your time.
be broken down into raw material procurement, manufacturing, packing and distribution.
Through automation, they can probably reduce raw material and manufacturing expenses
(utilities and labour). However, they will find the increased fixed cost of investment and
maintenance as well.
That sounds correct. Can you now tell how they should go about pricing it?
So, I would start with floor pricing based on the increased cost. Do we have any information
on the cost of investment and maintenance of machines? There can also be increased
labour costs for operating new machinery.
Assume that the new machinery costs INR 2.5 Cr, with an annual maintenance cost of INR
50L. The net labor cost remains unchanged.
The client can look at spreading the cap-ex over 5 years. Hence the initial annual cost can go
up by INR 1 Cr. This would be the floor pricing. To get a ceiling, we need to know the
additional value generated by automation. Do we have any information on that?
Assume that the current margin of the firm is INR 50 Cr & automation would expand it by
10%.
Factory Owner Pricing | Easy | Bain (Partner)
Case Statement • Factory owner, leased out factories to textile firms

• Wants to know the change in pricing for automation

• Wants to increase revenues
from lease Raw material Manufacturing Packing Distribution
Value chain
• New machinery costs INR 2.5
analysis for cost • Reduction in raw • Unaffected
• Utilities • Utilities
Cr, with an annual saving material for new • Labor • Labor
maintenance cost of INR 50L automated
machines
Price floor Actual price Price ceiling
Pricing
Cost based Value based
Benchmark to set actual price
pricing pricing
Key Takeaways • Break down problems in structured way.

• Take regular interviewer buy-ins for all the assumptions which you make

New Medicine Launch Pricing | Moderate | McKinsey (Partner)
A Pharma company has developed a new product to control diabetes for patients in India Yes, the new product is superior to insulin.
and need your help in pricing it.
In that case, we should certainly price our product more than Insulin as we are providing
That’s an interesting problem. Can I ask some questions to better understand the client? more value than insulin. Again, how much should be the markup depends upon the
perceived benefits of our product amongst the consumers.
Sure, go ahead.
Yes, that’s correct, anything else you want to consider here?
What is the objective of pricing? Is it to maximize the profit or something else
Yes, we can also consider substitutes in the form of Ayurveda, Homeopathy which might eat
Yes, it is to maximize the profit.
up on our Market share if we price too high.
Can I have more details about the product? Basically, how it is different from normal insulin
That’s a fair assessment. Let's move on.
injection & information on how restricted its availability be i.e.. Will it be available over the
counter or requires a prescription? And how is the competitive landscape in the market Okay, now I want to consider how much value we are providing to the customer and how
much we can capture it. For that we can do price elasticity analysis of the product to arrive
It's an oral tablet instead of an injection and has lesser side effects. It'll be available over the
at a price which maximizes the profit and can also investigate Supply v/s Demand gap of the
counter and the market is highly competitive.
existing market to determine the best price of the product.
I want to breakdown the Pricing of the tablet into three broad strategies - 1) cost based 2)
Yes, that’s a detailed enough analysis. Let’s stop the case here.
Competitor based 3) Value based pricing
The final price will be dependent on all the three factors
Yes, that sounds fine. Why don’t you list down all the factors. I don’t want you to go into
details. Just tell me all the factors.
Okay, let me start with Cost based approach. Over here Total cost is composed of one-time
R&D costs + Cost of production which again can be divided into Fixed cost and Variable cost.
This along with our production volumes will give the minimum price for the tablet. We need
to now find profit margin in top of that. Profit margin can either be something company is
targeting, or we can use some proxy to find it.
Yes, that’s sound fair. Let’s explore other factors you have listed now.
So now we can look into competition and substitutes for our product and figure out a price
based on our product's position with respect to them. For that, I already have the
information on lesser side effects and the fact that medicine is in oral form which makes it
superior to the injection-based insulin. Is that fair to assume?

New Medicine Launch Pricing | Moderate | McKinsey (Partner)
• Oral tablet for diabetes patients

Case Statement • Lesser side affects
• High competition in the market

• Follow a qualitive approach Cost
rather than a quantitative
one
Fixed Cost Variable Cost
Sales and
RnD Salaries Depreciation Rent Sourcing Manufacturing Distribution
Marketing
1. Cost of production - fixed cost and variable cost

Cost 2. R&D expenses
1. Competition: Insulin injection

2. Substitutes: Ayurveda, homeopathy
Pricing Competitor 3. Value Addition:
• Lesser Side affects
• oral tablets instead of injection
1. Willingness to Pay: Elasticity analysis
Value based
2. Supply and Demand tradeoff
• As interviewer hinted for qualitative discussion, the candidate made sure that all the factors were listed out before going in detail to anyone.
Key Takeaways • The interviewer was trying to speed up the case. Make sure that you are not taken aback by it
• My case ended abruptly when interviewer started asking me about one of my resume points, make sure that you are confident in such situations, and be thorough with
your resume. Don’t lose the structured approach even if you are asked a question from your resume.

Autism Digital Therapy Product Pricing | Moderate | McKinsey (Partner)
Your client has developed a new digital therapy product for autistic children. The product Then we will add variable costs and a desired profit margin on top of these. Is there any
imitates the therapy that is provided by a doctor in person through use of interactive data available on these figures?
videos, audiobots, games etc. How would you go about pricing the product? That’s good. The total fixed cost is known, but how would you go about arriving at the
Sure, I would like to ask a few preliminary questions about the product. Can the product be expected user base?
considered a replacement of therapy through doctors, or how is it different from it? Also, We can look at the total market size and multiply with expected market share
what is the competitive landscape like?
So it is estimated that there are 5 million autistic children in India. How would you proceed?
The product reduces the need for doctor therapy as children can use it at home. Plus it can
also reach people who currently don’t have access to doctor therapy. Although doctors can I would like to compute the addressable market from this. I would like to apply filters of 1)
also use it to expand their reach through the digital solution, but here you can assume it income levels and 2) internet / tablet penetration and English-speaking population on this
reduces the need for doctor’s therapy by 50%. The product is available in English language total market size. Based on this we will reach at the following number for the total
and is used on a tablet. In terms of competition, you can assume there are 2-3 other similar addressable market-
new products in the market. No. of Internet/Tablet Penetration/ No. of
Income Levels Total
That is informative, thanks. I can think of three broad ways of pricing the product – 1) cost children English speaking Population children
based 2) competitor based and 3) value based. I can start off with value based as the value
Low Income (50%) 2.5 mn 10% 0.25 mn
of this product is directly equivalent to therapy. Is there info on the costs of normal doctor 2.15
therapy? Med Income (40%) 2 mn 70% 1.4 mn
mn
So, doctor therapy is very expensive and costs ~INR 3L per year, and doctors are very High Income (10%) 0.5 mn 100% 0.5 mn
scarcely available, which is why this product can reach out to those who cannot afford or Great, do you think this is the addressable market or would there be additional filters on
avail such services. this 2.15 million figure you have arrived at?
So, if the product can reduce the need for doctor therapy by 50%, it implies it can be priced Yes! We have to, now account for competitors and doctors also. Since this product
at INR 1.5L per year. But this is the upper limit as it would not solve the problem of competes with doctors also, they might create negative publicity for such a product. Given
affordability and scarcity of doctors, and this will not be competitive with other digital that this market would be split amongst 2-3 competitors and, also competing with the
therapy players. Next, we can look at benchmark pricing. Is there any info on their prices? doctors, we can aim to capture 25% of this, approximately 0.5 million.
No not really, it is a novel product and there is no info on other competitors' business plans. That’s very good. We are running out time. Are there any more filters you can think of?
Maybe you can focus on cost based instead.
Yes, other factors could be 1) people not willing to get treatment / social taboos 2) people
Sure. I would like to proceed by dividing costs into fixed and variable costs. The fixed costs opting for alternative treatments apart from conventional therapy.
would be amortized over multiple periods and divided with the user base to arrive at fixed
cost per user per year. Thanks. We can close the case here. It was a pleasure interacting with you.
Autism Digital Therapy Product Pricing | Moderate | McKinsey (Partner)
• Pricing problem for a digital therapy solution for autism

Case Statement • The product imitates the therapy that is provided by a doctor in person through use of interactive videos, audiobots, games etc. It is
available in English language and needs a tablet to be used

• Learn about the product first, Pricing
how is it different from
normal doctor therapy. The
value provided is similar to
conventional therapy, use that
for value-based pricing Competitor/ Substitute
Cost Based Value Based
Based
• For user base calculations, use

factors of internet and tablet
availability, and English- Fixed costs per year Novel product, no 50% of conventional
per user Variable costs therapy costs – INR
speaking population mature competition
1.25L
• Maintain balance between

qualitative and quantitative Total fixed costs per
approach. No of users
year
• Use the data provided by interviewer thoughtfully, factors of English language product and tablet were used later in interview
Key Takeaways • When interviewer is asking to list down factors, focus on qualitative aspects instead of quantitative numbers
• The pricing case ended with a mix of guesstimate and market sizing, do not rigidly stick to frameworks and focus on problem stated by interviewer

Tooth brush manufacturer Pricing | Moderate| Accenture (Buddy)
Your client is a toothbrush manufacturer. Their R&D division has come up with a product Competitor –based pricing: Since there’s no competition, it would not be relevant.
innovation which is a toothbrush which stays forever. They want you to analyze the pricing Value based pricing: This is the maximum price that the customer would be willing to pay
strategy for the toothbrush. based on the value that our product offers to them.
Since, the firm might want to capture most of the value for the innovation, can I go ahead
That’s interesting. Before I dive deeper into the analysis, I want to understand a bit more
with the value-based pricing.
about the context. Can I ask a few clarifying questions?
Please go ahead.
Sure go ahead.
I would also like to know more about the firm and the product. What products do they For calculating the value that the customer will gain out of the eternal toothbrush, I’m
assuming that the toothbrush will be used by only one person, because of hygiene reasons
currently manufacture and the geography they operate in?
and he/she uses it for the lifetime. Also, that there’s only one type for kids and adults.
The client only sells toothbrushes and has operations only in the US. I would like you to look
into the factors which influence whether the client should go ahead with the product You can proceed with the assumptions and one person uses the toothbrush for lifetime.
release.
The value of the toothbrush will be present value of all the toothbrushes the person will
We need to first analyse the customer need for the product, then the firm’s ability to buy in a lifetime. Assuming that cost of one toothbrush is $1, life expectancy is 70 years,
capture value and the ability to scale the manufacturing. And the differentiating feature the and one person replaces toothbrush once in 3 months. Assuming a discount rate of 7%, the
product has over the existing product which will increase willingness to pay. lifetime cost of toothbrushes will be around $57. We need to price slightly lower than this.
No market study has been done for the product yet. What would be some of the pros and Suppose a competitor approaches you to buy this innovation for $10B, what is your
cons for the firm to introduce the product. suggestion to the client.
The pros will be the firm will be having the first mover advantage and will be a market Assuming US population of 300M, the market size is $17B considering only the US market
disruptor. The firm can use the existing expertise in the toothbrush manufacturing, and since the firm will have patents for this innovation and potential to expand in other
operators and marketing. The cons will be that we do not know the need for the product markets, the firm should not sell it for $10B. The growth depends upon the birth rates.
and the new product will be a one time sell and there is a cannibalization of the existing
traditional toothbrush business of the firm. Can you think of some ways the client can further their revenues from the product.
Please suggest the pricing strategy for the new toothbrush. Assume that the firm has spent The client first needs to focus on the US market and gain market share. The firm can also
on the R&D already and it is a sunk cost. think about selling the license for the technology. They can further expand to new
geographies and also can think of leveraging this technology in other products.
We can consider 3 types of pricing.
Cost base: This would be the minimum price that the client must charge the client Great recommendations. We can close the case now.
based on the costs incurred for R&D. Irrelevant as it is sunk cost.

Tooth brush manufacturer Pricing | Moderate| Accenture (Buddy)
Case Statement • Pricing strategy for an eternal toothbrush
• No competitors
Pricing
Market Size computation:
• R&D expenses are to be
assumed as sunk cost Population*toothbrush price
• Consider discounted Cost Based Competitor Based Value Based =300M*$57

cashflows =$17B
• Growth strategy framework Growth= birth-rate
Irrelevant as it is Calculated using
for recommendations on
stated by Irrelevant as the present value of
increasing the revenues
interviewer to there are no future expenditure
• Inflation factor can also be treat as sunk cost. competitors. on regular
No data available. toothbrush which is
considered in calculating the
present value 57$ (below eqn)
$" $" $"

𝑃𝑉 𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑡𝑜𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑏𝑟𝑢𝑠ℎ = $1+ + +⋯
("$%.%'/)) ("$%.%'/))^, ("$%.%'/))^('%∗.)
• The interviewer was impressed by the recommendation on how the value of the innovation can be increased by using the underlying technology in other
Key Takeaways products
• Ask for interview buy-in to your approach at every step. Don’t hesitate to give creative solutions or to derive insights from your experience.

Coca Cola Pricing Pricing | Moderate | GEP (Associate)
Your client is Coca Cola. The firm is planning to increase the price of it’s product. What We have data regarding the market share and the price points, in order to figure out EF I
would you advise them? would go ahead with a comparative analysis. Can you give me some regarding how our
market share or growth rate will be affected if we increase the price
So before going ahead I would like to ask some preliminary questions to have a clear idea of
the problem statement. Can I go ahead with my questions? It is a valid question. We have data insights from the industry analysis that increasing the
price by Rs4 will reduce the growth rate from the current 6% to 1% per year.
Sure you can.
So can you tell what is the objective of the firm in increasing the prices? Has there been That is a useful insight. So considering that our variable costs won’t change since we are not
change in the products for the change in pricing? making changes in volumes of production or the process. I am not sure about the exact
market size of the carbonated drinks market that Coca Cola is into so I will assume a market
They want to increase their revenue. That is the only reason for the price increment. There size of 2 billion. Can I go ahead with these assumptions in mind for the analysis?
has been no change in pricing
Yes you can go ahead with these assumptions.
Fair enough. Coca Cola has a large product mix including PET Bottles, cans, etc. The price
increment is applicable to which of these and in which geography? Also do we have any So in the case that we change the pricing:
data with regards to how much is the current price and how much increment is the firm EF = 2 bn * 0.5 * 0.01 * 27 = 0.27bn
planning? If we don’t increase the pricing:
EF = 2 bn * 0.5 * 0.06 * 23 = 1.38bn
Answering your first qs, they are planning this pricing change in India and for the canned So increasing the pricing doesn’t seem like a good decision given that there is a drastic
beverages. The current price is Rs 23/can and the increment is Rs 4/can. change in growth rates. Does the analysis look intensive enough or do you want me to
Great, the data gives me a more clear picture. I would like to know If we have any data consider some other approach?
regarding Coca Cola’s market share and also the Competitor landscape. No your analysis looks good. Can you tell me when would be the pricing change justified ?
Sure. Currently Coca Cola has 50% of the market share. It’s main competitor is Pepsi which Sure. Given that we are not making any changes in the product currently, an upgrade in the
holds about 45% of the market share and the remaining 5% is with local fragmented can design, beverage quantity or a new product variation can help justify the price increase
players. as these factors can help us expand the market share itself and also give a boost to the
So now that I have a clear idea about the company and it’s competitors. I would like to look growth rate which is forecasted to be 1% post pricing changes are implemented.
at the Economic feasibility involved in hiking the price. Can I go ahead with this approach? Fair Enough. We can end the case here. It was a good discussion.
Yes. It sounds good to me. Tell me how would go about evaluating the economic feasibility.
Sure. Firstly, Economic Feasibility can be stated as:
EF = [Market size * Market share * Growth rate * (Price – Variable Cost)}

Coca Cola Pricing Pricing | Moderate | GEP (Associate)
• Evaluate if increasing the price would be a feasible decision for Coca Cola
Case Statement • Price change to be applicable in India for their canned beverages
• Client wants to increase their revenues

• Market share of Coca Cola –
Pricing
50% Options
• Main competitor Pepsi holds
45% market share
Maintain Current
Increase Prices
• Current price of Can products Prices
is Rs 23. Price to be increased
by Rs 4 Growth for next year – 6% Growth for next year – 1%
• Current YoY growth of Coca Price – Rs 23 Price – Rs 27
Current Market share 50% Current Market share 50%
Cola is 6%
• If Pricing change is
implemented the growth rate
Economic Feasibility / Rev projections = Economic Feasibility / Rev projections =
2Bn * 50% * 0.06 * 23 = 1.38Bn 2Bn * 50% * 0.01 * 27 = 0.27Bn
falls to 1%
• Details about objective, product, competitor landscape, current pricing and growth rate should be asked in the beginning
Key Takeaways • Confirm with the interviewer at each step if your approach seems logical. Voice any assumptions that you are making or ask for any data you feel
necessary to go ahead with your analysis
• Have a set of preliminary questions and framework draft in your mind. Navigate the framework as you proceed with the case.

IIMB Growth Strategy Cases
2022-23

Growth Strategy Framework
PRODUCTS
Existing New
• Market growth rate lower • Product - Market growth rate

than management’s growth lower than management’s
expectations 1. Market 4. Diversification growth expectations
New
• High market share w.r.t. • Management’s objective
closest competitor Development Strategy • High concentration in a
• Concentrated in a small Strategy single product/ category
market • Diversification strategy case!!
• Demand in other markets
MARKETS
• Typical Market Entry Case!! Four

Growth
Strategies • Market growth rate lower
than management’s
Existing
• Market growth rate in line 2. Market 3. Product growth expectations

• Product in maturation or
with management’s growth
expectations
Penetration/ Development decline phase
• Low market share w.r.t. Entry Strategy Strategy • Product Launch Case!!
market leader
• Growth rate w.r.t competitor
• A derived profitability case!!

Growth Strategy Framework (Alternate)
Preliminary Questions
Growth
• Clarify objective and quantum of
growth, timeline
Core Activities Non-Core
• Business Model – Where does (Profit metric) Activities
the firm lie in the value chain?
What are its revenue streams
and distribution channels?
Product Mix #Units sold Profit/ Unit - Lease space,
• Understand customer segments capacity for
advertising, rentals
• What is the product mix? Any - Value Added
differentiating/ new features in Market Size Market Share Revenue/Unit Cost/ Unit Services
products?
• What is the competitive Inorganic Organic Organic Inorganic

landscape? - Can price be
increased? Inelastic
demand, monopoly - Value Chain Analysis,
M&A - Bundling Process Innovation
- Improvise Customer - Acquire
journey - Price Discrimination - Strategic vertical
emerging
- Increased branding integration
competitors, - Cross Selling
- Omnichannel, O2O substitutes
- Upselling
- Improve Customer - Develop E2E
Retention skills

iPhone Manufacturer Growth Strategy | Easy | BCG (Partner)
Your client is an iPhone manufacturer based out of Germany. Post covid they are facing a I will start by looking at the entire value chain. Procurement of raw material-> Inbound
huge spike in demand and are not able to meet it with the current capacity. What should Logistics->Manufacturing->Outbound Logistics. In case of setting up plants in Germany, we
they do to ensure that demand is met as soon as possible? already have a network of suppliers and logistics, hence we will focus on finding land,
setting up plants and hiring labor. In other cases, we need to start by finding reliable
Thanks, understood. I have a few preliminary questions to understand more about the
suppliers, focusing on high quality, low cost, mutual relationship, contract terms. Then we
company and the situation at hand. Where does the client lie in the value chain? Also, does will look at the plants, labor, capacity utilization. This will be followed by outbound logistics,
it cater to the demand of only Germany or some other countries too?
where we will look at export duties and ensure the safety of the products.
Okay. The client only manufactures the iPhones and caters to the demand globally. So what would be your final basis of decision?
Thank you. Can I know about the number of plants it has and the capacity utilization of First, we will eliminate the options which have high regulatory restrictions- Taiwan. Between
each? I am asking this to know if we can increase our current capacity or if there is a need to the other two options, we will see which one costs us less to produce and also provide us
set up new plants. an opportunity to expand, for example if we manufacture in India, we might be able to
Good question. So we are confused among 3 options. 1. Set up units in Germany, 2. focus more on capturing more market share. All this clubbed with the ease of setting up the
Manufacture in India, 3. Manufacture in Taiwan. Please evaluate these 3 options for me. operations will lead to our final decision.
For evaluating these options we should look at three things. 1. Regulatory restrictions, in Very well. Thank you.
which I would look at the FDI norms, labor laws, export rules and also the economic stability
and mutual ties between the countries. 2. Financial feasibility, in which I will look at the
various costs that we’ll incur- Fixed costs and variable costs and the corresponding profits. 3.
Operational feasibility in which I will evaluate the ease of operational setup in each option.
Okay, Why don’t you rank the three options based just on the restrictions?
Sure. Looking first at the Taiwan option, it should be ranked last based on the economic
instability and high barriers of entry and setup. For India, we’ll look at the FDI approval,
Export laws, labor laws, the mutual ties between the countries and if all that is in favor then
India would be a good option to consider. But India still ranks after Germany because all this
will take considerable amount of time.
Since we already have an existing infrastructure in Germany, we can leverage that and
expand in Germany itself.
Okay. How would you go about evaluating the operational feasibility?

iPhone Manufacturer Growth Strategy | Easy | BCG (Partner)
• iPhone manufacturer based out of Germany seeing sudden spike in demand

Case Statement • Evaluate 3 options of manufacturing in : 1. Germany 2. Taiwan 3. India
• Only 1 product : iPhones

• Implementation must be as Regulatory Restrictions Financial Feasibility Operational Feasibility
soon as possible
• Caters to the demand globally
• Focus on manufacturing only • Reliable suppliers ensuring
• FDI approval • Fixed costs: Land,
• Export/import laws plants, machinery, raw material of high
• Labor laws labor wages, logistics, quality, low cost, close
• Economic stability storage vicinity
• Mutual ties between • Variable costs: Raw • Production: Cheaper land,
the countries material procurement, plants, hiring labor,
safety and quality capacity utilization,
check, transportation economies of scale
losses, export duties • Safety in the mode of
transportation, minimum
transit losses
Key Takeaways • Take your time to think through each step, the partner wants you to think and then speak
• While giving the final solution give a quick recap of everything you have covered in the case

Increasing WhatsApp Pay Share Growth Strategy | Easy | BCG (Partner)
Your client WhatsApp has approached you to increase the Market Share of WhatsApp Pay Assuming that WhatsApp pay only provides transactions we can provide rewards system
from 0.2% to 5% in 2 yrs. something like google but we would be crediting a small amount back in the bank account
rather than any coupons etc. Additionally, we can also incentivize the customers by
Thank you for the case. Before we deep dive into the specifics, I have some preliminary dispersing bonus rewards for high frequency customers.
questions to better understand about the firm. Starting with the industry, may I know the
current competitors and their market shares? Coming to our client, can I assume that it Got it. Can you now suggest our client to increase its customer base now?
WhatsApp pay is currently providing peer to peer transaction services only? Also if there are
One of the distinct advantage in the favor of our client is its WhatsApp user base. With
any budget or resource constraints with our client?
approx. 2 billion users, our client can push sell its pay feature to its new users. This can be
You can assume Google Pay has 31%, Paytm with 45%, Phone Pay with approx. 10% market done by quick onboarding status nudge and some joining rewards.
share. Yes, assume the current services provided by WhatsApp. and there are no budget Another option can be of a WhatsApp pay app. You mentioned the client has no budget
restrictions from client side. restrictions so we can develop a standalone app which will enable our client to include
additional features like bookings, bill payment etc. Options of multiple offerings could really
Thank you for the information, it was quite helpful. Can I take 30 sec to draft my approach? increase the current customer base exponentially.
Suppose that you are asked to provide recommendation on any of the above
Yes please take your time. recommendations which one would you prioritize? Remember the target is achieve 5% by
end of 2024
So growth in market share can be achieved through 2 ways either through acquisitions like
acquiring small players and integrating their customers, technology and offerings or through Got it. So one of the USP of WhatsApp pay it its seamless integration with WhatsApp. I
increasing our own usage. Would you like me to focus on either one of the two? would suggest if we can add in a bit more features in the same platform and incentivize
users to drive to payments through WhatsApp. That should help us achieve the required
You can start with suggesting ways of increasing apps usage target. Another benefit with this would be that cost or investment required as compared to
other option would also be substantially less
Based on my understanding, we can either increase the revenue per customer or increase
Great we can close the case now.
the customer base itself. Under increasing revenue we can look for adding usage charges or
transaction cost (Service Charge) but since there is already an intense competition we
cannot go ahead with this but we can find ways to increase transactions per customer.
With the limited offerings that WhatsApp pay provides how do you plan to increase
transaction per customer?

Increasing WhatsApp Pay Share Growth | Easy | BCG (Partner)
Case Statement • Your client, WhatsApp wants to increase the market share of WhatsApp Pay
• Need to devise a growth strategy to increase its share from 0.2% to 5% in 2 yrs.

Growth
• Current Market Share for our
client is 0.2% in 2yrs. Organic Inorganic
Growth Growth
• Current competitors Google
Pay has 31%, Paytm with 45%, Acquiring Small
Revenue #Customers
Phone Pay has 10% Players
• There aren’t any budget #Transactions per

Price Customer Existing App New App Mergers
constraints from client side
Transaction Bundling Marketing via WhatsApp
Cost WhatsApp Pay App
Service Rewarding Adding

High Freq. Nudging
Charge Features
Transactions
Keywords
Cashbacks
• The interviewer was keen on understanding the various splits I made especially the one with Acquisitions
Key Takeaways • Leveraging WhatsApp for marketing to move the current user base to WhatsApp pay
• The long term solution of a standalone App could be more explored upon

Express Logistics Company Growth Strategy | Moderate | Kearney (Partner)
Your client is a surface express logistics company, and it is looking for recommendations to Yes. The client is inclined towards a market penetration approach.
increase their market share. Okay, to ensure a successful market penetrations I would like to look at the demand side
Thank you for the case statement, can you help me understand what we mean by an and the supply side of the client’s operations. The demand side for the client would be # of
“Express Logistics” company? Does our client run a B2B or B2C model? customers served in the current geography and # of repeat orders. The supply side would
comprise, presence of infrastructure, i.e., network of hubs and spokes, delivery trucks
Sure. An express logistics service provider allows smaller consignment sizes of 30-150kg (carriers), last mile delivery agents, etc. to fulfill demand. Is that a fair approach?
where as traditional cargo carries would require renting an entire carrier (6/7T). Express
services therefore are better suited to B2C but can also indulges in B2B like traditional Yes. We may want to delve deeper into the supply side.
services. Sure, do we have data points on the number of hubs and spokes/ customer touch points
Thank you! In the interest of our discussion, I would like to ask some preliminary questions operated by us versus our competitors? Do we know if the client’s pan India presence is
around the client’s operations. skewed to a particular geography?
Yes, go ahead. Good questions. We have 28 hubs and 300 branches across the nation, whereas our
competitors have 40+ hubs and 500+ branches. It is also observed that the client’s presense
Thank you! Do we have information regarding, the market position of our client? The largest
is greater in the western part of India.
revenue contributing sectors to our client’s business? The operating span of the client?
I believe this is the root cause of our client’s share not increasing sufficiently among the
Our client is not a market leader in the space. It has been seen for market leaders that 50%
competition. Given adequate investments, the client should plan to increase customer
of business is driven by SMEs while in out client’s case it is only 30%. Such businesses are touch-points in the Eastern part of the country through franchise contracts. They should
run using a hub and spoke model and the client's services are available across the country. also hire contractual riders for last mile delivery. The client’s presence should meet that of
Okay. Evidently the client has some ground to cover with SME businesses. Do we know if the competitors. They should also convey their better than competition price-service
the portfolio of services that the client provides matches the competitors? Does it want to proposition to customers and businesses. These measures should help them capture more
improve services offered? How is their pricing against competitions propositions? business from SMEs and meet business mix benchmarks set by current market leaders.
Detailed research show that the client’s service fulfillment feedback is better than That sounds good. This will be all. Thank you.
competition, but the services are priced consistent with competitors. Thank you for you time.
Interesting, even with better service feedback at the same prices the client is gaining market
share. For the interest of further discussions, I would like to pursue the possibilities of
market development or market penetration for the client as their product is already up to
the mark now. Is that a fair approach?

Express Logistics Company Growth Strategy | Moderate | Kearney (Partner)
• The client is a surface express logistics company

Case Statement • They are pursuing market leader status
• Recommend a growth strategy for the client

Market Penetration
• Client fulfils requests pan-

(Existing Market + Existing Product Mix)
Growth
India
Strategy
• 30% of business is contributed
by SMEs compared to 50% of Demand Supply
market leader’s business
Existing
• Product mix adequate New Market
• Client leads in service-price Market
proposition # Customers Frequency of order Infrastructure
• Footprint is biased towards
west India Existing Existing
• # of hubs and spoke lower Product Mix Product Mix Physical touch-
than competition B2B points (Hub and
Spoke Model)
New Product New Product
Mix Mix
B2C
Last mile delivery
Key Takeaways • Pan-India presence does not ensure equally able and efficient pan-India service, the client’s operations were concentrated in the West
• Better product proposition will not convert into market shares if organisation does not have adequate infrastructure across serviceable geography

Fantasy Sports Company Growth Strategy | Moderate | Bain (Partner)
Going back to our calculation we had around 200 Mn eligible players. I assume around 10 %
Have you heard of Fantasy Sports companies? Imagine that your client is a PE-VC firm and
of intent among males and 2 % of intent among females. That would translate to around 12
they want to understand the growth potential of Dream 11, a fantasy sports company.
Mn players of Fantasy sports (Male : Female ratio assumed was 1:1 here). If this seems
Okay. So, before structuring the problem and analysing the case, I have a couple of clarifying alright, I will require the percentage of active users *average spend per session * avg no. of
questions. Can I go ahead and ask those questions? sessions per active user. Further, I would check the growth potential of the market
Sure, go ahead. Fair enough, the metrics seem to be exhaustive but why don’t you make reasonable
estimates for the above metrics. The growth rate seems to be steady and assume CAGR of
I would want to understand the business model of a typical Fantasy sports company to
over 15 % for this industry. The average spend per event is around Rs. 100
begin with. Also, which countries is Dream 11 present in and what % of the Fantasy sports
market does it currently have access to? I am aware that with e-commerce firms the conversion seems to be about 20-25 %. For a
fantasy sports company, it would be around 50%. The number of paid events per year would
There are 2 models here: 1. Free: No winning price or entry fee is required to participate in
be 0 for free users. For the remaining 50% it would be 10 per year for amateur users (40%)
fantasy sports contests.
and 50-100 per year for frequent players (10%). The numbers I have used as reference are
2. Premium: A bounty-based model where an entry fee is to be paid and the winner or top
the sporting events happening annually in India (domestic + international matches)
rankers take a lucrative amount based on their rank in the fantasy league
Currently, Dream 11 is present only in India and 80% of it’s business is from cricketing Seems fair, in the interest of time let’s now skip to the operational risks.
fantasy leagues. You can assume it is the market leader with 60% share.
1. Legal–betting/gambling-related regulations could dismantle the industry. Currently,
Thanks a lot for the information. Going forward I would like to break the case into 3 parts : fantasy sports are seen differently from betting.
(1) Revenue sizing of Dream 11. (2) Operational barriers/risks (3) Growth opportunities 2. Social- Post covid, the tendency to engage in online gaming could be lower and social
concerns around betting can be a concern in some states
Sounds good. Let’s begin with market sizing of the firm and then move on to the others
3. Threat of new entrants and substitutes as the business seems to thrive on the basis of
Given India’s population in 1.3Bn, an Internet penetration of 50% and assuming the age having a huge user cohort to subsidize the winners
group of 18-40 to be around 30% of the population. We have around 200 Mn eligible
Excellent, now say that the industry is in fact a winner takes all industry and as you
players. I would next look at the intent among male and female participants separately.
mentioned has a low entry barrier. How can Dream 11 ensure sustained competitive
Ok, now how would you estimate the conversion from eligibility to actual players on Dream advantage and revenue ?
11 ?
Increasing either the user count or ARPU (Avg. revenue per user). For user count – increasing
Income segmentation seems like a good way to begin with, but a more reliable substitute or the number of sports and international expansion can be explored. Tie-ups with OTT
estimate might be subscribers of Hotstar who actually invest into streaming sports online. streaming can also help net in new users. For ARPU, advertising revenue, bundling of events
and a laddered incentive scheme for users to continue playing on the platform.
That is what I was looking for. Let’s get back to the calculation now.
Well done. We can close the case now. Thanks.

Fantasy Sports Company Growth Strategy | Moderate | Bain (Partner)
• Analyzing the market attractiveness of an Indian Fantasy sports company and suggesting ways to increase revenue. The analysis is to be
Case Statement done from the point of view of a PE-VC firm that is the client
• For the interview, the bounty- Market

based model is of concern. Attractiveness
Players pool in their money
and the top rankers win an
amount from that bounty
• 80 % of business comes from

televised cricket matches Market Size Barriers/ Risk
during which Dream 11 hosts
events
• The CAGR of the industry is

15%. Industry is attractive
#Users * ARPU Growth (CAGR) Porter’s/ PESTEL
• ARPU per event Rs.100
• The candidate took sufficient time to understand the business model of a fantasy sports company
Key Takeaways
• The case was conversational but at the same time the candidate took buy-in on assumptions at each stage and clearly stated the framework he was
following

Pharmaceutical Company Growth Strategy | Moderate| Accenture (Buddy)
Your client is a Pharmaceutical Company. They are facing stagnant growth since past 6 Would look at this from two sides, one is acquiring new customers through organic and
months. They need your help in improving the growth. inorganic ways. The other is to look at old customers and resolve if they are facing any
I would like to first know, whether it is a company specific stagnation. What products do we problem. In organic ways, I would consider Affordability, Availability, Accessibility,
manufacture? Also, need some details about the value chain and geographies in which we Awareness. We are already affordable. To make products more available, we can sell
operate. What is the objective in improving the growth? through online websites. We can hire more Market Reps to improve awareness. In inorganic
ways, we can consider joint venture or acquisition of companies which are doing well in
The company manufactures Medical Devices and OTC drugs. Other companies are doing rural markets. Do we have any information if the existing customers have any problem?
fine. Company operates in Russia and India. Its R&D is in Russia and rest of the value chain
is separate in both the countries. The main objective is to improve the revenues. Really liked all the different aspects you are looking into for improving the growth. We
observed that the number of existing customers is dropping and we don’t know the cause
Can I get some details on the competitive landscape, USP, and major customer segments?
exactly. Can you please think why we are facing drop in existing customers?
It is an oligopoly market with few major players. We are one of them. Our USP in India is the
low price that we offer whereas in Russia we provide advanced devices. We are a B2B I would like to divide the issue into supply side and customer side. Do we know if there is
business with 95% of the customers from Urban. The products are for everyone. any issue with supplying the products required by existing customers?
I would like to first focus on India and then if time permits, we can look into Russia. In India, No, there is no issue with supply side. You can focus on the demand side.
we can either focus on existing products or try to introduce new products. Like, right now On the demand side, we can look into pre-service, during service, post service. In the pre-
we are just having common drugs, we can plan to manufacture very specific drugs for other service, I would divide into need, awareness, affordability, accessibility and availability.
illnesses. If we consider only the existing products, then we can look into either market During service, I would divide into cost and benefits associated. Post service, I will look at
penetration or market diversification by going to other markets. Do we have any returns. Do you want me to focus on any one part?
information why couldn’t enter the rural market?
You can look at the pre-service and particularly the awareness part.
I liked the way you are approaching the problem. We currently only have 5% customers
from rural market. The major reason is that most the rural drugs and devices are through We can look at both internal and external factors. Internal factors include any change in
government contracts for which we need political connections. As of now, I would like you number of market representatives(MRs), change in incentive structures to market
to focus on the market penetration. representatives, hiring and firing of MR. External factors include competitors and their
Revenue = #hospitals/medical shops/labs * revenue/customer. To increase revenue from awareness activities. Did we recently see any changes in any particular mentioned headers?
each of them, we can either use upselling or cross selling by selling high end products or Yes, some of our existing Market Representatives have left and we had to hire new Market
selling other similar products. Which part of the equation do you want me to focus upon? Representatives. We observed that these new hires were unable to maintain the
relationship with existing customers. Due to which, there was a drop in #existing customers.
You can focus on the number of medical shops and see what can be done. It was nice interacting with you. Really liked your thought process and structured approach.

Pharmaceutical Company Growth Strategy | Moderate | Accenture (Buddy)
Case Statement • Pharmaceutical company is facing stagnant growth since past 6 months.
• Objective is to increase growth by focusing on revenues.

Growth
• Operates in Russia and India
• Oligopoly market New Products Existing Products
• Manufactures common OTC

drugs and medical devices. Revenue/
# Customers
Customer
• B2B company with 95% of the
customers from urban cities.
Existing
New Customers
Customers
• In India, USP is the low prices.
Supply
Organic Inorganic Demand Side
Side
Pre-Service During Service Post-Service
• At every step, MECE is must. Try to divide into various headers and mention them to take buy-in from the interviewer.
Key Takeaways • Ask the interviewer if you should focus on particular headers and follow in that path.
• Ask all the required questions to understand the context fully which include Company, Competitors, Customers and Products.

E-commerce Client Growth | Moderate | Strategy& (Director)
Your client is a US based company who has 2 business verticals under them, with one of Our clients customers are usually people living in duplex houses. Since our client sells
them being e-commerce. The head of the e-commerce vertical is looking at growing the backyard products, their customers generally tend to have bigger houses with backyards.
business and increasing profitability and has approached you for the same. Thanks, I have got all my questions clarified. Shall I proceed with looking to increase
To reiterate the problem statement, our client is the head of e-commerce vertical of a US profitability first and then evaluate the growth strategy?
based company and wants to focus both on growth and increasing profitability. If my Let us first look into the growth strategy and then go ahead with profitability.
understanding is correct, can I please proceed with a few preliminary questions to
understand our client. What kind of products do our clients sell and to which geographies Sure. So we can look at four aspects in the growth strategy. One way would be to look into
do they cater? Also, what is their current market share? product diversification. Since we deal with seasonal products, diversifying our product mix
would help us generate more sales all round the year. Alternatively, we can also look into
Our client has a seasonal business and sells mostly backyard products like lawn mover and product development where we can work on building different varieties of the products we
barbeque products. They currently cater to the entire US market and have recently have based on customer preference and try to tap the untapped market. Another way
expanded to EMEIA as well. Their market share in EMEIA is less than 1%. would be to expand to other geographies like we did with EMEIA. Another alternative
What part of the value chain does our client operate in and how does their distribution would be to increase the penetration of the products in the market. This can be done by
channel look like? Does our client sell only online or have brick and mortar stores as well? targeting other customer segments than the ones we cater to currently.
Our client majorly deals with retailing, that is they buy, store and sell the products. They Okay great, you have covered all the aspects comprehensively. Lets look into profitability
have a purely online mode of business and do not own any brick and mortar stores. now.
Sure, profits can be increased by increase in revenue or decrease in costs. Would you like
Does our client have any target growth numbers in their mind? By how much do they want
me to look into any of these parameters or dive deep into both?
to increase their profitability?
Let us focus on costs first and then move on to revenue. Can you list all the costs that our
The growth rate of our client currently is 10% and they’re looking to increase it to 30%. Our
client would incur?
margins are also currently 10% and we’re looking to increase it to 15%.
The major costs our client would incur will be procurement of raw material, inbound and
What does the competitive landscape of our client look like?
outbound logistics cost including last mile delivery, warehousing costs, after sales services.
70% of the market is catered by mom and pop stores. Of the remaining 30%, a major chunk You have covered all the costs. Let us look into increasing revenue now.
is served by big box retailers like Walmart who have both brick & mortal as well as e-
commerce channels. You can imagine our client to be a watered down version of Amazon in Revenue can be increased by increasing our customer base, increasing the price of the
terms of scale and size. products or by increasing the frequency of purchase per customer. But since these are
seasonal backyard goods with warranty, households would not tend to buy them often.
What customer segments does our client cater to? Hence, increasing the frequency of purchase does not seem viable.

E-commerce Client Growth Strategy | Moderate | Strategy& (Director)
Sounds good, you were talking about increasing the price. How would you go about pricing
the product.
We can sell our products based on the customer value that would be generated out of it.
Since our customers are typically the higher income segment, they do not tend to be as
price sensitive. Since the market is fragmented and our client does not have a huge market
share we would need to benchmark against the competitors to some extent. But the pricing
can be done based on the customer value.
Great, that would be all. It was nice talking to you.
Thank you, Sir. It was nice meeting you as well.

E-commerce Client Growth Strategy | Moderate| Strategy& (Director)
Case Statement • US based e-commerce company

• Wants to evaluate growth options and increase profitability

Profit
• Seasonal backyard products
like lawn mover and barbeque Growth
grills Costs Revenue
• Presence in US and recently
expanded to EMEIA
• Target growth 30% and target Market Product Procurement of raw # of Frequency
Price
profit margin 15% materials customers of purchase
• High income population with
houses big enough to have a
Inbound &
backyard Geographical Product Customer Value
• 70% of market captured by Outbound logistics
Expansion Diversification
mom & pop stores
Warehousing Benchmarking
Market Product
Development Development
After sales service
• The interviewer wanted to test if the candidate will critically analyse all available options. List down all alternatives and reason out why one should
Key Takeaways prefer or not prefer that alternative.
• The interviewer also did not want to arrive at the root case of increasing profitability. He just wanted to check if the candidate can list down all drivers.

French Newspaper Distributor Growth Strategy | Moderate | Strategy& (Manager)
Your client is a newspaper distributor company in France. The client’s business is facing I feel that with the shift towards digital technology, more customers are consuming
stagnation. They have asked you to evaluate and diagnose their current situation and information through digital channels and thus their preferences are changing. Further, this
provide recommendations. could have led to an overall stagnation of newspapers market.
Interesting problem. In order to understand our client and their business better, I would like The reasons provided by you are quite comprehensive. In fact, as you rightly mentioned,
to ask certain preliminary questions. there are multiple external factors are leading to the stagnation, the foremost being the
shift in consumer preference towards digital over physical newspapers. What all factors, no
Sure, go ahead. need to provide numbers, would you consider to project the future decline in the market
size of newspapers in France ?
I would like to first understand the product mix as what kind of newspapers does our client In order to project the decline in future, I would first start by find out the current market
deal with as well as the key customers our client caters. As a distributor, I believe our client size of newspapers in France. To estimate the current market size, I would start with the
can either directly cater to end customers, or they may cater to intermediatory like shops or population and households of France, literacy rate, physical newspaper preferences and
both. consumption patterns. Once I have the current market size, I would project it in future
Good question. The client is one of the largest distributors of a famous National French based on the annual percentage shift in consumers form physical to digital. Further, I would
also take into account the changing demographics and the willingness to shift form physical
newspaper. All the sales for our client are through local stalls and shops.
to digital.
I would like to understand the reason behind the stagnation. In order to do that, I would like
Good. A survey done by our client indicates that the annual shift in customers form physical
to know the current competitive landscape in France and if our competitors are also facing
newspapers to digital mediums is expected to increase YoY due to availability of better
similar stagnation in growth.
digital substitutes. What short-term and long-term strategy would you recommend to the
While there exists competition from various distributors, our client is the market leader client to remain relevant and profitable in the industry ?
when it comes to distributing the National French Newspaper to local stalls. Similar
In the short term, the client should focus on their existing newspaper distribution business
stagnation is being faced by other players as well. What do you think could be the reasons
behind this stagnation ? to sustain their current revenues. At the same time, considering the projected future
decline of the newspaper industry, they need to diversity their scope in the long term.
There can be reasons internal as well as external to our client. Since our client operates in
the distribution part of the Newspaper industry value chain, Internal factors such as 1. Alright. What steps can the client take to grow the business in the short term ?
choice of channels, 2. Supplier & Buyer Contracts 3. Planning & Optimization 4. Training & The client can explore new customers. Currently they are only catering to local stalls. They
Commitment of workforces etc. But since other players are also facing similar stagnation, I can target corporate customers like cafes, airports etc. as such locations also require daily
assumed that External factors would be the reason behind the stagnation like 1. Market size newspapers. Further, the client can diversity their product portfolio by leveraging their
stagnation, 2. Change in customer preferences, 3. Regulations, 4. Demographic factors and existing distribution network. In addition to the French national newspapers, they can start
5. Technological factors. distribution of popular local and international newspapers. And lastly, the client can

venture into new nearby geographies to increase their customer base. These steps would The client can set up reverse logistics to buy back old materials from its customers. Selling
help the client to sustain their sales in the short term. However, more radical steps would the old material to recycling agencies in bulk may allow our client to develop a
be required, and the client should explore pivoting in order to grow in the future. simultaneous revenue stream as well as enable them to portray the image of a sustainable
distributor.
Alright. All the recommendations you mentioned make complete sense if the newspaper
market size was on a growing trend. As you rightly mentioned, these steps would not add Sounds good. We can close the case here. Thanks.
much value in the long term. What long term recommendations would you give to the
client?
Since the newspaper industry is projected to decline in the future, the client should start
looking for opportunities to diversify its distribution products. They can build upon their
already existing capabilities of distribution, supplier and customers to start venturing into
distribution of similar items such as magazines, journals, books etc. They can even venture
into distribution of dissimilar items. The key focus being on leveraging their already existing
capabilities as distributors.
Sure. Those are some good suggestions. One last thing, how should the client go about
reducing their costs for their current operations ?
As a distributor, I believe that our client’s major cost head would be logistics. Should I focus
on logistics or do you want me to consider other cost heads as well.
You can go ahead with logistics costs.
Sure. In order to reduce cost of logistics, our client can implement route optimizations
techniques in order to deliver more material with less resources. They can consider
different modes of transportation such as EV or even bicycles for short local distances. Since
items like newspapers hold no value once the day is over, accurate prediction of demand is
extremely important to prevent excess inventory. Therefore, they can implement accurate
newsvendor inventory models to purchase optimal inventory based on demand.
Great. The client can surely implement some of these suggestions. Do you have any other
recommendations for the client ?

• Client is a newspaper distributor in France

Case Statement • The business is facing stagnation in growth
• Diagnose the current situation and recommend solutions

Market Strategy
• Understand the key customers Market Size
Stagnation
• Industry wide issue
Internal External Short Term Long Term
Population
• Figure out the reason for the
Customer
stagnation in market Channels Target new Leverage existing
Preferences
customers capabilities
• Provide both short-term and Literacy
Supplier Demographic
long-term recommendations
Contracts Factors Diversify into
Product Mix
Buyer different products
Regulations Households
Contracts
Enter New
Planning and Technological Pivot
Geographies
Optimization Factors Physical Newspaper
Preference
Workforce Reverse Logistics
• The case required the candidate to analyse the problems from different lenses. No specific framework was used, however, small portions of different
frameworks seem to have helped the candidate
Key Takeaways • The preliminary questions could have been more exhaustive in order to understand the client better.
• It is always beneficial to have a hypothesis, in this scenario, since this was an industry wide issue, the candidate himself mentioned that it could be an
external issue.

Ministry of Railways Growth Strategy | Challenging | Strategy& ME (Buddy)
Your client is the Ministry of Railways, China. They oversee all rail networks in China, Makes sense. What other factors would you consider to decide on your final answer?
including infrastructure, operations and regulation. They oversee the working of 16 railway
I would check external factors like market attractiveness in terms of competition, suppliers
bureaus and 22 railway group companies. They are considering investment in a high-speed
for construction & operation of the new line, regulations, market size and customer
railway line between Beijing and Shanghai. Advice them if the project is go or no go.
behavior. I would also consider internal factors, namely operational feasibility, financial
Seems like an interesting problem. Could you tell me a little but about these two cities? feasibility and strategic viability with regards to the firm’s capabilities and resources.
What are the existing modes of transportation between them? Any USP that these cities
Let’s take each factor one by one. What would you check in operational feasibility?
have as compared to others?
I would look at the value chain in detail and check the distribution channels that I can
Sure. Beijing and Shanghai are 2 of the largest cities in China with dedicated Economic
leverage and if I can reuse existing machines or expertise of existing staff.
Zones. Currently, there is a regular railway line as well as a flight that operates between
these cities. What about financial feasibility?
Okay. And what is the added benefit that our high-speed railway line is going to provide? I would look at the fixed and variable costs first. Fixed costs would include infrastructure
Could you also tell me the price of a flight ticket and a ticket of the regular railway? Also, related costs, actual train cost, salaries of newly appointed employees and finances needed
what is the price point that we have decided for our new railway line? to develop online booking platforms, if needed. Variable costs would include fuel and
facilities cost. I would also analyze my sources of revenue to see how I can break even.
The regular railway line currently takes 12 hrs, while the flight takes 1.5 hrs. The new high-
speed rail line is going to take around 3 hrs to travel the distance. Price of a ticket is $250 Let me give you some data for reaching a breakeven point. Fixed costs are $2.5 bn. Variable
for the regular railway line and $500 for the flight. Regarding pricing for the high-speed rail costs are $50,000 per train per day. Assume that we are going with competitive pricing of
ticket, what would you recommend to do? $500 per ticket. Additionally, currently there are 20 flights operating per day with 150
passengers per flight.
Pricing can be done in 3 ways – Competitive pricing based on what our competitors (regular
railway/flight) are offering, cost plus pricing based on the margin that we want above the Assuming 30% net market penetration of flight passengers, the revenue we would generate
cost price and value-based pricing, for which we will need to assign a price to the additional per day = 0.3*150*20*$500 = $450,000. Variable cost would be $50000*number of trains
value we are providing our customers. running per day. If one train has a capacity of 150, and we need to make 20 trips (with each
trip taking ~5 hrs for the journey, including waiting time), we need to make 4 trips an hour.
Which one would you want to go with?
Hence, we need 4 trains to run everyday. So, variable cost = $50000*4 = $200,000. So, profit
Since alternate modes of transportation already exist on this route, I would like to go with per day is 450,000-200,000 = $250,000. Since fixed cost is $2.5 bn, break even point is
competitive pricing, with my competition being the flight operating between the cities. I 250,000/2,500,000,000 = 10,000 days = 10,000/360 = 27 years.
would want to price it close to $500, because although the actual flight time may be 1.5 hrs,
Now given that breakeven will happen in 27 years, what would be your recommendation?
airports require a lot of formalities as compared to railway stations which would increase
the time taken for the air journey close to 3 hrs too.

I would still go ahead with the investment, because aim of most governments, while
implementing such projects, is not breaking even. The goals can be political (such as
promises made during elections), economic (improving trade in the Economic Zones of the
two cities), Social (employment generation, improving the image of China in front of the
World) or Financial (extending the high-speed railways for transportation of goods,
improving customer penetration %), etc.
That’s sound judgement. We can close the case.

Case Statement • Analyzing feasibility of investing in a high-speed railway line in China

• Railway line to operate between Shanghai and Beijing

Introducing a new
• Chinese Railways Product
• Shanghai and Beijing –
Economic Zones, large cities
• Air travel, regular rail already
present in the route External/ Industry Internal/ Firm
• Pricing – 3 types Analysis Analysis
• External & Internal
Considerations
• Operational, Financial
feasibility – break even point
Porter’s 5 PESTEL & Other Operational Financial
Strategic Viability
Forces macro fators Feasibility Feasibility
Value Chain Breakeven

VRIN (O)
Analysis Analysis
Key Takeaways • Ask USP of introducing new solution/entering new market.

• In the financial analysis, try matching units to reach the breakeven point

IIMB M&A & PE Cases
2022-23

PE/VC Framework
Financial Feasibility Synergies and Business Model Exit Options and Risks
Acquired Firm's
Factors to be Financial Factors Synergies Business Model Exit Options Risks
Factors
evaluated for Market Size Unique Value Demand-side Company's
the time- Total Exit
(Guesstimate) Proposition Synergies Evaluation
period of Supply-side
investment Growth Rate Competitors Operations Partial Exit PESTLE
Synergies
Current Equity
Profitability Efficiency Synergies Financials IPO
Structure
Use information from above parameters to calculate Free Cash Flows (FCFs)
to estimate the valuation of the company being acquired
Factors needed to analyze a company

Structure Systems Style Staff
What structure do we need Business system needed to Analyzing Leadership style How should we help our
to execute the strategy? execute the strategy? and cultural qualities managers in their growth?
Strategy Structure Shared Values

What should we do to solve What structure do we need Current Values and culture
the business problem? to execute the strategy? of the firm

Healthcare Facilities M&A | Moderate | BCG (Manager)
Your client is a leading healthcare group, they are acquiring a standalone healthcare facility that they maintain the same patient centric service and goals. The integration should
and want your recommendation on the undertaking. ensure that the two hospitals are perceived as one entity.
Thank you for the case statement. I would like to ask a few preliminary questions to better Okay! What else do you want to look at?
understand the current state-of-affairs, use them to build an analysis of the situation and
As there is no significant overlap between departments, intra department integrations are
then proceed to the recommendation. Would it be correct to understand a health care
negligible. However, a protocol has to be drafted to standardize the operation of the ER
facility to be a hospital/clinic?
dept. in both hospitals with clarity of hierarchy across two hospitals. The Client should also
Sure and yes, we can consider the healthcare facilities to be hospitals for this discussions. refresh the organizational hierarchy with the acquisition of the new hospital, eg. absorbing
experienced and leading doctors from the daughter hospital into leadership roles.
Do we have more information on the proximity of the hospital to the Client’s hospital?
Fair, beyond the capabilities, culture and organisational structure what other things should
Both the hospitals are located in the same Tier 1 city, within 10km of one another.
be looked into.
The proximity of the two facilities will influence the key decision-making parameters for this
Yes. We would have to account for measures and expenses to amend all regulatory permits
acquisition.
like fire regulations, elevator operations, supply procurement tenders, tax documents and
Good. Which parameters will you use to judge the effectiveness of this acquisition? agreement with health care payers (public or private) under one name. Client also should
align all public relations, marketing communications to bear on identity for both hospitals.
For merger or acquisitions, we can split the parameter into soft factors such as such people,
culture, brand image, mission, vision, and hard factors such as due diligence around the Are there more bases to cover?
finances of the hospital, capabilities, organization structure, operating practices, Yes, I can also think that the client will have to update its Customer Relations Management
government regulations and permits, and other expenses such as marketing, etc. The systems, consolidate all patient database across the two hospitals and streamline processes
attempt would be to ensure that "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts”. Would you for appointment booking, emergency service assistance and delivery across the two
prefer I proceed along these line? hospitals for a seamless patient party experience. Is there anything I am missing?
Agreed. Due diligence on the finance and financial viability of the acquisition move have No, that is all. We will close the discussion here!
been approved. Let us check the other other dimensions one at a time.
Thank you for your time.
I would first like to know how many medical departments/ capabilities that the two
hospitals host. Do we know if they are similar of diverse?
Right! Emergency Ward (ER) is the only department common between the two hospitals.
This a good start. The acquisition of the two hospitals will bring more specialties under the
parent brand. Now I would look at the cultural sync between the two hospitals and ensure

Healthcare Facilities M&A | Moderate | BCG (Manager)
• The client is a leading healthcare provider, take hospital chains like Apollo Hospitals/ Narayana Healthcare group for example
Case Statement • It is acquiring another healthcare facility in its proximity
• What are some of the bases that they should cover as they make this decision

Factors for M&A
• The hospitals are in the same decision
city/town
• They do not have overlapping
capabilities except the ER Soft Factors Hard Factors
(emergency) department
• Cultural and people fit across
work location Organization Organization Operation PR (Public
• Need to align operations People Capabilities
Culture Hierarchy Protocols Relations)
• Need to maintain same
identity
• Ensure seamless experience Mission & Permits and Regulation
for patients Vision Updates
Patient Relations
• Ensure the benefits/ hurdles of all stakeholders involved in the business model are being accounted
Key Takeaways
• In mergers, identify the current attributes (location/ capabilities/ services/ positioning) that contributes to value of post-merger proposition being
greater than than the sum of individuals

Army Cantonment Hotel PE | Moderate| Accenture (Buddy)
Your client is a PE firm looking to invest in a hotel in India and need your help in figuring out I would like to look at the different revenue and cost streams for the hotel and come up
whether they should go ahead with it. with a valuation of the hotel based on expected cash flows and the discount rates to
account for time value of money. Revenue streams will include accommodation charges,
Thank you for the case. Before we deep dive into the case, I’d like to give a structure to the
food, laundry and other services. Cost stream will include fixed costs like staff salaries,
case and ask a few preliminary questions. Can you give me a brief idea about the client?
utilities, maintenance etc. and variable costs like grocery, house keeping expenses etc. Do
Sure, our client is one of the biggest PE firms in India and has a diverse portfolio. Lately, we have any idea around the different revenue and cost streams as well as discount rate?
they have been investing in a lot in real estate since they believe there is a significant You can assume accommodation charges to be the only source of revenue. Costs are
potential there for the next 10-20 years owing to rising population.
$30/night for an occupied room and $0 for an unoccupied room. Discount rates are not
Has the client already decided on the hotel that they want to invest in or are they yet to known. You can calculate the payback period on investment to evaluate financial
decide the same? attractiveness. If payback period is less than 7 years, the client is good to go.
Good question. The client has actually already decided on the hotel they are interested in Accommodation charges can be calculated as No. of hotels room * Occupancy Rate * Tariff
and need your help in understanding if the investment is worth making. rate * No. of nights operational. Do we have data on these parameters and also the
investment amount?
Sure. In that case, I would like to understand more about the hotel. Where is it situated?
Who are the customers and their purpose of visit? Do we have any details on the tariff There are 400 rooms in the hotel with an average occupancy of 75%. Hotel is operational
rates? throughout the year. The investment amount is $65000/room. You will have to estimate the
tariffs. Assume that all the rooms are similar and a single tariff rate applies to all customers.
The hotel is situated in a small town in India in an army cantonment area and provides basic
amenities. It became operational 3 years ago. As such, more than 95% of the visitors are The tariff can be calculated based on three approaches: value-based pricing, cost plus
trainees who visit the town to attend conferences. People do not spend a lot of time in pricing and competition based pricing. Since the hotel provides basic amenities and there
rooms and use it only for keeping their luggage and sleeping. The trainees receives an are hotels in nearby town, I feel pricing is most likely to be influenced by competition while
allowance of $80/night during the course of their visit. I don’t have information on the tariff ensuring that operational costs are being covered. Do you think that’s fair? If yes, can you
rates but you can estimate the same if required. tell about the tariff rates for hotels in the nearby town?
Are there any other hotels in and around the area that could be potential competitors? Sure, that makes sense. There are three types of hotels in nearby town – Economy with a
tariff of $50/night, Utility with a tariff of $75/night and Luxury with a tariff of $125/night. It
Not in the same town but there is a town nearby with ample number of hotels. takes $10 to travel to and from the nearby town to the cantonment area
Thank you for the all the details! I would like to evaluate the financial attractiveness of the After including travel costs, the cost of staying in Economy, Utility and Luxury hotels comes
asset, followed by growth drivers and then finally analyse the risks and synergies. Does the out to be $60, $85 and $135 per night. Given the trainees receive an allowance of $80 per
approach seem fair to you? night, it makes sense to keep the tariff between $60-$80 to keep the prices competitive as
Sounds good. You can start with the financial attractiveness aspect. well as affordable for the trainees. Is that fair?

Yes, that’s correct. You can assume the tariff to be $70/night.

Sure, I will take a minute to calculate the annual profit and breakeven period. According to
my calculations, the annual profit for the hotel would be $4.4M and the payback period
would be 6 years (see working below), which is acceptable as per the client’s expectations.
That looks good. Can you tell me some of the risks associated with the investment?
Risks can be divided into two parts: Internal and External. Some of the internal risks include
attrition of human resources, decline in quality of service and deteriorating infrastructure
due to lack of maintenance. External risks include emergence of competing hotels, changes
in trainees’ allowances and shift in conference location. All of these factors can potentially
impact our estimation of cash flows and payback period.
Excellent. So what’s your final recommendation to the client?
I feel the client should go ahead with the investment since it is financially attractive to
them. The internal risks should not be a major issue since the hotel is just 3 years old and
hence, it should be in a good shape for at least next 4-5 years. As far as external risks are
concerned, army locations are usually strategic in nature and not changed frequently.
Hence, the demand is fairly inelastic and cash flows should be as predicted for the hotel
with minimal variation.
Great! We can conclude the case here. It was really good interacting with you.

• PE firm looking to invest in a hotel located near army cantonment

Case Statement • Identify payback period
• Risk analysis for investment
Interviewee Notes Structure/ Framework Investment Analysis
• Hotel located in army

cantonment area Financial Attractiveness Growth Drivers Risks Synergies
• Used by trainees attending
conferences
• Hotels available in nearby
Revenue Costs Internal External
town:
Attrition Competition
Type Tariff (/night) Food Fixed
Service Quality Dip Change in
Economy $50 Laundry Variable allowance/venue
Utility $75
Poor Infra
Accommodation Value based
Luxury $125
No. of rooms Occupancy Rate Operational nights Tariff rate (per night) Cost based
• Cost of to and travel from Annual Profits = No. of rooms * Occupancy Rate * Operational nights * (Tariff – Expenses)
nearby town = $10 = 400 * 0.75 * 365 * $(70-30) = $4.38M Competition based
Payback period = ($65000 *400)/$4.38M ~ 6 years
Key Takeaways • Important to showcase breadth of thinking and MECE at every step
• Case solving can get numerical, get comfortable with calculations under time crunch

Pre-Kindergarten School Investment PE | Moderate |McKinsey (Partner)
There is a PE firm which wants to invest in a pre-kindergarten school chain like Kidzee which We should also look at the financials of the pre-kg chain. By looking at their assets,
operates in Mumbai. What advice would you give them? liabilities, income and expenses we would be able to determine what percent of their
revenues come from operating activities.
Can I ask some clarifying questions?
What kind of expenses do you think are applicable for a pre-kg chain?
Yes of course
As they are operating in Mumbai, rent and lease would form a major part of their expenses.
Is it the first time that the PE Firm is venturing into the education industry
Apart from rent, they would incur expenses for salaries, maintenance and advertising.
Yes, this is the first time
Ok. What else? Do you foresee any risks for the client?
What is the horizon of investment that the PE firm is looking at?
One risk could be that the client is not able to find suitable teachers for engaging with pre-
5-10 years. Can you tell me what all elements would you consider while analyzing the case? kg children.
First of all, I would like to estimate the size of the pre-kg industry, look at the market share Wait, who is our client?
of the pre-kg chain that our client is looking to invest in and then look at the growth rate of
I’m sorry. It is the PE firm. <Since this was a PE client who was looking to invest in another
the industry and the target’s market share.
company, I got confused about the perspective from which the question is asked>
Good. Please proceed
No worries
To estimate the market, I would divide Mumbai into 5 zones. For each zone, I would
The risks for our client are that the pre-kg industry could become irrelevant in the future.
estimate the number of married couples in the age group of 27 to 35. Before, I proceed, I
The government could come up with a law where children below x years are not allowed to
want to do a side analysis about who can afford to enroll their kids in pre kg schools
study. The schools could start opening their own pre-kg chains.
Ok. Please go on.
Interesting. Anything else?
<I assumed some per annum fees for a pre-kg school. Then I assumed that families spend
The technology is evolving so fast. In future, robots could be developed to take care of and
x% on rent, y% on housing needs, z% on leisure etc. Using the per annum fees assumption
educate children when their parents are not at home.
and the percentage of income spent on education, I was able to calculate the cutoff for
families who could afford to enroll their kids in the pre-kg school based on their income> Hahaha. That is still 15-20 years away. It was an interesting discussion. Let’s wrap it up here!
Ok. How will you use this information?
Now we can further segment the married couples between 27-35 into those who can afford
and those who cannot
Ok, the market size is fine. What else will you advise the client?

Pre-Kindergarten School Investment PE | Moderate |McKinsey (Partner)
• A PE firm client has approached you for advice

Case Statement • Objective: Evaluate whether or not to invest in a pre-kindergarten school chain like Kidzee

Invest in Pre-KG
• Horizon of investment: 5-10
years
kindergarten?
• Target company is in Mumbai

• Estimate market size using
no. of married couples, Pre-KG Market
Financials Risks
affordability cut-off Opportunity
• Assets • Relevance
Industry Growth Target’s Market • Liabilities • Technology
Industry Size • Income
Rate Share
• Expenses (rent, salaries,
maintenance,
advertising)
Key Takeaways • Important to give step-by-step approach for market sizing followed by a verdict of whether the opportunity is lucrative
• Analysis of all 3 – market opportunity, financials and risks is required to be studied when evaluating a decision for a PE firm

Coal Mine Investment PE | Challenging | McKinsey (Buddy Case)
Case Statement: Your client is a PE firm who is looking to invest into a coal-miner based out South located relatively closer to the ports, and the coal-miner has interconnectivity with the ports for
Africa. Evaluate if it is a valuable investment for your client transportation outside of South Africa; the miner itself transports to the ports and thereafter based
on the contract the shipment is shipped
Sure, thankyou for the case. Before I drill down to the factors to be analyzed, I have a set of
preliminary questions for our client. Firstly, I wish to know about the current portfolio of our client Understood; I now have a fair understanding of the case. I would request few seconds to structure
and the future vision of our PE client? my thoughts and come up with parameters to be analyzed.
May I know the reason for asking this question? Sure, take your time.
Typically, PE clients look to invest into firms which are in line with their portfolio and/or their vision. So, in order to evaluate if the coal-mine is a valuable investment for our client, I would like to follow
Eg – If our PE client, invests in green firms and is concerned with the ESG impact of its invested a 4-pronged approach. Analyze the following:
firms, then investing in a coal mine wouldn’t be a part of my recommendation. 1. Macro-economic factors (related to the industry)
2. Micro-economic factors (related to the firm – due diligence and financial feasibility)
Great. Out client is not into green stocks, its current portfolio contains traditional energy firms 3. Operational feasibility: Possibility of our client, PE firm, to tinker the operations of the invested
(Petrol, Coal, Gas). Hope that answers you question. Do you have any more questions? firm (coal-miner) in order to earn a higher RoI after 6-7 years, the client’s stated period of
investment
Yes; Further I would I like to know if we have a quoted valuation from the coal-mining firm?
4. Exit Options and Risk
No, nothing as of now. Is there anything else you want me to look at or anything specific you would want me to dive in?
Understood; Also, apart from the fact that coal-mining is in synchronization with our PE client’s Can you please elaborate about what you meant by macro-economic factors?
portfolio, is there any other purpose of investing into the coal-mining firm?
Sure. So, following are the pointers that I’ll be looking under macro-economic factors:
Our client wishes to earn a decent RoI from this investment in the next 6-7 years. There is no • Analyze the supplier (labor unions, equipment manufacturer) and buyer (in the form of
predefined RoI preferred. You are expected to evaluate whether this coal-mining firm has the geographical locations of major buyers) landscapes
potential for the same. • Future growth potential in the industry
• Competitive landscape inside the coal-mining industry
Understood, Further, I would like to know about the customer profile of the coal-miner, and if there
are any outstanding contractual obligations of the coal-miner. Great; can you now elaborate on the financial feasibility analysis?
Its clients are based outside of South Africa, and there are no current contract obligations on the Sure; I would want to calculate the NPV using a discounted cash-flow model wherein the
coal-miner parameters will be as follows:
1. Free cash flows [basing future free cash flows based on growth (of buyers, new mines) and risks]
Understood; Further, I would like to enquire about the number of mines and their location in terms 2. Hurdle rate (based on the current equity-debt structure)
of distance from ports, if not, what are the transportation facilities available? As per my 3. Terminal value; since coal is a non-renewable resource, hence as per my understanding the
understanding, the coal-miner ought to have interconnectivity with the ports for transportation to coal-mine would be evaluated every 5/6 years based on the rate of mining to gauge the amount
its clients outside of South Africa of coal left to be mined. Thus, terminal value will be a critical factor
Good question; the miner operates one mine and is a major player in South Africa. Also, the mine is Interesting analysis. Thankyou, we may stop the case here.

Coal Mine Investment PE | Challenging | McKinsey (Buddy Case)
• Our client is a PE firm looking to invest in a coal-mining firm in South-Africa

Case Statement • Portfolio of the PE firm is in traditional energy stocks (Petrol, Coal, Gas); not willing to invest in green stocks
• Overarching objective is to evaluate the investment opportunity

• Since there is no standard
framework for such case, aim Operational Macro-economic
was to evaluate from the lens Risks Factors
Feasibility
of our PE client and form a
Presence of only Evaluating current Porter’s 5 forces
coherent (yet MECE) set of
1 coal mine Management of the miner
parameters to be evaluated, Competitive Landscape
hence in that regard the 4- PESTLE Analysis Scalability Options
pronged approach was Plotting the value chain Potential Synergies Future growth
suggested Evaluating
to evaluate risks at each node with the PE client potential
the RoI of
• Thought-process ought to like a IPO Financial Feasbility Investment
fishbone-diagram (or a decision and stake to be acquired
Partial Exit
tree), wherein the final Due Diligence
objective formed the core of
Total Exit Company dynamics
the diagram (See right) – 7S framework
• When the interviewer pointed Micro-economic

Exit-Options
out 1 mine, then it should click Factors
as one of the risks
• Critical to understand the rationale for investment

Key Takeaways • The Interviewer might not be looking at the final problem to the solution, and maybe looking to evaluate the interviewee on a specific set of parameters
• In case of M&A/PE cases, adequate time should be given to preliminary questions as the interviewer is looking to check your initial hypotheses with them
• There is no specific framework for such cases, hence it is critical to form an overarching framework (during the case) based on ones hypotheses of the case

IIMB Unconventional Cases
2022-23

Firing Strategy for Twitter employees Unconventional | Easy | BCG (Partner)
Your client is Twitter. They have decided to cut down costs by reducing the workforce post metrics like 360-degree peer evaluations, engineering leader evaluations, task-completion
Elon Musk’s acquisition of the company. Create a firing strategy for the employees of the predictability, etc. Would you like me to explore this further or shall I move to the next
company. function?
Thank you. This seems like a very interesting case. I would like to start by confirming if this Amongst the three that you mentioned, which function do you think Twitter can do away
case is in line with the current news. Also, I would like to know the quantum of cost with?
reduction and the number of employees the company is looking to lay-off. I think Twitter can afford to do away with the top management. This is because of a clear
Yes, this case is based on current events. The client does not have a number for cost disagreement in the vision for the company. Musk can bring in people he trusts from Tesla
reduction but they would like to lay-off 50% of the staff. or SpaceX. The developers and the engineers are crucial to the functioning of the company,
but they are also highly paid. Twitter would be able save costs by letting go some people in
Does the client have any metrics to keep in mind while laying off staff? Or would you like this function.
me to explore this further?
Okay. Let’s talk about the support staff. Which teams come under this?
Why don’t you tell me what you have in mind?
The major components will be HR, Marketing & PR, Admin and the Maintenance crew.
I want to first analyze which employees to fire. My focus would majorly be on productivity.
But some other metrics I’d also like to consider would be their history of discipline and the What will your considerations be under Marketing & PR?
ability to meet goals and work within a team. These metrics would vary from function to
function and we need to tailor the metrics for each function. Then I would like to figure out Tesla does not have a marketing function. Elon Musk’s Twitter handle is the only voice from
what severance package should be given to the employees being laid off. Finally, I would like the company. Musk might want to follow the same strategy for Twitter. The PR team will
to look into how to handle the negative PR this mass firing would generate. have to wisely navigate the backlash Twitter will get for firing employees. There is no way
they can justify this to the general public. Then the only thing they can do is cover it up with
Go ahead. some positive PR.
I would like to split the workforce as technical staff, management staff and support staff. Am Give a brief summary of your analysis
I missing anything here?
The workforce can be split into engineers, management, and support staff. We discussed
No, you are not. Please go through these one-by-one. changing the top management and letting go of engineers based on set productivity
metrics. We also spoke about how Twitter can handle the negative PR.
Starting with the technical staff, this would include teams in development, testing, system
architecture, etc. As per recent news, Musk is firing employees based on the number of Thank you, we can close the case here.
lines of code they have written. This is obviously not the best way of firing people. An
alternate approach the company could take would be looking at other holistic productivity

Firing Strategy for Twitter employees Unconventional | Easy | BCG (Partner)
• Twitter wants to cut down costs through reduction in workforce.

Case Statement
• What are the considerations?
Firing Strategy
• Very open-ended case
• Classify employees based on
work-type
• Mention metrics that are
relevant for each department Who to fire? Severance Package Negative PR Management
• Management • Pay-to-Quit Policy • External consultant

• Tech Staff • 3 month severance
• Support Function
• Specific preliminary questions help in tackling open-ended cases

Key Takeaways • Make a structured approach
• Be fast during analysis

Cancellation rates of a cab aggregator Unconventional | Easy | BCG (Buddy)
platforms and compare the prices and waiting times. After deciding upon a particular
Your client is a cab service provider with a business model similar to aggregators like Uber,
service provider, the cab would be booked. From the point of booking the cab till the point
Ola, etc. The client has an app through which customers can make their bookings. The client
when the cab reaches the customer’s location, the customer has the option of cancelling his
has seen a rise in cancellation rates for the past 10 months. The client wants your help to
ride. I assume that once she boards the cab, the customer would not be able to cancel the
figure out the reasons behind the same.
ride since the model is similar to Ola/Uber.
Thank you for the case statement. Before I delve deeper into the problem, I would like to
That’s a fair assumption about cancellations. The customer journey seems fine. Could you
ask some clarifying questions to get a better idea about the problem. Is that alright?
think of some reasons because of which a customer might cancel her booking during the
Sure, go ahead. wait time?
Could you help me out with the geography of operation of the client and whether the A customer usually cancels her ride due to high waiting times. The reasons for this can be
problem is persisting in a particular region or across all geographies? I would also like to categorized as follows- (i) Inaccurate location mapping, (ii) Inability to connect to driver
know whether this problem is being faced only by us or by other cab aggregators as well. and/or miscommunication, and (iii) Availability of better alternative transportation post
booking. Would you like me to look into any specific aspect sir?
The client has a pan-India presence since 10 years. However, in the last year or so, it has
tried to enter into smaller towns, especially in South India. The cancellation rates have You can assume that the technology is at par with other competitors. Moreover, the
mainly seen an increase in some cities of South India. And no, our competitors are not customer books a cab only after considering different alternatives, and its unlikely that a
facing this issue. better option would arise after booking. Why don’t you focus on the potential
communication issues?
Okay, so it seems to be a region-specific problem. Just another question, is the rise in
cancellation rates seen across all the cab types we provide, or is it specific to one particular Right, sir. So you mentioned that this increase in cancellation rates has been seen in some
cab type? I’m assuming there must be different types of cabs since the model is similar to cities over the past 10 months. Could you help me understand a bit more about the cab
Ola/Uber. drivers in these cities where we have newly entered?
You can assume that the type of cab is not a factor for the analysis. The cancellation rates So in a lot of these cities, there was limited availability of drivers but sufficient demand. As a
have been uniform across cab types. result, we provided incentives to drivers from neighbouring states to come work in these
I think I have sufficient information to break down the problem. I would like to begin by cities, in the beginning, to get our operations going.
looking at the customer journey to isolate a potential problem area in the same. Then, I I see. So sir, a major reason for the miscommunication between the drivers and the
would like to look at the factors which could potentially create an issue. Once the root customers could be the language barrier. Since a lot of locals would not speak the language
cause is identified, I can recommend some suggestions. Does this approach seem fair? spoken by the drivers from the neighbouring states, they might have difficulty
That sounds good. Why don’t you begin with the customer journey. communicating with them leading to high waiting times and eventual cancellation.
Sure sir. So as I understand it, initially the customer will realize a need for the cab to travel That’s correct. Language barrier has been a major reason because of which customers are
from one place to another. In order to book a cab, the customer would search different unable to accurately describe the pickup location. We can close the case here, thank you!

Cancellation rates of a cab aggregator Unconventional | Easy | BCG (Buddy)
• Rise in cancellation rates for a cab service provider

Case Statement • Problem seen over last 10 months
• Identify the root cause of the problem
• The client has business model

Customer Journey
similar to aggregators like Ola Finalize Waiting for
and Uber Search for Compare Sit in Cab to
Need Platform Cab to Reach
• Pan-India operations but the Cab Booking Prices and Undertake
Generation and Pickup
problem is seen only in Platforms Wait Times Journey
Book Location
specific South Indian cities
where the client has newly
entered Problem Diagnosis
• Cancellation rates are uniform
across different types of cabs
• Understanding the customer High Waiting Time for Customer
journey is key to pinpointing
the problem
Inability to Connect/ Availability of Better Alternative

Inaccurate Location Mapping Transportation post Booking
Miscommunication
• Clarify all elements of the problem statement in the beginning (should have asked what is exactly meant by ‘cancellation’ in the clarifying questions)
Key Takeaways • Buy in the interviewer at every step of the customer journey and the problem diagnosis
• Interviewer doesn’t ask for recommendations, but you can confirm again in case he would be okay with some suggestions toward the end

Cancellation rates of a cab aggregator (Alt) Unconventional | Easy | BCG (Buddy)
• The cancellation rates of a cab aggregator has increased by 5% over the past 10 months. We need to analyze the reasons and come up
Case Statement with recommendations for resolving the issue.

Cancellation
Rates
• Cancellation rate is 5%
• Over a 10-month window
Demand Supply
• The problem of cancellations
is in South India only.
Driver arrives at
Need Ability to book Driver accepts Non-availability in Non-availability in
Awareness Availability the specified
Generation a cab the request certain routes entire region
location
Ease of
Quality of app Map Accuracy
Payment
Ability to
Language Ability to find
move pins to
Differences locations
locations
• Asking clarifying questions exhaustively. Clearly understanding the meaning of metrics.

Key Takeaways • Breaking down the customer journey to capture customer pain points.
• Dividing recommendations into short and long term.

Transport Infrastructure Improvement Unconventional | Easy | Arthur D Little (Buddy)
A government ministry has reached out to you and want your help in improving transport That seems like a good classification. By improvement in either what is the metric you
and logistics in the country. would track to understand if you fulfilled your objective?
Oh, that sounds interesting. Before I dive into the problem, I would like to understand is Trends in the number of accidents and time taken to complete a journey pre and post-
there any specific mode of transport out of road, rail, water, air and ropeways we are change are the major metrics I would look at.
focusing on or will we look at the combination of all. Right, so given that time is our performance indicator, what are the factors you can change
That is a good question to start with. We will be focusing on road transport only for now. to improve the amount of time?
Is there any specific timeframe in which these improvements need to be made and is there Those would be speed and distance.
any specific objective behind this? Right, let’s talk on how we can improve each of them?
Timeframe is not pre-defined and the objective is as one would expect that GOI would like Sure. If feasible, improvement in distance can be done by creating direct paths or flyovers
to improve upon the currently available facilities wherever need exists. For example, if there are 3 cities A,B and C, and a person has to cross
B every time one decides to go from A to C, we can suggest creating a direct path there if its
That’s helpful. Given that we are talking about logistics and transport, I will be focusing both possible to reduce the journey time.
on the transport of goods as well as people for this discussion. Is that okay?
Okay. So many such places exist which can be connected directly. How would you
Sure. Go ahead recommend deciding where to build a road and where not given we cannot make one
Great. I would like to consider two aspects of improvement here. One is road infrastructure everywhere?
in terms of connectivity and quality. Second is the public network in terms of the number of To decide I would look at the traffic congestion on the roads to understand the demand
public transport services available. people have for the prospective route i.e. how many people on average travel from A to C
directly. I would also look at the decline in cost for industries.
Sounds good. Let’s focus on road infrastructure aspect here
That sounds good. In reference to demand though, how else can you better estimate it?
Ok. When talking about roads, we can divide them majorly into two types i.e. intra-city
connecting roads and inter-city connecting roads. Given the project is being done by GOI, I Assuming that tolls exist on this path, we can use data available in reference to tolls to get a
will primarily go into depth for inter-city connecting roads. Does that sound okay? more accurate number. FASTag data would be easily available given it’s been implemented
Sure. Yes, that is what I was looking for. Let’s move to speed now.
So, the improvement areas within inter-city travel can be classified as improvement in Yes. While we should keep in mind whether regulations in terms of speed limits are being
reference to existing roads like tolls set up, addition of traffic signs, road pits improvement, met as well as ensure that we are not creating accident-prone roads, speed can be
or creation of new roads which includes availability of routes and set up of alternate paths. increased by improving road conditions through regular maintenance, keeping a check on
the number of speed bumps and reducing stops like tolls if possible.
It can also be increased by having multi-lane broad roads as compared to one-way roads or
narrow road infrastructure.
That covers it. Can you summarize what we discussed once.
Sure. We have tried to come up with solutions to improve the logistics and transport system
in the country in reference to roadways. We focused on improving roads in terms of inter-
city road infrastructure. We can do this in two ways – by improving upon existing roads or
by building new ones. As the objective, in either case, is to reduce the time taken to go
from point 1 to point 2, we discussed how we can reduce the distance by building direct
connecting roads wherever possible based on certain conditions and how we can increase
speed by improving on road conditions via various changes.
Perfect. Thank you, we can wrap the case here.

• Your client is the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways of India

Case Statement • You are asked to improve the transport and logistics in the country.
Road Transport Time

• Focus only on roadways
amongst other modes of
transport
• Within road transport, Road Distance
Public Network Speed
focusing only on Infrastructure
infrastructure-based
improvements on inter-city
connecting roads Inter-city Roads Intra-city Roads Road Demand
• No particular timeframe for conditions
change
• Covering both – people’s
Existing Roads Broad/narrow, Industry Cost
travel and transportation of
goods
lanes Decrease
New Roads Tolls/Speed

breakers
• Important to check on all possibilities and ask the interviewer what to focus on for the scope of the case. Do not self-define the scope
• Adapting to change in case direction like moving from first structure to time reduction as the interviewer indicated should be smooth. Taking cues from the
Key Takeaways interviewer wherever possible is important
• Preliminary questions should include clarification on the case statement itself like ‘what does it mean by improving in the given context?’
• Avoid going into monologue though it does get difficult to keep it crisp and structured in unconventional cases. Make it conversational.

Transport Infrastructure Improvement (Alt.) Unconventional | Easy | Arthur D Little (Buddy)
• Your client is the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways of India

Case Statement • You are asked to improve the transport and logistics in the country.

Demand
• The Indian government Existing Roads
wanted to improve the road
transportation of the country
Operations
Intercity
Airways Fast tag data
New Roads
Transportation Roadways Govt Survey
Create new
roads/ flyovers/
Waterways infra
Intracity Repair existing

roads
Divert Traffic
• The candidate was initially taken aback because of the unconventional nature of the case. Especially since it is a government a lot of the usual preliminary questions
became useless here. The candidate tried to force fit MECE initially till the interviewer course-corrected him
Key Takeaways
• The interviewer purposefully hid the fact that it was the road transport ministry and wanted the candidate to ask the right questions
• Simpler and easier MECE is always better

Construction company Unconventional | Moderate | Bain (Partner)
Your client is a construction company facing challenges in the delivery of projects. Analyze Ok. To construct an expressway, the process-flow diagram is as follows. Following up on
the root cause and suggest solutions government announcements, bidding process, design, procurement, construction,
maintenance, repair, and toll collection. A delay in any of these processes before
Thanks for the interesting case. Before proceeding further, I have a few preliminary
maintenance causes a delay in the overall delivery. Should I focus on any bucket?
questions for clarification
This is an excellent way of constructing a process diagram. Our client has been facing a
Yes, please go ahead
delay in the design and construction stages of construction.
May I know more about the client? What type of construction work does the company
Okay. I am assuming that the design process is carried out by the internal design team and
undertake like residential/commercial buildings, roadways, airports, geotechnical fields like
then the engineering team constructs the roads on site. There could have been a delay in
tunnels, seaway construction like ports, etc.?
the design process which can be divided into 3 categories. Internal team inefficiency, over-
Sure. The client is a road construction company in India designing, or over-complicating design, or irrelevant or incompatible design of expressway
Great. What are the challenges the client is facing exactly? Is it profit issues or delivery so that it has to be redone again.
issues or any other issues and for how long has our client been facing the problem? Wow, that’s a very structured approach. You are correct that the issue lies in over-
The client has been facing delays in the delivery of projects on time to customers by 2-2.5 complicating the designs by the design team so it takes time for the engineering team to
years as compared to its competitors in the past 6 months. come back and forth. Can you think of any such instances?
Okay. So can we focus on the objective of reducing the time of delivery of projects for the Okay. I can think that as this is an expressway, for example, the clover-leaf intersection is
client? not required unless it is eight-way traffic but when it is designed, it takes time for both
design and construction.
Yes, go ahead. That’s the right approach.
Precisely, that is the reason our company is facing the issue of late delivery of projects as
So, the client is a roadway construction company. There are 3 types of roads majorly found compared to similar constructions by our competitors. Now can you think of ways of solving
in India, bituminous, concrete, or composite. May I know what kind of roads the client this issue?
constructs?
Sure. I can divide my recommendations into the short and long term. In the short term, our
Yes, the client constructs composite expressways. client can do cross-verification with other internal design teams for design efficiency before
Okay. Before proceeding further, I want to clarify that as this is client-specific and not an proceeding with construction as this reduces time and cost inefficiency. In the long run, our
industry issue, are our client resources adequate, and can I focus on the process client can induct a specific design efficiency and quality management team for the design
bottleneck? vertical for improved efficiency.
Yes, our client is a major player in the industry and hence resource sufficient All right let us close the case now. Thank you!

Construction company Unconventional | Moderate | Bain (Partner)
• Client is a construction company facing challenges in the delivery of projects.

Case Statement • Root cause Analysis must be carried out and solutions must be proposed
• Client is a road construction

Construction process
company in India
• Delay in project delivery by Post-
2-2.5 years as compared to Legal
Bidding Design Procurement Construction construction
competitors process
service
• Client constructs composite
expressways
Bottleneck
Internal team inefficiency
Over-designing
Incompatible design
• Asking about the industry is essential if the candidate has no prior experience/ knowledge of the industry
Key Takeaways • Candidate could have asked about the industry structure i.e. oligopoly
• No particular case structure is followed here

Indian Football Fanbase Unconventional | Moderate| Bain (Partner)
Your client is Chelsea Football Club, a successful Premier League (PL) club in UK which has Understood. Now, I would approach the problem in two ways – Increasing fanbase to gain
recently been acquired by a new owner. The new owner wants you to grow the Chelsea new fans and increasing engagement for the existing the fans. I would like to start with the
fanbase and fan engagement in India. Suggest how would they should go about it. primary objective to increase fanbase first. Should I go ahead estimating the potential
fanbase?
This is an interesting problem given the resurgence of football in India. I would like to ask a
few preliminary questions. What is the current fanbase of Chelsea? I assume most fans Sure, let’s focus on the elements that you would look at to get to the estimate.
would be in the UK and EU so what other countries have significant fanbase? My assumption here is that every sports enthusiast can potentially become a football fan
Chelsea have a prominent fan following of around 100-150M fans worldwide and only and then a Chelsea fan so I would consider all the major sports fan such as cricket, football,
hockey. I would look at the different avenues of fan engagement primarily in online and
about 20% are outside the UK and EU. USA and India are the two most promising countries.
offline modes. In online mode, I would look at the viewership as well as the social media
Interesting. USA has a saturated sports following with NBA, NFL, MLB and MLS while India follower counts. In offline mode, I would consider ticket sales and match screening
seems to be an untapped market for football with only IPL commanding audience of cricket attendance for major events such as IPL and ISL. We can further divide them into existing
lovers. I suppose that is why Chelsea is focusing on the Indian fans first. What is the and new football fans out of which we should consider only the new fans as existing fans
composition of football fans in India by clubs? What is their growth rate? have their loyalty tied to their clubs and would not switch so easily.
Yes, that is correct. Among all PL football fans in India, Manchester United fans are 30%, That makes sense. What should we do to grow into this potential fanbase?
Liverpool and Arsenal 20% each, Chelsea 15% and rest follow the other clubs. The growth
rate is highly dynamic based on events but 5-10% seems to be a fair number. To understand this, I would break down the journey of a sports enthusiast to becoming a
There seems to be a good opportunity to gain greater share of fans. I see merchandise football club fan. It starts with the enthusiast getting to know about the game, witnessing
and enjoying the game, liking a player or a team, interacting with the club and other fans
sales, ticket sales and club membership as possible revenue streams. Does the client have
and continued engagement with the club as a fan while advocating the club to bring new
any growth target in terms of revenue or fan numbers within a specified timeline and any
budget constraints? members. I can now look at actions we can take to improve this flow.
You are correct regarding the revenue streams. The objective currently is to grow the Interesting way to look at it. You can go ahead with the actions. Consider the current and
fanbase only and the new owner is ready to invest with a target of growing by 50% in next 3 upcoming events in place to devise your strategy.
years. Sure. Given that India has a dominant cricket fanbase, it would be great to have prominent
Thank you. Can you tell me what are the current activities carried out by Chelsea to reach cricketing faces such as Virat Kohli as a brand ambassador to introduce the game on social
media while the T20 and FIFA World Cups are happening in the next two months. We can
and engage football fans in India? I am aware about few informal fan clubs and social media
conduct friendly football games between IPL and ISL teams at affordable ticket prices like
interaction through Bollywood actor Arjun Kapoor who is the Indian brand ambassador.
the All-Stars Football tournament held with Bollywood and cricketing stars. Chelsea can also
That’s correct. Chelsea currently engage through social media with its fans and conduct screen their matches and World Cup matches at sports bars. The Chelsea players can be
giveaways for few lucky ones to attend a match at the club stadium. called out before the game so that fans start looking for them during the games like

Thiago Silva in Brazil and Mason Mount in England. Also, the players not participating in the
World Cup can fly to India to interact with fans, distribute signed jerseys and showcase their
skills in futsal or play a friendly with the Indian national team like the ones held with AC
Milan and FC Barcelona. Advocacy can be improved by promoting word-of-mouth marketing
over social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram and Chelsea mobile app. In the long
term, Chelsea can partner with AIFF to open a youth academy to nurture and scout
footballing talent in the country to serve the fanbase as well as their youth academy.
Those are a comprehensive set of solutions for attracting new fans to the club fanbase. Can
you briefly mention what additionally would you do to engage the existing fans?
I think it is pertinent to open an official fan club in India along with branded sports bars in
Tier-1 cities as already practiced by Manchester United and Liverpool. Regular match
screenings, dedicated merchandise outlets and competitive events such as trivia quiz and
fantasy games (FPL) with giveaways at these venues would keep the existing fans enjoy their
favourite club at best. Loyalty programs such as discounted club memberships for exclusive
fan events and stadium tours can also be initiated.
That’s good. We can close the case here. It was a nice discussion and interesting ideas to
take forward with me.

• Client is Chelsea Football Club, a successful Premier League club in the UK

Case Statement • New owner wants to grow the club fanbase and improve fan engagement in India
• Identify ways to attract new fans and suggest strategic plan

Chelsea Football Fanbase
• Current fanbase – 100-150M fans
worldwide
• Only 20% fans outside the UK New Existing
and EU nations. USA and India
are most promising in potential
fans. Higher
Market size Customer journey
• Premier league club fans in India: Engagement
• Manchester United – 30%
• Liverpool – 20% Existing football
• Arsenal – 20% New football fans Infrastructure Fan Events Loyalty programs
fans
• Chelsea – 15%
• Grow 50% in 3 years while
current annual growth 5-10%
Other sports New PL fans
• Current engagement activities
limited to social media
Customer Journey
interactions and ticket giveaways Fan Retention &
Sporting Event
to lucky winners. Sport Awareness Club Selection Experience & Long term Club Advocacy
• Focus on fans ignoring profits access
Connect engagement
• Segmentation of customers as new and existing fans and considering loyalty as a filter
Key Takeaways • Using customer journey to understand the focus at different stages to develop new fans
• Understand the time setting and awareness about recent events such as World Cup to use the information in the case

Consulting firm expenses Unconventional | Moderate | Kearney (Buddy)
In order to reduce the frequency of travel, the firm can better align with their clients on the
Your client is a consulting firm looking to reduce their travel expenditure. What are the
project timelines right at the beginning to ensure the team can plan their travel with
possible set of recommendations you can provide?
minimum fly backs to their home locations. This would also enable the firm to book well in
advance, so their costs are minimized. Group fares sometimes are lower than individual
Sure, I would like to begin by getting a few clarifications. Is there a specific cost reduction
fares and hence, visibility here would help us take advantage of group bookings
target they have in mind? Also, do they have a timeline in mind by when they are looking to
The method of booking can have a direct impact on the air fare. We can make use of
achieve these targets?
corporate discounts by booking directly with the airline or we can book through a different
They are looking at a 6-month to 1-year period but do not have a target in mind. I would travel agent to get better discounts.
encourage you to proceed with your own assumptions and we’ll keep the discussion Ensuring that we send leaner teams to client location can help us reduce the number of
recommendation focused bookings. We can also mandate that the junior staff travel economy while only the Partners
travel business class.
Understood. Considering their travel expenses are a result of consultants travelling for work
assignments, I would divide the expenses into 4 broad buckets:
Great! So, to get the consulting teams from the airport to hotel or from the hotel to the
1. Inter-city travel to client location (via air)
client office, we use a local cab service. Would you like to look into this bucket next?
2. Intra-city travel (company cars/cabs)
3. Accommodation expense
4. Food and other bills/allowances We can take a look at cab service charges and per trip charges (determined by the
frequency of travel). We can compare local cab service rates to uber / ola rates to ensure
Alright, that sounds comprehensive. Shall we begin by looking into travel expenses? Would we are paying a competitive price. Reimbursing Uber rides might be a good idea in case that
be helpful if you could list down the various cost levers within the bucket and provide is more economical. Carpooling while taking the cabs is an effective way of reducing costs.
recommendations alongside?
Starting with inter-city travel (both domestic and international), the following levers Alright. Let’s now take a look at accommodation expenses
determine their costs.
1. Mode of travel While looking at accommodation, we can look into the below levers. Please let me know if
2. Frequency of trips
they seem okay and I can then proceed with recommendations:
3. Number of tickets per trip 1. Type of hotel booked (premium / luxury / airport hotel)
4. Price per ticket (determined by the time and mode of booking and type of seat booked) 2. Time and mode of booking
Please let me know if you’d agree and I can then proceed with my first set of 3. Duration of stay
recommendations 4. Occupancy rules
Sounds good. The mode of travel is something we will not be able to change. Also, let’s 5. Type of room (deluxe / suite)
restrict the analysis to domestic travel. Please proceed with your suggestions 6. Distance from the airport / client location

Sounds good. Please proceed with your ideas
If it seems feasible to the client, they can look at booking a semi-premium hotel for junior
staff while they retain luxury hotels for Partners. They can also identify hotels that can offer
better discounts by forming a long-term corporate partnership. Better visibility on project
timelines will enable them to book well in advance, thus, reducing costs. The client can look
into hotels that are close to client location, since this would also reduce the team’s
everyday cab travel. The client currently has one employee per hotel room, they can try
accommodating two employees per room. Again, adopting a differential policy in rooms
allocated to junior staff and senior staff can be useful. Additionally, in-hotel expenses such
as food ordering can be capped on a per-day basis.
Moving on to ancillary expenses, the client currently reimburses up to Rupees 3,000 per day
for food bills. Any quick recommendations in this regard?
While the client can reduce the cap or apply a differential cap for seniority levels, another
recommendation would be to modify the cap for on Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities. While spending
Rupees 3,000 for food might be reasonable if the project location in Mumbai, maybe a
lower amount would suffice for a project in Bhopal.
That’s fair. Thank you, we can close the case here.

• Your client is a consulting firm looking to reduce their travel expenditure

Case Statement • Identify the various cost buckets and provide a comprehensive set of recommendations across each

Travel Expenses
• Travel includes transit and
accommodation. In case
unsure, the candidate must Inter-city travel Intra-city travel Accommodation Miscellaneous
clarify with the interviewer
• Brownie points for listing
‘miscellaneous (food & other Mode of travel Cab service provider Type of hotel Reduce overall
bills/allowances)’ as a bucket allowance
Time & Mode of
Frequency Frequency
booking Differential
No. of tickets Duration of stay allowance based on
Distance
location
Occupancy rules
Price per ticket
Type of room
Time of Mode of Type of
booking booking seat Distance from
airport/client
• No conventional framework
Key Takeaways • The interviewer clearly states they are looking for recommendations and encourages the candidate to proceed with assumptions
• If there is no guidance from the interviewer, the candidate must apply 80/20 rule and select the biggest cost buckets to tackle first

Boiler manufacturing company Unconventional | Moderate| Strategy& (Partner)
Case Statement: A Boiler manufacturing company in India has hired you to improve its On- These are fine. Please go to the next.
time performance (OTP) by 25%. Please give me a structured approach to how you would
In procurement, I would first like to understand the current system. I would like to know the
go about it. Try to include some digital suggestions too.
raw materials procured, details of vendors and their current location.
Before going deeper, I would like to understand our client. I want to confirm the products
Our client procures raw materials such as steel plates, pipes, and tubes. Most of the raw
made by our client and the potential customers. I also want to understand if there is any
materials are procured from outside India.
specific reason why our client wants to increase OTP.
Since materials are ordered from outside India, we can appoint freight forwarders to
Our client manufactures standardised boilers and heaters. The key customers are Shell, BP,
expedite the delivery. CHA (Customs Housing Agents) can also help in clearing customs
and Reliance. They want to increase the efficiency at which the work is being executed;
formalities. We must also improve our sourcing capabilities and investigate alternate
hence they want to improve the OTP.
vendors within India. These will help to improve the delivery time and improve efficiency.
Okay. So, I would like to divide the value chain of our client and proceed with giving Are these fine? Can I move to the next part?
suggestions for each part of it. Does that seem acceptable to you?
Yes, these are good recommendations. You can proceed to the next part.
Yes, please proceed.
Within shop floor manufacturing, we can concentrate on manpower training to reduce
The value chain for our client will be engineering, inbound logistics, procurement, shop defects. Overall defects and total time can also be reduced by using automated CNC
floor manufacturing, quality assurance and control, logistics procurement and final dispatch. machines instead of manual work/operated machines used for cutting, welding, and
Does it seem suitable to you, or am I missing anything? bending operations. Are these fine, or am I missing anything?
It seems fine. You can start. These seem fine, please proceed to the next.
I feel the engg dept. is involved in design calculations and the preparation of drawings using Quality assurance and control can be improved by having standardised tests and procedures
software such as CAD and ANSYS. We can improve the OTP by subcontracting the work to for approvals and rejections. This will help to improve the OTP of the quality assurance
third parties, hiring more manpower, using past drawings as a reference to avoid re-work as function. Is this fine or do you want me to into something else as well?
products are standardized and hiring young talented fresh graduates from good colleges.
These are fine. You can skip the rest of the value-chain. Do you have any further digital
The drawings prepared can be made accessible to all departments through a centralized
suggestions from your end?
ERP platform. Delays in approvals can also be tracked/improved through the platform. Do
these suggestions seem fine, or do you want me to think more? I have tried my best to cover all the suggestions, such as automation (wherever possible)
and development of the ERP platform. Apart from these, as a part of organization design,
These are good suggestions. You can proceed to the next.
we can include horizontal integrators such as project/product managers to expedite the
Inbound logistics OTP can be improved through reverse auctions. A contract will put cross-functional activities.
pressure on the vendors to deliver on time than procuring vehicles from the open market. It Thanks! We can end the case here. All the best!
will also provide an added advantage of cost saving. Are these fine?
Boiler manufacturing company Unconventional | Moderate| Strategy& (Partner)
• Boiler manufacturing company wants to increase its On-time Performance (OTP) by 25%.
Case Statement • Operates in India.
• Some digital suggestions are also required.
• Main products are Boilers and In-bound Shop Floor Quality

Engineering Procurement Logistics Dispatch
Heaters. logistics Manufacturing Assurance
• Key customers are Shell, BP,
and Reliance. • Subcontract • Reverse • Use of freight • Manpower • Use of • Reverse • Ensure all
• Client procures raw materials work auctions and forwarders training to standardised auctions and cranes and
such as steel plates, pipes, • Hire more use of • Use of CHA reduce quality use of lifts are
and tubes. Most of the raw manpower contracts to (Customs defects procedures contracts utilised
materials are procured from • Use past put pressure Housing • Use of CNC for • Appoint CHA, efficiently.
outside India. drawings as on the Agents) machines approvals/ freight • Material
reference vendors to • Improve instead of rejections forwarders needs to be
• Hire young deliver on sourcing manual based on dispatched
fresh talent time capabilities work/ Incoterms immediately
from good and operated negotiated to avoid
colleges investigate machines with the blockage of
• Use of ERP alternate customer the shop
platform vendors floor
within India
• Always specify the time (1 or 2 mins) in which you will get back to the interviewer if you are structuring your thoughts. This will allow them to follow up
Key Takeaways and inform you if you are taking more than the time mentioned above.
• Structure your thoughts and try to get buy-in from your interviewer before proceeding with the case. This will help you know if you are in the right
direction for solving the case

Football Match Unconventional | Moderate | Strategy& (Manager)
Recently, a football club lost a match. The club has hired you to figure out the reason for the Dividing the playing 11 into goal-keeper, defenders, mid-fielders and strikers. Was there any
same and suggest suitable solutions. specific department where our club lagged or was it a combination of departments?
Thank you for the case. Before diving into the case, may I ask a few preliminary questions The problem was mainly with the strikers. They were getting many goal scoring
about the same? opportunities but were unable to score a goal.
Yes, proceed There might be three reasons for this inefficiency. Since the club was playing against a team
that stood at the bottom of the table, the club decided to give chance to new players.
Assuming the football club is a part of a league, what is the standing of our club? Whether
Second, some strikers might be injured. Third, the strikers may be overworked and felt
the loss is a season phenomenon, i.e., is our club losing most of its matches this season?
fatigue.
What was the goal difference for the match?
The club played a full-strength squad and none of the players complained about fatigue. But
The club is performing well this season and is currently at the top of the points table. The
the opponent team fouled our best striker during the initial minutes of the match. The
final score line of the match was 3-0 in favor of opponents.
problem was that the striker didn’t report it and continued to play the match. Can you think
Was the opponent also among the top performing clubs? Since home advantage is of the reason why he did so?
important in football, I would like to ask whether our club was playing at home or away?
Since it is a league, there might be some award for the maximum goal scorer and our club
The opponent stood last in the points table, and this was a home match for our club. Hence, was playing against a weak opponent so, the striker would have sensed an opportunity to
the club’s manager is more worried. increase his personal goals tally.
Finally, do we have any data about the possession of our club during the match? I am asking Bingo, this was the main reason why he didn’t report the injury. Can you suggest some
this to understand whether the club failed to score, or they didn’t even get the ball to make recommendations the club should take to avoid such instances in future?
a play.
Club’s manager should talk to players immediately and reiterate that the team goals come
The club had a 70% possession during the match. before individual goals. In a longer run, the manager should try to create a healthy culture
within the team and give assurance to players about their place in the team. They can also
I think I have majority of the information. May I take 2 minutes to structure my thoughts?
appoint doctors or use IoT devices to monitor real-time health of all players.
Sure, go ahead.
Thank you for the recommendations. Let’s wrap up the case here. Thank you!
I would like to classify the reasons for failure as internal and external. Internal reasons will
be related to the club’s playing 11 and external reasons will cover the media, support staff
and manager of our club. Do we have any data which can help in finding whether the
reason was internal or external?
You may consider that there are no external issues. The problem is within the playing 11.

Football Match Unconventional | Moderate | Strategy& (Manager)
Case Statement A football club lost a match recently. You are hired to look at the key problem and suggest suitable measures to avoid such losses.
Reason for
• Club is the table toppers
• Final score line: 3-0
loss
• It was a home match
• Opponent was at bottom of
the table Internal to the External to
• Our club had 70% possession team the team
Other external factors

Goal Keeper Defender Mid-fielder Striker Rival Team
(e.g. PESTEL)
New Players Injury Fatigue
• MECE was very important in the first step. There might be problems that some players may feel media pressure
Key Takeaways • Even if you are not familiar with football, divide the playing 11 into defenders and strikers.
• Knowing about opponent is a must. If the club lost to the second placed team, the problems could have entirely different

Women Driving in Saudi Unconventional | Challenging | Strategy& ME (Buddy)
As you may be aware, Saudi government recently granted the right to drive to women. They My base assumption here is that if women get more empowered and start taking up jobs,
want you to evaluate the economic impact of women starting to drive in Saudi. their traditional roles of cooking, cleaning etc. will start getting outsourced and demand for
house-helpers would shoot up. Does this seem like a fair enough analysis?
Thank you, That’s sound like an interesting case! Could you give me a couple of seconds to
structure my thoughts? Most certainly, let’s move forward to economic subtractions.
Sure, take your time! Sure. Before I move forward with the economic subtractions, I’d like to ask certain
Thank you! I’d like to analyze the economic impact of women driving by analyzing economic preliminary questions. Is it fair to assume that prior to this decision, most women would
additions as well as economic subtractions which will occur due to this decision. Does that either use taxi services, public transport or have chauffeurs to drive them around?
seem like a fair approach to you?
Yes, those are fair assumptions!
Definitely, please proceed!
Alright, in that case, I’d like to further breakdown economic subtractions into three parts –
Alright, let’s start by discussing the economic additions we can expect due to this decision. shrinking in the number of chauffeurs, shrinking in the usage of public transport and
I’d like to further break additions into direct economic adds and indirect economic adds. shrinking in the taxi service market. Given that women would start driving themselves,
Shall I move forward with this structure? there would be a decreased dependence on the above-mentioned means of transportation.
Does this make sense?
Yes, this makes sense.
Definitely, I’d like you to focus further on the decrease in the number of chauffeurs caused
Great, so for direct economic additions, I’d like to analyze the increase in revenue due to by this declaration
incremental number of cars sold, driver licenses issued, fuel usage, maintenance service
centers, parking lots and highway tolls. As I understand, since there will be an increase in Sure, is it fair to assume that most chauffeurs in a country like Saudi are expatriates or
the population eligible for driving, there will be a direct increase in the number of cars immigrants?
bought as well as used. Furthermore, there will be incremental revenue from issuing DLs,
Yes, that’s a fair assumption!
higher fuel usage, higher usage of service centers, parking lots and highways. Does this
seem exhaustive enough? Shall I move to estimating these individual increments? Alright, this decision would directly impact the number of immigrants that come to Saudi.
That’s exhaustive! No, I don’t want you to do any calculations. This would majorly impact the Visa income the government generates. In addition to this,
there will be minor economic subtractions such as less spending on entertainment, house
Okay, in that case, let’s move to the indirect economic additions. A decision of this rents, food etc. by the said immigrants/expats. Would you like me consider anything else?
magnitude is bound to take leaps in the direction of women empowerment and hence I’d
further break the indirect economic additions down into two sections. First, increase in No, that would be all. Great analysis! We can close the case here.
jobs/job markets for women and second, increase in the jobs for household help.

Women Driving in Saudi Unconventional | Challenging | Strategy& ME (Buddy)
• Client is Saudi Government (Kingdom)

Case Statement • Evaluate the economic impact of women having the right to drive in Saudi

Economic Impact
• No calculations to be done
• Taxis, public transport and
personal drivers were means Economic Additions Economic Subtractions
of transportation for women
prior to this decision Shrinking in Shrinking in Taxi Shrinking in Public
Direct Additions Indirect Additions
• Immigrants and expatriates Chauffeurs (drivers) Service usage Transport usage
usually take up driving as their Increase in jobs for
profession No. of Cars Sold Visa Revenue
women
• Brownie points for having
Driving Licenses Issued Increase in jobs for House Rent
general knowledge about
Saudi house-helpers
Fuel Usage Spend on Food
Maintenance Service Spend on Entertainment

Centres
Parking Lots
Highway Tolls
• Owing to the unconventional nature of the case, taking a couple seconds to think about the case helped ensure a MECE approach
Key Takeaways • Keep taking a buy-in from the interviewer to ensure you are on the right track and not missing out any important factors
• Since it is a conversational case, ensure that at every step your rational is clearly stated for the interviewer

IIMB Guesstimates
2022-23

Squash balls Guesstimate | Easy | Bain (Buddy)
Estimate the number of squash balls sold in India 1 year, we get, 24 *52 * 3900/2 = 24,33,600 games per year. Does the calculation seem
correct?
Thank you for the problem statement, I would like to ask a few preliminary questions. What
is the time frame we are considering? Yes, you can proceed.
Okay, so we will calculate for casual players. For them, we can take that they play on
You can take over 1 year
average 3 games a week which translates to 156 games for every 2 players, therefore, total
Okay, so squash balls generally are of 3 types, single dot, double dot and others. For number of games played = 156 * 1,00,000 = 1,56,00,000. Thus, the total number of games
simplicity, I will assume a uniform ball for our analysis. Does this assumption seem fair to played would be equal to 1,56,00,000 + 24,33,600 = 1,80,33,600 games. Does this number
you? seem fine?
Yes. Yes, you can proceed with this number
I would start with the population of India i.e., 130 Cr, and segment that into rural (70% = Now, generally 1 squash ball can last for close to 30 games. Thus, the total number of new
91cr) and urban (30% = 39 Cr). For simplicity, I would assume only the urban population for balls needed would be the total number of games by 30 which computes to be 6,01,120 or
my analysis. Does this seem fair? roughly 6L balls. Does this number seem fine to you?
Yes. You may proceed.
Yes, that seems to be a fair number. We can wrap up the guesstimate here.
In the urban population, I would like to divide the population into professional, casual and
non players with the fact the non players will not be relevant to our analysis. Does this seem
reasonable to you?
Yes.
As squash is not a very common sport, we can assume that the number of professional
players (0.001% = 3,900) and number of casual players to be 0.05% ~ 2,00,000. Do these
numbers seem reasonable?
Yes, you may go ahead.
Now, let us assume that the number of games played by professional players (i.e 2) in a day
be 3. Also, they would have a practice component to it which can be estimated to be
equivalent to 1 game. Therefore, the number of games played in a week (6 days of practice)
would come out to be 4 * 6 = 24 games for every 2 professional players. Translating this to

Squash balls Guesstimate | Easy | Bain (Buddy)
Case Statement • Number of squash balls sales in 1 year
• Population of India = 130 cr Population
• Break down into rural (70%)–

urban (30%), further segment
into professional and un-
professional and based on the Rural Urban
number of games played and
the average life of 1 ball, we
can estimate the sales of
squash balls. Professional Casual (0.05% =
Non player
(0.001% = 3,900) 2,00,000)
• Compute the total number of
games played in 1 year and
divide by the life of a ball (30
games = 1 ball) Number games Number of games
per week = 24 per week = 3
• 1 game will require 2 players
• Keep the framework easy and take buy ins from the interviewer
Key Takeaways
• Ensure there are no calculation mistakes

Fantasy Sports App Guesstimate | Challenging | Bain (Partner)
Can you estimate the total potential market size for a fantasy sports app in India? Following Interesting analysis. Let’s assume the smartphone and mobile internet penetration to be
which, can you also list down a few potential risks to such an application? 100%. Can you investigate the other factors?
Sure. Can I begin by asking a few clarifying preliminary questions? Alright. For an app like Dream11, only those income categories which can afford to pay the
entry fee will be willing to play the game, in addition to determining the frequency of
Go Ahead. entering a competition. Additionally, only specific age groups like teens and young-adults
will be more inclined to compete in these event and even among these, a larger proportion
Just wanted to clarify that by ‘fantasy sports app’ , do you mean apps like Dream11?
of males will compete than females.
Precisely, you can take Dream11 as your benchmark for the further process if you want.
Fair enough. Can you get into a little detail as to how will you analyse into the income
Got it. I also wanted to clarify the business model of Dream11. I know for a fact that in such segments and incorporate it into the analysis? Let’s consider the cost of entering a game to
apps, there is a small upfront fee demanded for entering a contest/event, which requires be INR 200.
selecting players & making a team for which points, which can later be converted to money,
For this, I would consider the average cost of signing up to a contest on Dream 11 (given as
will be awarded based on the performance of the team in real matches. Is that correct?
INR 200) and compare it with savings of an average family, computed on a single day basis,
Yes, absolutely correct. Dream11 has various sporting events for which contests are which will be calculated as a percentage of monthly income of the family. Based on the ratio
conducted, based on real match events. For our analysis, let’s just consider cricket matches. of entry cost to the daily savings amount, I would qualitatively determine the frequency
(average no. of games played per day). Below is the table explaining this process:-
Sure, understood. Finally, I just wanted to know if we have any information regarding entry
fees for a match or the pot money? Also, on what factor should the market size be found? Income Savings as a % of daily
Avg. Monthly Daily frequency of
Hmm…let’s just focus now on the various factors you will consider for market sizing. We can Segment income
Income (INR) entering a contest
incorporate the entry fees cost at a later stage. (Urban areas) (1month = 30 days)
Also, let’s find the potential market size based on number of game entries per day. Lower & Lower =133 (20% of
20k 0.2
Ok, sounds good. I will begin my analysis by dividing India’s population on urban-rural basis. Middle income/30)
Out of a total population of 1.2 billion, about 1/3rd reside in urban areas and the rest in rural =500 (30% of
areas. I will be considering the urban population only for my analysis. Is that appropriate? Middle 50k 0.6
income/30)
Yes, that’s alright. You can proceed ahead. Upper Middle =1300 (40% of
1L 1.2
& Upper income/30)
Sure. Next, I will be looking into the smartphone & mobile internet penetration in urban
Another factor to consider in the above steps is the winning pot money, which will also
India. This would depend on different income classes as well as age & gender categories.
influence the frequency of entering games. I can incorporate that too if you want.

No, that’s all right. Can you now have a quick quantitative look into how many target
individuals can be there for Dream 11?
Alright, so as I mentioned before, I will be looking into urban India and factoring it on the
basis of income, age-groups and gender. I will be taking the base to be urban India’s
population (1/3 of 1.2B = 400M)
Target age group as a % of Cost-free potential target Frequency factor Total daily potential
Income Class Population Gender factor
total population market (done before) target market
Lower =160M (40%) 100% M, 0% F =20M (160M*0.25*0.5) 0.2 =10M (0.2*20M)
=15-35 age group (25% of total =14.4M
Middle =160M (40%) 100% M, 20% F =24M (160M*0.25*0.6) 0.6
population) (0.6*24M)
Upper =80M (20%) 100%M, 40% F =14M (80M*0.25*0.7) 1.2 =16.8M (1.2*14M)
We get a potential market size of nearly 41 million game entries in a day.
Great. I think we are done with the market sizing part. Can you look into some factors that
can drive the market size up?
Sure. Some of the ways to increase potential market size includes – promoting the app in
rural locations, decreasing of the contests/event entry fees, increasing the winning money
pot, adding more sports/events available as competition.
Nice ideas. Could we also quickly look into some risks for fantasy sports apps?
Absolutely. Some risks associated with the app include the negative perception surrounding
online money-making apps in Indian society, app usage during off-season (for ex., during
cricket calendar's lean period). Additionally, recent court cases filed to declare such apps as
‘betting platforms’ and subsequently ban them, can also negatively affect their image.
Great. That would be all from our side. Thank you.

• A fantasy sports app (such as Dream 11) which wants to determine its potential market size
Case Statement
• Also need to investigate factors that can drive-up the market size and risks associated with the same

Average monthly incomes per person
• Understand the business Population
model of fantasy sports apps,
especially the concepts of
entry fees and winning money
• Use top-down approach, start
from national population and Rural : 2/3 Urban : 1/3
Upper class : 1
then apply filters in a nested Lower class : 20k Middle class : 50k
manner – urban-rural, lakh
0-15 : 15%
smartphones, internet,
income group, age group and
finally gender. 15-35 : 25% Savings Rate : Savings Rate :
• Using the concept of savings
Savings Rate :
20% 30% 40%
for different income
categories and comparing it 35-60 : 50%
with the entry fees for
estimating playing frequency 60+ : 10%
is a very important step.
• Understanding that such apps will primarily be used by the youth in urban areas
Key Takeaways • Comparing savings with entry fees & pot money value is a very useful method to find out the frequency of entering an event across income categories
• Keeping up to date on news helps in understanding potential risks associated with such apps, such as recent court rulings on Dream 11.

EV Market in India Guesstimate| Moderate | McKinsey (Partner)
Your client is an automobile manufacturing company and wants to enter EV market in India Yes, these numbers looks okay. What do you think the EV market penetration of each of
in next 2-3 years. They have approached you to estimate EV market demand of India in these 3 segments will be in next 3 years?
2025. Please help them in doing this.
Okay, given the overall EV market penetration is very low currently ( less than 2%), I expect
Okay, I have a preliminary question before I begin solving this. When our client is talking these numbers to increase given the infrastructure and acceptability of EV cars is growing.
We can assume that for economy segment, EV penetration will increase to 20% as EV cars
about EV industry, do they have any specific vehicle segment in mind like 2-wheeler, 4-
will become more fuel efficient and affordable with improving battery technology, for luxury
wheeler passenger cars or commercial vehicles?
segment, this number will remain low to around 5% as not much investments are
Let’s focus only on 4 wheeler passenger cars market. happening in this high-end space, also people are looking for style and comfort in this
segment rather than fuel efficiency which is difficult to emulate in short span of time. For
Okay, I would like to state my approach first. I will first estimate the number of cars sold in mid range SUV segment, I will take 10% penetration, as a number in between these 2
India in 2022. I will further project this number to 2025, divide cars sold into different categories. So, the number of EV sold in 2025 will be 6.7 Lakhs units.
categories and apply a EV market penetration multiplier by 2025 to each of those categories Okay, these figures looks okay. How will you verify that these are correct numbers? You
and get a final number. don’t need to do exact calculations, explain this qualitatively.
Okay, your approach sounds good. What do you think is the number of cars sold in India in To verify the correctness of these numbers, we can take benchmarking against other
2022? A rough number will work so do a quick calculation. countries where EV market is more developed than India like China and USA. We can see
how EV cars’ market share grew in different categories in these countries in past 2-3 years
For this, I will start will population of India which 140 crores. Taking average family size of 4, and check if our assumptions are reasonable. While doing this analysis, we will have to be
this give number of families to be 35 crores. Since India is still a developing market for 4 careful about the difference in category distribution and purchasing power numbers and
wheeler passenger cars, I will say around 1% of families buy car every year, which gives an make suitable adjustments in calculations.
estimate of 35L cars sold in this year.
Great, now that you have estimated these numbers, give me 3-4 factors which can
Okay, sound good. Now go ahead with your approach. increase/decrease this number.
Okay, I would like to first divide my answer in 2 buckets namely industry level factors and
Okay, taking 5% CAGR growth rate of the automobile market, I estimate 4W passenger cars
external factors and list couple of points under each bucket. Under industry factors – 1) If
market in 2025 to grow to approx. 40 Lakhs. (= 35*(1.05)^3) . Now I would like to divide this
the industry is able to agree on and set ‘EV standards’ in practice for battery charging and
market broadly in 3 categories on the basis of car price – 1) economy and affordable sedan,
replacement, roadside charging infrastructure will be be built at a faster pace and electric
2) middle range SUVs and 3) premium luxury cars segment. Since Indian market sells mostly
adoption will increase. 2) Investments in battery technology by automobile companies to
economy segment cars and luxury cars are far and few, I estimate the percent market share
reduce apprehensions like high-upfront costs, range anxiety, heating and charging issues will
of these 3 car categories to be 70%, 25% and 5% respectively. Is this a fair estimate?
increase EV penetration.

EV Market in India Guesstimate| Moderate | McKinsey (Partner)
Moving on to external factors – 1) If the government decides to push for cleaner vehicles to
meet its 45% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 goal, it may provide more incentives to
buy EVs by increasing subsidies, which can result in a higher number than the estimate. 2)
We have to keep cognizance of economical factors in our calculation, since inflation is on a
rise globally and many experts are predicting a recession in 2023. This can affect India as
well and cars sell take a major hit in recessionary environment. So, this can lead to
reduction in our calculated numbers.
Very good, your analysis was good and succinct. We can close the case now.

EV Market in India Guesstimate| Moderate |McKinsey (Partner)
• Estimate 4-wheeler passenger EV cars market in India in year 2025

Case Statement • Identify factors which can lead to a positive/negative change in the estimated EV market
Interviewee Notes Structure/ Framework 5% CAGR growth No. of 4-W

passenger cars in
No. of 4-W 2025 (40 L)
• In EV markets, penetration
passenger
will be different across
cars in 2022
different car categories.
Economy segment Mid-range SUVs Luxury Cars
• After estimating any number, ( 70%) (25%) (5%)
its always a good idea to
benchmark and do a sanity 140 Cr
20% 10% 5% EV Penetration multiplier
check. Population
• Try to show your general 40*0.7*0.2 = 40*0.25*0.1 = 40*0.05*0.05 =
knowledge in answers by ÷4
5.6 L 1L 0.1 L
giving example whenever you
are making assumptions on 35 Cr Families
market share, penetration etc. Benchmarking against other markets
6.7 Lakhs
1% buy car
each year Industry related
factors
Factors which can
35 L cars sold increase/decrease EV
in 2022 External Factors
(PESTEL)
• Rather than starting every guesstimate with population, you can think of a closest data that is easy to estimate. For example, I chose number of cars
sold in current year as a starting point in this case.
Key Takeaways • Be succinct in you answers when asked about factors that can increase/decrease any number. First write your answer in the form of framework, then
pick 2-3 points out of it and answer briefly.
• Ask clarifying questions in the beginning to know what exactly is meant by EV market and which vehicle segment is our client focused on in India.
Snow Melting Liquid Guesstimate | Moderate | McKinsey (Buddy)
Our client has invented a new Snow Melting Liquid Chemical and we need to estimate the Let me help you with some data here. You could assume 60% of the area of US where
amount of annual consumption to get a total addressable market. chemical will be used, this includes your area by climatic conditions and inhabited area.
10mL of chemical is used to melt 1 cubic meter of snow and its typically used for days
I have a few preliminary questions before I jump into the guesstimate, where exactly is the
experiencing snowfall over 50cm which is about 40 days in the year.
liquid used and which geography are we talking about?
Sure. So, this gives us about 1400 billion litres of chemical as the total addressable market
The chemical is used to melt accumulated snow. We would like to look at US.
for the chemical on an annual basis. (Calculations in chart on next page). Is there anything
Sure, I’ll take a minute to come up with an overall approach. else you’d like me to consider.
That sounds comprehensive. We can close the case now.
Sure.
Thank you!
So, the way I’d like to estimate this is based on 1st the amount of snow that needs to be
melted multiplied by amount of chemical needed per unit snow. For amount of snow, I
believe this chemical will not be used for smaller amounts of snowfall, but only when we
see a certain significant amount of snowfall happen. So, we would see how many days on
an average in winter months experience such heavy snowfall, and the inches of snow that
need to be melted multiplied by the share of area in US experiencing heavy snowfall. There
would also be the factor of percentage of area where snow needs to be melted as a lot of
area will be buildings or uninhabited and would not require melting snow. Does that sound
ok?
That sounds like a good approach. Let’s calculate this.
Sure. I am not aware of the area of US. I would guess it is about three times the area of
India. For estimating the area of India, I say we have an approximate kite or rhombus shape
with N-S and E-W lines as diagonals. For N-S distance, I’ve flown from Delhi to Mumbai in
~2hours and with a speed of 500km/hr for an airplane, that is approximately 1000Km. This
should be about one-third the N-S distance between top of J&K and Kanyakumari in the
south. The flight from Mumbai to Kolkata was about 3 hours. The E-W distance would be
1.5 times this. Hence, we have diagonals of approximately 3000Km and 2200Km. This gives
area of India as (1/2)*3000*2200 = 3.3Mn sq. Km. Area of US = 10Mn sq. Km. I’d say about
2-3rd of US experiences heavy snowfall, is that correct? Also, I’m not sure what amount of
snow warrants the use of chemical and how often that much snowfall would happen.
Snow Melting Liquid Guesstimate | Moderate | McKinsey (Buddy)
Case Statement • Estimate the amount of Snow Melting Liquid Chemical used annually
• US area ~ 3x India
% area where Product per unit Required
Area of US chemical Snowfall Snow # Days in yr Answer:
10Mn sq Km required when chemical
• Snow melting chemical used 50 cm 10mL per m3 of is reqd. = 40 1200 Bn Litres
40 days in an year when 60% snow per Year
snowfall > 50 cm
Area of India
3
3.3 Mn sq Km
• % area where chemical
required x %area experiencing
snowfall x %area where snow N-S distance E-W distance
needs to be melted 1/2
(3000 km) (2200 km)
6Mn * (Sq. km = 106 sq.m) x 0.5 m = (3 x106) Mn m3
• Use proxy and ask for more information when not aware of geographic or any other specifics.
Key Takeaways
• Assumptions like “chemical not being used for smaller amounts of snowfall” are good for brownie points, but always take interviewers buy-in for such
assumptions.

Tennis Balls Consumption Guesstimate| Moderate| Strategy& (Director)
Estimate qualitatively, the total number of tennis balls sold per year in Bangalore How would you proceed with the frequency of matches played?
To estimate that figure, we can take 2 approaches, supply-side or demand-side. Can we go Professional players play at least thrice a week, while amateurs play only during the weekends,
ahead with the demand-side estimation? so a maximum of twice a week. Based on this estimate, we can calculate the number of
matches played per week and extrapolate it to a year. Then estimating the average life of a
Why not estimate from the supply side?
tennis ball, we can arrive at the number of tennis balls sold per year in Bangalore
From the supply-side, there are multiple variables such as the various brands, price range,
varying quality of the tennis balls according to brands and product offerings. Also, Good. Now focus on the demand from cricket.
production of tennis balls takes place at various locations from which they are exported to We can take a similar approach by estimating the number of cricket matches played and
Bangalore, which is relative difficult to accurately estimate. dividing it by the average life of a tennis ball Tennis ball is predominantly used for street
Ok, go ahead with the demand based approach. cricket, i.e., cricket that is played by enthusiasts and amateurs. We can ignore professional
matches since they are played with a leather cork ball.
We can estimate the number of tennis balls sold by first estimating the number of tennis
matches played per year and dividing it with the life of a tennis ball. Ok, how does the life of a tennis ball for cricket match differ from that of a tennis match?
But first, what are the various uses of tennis balls? While for tennis matches, the life of a ball is determined by the average time taken for the ball
Yeah, so apart from tennis, tennis balls are also used for playing street cricket and also used to lose its bounce and surface properties due to wear and tear, but for cricket matches, along
as a play toy for dogs. We can take a similar approach to estimate for cricket and pet uses. with the same reason of wear and tear, there is also the possibility of the ball getting torn or
getting lost. Considering these reasons into account, we can calculate a different life span for
That sounds great, let’s focus on tennis matches first. tennis balls used for cricket matches.
To decide on the number of matches played, we first divide the type of matches as Thanks, we can conclude the case here.
amateurs and professional matches. Professional matches involve officially regulated
matches, played by professional players, while amateurs are those who play as a hobby.
How will you differentiate professional players from amateurs on paper?
There are 3 ways by which we can identify professional players apart from amateurs.
1. Check whether the players are registered with the official tennis association of
Karnataka and/or India.
2. Check the statistics such as number of aces, total points, faults, etc. of all matches
played.
3. Check the frequency of matches played per a standard time period (week/month/year)

Tennis Balls Consumption Guesstimate| Moderate| Strategy& (Director)
Case Statement • A qualitative guesstimate for the number of tennis balls sold per year in Bangalore
Interviewee Notes Structure/ Framework Number of tennis balls sold per year in Bangalore
• Chose demand-based
approach rather than supply-
based approach Number of tennis balls used
• Number of tennis balls sold =
(Number of tennis matches
played / Average life of tennis Tennis Cricket Pets
ball) + (Number of street
cricket matches played /
Average life of tennis ball for Professional Amateurs Street cricket Professional cricket
cricket)
• Number of tennis matches
played = Number of
(Professional + Amateur) Frequency 3 to 7 Frequency less than 3
matches played matches per week matches per week
• Frequency of matches: Life of tennis ball:
professional = 3-7 times a 1. until wear and tear leads to damage
week, amateur <= 2 times a Life of tennis ball: until wear and tear 2. ball gets torn
week. leads to damage 3. ball gets lost
Key Takeaways • The interviewer was more focussed on the approach taken rather than using quantitative data to arrive at the actual estimate.
• It is better to ensure that problem is broken down exhaustively at each step.

Global Aircrafts Guesstimate | Moderate| BCG (Partner)
Estimate the number of aircrafts in the air at this moment. Pretty accurate estimate. How will you go about estimating flights in the air at the moment?
This sounds Interesting. Before jumping into the guesstimate, I would like to clarify a few I will first calculate total no. of flights flying in a day from all airports in the world as per the
aspects of the case. By aircrafts should I consider commercial, military, cargo, personal etc. equation (no. of runways) * (flights on peak days+ flights on non-peak days). Can I take few
Planes? Should I focus on aircrafts flying globally? Can I look at it from a supply side lens? seconds to calculate?
Great observations. You can focus on commercial planes flying worldwide. Sure, go ahead.
The world has 7 continents and approximately 10,000 cities in it. I will look at tier 1 and 2 For all countries under consideration the total number of flights in a day comes out to be ~6
cities for my analysis and further classify types of airports into big, medium and small. I will Lacs. One way to calculate number of flights at any moment is to consider domestic flight
then estimate number of flights in air according to the equation =No. of airports* No. of avg. duration to be 1.5 hours and International flight avg. duration to be 3.5 hours and
runways per airport* No. of planes flying in a day. I will then estimate flights in the air at any obtain a total average duration of 2.5 hours. So, for entire day it will be equal to 24/2.5 =
moment by dividing no. of planes by number of times a plan leaves or lands on the runway. approximately 10 instances where the flight is either landing or flying from the runway. To
I will base my analysis to pre-covid era with no travel bans. Does this approach seem viable? obtain avg. no. of flights in air currently I will divide no. of flights in a day by 10. Does this
seem correct or am I missing something?
Yes, all the assumptions seem fair. You can proceed.
Interesting. What is the final figure?
To calculate the number of airports in the world, I will limit my scope to developed and
some developing nations and take about ~30% of the world with an average of 3000 cities At any point in time Flights are either landing, flying or are held in the hangar/ track. So one-
(tier 1 and 2) or ~50 countries approximately in the world that have airports with 100% third will be flying. Hence result is ~20000 flights. If I factor in for climatic and traffic
utilization. Further these countries have close to 6 big, 25 medium and 45 small airports. Is conditions and take about 80% of these end up flying, I will obtain ~16000 flights.
this a feasible assumption?
Great Job. Can you quickly estimate number of passengers in these flights?
Yes, your understanding is correct. Go ahead.
To arrive at this I will multiply no. of flights* seats per flight* occupancy rate
I am assuming the big, medium and small airports to have 4, 3 and 2 runways respectively.
Sure. Good approach.
So total number of runways is 6*4+25*3+45*2 =189 runways. Can I go ahead with this?
Can I assume an average figure of 115 seats in a Boeing-Airbus plane and occupancy rate on
You are on the right track. Keep going.
an average to be 70%?
There is a huge variation between number of airplanes depending on the time of the day. Is
Yes, you can work with that.
it okay to assume peak hours from to 9 am to 9 pm for ease of calculation? Also, in peak
hours can I assume planes take off every 10 minutes Vs. 20 minutes during the non-peak Total number of passengers in a commercial flight on air at any point in time globally is
hours? That gives me 6 and 3 planes per hour during peak and non-peak hours respectively 115*0.7*16000 = approx. 13 Lacs.
and I obtain total no. of flights as 6*12+3*12=108.
Thank you. I think this is a comprehensive analysis covering all aspects. All the very best!

Global Aircrafts Guesstimate | Moderate| BCG (Partner)
Case Statement • Estimate the number of aircrafts in the air at this moment
• Scope of estimate global

• Exclude under-developed
countries
• 6 big, 25 medium and 45
No. of airports No. of runways /
airport
No. of planes / day
= Total planes per day
small airports in a country

• Airport Peak hours from 9 AM
to 9 PM Big Medium Small No. of planes in No. of planes in non-
• Domestic flight average peak hours peak hours
duration 1.5 hours
• International flight average
duration 3.5 hours Total peak hours in a Total non peak hours
• At any point flight either lands day*60/fly in a day*60/fly
or takes off from the runway behaviour behaviour
• Average occupancy rate of
=
flight 70%
Number of Capacity of Occupancy Number of
flights Flight rate % passengers
• It was tricky to estimate number of flights at any point in time, Interviewer was looking for the correct approach instead of accurate numbers.
Key Takeaways • Deciding on solving the case from supply/demand side analysis helps in robust structuring and later helps in sanity check using the other side.
• Do not hesitate to ask as many preliminary questions as possible to avoid obtaining a wrong estimate.

Perfume Retailer Guesstimate | Challenging | Auctus Advisors (Manager)
You are the owner of a retail outlet which sells luxury perfume. How do you plan the Yes, you are right it will hamper the brand image of the luxury brand, so another option is to
inventory for this perfume ? return it back to the manufacturer, is that a possible option ?
Just to confirm my understanding we are a retailer who just resells the branded perfume Yes that’s possible. Now how will you arrive at the optimal quantity to order ?
through our retail outlets. Obviously, our primary objective is reducing the different kind of
inventory cost and be more profitable. Sure, we can use the newsvendor model to arrive at the optimal quantity to be ordered. Do
we have any data on cost structure and price of the product ? Also, we will need
Exactly, what all kinds of inventory costs can you think of ? distribution of demand, assuming it’s normal distribution can you tell me the mean and
standard deviation of the demand.
There is fixed material cost which is charged irrespective on the amount of inventory
ordered, apart from that there might be an ordering cost, opportunity cost of capital The perfume costs us Rs. 80, and we sell it at Rs. 150. As per the contract with
blocked in inventory, warehouse and inspection cost. manufacturer any unsold perfume is taken back at Rs. 50 after 1 year. The marketing
Sounds good, let’s go ahead and find out the optimal inventory. department has estimated that demand is not normal and there is 20% chance that
demand is 1000, 50% chance that demand is 1500 and 30% chance that demand is 2000.
Since this is not a high demand good, one option is to use periodic order inventory system,
Having a discrete demand makes the problem easier, now we the optimal quantity to order
where we find the optimal time to place an order using EOQ (Economic order quantity)
model and based on the service level required we can find the correct quantity to order. is either of 1000, 1500 or 2000. For each of the case we can find expected profit and choose
the one with highest expected profit. Does the approach sound fine to you ?
Let’s take a step back, can you tell me what are the components of inventory planning ? Yes, this looks great please go ahead with the calculations.
In my opinion inventory planning means , what is the amount of inventory to order and Scenario 1 (1000) : 1000*(150-80) = 70K, Scenario 2 (1500): 1500*(150-80)*0.8 + 1000*
when to order. So basically, we are trying to answer when and how for the inventory. Am I 70* 0.2 - 500*30*0.2 = 95K, Scenario 3 (2000): 2000*(150-80)*0.3 + 1500*70*0.5 –
missing something ? 500*30*0.5 + 1000*70*0.2 – 1000*30*0.2 = 95K. Since scenario 2 and scenario 3 both give
highest profit that is 95K we can go with either of them.
Sound perfect, so let me give you some more information regarding the planning
parameters. We can order perfumes only at the beginning of the year and perfumes go out Ok, if I force you to choose either one of them which one will you choose ?
of trend in next year and cannot be sold. Before we go ahead can you tell me what all can
we do with the unsold perfume ? II will choose 3rd option that is order 2000 as we don’t want to loose our customers to other
retailers as retailing is a highly competitive business.
Next year we can sell the perfume on sale or through other marketing campaigns.
Thank you! we can close the case now.
You do understand that this is a luxury brand so is running sales and discount on these
perfumes a good idea ?

Perfume Retailer Guesstimate | Challenging | Auctus Advisors (Manager)
Case Statement • Inventory planning for a retailer who sells luxury perfume

Inventory
• Plan inventory such that Planning
different kinds of inventory
costs are reduced.
• Planning horizon is 1 year.
• Order can be made only at the How much to
beginning of the year. When to order?
order?
• Unsold perfume is returned to
the supplier at a loss of Rs. 30.
• Selling the perfume earns
Rs.70. Overstocking
Beginning of the Understocking At-par with
• Demand pattern for the (Leftover
year (Shortfall) Demand
upcoming year is given. Inventory)
Loss on Unsold
Lost Revenue
Product
• This case can be solved without any knowledge of inventory planning models. It was a simple probability based case.
Key Takeaways • More clarifying question like planning horizon should be asked before moving into solution.
• Case could have been structured from beginning.

IIMB Industry Reports
2022-23

Airlines Industry
Inbound Logistics Operations Outbound Logistics Marketing & Sales Service
• Route Selection • Ticket Counter/ Kiosk • Baggage System • Promotion/ Advertising • Lost Baggage
• Yield Management • Gate & Aircraft Operations • Flight Connections • Frequent Flyer Service
• Fuel • Onboard Services • Rental Car & Hotel • Travel Agent Programs • Complaint Follow-up
• Flight/Crew Scheduling • Baggage Handling • Reservation System • Group Sales • Support Centre
• Aircraft Acquisition • Ticket Offices • Electronic Tickets
• Aircraft Lease
Industry Forces Key Drivers Market Trends (elaborate data/points)

• Supplier Power: (High). Aircraft and engine producers are Revenue Cost Growth • Robust Demand: Rising working group and widening
concentrated oligopolies Post-COVID middle class demography is expected to boost demand
• Barriers to Entry: High. High CAPEX, cost intensive and Passenger tickets, • Opportunities in MRO: Expenditure in Maintenance,
Aviation fuel (40%) trade and
need for economies of scale. inflight sales Repair & Overhaul (MRO) accounts for 12-15% of the total
tourism
• Threat of Substitutes: (Medium) Fast Trains, Video revenues – it is the second-highest expense after fuel cost.
conferencing reducing need for business travel etc. Rising
Freight services, Equipment rentals, By 2031, the MRO industry is likely to grow over $4 billion
• Buyer Power: (High) Low switching costs for most disposable
other VAS hangar cost (15%) from $1.7B in 2021
incomes
customers since relatively standardized service • Policy Support: Foreign investment up to 49% is allowed
• Rivalry: (High) Limited differentiation and opportunities Maintenance and Government under the automatic route. Under Union Budget 2021-22,
Tours and packages
for economies of scale overhaul (10%) policies the government lowered the custom duty from 2.5% to 0%
on components or parts, including engines, for
Industry Challenges Useful Links/Reports Industry Dynamics manufacturing of aircrafts by the MoD.
• Increasing Investments: Investment to the tune of INR
• High fuel prices – account for 40% of costs Key Customer Segment Growth 420-450 billion is expected in India’s airport infrastructure
• Government policies and interference to keep in the next 3 years
a cap on the ticket prices Industry Reports • UDAN: Under this regional connectivity scheme, airfare for
Passenger - Domestic 11-12%
• Growing climate change awareness leading to • IBEF Report a one-hour journey of 500 km has been capped at INR
lesser demand • Invest India Report 2500
Passenger - International 9-10%
• Post COVID travel hesitation in certain • Public-Private Partnerships: $3 billion investment in
sections of the society Freight 7-8% greenfield airports in Navi Mumbai and Goa
• Financing - High capex, opex industry
Automobile Industry
R&D and Product Raw Material Product Logistics &

Auto Components Marketing and Service
Design Management Assembly Transportation
• Raw materials: • Engine/Battery • Body/Chassis • Warehousing • Advertising
• Skilled Labour Aluminium, Iron, • Suspension and • Finance, Insurance
• Casting, machining • Distribution
• Process glass, plastic, braking and welding • Dealership • Used Cars, Rentals
/Product Innovation rubber • Electronics • Quality Testing Management • Service, Spares
• Warehousing • Auto Expo
Industry Forces Key Drivers Key Market Trends

• Barriers to entry (High): capital costs, distribution • India is the 5th largest Automobile market in the world
Revenue Cost Growth
network, and availability of automobile components. • Transitioning towards electric vehicles: expected to
• Bargaining power of suppliers (Low): stiff competition Automobile witness a CAGR of 44% to reach $150B mkt by 2030
Raw Material Increasing Exports
• Bargaining power of customers (Very high): due to Sales • Bharat Stage (BS) - VI norms: India aims to reduce its
availability of options. carbon footprint by 33-35% by 2030
After Sales • Positive GST impact: Reduction in the overall cost
• Threat of Substitutes (Medium): Increasing shared Labour Policy Support
Service structure of Indian Automobile industry
mobility options and improving public transport • Policy Support: Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan, Automotive
• Rivalry (High): Competition from established international Financing Mission Plan 2026 to promote manufacturing, export-
Advertising Robust R&D Centres
and domestic brands services linked fiscal incentives, Voluntary Vehicle Fleet
Modernization Programme, FAME II policy for EV adoption
Industry Challenges Useful Links/Reports Industry Dynamics • Market Developments: Organized pre-owned car market,
shared mobility ecosystem
• Increasing commodity prices impacting Key Segment Share • Covid Impact:
production costs and utilization levels Industry Report o shortage of raw material and semi conductors
• Semiconductor crisis and lack of domestic 2 Wheelers 80% o shifting of production to other countries,
• IBEF- Automobiles
supply limiting the pace of production o liquidity crunch
• Invest India – Automobiles
• High sales dependence on domestic market • IBEF - EV Passenger Vehicles 15% o preference for private ownership of vehicles
and Indian Economic cycle (declining share of o shrinkage in consumer demand due to WFH
exports) Commercial Vehicles 3%
• Chronic trade deficit in auto parts, industry
Cement Industry
Procurement Manufacturing Distribution Sales and Marketing
• Long term lease of lime • Process: Limestone Clinker • Major freight cost (higher in • Strong relationship with
quarries grinding and additives rainy season) contractors and developers
• Plants located close to quarries Cement • Rail-road mix used • Distributor-dealer network of
• Long term supplier contracts • High automated setups • Warehouse network sales
for other RM • Imp: Economies of Scale • Large orders directly to • Bulk orders are cheaper
• High start-up costs dealers/customers

• Supplier Power: Low. Companies opt for backward Revenue Cost CAPEX • India is Second Largest producer and consumer of cement
integration, weakening supplier power. in world.
• Barriers to Entry: High. High CAPEX, fixed costs and need Sale of cement Transportation Plant & • Market Size: Cement sales in India stood at USD 9.05B in
for economies of scale. (98%) costs (30%) Machinery (40%) FY20.
• Threat of Substitutes: Low. No product exists to date that • Industry Growth: India’s cement production is expected
can substitute cement effectively. Only quantity can be Power & Fuel to increase at a CAGR of 5.65% and cement consumption
Land (20%)
varied. costs (20%) to grow at a CAGR of 5.68%.
Interest Income
• Buyer Power: Low. Low substitutability, oligopolistic (2%)
market. Material cost Captive power • Increasing Investment: FDI investment in cement industry
• Rivalry: Moderate. Concentrated market. (20%) plant (10%) reached USD 5.24B. National Infrastructure Pipeline
introduced projects worth USD 14.59B in next 5 years.
Industry Challenges Useful Links/Reports Industry Dynamics Union budget for MoRTH stood at USD 27B.
• Innovation: Carbon neutrality goals by cement
• Reduction in CO2 emissions and use of clean Key Customer Segment Share companies. Implementation of carbon capture (CCUS)
energy in production and logistics. units.
• High Lending rates by banks hinders growth as • Cement Industry insights Housing and Real Estate 68%
High CAPEX required in cement industry. • Mckinsey Report • Import: USD119. 83 growing at 0.42% CAGR.
• High Tariffs like high excise duty, sales tax, • Industry Report • Export: India’s export of various grades of cement stood
Infrastructure 22%
royalty on limestone and coal hinders demand. • IBEF at USD 118.15M. Countries exported to: Sri Lanka, Nepal,
• Limitations in rail and road transport. Industrial Development 10% US, UAE, Bangladesh.

E-Commerce Industry
Inbound Logistics Inventory Management Operations Marketing and Sales Order Fulfillment
Sourcing Demand planning Own platform Logistics Targeted marketing Delivery planning
Vendor contracts Warehousing Platform excellence Multi-channel attribution & Logistics partners
Quality testing Unified offline & online Platform maintenance and end-to- end ROI Omnichannel fulfilment
Mass customization inventory management repair Customer retention Product queries
Modular Production Assortment Planning Order management Payment methodology Return management
Working capital Packaging and invoicing Market research
management Discounting & promotion
Key Drivers Porter’s Five Forces Market Trends

Revenue Cost Growth • Threat of New Entrants: High (high government support, Key Data Points
Sales Commission Platform fee Tier 2 & 3 brick & mortar turning online) • Industry Size: India’s e-commerce market is expected
• Bargaining power of buyers: High (low switching cost) to reach US$ 111 billion by 2024 and US$ 200 billion by
Inventory and • Internal Competition: High (multinational players, low 2026
Government • Consumer electronics and apparels makes up 80% of e-
Private Labels supply chain differentiation)
policies • Substitutes: High (multiple offline and online players) commerce value in India
costs
• Bargaining Power of Suppliers: Low (Multiple e-
Internet Growth Opportunities
Listing fee & Promotion/ commerce platforms and offline stores to list their
penetration and products), own websites of major supplying brands • Omnichannel fulfilment: Integrating online and offline
customer EMIs Marketing
online payment to provide end-to-end experience
• Policy Support: 100% FDI is allowed in B2B e-
Key Performance Indicators Industry Challenges
commerce. 100% FDI under the automatic route is
Fill Rate: How many items out of the ordered are delivered permitted in the marketplace model of E-commerce.
• Increased competition and pressure to deliver as soon as
OTIF (On Time In Full): A stricter measure than fill rate, includes • Increasing investments: India’s ecommerce sector
possible
timely delivery along with fill rate received US$ 15 billion of PE/VC investments in 2021
• Regulatory considerations of data protection and
Funnel metrics: Number of people dropping at different stages of which is a 5.4 times increase YoY.
consumer protection rules for sellers & marketplaces
customer journey, download, bounce rate, cart abandonment • Growing Demand: India’s social commerce has the
• Customer loyalty as switching costs are too low and
CLV: Cust Lifetime Value, measures total spend of potential to expand to US$16–20 billion in FY25,
competition too high
customer on the platform growing at a CAGR of 55-60%.
• High browsing users, low payment customers
SWOOS: Sales weighted out of stock

Financial Services – Asset Management
Front Office Middle Office Back Office Sell-Side Firms Buy-Side Firms
Drive revenue generation • Risk Management Administration & Support Offer investment products Manage portfolios
• Sales • IT • Accounting • Investment Banks • Pension Funds
• Marketing • Corporate Finance • Human Resources • Brokers • Endowment Funds
• Customer Service • Portfolio Management • Payroll • Dealers • Sovereign Wealth Funds
• Trading • Research • Operation
Key Performance Indicators Revenue & Cost Drivers Key Market Trends
Asset management refers to the management on others’ Revenue drivers: Current market trends:
behalf. It is built on the notion that future is somewhat • ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) investing is
predictable, although it is not. • Management charges: Charged on each Portfolio making asset managers offer new products and modify
Management Services (PMS) quarterly or annually their operations to deliver them.
• Portfolio: Set of investments owned and managed as a • Profit sharing: Fixed percentage on any profit made by • Global asset manager are investing heavily in data strategy,
collective whole with specific investment goals. asset management company artificial intelligence and digitization.
• AUM: Asset Under Management - total market value of • Entry load: One time fee of ~3% at the time of
the financial assets which a financial institution controls purchasing PMS Future market trends/growth prospects:
• Net Asset Value (NAV): Value of mutual fund share (fund's • Others: Custodian fee, commission & transaction fee, • Consolidation through M&A: By 2030 the industry will
total assets-fund's liabilities)/outstanding shares. demat account charges, etc. have a small club of giant asset managers and a bigger one
• Asset class: Securities with similar features e.g., stocks, of niche managers.
bonds, cash equivalents, etc. Cost drivers: • Competition will revolve around products for particular
• Capital gain/loss: The difference between a security's needs e.g., products for retired vs. those for millennials
purchase price and its selling price • Branch operation • Fed instructed banks to stop writing LIBOR contracts by
• Growth investing: Investment strategy that focuses on • Maintenance of communication and IT infrastructure 2021 end. SOFR (Secured Overnight Financing Rate) will
stocks of companies and stock funds with rapid growth • Market schemes implementation replace LIBOR by June 2023.
• Value investing: Purchasing equity securities that you • Partnership management
believe are selling below estimated true value • Salary and employee benefits cost of staff Post Covid Impact:
• Increased focus on cost optimization specifically location
strategy to downsize office space

Financial Services – Banking
Marketing Sales Products & Services Transactions
You can simply
Advertising, sales impress
support You can acquisition
Customer simply impress
is You can simply
Processing impress
high volume
You can simply
Funding impress
Products - loans,your audience and
securitization add a unique
of assets, zing and
mortgages
your audience and add a
is becoming increasingly your audience and
done through multi- add a your audience
transactions and speed
at high add a
appeal
Investment services to your Presentations.
in securities through capital markets
unique zing
relevant due and appeal to
to high unique zing
channel, and
focus appeal
heavily onto unique
for zing and
payments, appeal
trading, to
and
your Presentations. your Presentations. Other advisory services like asset & portfolio management your Presentations.
competition from NBFCs relationship management clearing & settlement
Key Performance Indicators Revenue & Cost Drivers Key Market Trends
• Net Interest Margin (NIM): The difference between the • Digitization: Banking-As-A-Service platforms and open
interest income earned and the interest paid by a bank Cost Drivers banking, increasing need to protect data, strengthen IT
relative to its interest-earning assets like cash • Consolidation: Huge consolidation in public sector banks
• Current Account Savings Accounts (CASA): Type of non- Employee to improve capital efficiency & remain profitable
Fixed Cost Variable Cost
Salaries
term deposit account. Has lower interest rate than term • NPAs & credit extension: Increase in ratio of stressed
deposits & is a cheaper source of funds for banks Physical Digital Operational Employee assets and bad loans leading to slow down in lending.
• Gross Non-Performing Assets (GNPA): The total value of Infrastructure Infrastructure Costs Efficiency • Post Covid Impact: Difficult and slow recoveries,
non-performing assets in a particular time period. increased adoption of digital channels, greater cyber
Interest on
• CRR/SLR: Percentage of cash reserves/liquid assets that Deposits frauds
the bank must maintain which guarantees solvency
Provisioning
Cost (NPAs) Segments & Key Players
Porter’s Five Forces
• Public Sector Banks: SBI – largest market share (23%)
• Supplier's power (Low): Money supply controlled by RBI Revenue 3rd largest bank in India by market cap (383,312 Cr)
• Buyer's power/Demand (Medium): Increases with drivers
• Other PSBs: PNB, Bank of Baroda
income, credit worthiness. Financial inclusions scheme
• Privately Owned Banks (Indian): HDFC – largest bank in
for rural citizen Interest from Transactions Value Added Investment India market cap (822,326 Cr), ICICI – 2nd largest by
• Barriers to Entry (High): Due to regulations and licensing loans fees Services (bank's own)
market cap. Others: Axis, IndusInd
mandates, investment in physical, digital infrastructure
• Foreign Banks: Citibank, Standard Chartered, HSBC
• Competition (High): High competition from NBFCs
• Rural Cooperative Banks: Saraswat Co-op Bank – largest

FMCG Industry
Inbound Logistics Operations Outbound Logistics Sales and Marketing Servicing
• Sourcing raw materials • Manufacturing • Distribution center, • Branding • Warranty
• Quality testing • Production, quality, and channel • Advertising, promotion • Maintenance
• Warehouse storage control • Order Handling • Customer, order mgmt • Education, training,
• Packaging • Dispatch • Sales analysis upgrade
• Warehouse storage • Delivery invoicing • Market research

• Supplier Power: Low. Big companies control pricing, Revenue Cost Growth • India’s FMCG market is Fourth largest in world and major
fragmented commodity supplier. contributor to Indian economy.
• Barriers to Entry: Moderate. Investment in distribution Raw material Shift to • Market Size: FMCG market capitalization in FY20 was USD
network, promotions, advertising. Pricing and processing organized 110B. Urban market account for 55% and rural market
• Threat of Substitutes: High. Narrow product cost market account for 45%.
differentiation, price war. Growth of e- • Industry Growth: FMCG market is expected to grow at
• Buyer Power: High. Low switching cost. Promotion Distribution CAGR of 14.9% to USD 220B by 2025. Growth is driven by
commerce
• Rivalry: High. Highly fragmented, strong brands at a rural areas (14.2%), Tier 1 market (2.7%), metro market
discount Rural (0.8%).
Distribution Promotion
consumption
• Increasing Investment: 100% FDI in food processing and
Industry Challenges Useful Links/Reports Industry Dynamics single-brand retail and 51% in multi-brand retail. USD 20B
FDI in FY21.
• Regional Players: Region specific players with Key Product Segment Share • Policy and Regulatory Framework: Relaxation of License
well connected value chain pose a threat to rules, FDI in organized retail, SETU scheme.
big FMCG players. • Industry Insights Food and Beverages 19%
• Supply Chain: Small disruptions in supply • Mckinsey Report • Imports: India imported FMCG products worth USD 58B
chain can cause huge delays. • Industry Report Healthcare 31% in FY19.
• Lack of Infrastructure: Lack of transportation • IBEF • Exports: India exported FMCG products worth USD 145B.
and storage facilities especially for items with Household and
50% Top Import and export partner are Middle east, North
short shelf lives. Personal care
Africa, Europe, North America.
Food Processing Industry
Raw Materials Warehousing Processing Packaging and Transport Distributiona and Retail
• Producers – Farmers, • Cold storage • Cleaning, sorting • Grading • Carry and Forward agent
Breeders, Fishermen • Collection agents • Mixing, grinding • Quality control • Depots and Stockists
• Inputs: Agri produce, fruits • Cooperatives, FPOs • Pulping, juicing • Packaging • Wholesalers
and vegetables, meat and • Direct sourcing • Pasteurization • Cold storage • Retail stores and e-
poultry, marine, milk • Logistics • Dehydration, powdering • Food and Dairy corp. commerce
• International export

• Supplier Power: Low. Big companies control pricing, Revenue Cost Growth • India is Largest milk and buffalo meat producer and
fragmented commodity supplier. second largest producer of fruits, vegetables, eggs, goat
• Barriers to Entry: Moderate. Investment in distribution Production High consumer meat.
Sale of byproducts
network, promotions, advertising. cost (53%) base • Market Size: Gross value addition of FPI in FY21 was USD
• Threat of Substitutes: High. Narrow product Conducive 288.28B. Agriculture and allied sector contributes 20.2%
differentiation, price war. Processing to the GVA of total economy. 58% organized sector and
policies – PLI
• Buyer Power: High. Low switching cost. Sale of food and (12%) 42% unorganized sector.
schemes
• Rivalry: High. Highly fragmented, strong brands at a beverage produced • Industry Growth: FPI is expected to grow at 10% CAGR to
discount Distribution Agri-commodity USD 528.26B by FY27.
(7%) hub • Increasing Investment: GOI has continued the umbrella
PMKSY scheme with an allocation of USD 0.58B till FY26.
Industry Challenges Useful Links/Reports Industry Dynamics 100% FDI allowed under automatic route in FPI. FDI
equity flow in FY22 is USD 710M. Total FDI flow is USD
• Supply chain gaps: Inadequate primary Key Product Segment Share 11B.
processing, storage and distribution facilities. • Annual reports • Growth Strategies Adopted: Increasing business and
• Seasonality: High seasonality in operations • Food Processing Meat, Fish, Fruits 40% product innovation, low-cost pricing strategy, and joint
leading to low-capacity utilizations. Industry - Annual ventures and tie ups with private and public players.
Grain Mill 11%
• Institutional gaps: High dependency on APMC Report • Import: India imported USD 21B worth processed food
markets increases cost. • Industry Report Beverages 25% which was 5.3% of total imports in FY21.
• Lack of focus on quality and safety standard • IBEF • Export: India exported USD 2.14+ to countries like USA,
Dairy Products 5%
UAE, Malaysia, Nepal.
Healthcare Services Industry
Appointment Booking Hospital Visit Diagnosis Treatment Post-Treatment

• Walk-in • Primary / Secondary / • Medical History • Medical procedure • Monitoring and discharge
• Traditional Scheduling Tertiary Hospital • Screening based on • Clinical & ops support • Bill Payment
• Scheduling via • IPD (In-patient care) patient symptoms • Doctor (GP, CP, Specialist) • Post discharge care
appointment booking • OPD (Out-patient care) • Diagnostic Testing • Equipment & Supplies • Follow-up visit
apps like Practo • Emergency Section
KPIs and Important Terminologies Key Drivers Market Trends (elaborate data/points)
• ARPOB – Average Revenue Per Occupied Bed Revenue Cost CAPEX Current market trends
• ALOS – Average Length of Stay • Healthcare sector expected to reach $370B+ by the end of
Healthcare Infrastructure & 2022 growing at a CAGR of 22% since 2016
• Occupancy Ratio - % Bed utilization Salaries & HR
consultation & Operational set- • Rising instances of lifestyle diseases in urban areas
• Staff available per patient costs
services up
boosting demand for specialized care
• GP – General Physician • Growing medical tourism market due to availability of
Infra &
• CP – Consulting Physician Diagnostic services Equipment Costs quality services at relatively low cost
Equipment
• OOP – Out of pocket expenditure
• IP – In-patient Consumables Future market trends/ growth prospects
Drug Sales Others
• OP – Out-patient & utilities • Public private partnership models for establishing
hospitals
Industry Challenges Useful Links/Reports Industry Dynamics • Digitization of healthcare records via higher adoption of
eHRs
• Lack of Infrastructure like well-equipped Key Segment Top Players
medical institutes & hospitals Industry Report Covid Impact
• Skilled manpower shortage: Includes doctors, Primary Care Apollo • Change in attitude towards personal health and hygiene,
• IBEF
nurses, paramedics, and primary healthcare health insurance and medical check-ups
• Invest India
workers Secondary Care Fortis • Adoption of digital technologies including telemedicine
• High Out of Pocket expenditure- More than • Increase in healthcare budget allocation by 125%+ in
2/3rd expenses paid by the patient Tertiary Care Narayana 2021&2022.

Hospitality Industry
Procurement Operations Guest Services Sales & Marketing Distribution

• Food & Beverages (F&B) • Front-desk operations • Check-In/Check-Out • Advertisements • Online Travel Aggregators
• Cleaning supplies • Housekeeping operations • F&B services • Promotions & discounts (OTAs)
• Room supplies • Kitchen operations • Laundry services • Loyalty programs • Direct (Website/ app/
• Contractual services like • Laundry operations • Transportation services • Tour packages telephone)
internet, cable, security, • Revenue management • Other on-demand services • Walk-ins
etc. • Staff training • Tour-&-Travel Agents

• Supplier Power: Low. No over-powered monopolistic Revenue Cost CAPEX Current market trends
suppliers in any aspect • India is the world’s 10th largest tourism economy in terms
• Barriers to Entry: High. High CAPEX, fixed costs and need Construction of contribution to GDP
Room Tariffs (60%) Salaries (40%)
for economies of scale. Costs (40%) • Industry has seen increase in ARRs by 6-8% y-o-y basis
• Threat of Substitutes: High. Low switching costs and large low demand post covid
number of alternatives from new age startups like Oyo, Consumables • Cyclicality and seasonality: This sector is highly influenced
F&B (35%) Land (25%)
Airbnb etc. (30%) by positive cycles and peak seasons which observe higher
• Buyer Power: High. Low switching costs, consumer wants revenue and occupancy rate
the cheapest alternatives Maintenance Furnishings
Events (10%)
• Rivalry: High. Lots of competitors across all segments (10%) (20%) Emerging Themes/Trends
• Health safety concerns lead to adoption of contactless
hospitality like mobile check-in services, etc.
Industry Challenges Useful Links/Reports Industry Dynamics • Focus on sustainability led by high customer awareness
• Post COVID travel hesitation in certain from smart bulbs to sustainable materials
Segmentation by type Share
sections of the society • Industry Report • Leisure & luxury tourism picking up pace
• WFH leading to reduced business travel • IBEF - Tourism & Independent/Unbranded 70% Covid Impact
• Shortage of skilled employees Hospitality • Pick-up in demand post first-wave was based on leisure
• High turnover of quality workforce Branded/Chains 10% travel, staycations, weddings & higher F&B revenues
• Maintaining profitability amidst the ever- • Occupancy in Q1 FY2023 were at ~30% levels, higher than
increasing expectations from guests about Start-ups (Oyo etc) 10% ~20% of Q1 FY2022, basis opening of the Indian Economy
offerings and service quality back to normalcy
Insurance Industry
Product Development Distribution & Sales Marketing Underwriting Policy administration &
Understanding and Driving, monitoring and Claims management
Using customer and market Analyzing risk profiles and
insights to design, develop strategically penetrating the enabling sales and customer Evaluating and settling claims,
premium pricing models to
and deploy products and addressable market to deliver retention through brand including payment,
bind and issue policies
services products and services and to management, advertising reinsurance recovery and
generate revenue and customer engagement litigation; managing
administrative activities
Porter’s Five Forces Key Drivers Market Trends (elaborate data/points)

• Supplier Power: High. Supplier being the distributor have Revenue Cost Growth • India Insurance market stands at $131 Bn as of FY22. The
customer database Indian insurance industry grew at a CAGR of 17% over the
Insurtech
• Barriers to entry: High. Overall threat is high given that Claims paid last two decades
partnerships
entry is subject to license and regulations • Life Insurance penetration has been poor in India (~3%)…
• Threat of substitute: High. Similarity in services makes Premiums collected Product Penetration=premiums/GDP
New Models,
• switchover a potent threat Development, • Digital adoption: The share of digital premium collection
personalized
• Buyer Power: High. They have multiple options available mkt and sales in retail insurance (life + general) rose from a negligible
products
• Rivalry: High. Multiple players are there with customized support level in FY15 to ~4% (or US$1.3bn) in FY20 and could
offerings Investment income Operating and IT AI & Automation grow 12x to US$16bn by FY25
(interest income) support for faster claims • The insurance density, which is calculated as ratio of
insurance premium to population is $59 for life insurance
Industry Challenges Useful Links/Reports Industry Dynamics in India while the global life insurance density stands at
$379
• Lack of organised data makes underwriting Segment Share • New policies issued: During the last year (FY21), life
difficult which could lead to improper pricing insurers issued 288.47 lakh new individual policies, out
• Low insurance penetration to tier 2+ cities • Value Chain Life insurance 75% of which LIC issued 75.9% of policies and the private life
• Distribution: Insurance is a push product insurers issued 24.1% of policies
• IBEF
which requires a lot of selling per se; digital Motor insurance 8.5% • Mortality Protection Gap: The total mortality protection
• Invest India
mode of educating customers doesn’t work in gap in India stands at $16.5 tn (as of 2019) with an
tier 2+ cities Health 8% estimated protection gap of 83% of total protection need

Iron and Steel Industry
Raw Material Iron Production Steel Production SCM/ Logistics Sales

• Extraction of iron ore • Blast Furnace: Pellets of • Oxygen Furnace (LD • Demand Planning • Pricing of all products
from rocks iron ore, carbon fuel & Shops) : Molten • Service & Delivery • Sales team efficacy
• Creating coke from coal limestone with • Iron, Steel scrap & high • Performance • Key a/c management
to fuel furnaces superheated air form purity oxygen are used • Outbound Logistics • Customer Service
• Alternative: Buying iron in molten state in formation of steel • Support Tools

• Supplier Power: High. Due to limited iron ore reserves. Revenue Cost Growth • India is Second Largest producer of crude and finished
Companies opt for backward integration, weakening steel preceding to China. Steel Industry contributes 2% to
supplier power. Sale of steel for nation’s GDP.
Raw Material Growing
• Barriers to entry: High. High capex, fixed costs and need construction & • Market Size: Steel production capacity is 150 MT in FY22.
Cost (45%) demand
for economies of scale. automotive parts Expected to reach 300 MT by FY31. Finished steel
• Threat of substitute: High. Growing demand and use of Sale of steel for Power & Fuel Govt policy consumption 86.3 MT
aluminum in automotive. Railway Parts costs (10%) support • Growth in Per Capita Steel Consumption: Per capita steel
• Buyer Power: Low. Low substitutability, only few major consumption expected to grow from 74.7 kg to 160 kg by
player. Sale of Semis & By- Salaries & Increasing FY30. Rural per capita consumption to increase from 19.6
• Rivalry: High. Entry of exporters can further escalate it. products Wages (5%) investment kg to 38 kg by FY30.
• Increasing Investment: Government allocated USD 6.2M
Industry Challenges Useful Links/Reports Industry Dynamics to MoS. 100% FDI allowed through automatic route in
steel industry. Indian metallurgical industries attracted
• Financing: Highly capital-intensive sector, high Key Customer Segment Share FDIs of USD 16.1B in FY21.
cost of financing coupled with cyclical demand • Industry overview • Innovation: India-Russia MoU to carry out research in
• Logistics: Primary raw material (iron and coal) • Ministry of Steel - Construction 62% steel sector. 26 R&D projects approved by govt with
are bulky in nature which makes logistics Report financial assistance of USD 25M.
Capital goods 15%
challenging and costly. • Industry Report • Import: India imported 4.31MT of finished steel in FY22.
• Raw material: Abundant iron reserves but • IBEF Automotives and railways 12% • Export: India Net exporter. Exported 12.22MT to Belgium,
limited reserves of coking coal reqd in BF. • PWC Report Italy, Turkey, Spain, Hongkong, Vietnam.
Intermediate Products 11%

IT and ITeS Industry
India is primarily an IT Knowledge Processing BPO/BPM

outsourcing hub. A
combination of IT, KPO and § Software R&D § Business Consulting § ERP
BPM services are tailored § IT Consulting § Legal Services § HRP
to industry specific value § Development Services § Data Analytics § CRM
chains § Infrastructure Mgmt. § Market Intelligence
Porter’s Five Forces Revenue & Cost Drivers Key Market Trends
Potential Entrants (Low): Projects are quite large for Global Delivery Model
commoditized services, and learning effects make a Revenue Drivers Indian IT companies such as TCS are now opening service
considerable difference in service quality and cost § Volume or the total number of person hours worked. This hubs closer to larger onshore customers in UK and USA to
is the unit economics in the IT services industry expand their global footprint.
Buyers (High): Services are now increasingly modular, and § Pricing determines the rate at which each hour is charged
to the client SMAC
buyers can assemble a suite of services from different Companies are increasingly looking to derive more value
vendors and can switch out too § Utilization is the ratio of the total billed hours divided by
the total billable hours available across the company from their IT investments and are now seeing their next big
§ Since most revenue is from exports, a favorable exchange opportunities in digital transformation in the Social,
Substitutes (High): Philippines emerging as viable
rate also results in better financial performance Mobility, Analytics and Cloud verticals
alternative to India for outsourcing. Automation is also
rendering support services redundant Cyber Security
Cost Drivers Governmental policy to combat cyber threats from foreign
Suppliers (High): Specific suppliers of licenses and other § Cost of Revenue: These are expenses incurred by the entities is being structured, with IT companies playing a
public cloud providers hold very high bargaining power. company in delivering core revenue. An example of this
large role in collaborations for their expertise
Infrastructure is also commoditized are the salaries and travel cost.
§ Selling, General & Administrative: These are costs over PE-VC, FDI Investments
and above the CoR. An example could be company This sector continues to be very attractive for investors,
Rivalry (High): This industry is categorized by rivalry
between large firms, and the differentiation is very minimal, marketing costs and costs of facilities. attracting $70B in FDI over the last 10 years, $12.4B in PE
pushing them to compete on costs investments in addition to offshore hub development by
Google, Microsoft et. al.

Logistics Industry
Inbound Logistics Operations Outbound Logistics Sales & Marketing Servicing

Shipment received at • Damage-proof • Multiple Transport • Clustering of packages • Delivery time intimation
customer service packaging modes: Road, Rail, • Allocation for delivery • Last-mile delivery
centres / picked up • Material handling & Water, Air, Pipelines • Salesforce management • Feedback
from customer movement
location • Product labelling
Sector Composition Revenue & Cost Drivers Key Market Trends

Segments Market Share KPIs Current market trends
Revenue drivers • Industry size: Indian logistics sector is valued at 215 Bn
Road transport 59% • Domestic transportation
• Delivery time USD; forecasted to grow at CAGR 10.5% (2019-25)
• Import and Export • Rank: India’s rank has gone up from 54 in 2014 to 44 in
Railways 35% • Cost to order • Value Added Services (same-day delivery) 2018 in the World Bank’s LP Index (overall logistics
• Warehouse
Waterways 6% capacity performance)
Cost drivers • Improved connectivity: Sagarmala, Bharatmala, & UDAN
• Avg. inventory • Transportation costs such as fuel
Air transport 1% projects aimed at improving connectivity and reach,
• Warehousing and packaging greater opportunities
• Shrinkage • Warehouse Automation: Market valued at Rs 20,200
Top Players • Labor, order processing and administrative crores; evolution of technologies like AI, IoT, AGV and
Player Segment Market Cap. (INR cr) • Inventory Blockchain
CONCOR Multi-modal 39,893 • Emphasis on cold supply chain: Set to grow at CAGR 17-
Growth drivers 18% till 2022, primarily driven by pharma sector
Blue-Dart Courier delivery 12,903 • Simplified freight policy • Growth in 3PL & 4PL providers as manufacturing grows:
• Improving road connectivity network to provide agility, speed and mobility
Transport
Multi-modal 3,277 • Improving railway and air connectivity network • Green logistics: Implementation of sustainable practices
Corp. of India • Cold supply chain and other technology interventions due to technological evolution
Parcel & priority
VRL Logistics 2,686
delivery
Oil and Gas Industry
Upstream Midstream Downstream
Exploration Production Transportation Storage Refining and Marketing

• Identification of • Project sanctioning • Crude is transported by • Ground tanks are used Refines crude into Petrol,
onshore/off-shore site • Create infrastructure tankers, pipelines, for crude and finished Diesel & LPG
• Seismic surveys to • Strike ‘First Oil’ trucks, and railroads. oil products. Distilled by BP: separation,
assess potential • Platform at sea to split • Natural Gas is shifted by • Underground spaces conversion & treatment
• Field Development oil, gas & water pipelines and LPG (reservoirs) are used for Products marketed via B2B
Planning tankers natural gas & B2C channels

Revenue Cost Growth High Refining capacity: India is the 4rth largest refiner in the
• Bargaining power of suppliers ( ) – Despite few world with a capacity of 248.9 MMT in 2021. Plan to double
Raw Materials Overall economic players, there are certain delays by govt in the payments refining capacity by 2030.
Crude Oil
Consumed growth • Bargaining power of buyers ( ) – Customers are price Rapid Expansion: India is set to expand the natural gas grid
takers. Accept the prevalent prices. to 34,500 km by adding another 17,000 km gas pipeline. The
Rapid Technological • Competitive rivalry ( ) – One/two players operate in each regasification capacity of the existing 42 MMT per annum
Natural Gas Transportation will be expanded to 61 MMT per year by the year 2022
advancements of the upstream, and downstream segments.
• Threat of new entrants ( ) – Capital intensive and Policy Support: GOI plans to invest ~ INR 7.5 Tn in
Others(LPG, Employee Increased usage of presence of economies of scale. infrastructure in next 5 years. ~ USD 25 Bn investment is
Naphtha, Benefit petrochemical • Threat of substitutes ( ) – Renewable energy sources are expected in exploration and production by 2022.
etc.) Expenses products yet to gain more traction. Supportive FDI guidelines: 100% Foreign Direct Investment
is allowed in upstream and private sector refining projects.
Key Performance Indicators Industry Challenges FDI limit for public sector refining projects has been raised
to 49% without any dilution/ disinvestment of equity in the
• Exploration and production output: • Significant proportion of Oil Demand is at risk as threat of existing PSUs.
• Lease operating expenditure: Rent and lease expense on a Electric Vehicles remains high in transportation segment Increasing energy demand: India is the 3rd largest energy
(47% contribution to demand currently)
per unit basis. Computed by dividing rent and lease consumer with increasing fuel demand (~2x diesel demand,
• Globally, crude oil demand set to plateau over the next five ~3x increase in natural gas demand by 2030)
expense with total production years with rising fuel efficiencies. Highly volatile prices and
• Capital Project efficiency: Project Production Management stringent standards globally
(PPM), digitizing processes • Crude Oil supply issues due to geopolitical reasons
Pharmaceutical Industry
Research and Development Sourcing/API/Bulk Drug Manufacturing/ Logistics Storage
Formulation
Issues: Long wait before Issues: Erratic supply chain, Issues: Shift in demand for Issue: Lane routing affects Issues: Declining raw
the drug reaches the disruption due to Covid-19, formulations, companies the freight costs and material supply impacts
commercialization stage, high dependence on keep shifting mfg. activities, domestic input costs, production and export of
rising costs of developing supplies from China for raw unpredictability, and restrictions on commute essential drugs, fears of
new drugs materials sudden rises in demand for and movement of goods internal supply shortage
drugs

Revenue Cost Growth • Threat of New Entrants: Low (high barriers to entry, high
R&D costs, govt regulations, and distribution network • Industry Size: Estimated at $42B in 2021 and likely to
Increasing fatal needs)
Drug Sales R&D reach $65B by 2024 and $120-130B by 2030. Growth of
diseases • Bargaining power of buyers: Low-Moderate 22.4% CAGR is expected in the future.
• Internal Competition: High (large no of small • Production: Ranked 3rd for pharma production by
Health insurance fragmented players and large no of drugs going off- volume and 14th by value. Strong network of 3,000
Licensing of patents Distribution patent
permeation drug mfg. companies and ~10,500 manufacturing units
• Substitutes: Low Bargaining Power of Suppliers: • Exports: Stood at $ 20.70B in FY20 and $ 24.44B in
Insurance Promotion/ Growing stress- Moderate (difficulty in procuring raw materials like APIs) FY21
Premiums Marketing related diseases • Healthcare expected to reach $372B by 2022
Industry Challenges • R&D Spend: Average R&D spend of Indian companies is
Key Performance Indicators ~8% of turnover. As per Union Budget for FY22, Rs
• Focused on generic segment which is plateauing in the US 2,663 Crores has been allocated for research
Return on Research Capital Ratio: R&D is the major cost for all with increase in competition • Manufacturing: ~33% lower manufacturing cost than
pharma companies and not all drug trials result in success • Despite being among the top formulation drug exporters in the USA enables India to produce high-quality
Profitability Ratio: Operating & net margin determine the world, India relies heavily on imports of bulk drugs, which medicines at competitive prices. India supplies 40% of
investment into future research projects and account for the accounts for ~25% of the Indian pharma market generic demand in the US and 25% of all medicines in
high marketing expenditures in the competitive pharmaceutical • Pharma Industry needs consolidation to raise funds and scale-
industry Liquidity and Debt Coverage Ratio: R&D expenditures
the UK
up research capabilities
are mostly financed by debt.
Retail Industry
Inbound Logistics Inventory Management Operations Marketing and Sales Order Fulfillment
Demand planning Own platform Logistics Targeted marketing

Sourcing Delivery planning
Warehousing Platform excellence Multi-channel attribution & end-
Vendor contracts Logistics partners
Unified offline & online Platform maintenance and to- end ROI ; Market Research
Quality testing Omnichannel fulfilment
inventory management repair Customer retention Payment
Mass customization Product queries
Assortment Planning Order management methodology
Modular Production Return management
Working capital management Packaging and invoicing Discounting & promotion

Revenue Cost Growth Key Data Points
• Threat of New Entrants: High (high government
Sales Commission Platform fee Tier 2 & 3 support, brick & mortar turning online) • Industry Size: India’s e-commerce market is expected
• Bargaining power of buyers: High (low switching cost) to reach US$ 111 billion by 2024 and US$ 200 billion by
Inventory and • Internal Competition: High (multinational players, low 2026
Government differentiation) • Consumer electronics and apparels makes up 80% of e-
Private Labels supply chain
policies • Substitutes: High (multiple offline and online players) commerce value in India
costs
• Bargaining Power of Suppliers: Low (Multiple e-
Internet commerce platforms and offline stores to list their Growth Opportunities
Listing fee & Promotion/
penetration and products), own websites of major supplying brands • Omnichannel fulfilment: Integrating online and offline
customer EMIs Marketing
online payment to provide end-to-end experience
• Policy Support: 100% FDI is allowed in B2B e-
Key Performance Indicators Industry Challenges commerce. 100% FDI under the automatic route is
Fill Rate: How many items out of the ordered are delivered permitted in the marketplace model of E-commerce.
• Increased competition and pressure to deliver as soon as • Increasing investments: India’s ecommerce sector
OTIF (On Time In Full): A stricter measure than fill rate, includes possible
timely delivery along with fill rate received US$ 15 billion of PE/VC investments in 2021
• Regulatory considerations of data protection and
Funnel metrics: Number of people dropping at different stages of which is a 5.4 times increase YoY.
consumer protection rules for sellers & marketplaces
customer journey, download, bounce rate, cart abandonment • Customer loyalty as switching costs are too low and • Growing Demand: India’s social commerce has the
CLV: Cust Lifetime Value, measures total spend of competition too high potential to expand to US$16–20 billion in FY25,
customer on the platform • High browsing users, low payment customers growing at a CAGR of 55-60%.
SWOOS: Sales weighted out of stock
Telecom Industry
Tower Infrastructure Network Equipment Technology Provider Network Operators Consumers

• Recharge Plans
• Forms framework of • Manufactures hardware, • Software Technology • LTE Services to end
routers, modem, fiber • Customer Care Centre
telecom operations (4G, 5G) customers
• GIL Infrastructure, Indus optical • Sterlite Technology, • Other services such as voice,
Towers • Ericsson, Nokia, Siemens Mahindra, Qualcomm messaging and internet.
Product/service Pre-sales Purchase Delivery and Account

Consumer journey Support Support Activation Management
Offering Design
Key Trends in Indian Telecom
• Growth in Rural Demand: Tele-density of rural subscribers reached 59.33% in September 2021, from 58.96% in September 2020
• State Investment: In 2021-22, the Department of Telecommunications has been allocated $ 8Bn and the union budget allocated US$ 1.9 for telecom infrastructure
• Government Initiatives: 100% FDI, satellite based Narrow band IoT, and the Phased Manufacturing Programme
• Development opportunities: India's 5G subscriptions to have 350 million by 2026. accounting for 27% of all mobile subscriptions
Revenue & Cost Drivers Growth Drivers KPIs

Revenue Drivers: • Growing mobile penetration
• Call Completion Ratio
• Internet and voice services • Increasing rural penetration and internet access • Average Revenue per User
• Cross provider calls • Relaxed FDI norms
• Average Call Duration
• Affiliations (data monetization, device tech.) • Reduced license fee
• Idle Time on Network
Major Indian Service Providers (Market Share) • Tele-density
Cost Drivers: • Churn Rate
• Spectrum costs • Reliance Jio – 35% • Network Operating Cost
• Network infrastructure and equipment • Bharti Airtel – 31.56% • Subscriber Acquisition Cost
• Operating costs • Vodafone Idea – 23%
For any queries, reach out to us
ICON – Consulting Club

IIM Bangalore

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© 2023, ICON – Consulting Club, IIM Bangalore. All rights reserved.

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49 Football Match Moderate Strategy& 141 10. Hospitality Industry 172

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Interview Stage What to expect? Skills Tested

v Ask for time to structure the problem at hand v Structured

v Use a hypothesis driven approach for case solving v Problem solving

Questions for v Opportunity to show enthusiasm towards consulting v Consulting fit

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• What is the product mix? Any new

Procurement SG&A Macro

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Research and Development

Branding and Advertising

Human Capital (Capacity x Efficiency x Utilization)

Selling, General & Administrative

Cost Procuring Raw Distribution and

● Cost of raw materials ● Plant maintenance ● Number of distributors x ● Number of customers x

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• The client is a retail store facing declining revenues

Interviewee Notes Structure/ Framework

• Floor located on the second

• No change in prices or supply Demand constraint Supply constraint

Pre-purchase During purchase Post-purchase

Layout Construction Cleanliness Store front/ display

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Good suggestions. We can wrap up the case.

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• Decline in the profitability of a private school

Interviewee Notes Structure/ Framework Profits

• The type of school and Revenue Costs

Peer Teachers Admin

Motivation Unruly Competition Bullying

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• Decline in profits of the airport

Interviewee Notes Structure/ Framework Accessibility Reach

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ICON, IIM Bangalore 22

Interviewee Notes Structure/ Framework

ICON, IIM Bangalore 23

ICON, IIM Bangalore 24

ICON, IIM Bangalore 25

Interviewee Notes Structure/ Framework Profit

• Client is a market leader in

• Only involved in Marketing Sales & post

• Basic breakup of profits into

• Issue was in the warehouse