Iimb Casebook 2016

IIM BANGALORE
CASEBOOK
Volume 6
Compiled by
ICON-IIMB CONSULTING CLUB
FOREWORD
This casebook documents the interview experiences of students across consulting firms to assist
the students of IIM Bangalore in their preparation for case interviews during placements. The aim
of sharing these experiences is to inform students about the case-interview experiences of past
batches, and to accordingly help them prepare for their placements. The experiences listed below
are not necessarily the best way in to handle case interviews. They only serve to give students an
idea as to what to expect when they walk into a case interview. Every individual could have his /
her own 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 summer placement process over the past five years. The interview
experiences have been sorted firm-wise.
Special thanks to all the contributors and all the very best for summer placements!
Best regards,
Team ICON 2016-17
IIM Bangalore
CONTENTS
FOREWORD......................................................................................................................................................................... 1
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................................ 5
WHAT TO PREPARE ........................................................................................................................................................ 5
HOW TO PREPARE ........................................................................................................................................................... 6
A. Case Preparation ..................................................................................................................................................... 6
B. Fit Questions ............................................................................................................................................................. 7
WHEN TO PREPARE ........................................................................................................................................................ 7
A. Case Preparation ..................................................................................................................................................... 7
B. Fit Questions ............................................................................................................................................................. 7
INTERVIEW PROCESS..................................................................................................................................................... 7
A. Resume Short Listing ............................................................................................................................................ 8
B. Interviews .................................................................................................................................................................. 8
i. Fit Interview .......................................................................................................................................................... 8
ii. Case Interview ..................................................................................................................................................... 9
iii. Practice Cases .................................................................................................................................................. 10
SAMPLE CASE.................................................................................................................................................................. 11
MAJOR PLAYERS IN THE INDUSTRY ..................................................................................................................... 16
INDUSTRY WRITE-UPS ............................................................................................................................................... 19
1. Construction industry ............................................................................................................................................. 19
2. Indian Banking Industry ........................................................................................................................................ 22
3. Indian BPO (Business process outsourcing) Industry............................................................................... 23
4. Infrastructure ............................................................................................................................................................. 25
5. Pharmaceuticals Industry ..................................................................................................................................... 26
6. Power Sector ............................................................................................................................................................... 28
7. Information Technology Sector .......................................................................................................................... 30
8. Telecom Sector........................................................................................................................................................... 32
9. Automobile Sector .................................................................................................................................................... 33
10. FMCG Sector ............................................................................................................................................................. 34
CASE INTERVIEW EXPERIENCES – SUMMERS 2016 ..................................................................................... 36
CONTRIBUTORS' PROFILES ................................................................................................................................. 36
Accenture Strategy ........................................................................................................................................................ 39
Alvarez & Marsal ............................................................................................................................................................ 48
AT Kearney ....................................................................................................................................................................... 50
Bain and Company ........................................................................................................................................................ 58
BCG ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 66
Deloitte............................................................................................................................................................................... 78
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GEP ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 80
McKinsey ........................................................................................................................................................................... 82
Roland Berger ............................................................................................................................................................... 103
Strategy& ........................................................................................................................................................................ 105
Appendix ......................................................................................................................................................................... 113
CASE INTERVIEW EXPERIENCES – SUMMERS 2015 ................................................................................... 113
CONTRIBUTORS' PROFILES ............................................................................................................................... 113
ACCENTURE STRATEGY ...................................................................................................................................... 115
AT KEARNEY............................................................................................................................................................. 120
BAIN & COMPANY .................................................................................................................................................. 126
BOSTON CONSULTING GROUP ......................................................................................................................... 128
GEP................................................................................................................................................................................ 142
MCKINSEY & COMPANY....................................................................................................................................... 143
ROLAND BERGER ................................................................................................................................................... 154
STRATEGY& .............................................................................................................................................................. 155
CASE INTERVIEW EXPERIENCES – SUMMERS 2014 ................................................................................... 157
AT KEARNEY............................................................................................................................................................. 158
BAIN & COMPANY .................................................................................................................................................. 159
DELOITTE STRATEGY & OPERATIONS ......................................................................................................... 170
ROLAND BERGER ................................................................................................................................................... 179
STRATEGY& (FORMERLY BOOZ & COMPANY) .......................................................................................... 180
CASE INTERVIEW EXPERIENCES - SUMMERS 2013 .................................................................................... 185
BAIN & COMPANY .................................................................................................................................................. 186
ACCENTURE MANAGEMENT CONSULTING ................................................................................................ 199
BAIN & COMPANY .................................................................................................................................................. 200
BOOZ & COMPANY ................................................................................................................................................. 204
DELOITTE STRATEGY & OPERATIONS ......................................................................................................... 206
GLOBAL E-PROCURE ............................................................................................................................................. 207
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SIEMENS MANAGEMENT CONSULTING ....................................................................................................... 212
AT KEARNEY............................................................................................................................................................. 215
ALVAREZ & MARSHAL.......................................................................................................................................... 219
BAIN & COMPANY .................................................................................................................................................. 221
BOOZ & COMPANY ................................................................................................................................................. 232
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INTRODUCTION
Over a period of time, a career in consulting has become the numero uno aspiration for a majority
of management students across B-schools in India and abroad. The adrenaline rush to solve a
gamut of intriguing business problems faced by a wide spectrum of industries is enticing enough
for most students to want to explore the intricacies of the consulting sphere.
Considering industry trends and student expectations, many consulting firms visit IIM Bangalore
campus every year for the recruitment process; although the main thrust is on summer
placements in different domains like strategy consulting, IT consulting, operations consulting and
analytics. Experience across the globe has given evidence that an internship with consulting firms
gives the student an insight into the industry on a real time basis and helps consulting enthusiasts
make informed career decisions.
The selection process is predominantly based on resume-based shortlist, followed by case
interviews. Thus, when the competition is amidst the best, it becomes imperative to have a
fundamental understanding of the case interview process of major recruiters. The case interview
processes of most of the companies are conducted in a similar manner and follow a similar
pattern.
ICON, IIMB’s consulting club seeks to equip IIMB’s students with a sound understanding of the
consulting industry and provide valuable insights into the entire process as they gear up to tackle
the upcoming summer placement interviews. In a constant endeavor to practice learning by
experience, the following pages present the “as it is” interview experiences of our contributors
during their summer selection process at IIMB. This case interview guide aims to provide a
preview into the summer selection process of top consulting firms like McKinsey & Co., Strategy&
(formerly Booz & Co.), BCG, AT Kearney, Accenture, Bain & Co., Deloitte, Roland Berger etc.
ICON through this guide has endeavored to assist the students in understanding the consulting
industry, the process involved in selection, the detailed preparation guidelines. The interview
experiences will help the students develop a fair idea of what to expect in the interviews and how
best to approach the probable case solutions.
WHAT TO PREPARE
A typical interview for a consulting firm is a mix of “case” and “fit”.
A. Case Preparation
Cases are arguably the most important aspect of any consulting interview. A good performance
in a case puts you in a very favourable position with the firm; an excellent one virtually guarantees
an offer.
A typical case is a business situation, requiring strategy formulation in order to fix a problem or
enhance efficiency (optimization). It can vary from a detailed problem statement, supported by
several facts to a one-liner conceptual statement with a very broad problem description along
with few, if any, facts available. Case interviews are designed to help the interviewer assess the
candidate on the following parameters.
i. Thinking process – The interviewer constantly evaluates the candidate as the latter thinks
through the problem
ii. Structuring – This involves breaking down the problem into simple, logical components and
structuring a broad approach framework.
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iii. Analytical and Quantitative skills – A typical case problem requires application of basic
quantitative concepts, achieved through an analytical approach to the problem in hand.
iv. Demeanor – In addition to the above, interviewer also judges the candidate on his poise and
maturity.
Finally, cases also provide the candidate a flavor of the consulting world in terms of kind of work
they can expect in the industry.
B. Fit Questions
The objective of these questions is to determine the degree of fit between the candidate and the
firm. This part of the interview serves the following purposes:
i. Helps interviewer know more about the candidate, his life-story and ambitions
ii. Explore candidate’s interests, and how they “fit” with those of firms
iii. Assess how coherently the candidate can present himself in a conversation
In parallel to the above aspects, the candidate is continuously assessed on his communications
skills as well. Typically, a very good performance in both parts, i.e. case and fit, is essential for a
final offer. Very strong performance in one section can compensate for average performance in
the other to a certain extent; but a minimum decent show in both aspects of the interview is
mandatory to be considered for the next round/final offer.
HOW TO PREPARE
A. Case Preparation
i. Resources
 ICON Casebook
 Case examples provided on McKinsey, BCG, Bain, and other firm websites
 Casebooks from other business schools
ii. Case Study group
 Typically, a group of 3 – 4 PGP‐I students to discuss cases and conduct case interviews
among themselves
 A thorough preparation of 10‐15 cases is recommended through this mode
 Ideally, all members should be focused on consulting as the career option. It ensures
consistent, enthusiastic participation from all members throughout the preparation
period.
 Diversity / uniformity in academic background and work experience within a team do not
matter.
 What indeed matters is group dynamics, the amounts of trust members have in each other,
so as to pass honest feedback to others and accept the same in a constructive manner. The
purpose is lost if members do not believe in other members’ sense of judgment and ability
to pass on accurate feedback.
 A couple of cases can be prepared with some other case study groups to break the
monotony and, in the process, obtain varied feedback.
iii. Miscellaneous
 Mock interviews and case workshops are also conducted by PGP‐II students, typically the
summer interns from consulting firms
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 Self-study of solved cases, when group activity is not possible, is beneficial
 Knowledge of basic statistics, such as population counts, can prove to be enormously
helpful
 One should not quit until he or she becomes 100% confident in case analysis
 Sector research, especially those in which interviewers specialize, can come in handy
 Equally important is to gain basic understanding of the sectors in which the candidate has
undertaken any academic projects in the past
B. Fit Questions
i. Typical questions preparation
 A list of ~40 questions is generally circulated by the Placement committee towards the
end of Term‐I.
 Interview questions from summer interview process of previous year should also be
prepared.
ii. Company Research
 It’s recommended to obtain a basic knowledge of the company operations, its history,
culture and vision. It helps in aligning one’s responses on appropriate lines as well as
asking relevant questions during the interview
 Vault guides
 Limited help from mentors appointed by consulting firms (for shortlisted candidates
only)
 Company’s websites (and neutral sources such as Wikipedia!)
WHEN TO PREPARE
Considering the importance of the entire process and the great deal of preparation required,
sufficient time should be invested.
A. Case Preparation
Case preparations are done best in case groups of 3-4 people, which should typically be formed
as the students begin their Term-II. This should give the students sufficient time of about 20-25
days for preparation before the summer’s selection process kicks off. It is advisable that students
form their case groups well within time so as to avoid last minute bottlenecks of not finding the
right case partners.
B. Fit Questions
Another important aspect as discussed above is preparation of answers for the fit questions.
Answers to these can’t be framed at the last moment, as it requires great deal of introspection and
successive reviews to frame the best possible answer. Hence, it is in the interest of the students
to start working on the first draft as early as possible, preferably from the beginning of Term-II.
INTERVIEW PROCESS
The selection process has following stages:
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A. Resume Short Listing
 All heads are looked at, and the base criteria need to be passed in each of the heads. The
base criterion depends on the batch strength and is not an absolute cut-off. After crossing
the base cut-off, 1-2 spikes are looked at. A Spike is defined as a unique attribute in a
resume ‐ something that is not shared by anyone else in the batch.
B. Interviews
 Number of interviews varies across candidates and companies
 The interviews for all consulting firms are mostly case based
 These are not stress interviews. The interviewer directs the candidate through the cases,
providing leads and hints, to understand your approach to a particular situation.
As discussed in the last section, a typical consulting interview has two parts – “fit” and “case”.
Generally, a consulting interview lasts for ~40 - 45 minutes, with following being the breakup
 Fit Interview: 15 – 20 minutes
 Case Interview: 20 – 30 minutes
i. Fit Interview
A fit interview is taken to assess your nature and check your suitability to the firm’s work culture.
 Fit Interview involves personal questions – Typically of the kind “About yourself”, “Why
do you want to join a consulting firm?” etc.
 A typical consulting interview starts with a few personal questions, lasting for 5 – 10
minutes.
 This initial phase is used to establish rapport. These questions are used to gauge whether
the candidate fits the company culture.
 Personal questions can also be asked during and after the case, hence be prepared for a
question when you are least expecting it.
 The interviewer forms an impression of the candidate after going through the resume and
tries to verify it during the interview based on the candidate’s responses to these
questions.
 The fit questions are not directly addressed, but are asked through a chat session, where
the interviewer will try to understand the kind of person one is. You are less likely to be
asked direct questions like “How will you fit in the company culture?” Instead, if a certain
consulting firm stresses on a team culture, you will be judged on how good a team player
you are.
DO’S AND DON’TS OF A FIT INTERVIEW
DO’s:
 Adopt a calm and composed manner throughout the interview – Consultants spend a
lot of time in direct contact with the client where this aspect of the personality is very
essential
 Be yourself – projecting a false image of being someone else does not work. The person
on the other side of the table is a seasoned player and would easily spot pretense
 Present a coherent picture of yourself in an articulate manner
 Be confident – Nothing would compensate for shaky responses and a fumbling tone
 Be friendly and show that you can present your thoughts in a clear concise manner
 Consider case solving as a fun experience. The recruiter should be convinced that you
enjoy the job
 Display a good knowledge of the firm, and how it fits in your career goals
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 Be honest – Admit if you don’t have knowledge of the topic interviewer wants to discuss
 Express your own expectations and interests with respect to the firm
DON’Ts:
 Get defensive when the interviewer presents a counter argument
 Feign interest in subjects just to impress the interviewer – artificial poses don’t carry
weight.
 Appear confused about joining a consulting firm – your career aims should be clearly
outlined.
 Narrate stories that present contradictory images of who you are.
 Appear ignorant about the position or the firm for which you are being interviewed.
ii. Case Interview
CASE
Consulting firms use cases to gauge how well the candidate will perform on the job and if he/she
will like consulting as a job.
 The case is given as a 3-5 statement caselet
 The caselet is either number based or strategy based. (Guesstimates may be given either
as a part of number based or strategy based case)
 The caselet gives the objective of the case
APPROACH
 Take 1-3 minutes to structure your thoughts. You are not judged on the final solution that
you recommend; but on your approach to solve the problem
 Feel free to note down your thoughts, take your time to think before coming up with a
solution
 Make sure that you have touched upon all the areas concerned to the problem11
 Make the session interactive by asking questions, instead of taking it as a test. The
interviewer would guide you to the solution by giving hints if you approach is wrong
 Industry knowledge is not required - ask them questions about the industry, which are
relevant to the case
 Making assumptions is a necessity- always confirm their validity
 Try to have your own approach to the problem. The standard frameworks can act as a
guideline. They would not like rehearsed problem solving approaches
 Have your own style of how you are going to approach cases (top-down, bottom-up etc.)
 Make sure to listen to the information given properly, before asking questions; keep
noting down any extra information given during the case discussion. You can take time to
restructure your approach with the new piece of information given
 Industry knowledge on few important sectors as telecom, IT will be helpful
 Take your mistakes easily. Be calm and try to address the problem based on the hints
provided to rectify any error made
 Make sure to summarize your findings and analysis so that the recruiter has a clear
picture of your thought process
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Parameter Importance
Personal Questions Very Important
Communication Skills Very Important
Approach to Problem Solving Very Important
Final Solution to Case Important
Stress Level Low
Guidance by the interviewer Medium
iii. Practice Cases

 A Mobile Handset Manufacturing Company, which has 60% market share want to
strengthen their position and understand where the growth will come from in the next 5
years
 A foreign bank wants to start credit card business in India. What options would you
suggest?
 An upcoming BPO wants to understand the manpower crunch (Supply is less than
demand) in the next five years
 An Indian youth channel wants to start a new music magazine. Is it a good venture?
 A VC firm needs market size for institutions for music and creative skills (on similar lines
of NIIT for computer skills)
 Increasing efficiency and reducing costs for a call center setup
 Selling strategy for condensed milk and packaged milk products in India
 Infosys is starting BPO services, how would you control the attrition rate?
 Estimate the market for platinum and diamond jewellery in India for a European
company.
 Feasibility of a corrugated cardboard carton manufacturer going into the paper business
(profitability analysis)
 A Telecom call-center BPO couldn’t cope up with the amount of calls it was getting. Figure
out the multiple problems ailing the company and generate methods to solve all of them
 There is a coffee shop on the ground floor of a 40 floor building. Guess its monthly revenue
 A call centre wants to cut costs by 10 percent. What are the measures?
 Entertainment Company in music, planning to launch a magazine. Data given such as
expected readership of other magazines, industry growth, competitor prices
 New heart hospital in New Delhi. It would cost X to set it up. What would be the break-
even time for it?
 Call center – cut costs per employee by 0.65$
 Tractor Company losing sales. 2-minute case. Write 5 possible reasons
 Chain of stores was losing business, identify the problem
 Petrol pumps, set up on highways. Suddenly, revenues were going down. What might be
possible reasons?
 How would you make quizzing a national pastime? You are a consultant to the
government
 Movie producer has come to you with four scripts. You need to choose one. Which one
and why?
 What are the parameters you will use to evaluate?
 Confectionary major is planning to get into India. Should he buy a factory that is on offer,
or should he enter on his own?
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 TEM of mobile phones. Sales of your handsets have gone down. Your dealer says that this
is because competitors’ prices are better. What do you do?
 How much investment is required in infrastructure in India in the next 5-6 years
 An Indian private bank wants to go global. Which countries should it focus on and what
should be its strategy?
 How much time would it take a 100 bed heart care hospital to break even and how many
customers would they require to do so
 A box manufacturing company which made a better quality cardboard box (at a higher
cost) as compared to local manufacturers. Analyze ways in which they could cut costs and
communicate the value proposition of their product
 Various options that could be explored for a potential market entry (acquisitions, tie-ups,
green-field etc) of an international chocolate and confectionery manufacturer in India
 A mobile handset manufacturer, which had a leading position in the market but its
retailers were threatening to shift to other brands because they weren’t making as much
money on the sale of this brand. Examine possible reasons for this and suggest ways to
overcome the problem
 Market Entry Strategy Case in Retail. Develop a 2 by 2 framework to evaluate the
prospects of 3 lines of retail business – Baby Care Products, Soft Clothing like screens, bed
spreads, etc. and Leather Accessories
 Guesstimate – demand for a Mosquito repellent band that can be worn on the hand in
India
SAMPLE CASE
(This case was asked during a case interview to Aditya Muralidhar by Bain & Co. in Summers’15. It
explains the process on how a case interview is usually conducted and should be mocked while
preparing for case interviews in groups of 3-4.)
Client & service overview:
Case interviewer to describe the Client situation to the interviewee
The Client’s company was founded in 2009 by a set of Indians who were targeting computer
technical support for the aging population in the United States. The customers were buying
laptops at an average price of $150 apiece and were obtaining nine-month hardware and three-
month software warranties. The founders spotted a whitespace in the market, as the customers
were seen to require support beyond the provided period and they targeted common computer
issues including malfunctioning software, drivers, etc. as part of their solution portfolio.
The service was modelled as a subscription-based offering, which would give the customer year-
round remote support in any software related issue. Focusing on the bottom-line, the founders
decided not to target traditional Above-the-line (ATL) channels and took the digital marketing
route. Owing to this, the customer purchase cycle was different from that of the traditional tech
support businesses.
Traditionally, tech support was sold either through retail channels or directly bundled with the
device. However, for the Client, the customers were first attracted to the website through online
advertisements and search engine marketing. Subsequently, interested customers would then
place a call to the number listed on the website and speak with a customer care executive. The
customer care executive would then engage the customer to understand the issues with the
computer and suggest a solution for the problem. All this is free of cost. Upon fixing the problem,
the remote technician would then pitch the annual subscription to the calling customer and would
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subsequently sell the service. At the end of a year of subscription, the customer has the choice to
renew or cancel the service.
Case questions:
Proceed to subsequent question only upon completing previous ones
1. What would the price of this service be for the company?
2. A competitor, say Dell, has priced a similar service lower than the estimated pricing in Q1.
What is a profitable pricing strategy that you would adopt and why would this work? Also,
what are the different ways that one prices a product or service?
3. At a high-level, what are some of the problems that you could anticipate in such a
business?
4. What are the opportunities that exist for the company to gain further revenue?
Data / Hints:
To be provided only if the interviewee expressly requests for them or if the interviewer wishes to
guide the interviewer
a. Cost per click: 50c
b. Click to landing page conversion: 10%
c. Landing page to pre-sales call conversion: 10%
d. Cost per 60 min. of call (pre-sales): USD 12 per hour
e. Average duration of call (pre-sales): 60 min
f. Pre-sales call to buying conversion: 10%
g. Cost per 60 min. of call (pre-sales): USD 10 per hour
h. Average duration of call (post-sales): 60 min
i. Number of calls per year (post-sales): 6 calls per year
j. Margin: 20%
2. A competitor, say Dell, has priced a similar service lower than your estimated pricing.
a. Competition price: $250
b. Target pricing for company: $200 (maximum)
c. Customer retention: 30%
business?
a. No additional data / hints
4. What are the opportunities that exist for the company to gain further revenue (Hints)?
a. Who is the target population? Elderly persons
b. Apart from emails, what are they likely to use the internet for? Information
gathering, games, gambling
c. What is likely to be found on several gaming sites? Malware
Answers
To be provided only if the interviewee expressly requests for them or if the interviewer wishes to
guide the interviewer
a. The approach is to find the ultimate cost of a “buying customer” and apply the
margin value to find the price
b. First, split the purchase process into “At landing page”, “At pre-sales call”, “At post-
sales call” to clarify and bucket the information.
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c. At landing page (A): 1 person on the landing page means 10 persons clicked
(@10% conversion). Per click it is 50c, thus, it would cost the company USD 5 to
obtain one engaged customer.
d. At pre-sales call (B): 1 person on the call means 10 persons were on the landing
page (@10% conversion). Per page landing is USD 5, thus, it would cost the
company USD 50 to get one pre-sales call.
e. During pre-sales call (C): Per call, the duration is 1 hour at USD 12 per hour.
Hence, per call it costs USD 12. To convert one customer to post-sales, you need
10 customers (@10% conversion). Hence, the pre-sales call cost per converted
customer is USD 120.
f. At post-sales call (D): After the customer bought the service, they will place 6
calls for one hour each at USD 10 per hour. Hence, the cost of servicing a paying
customer is USD 60 per year.
g. Total cost: Thus, the total cost across stages is USD 50 + USD 120 + USD 60 (A +
B + C + D)= USD 230
h. Pricing: Margin was given to be 20%. Hence, the price is USD 230 / (100% - 20%)
= USD 287.5 (Refer The Interview – Quick Note for clarification if needed)
2. A competitor, say Dell, has priced a similar service lower than your estimated pricing.
a. Let’s say that the price that we calculated was USD 290. The interviewer tells us
that the competitor has priced it at USD 250 and we want to hit a maximum price
of USD 200.
b. We need to understand that this customer is a repeating customer (accounting for
some attrition / churn rate) and that all the cost need not be recovered in one
year.
c. It is also important to note that in the subsequent years, the cost is only USD 60
per year and this is the cost of servicing the paid customer (D).
d. This, let’s say that the average life of a customer is 3 years, the total cost comes to
be USD 290 + USD 60 + USD 60 = USD 470. Thus, on a yearly basis, we can target
a price point of USD 157, approximately USD 160, lower than the USD 200 target.
e. As to how this would work, we need to look at the concept of Customer Lifetime
Value, which refers to the total margins that a company makes from a customer
before the customer switches to a competitor or stops using the service. Given
that this is not a one-time payment model, the company can split the costs over a
longer time window, which keeping the annual pricing lower than competition’s.
f. With regards to the pricing strategies, at a high level, companies can use:
i. A cost plus model – Where a markup is added on top of total costs
ii. A customer surplus model – Where the estimated value of the service to a
customer serves as the guide for pricing, or
iii. A competitive pricing model – Where products are priced against their
nearest competitors
business?
a. To give the appearance of structured thinking, look at the purchase lifecycle in
each of its stages and brainstorm on what the problems can be. It is recommended
that you communicate your thought process so that the interviewer does not feel
like he is in the dark.
b. Here are some potential answers by stage:
i. Landing page: Customer unable to find the number easily; customer
unaware that the phone service is free
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ii. Pre-sales call: Customer calling regarding hardware problems (which
cannot be serviced but yet imposes costs on the company); customer cannot
understand the technical support personnel’s accent; customer calling
during closed hours (affecting brand equity); sales person inefficient at
converting the customer (which leads to increasing unrecoverable costs)
iii. Post-sales call: Customer calling regarding hardware problems (which
cannot be serviced but yet incur costs); customer cannot understand the
technical support personnel’s accent; customer calling during closed
hours (affecting brand equity); sales person unable to attend to a
significant proportion of the arising problems (indicating the need for
training, better recruitment or better diagnoses)
4. What are the opportunities that exist for the company to gain further revenue?
a. The interviewee must note that 60 minutes offers significant sales pitching time
even in the post-sales segment for the company to potentially expand into other
services.
b. Again, to approach this in a structured manner, the interviewee must clearly
identify the scope of problem resolution / solution recommendation. Here,
the interviewee must once again clarify if hardware issues can be expanded into.
If not, the recommendations should target only software.
c. Assuming the latter case, the candidate must analyze problems arising from the
user’s behaviour and problems that are extraneous to the user behaviour.
i. Due to user’s behaviour: The use cases of the customer, such as visiting
gaming sites, gambling sites and adult entertainment sites, should be
listed with threats such as malware and viruses being identified. The
technician can then cross-sell licenses to anti-virus packages, from which
the company can gain commission income.
ii. Extraneous to user behaviour: The technician can identify outdated
operating system (keep in mind that this is 2009) and other software
versions and can recommend updates, from which the company can gain
commission income.
iii. The interviewee can also hint upon tie-ups with software firms to
understand potential areas of collaboration to, both, improve the
company’s technical support capabilities and to cross-sell products.
The interview
Proceed to the next question only upon completing the previous ones
I was called from the common pool and led to a room with a single interviewer, who was a Partner
at the firm. The following describes interview flows and notable junctures:
Me: Good morning, may I come in?

Partner: Yes. We are in a bit of a hurry apparently, so we don’t we have time for
pleasantries. I suggest we get started. What industry are you familiar with?
Me: I have worked in Consumer Markets at my past consulting firm, which includes
industries of FMCG, eCommerce, fashion and jewellery. I have also dabbled a bit
in agri-business.
Partner: What about tech support? Are you familiar with it?
Me: Not really, but I am sure I can pick things up as we go along.
Partner: Great. So let’s get started. This was an actual case that we were working on. Let
me start off with an overview of the case and we can get into the details
subsequently.
Interview The partner proceeded to cover the portion in Company & service overview section
progress described above. The description alone took a good 10 minutes. Note that the
14
interviewee should feel free to clarify questions when needed, but should take care
not to interrupt too frequently.
Partner: Let’s get to the important part now, I suggest that you take notes.
Me: I’ve been taking notes as we have been going along.
Partner: I will be describing the Customer Purchase Cycle and there will be some numbers.
I hope you can take notes carefully because I would like to avoid repeating the
numbers.
Interview The Partner covered Case Question 1 & Data / Hints 1. During the course of the
progress calculation, when I was structuring the numbers…
Partner: (Covers my sheet of paper with hand brushing my pen away) Mental arithmetic.
Me: Yeah, okay sure.
Interview After a bit of a jolt, I completed the computations and gave the answer, which was
progress right fortunately. The Partner proceeded to Case Question 2 & Data / Hints 2
Quick Margins are calculated on the revenue. That is, 20% margin means 80% of the
note revenues are costs. Thus, when we have cost on hand, we need to divide by 80%
rather than multiple by 20% (of total cost). The latter is the case when we use “mark-
ups”.
Partner: Okay, so let’s get to the main part of the problem.
Interview At a point in this problem, I did not comprehend what the exact question was. An
tip interviewee should feel confident in explaining what was understood about the
question and ask if it has been understood correctly. In my case, there was an aspect
that I was stuck with and asked the interviewer for 2 minutes to think, which he was
happy to grant. He was also gracious in clarifying an aspect of my understanding, so
it should be noted here that interviewers do not mind helping guide candidates
towards the answer (again, once in a while) as long as they are made aware of the
thought process.
Interview After completing my answer, as detailed in Answers 2, the Partner proceeded to
progress Case Question 2 & Data / Hints 3
Partner: Okay, so that was the easy part. Let’s get to the main part of the problem.
Interview He proceeded to elaborate on Case Question 3 and 4 in parallel. In Case Question
tip 4, I was not sure what he was expecting as he wanted “ways to cross-sell and up-sell”,
which I deemed to be a broad question. The interviewer once again was gracious
enough to guide me towards the type of answer that he wanted and in my belief, this
guidance was not taken to reflect poorly on me.
Partner: Give me a minute.
Interview The Partner arose and walked out of the room stating that I can use the time to think
progress through the two questions. He entered after 5 minutes to take my answer.
Partner: That’s fine. Fair answer. Now tell me, why Bain?
Interview Interviewees should be prepared with the softer questions as the likelihood of being
tip asked these is high.
Interview After giving my answer, the Partner once again excused himself. Now, this was my
progress first round of interview and I was not sure at this point how many rounds there
would be with the firm. I was getting worried that subsequent companies might be
filling up their slots and was considering clarifying with the Partner regarding the
subsequent process. Fortunately, however, he concluded the interview at that point
and made the offer.
15
MAJOR PLAYERS IN THE INDUSTRY
The following table provides an overview of the major players in the industry.
DISCLAIMER: The data collated in this table is obtained from websites and feedback from past
interns. ICON does not take responsibility for the accuracy of the data. The data was last updated in
2015. This data is not necessarily required for interviews but provided just for the reader’s
knowledge.
Alvarez &
Accenture Strategy AT Kearney
Marshall
Global Scenario
Consultants
2000 5000+ workforce 1700
worldwide
Offices
NA 53 51
worldwide
Countries
NA 19 34
present
Staffing model Regional Regional Global
3 broad service areas
(management,
# industry
system integration & 12 17
practices
technology
consulting)
#functional
NA 10 11
practices
India Specific information
India office
Bangalore Mumbai New Delhi, Mumbai
locations
Partners 50 partners NA 13
Consultants NA NA 175
Managing
NA Sankar Krishnan Vikas Kaushal
Director
Comprehensive Restructuring, M &
Strong operations
solution, beyond A, right-sizing and
and manufacturing
strategy, offered to corporate turn-
presence
Speciality clients around
Global brand
recognition due to
NA NA
services outside
consulting
Priorities NA NA Oil & Gas, Consumer

& retail, Industrial &
16
Automotive,
technology &
telecom, metals &
mining
Consultant Consultant Associate
Manager Manager Manager
Career
progression Principal
Partner Partner Partner (Vice -
President)
Bain BCG GEP Consulting
Global Scenario
Consultants
3100 4500 1500+ workforce
worldwide
Offices
50 66 12
worldwide
Countries
32 40 NA
present
Staffing model Office Regional NA
# industry
15 20 7 broad service areas
practices
#functional
11 14 NA
practices
India office New Delhi, Mumbai,
New Delhi, Mumbai Mumbai
locations Chennai
Partners 17 27
Consultants 160-180 280 NA
Managing
Srivatsan Rajan Neeraj Aggarwal Mainsh Sharma
Director
Private Equity Devising strategy or Procurement, supply
Strategic diligence portfolio chain transformation
Speciality
Provides 6 months
externship period
NA NA
(not provided by
other firms)
Challenge
Maintain & establish
Mckinsey's market NA
loyal client roster
Priorities leadership
Keep the lead in PE Hold on to areas of
NA
Work strength:
17
Financial services,
Consumer goods &
industrials
Consultant Consultant
Case Team Leader Manager
Career
Manager NA
progression
Principal Partner
Partner
McKinsey & Company Roland Berger Strategy&

Global Scenario
Consultants 8500 2400+ employees 3300
worldwide
Offices 92 50 57
worldwide
Countries 52 36 30
present
Staffing Global Central Regional
model
# industry 22 26 16
practices
#functional 8 27 8
practices
India office Gurgaon, Chennai, Mumbai, New Mumbai, New Delhi
locations Bangalore, Mumbai Delhi, Pune
Partners 40 (13 directors) NA 2
Consultants 400 NA 60
Managing Noshir Kaka Wilfried Aulbur

Director
Speciality Devising strategy or Strong presence in Energy (oil & gas),
portfolio Automotive sector Power, FMCG
NA Largest consulting NA
firm emerging from
Europe
18
NA Targetting a 3 fold NA
increase in
consultancy reach
in next year
Priorities Market leader NA Establish differentiated
value proposition
Create deep impact NA NA
Career Associate Consultant Consultant

progression
Engagement manager Manager Manager
Assoicate principal Principal Partner
Partner Partner
Director
INDUSTRY WRITE-UPS
The following write-ups cover a brief introduction of the most commonly discussed industries in the
case interviews. The interviewers do not generally expect you to have an in-depth understanding of
any industry (unless you’ve worked in this industry), but it helps to have a general idea of the value
chain, key players and how the industry operates.
PLEASE NOTE: This information doesn’t need to be memorized for interviews in any way. A thorough
reading few days before interviews should be sufficient.
1. CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
Overview:
Construction, the second largest economic activity in India (after agriculture) contributes around
8-10% to the national GDP and employs over 35 million people making it the 2nd largest
employer as well. Construction activities in India are largely fragmented with only about 250
firms employing more than 500 people. A unit increase in expenditure in construction sector has
a multiplier effect on other sectors with a capacity to generate income as high as five times in
other sectors. During the period FY 2011-15 Gross Value Added (GVA) by construction activities
increased by a CAGR of 4.6% to reach INR 9,284 Bn. in absolute value terms.
Construction sector includes broad spectrum of activities including planning & design to actual
construction. The sector is broadly divided into two: real estate construction & infrastructure
construction.
19
Construction
Real Estate Infrastructure
Residential SEZ Commercial Utilities Urban Infra Transportation
Exhibit 1.1 Construction Industry Outlook

SEZ: Special Economic Zone (SEZ) refers to a totally commercial area specially established for the
promotion of foreign trade. The economic policies regarding taxation, trading quotas, customs
and labor regulations are more liberal.
Construction Sector Analysis
A B
•Govt. thrust on Infra
Access to spending
technologie
s
Growth •Falling Interest Rates
•Increase in Foregin
Drivers Investment
Regulatory Procuring
Environme Approvals /
nt Permits
Sector Risks
•Cash flow for developers
stuck due to unsold stock
Growth •Highly leveraged balance

sheets - inability to raise
capital
Financing
Shortage of
Skilled
Inhibitors •Increase in debt default,
Labor CDR cases
•Land acquisition bill
Exhibit 1.2: a) Sector Risks b) Growth Drivers vs Growth Inhibitors

Financial Analysis –Real Estate Industry
Raw Power & Salaries & SGA Interest Net Profit
Material Fuel Wages Expenses Expense Margin
FY 2010 13.9% 0.2% 4.6% 1% 13.5% 15.2%
FY 2011 18.6% 0.2% 5% 0.8% 12.4% 14.4%
FY 2012 21.5% 0.2% 5.6% 1.3% 14.4% 11.6%
FY 2013 16.6% 0.4% 6.1% 1.7% 17.7% 9.4%
FY 2014 15.2% 0.4% 6.5% 2.1% 17.5% 5.1%
Source: CMIE Prowess, Sample: 43 Companies
20
 Interest expenses form the largest part of the cost structure of the industry. Huge debts raised
to acquire lands and to complete projects have resulted in a higher outgo of interest payments
 Construction sector is highly labor intensive and is among one of the largest employers in the
country. Consequently salaries & wage expenses form a substantial part of operating expense.
 Cement and Steel are major raw material costs for the real estate companies. Going forward,
increased usage of green building products which help to lower usage of cement and steel is
expected to benefit the companies in controlling their raw material costs.
 Profitability in the sector remained hampered by declining sales and higher expenses
including a surge in interest costs and rising employee expenses.
Financial Analysis –Infrastructure Industry
Raw Power & Salaries & SGA Interest Net Profit
Material Fuel Wages Expenses Expense Margin
FY 2010 37.8% 1.5% 7% 0.2% 4.5% 4.7%
FY 2011 33.8% 1.9% 5.5% 0.2% 5.6% 4.2%
FY 2012 35.7% 1.5% 5.2% 0.3% 7.4% 2.4%
FY 2013 34.5% 1.5% 5.4% 0.3% 9.3% -0.2%
FY 2014 34.8% 1.6% 5.2% 0.2% 10.7% -2.2%
Source: CMIE Prowess, Sample: 47 Companies
 Raw material expense & expenses such as land acquisition cost, maintenance, transportation
etc. has stood as the largest component in the cost structure.
 Huge debts raise to acquire lands and to complete the projects has resulted in higher outgo
on interest payments. The delay in project completion resulted in increased interest cost &
made the financing of the project costly, thereby lowering the PAT margin.
Leverage Ratios – Real Estate vs. Infrastructure
Real Estate Infrastructure
Debt ~0.71; Firms face a major debt crunch owing ~1.86; It is capital intensive by nature and
Equity - heavily leveraged post FY 2010 expecting a companies operate with high debt equity
Ratio continued boom in housing demand. ratio. Also, due to high upfront capital
However, rising interest costs affected investment & lower investor appetite for
demand as well as their interest costs. equity offering to construction firms,
companies depend on debt for capital needs.
Interest ~1.21; interest coverage ratio has been on a ~1.3; the twin impact of rising interest
Coverage decline owing to slowdown in sales & fall in expense & lower profitability growth led to a
Ratio revenue decline in interest coverage ratio & has kept
debt servicing ability low.
Source: CMIE Prowess, Sample: 43 Companies- Real Estate, 47- Infrastructure Companies
Other key ratios: Return on Assets, Net worth to total liabilities, ROCE etc.
21
2. INDIAN BANKING INDUSTRY
Overview:
The Indian Banking is set to become the 5th largest in the world by 2020 & 3rd largest by the year
2025. Total banking sector credit is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 18.1% to reach USD 2.4
trillion by 2017. In India, the universal banking model is followed. The general principle is that
para-banking activities, such as credit cards, primary dealer, leasing, hire purchase, factoring etc.,
can be conducted either inside the bank departmentally or outside the bank through subsidiary/
joint venture /associate. Investment banking and insurance services are provided by the
universal/foreign banks as an in-house departmental activity or through subsidiary. Credit,
market and liquidity risk studies suggest that Indian banks are generally resilient and have
withstood the global downturn well. Indian banking industry has recently witnessed the roll out
of innovative banking models like payments and small finance banks. The central bank granted
in-principle approval to 11 payments banks and 10 small finance banks in FY 2015-16.RBI’s new
measures may go a long way in helping the restructuring of the domestic banking industry.
Banking System in India: Structure
Scheduled Banks
Scheduled
Scheduled
Commerical
Cooperative
Banks
Urban Public Sector Regional Rural

Rural Cooperative Foreign Banks Other SCBS
Cooperative Banks Banks
Exhibit 1.1: Banking Structure in India
Banking System in India: Business Segmentation
Wholesale Deposits Credit BFSI

Treasury
Banking
•Term •Term loans •Gurantee &
•Demand •Cash Credit advisory
•Current •Overdraft services
Retail Merchant •Savings •Insurance &
Banking Banking investment
•Para
Business Banking
Products
Exhibit 1.2: a) Business Segmentation; b) Products and Services
Banking Industry Performance Metrics:

1. Advances: Loan given by banks can be either for short term or as working capital or term loans
for longer durations. Banks performance can be judged from the quality of advances given, the
performance of the sector in which bank has provided financial support etc.
22
2. Net Interest Income: One of the key parameters used to analyze a bank is the Net Interest
Income (NII). NII is essentially the difference between the bank's interest revenues and
its interest expenses. This parameter indicates how effectively the bank conducts its lending and
borrowing operations (in short, how to generate more from advances and spend less on deposits).
Interest revenues = Interest earned on loans + Interest earned on investments + Interest on
deposits with RBI.
This could also be calculated form the net interest margin or the spread kept by the bank between
their term loans and deposits.
3. Net Performing Assets: NPA is used by financial institutions that refer to loans that are in
jeopardy of default. Once the borrower has failed to make interest or principle payments for 90
days the loan is considered to be a non-performing asset. In order to prevent banks from liberally
restructuring assets to avoid slippages, the Reserve bank of India has made all assets restructured
from 1st April 2015 to be treated at par with NPAs as far as provisioning is concerned. This means
that the provisioning in case of the restructured assets will increase from 5% to 15%. The gross
NPAs of banks (PSBs + private) increased over the last one year from 3.9% to 4.6% as on March
2015. The stressed advances that include restructured advances rose from around 10% to 11.1%
of total advances during the year. The PSBs recorded the highest level of stressed assets at 13.5%
of the total advances as compared to 4.6% in case of private banks.
4. Capital Adequacy Ratio: Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR), also known as Capital to Risk
(Weighted) Assets Ratio (CRAR), is the ratio of a bank's capital to its risk. National regulators
track a bank's CAR to ensure that it can absorb a reasonable amount of loss and complies with
statutory Capital requirements. The capital adequacy ratio (CAR) of banks slipped from over 13%
to 12.9% as on 31 March 2015. PSBs continued to report the lowest CAR that stood below 12%
whereas private banks recorded a CAR of around 16% as at 31st March 2015.
3. INDIAN BPO (BUSINESS PROCESS OUTSOURCING) INDUSTRY
Overview:
India is at the No 1. Position in BPO industry having a market share of 55% of the total global
sourcing landscape. It is highly export oriented and revenues in exports has crossed $70 billion.
In the last few years, Indian BPO industry is witnessing a paradigm shift towards more of
“Verticalized Approach” – developing in depth capabilities across entire value chain in specific
intervals. Firms are implementing non-linear growth initiatives ensuring high realization for
service providers while controlling costs, facilitating faster time-to market and improving client
satisfaction.
BPO Structure in India
By Ownership model
1. Captive BPO: In the case of a Captive BPO, the parent company set up a dedicated call center
for servicing its own clients. The objective of setting up a captive BPO is to ensure that
customers get excellent and quality service within the least possible time.
2. Third Party BPO: Under this form of BPO, one BPO company handles many accounts or
processes. To take an example, HCL, could handle 6 processes, of which 3 processes could be
from U.K., 2 processes from U.S. and one process from Australia. These processes can again
be either inbound or outbound or a combination of both.
23
By Services Model
3. Horizontal BPO: Horizontal BPO involves function centric outsourcing. The vendor specializes
in carrying out particular functions across different industry domains. Examples of horizontal
BPO are: outsourcing in procurement, payroll processing, HR, facilities management and
similar functions. Automatic Data Processing (ADP) is an example of a horizontal BPO vendor.
ADP focuses on providing services in horizontal functions such as payroll, HR, benefit
administration, tax solutions, etc.
4. Vertical BPO: A vertical BPO focuses on proving various functional services in a limited
number of industry domains. Healthcare, financial services, manufacturing and retail are
examples of vertical BPO domains. EXL Service Holdings is a vertical BPO having focus on
industry domains such as healthcare, business services, utilities and energy and
manufacturing.
By Business Model:
5. Transactional: Transactional BPO handles one aspect of a process only. The customer has to
carry out a significant part of the process in-house and hence the customer owns the risk of the
process. Also, outsourcing many aspects of the process in a transactional mode leads to
complex fragmentation which can pose a threat to productive delivery.
6. Niche BPO: A niche BPO carries out 3-4 aspects of a process. A niche BPO, which also makes
certain investments in the customer's process, aims at improving the efficiency of the process.
The vendor in a niche BPO works in close coordination with the buyer, sometimes seeking the
services of the customer's employees. Both the vendor and the buyer share the risk of the
process.
7. Comprehensive: A comprehensive BPO handles both transactional and administrative tasks
in a process and takes 70 percent responsibility of the output. The vendor purchases the
buyer's assets and also hires most of its employees. Comprehensive BPO has bulk deals lasting
for 7-10 years.
BPO Operational Metrics
1. Capacity Utilization: Capacity utilization is a measure of the extent to which the productive
capacity of a business is being used. It can be defined as: The percentage of total capacity that
is actually being achieved in a given period. In BPO utilization rate is calculated as Total Talk
Time / Billed Hours.
2. Attrition Rate: The percentage of the people leaving the organization over a period of time.
High employee attrition is an issue in this sector. The rate tends to peak towards the first half
of the financial year, especially the first quarter. Many of the exits are seen to be happening as
employees move to next-generation technology-backed companies, where they get to learn
newer skills. High attrition levels have pushed the BPO companies to initiate employee
engagement activities, skill training and development, thus adding more to the operational
cost.
Revenue per employee (calculated as the revenue from the services / no. of employees) and
operating ratio (calculated as (Total direct cost + indirect cost)/net revenue) are other
benchmarks which is used to assess the BPO’s performance.
Trends / Strategies adopted by BPO industry
1. Expansion to Tier II and Tier III cities: Companies are expanding their business to Tier II
& III cities to have low cost advantage
24
2. Movement to SMAC and digital space: Social Computing, Mobility, Analytics and Cloud
(SMAC) is taking significant leaps. Companies are getting into this field by offering big data
services, which provides clients better insights for future cases
3. Product and Pricing Differentiation: Firms are now changing their pricing models to
facilitate flexibility in operations thus improving cost visibility and cost predictability to
customers. There is gradual paradigm shift from low cost advantage pricing model to
delivering value model thus enabling non- linear growth. Firms are various non- linear
strategies like cloud computing, M&A, enabling growth incremental CoEs, delivery
accelerators and branding.
4. Switch to Fast growing verticals: Knowledge services, data analytics, legal services,
Business Process as a Service (BPaaS), cloud-based services is gaining attention of BPO firms.
4. INFRASTRUCTURE
Overview:
Acknowledging the need to make infrastructure publicly available to all to promote inclusive
growth, infrastructure sector has observed massive investment from government. In wake of
growing scarcity of resources and diversion of public resources towards social spending, the
government is encouraging private participation in infrastructure sector. Further, expected
softening of interest rates is likely to spur new investment in infrastructure sector and contribute
toward overall economic growth. However, these measures are bound to take time and pick-up in
the sector is only expected to happen in mid to long term.
A Envelopes sectors such as Power, Roads, Railways, Ports, Airports and Telecom
Increase in Govt. spending in infrastrucuture, lower interest rate regime, pickup in economy major growth
B drivers
C Slow moving environmental clearances, budget constraints, land acquisition major growth inhibitors
Exhibit 1.1: Outlook on Infrastructure in India
25
Infrastructure Performance:
Key Challenges:
The increasing number of stalled and delayed projects has deterred the investors to fund the
infrastructure projects. Regulatory issues, rising finance cost have further added roadblocks to
infrastructure sector. As of FY15, 6.9% of GDP worth projects are either stalled or delayed.
Stalled projects result in blocked investment, which sets in motion a vicious cycle resulting in
additional project delays. Stalled projects affect the balance sheet of banks, which leads to lower
fund availability which hampers investment in projects which causes additional delays. A major
challenge investment in infrastructure projects is facing is weak private investment via the PPP
model. A possible solution may be to increase public investment to catalyze the project
investment process. Other solutions include speeding up of the approval and award process and
identifying projects for receiving public financing.
5. PHARMACEUTICALS INDUSTRY
Overview:
The Indian Pharmaceutical market (IPM) accounts for approx. 1.4% of the global pharmaceutical
industry in value terms and 10% in the volume terms. The IPM is highly fragmented with about
24,000 players (330 in the organized sector). The top ten companies including domestic and MNC
companies make up for more than a third of the market. The market is dominated majorly by
branded generics, which constitutes nearly 70% to 80% of market.
Trends
 Currency depreciation had both positive and negative impact on the Indian pharmaceutical
companies. Depreciating rupee helped some companies garner better margins as they were
export oriented. On the other hand, those with forex loans on their books witnessed higher
payments.
 The industry continued to face bigger challenges on the regulatory front. The companies
faced issues from the USFDA, as they lacked good manufacturing practices (GMP). Because
26
of this, there were instances of import alerts being issued, drug recalls, warning letters and
so on. The regulators have become more stringent now and have also been conducting
surprise checks.
 High growth witnessed in the generics to the tune of USD26.1 billion in 2016 from USD11.3
billion in 2011.
Pharmaceuticals Industry Structure
Pharma
Active Pharma
Ingredients Formulations
(API)
Branded Generic Chronic Acute
Market Dynamics
India's pharmaceutical industry is reportedly among the top three in the global market in volume
terms, but much lower in terms of value. The discrepancy is because India’s pharmaceuticals
production is highly cost-driven and that the country is world famous as a generic drugs hub.
Moreover, in an attempt to provide affordable healthcare for all, India’s Government is
undertaking series of measures to preserve the low prices of medicines on the domestic market.
Although good for customers, those interventions reduce company profits, affect competition and
may hinder the expansion of the sector. Moreover, there are regulatory problems with clinical
trials and significant delays in patent approvals.
Mapping Pharmaceutical Companies Performance

 One aspect that could affect the company's revenues is the therapeutic segment in which it
operates. If the company generates a major portion of its revenues from the high margin
lifestyle segments like diabetes, cancer and asthma as compared to low margin traditional
therapeutic segments like anti-infectives and anti-biotics, obviously, the growth prospects
and margins of the company will be higher.
 Revenues in the domestic market are also influenced by the prices fixed by the regulatory
bodies. These organizations fix very low ceiling prices for bulk drugs and formulations,
thereby limiting pricing power. Although, powers of these bodies is expected to reduce
tremendously with the introduction of product patents, there is an apprehension that they
might survive in some form even after product patents are implemented.
 A company's product portfolio age is also a crucial factor that affects the company's growth
prospects. As a drug matures, its volumes decline. Thus, a company with a relatively older
product portfolio is likely to witness slower growth rates as compared to a company that
makes aggressive new product launches. Moreover, aggressive new product launches also
demonstrates parent's commitment towards the Indian arm.
 Outsourcing is the second avenue of revenue available for an MNC pharma company. Here,
the company can either manufacture its parent's patented drugs or act as an R&D base. An
MNC pharma company can utilize the lowest cost manufacturing ability of the Indian
subsidiary for drugs sold globally. However, to get such manufacturing contracts, the Indian
arm will have to prove its cost effectiveness not only in comparison to its fellow subsidiaries
27
but also Indian companies specializing in the same. This apart, the demand for the parent's
product is another key factor that could influence the flow of revenues from this avenue.
Key KPIs:
 Parent's R&D expenditure as a percentage of sales: In a regulated market, new drug

discovery research and product launches are key to a global pharma company's survival.
Aggressive new product launches can only be made if the company is committed towards
making R&D investments. This can be numerically measured by calculating the parent's R&D
expenditure as a percentage of its sales. The higher this ratio, the more committed the
company is towards its R&D initiatives.
 Advertising and sales promotion expenses as a percentage of sales: In the domestic

market, an MNC pharma company has to compete with generics manufacturers who sell
drugs at a much lower price as compared to the MNC. Hence, to justify its premium price, an
MNC pharma company has to undertake nation-wide product awareness programs and also
conduct seminars and conferences. Although these initiatives eat into the company's
margins, they are essential in the long term.
 Market capitalization to sales: This is a very important ratio while analyzing an MNC
pharma company, as it will give us an idea about the market's perception of the company's
brand value. Higher the ratio, bigger the company's brand.
 Other parameters: Apart from the above ratios, the usual ratios like operating profit
margin, net profit margin and P/E ratio should also be considered before investing in an MNC
pharma stock. As far as price to earnings is concerned for an MNC pharma major, better
earnings visibility (provided the parent is committed) and access to the parent's global
expertise could result in a premium valuation compared to domestic pharma majors.
Govt. Policies:
1. New Pricing Policy: The new pricing policy is definitely favored by customers but it is also
helpful in a way for the sector, as it provides additional clarity for the industry regarding its
decisions and growth plans. Nonetheless it shrinks profitability in the domestic market and,
while it requires higher-priced products to be priced lower, it prevents lower-priced products
from automatically revising their prices upwards.
2. Compulsory Licensing: Countries can resort to such licensing when important patented
goods are too expensive for the local market and generic versions of the products at lower
price rates could cater for the needs of the public.
3. Obligatory Generic Drug Use: – all state hospitals must prescribe only generic drugs. The
decision is highly controversial as there are doubts not only about possible drug shortages,
but also about the ability of generic drugs fully to replace patented ones.
6. POWER SECTOR
Sector Overview:
The Indian Power sector is considered to be the tipping point for the growth story of Indian
Economy. Growing at the CAGR of 6-7% in period FY10-FY15, India’s Power sector has reached
an installed capacity of 303 GW. At present, the country is power deficient having annual per
capita consumption of 700 kWh. This sector is highly dominated by the Public Sector Companies
and is capital extensive.
28
Value Chain:
Power Generation Power Power Distribution Power Trading
Transmission
•70% share of PSUs •200 kv (52%) and • Major bottleneck in the

400 kv (40%) major power sector - Loss • 10% of power
•Dominance of generated is traded
transmission lines making PSUs
Thermal based • Indian Energy Exchange
generation (60%) •250K+ circuit • T&D losses > 25% of
power generation; 2.5X & Ppwer exhange of
•Highly gestation kilometers in grid. of global average India - major power
period, capital •High commission exchange
intensive period (6-7 years), • Lack of long term power
less upgradation in contracts
technology
Power Generation:
1. Generation: Revenues are a function of electricity generated and tariffs applicable. Generation
of electricity is a function of PLF (plant load factor) and the capacity installed. PLF, in simple
words, is like capacity utilization. The level of PLF varies depending upon the kind of
generation plant. Generally, a hydro power plant or a wind energy plant have low PLF
(industry average 35%-50%). Thermal and nuclear power plants have higher PLF (industry
average 50%-65%), which ultimately results in higher production.
2. Availability of funds: As we had mentioned before, the sector is capital intensive. It costs almost
Rs 40 m to Rs 45 m to set up one megawatt (MW) of capacity. If a company is planning to
increase capacity by 1,000 MW, it requires Rs 40 bn. Cash balance and the current debt to
equity ratio of the company from the balance sheet will give an idea whether the company
really has the muscle power to expand the stated capacity in the time frame mentioned.
3. Regulatory Framework: Since it is dominated by PSUs, lot of projects get blocked due to
regulatory frameworks. Social issues like Land acquisition, deforestation and environmental
restrictions limit the investment in Power generation.
Power Transmission:
1. Concept of Commissioning: On an average it takes 60 months to commission transmission line.
At present incentives for a developer doesn’t encourage faster execution of the project.
Revenues can flow in from the contractual COD only (commercial operation date) even If a
developer is able to commission lines before COD.
2. Land Availability: Presence of a transmission line reduces the commercial value of the land to
almost nil as it can't be put for any alternative commercial use, often leading to protests from
the land owners. It also affects the nearby eco-system, more so while passing through the
forest cover.
3. Excess Demand: Transmission lines are added at 30% annually whereas production capacity
is increasing at 50% leaving a large gap between demand and supply
29
4. Lack of up gradation in technology: Upgradation of existing lines with high performance
conductors can save valuable time, cost, RoW, and forest cover. Re-conductoring takes much
lesser time (~6 months), as compared to creating a new parallel corridor (~4-5 years). It also
increases the power transfer capacity by 3X. Cost is measured in terms of Rs. X / Km / MW
added.
Power Distribution:
1. The distribution company can also generate electricity in-house, but the process remains
same. Distribution Companies have pre-defined areas called 'circles' where they can supply
electricity. For a distribution company, metering plays a vital role.
2. Metered units = Inhouse power generated (if any) + Power sourced from a generator to meet
additional requirement - T&D losses.
3. A major concern for the Indian distribution companies is heavy T&D losses due to poor
infrastructure. Due to weak anti-theft laws, 10%-15% of power supplied is lost in distribution.
Key Financial and Operating Parameters:
a. Guaranteed return: A power company is guaranteed a certain return on capital employed

on generation by the government. If input cost increases, a generation company passes on
the cost through increasing the capital employed to maintain margins. Affects profitability
of a power company.
b. Net Asset Value: NAV is important from a retail investor perspective. Mentioned in Balance
sheet of the company.
NAV = ((Capacity * rate per MW depending whether it is pure generation company or a
combination of both) - Debt + Cash) / (number of shares outstanding)
c. Dividend yield: Dividend yield is a very useful parameter. But if the company is in the
process of expanding capacity, the dividend payout is unlikely to be high in initial years.
d. Other Ratios: PE, PB, EV/ MW
Cost Structure:
Value Chain Major Cost Heads
Power Generation Raw Material Cost (LNG fuel, Coal etc.) and Interest Cost
Power Transmission Conductor Cost (ACSR – 38%; HPC: 66%); Tower (18%); Erection and
Foundation (10%), Using HPC increase material cost by 2X but
reduces overall per MW per km cost by 15%
Power Distribution Cost of Electricity, Infra cost
7. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SECTOR
1.0 Sector Overview:

NASSCOM expects the sector to grow at 10-12% in FY2017 (lower than FY2016). The IT
sector can be divided into 6 categories: Software Products, IT services, Engineering and R&D
services, ITES/BPO (IT-enabled services/Business Process Outsourcing), Hardware, and e-
commerce
Characteristics and trends:
30
 Highly export oriented (over 60% of business from USA) and hence susceptible to
global conditions
 Dominated by services rather than products
 Driven by low wage levels
2.0 Value Chain:

Secondary Activities
Enterprise Architecture & Portfolio Management
Sourcing Staff: Engineering graduates with low-medium level software skill set
Risk, Security and Compliance: Industry standards like MISRA and software development
models
Facilities & Operations
IT Enablement
Primary Activities
Demand/Relationshi
Software Development Software Support
p Management
3.0 Market Entry Considerations:
Supply Abundant supply across segments, mainly lower-end, such as ADM

(Applications Development and Maintenance). Lower supply in higher-end
areas like IT/Business Consulting, but competition is very tough.
Demand The global downturn had put considerable pressure on global IT spending.
Factors like Brexit and US visa restrictions has aggravated the scepticism.
Barriers to entry Low, particularly in the ADM & BPO segments as these are prone to
relatively easy commoditization. It’s high in value-added services like
IT/Business Consulting and R&D where in-domain expertise creates a
barrier. The size of a particular company/scalability and brand-image also
creates barriers to entry; as such firms have built up long-term
relationships with major clients.
Competition Competition is global in nature and stretches across boundaries and

geographies. It is expected to intensify due to the attempted replication of
the Indian offshoring model by MNC IT majors as well as small startups.
Substitution of IT continues to be a driving force towards all aspects connected with our
IT services and lives. While a particular technology may become obsolete and a particular
products company specializing in it may suffer, the obsolete technology can only get
substituted by a newer technology offered by the same/different player in
the IT/ITES industry.
31
Market Entry Considerations – IT Sector (Source: Equitymaster)
8. TELECOM SECTOR
India’s tele-density has increased from 4% (2001) to 81.82% (2015) in 15 years. Growth has
shifted massively from fixed line services to wireless and data based services.
 Key driver: Growth in rural areas (tele-density < 50%)
 Most recent spectrum auction took place in 2015
 High debt among many service providers due to spectrum costs and capex
 Emergence of fiber optics based high speed communication in recent years
2.0 Value Chain:
Firm Infrastructure: CRM Tools, Networking Exquipment, Telecom equipment for coverage
and signal strength
HR Management: IT Skilled workforce, Telecom Engineers, Customer Service and sales
training
Technology development: 4G/5G enabled services, mobile banking and commerce
Procurement: Supply Chain network to procure tools, and software
Primary Activities
Input Process Output Marketing & Post Sales

Sales
• Network • Network • GSM • Strong • Recharge/
Infrastruct Integration Services distributio Top up
ure • Competitiv • Value n channels
• Software e Positon Added • Advertisin
and • Capable Services g of plans
content supplier • Fixed Lines stc
provider • Broadband
• Finance
Supply Intense competition has resulted in prompt service to the subscribers.

Demand Given the low tariff environment and relatively low rural and semi urban
penetration levels, demand will continue to remain higher in the
foreseeable future across all the segments.
Barriers to entry Complex regulations, high capital investments, well-established players
who have a nationwide network, license fee, continuously evolving
technology and lowest tariffs in the world.
Bargaining power Improved competitive scenario, mobile number portability (MNP), and
of suppliers commoditisation of telecom services has led to reduced bargaining power
for services providers.
32
Bargaining power A wide variety of choices available to customers both in fixed as well as
of customers mobile telephony has resulted in increased bargaining power for the
customers.
Competition Competition is expected to increase when Reliance Jio Infocomm (RJio)
enters the industry in 2016. Reduced tariffs have hurt all incumbent
operators. Whatsapp calling proving to be a substitute.
Market Entry Considerations - Telecom Sector (Source: Equitymaster)
9. AUTOMOBILE SECTOR
Indian automobile sector can be divided on product basis into 2-wheelers, 3-wheelers,
commercial vehicles (light/medium/heavy) and tractors. The profitability of this sector is
highly related to income levels. 4-wheeler penetration is very low in India as compared to 2
wheelers.
 Key driver: Increased government spending on road infrastructure development
 Prospective move towards intensive emission standards (Bharat Stage 6) could
increase production costs
 Brexit impact on automotive part exports, as UK and Europe account for high
proportion of export
2.0 Value Chain:

Firm Infrastructure: Financing, accounting, manufacturing equipment
HR Management: Assembly worker supervision, Recruitment
Technology development: Product design, emission control technologies
Procurement: Components, Spare parts

Primary Activities
Raw Tier 2 Tier 1 Original Equipment Dealers

Material Supplier Supplier Manufacturer (OEM)
• Raw material • Manufacturers • Make • Component • Dedicated
• Steel & of components for assembly and point of
Polyerethane subcomponents OEM's vehice sale
for basic • Highly production • After sales
components Integrated to support
• Low margins supply chain of
major OEM's

Supply The Indian automobile market has some amount of excess capacity.
Demand Largely cyclical in nature and dependent upon economic growth and
per capita income. Seasonality is also a vital factor.
33
Barriers to entry High capital costs, technology, distribution network, and availability
of auto components.
Bargaining power of Low, due to stiff competition.

suppliers
Bargaining power of Very high, due to availability of options.

customers
Competition High. Expected to increase even further.
Table 1: Market Entry Considerations - Automobile Sector (Source: Equitymaster)
10. FMCG SECTOR
FMCG
Personal Food & Household

Healthcare
Care Beverages Care

 E-commerce is becoming a significant distribution channel in addition to convenience
stores and modern retail
 Rural and semi-urban segments are key growth areas in the coming years
 GST is expected to enable FMCG players improve logistical efficiency by cutting
cascading tax costs
2.0 Value Chain:

Firm Infrastructue: Manufacturing plants, integrating suppliers and distributors through
SAP
Recruiting Staff: Graduates from top b-schools
Facilities & Operations: Total Productivity Maintenance
Product Design
Primary Activities
34
Manufacturing
Sales & Demand Waste
Production Quality
Operations Manageme MRP Manageme
Execution Management
planning nt nt
Sales
Sales Returns
Pricing Credit Delivery
Order and
and Managem Managem Invoice
Processin Complain
Discount ent ent
g ts

Supply: Abundant supply through a distribution network of over 8 m stores across
the country. Distribution networks are being strengthened in the rural
areas.
Demand: With food and consumer products being items of frequent consumption,
demand is less impacted by slowdown. Processed food and personal
products are segments growing at a robust paces. Rising contribution of
women to the working force and growing nuclear families led to higher
demand for convenience foods, especially in urban areas. Tobacco demand
being habit-forming is largely inelastic.
Barriers to Huge investments in establishing brand identity and setting up distribution

entry: networks.
Bargaining Suppliers being small and fragmented have limited bargaining power. Most
power of tobacco companies have integrated backwards and have their own supply
suppliers: chains. Therefore, the bargaining power of suppliers is not high.
Bargaining Rising competition and the onslaught of the e-commerce boom does provide
power of good bargain opportunities for customers. Tobacco consumption is more or
customers: less a habit, and thus the bargaining power of consumers is only to the
extent of choice of the brand.
Competition: Domestic unorganized players pose competition. Domestic players also feel
the competitive pressures from large well established MNCs. In case of
tobacco, branded cigarettes, bidis and contraband compete with each other.
Market Entry Considerations - FMCG Sector (Source: Equitymaster)
35
CASE INTERVIEW EXPERIENCES – SUMMERS 2016
CONTRIBUTORS' PROFILES
Resume Spikes(not in
Graduation Work Experience
order)
Name Company
Duration
Branch College Company One Two
(months)
KPMG
Aditya B.Tech, Civil Work
Bain & Co. NIT Trichy Advisory 29
Muralidhar Engineering Experience
Services
B.Tech.,
Himani Work
Bain & Co. Computer IIT-BHU Microsoft 22 Academics
Arora Experience
Science
B.Sc. in
Physics, St. Joseph’s Work Extra-
Pradeep G. Bain & Co. Oracle 48
Chemistry, College Experience Curricular
& Math
B.Tech., Awards &
NTU, Barclays Work
Ritika Jain Bain & Co. Computer 34 Achieveme
Singapore Capital Experience
Science nts
Dual
Awards &
Sankhadeep Degree, IIT
Bain & Co. Broadcom 22 Achieveme
Pal Electronics Kharagpur
nts
Engineering
Sanchit Rio Tinto, Work Extra-
Bain & Co. B.Tech. IIT Kanpur 34
Singhal Australia Experience Curricular
Best All-
Abhishek Thapar Goldman Work
GEP B.Tech, ECE 36 rounder
Somani University Sachs Experience
Award
Delhi
Aayushi Accenture College of
Electrical NTPC 46 Academics Awards
Agarwal Strategy Engineerin
g
Accenture IIT Reliance
Amit Kumar Chemical 10 Awards Academics
Strategy Guwahati Industries
Prabuddha Accenture Jadavpur Work
Mechanical BPCL 34 Awards
Guha Strategy University experience
Sohil Accenture Work
Electrical IIT Kanpur Ericsson 47 PORs
Mahajan Strategy experience
Kottana Metallurgic
Tata Steel Well
Naveen Strategy& al and IIT KGP 34
Limited rounded
Kumar materials
36
SKCET,
Khizar TVS Work
Strategy& Mechanical Anna 42 Academics
Sherrif M Motors experience
University
Electronics
PSG College
Srikkanth and
A.T. Kearney of - - Academics PORs
Sridhar communica
Technology
tion
Himanshu Process IIT Work
A.T. Kearney Axtria 22 Academics
Khera Engineering Roorkee experience
Buddharatn Alvarez and Industrial IIT ZS Work Extra
33
Ratawal Marsal Engineering Kharagpur Associates Experience Curriculars
Awards
Electrical & SSNCE, and
Keerthika A.T. Kearney - - Academics
Electronics Chennai Achieveme
nts
IBM
Computer Work
Janani A.T. Kearney NIT Trichy Software 22 PORs
Science experience
Labs
Metallurgic
Work
al and MNIT, ZS 36
Preksha McKinsey experience Sports
Materials Jaipur Associates months
Engineering
Quantitati Awards
ve 24 and
Electrical Work
Koustav Dey McKinsey IIT Kanpur Analyst, months Achieveme
Engineering Experience
Morgan nts
Stanley
Metallurgic
al and
Overall
Materials EXL 23
Ashwin McKinsey IIT Madras. PoRs balanced
Engineering Services months
profile
Essex Work
Priyanka 30 Academics
McKinsey B.Com (H) SRCC Lake Experience
Bagai months
Group
POR/
Mechanical
Utsav Giri McKinsey BIT Mesra - - Academics Extracurri
Engineering
culars
Civil IIT Kanpur EXL 35 Work
Harsh Shah McKinsey Academics
engineering Services months Experience
Anuradha Economic
McKinsey LSR - - (Don’t believe in spikes)
Rao (Hons)
37
Balanced
B.Tech
Shubham IIT Axtria Inc. 12 Resume- Extra-
Deloitte Mechanical
Mittal Roorkee months Good acads Curricular
Engineering
B.E.,
Texas
Praful Electrical
BCG BITS Pilani instrumen 22 PoRs Awards
Parakh and
ts
Electronics
Utkarsh B.Tech, IIT Departmen
BCG ITC 37 Awards
Prasad Chemical Kharagpur t Rank 2
Allen Dan IIT
BCG B.Tech, Civil Atkins 33 Academics Awards
Babu Kharagpur
Chartered KPMG, CA All India
S Aatresh BCG - 20 Work Ex
Accountant Nestle Rank 3
M.Tech & Opera Extra-
Agrim Gupta BCG IIT Kanpur 20 Work Ex
B.Tech, Civil Solutions Curriculars
B.Tech,
Oracle Institute
Sharmili Electronic & NIT
BCG Financial 20 Rank 1, PORs
Adhikari Communica Durgapur
Services Awards
tion
B.Tech, NIT Institute
Smriti Priya Roland Berger NTPC 36 Awards
Mechanical Allahabad Rank 2
38
ACCENTURE STRATEGY
CASE 1
Candidate: Amit Kumar

Case: Guesstimate
Interviewer: You are from IIT Guwahati. Tell me how’s Guwahati doing?
Candidate: Guwahati is doing really well sir. (Mentioned some current campus news.)
Interviewer: There were Reynolds pen kept at the table. Can you tell me what is the market size of
Reynolds pen in IIMB?
Candidate: Can I have a minute sir?
Interviewer: Sure, take your time.
Candidate: I would go for an approach of finding the total population of IIMB, calculating market
penetration of Reynolds in different segments and then calculating the market size.
Interviewer: Approach looks fine. Please go ahead.
Candidate: IIMB has a mix of PGPs, EPGPs, Faculty and their children. Assuming a PGP batch size
of 400*2, Executive MBAs of 100 and 80 faculty members. I am assuming a rough estimate of 4
members/household so there would be 320 members from faculty. The rough population of IIMB
thus comes out to be approximately 1200.
Interviewer: It seems fine. What will you do next?
Candidate: IIMB has a batch size with people with high work experience. Not all of them would
use Reynolds given that it’s a cheap pen of Rs. 5. I will assume a market penetration of 40% in
PGPs and 50% in executive MBAs. Though professors wouldn’t use Reynolds as a regular pen but
their children might use it. I will assume a market penetration of 40% among professors.
Interviewer: (Interrupts.) Can you tell me the components of a balance sheet?
Candidate: Balance sheet is divided into 2 broad categories of assets and liabilities & equity.
Assets include cash, inventory, trade receivables, investments and intangible assets. On the other
side there is trade payables, current liabilities, long term debts, retained earnings and
stockholder’s equity.
Interviewer: Good. Go ahead with your guesstimate.
Candidate: Total market size will be (800*40% + 100*50% + 320*40%). This comes out to be
approximately 500. Each pen if used completely could last for half a month and every person will
use 2 pens in a month.
Annual consumption of pens in IIMB is 500*2*12 which will be 12000. A market size of around
Rs5 *12000 = Rs. 6 lacs
Interviewer: Sounds good. Thank you!
CASE 2
Candidate: Amit Kumar

39
Case: Guesstimate
Interviewer: Why are you looking for consulting?

Candidate: (Gave a prepared answer on how it fits his goal of doing an MBA.)
Interviewer: (Goes through the CV.) What is this P&G Emerging leadership?
Candidate: (Gave a small overview of the program)
Interviewer: Can you know name some brands of P&G?

Candidate: Tide, Pampers, Gillette, Olay.
Interviewer: (Draws a product life cycle graph on paper.) Can you identify the graph?
Candidate: It is a product life cycle graph with product sales on y axis and timeline on x axis. It
has 4 stages of introduction of a product, growth, maturity and decline.
Interviewer: (Writes 1, 2, 3, 4 on paper.) Can you identify what is this with respect to P&G?
Candidate: I am not entirely sure on this. But it looks like introduction of different products as
P&G settled in India.
Interviewer: Do you know about Gillette strategy to increase market share?

Candidate: I know that Gillette has a unique strategy of selling razor at low prices but sells blades
at higher prices and makes on the money by repeated usage of blades
Interviewer: This (1,2,3,4) is related to Gillette. Can you guess it now?

Candidate: It could be number of blades in a razor. Like Gillette started with 1 blade, moved to 2
and latest I know Mach3 has 3 blades.
Interviewer: Good. That is correct. Now suppose you are the marketing manager of Gillette and
the growth is slowing down. What will you do to increase sales?
Candidate: We could grow in our present markets or extend to new markets. Gillette having a
huge global presence I will stick to present markets. Shall I go ahead?
Interviewer: Yes. What will you do?

Candidate: I would try to understand the issue of why our growth is stagnating. Is it due to a
competitor producing high quality products or has the market been very competitive on prices.
Apart from this, competitor external factors might have affected our growth, like new products
coming into fashion replacing our razors.
Interviewer: What do you think are the major threats for Gillette?
Candidate: I feel Gillette is hugely penetrated. So a major threat for it is the growing demand for
trimmers and shavers among the population. Another threat could be shaving going out of
fashion, where people with beard are considered fashionable. If shaving goes out of fashion then
people will reduce the frequency of buying blades and our growth will decline.
Interviewer: Being the marketing manager, how will you solve that problem?
Candidate: I would design an IMC campaign with bringing shaving back into fashion. Most of the
fashion industry is controlled by fashion shows, magazines like Glamour, Vogue etc. I will
collaborate with editor in chiefs of fashion magazines and create a suitable environment of
shaving being the “coolest thing”. I would associate with fashion shows and ask designers to
design themes around shaving. I will hire an ad agency to make advertisements showing how
40
shaved men are more successful in life and girls love shaved men. I would associate with fashion
shows and ask designers to design themes around shaving.
Interviewer: Can you suggest any other ways to grow the Gillette business?
Candidate: Women razors market is also growing and Gillette could design special soft razors.
These razors would be soft, delicate and flexible to cater towards target segment needs. I am not
much aware of women razors.
Interviewer: (Laughs) That’s completely fine. The strategy seems good. Now suppose one of the
brands in US is gaining considerable market share in trimmers/shavers category. It is eating into
your market share and trimming has become a fashion there. What will you do?
Candidate: I would do the above mentioned steps and bring shaving as a “macho” thing whereas
trimming being a more feminine stuff.
Interviewer: If that strategy doesn’t work out. What else will you do?
Candidate: I think Gillette is a mega brand and to develop new products would involve
considerable time. Besides I am not sure of the current capabilities to be in the trimmer business
now. I will acquire the small brand and make it a sub-brand under Gillette.
Interviewer: Great. You need to acquire smaller players and consolidate the market. Thank you.
Candidate: Thank you sir.
CASE 3
Candidate: Aayushi Agarwal

Case: Cost Reduction
(After the initial exchange of greetings, was told, “Sorry I’m not carrying a copy of your resume can
you please provide one”. Quick tip: Carry a number of copies of your resume at the time of your
interview.)
Interviewer: Can you please walk me through your resume.

Candidate: (Started talking about the resume points. Interrupted by the interviewer in between and
asked about the cost saving number mentioned, what was the role of the candidate in particular in
achieving those savings. The candidate explained the details of the cost savings mentioned and her
role in particular. This helped in building the initial conversation.)
Interviewer: Okay Aayushi. Let’s take the case of ABC Construction Company. Can you help them
in achieving savings?
Candidate: For this, we will first have to analyze the costs involved. (Started writing down the
different costs in the sheet simultaneously.)
Interviewer: You can continue.

Candidate: Drew a chart and started explaining about raw material cost, labour cost, and the
number of costs involved in the entire value chain. (Tried to follow think aloud tips as mentioned in
a no. of case preparation interview books.)
Interviewer: You can take your time, there is no hurry and I understand it is difficult to think and
explain at the same time.
41
Candidate: Structured all the costs, and then gave pointers about effective sourcing of raw materials,
entering into long term rate contracts using the prior knowledge of contracts. I also talked about
transportation involved, ways to reduce those costs. In the close to 4 years of work experience, the
candidate had spent a year in purchase department and close to 1.5 years in contracts.
Interviewer: (Didn’t go in much detail of the case after this.) Alright. Why Accenture Strategy?
Candidate: Said the usual prepared praising stuff about the company. (Quick tip: Questions like this
are asked frequently and the candidate should be well prepared to answer.)
Interviewer: Okay, thanks, we are done for this interview and we’ll let you know about the
subsequent rounds.
Candidate: Thank you.
CASE 4

Case: HR Round
Interviewer: Aayushi, what are your favourite subjects at IIMB?

Candidate: Hesitantly mentioned Finance.
Interviewer: Okay, can you tell me what all are the line items before Profit after tax?
Candidate: Explained confidently.
Interviewer: Do you have any idea about provisioning?

Candidate: Explained.
Interviewer: Why Accenture strategy?
Candidate: So wished that this question is not asked again, but it was! No option, had to answer, so
tried framing again. Accenture is one amongst the few companies that has pro women policies.
(Interrupted)
Interviewer: The person who came just before you was also saying the same thing.
Candidate: Thought again on the feet. Tried to justify how it is the best company for me.
Interviewer – Thank you, we’ll let you know.

Candidate – Thank you.
CASE 5

Case: Market Entry
Interviewer: Our client wants to enter into a new industry, what do you suggest for him?
Candidate: Sir, what are the current capabilities of our client and what industry does he want to
enter into?
Interviewer: Just walk me how will you go about analyzing the new industry
42
Candidate: Drew the standard value chain of an industry. Porter’s five forces. Never named the
framework, but essentially did everything similar.
Threat of New
Entrants
Bargaining Industry Bargaining

power of Rivalry power of
Suppliers buyers
Threat of
Substitutes
Suppliers: We will first see how many suppliers are there for the raw product. If suppliers are
very few as compared to the incumbent players in the industry, in which our client wants to enter,
we will deduce that since supplier power is much higher, it’ll be a negative from point of view of
entering this industry.
Buyers: Again we need to see the number of buyers as compared to existing players i.e. what is
the volume purchase of each buyer vis-a-vis the production capacity of existing industries. If
buyers are few in number, we can deduce that bargaining power of buyers will be much higher.
Again a negative to enter such an industry.
Industry rivalry: How many existing players are there? Are they competing on cost or any other
factor?
Threat of new entrants: What are the barriers to entry? How easy or difficult will it be to enter for
any other player? Explained this in greater detail.
Threat of substitutes: Took Aquaguard example and what can be substitutes to Aquaguard for
explaining this. (No specific reason for taking Aquaguard example. Just tried to explain concepts
using examples.)
Interviewer: Okay, do you know of any other things which we might have to check?
Candidate: Yes, we will also have to look at exit options available, in case our client turns out to
be unsuccessful after entering. We will have to do a research before selecting a region where we
would be interested to start our industry. We also need to consider macroeconomic factors and
political stability in the region that we are considering. In case we are to enter into huge
technology based investment, we will need to check how fast the technology gets outdated.
Interviewer: Great.
(Suddenly HR person enters, and now they are three people, Partner, one more guy, and the HR
person.) So any questions for us?
Candidate: I would like to know, do we have any say in choosing the internship projects?
HR person: Do you have any specific preference?
43
Candidate: I am open to working in any sector, but something involving cost savings gives me a
kick, as there, I can right away see the impact of my work.
HR person: Alright Aayushi, we’ll consider this during allotment of projects. It was nice talking to
you. Thanks, have a great day.
CASE 6
Candidate: Prabuddha Guha

Case: Profitability Analysis
The first interview was taken by a Manager. It was a case interview where the candidate was given
a one liner problem statement and asked to explore plausible causes and suggest solution.
Interviewer: Hello! How are you? Feeling confident?
Candidate: I am good sir.
Interviewer: Ok then. Let’s get started. So there is a factory that manufactures pumps. The factory
was setup 3 years ago and the project plan predicted that it should turn profitable on a standalone
basis in 2 years. But even this year, it has registered a loss. You are the consultant and find out the
problem for the client and propose an implementable solution.
Candidate: So the profitability issue can be broadly viewed under two different categories-
revenue and cost.
Interviewer: The factory has no control over the pricing aspect as it is decided on a national level.
And the sales team is pretty efficient- other factories are profitable on a standalone basis. So we
are pretty sure it is not a revenue side issue. Let’s explore the cost angle.
Candidate: Fine. So the cost can be segmented into two different headers- fixed and variable cost.
The fixed cost can be further subdivided into different categories- Plant and Equipment Cost,
Employee Salaries, Training and Development cost. So have the actual costs varied significantly
from the projected costs in these categories?
Interviewer: Yes, you are right, plant and equipment is significantly different from the original
project plan. Can you tell me why?
Candidate: Well, there can be various reasons for the same. Did the market prices appreciate
significantly for the machinery in between preparation of the project plan and procurement of
the machines?
Interviewer: No.
Candidate: Okay. So was any addition made to the original factory layout to include any additional
machinery?
Interviewer: Yes, an additional testing facility was included as per the modified industry
guidelines after the project plans were drawn up. Ok, so you have identified one issue. There is
another. Let’s try to find that out also.
Candidate: Ok so has the salaries spiraled off projections?
Interviewer: No both salary and T&D costs are under control.

44
Candidate: So then can I move onto the variable cost header or am I missing something in this
section?
Interviewer: Are you sure you have covered all the fixed costs?
Candidate: Can I have minute to think?
Interviewer: Sure.
Candidate: After a small pause. Well I can think of only one more relevant fixed cost component-
depreciation.
Interviewer: Good. Let’s explore this. Here are the income statements filed by the company for
the first 2 years. Have a look at them and tell me what is wrong.
Candidate: Analyzed the statements for a minute. Well, based on the depreciation amount in the
two statements, I can say the factory is using a straight-line method of depreciation (both
amounts were same). Did the project plan also consider a straight-line depreciation?
Interviewer: No. Can you tell me what they considered?

Candidate: Well if they considered an accelerated depreciation, then projected profits will be
higher than the actuals (arrived at using straight-line depreciation).
Interviewer: Very good. That was the problem. Thanks. We are done for the first round.
Candidate: Thank you sir.
CASE 7
Candidate: Prabuddha Guha

Case: Balance Sheet Analysis
This round was taken by two partners.
It started off with the candidate being asked to analyze two different balance sheets and comment
on the nature of the companies. One of the balance sheets had a high proportion of fixed assets
compare to the other. So the candidate predicted that one was a manufacturing based company
while the other was service company. The interviewers accepted this premise.
Then the discussion went on to oil and gas domain and macro-economic impact of the sector on
the nations’ economy. The entire pricing structure of a petroleum products was discussed in
detail and the candidate was asked how the subsidy mechanism can be improved. The candidate
suggested targeted and need based subsidy program through direct benefits transfer.
After this, the dynamics of oil price movements was discussed. The candidate was asked to
explain the logic why OPEC was moving away from their supply constrain mechanism to control
world-wide oil price. The candidate was able to successfully explain how OPEC is trying to protect
their market share and keep the oil prices low temporarily to put the shale oil upstarts out of
business.
This was followed by another interview by the HR Manager and another partner.
A few profile based HR questions were asked.
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CASE 8
Candidate: Sohil Mahajan

Case: Market Entry
The candidate had three rounds of interview. First round was case based, second round was resume
based and third round was MD interview.
(There were 3 interviewers. One of them was observing and the other two were conducting the
interview.)
Interviewer: Hi, How are you?

Candidate: Good Morning sir, I am good, thank you.
Interviewer: Can you introduce yourself. (Interviewer was going through candidate’s resume.)
Candidate: (Gave his introduction.)
Interviewer: (Stopped the candidate while he was talking about work experience.) Since you have
worked on IoT, let’s discuss a case around the same topic.
Candidate: Sure sir.
Interviewer: Consider a situation where your client is a device manufacturer who wants to launch
a new product in India. What factors should they look into and how should they proceed?
Candidate: Can you please tell me about the device?
Interviewer: The device can be attached to an LPG cylinder and it can indicate the user if the level
of LPG reaches below a certain minimum level. It would help the user book a new LPG before the
current one is empty.
Candidate: Asked about the company, if it was a startup or a multinational company. Has it
launched the same product elsewhere? Are there any market share or profitability or break even
targets?
Interviewer: You can assume that it is a startup and is launching the product for the first time.
Candidate: Asked for a minute to pen down the structure.
Interviewer: Sure, take your time.
Candidate: I would like to start by looking at the market attractiveness, estimate the market size,
at what price point can they enter into the market, how would they enter (greenfield or JV), what
kind of margins are they looking at and how long would it take to break even. Can I proceed?
Interviewer: Yes, that looks fine.
Candidate: Households and commercial users of LPG cylinder would be our target customers. I
would like to estimate the market size.
Interviewer: You can discuss what factors you would consider while estimation. A numerical
estimate is not required.
Candidate: Sure sir. Started with the rural, urban divide:

Households: Family sizes in rural and urban would be different. In rural areas not everyone would
be using LPG. Families use kerosene, coal and other means as well. In urban areas, some families
would have a gas pipeline and this device would be of no use to them.
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Commercial users: In urban areas most of the restaurants or food stores that use cylinders have
a spare cylinder ready and so this device would be of little use to them. However, in rural areas
the device would be beneficial and we can estimate that.
Interviewer: Is it a fair way to target both household and commercial at the same time?
Candidate: Since it is a startup, they can target households currently. Also, commercial users may
find little use of this device.
Interviewer: Okay. Let’s move on to pricing. How would you price the product?
Candidate: Pricing could be customer’s willingness-to-pay based. Without this device, the
customer would have to wait a few days for the next LPG to get delivered. In the meanwhile, either
the customer would order food or electric Chula or manage with other sources of cooking.
Customer willingness to pay for our device would be the amount that the customer would spent
in these alternative means plus a premium for comfort.
Interviewer: What else?

Candidate: Another way to price is look at the competitors in the market. Are there any other
players in the industry with the same product?
Interviewer: No, our client is the only player with the product.
Candidate: In that case, willingness-to-pay based pricing would be appropriate.
Interviewer: What else must the client do?

Candidate: They can tie up with the existing LPG suppliers and tap into the LPG distributor
network to reach out to customers.

Candidate: Since they are the only ones with such a device, they should patent their product to
avoid any duplication in the market.
Interviewer: Okay, that makes sense. Let’s end this case discussion now.
The other interviewer started going through candidate’s resume. The candidate had mentioned a
few points on cryptography events at UG College. The candidate was told that he would be given a
couple of puzzles with only 30 secs to solve. They were typical undergrad puzzles. Interview ended.
The second interview was a resume-based interview. Just one interviewer. Discussion was mostly
around candidates work experience and undergrad extracurricular activities. Also a few questions
on why consulting and why Accenture.
The third round was a MD interview. It was very informal. Discussion was mostly on hobbies, things
that the candidate was good at but not mentioned on resume, etc.
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ALVAREZ & MARSAL
Candidate: Buddharatn Ratawal
Case: Profitability
(Same case was asked to all the candidates in Summers’15.)

Interviewer: Hi! Good morning. Please sit.
(After a few questions on resume)
Interviewer: Are you with cash flow accounting?

Interviewee: Yes, I pursued a course on Financial Accounting in Term I.
Interviewer: Good! Do you know any shipbuilding company facing a financial crunch?
Interviewee: I am afraid that I do not.
Interviewer: No problem. Let us take a hypothetical situation of a Gujarat based shipbuilding

company which is quickly running out of cash. You have to identify the reason and provide the
solution for the company to come out of this situation.
Interviewee: Alright. Can I have a look at the Balance Sheet of the company?
Interviewer: Sure. (Hands over the balance sheet to the candidate)

Interviewee: (Takes a minute to go through the balance sheet) I notice a significant increase in
the YoY fixed asset. Has the company invested heavily in land or any heavy machinery?
Interviewer: Yes
Interviewee: Can you handover the cash flow statement of the company?
Interviewer: Sure.
Interviewee: I observe that the company has invested heavily in a particular machinery. What is
it?
Interviewer: It is a ship building platform which partially automates the ship building activity and
helps in overall decrease in manufacturing time.
Interviewee: I find this as the prime reason for the company to be in this cash crunch situation as
they have invested heavily recently which doesn’t leave them with much quick liquid assets to
burn.
Interviewer: Alright. How should the company come out of the situation?
Interviewee: The Company should focus on generation revenues. Where has the company
dedicated its resources currently?
Interviewer: They are focused on the on-going projects.

Interviewee: How many live projects are the company resources working on?
Interviewer: Five.
Interviewee: Rather than working on all five, is it possible for the company to focus selectively so
as to generate the revenue at the earliest?
Interviewee: Of course. But how will you decide that?
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Interviewer: We can prioritize based on the client, returns and urgency. Who are the clients of all
the five projects?
Interviewer: Two of them belongs to Indian Navy which is the largest client of the company
equivalent to approx. 70% of the revenue while the other three are private ships belonging to
various traders, let’s say Alpha, Beta and Gamma.
Interviewee: May I have a look at individual projects cash flow statements, if that is available.
Interviewer: Sure. (Hands over 5 cash flow statements)
Interviewee (takes a minute to scan through): I am looking to find a project with minimum
investment but maximum & early returns. Project Beta is the ideal project to direct all the
resources as its returns for first module completion is highest.
Interviewer: But would you recommend stalling Indian Navy’s projects considering they are your
major clients?
Interviewee: Given the current condition of the company, it will soon be out of cash in order to
work on any projects. So either it can ask for advance payment from Indian Navy to continue on
its project or focus on Beta to generate revenues and subsequently work on multiple projects.
Interviewer: Fair point. I think we are good with the case. Thanks a lot.
49
AT KEARNEY
CASE 1
Candidate: Himanshu Khera

Case: Guesstimate
Interviewer: (After a few standard questions on resume) Let’s do a case. I want you to forecast
revenue for a switch manufacturer.
Candidate: I would like to ask a few questions to get more understanding.
Interviewer: Please go ahead.
Candidate: Where is the company located? Where does it sell its produce?
Interviewer: Kerala. It manufactures and sells in the same state.
Candidate: What type of products does it manufacture? How many different types of switches-
residential, commercial, high voltage industrial, low voltage industrial to be used in electrical
appliances or equipment’s etc?
Interviewer: Only residential.
Candidate: Okay. What kind of customers does it have? Does it have direct tie-ups with builders?
What all channels does it sell its products through- exclusive outlets, distributors?
Interviewer: It has direct tie-ups. Also a wide distribution network in Kerala.
Candidate: How many competitors in Kerala against the company? What is the probable market
share?
Interviewer: Very few competitors. 50% market share in residential segment.
Candidate: Alright. Give me a minute while I frame my thoughts.

Interviewer: Ok
Candidate: (starts thinking aloud). Revenue is a function of value, variety and volume. I would like
to first focus on volume. So assuming a population of 3 Cr in Kerala and an average family size of
4, there are almost 75 lakh households. Out of these I can assume that 20% do not have proper
accommodation as they are below poverty line. I would like to categorize the remaining 60 lakhs
in different categories based on house ownership.
Interviewer: Go Ahead.
Candidate: (Again thinking aloud)

I assume a class division like: Upper Class (10%), Upper Middle Class (25%), Lower Middle Class
(45%), and Below Poverty Line (20%). I further assume the type of residential accommodation
people of different classes use:
# # kitchens #restrooms #balconies

Class bedrooms
50
Upper Class 4 1 3 2
Upper 3 1 2 1
Middle
Class
Lower 2 1 2 1
Middle
Class
Below - - - -
Poverty
Line
*Each house will also include restroom, kitchen and balcony
Do you think these assumptions are relevant?

Candidate:
Combining the above 2 assumptions:
#bedrooms = 75,00,000*[4*(10%)+3*(25%)+2*(45%)] = 1,53,75,000
#Kitchens = 75,00,000*[1*(10%)+1*(25%)+1*(45%)] = 60,00,000
#restroom = 75,00,000*[3*(10%)+2*(25%)+2*(45%)] = 12,750,000
#Balcony = 75,00,000*[2*(10%)+1*(25%)+1*(45%)] = 67,50,000
I will assume that each bedroom, kitchen, restroom and balcony will have 2, 1, 1, and 1 low voltage
switch boards respectively. The same number for high voltage switchboard (used for running
appliances etc.) will be 1,1,1, and 0.
So based on above methodology we arrive at

#low voltage boards= 1,53,75,000*2+ 60,00,000*1+ 12,750,000*1+ 67,50,000*1 = 5,62,50,000
#high voltage switch boards= 3,41,25,000
Interviewer: Fine. Don’t you think you are missing something?

Candidate: I will include 2 more:
1. Allowance for housing societies which have lighting in corridor as well= 6% (an additional
factor of 20% for 30% of the people who reside in housing societies, as in Kerala most of
the people (70%) reside in independent houses)
2. Allowance for new housing starts= 10%
Is this fair to assume?
Interviewer: Fine. Go Ahead.
Candidate: What is the average price for each type of switch board? And what is the average life?
Interviewer: Rs 150 for high voltage and Rs 200 for low-voltage small. Average life is 5 years.
Candidate: The revenue will come out to be

Revenue= [5,62,50,000*200 + 3,41,25,000*150] *1.06*1.1/5*50%= 190 Crores
Interviewer: Great. I think you have done a fair job.
CASE 2
Candidate: D Keerthika
51
Case:
Telephonic Case Round during ‘buddy’ interaction (in the middle of a casual conversation)
Interviewer: Keerthika, let us see you solve a case. I hope you are ready!
Interviewee: (surprised but composed) Sure. Let’s go for it.
Interviewer: My neighbour wants to buy a gift, but is confused on what to get and is now asking
for my expertise on the same.
(Thought for a few seconds as she framed the sequence of questions)
Interviewee: How old is the neighbour and what gender?
Interviewer: The neighbour is an 8-year-old kid. Female.

Interviewee: Who does she want to gift to and what is the occasion?
Interviewer: She expects to gift her mother for her birthday.

Interviewee: What gift was given to the mother last year?
Interviewer: She didn’t gift anything to her mother.

Interviewee: Did the mother receive any gift from the family last year? Or have they planned
anything to gift this year?
Interviewer: The kid’s elder sister is gifting the mother with a family photo.
Interviewee: What is the budget of the gift?
Interviewer: The kid can’t decide on the budget. What do you think she would be wanting to gift
from the discussion we have had until now?
Interviewee: (thinks for the moment) Something to do with the photograph, I believe.
Interviewer: Alright. The kid wants to gift her mom a photo-frame to put the family photo in.
Key Takeaways:
The answer “photo frame” is not going to fetch you any marks with the interviewer. In fact, the
answer doesn’t even matter. The ability to think from various angles is the one that matters.
CASE 3
Candidate: D Keerthika
Case: Market Entry
(India map outline with certain red spots (rectangular & triangular) on it and was placed on the
table.)
Interviewer: (no salutation - no questions from resume – directly jumps to the case)
Before you are the current locations of the manufacturing plants of XYZ chemical company.
Rectangular red spots represents that they are owned by XYZ and triangular red spots represents
that they are 3rd party outsourced manufacturers. The company wants to expand its
manufacturing locations. What are the parameters it should consider to analyse? Where and how
(owned or outsourced model) should it expand? You have 1 minute to think.
(Interviewer starts working on his laptop)
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Interviewer (after exact one minute): I’m going to close my eyes and all I want to hear are the
keywords and no full sentences of whatever that you have thought. Remember, no full sentences.
(The interviewer closes his eyes.)
Interviewee: Questions to be framed with-
Why expand?
Future demand?
Lost sales due to unmet demand?
Demand centre?
Transportation cost?
Tax benefit?
(The interviewer doesn’t speak in-between till now and stops the interviewee at this point)
Interviewer: Do you think you performed well?
Interviewee: Considering the limited time and resource & information constraints, I believe I have
covered broad aspects which would further allow me to narrow down on key aspects.
Interviewer: Ok. You may proceed to the next interview.
This was followed by another short interview.
(After long discussion on resume)

Interviewer: Alright, now let’s get into discussing a case, shall we?
Interviewee: Sure.
Interviewer: I want to launch a reality show. What are the parameters I have to consider in doing
it? Just the parameters – only the keywords!
Interviewee: I will list the parameters as-
Country or location?
Type of reality show?
Channel: Star Plus-type or Disney-type?
Target audience?
Budget?
Interviewer: (interrupting) Alright. Thanks.
CASE 4
Candidate: Janani
Case: Profitability
(Partner Round)
Interviewer: Hello Janani, how are you?
Me: I am doing good. How are you doing?
Interviewer: How was the last one month?

Me: It was hectic and the environment in college was tense.
Interviewer: So Janani, quickly tell me what aspects in IIMB met your expectations and what did
not?
Candidate: I am really happy with the teaching, courses and the friends I made here. I was told
about how hectic it would get, but never imagined it to be this way. That was probably something
that did not meet my expectations, especially last two months.
53
Interviewer: Interesting, Say I walk across your wing in Under-grad what would be the three
words they would say to describe you.
Candidate: (Answers in three words)
Interviewer: Hmm, now I walk across your wing in IIMB what would be the three words they
would say to describe you.
Candidate: (Answers in three words (two common & one different))
Interviewer: Do you have siblings?

Candidate: Yes, two sisters
Interviewer: What would be the three words your sisters would say to describe you?
Candidate: (Answers in three words)
Interviewer: So good Janani. Shall I give you a case now?

Candidate: Sure
Interviewer: There is this shop in a college. The shop has been in the college for many years. The
shop‘s profit has reduced and the owner is wondering why. Can you help him understand why?
Candidate: Okay. So I have a couple of questions. Shall I ask you?
Interviewer: Go ahead, shoot them.
Candidate: So what does this shop sell?

Interviewer: It is a basic stationery shop with Xerox as well.
Candidate: Since when did they start facing these reduced profits?
Interviewer: You could say couple of months back
Candidate: Is this the only stationery shop present?

Interviewer: Yes, like any college, there is only one stationery shop present and it has been around
for long.
Candidate: Ok. Thanks. Can I have a few minutes to think through this?
Interviewer: Yes, of course.
(They had left a notepad on the table and on that I drew a chart)
54
Profits
Revenue Cost
Sales of Stationery Xerox Labor

Xerox Rent
stationery related Related charge
Cost of Cost of
Inventory White
stationery Xerox
Cost paper
bought Machine
Candidate: Have the revenues dropped recently?

Interviewer: No, the sales have been good. In fact, they have increased.
Candidate: So it is safe to assume, it is a cost related issue?

Interviewer: Go ahead.
Candidate: There are multiple costs associated with the shop. I would like to bucket them to
Stationery related and Xerox related and apart from that Rent and Labor costs.
Interviewer: Valid, so elaborate further.
Candidate: In the stationery, have our costs of purchasing increased in the last two months?
Interviewer: No, they have been pretty much the same.
Candidate: So I can assume, our ties with our suppliers is also good.
Interviewer: Yes
Candidate: So, with respect to inventory cost, is that higher? Is the shop storing more than
required or higher than the turnover?
Interviewer: Not really, everything has been more or less the same.
Candidate: Now I will move on the cost for Xerox related activities
Interviewer: Yes, go on
Candidate: Has the shop added more machines?

Interviewer: No they have been working with 2 machines for a long time.
Candidate: Are the machines facing frequent break-downs?

Interviewer: No
Candidate: Have the costs of A4 paper increased?

55
Interviewer: No, that has been the same as well
Candidate: Have the rents for the shop increased?

Interviewer: In a way yes, the shop was present in the campus for very long time and no one really
questioned the legality. Recently the administration changed and they imposed a rent on the ship
which was not present earlier.
Candidate: That explains the sudden increase in costs. How much was the increase?
Interviewer: Around INR 30,000/- month and the owner of the shop is worried as he cannot
afford 30,000 every month. He is protesting with the administration and requesting them to
consider not charging them. What would you do as the administration?
Candidate: There are three aspects to this problem

a) Softer aspects
b) Financial aspects
c) Legal aspects
With respect to the softer aspects, it may be difficult to be harsh to a shop owner who has been in
the campus for a long time. Financially I am assuming, even if the college is in some financial
trouble; the money from this rent would be miniscule. And finally legally, they may face issues
when new shops come and set up their stores without permission. Then it may become difficult
to place rents differentially.
Interviewer: Fair point. Thank You Janani.
CASE 5
Candidate: Srikkanth
Case: Profitability
Interviewer: (After the pleasantries of a few standard questions).So let’s do a case. Our client is a
coffee retail chain whose profitability has been declining. Please help him out.
Interviewee: Just to get my bearings correct with regards to the client- Does our client own a chain
of retail outlets throughout India?
Interviewer: Yes, that is correct.

Interviewee: Has our client been facing declining profitability across all outlets or is it specific to
one or two outlets clustered in a particular region?
Interviewer: Across all outlets

Interviewee: Let me get a better understanding of the client’s business. What are the products he
sells and are there any other sources of revenue?
Interviewer: It’s basically a cafeteria with Coffee, Tea and Pastries being the main products. There
are no other sources of revenues.
Interviewee: Okay. So the profitability issue could be connected with either the pricing/profits or
the costs incurred by the outlet. Can I look in to the costs involved in operations now?
Interviewer: Yes, please. But restrict yourself to one outlet for now. That should give you the
insight for the entire coffee chain.
Interviewee: Alright. Just give me a minute. I’m working under the assumption that the cafeteria
controls all the operational activities right from sourcing till retailing. The major costs would be,
56
1) Procurement of raw materials. 2) Logistics involved in transporting raw materials 3)
Operational costs in the cafeteria 4) Advertising & Marketing
Interviewer: This looks like a comprehensive list of costs. Please proceed.
Interviewee: Has the raw materials costs gone up significantly, or are we paying our suppliers
more than before, as compared to our competitors?
Interviewer: Nope. Our costs have been going up as according to the standard rate of inflation.
But the client has already factored that in.
Interviewee: Alright. Anything regarding our operations? Have we incurred additional

operational overheads or logistics costs?
Interviewer: There has been some increase in the operational costs since we have recently
changed our raw material delivery system to a hub & spoke model. But our profitability hit seems
to indicate a much more serious issue.
Interviewee: Shall I hold on to the cost aspect of this for now, and look at the revenue side of
things?
Interviewer: Sure.
Interviewee: Have we reduced the pricing of any of our products?

Interviewer: No
Interviewee: Is there a decline in demand of our products?

Interviewer: Our demand on an aggregate level has remained constant. If anything, it has seen a
slight increase this year.
Interviewee: Do we have details about the various products stocked & their respective demand
fluctuations?
Interviewer: Yes. The demand for tea has gone down by 10%, whereas the demand for coffee and
cakes have increased by 12%.
Interviewee: Do we have the profit margins for the individual products?

Interviewer: Yeah- we make 25% on tea, 10% on coffee, and -10% on cakes.
Interviewee: This seems to be the major source of the problem. The demand for the most
profitable product has gone done, while we are making smaller margins on our fast moving
products.
Interviewer: Okay. So what do you suggest?
Interviewee: First we will need to identify if these products are price sensitive. If they are we
could reduce the prices of tea to see if demand rises
Interviewer: Okay, I think we can leave it at that. Good job.
CASE 6
Candidate: Srikkanth
Case: Market Entry
(It was an open-ended strategic case with a Principal from the firm over Skype.)
57
Interviewer: Hi. Our client is an automobile manufacturer who has been operating his
manufacturing plant at less than 40% capacity. In order to better utilize their capacity, they plan
to export. They have hired us to tell which the prospective countries to look at while exporting
are. How will you go about this?
Interviewee: Sure. Please give me a minute.
Interviewer: I need you to come up with a list of factors/criteria that you would use to narrow
down on the possible countries.
Interviewee: Firstly, we can eliminate the right-driving countries, since I assume the client wants
to use his existing facilities to produce cars for export.
Interviewer: Yes- fair point.
Interviewee: Next, we will have to look at the regulatory environment to see which countries have
emission standards that are comparable to India. For instance, some European countries have
very stringent emission standards - an Indian automobile might not be able to meet these
standards. Hence, we can eliminate such countries.
Interviewer: Okay. What else?
Interviewee: Now coming to the actual industry & market. Our target market should have a per-
capita GDP which is on similar lines with India (or higher), otherwise we will not be able to price
it competitively and make profits.
Interviewer: Okay, good. Any other major factors?
Interviewee: Yes- a good proxy for this would be to see the markets in which our existing (Indian)
competitors are in, and the type of cars they are selling, their price range etc.
Interviewee: Coming to the competitive environment, our client should not enter a market which
is dominated by a few big players. We might be construed as a threat and they may lobby to shut
out new entrants. We should target markets which are a little fragmented with more players – we
might have a better opportunity to come in with a superior product.
Interviewer: Is there any other reason you would chose a fragmented market?
Interviewee: Fragmented markets would have lower entry barriers. Assuming that some of these
players had entered the market recently, there is a clearly a scope to make in-roads and establish
our brand.
Interviewer: Okay. Take a couple of more minutes to summarize and then we can conclude.
BAIN AND COMPANY
CASE 1
Candidate: Himani Arora

Case: Analysing Indigo airlines
(The interviewer was very friendly, attempting to diffuse the tension of day 0 by small talk. The
interview was a small case, testing very basics of case solving.)
Interviewer: Have you ever travelled from Indigo Airlines? How will you describe this airline?
58
Candidate: Yes, I have travelled from Indigo Airlines. They are low cost Airlines whose value
proposition in the market is cost leadership. It is the only airline which is profitable and has
shown consistent discipline to maintain its position.
Interviewer: You mentioned about profits, how does Indigo ensure that it makes profit?
Candidate: It does that through a number of factors – having a single fleet of aircrafts to minimize
training cost, no frill services e.g. no free meals and other in-flight services, allowing only 15 kg of
Baggage, increasing aircraft utilization by having more number of seats by reducing the leg space.
Interviewer: Can you think of any other factor?
Candidate: There are a number of other ways in which they save cost.
Interviewer: Is cost the only factor?
Candidate: No, They have found ways for making revenue also – selling meals in-flight instead of
providing it for free, charging for services like – priority luggage, selling products through their
magazine.
Interviewer: Okay. Great! Is there anything you will like to add to this?
Candidate: One more thing, which is not specific to Indigo but usually adopted by many airlines –
following hub and spoke model, in which flights are routed through a hub, usually big city, facing
high traffic compared to other cities. Further, the airlines aim to reduce the turnaround time on
the airport, thus improving utilisation of the aircraft.
(This was followed by five minute chat in which Interviewer mentioned that all the points were
adequately mentioned. He shared exact numbers/data points about Indigo)
CASE 2
Candidate: Himani Arora

Case: Merger and Acquisition
(The interviewer had experience of cases in technology. She started by asking me about my role in
Microsoft. After listening to my past experience, she chose to give me a case different from technology
sector.)
Interviewer: This is a small case about Merger and Acquisition. Are you comfortable with that?
Candidate: Yes, I will try my best!
Interviewer: Okay. So a little background about the case. It is about the two firms who supply
palm oil to FMCG conglomerates like HUL. This oil is a raw material in the manufacturing of soaps,
shampoo, etc. The typical steps involved in palm oil extraction is plantation, followed by crushing
and extraction of oil in a mill. This is followed by processing in refinery and then transportation
via the port.
These two firms are located in Africa. Let’s call them Firm A and Firm B. Firm A owns two palm
plantations close to each other, one mill and one refinery. Firm B owns one palm plantation, one
mill and one refinery. What are the synergies that they can exploit if they merge? The mill of firm
A is located closer to one plantation of Firm B.
Candidate: There are a lot of synergies that they can exploit if they merge. I will use the value
chain to list all the synergies. Give me some time to list the same if you are alright with the
approach.
Interviewer: Sure. Go ahead
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(After 2-3 mins)
Candidate: To start with, the two firms can standardize the approach they adopt in growing of
palm trees. They should choose on the basis of which approach is more productive.
Interviewer: The farming practices is more or less standard across the industry.
Candidate: Oh I see. Next, they can have some gains by economies of scale – buying the seeds,
fertilizer, equipment, labour together for all the three plantations. They will be able to bargain
better due to increased scale of operation.
Interviewer: Ok good. What next?
Candidate: In the next step, they can use mills that are closer to the plantations so that the
transportation cost is reduced. For example, you mentioned that plantation of Firm B is closer to
the mill of Firm A.
Interviewer: Apart from transportation optimization, what else can they do in this step?
Candidate: May be they can operate only 1 mill to achieve greater utilization. Again this will
depend on how much transportation cost they will bear to transport everything to one mill.
Interviewer: Great. What else?
Candidate: They can do a similar thing in refinery – operating only 1 refinery. After refinery, they
can transport the end product via ports
Interviewer: What other benefits can they get via transportation?
Candidate: They can transport all the refined oil together, from the refinery which is closer to
port. They will have economies of scale by shipping them together.
Interviewer: How exactly will they save money?
Candidate: (Falling short of words) I am not sure but if they book a ship each to transport oil. They
can send output using only one ship instead of two. (not convinced with my own answer)
Interviewer: Ok. Almost there . So, their oil was transported in the barrels which were half full
because of the smaller scale of operations which increased the cost of transportation per tonne.
With the merger, they could fill the entire barrel, reducing per unit transportation cost.
Candidate: Oh I see.
(This was followed by a general chat about her role in Bain & Company.)
CASE 3
Candidate: Pradeep G
Case: Internet of Things (Case Interview Not Cracked)
Interviewer: Partner (Technology, Media & Telecom), Bain
(This wasn’t so much of a case, but a discussion. The interviewer guided me at several points. Not
sure if there is a solution; If there was, I don’t think I got particularly close to it. A takeaway: reading
the news is important even for consulting interviews!)
Interviewer: Have you heard about Internet of Things (IoT)?
Candidate: Yes, I have.
Interviewer: What do you know about it?
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Candidate: It’s technology that enables everyday objects to communicate with each other? For
example, when you leave from work, your phone could communicate with your geyser at home,
and ensure that you have water for a hot bath once you arrive. That sort of thing.
Interviewer: Okay, fine. Say you were advising Mr. Modi about an IoT strategy for India. What
points will you consider?
Candidate: Okay, an IoT strategy for India. Can I have a couple of minutes to think about it?
(Quite frazzled, tried to think of a way to bring some sort of structure to the case)
Candidate: Is there a particular timeline for this strategy?
Interviewer: Take it as long term; 10-15 years.
Candidate: Alright. So my guess is that why the Indian Government will even be considering IoT
is because of its role in developing smart cities. I think the Government recently shortlisted 100
odd cities, and will decide in a few months as to which will be the first few smart cities.
Interviewer: Okay, go on.
Candidate: So the way I would think of IoT is, devices and software (the best structure that I could
come up with in a minute). Let me take a look at software first. I don’t think the government will
have a significant role to play here; I think Indian software companies like Infosys and Wipro may
have already begun exploring IoT service solutions, and since IoT is set to take off globally, they
may already be evaluating this opportunity.
Interviewer: Okay (hesitantly).
Candidate: On to devices. Here, I could look at foreign firms setting up manufacturing units in
India (to meet India’s demand, and overseas demand), and India importing the devices and
technology. With regards to setting up manufacturing units, India will have to look at various ease
of business measures such as taxes, reducing red tape, land acquisition, quickening the process
of approvals etc. Several of these measures may be legislative.
Interviewer: Okay.
Candidate: Initially however, India may have to export the technology. For this, the government
may need to look at reducing import duties, customs etc., to ensure that the devices can be
adopted.
Interviewer: Okay, anything else you’re missing?
Candidate: Maybe some measures to build an indigenous device and software ecosystem? Help
innovators take their products to market? Things that come to mind are setting up more
incubators, strengthening IP laws, perhaps having a central seed fund for IoT startups etc.
Interviewer: Alright, anything else that you can think of?
Candidate: No, I think that’s about it.
Interviewer: Okay, thanks.
CASE 4
Candidate: Ritika Jain

Case: Growth Strategy for an IT Service Provider
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Interviewer: How are you doing today? How was your first interview?
Candidate: I’m doing well, thank you. I think it went well, we agreed to a solution the client would
ultimately appreciate.
Interviewer: Are you nervous?
Candidate: A little, but I think a little nervousness is always good 
Interviewer: Great. So let’s start with the case then. I see on your resume that you’ve worked in
Finance and IT. Which of the two industries would you prefer a case from?
Candidate: I’m comfortable with both, so either work.
Interviewer: Let’s do an IT case I did last year then. There’s an IT hardware service provider in
US and he’s threatened with the advent of new cloud computing services. What should he do?
Candidate: Thanks for the question. Could you answer some of my questions regarding this client?
Interviewer: Sure.
Candidate: Where is he located?

Interviewer: US
Candidate: What kind of hardware services does he provide?

Interviewer: He provides storage facilities, networking infrastructure, and servers and routers.
Candidate: How’s the business split across these three services?

Interviewer: 20%, 40%, 40%. He differentiates in the market with the quality of his technological
solutions.
Candidate: What kind of clients does he have?

Interviewer: He has three types of clients – enterprises, telecom companies and retail companies.
Candidate: Of these clients, are all of them moving towards cloud or is any specific preferring to
stay?
Interviewer: The fixed demand from enterprises is staying, but the variable demand is shifting to
cloud services. Enterprises are fairly non-responsive as of now.
Candidate: How about retail?

Interviewer: Retailers are themselves scared with the onset of cloud services since they pose a
direct threat to their business as well.
Interviewer: Before we continue, could you tell me ways in which cloud services could provide
better solutions than hardware solutions? You understand cloud right – basically Amazon Web
Services, hosting on Dropbox, etc.
Candidate: Thanks, Sir. Yes, I understand cloud services pretty well being a software developer
myself. There are a couple of ways cloud services can be more useful than hardware – they’re
cheaper to host and provide more flexibility since they don’t really take up any physical space.
Interviewer: And can you think of any downsides?

Candidate: Yes, cloud services aren’t as secure as hardware solutions, being hosted on clouds.
Interviewer: Perfect. Now given all the above information, can you recommend me a way for this
hardware provider to survive in this shifting market?
Candidate: Sure. Can you give me 15 seconds?
Interviewer: Of course.
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(I penned down all the possible ways he can continue to thrive in this market in the next 15 seconds.)
Candidate: I have thought of 4 possible ways in which he can sustain his business. I’ll explain them
briefly:
The first option is a very short-term solution for immediate action. They can offer long-term
contracts to existing customers with some attractive discounts. This will avoid immediate drop
in sales in a very short span. However, this is not a very sustainable solution.
The second way is to specialize in security intensive companies, such as defense, which will
always need secure storage and network facilities. This will always have a constant demand and
they won’t switch to cloud services.
The third option is to forward integrate with the telecom clients and provide an end-to-end
solution to customers. Since telecom clients are also threatened by cloud services, they’ll be
willing to collaborate and this association can provide a differentiated solution to customers.
Interviewer: That’s perfect! That’s what we recommended to our client, to forward integrate.
Candidate: Thank you, Sir. If you don’t mind, can I also explain my fourth recommendation?
Interviewer: Sure.
Candidate: In an industry undergoing such an inflection point, I don’t see any advantage in
avoiding to adopt new technologies. This was the reason Nokia and Kodak failed. I believe that
the client should create an ambidextrous organization and start researching on expanding to
cloud services alongside.
Interviewer: Sounds great! We have good news for you!
(He went out to fetch another partner and congratulated me on receiving the offer.)
CASE 5
Candidate: Sanchit Singhal

Case: Growth strategy for a BPO player
Interviewer: Let’s get into the case. An Indian BPO player provides services to US and European
clients. Majority of its revenues are from its call centers in 3 major cities of India (Delhi, Bangalore,
Chennai). It also has a small establishment in Europe. The business has been doing good but lately
it has been under pressure with new competition coming from countries like Indonesia and
Philippines. What should the company do for its next phase of growth?
Candidate: What are company’s plan w.r.t to growth? Is it planning to grow in its existing US and
European markets or is it looking for other markets as well?
Interviewer: They want to grow in the existing markets itself.
Candidate: How is the competition threatening the client? Is the competition on the quality of
service or the price?
Interviewer: The quality does not differ across players. The processes are quite standard. The
competition has been beating the client on price.
Candidate: That’s very helpful information. Can I take a minute to think about it?
Interviewer: Sure.
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Candidate: We know that competition is beating us on price, so we can either provide better
services at higher price or reduce our price. You mentioned that the processes are quite
standardized so can I assume that better service is not a differentiating factor and we need to
reduce our prices as well with the same service quality.
Interviewer: Yes, you can assume that.
Candidate: So now we know that we need to reduce our price keeping the service quality level
same. So we need to reduce our cost, else our margins will go down. I will try and identify the
major cost heads.
Interviewer: Okay, go ahead.
Candidate: As I understand, the major cost head for a call center will be its employee cost.
Interviewer: That’s correct. So, how can you reduce the employee cost?
Candidate: So, a customer calls the call center and the call is picked up by either an employee or
IVRS. There is automation in certain activities. Has the BPO used sufficient automation to reduce
the employee cost?
Interviewer: Yes, it has sufficient level of automation.
Candidate: Okay, another way of reducing employee cost is to increase utilization of employees.
Interviewer: How will you do that?
Candidate: We can measure calls/employee/hour to check if the utilization is above industry

standards. We can check average time/call and see if it can be improved using better
technology/software. We can also check if utilization varies across different shifts and we can
optimize that.
Interviewer: Good thought but utilization is quite high already.
Candidate: Okay, then we should check the average salary of the employees. As, I understand call
center jobs are generally low skilled job. Often, call centers might prefer to employ unexperienced
people to keep the salaries low.
Interviewer: That has already been taken care of by the client. Which are the other cost heads you
would want to look at?
Candidate: Besides employee cost I understand rental or real estate cost might be another major
cost for the client.
Interviewer: Good. So can you do anything about the rental cost?
Candidate: Yes, we can either shift to tier 2 cities or keep the present call centres in metros and
open the next set of call centres in tier 2 cities. This will reduce the rental cost and also the
employee cost as the salaries will be lower in tier 2 cities.
Interviewer: That’s a good answer. This is actually what we recommended to the client. Thank
you.
CASE 6
Candidate: Sankhadeep Pal

Case: Growth Strategy for an Electronics Company
(Started directly with the case, after very brief round of introductions.)
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Interviewer: Since you have worked in the tech industry, let me ask you about a case in the same
industry.
Candidate: Sure!
Interviewer: Your client is a foreign electronics company. It has several products in the Internet
of Things(IoT) sector. It is thinking whether to enter the Indian market or not, and if yes, what
segments to target. Can you help them?
(Clarified the question, found out that it is a strong player in the segment, with a presence in Europe
and China)
Candidate: So IoT is a huge field. Are there some specific product lines that the client has expertise
in?
Interviewer: Yes, it is a major player in the smart lighting business.
Candidate: In the countries that it is present in, what kind of clients does it have, commercial or
residential houses?
Interviewer: Both
Candidate: Do you want me to estimate the potential market size in India?
Interviewer: In the interest of time, let us skip that. If our client does want to enter India, which
segments should it target?
Candidate: Is it okay for me to assume that our client’s smart lighting products are priced at a
premium to ordinary lighting?
Interviewer: Yes, you may.
Candidate: Since these lighting systems are expensive and middle class Indians are, in general,
sceptical of spending a lot of money on new technology, I will follow a two phase strategy. First, I
will go the B2B way: target the office buildings, especially the modern ones which are IT and
financial centres. Assuming smart lighting will reduce their electricity bill and make them more
cost effective in the long run, they will be more open to adopt this technology. They would also
have the capital to invest in this. I will also target 4-5 star hotels. Since these are relatively large
segments, they will be a good launch pad for our product.
Interviewer: Okay, then?
Candidate: Then we can target the rich home owners, who would probably be working in these
offices or visiting these hotels. Having understood their usefulness, they would probably want it
in their apartments as well.
Interviewer: Is there anything else that the client can do?
Candidate: Yes, actually the government has announced plans for 100 Smart Cities in India. May
be our client can tie up with the government for the implementation of smart lighting projects in
these cities. Once this is done and the efficacy of this new product is well known, the client can go
to the mass-market.
Interviewer: Okay, that will be enough. Thank you.
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BCG
CASE 1
Candidate: S Aatresh
Case: Reduction of Market Share
Interviewer – (Started with the standard breaking the ice question) Tell me about your startup
experience of MainbhiMBA.com?
Candidate – (Told him about the motivation behind it, how I went about it and learnings from its
failure)
Caselet: A large FMCG has a small business unit which manufactures and markets an “Energy
drink”. It had a market share of 90% but now its share has dropped to 40%. You have been asked
to help them gain back their market share.
Candidate – (Repeated the question to make sure I understood the problem statement correctly)
Apart from market share, do I need to look at any other issue like falling profitability?
Interviewer – No. Let us concentrate of market share first. And later if time permits, we will get
into profitability.
Candidate – Sure. Can I take 2 minutes to gather my thoughts and structure my ideas?
Interviewer – Sure. Go ahead
Candidate – (Started with standard probing questions. Since when market share is slipping, has
a new competitor entered etc) Okay. So I have drawn the possible issues that I would like to look
at. (Showed him my sheet)
Internal External
Product issues Competition
Pricing Regulation
Distribution Xx (Could not think at that time)
Branding Xx (Could not think at that time)
Capacity
My hypothesis is that the new competitor in the market is offering a better product. Can I go ahead
with it or do you want me to look at a particular issue?
Interviewer – As you rightly said, there is a new competitor in the market. But I want you to
concentrate first on product, distribution and capacity.
Candidate – Sure. I drew a table something like this
Product Distribution Capacity
Colour issues Retailer penetration Do we have adequate
capacity to serve the market?
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Taste issues Urban/ Rural mix Any recent fire or strike in
the factory that led to low
Container type Scarcity in
production?
Supermarket/Hypermarket
Container size Drew a value chain from
factory to retailer comprising
Side affects
warehouse, DC, distributor, re-
Smell distributor, retailer and freight
and asked him if he would like
to look at a particular point
Interviewer – (Shockingly) No. All that is fine but the actual issue is pricing. Look deeper into it
Candidate – (I guess he was just trying to understand if I can double click whatever I say). So is
there a differential pricing between us and our competitor?
Interviewer – Yes. Our energy drink is priced at 966 and theirs at 874
Candidate – (I randomly started probing about where the difference is. And he seemed irritated
due to my lack of structure. So got back into the groove and made this table)
Particulars Client Competition
MRP 966 874
Retailer Margin
Distributor Margin
Price to company
Margin to company
Costs (Variable)
- Procurement
- In Freight
- Labour (Efficiency,
Cost)
- Packaging
- Distribution
- Returns (Expiry,
damage)
Costs (Fixed)
- Rental
- Salaries
- Promotional
- Under/Over capacity %
(His eyes gleamed looking at the last point)
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Interviewer – Yes. Look at capacity utilization and link it to fixed costs. Assume margins are 26%
of MRP and please do all the calculations in your head
Candidate – SP of our client is 714 and that of our client is somewhere around 648. Why is there
a difference in prices? Is it due to higher costs or higher margin or because our capacity utilization
is less than our competitor.
Interviewer - (He started throwing numbers in order to test my quant) Assume Raw Material is
366, variable cost is 160 and fixed cost is 176 for our client. COGS and VC is same for competitor
but still both earn same profit per unit of the energy drink.
Candidate – Since, costs and profit are same except fixed costs and the SP of our client is Rs. 66
(714-648) higher than competitor, our fixed costs (FC) then must be Rs.68 higher than our
competitor. Hence, competitor FC is 110. And this difference is either due to capacity under-
utilization or in general higher fixed costs
Interviewer – Good. Now tell me what is the volume I need in order to match the fixed cost of my
competitor?
Candidate – What is the current sales volume?
Interviewer – Market is 19.5 million. Share was 90%. Present volume is 17.6 million. Don’t use
paper. And I need the answer
Candidate – 90% would be 17.6 m units. 178 per unit is FC on volume of 17.6 million. To achieve
FC per unit of 110, required volume is 17.6*178/110, so 28-30 million approx.
Interviewer – Yes. It should be 28 million. So now tell me what should the client do?
Candidate – If the client is charging a higher price, then customers will be willing to pay only if
the product is superior. Client should either sell excess capacity to reduce fixed costs or try to
increase volumes through price reduction. Higher volumes will reduced FC per unit and hence
push back profitability to earlier levels.
Interviewer - Ok. Then finally tell me what are the two risks related to reducing the price of our
product?
Candidate – (Knowing that this is the make or break question because it involves synthesis of the
entire problem). The 2 risks can be
1. Price Elasticity of Demand – Is price the only reason for reduced sale? And if the price is
reduced to 874, will the volume actually rise to 28 million
2. Competitor reaction – How deep are the pockets of the competitor? A price drop might
lead to a competitor reaction leading to a price war.
Interviewer – (Seemed impressed) Good job. Wait here. Someone will let you know the way
forward.
Candidate – Sure. Thanks
CASE 2
Candidate: Allen Dan Babu

Case: Market Growth
Candidate: Good morning, Sir. How are you doing today? (Exchange of pleasantries)
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Interviewer: (Looks at CV). So, why MBA?
Candidate: (Give funda about my reasons for doing MBA. Interviewer looks happy)
Interviewer: Ok, let’s get down to the case. The client is in the fertilizer industry in South India
and is looking to expand into the animal feed market. How would you advise the client?
Candidate: Sure, Sir, before proceeding with solving the problem, I would like to ask you a few
preliminary questions to get an understanding of the client and its business, if that’s ok.
Interviewer: Sure
Candidate: Which part of the value chain does the client currently operate in? E.g. does it operate
only in manufacturing or does it operate in manufacturing and sales?
Interviewer: It operates in all parts of the value chain, right from manufacturing to sales
Candidate: Ok. Sir, you mentioned South India. Which all states does it have a presence in?
Interviewer: (mentions a couple of states)
Candidate: Is there any specific reason why the client wants to expand into the animal feed
industry?
Interviewer: They have been recently advised that this might be a good opportunity. However,
they wanted our advice before taking any action.
Candidate: Ok Sir, just to make sure I have the right understanding of the problem, our client
operates in the fertilizer industry based out of South India and is looking to expand into the
animal feed industry and we are required to advise the client whether the company should enter
the industry or not. Is that correct?
Interviewer: That is correct
Candidate: Sir, I’m not completely aware of the animal feed industry. Could you give me a brief
overview of the industry in general?
Interviewer: Gives funda about the animal feed industry.
Candidate: (Noted down a few keywords) Ok, Sir, I would like to structure the problem into two
steps. First I would like to evaluate the potential attractiveness of the industry and then I would
like to evaluate the competitive positioning of our client before making a suggestion to the client.
Interviewer: Sure
Candidate: Sure, at this point, I would like to understand the size of the animal feed market. Do
we have any data from the client on the market size or would you like me to estimate the same?
Interviewer: You can estimate it
Candidate: Can I take a moment to structure my thoughts?
Interviewer: Sure
Candidate: (after a few moments) The approach I would take is: I would like to estimate the
number of animals covered by the feed industry and then multiply the number by the average
feed per animal and the average price of feed to arrive at the market size. I would like to take the
cow as a representative animal to calculate the feed requirement if that’s ok.
Interviewer: Sure.
Candidate: To estimate the number of cows, I would like to use milk production as a proxy.
Interviewer: Sure. You can note down a few numbers here.
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Annual milk production in India- x litres/ year. Feed required per animal – y tonnes/year. Average
price of the feed - Rs. v/kg.
Candidate: Sure, what would be the average volume of milk given by a typical cow in a day?
Interviewer: z litres/ day
Candidate: (walks him through the calculations and multiplies the daily milk production by 365
to get the annual milk production)
Interviewer: Are you sure 365 is the right number?
Candidate: (smiles realizing he’s made an assumption) Oh right, how many days would a cow
give milk in a year?
Interviewer: Assume 300 days/ year
Candidate: Total market size=x litres/ year/(z litres/day/animal*300 days/year)*y
tonnes/year/animal*Rs. v/kg*1000kg/tonne (arrives at a figure)
Interviewer: What do you think?
Candidate: If we look at 1% of the market size, it comes out to Rs. q. To evaluate the significance
of the market share, I would like to compare it against existing revenues of the client. Can I know
the current annual revenue figure of the client?
Interviewer: Rs. w/year
Candidate: 1 % of the animal feed industry market share works out to be 5% of the existing
revenue. Even if the company claims 1% of the market share, the revenue growth is 5%, which is
over and above the revenue of the core business.
The interviewer has a discussion with the candidate about whether the growth is good or bad and
before the candidate attempts to proceed with the remaining aspects of the case, the interviewer
says with a smile that the case is over.
CASE 3
Candidate: Praful Parakh

Case: Declining CASA Ratio
Interviewer: Tell me about yourself?
Candidate: I gave an intro and made sure that it was not more than 60 secs, then she asked me
some work-ex related questions and also somethings that I was doing at IIMB
Interviewer: So Praful, You client is a Public Sector Bank and facing declining CASA Ratio over
fast few quarters. What could be the reason?
Candidate: So what I understand by CASA is that it is the ratio of the Current and Savings Deposits
in a bank to the Total Deposits and it is necessary to be high for current and liquidity needs of a
bank and it is less costly. Am I correct or do I need to know something else?
Interviewer: That is perfect! And a bank will need ideally a good CASA ratio as it a cheap source
of funds.
Candidate: Ok, Thanks! Now the CASA Ratio in itself can decline due to reduction in average
Current and Savings account deposits or may be a disproportionate increase in the Fixed
Deposits, which may be because the bank/economy is preferring and giving higher FD rates. Do
we have any data which could be the reason?
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Interviewer: The current account deposits are not increasing at the pace at which FDs are, hence
focus on the Numerator only.
Candidate: What has been the timeframe that we are seeing this problem and has this been a
trend for our competitors too?
Interviewer: The ratio has been declining in the past few quarters and our competitors are just
fine. The numbers are not relevant.
Candidate: Thanks. So, our client, which is a public sector bank, is facing declining CASA ratio
and is it primarily because of our Current deposits not growing, which is only pertaining to our
client and we need to solve this. Is that the only objective I should be aware of or is there
something else the client is worried about?
Interviewer: For the scope of the discussion, this is the only problem we need to focus?
Candidate: Thanks, I will like to take a minute to structure my thoughts. <After a Minute, with a
structure>. The deposits can decline because of broadly two reasons, external like Economic
Condition, Interest Rates/Charges, but those should affect the others too, so I am ruling them out,
and other reasons internal to our client and their offerings. So this growth can be reduced due to
the reason that the average money in every account has fallen or that the number of accounts
have not grown. The classic problem of retention vs acquisition and also is the problem more
prominent in a certain segment viz. Business and HNI Accounts, Individuals (which can be
Businessmen and Salaried and Others). Do we have data to state anything on that front?
Interviewer: Our previous customers are still with us, but the number of accounts have been the
same and normally we cater to all types of customers and this pattern is with all the segments,
but more so with salaried and corporates.
Candidate: So should I move to analyze why our CASA penetration is lower in Corporates?
Interviewer: Yes.
Candidate: So is it that the interest rates/charges that we are offering any different from other?
Interviewer: No.
Candidate: Now new customer acquisition could be low due to the services and products we
have, like Internet Banking, ATMs, mBanking, Letter of Credits, International Remittances etc. So
do we have an issue with any one or more of them?
Interviewer: We have our ATMs and other traditional banking facilities but our presence in the
Internet Banking and mBanking space is not that prevalent.
Candidate: So this can be a reason why corporates will not be on board and since they aren’t the
employees, who normally have an account, (gave an example from my work life) with the same
bank. In the situation when our services are not at par, corporates and salaried people will not
come to our client. This is a problem that we have identified, I will like to move and see if there
are any other facets that may be causing this. The CASA can also be lower due to our client’s Image
as being a very businessmen-type bank and may be the advertisements/promotions don’t
connect to the corporates. Also normally bank accounts for corporates and HNIs are through
Relationship Managers and Sales people. So do we have such mechanisms in place?
Interviewer: Yes, We have traditionally been a mercantile bank. Good, you have identified few
issues. Summarize the case for me and what will you recommend?
Candidate: So our client a public sector bank has been seeing declining CASA ratio. This was
primarily because of our low foothold in the Internet and mBanking space, which has slowed our
growth in the Corporate, HNIs and Salaried employee segment. Also the absence of RMs and our
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image have aggravated the problem. Hence the bank should invest to get these systems up and
maintain RMs because this will bring Corporate accounts along with their employees, which will
normally be CASA in nature.
Interviewer: Thanks!
Price Interest Rates

Charges
Internet Banking
Product ATMs, mBanking
Other Services
Internal
Brand Image
Declining CASA Promotion
Advertisements
External Branch Network
Locations of
Place ATMs
CASE 4
Candidate: Sharmili Adhikari

Case: Market Growth
I was one of the last ones to be called in for the interview and needless to say, situations such as these
bring in a completely different kind of jitters. The trick is to not think about it. You have prepared
well. Now just let your learning take its natural course. Case interviews are essentially a two-way-
street, candidates are advised to ask questions and believe me, the interviewer is more than happy
to guide them.
I had just the one interview that lasted about 50 minutes.
Interviewer – I really haven’t had the time to go through your resume. Could you help me out?
Candidate – (One of the best ways to handle this is to drop cues on avenues you intend to be asked
on. Exempli gratia, I had prior work experience in the banking sector and so that’s what I mentioned,
among others.)
Interviewer – Okay, so I see you have been associated with the SAC. What were your roles and
responsibilities?
Candidate – (Talked about it, highlighting on the tenets that I had learned in my capacity as a SAC
member, some critical decisions undertaken etc.)
Interviewer- So, let’s get started, shall we? A case on the banking sector, does that work?
Candidate- (As expected!) Sure!
Interviewer- Ok so there are four regions R1 through R4. Your client, the manager of a bank
would like to know if it is lucrative making housing loans for these regions. Historically the bank
has a customer reach of 20%, 30%, 10% and 20% respectively. In recent times the proportions
are 25%, 30%, 5%, 20%. (I am making these numbers up as I type. For the life of me, I cannot
recall the original figures.) The bank wishes to make an overall targeted profit of Rs. 150
(assume). Which region(s) should the manager pick and why?
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Candidate- (Summarising is always a good way to go. Take notes as well, this obviates the
chances of forgetting key points narrated in the caselet.) So to summarise, our client is a bank that
wishes to rake in overall profits to the tune of Rs. 150 and is looking at regions to target in order
to achieve its goal. May I ask some contextual questions before I begin my analysis? This is a
commercial bank correct? The regions you speak of, can they be considered to be subject to the
same macroeconomic conditions?
Interviewer- Sure. Yes indeed.
Candidate- Does the bank face stiff competition? Is that a reason for the differentials in
penetration of the customer base?
Interviewer- Not relevant. Can you tell me what factors the bank is looking at?
Candidate- (Thinking out loud. This is a recommended practice, it tells the interviewer you have
understood the question and analysing it systematically. Added benefit? If you are wrong here,
he/she will correct you.) Well, the overall macroeconomic scenario is the same for all regions yet
there exists a disparity in the banking services penetration in these areas. Also there has been a
change in the penetration rates over the years for some of these regions. The locations- is there
an industry (IT or otherwise) that can lead to a surge in people needing houses in the first place?
Also, off the top of my mind, the bank is looking at credit worthiness of the people availing the
loans, risk of default, size of loan, demographics like age, a thorough KYC and of course, available
collateral. Also the bank relationship with the clients.
Interviewer- Yes exactly. Well you may consider the regions are subjected to the same external
forces. But yes that is indeed an important criteria to look for.
You mentioned bank relationship. Can you elaborate how that is pertinent?
Candidate – I am saying this because my dad is a banker and the loan disbursement, underwriting
and other processes becomes a lot easier if one is a valued customer. Also, now that I think about
it, there can some shortcomings on the services provided by the bank that could explain why their
reach into the customer base has been disparate in the different regions. Am I correct?
Interviewer: Interesting, can you explain what could they have done wrong?
Candidate: Let us take a step back and understand how a loan disbursement process works. (A
useful practise if you wish to clarify that there are no missteps in your basic understanding. You
get this part right, there are only some areas you could go wrong thereafter) A customer goes to
a bank to avail a housing loan, and after the necessary KYC and validations, the loan amount
should be disbursed…
Interviewer- It is a bit more basic than that. You mentioned shortcomings on the service. I want
you to think along those lines.
Candidate- Thank you for pointing me in that direction. Okay, so, there is a problem even before
the customer submits his documents and all. May I understand what kind of customers we are
looking at?
Interviewer- Apt question. So you can now assume that there is an IT boom in all of these areas
that has resulted in a surge of housing requirements. We have upper and upper-middle class
families migrating into the city. What kind of services do you think they require from the bank
while availing loans?
Candidate- Well for starters, they wish to be treated as valued customers owing to the size of the
loan they will be availing. Not to mention faster, hassle free loan disbursement process, being the
ones with high credit scores. The bank may be negligent in this regard.
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Interviewer- Yes indeed. So now that we have discussed the factors, could you get into some
number crunching and explain which region to prioritise?
Candidate- Sure. The methodology I would adopt is take an initial amount say Rs. 100 and see
which area(s) are able to generate the required returns. This way I shall know for which regions
status quo needs to be maintained and for which the bank needs to ramp up its customer reach.
Am I okay with my analysis so far? (There is no shame in asking. Get his approval at every step
and carry on.)
Interviewer: Good. I think you have got the planning right. Go ahead.
Candidate- Okay so if I calculate the total expected returns for all regions, it is only 80, so it falls
short of the target by quite some margin. Also, judging by the current proportions, the bank’s
customer base has dropped in R3 and increased in R1 possibly for reasons mentioned before.
Therefore the bank would be prudent to increase its customer base in the expanding regions,
maintain status quo in the regions consistently doing well and improve its services in regions it
is performing poorly to maximise overall profits and reach its targeted level. Does that make
sense?
Interviewer – Fair enough. Can you briefly summarise our discussion?
Candidate: (Summarised for a couple of minutes. Here I ensured I relayed pointers that the
interviewer directed me towards during the course of the discussion. This shows that one is quick
to learn despite having made a mistake in the first go.) Do you want me to suggest some
recommendations for the bank?
Interviewer: Decent analysis. Let’s wrap this up now. How do you think it went?
Candidate- It was an interesting case and if I fared decently it would be because I enjoyed doing
it.
Interviewer: Good, glad you enjoyed it. Thank you Sharmili.
(In my opinion, structure helps and being methodical in your approach is a plus. It is a good practice
to ask those initial questions to attain a general contextual familiarity. But sometimes, you must
think outside the purview of the said methods of tackling a case. You will surprised to find how
crucial expanding the breadth of your analysis can be!)
CASE 5
Candidate: Utkarsh
Case: Effect of GST on Operations
I had only one round of interview. Although this season the BCG interviews were majorly restricted
to one round only, candidates are advised to be prepared for 2-3 rounds.
Interviewer – Shall we get started? Utkarsh please tell about your work-experience at your
previous organization.
Candidate – Talked about my previous work experience
Interviewer – So what extra-curricular activities are you part of at IIMB?

Candidate – Talked about being part of ICON and sports activities
Interviewer- Since we have been in operations, you must be knowing a little about supply chain?
Candidate- Sir, I have some idea though I don’t have a substantial work experience in this regard.
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Interviewer- So you must be knowing about GST. Our client is a FMCG major who wants to
understand how GST is going to affect his network planning. Can you help him?
Candidate- Sir, I am not aware about the implications of GST. Can you please elaborate?
Interviewer- Sure. So GST will lead to a uniform tax regime across all states. In fact the inter-
state taxes shall not be levied anymore post the introduction of GST. Can you predict the current
warehousing model followed by our client?
Candidate- Sir, since all states are levying their own regime of taxes, I think the client has its
warehouses in each state to distribute to its retailers.
Interviewer- Yes exactly. This was the model earlier but now with the GST coming up, the client
is planning to consolidate its warehousing. Assume that the company has only 4 factories in New
Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai each of which produce a different variant of the same
product, say soap.
Can you suggest the distribution network for the client post implementation of GST.
Candidate – Sir, I think the client should be looking at consolidating its warehousing to generate
economies of scale. However the client should first ensure aggregation of all the 4 variants of the
specific product from the respective factories in the 4 geographical zones where the factories are
located.
Interviewer- Ok, Go ahead.
Candidate- Sir, I also think that the client needs to utilize the hub & spoke model to distribute the
products from the 4 zonal aggregation centres across India.
Factory 1
Factory 2
Zonal
Aggregation
Factory 3
Hub
Factory 4
Interviewer: Good. I think you have got the network right. Now tell me some suggestions to
improve the savings further in terms of network planning.
Candidate: Sir, The major costs in this case are transportation and storage. I have already
provided suggestions for storage model. In term of transportation I can think of ensuring back-
haulage as one suggestion.
(Now I took almost 5-10 minutes to give suggestions. I gave multiple suggestions but even I was not
convinced by the same. But finally came to what the interviewer was looking for.)
Candidate: Sir, One thing which I can think of is the size of trucks utilized for transportation. I
know from my work experience that 16 tonnage trucks although carry more load do not utilize
proportionately more fuel as compared to 8 tonnage trucks. So 16 tonnage trucks should be
utilized.
Interviewer: Yes exactly!! Thank you Utkarsh. That will be all.
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(I personally felt that standard frameworks prescribed in the casebooks give you a good starting
point for preparation but on the D-day make sure that you are open to all possibilities.)
CASE 6
Candidate: Agrim Gupta
Case: Profitability
Interviewer: So Agrim, your client is a premium ergonomic luxury chair manufacturer for office.
The company is making losses, so what could be the reason?
Candidate: Sir, where is the company based out of?
Interviewer: He mentioned some European country.
Candidate: What does the company provide or what is their revenue model – do they sell chairs
only or they sell chairs and provide services like repairing and maintenance?
Interviewer: Chairs only
Candidate: Is the client making those chairs or just selling?

Interviewer: They design, make and sell
Candidate: Since when has the company been making losses?

Interviewer: Last 1-1.5 years, losses have increased steadily
Candidate: (thinking in head) 2 ways to make losses – either costs have increased or sales have
reduced
Candidate: Do we know if the number of units sold/year are increasing/decreasing or if the

average price of a chair has increased/decreased?
Interviewer: Number of chairs sold is constant or growing at a normal rate. Price of chair hasn’t
changed.
Candidate: This means cost is the issue. (Here I felt my work-experience was being tested since I
had worked on a business reorganization project on controlling costs.)
Costs are either headcount costs (like labor, pension, severance, etc.) or non-headcount costs like
Distribution, Sales & promotion, utilities, raw materials, etc. For a chair manufacturer, materials
should drive the major costs.
Candidate: What materials do we use to make the chairs?

Interviewer: Wood/Plastic
Candidate: Has material cost increase?

Interviewer: Yes
Candidate: Has wood become more expensive?

Interviewer: No
Candidate: How have the material costs increased then?

Interviewer: Transportation costs have increased since importing exquisite quality wood
Candidate: Is this wood available somewhere else?

Interviewer: It is available but of a slightly inferior quality
Candidate: What’s the problem with acquiring this quality of wood for production?
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Interviewer: Never thought about it
Candidate: Why?
Interviewer: Procurement guy is bringing wood across the Atlantic Ocean, has no incentive to
change the wood.
Candidate: So basically, there is a mismatch in incentives since the person holding the P&L
doesn’t control the cost. The procurement guy has no KPI in reducing costs. He just follows vendor
order.
Interviewer: That’s right.
CASE 7
Candidate: Agrim Gupta
Case: Market Entry
Interviewer: Your client is a premium ergonomic luxury chair manufacturer for office. The client
wants to pitch to a new market like India. Figure out if a country like India is viable.
Candidate: Where is the client based out of?
Interviewer: Europe
Candidate: (Thinking out loud) Where can we sell ergonomic chairs? Who would buy these
chairs?
Factors affecting purchase decision can be figured out using 4Ps – Promotion should not be
important for chairs, Place can be anywhere, Price seems like the most factor and with respect to
Product we need to think would buy this product in India and at this price => This shall give the
target segment.
Interviewer: Okay
Candidate: What is the price of a chair?

Interviewer: $1000
Candidate: What are the selling points of the product?

INTERVIEWER: It is an ergonomic chair and can be seen as style statement. It’s comfortable and
one can sit on it for hours.
Candidate: Who are the primary customers in Europe - Residential or Commercial?

Interviewer: You tell me
Candidate: It should be commercial. In offices in boss’s cabin which means can mostly sell to
CXOs. We will see average size of a white collar company. In a building/office, on average around
250 employees.
Interviewer: Fine, let’s go with it.
Candidate: If we consider various head of divisions like HR, etc. and VPs, there would be less than
10 people per office with their own cabin.
Interviewer: Fine
(From here, it becomes a guesstimate)
Candidate: So to target in India, we will not go to Tier-2 cities. We will go for Tier-1 cities. In
India, there are 10-12 Tier-1 cities. Average population is 1 crore. Working population is around
50%, hence around 0.5 crores. 10-15 Lacs people in white collar jobs. So 12.5 lacs total people,
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250 people/office implies around 5000 companies which implies maximum 50,000 chairs
maximum in 1 city. Taking 25,000 chairs per city and 10 cities, we get 2.5 lakh chairs at $1000.
Interviewer: So will you recommend?
Candidate: I don’t think we should enter right now. Market isn’t right to enter in India with a
chair priced at $1000.
DELOITTE
Candidate: Shubham Mittal

(Most of the consulting firms organize networking dinners whereas Deloitte conducts a case
workshop for shortlisted candidates. In the case workshop they give a brief overview about the
company structure which is pretty useful information to prepare answers for “Why Deloitte?” and
other related questions which are generally asked in the final interview round. After the company
overview, students are divided into small groups and the case workshop which involves discussion
of a case. This is like a group case interview where individuals are being evaluated on the quality of
their discussion. So do read and practice some common frameworks before the workshop.)
Round 1: Guesstimate
(The interviewer asked very basic HR questions and a guesstimate. The basic HR questions included
questions like “Tell me something about yourself”, “Hobbies”, “Examples illustrating leadership
skills”, Work experience related questions etc. Based on the hobbies or work experience, the
interviewer would ask a guestimate. I was not asked a guesstimate probably because I had work
experience in a data analytics firm. One of the other interns mentioned Cricket as his hobby and was
then asked to estimate the no. of cricket balls bought in a month in IIMB. It is generally advised not
to start the guestimate with population, choosing any other proxy is preferred in Deloitte.)
Round 2: Merger & Acquisition Case

(Not sure if it was a coincidence but every selected intern was asked the same M&A case.)
Interviewer: A company X which is a Wi-Fi or some electronic chips manufacturer with net worth
of $1 Billion wants to acquire another firm Y whose net worth is $2 Billion. Should firm X acquire
firm Y?
Candidate: To be clear, we are looking at a company which is interested in buying a much bigger
company, so let’s look at the possible advantages of acquisition. Do we have information on the
manufacturing sites of both these companies, markets to which they are currently serving or any
other information about the electronic industry?
Interviewer gave me 2 sheets of information which had a lot of numerical data. I found the
following data on the sheet:
 Manufacturing plants – X had its plant in US and Y in Europe
 Serving Markets – Both served Global markets
 Industry trends
 The shelf life of the products is very short and hence there is a requirement of
constant R&D to stay ahead of competitors
 Market growth rate
 Some technical capabilities which company Y had over company X)
Candidate: Okay, so it is possible that company X wants to start its operations in Europe and hence
is looking to grow inorganically by acquiring firm Y
Interviewer: Might be true but tell me how do we evaluate if Y is a good company to acquire?
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Candidate: Do we have sales data to compare the acquisition cost with the increase in sales
coming from company Y?
Interviewer: We don’t have any sales information of the competitor; do you think we can use any
other proxy for the same?
Candidate: Since this is a capital intensive industry due to regular requirement of investment in
R&D, we can compare two scenarios-
1) Scenario 1 – Invest in R&D and analyze the return on investment
2) Scenario 2 – Invest in Company Y and analyze the return over investment
Should I continue with these two scenarios or do I need to consider other scenarios as well?
Interviewer: Let’s discuss these two scenarios in detail.
(Interviewer handed over 2-3 more sheets of information. Information in the sheets provided was
as follows-
- Company X’s financial numbers and various ratios (Ex- Investment in R&D, Income, ROI)
- Market share data of various competitors in the industry and their Net Worth (Graph)
- Information of some M&A deals that took place in the past in the same industry
o Deal value
o A multiplier which was a measure if the acquired company was smaller or larger than
the acquirer
o ROI of those M&A deals)
Candidate: (Discussed Scenario 1 using company X’s financial data ROI was estimated to be in the
range of 7-10%. For Scenario 2, in order to obtain ROI, a proxy can be used which can be comparing
the current deal with the past deals and assuming the same ROI). Out of the given 8 deals, some
deals can be rejected from analysis as the acquired company was smaller than the acquirer, which
is not the case here. One of the remaining deals is comparable in size and shows the obtained ROI
was 9.5%. Since this ROI is at the higher end of the expected return from Scenario 1. I would
suggest that Company X should acquire Company Y.
Interviewer: That’s great, we got what we were looking for. All the best!
(Deloitte generally expects you to support your understanding with data so you should ask for more
and more data. A M&A case is very different from other cases in terms of the frameworks used. You
need to have an understanding of financial ratios so that you can compare various companies)
Round 3
(This was a partner interview and the objective of the interview is to see if you are a good fit for
the firm. Initially the partner asked some icebreaking questions. Expect all HR type questions like
- Why Deloitte?
- How is the day going?
- Why should we choose you over others?
- Hobbies
- Responsibilities in your previous firm
These and other HR questions were asked.)
Partner: How many interviews have you already given today?

Candidate: This is my first interview
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Partner: Why so?
Candidate: Deloitte was my first preference so I had been waiting for this interview since
morning. (Actually Deloitte was my only consult shortlist so gave that answer with full confidence
and it worked. Don’t use this until it is true as some company officials know about the candidate’s
shortlists.)
Partner: Why did you choose Deloitte over other firms?

Candidate: Deloitte is better than other firms as (Gave 2-3 points)
Partner: How do you know about this?
Candidate: There was a company presentation in the case workshop where I go to learn about
Deloitte.
Partner: What else you know about Deloitte?
Candidate: I have heard from a friend who works at Deloitte that the culture in Deloitte is very
good and colleagues are very knowledgeable and helpful.
(The conversation went on for 15-20 minutes with some more HR type questions. In every interview,
in the end, you might be asked a question like “Do you have any questions for us”. You are expected
to ask something about the firm. So do prepare for that.)
GEP
CASE 1
Candidate: Abhishek Somani

Case: Guesstimate
Interviewer: Do you know about what GEP does?
Candidate: (told about what GEP does in 2-3 lines)
Case let – How many flights do you think Indigo has for its operations in India?
Candidate: Just to clarify we will be looking at Indigo’s business in India only or do you also want
me to look at the international flights by Indigo.
Interviewer: Let’s look at Indigo business in India for now.
Candidate: Alright. For the fleet size I will assume that there are 5 major (Tier-1) cities and 25
Tier-2 cities that Indigo provides its services to. I will be ignoring Tier 3 cities as part of this
analysis.
Candidate: Since Tier-1 cities will be having more traffic daily, I will assume that we will require
4 direct trips daily between those cities. So by that combination, we have 10 routes where the
flights will be flying 4 times a day.
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For Tier-2 cities, since the traffic is low, we can use connecting flights. We can follow a hub and
spoke model. Since, we have 25 Tier-2 cities, I would like to create a cluster consisting of 1 Tier-
1 city with 5 Tier-2 cities. Therefore, all Tier-2 cities would be connected via Tier-1 city. Is this a
fair assumption?
Interviewer: Yes, looks fine. Go ahead.
Candidate: For Tier -1 to Tier-1 since we have 10 routes and 4 times a day, I would assume that 2
flights per route are required to achieve this. Therefore, we require 10*2 = 20 flights.
So for Tier-1 to Tier-2 cities we will have 2 flights daily connecting them. So we will have 5 routes
from each Tier-1. Therefore 25 such routes 2 times a day. For these 25 routes I would say 1 flight
per route. Therefore, 25 flights more. So a total of 45 flights.
Interviewer: Do you think you require 25 flights exclusively for this or can you utilize the flights
between Tier-1 to Tier-1 to connect some of them?
Candidate: Yes, we don’t need exclusive flights for Tier-1 to Tier-2 cities. Some of these routes we
might be able to complete with our Tier-1 to Tier-1 flights. So, if our flight has to do 2 trips
between Tier-1 to Tier-1, then I would say it can do maybe 1 more trip to a Tier-2 city, taking into
consideration that it will require maintenance etc. at every stop. Is that a fair assumption?
Interviewer: Ok, go ahead.
Candidate: Therefore, we can say that one Tier-2 city can be covered by our existing set of fleet.
So we need 20 flights for the rest. Therefore, a total of 40 flights maybe required for this set of
combination we assumed.
Interviewer: Alright. I think we are good here. Do you have any questions for me?
Candidate: None, as of now.

Interviewer: Ok, please wait outside.
CASE 2

Case: This interview wasn’t a case but it was a round where the interviewer wanted to
test on-the-spot thinking.
Interviewer: Do you know about any startup opened recently?
Candidate: Yes, there is a startup named – Quifers. It’s a startup for logistics, started in 2013.
Interviewer: Ok. I will give you 10 mins, why don’t you think of a new start-up idea and think like
I am a VC. You have to convince me to give you funding.
(Candidate takes 10 mins to think about a possible idea)
Candidate: My idea is to come up with an app which will be targeted to restaurants and customers.
Currently the issue for customers is that you have a lot of wait time at many restaurants and you
don’t come to know about that till you reach there. And many times since the restaurant is
crowded the delivery time of food also increases.
While if we look at it from restaurants’ perspective, it increases their waiters’ cost. Since they
have to keep high numbers to serve.
This app will try to resolve both the issues - help customers to book a table if they want to go to a
restaurant. Once they have booked the table they can also look at the menu in the app and while
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they are on the way they can order what they would like to eat. This reduces their wait time
drastically because as by the time they reach, their food might be almost ready. From restaurants
perspective, they now don’t need many waiters, since the order will directly appear in the app
with the table number. They just need waiters to serve food.
Once customers eat they can also pay via this app so that they don’t have to wait for the bill to
come and the inconvenience of waiting for their card to be swiped or cash to be returned.
Interviewer: Ok. Your idea seems interesting. But how will you earn money?
Candidate: In this case my revenues will come from tie-ups with restaurants as we would be
helping them reduce their waiter cost. So we will charge a mere 5-10% of the bill amount. So if
we reduce no. of waiters by 2, we reduce their cost by almost 30k. We provide more convenience
to them in terms of crowd management. Also our app will provide ratings to the restaurants and
to their dishes, which will make it easy for the customer to order.
Interviewer: Ok. But Zomato also provides similar kind of service. How will you make sure that
they don’t copy this and incorporate it in their app, given that they already have a huge database
of restaurants with them?
Candidate: That’s a fair point, to counter this I would start off by targeting big chains like Pizza
Hut since they will give us a lot of restaurants in one shot. Once we are able to get them on-board,
we can convince small restaurants by telling them about our associations with the big restaurant
chains and how we have been able to help them.
Interviewer: Ok. I think we are good for now. Please wait outside for next round.
(Just to tell, I didn’t get this idea like on the spot. I was talking to a friend of mine in IIM Bangalore
who before joining IIM had a startup. He told me about this idea of his. My only recommendation is
talk to people and try to know about their experiences before they joined IIM and you will learn a lot
of things which will help you.)
CASE 3

Case: This wasn’t a case round; it was more of a general round with questions around HR.
I would suggest that for this round prepare the HR questions provided by Placement Committee well
and it should be enough.
Also some additional questions asked were –

 What kind of manager do you think you like working with?
 Give an instance where you didn’t like how your manager handled the situation.
 Give an instance where you were given a responsibility and you failed to deliver.
MCKINSEY
CASE 1
Candidate: Anuradha Rao

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This interview was quite unconventional and really made me think on my feet.
(Interviewer makes some small talk.)
Interviewer: So tell me, how have you changed the world?
Candidate: Those are heavy words to use. I can’t really claim to have changed the world…
Interviewer: No, I’m sure you have, just tell me how.
Candidate: I’m not sure if I’ve changed the world but I can say I’ve changed the people in my world
in a small but significant way by... (some instances)
Interviewer: You are an economics student. Comment on the state of India’s economy. What do
you think the government elected last year should be focusing on?
Candidate: (Gave him my opinion)
Interviewer: Interesting. I also gather that you debate and write poems. What kind of poetry do
you write? Tell me about the latest poem you wrote.
Candidate: (Told him about this)
Interviewer: Oh, so can you recite a few lines from that poem?
Candidate: I don’t really remember how that went, but I can perform another poem; one which I
performed at IIMB last term.
Interviewer: Sure, go ahead.
Candidate: (performs poem)
Interviewer: So I will give you a case now and I want you to present the solution to me in the form
of a role-play or a poem.
Candidate: Umm…
Interviewer: Our client is a branded pharmacist and is facing declining profits at a particular store.
Tell me why this could be happening and suggest some recommendations.
Candidate: Alright. I will just ask a few preliminary questions before delving deeper. Is that okay?
Interviewer: Sure.
Candidate: May I know where our client is based?

Interviewer: In a metro city.
Candidate: Are other pharmacies in the city also facing this issue?
Interviewer: No.
Candidate: You mentioned our client is branded. Are they attached to a hospital?
Interviewer: No, they are an independent store.
Candidate: Does the client exclusively sell medicines?

Interviewer: Yes.
Candidate: Alright. The problem seems to be an internal one, so I’ll look at firm-specific profits.
So profits can be split into two components, as revenues minus costs. I’ll examine each of these in
detail. Is there any particular branch you’d like me to examine first?
Interviewer: Not really, your choice.
Candidate: Ok. I’ll begin with revenues. At each stage, I’ll benchmark performance with that of
competitors, who seem to be making profits. Factors influencing revenues are variety, price and
volume. To gauge variety, I’m assuming our client stocks all sorts of medicines. Is that correct?
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Interviewer: Yes.
Candidate: What do other pharmacies sell? Is the variety here the same as the variety there?
Interviewer: What do you think? Who do you think our competitors can be?
Candidate: It seems to me like the competitors are small kirana stores that stock not only
medicines, but also other goods like eats and other small goods. In terms of variety of medicines,
our client is probably superior, but in terms of a holistic purchase, the small shop is probably
better.
Interviewer: That’s right. There are many mom-and-pop-stores stealing our company’s business.
Candidate: Ok. So I understand that all these stores charge the same price, but overall volumes of
sales are lower for our client than other stores. Our client doesn’t charge any premium for the
medicines?
Interviewer: Everything is sold at MRP, just like competitors.
Candidate: To explain this difference in volumes, I’m going to look at some factors like
convenience and customer profile.
Interviewer: We are running out of time, suggest some recommendations based on what you have
done so far.
Candidate: As a poem?!
Interviewer: No need, just state them.
Candidate: Sure. I have identified the major problem so far to be the existence of competition that
is catering better to customer needs. I think some recommendations are:
1. Identify what conveniences these small stores are providing to the customer. Our client
should try and offer the same kinds of services. This would include stocking other kinds
of goods and offering home delivery service to improve ease of access.
2. Differentiate the store. After all, local stores do not have an air conditioned setting, pakka
bills or a brand name. If our client can advertise or make their presence better known,
customers, especially from upper income segments, would probably prefer buying from
here despite the products being the same as those in competitor’s stores.
3. Try tying up with a nearby established hospital. This would mean guaranteed volumes
from patients there.
4. We have not discussed costs, but costs could be reduced as well.
Interviewer: That’s alright. We’ll end here. Please wait outside.
CASE 2
Candidate: Anuradha Rao

Case: Guesstimate
(Interviewer makes small talk)

Interviewer: When was the last time you travelled by flight?
Candidate: During undergrad, from Delhi to Chennai.
Interviewer: What do you usually do during a flight?

Candidate: I like reading.
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Interviewer: Is there a bookstore at Delhi airport?
Candidate: Yes, there’s one in Terminal 1, it’s called Relay.
Interviewer: Estimate the daily revenues of the Relay bookstore outlet at Delhi’s domestic
terminal.
Candidate: May I have a minute to structure my thoughts?
Interviewer: Sure.
Candidate: Relay sells small items other than books as well. Do I need to take those into account?
Interviewer: No.
Candidate: Ok. Revenue = Price x Volumes x Variety. I can assume an average price and not take
into account variety, but that would be too simplistic.
Interviewer: You read books, so tell me some way in which you could account for that.
Candidate: I’d divide books into paperback and hardback, because there are major price
differences between the two. I’d then take an average price for paperback, and another one for
hardback.
Interviewer: Ok, go ahead and make assumptions.
Candidate: Alright. So we have 2 average price points, say 400 for paperback and 700 for
hardback. Since these are averages, variety within paperback and hardback is accounted for. I will
now calculate the volumes of books sold.
I’ll trace the customer purchase journey for this. If I were buying a book, I’d have to be in the
airport, then visit Relay, and then buy a book. So I will need to estimate: (I draw all this out)
People in the domestic departure terminal  People visiting Relay  People purchasing books
(number of books and type of book are important).
Interviewer: Sounds okay. Begin the estimation.
Candidate: To calculate the number of people in the domestic departure terminal, I’d split the day
into two parts. Mornings and evenings would be very crowded, while afternoons and nights
would not. So I’ll call these peak time and lean time. To calculate number of people in the
departure terminal, I’d look at this information for peak and lean times:
Number of flights taking off per hour x capacity per flight x utilization (ie, % of people who book
and catch the flight)
To calculate the subset of people who visit Relay, I’d examine:
Number of people reaching the terminal atleast 15 mins earlier than boarding x % interested in
books (over all the other shopping opportunities at the airport!)
Then I’d look at the number who actually end up purchasing a book rather than simply browsing
and going away. Maybe, I could look at information relating to the type of customer; a professional
would probably work or sleep while a student or holiday traveller would prefer reading.
By this method, I have volumes for peak and lean times.
To get revenues from the volume figures, I’d have to see what kind of book is purchased,
paperback or hardback. Information about latest releases or bestsellers would help.
Interviewer: Ok, why don’t you do some calculations now?
Candidate: But I have no idea about many of these figures.

Interviewer: Make assumptions.
(I make very random assumptions and get an extremely low figure.)
Candidate: I think something is wrong, this figure is too low.
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Interviewer: Ok, now go over your calculations again and tell me which figures you think are
wrong.
Candidate: (told him)
Interviewer: (Agreed with some of them and told me what he thought were more accurate figures.)
Alright, thank you.
CASE 3
Candidate: Ashwin S Kalkar

Case: Guesstimate- Market Sizing
(Interviewer: Arjun, Partner)
Interviewer: Good morning Ashwin, how are you? Tell me about yourself.
Candidate: I’m good Sir. About me. Discussed about work and IITM. Then told him about being
Cultural Secretary and how I enjoyed organizing events. He asked will you be interested to join
event management? Then I countered saying it would be nice but not forever since learning will
be limited. I would rather join consulting and get diverse experience and learn.
Interviewer: Let’s do a case. Your client is a diabetes checking instrument (like Accucheck)
manufacturer. He wants to understand the market potential in India. The instrument will be
priced at $10 ~Rs.650.
Candidate: So if I understand correctly, we need to size the market for our client. Am I right?
Interviewer: Yes
Candidate: Okay so I’d like to approach it by taking the Indian population (120 Crores), dividing
it into urban (30%) and rural (70%). Further dividing it into age groups of less than 25, 25-50
and 50+. Then the factors I would like to consider is the kind of jobs people are into – low or high
on manual labour, tendency to exercise; and then health problems due to age. In the rural areas,
this would leave only the 50+ segment with about 10% having the capability of buying it. In the
urban areas, there will be about 20% people not doing labour intensive jobs and of them about
80% might not be exercising normally. This gives a population of ~4.78 Cr and a potential of Rs.
3110 Cr.
Interviewer: Okay now that we have the potential size, what are the factors you need to think
about before suggesting he enters the market? Assume there is going to be some market
penetration.
Candidate: Market Size we know about. Margins in the market need to be looked at. Possible
competition in the market. Barriers to entry – regulatory and value chain setup if need be.
Interviewer: Anything else?
Candidate: Not sure if I’ve missed anything.

Interviewer: Okay now think what will happen in 3 years.
Candidate: Let’s say the market is going to grow at 10% every year then after 3 years considering
today is 0, it is going to be 3110*(1.1)^3 = Rs.4140 Cr.
Interviewer: So how much will the company make in 3 years assuming 4 equal competitors.
Candidate: Rs.1035 Cr.
Interviewer: Are you sure?
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Candidate: (Thinking for a while) No Sir, this is the total market potential but the penetration will
not be 100% in 3 years so we need to know a % of market penetration before looking at revenue.
Interviewer: Good. If we have a 10% penetration, then it’ll only be about 100Cr for the client
which isn’t much.
Candidate: So it doesn’t seem like a good idea to enter.
Interviewer: Yeah. Good case, Ashwin. Thank you.
Key Takeaway: This interview went okay though I could’ve spoken about market penetration
earlier only. The initial HR part eased it a lot and though there was time pressure the interviewer
was quite helpful and gave me enough time to do the calculations. Overall it was a good interview.
CASE 4

Case: Growth strategy for Nike
(Interviewer: Kaustubh Chakraborty, Senior Partner, Head of Delhi Office)

Interviewer: Let’s jump straight to the case
Candidate: Sure Sir
Interviewer: Our client is a sports apparel and equipment manufacturer like Nike and they want
to make a strategy for 2025. They want to know where to invest in R&D to be doing well 10 years
later.
Candidate: Okay that’s an interesting problem. First I would like to understand a little bit more
about the industry. In terms of products, I’m assuming like Nike we make equipment for most
sports and have apparel for professionals and end-consumers. Is that correct?
Interviewer: Yes.
Candidate: Okay and we do have competitors in the Indian market?

Interviewer: Yeah let’s take the competitors to be like Adidas
Candidate: Okay sure. Now I would like to understand about the current R&D investments we
have.
Interviewer: But how will that matter since we’re looking at 10 years.
Candidate: Yeah that’s true but it’ll help me get an idea

Interviewer: Well we do have investments in all the big sports since we’re quite big.
Candidate: Hmm okay. So now that we’re looking at 10 years down the line I would like to divide
it in the following ways:
Customers: Professionals and End-consumers.
Sports Types.
I think we should be looking at these 2 headings to broadly understand where we need to invest
to be in a good position 10 years down the line.
Interviewer: Sure, so tell me what you’re thinking.
Candidate: Under Sports types, currently Cricket is huge and many other sports are also growing
well like Football due to ISL etc.
Interviewer: Yeah but how do you know they’ll remain the same 10 years later.
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Candidate: Well. No, we don’t but we can see how Indian sports is headed. I believe Cricket would
still be big. For the other sports, we can see which sports are being promoted by the Indian
Olympic Association and which sport is getting maximum traction in terms of viewership as well.
Interviewer: Still, we’re talking about 10 years.
Candidate: Yeah so continuing on what I was saying earlier, on the customer side, we can look at
celebrity professionals who are famous in the sports space. We will be having long term contracts
with them for equipment and apparels. When these celebrities endorse our brand, it reflects on
the end-consumer as well.
Interviewer: But how do you know who’s going to be famous in 10 years.
Candidate: We can look at the younger generation of sportspersons like U-19 Cricket Team etc.
Interviewer: Okay we’re almost out of time.
Candidate: Can I summarize where we stand right now?
Interviewer: Sure.
Candidate: Summarized it overall.
Key Takeaways: I thought this interview was terrible. We made absolutely no headway and after
the interview I got to know that the interviewer thought I was nervous. I had almost lost hope in
this round but I was called for another.
CASE 5

Case: Valuation of a Coal Mine
(Interviewer: Satya Prathipati, Senior Partner, Head of Mumbai Office)

Interviewer: So Ashwin (while walking and looking at my file), how was your PST?
Candidate: I did okay I think.
Interviewer: Yeah, you did okay but you didn’t do well. Anyway, how was the earlier round?
Candidate: It was a good case but we could’ve made more headway into the problem.
Interviewer: Hmm yeah, looks like you were nervous, that’s what Kaustubh thought.
Candidate: I didn’t think so, Sir.
Interviewer: Okay cool. (Going through my file) So you interviewed with us in IIT too, and you
didn’t get through.
Candidate: Yes Sir I did. But I’m back again.
Interviewer: Good. So do you want to do a case or talk?

Candidate: Anything is fine, Sir.
Interviewer: Okay so tell me something not in your resume.

Candidate: Spoke about traveling. Experiences in Sri Lanka, Canada and US.
Interviewer: Favourite place in India?
Candidate: Mussorie since I had gone there recently.
Interviewer: Okay let’s do a case. Your client wants to buy a coal mine and wants you to value it.
Candidate: Where is this coal mine and what is its output?
Interviewer: It’s in China but do you need to output or the reserve?
Candidate: (Thinking) I’d need the reserves to value but output to know the revenues we can
make.
Interviewer: Okay cool. Output is 1 ton/month and reserves need to be calculated. How will you
do it?
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Candidate: Assuming it is a cuboid since we’re talking about coal, the concentrations would be
different in different areas. We need to find that out and then add up all to get the reserves
available.
Interviewer: I’ll give you numbers. Let’s take it as a cuboid – 1200m x 800m and 500m height.
Uniform concentration of 70%.
Candidate: Sure. So that gives me a coal mine of volume 0.48 cu. km. Effective coal is 0.336 cu km.
Interviewer: Okay good. Do you need anything else?

Candidate: Yes I’ll need the density to calculate the weight of coal available.
Interviewer: Let’s take it as 100 tons/cukm.
Candidate: Okay that makes it 33.6 tons.
Interviewer: Now how will you value it?

Candidate: I’ll look at the revenues we’ll make from it and how much time this is going to last.
You mentioned 1 ton/month which means it’ll last for 33 months. Then I’ll look at the discounted
cash flows (C-value per year) we’ll get over this period.
Interviewer: Okay how will you get the price of coal? This is in China.
Candidate: I’ll call up the McKinsey office in China and ask them to check.
Interviewer: Let’s say no one is available.

Candidate: The India office would have a coal expert.
Interviewer: Not available.

Candidate: In India, we can see the price on the exchange.
Interviewer: But there is no one in China to help you.

Candidate: Would their exchange have a website that can be accessed? Since we can look it up in
India online.
Interviewer: No they don’t

Candidate: Then I’ll probably look at the Chinese counterpart of an Economic Times to check for
the price.
Interviewer: Hmm. That might work.
Candidate: (Finally he agreed) Okay great. So we’ll use this price and calculate DCF.
Interviewer: What about costs?
Candidate: (Ah I should’ve mentioned it earlier) Yeah the C value is DCF should be the profits and
not revenues.
Interviewer: Right. Thank you Ashwin.
(While walking) How keen are you on McKinsey?
Candidate: Very, Sir. I really wanted to get through in IIT but couldn’t. Wouldn’t want to miss this
opportunity.
Interviewer: Hmm.
Key Takeaway: This interview was fast paced and at the end I wasn’t very confident of getting
through but they did like me after all. Couple of minutes later Satya came out to congratulate me
Biggest takeway was you never know how your interview was so don’t judge it yourself. The case
can be anything but you should just be calm and tackle it like a puzzle. It’ll eventually work out!
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CASE 6
Candidate: Harsh Laxmikant Shah

Case: Market entry strategy
(HR question + case. The interviewer was trying to cross-question whatever I was saying. He wanted
to see if I could maintain my calm, accept if I was wrong anywhere and improvise quickly.)
Interviewer: Hi Harsh, Good morning! How are you doing this morning?
Candidate: Good morning sir. I am doing fine. How about you?
Interviewer: Great! Tell me something about yourself.
Candidate: Standard intro focusing on my work-ex, US experience and academics.
Interviewer: So what’s your GPA here?

Candidate: Told him my GPA.
Interviewer: Ok. So tell me an instance when you had shown leadership.

Candidate: Told about a project that I was working on. (Basically focus on the strongest part of
CV.)
Interviewer: How many people did you influence?

Candidate: A team of 5 with 4 analysts and 1 client POC
Interviewer: Great. So Harsh let’s do a small case. There is multiplex chain across India with 400
screens and they want to enter the packaged food industry in India and want to establish a
business worth 1500Cr. So how would you devise a strategy for them.
Candidate: (repeated the main points of the question, confirmed the objective) So do they also
have an in-house cafeteria?
Interviewer: Yes but most of the products that they sell are procured from 3rd party vendor or are
standard FMCG products like Pepsi, Lays, etc.
Candidate: Ok. Makes sense. Can I take 2 mins to lay down a structure?
Interviewer: Sure.
Candidate: So the entire packaged food industry falls into 2 categories: Solids (including paste
forms) and liquid. They can focus on entering the liquids by finding a niche segment like Paper-
boat.
Interviewer: Do you think that makes sense? There are already Cola and non-Cola products which
are well established in the market.
Candidate: Umm. No there is too much competition and we might not create a business worth
1500Cr in 5 years. (I was a little nervous here but I tried to maintain my calm and accepted that
what I said doesn’t make sense).
Interviewer: Precisely. So what about solids?
Candidate: We can further create the segments based on serving size in solids:
1) Full serving: like MTR ready to eat
2) Medium serving: like chips, Kurkure, biscuits
3) Small serving: majorly confectioneries
Does this segmentation make sense?
Interviewer: Yes. This looks good. For segment 1 what do you think is more important- taste or
health?
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Candidate: Both are important but we will have trade-offs and can’t include both at the same time.
So we can have 2 variants. One which tastes good and one which has good nutrients and is low on
preservatives. This will help us to capture a good market share.
Interviewer: (Smiling) Looks like you have spent a lot of time cooking and understand the pain of
working bachelors. So what about the confectioneries and biscuits? Do you think with firms like
Mondelez and Britania we can enter the market?
Candidate: Sir we can always find a gap in the market and position our product accordingly just
as Unibic has positioned itself in the market as premium cookies.
Interviewer: Excellent Harsh. It was great talking to you. Good luck for other interviews.
Candidate: Thank you sir. Have a good day!
CASE 7
Candidate: Harsh Laxmikant Shah

Case: Defending market share
(Only case. Case was pretty straight forward. Interviewer was trying to evaluate how much can I
think on the spot.)
Interviewer: Hi Harsh. Let’s do a small case. There is a tire manufacturing company and has the
highest market share currently in India. The company at position 2 is catching up quickly. So what
should our client do to tackle this situation?
Candidate: (repeated the question, confirmed the objective) Sir can you please elaborate a little
more on the value proposition of both the firms.
Interviewer: No 1 produces tire with better quality and last for 50K miles and is priced at $250
per tire. No 2 produces tire which lasts for 40K miles and is priced at $240 per tire but now they
have reduced the price to $225. Both are used in trucks.
Candidate: Alright so No 2 is playing on the price elasticity of consumer and are increasing their
market share.
Interviewer: Right.
Candidate: But if we look the total value of the product, our tires last for 25% more miles and the
price is more by only ~10%. So we can focus on that and advertise better.
Interviewer: Good. No 2 was expecting this move and they reduced the price to $200 for the same
offering. Now what?
Candidate: Now both the deals look equivalent. But we can focus on the fact that our product lasts
longer and so it is of better quality. This is our POD (point of differentiation). We can emphasis on
the low transaction costs and convenience.
Interviewer: Good. Again they were expecting this and they have come up with new offer that
their tire will last for 50K miles and they will replace the old tire with a new tire in case it wears
out. Now what do you think?
Candidate: Their offer is definitely better on paper. But it could be the case that the drivers are
not exercising the warranty.
Interviewer: Why?
Candidate: They might have seen in the testing phase that very few drivers would come to actually
replace the old tire because its very hard to detect if the threads are completely worn out and
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most the drivers who don’t own the truck would not even care about it. So they might be
piggybacking on this fact. Also for emergency they always carry a spare tire.
Interviewer: Ok. What could be other reasons?

Candidate: 1) They might have better technique to produce the tire at lower cost. May be they
might be having better economies of scale.
2) They might have deep pockets and would be compromising on short term profitability to gain
market share and have strong sales.
3) Average truck may be driven only for 40K-45K and so it doesn’t matter if tires last for more
than 40K which most probably might not be the case but we could check that.
Interviewer: Great Harsh. Thank you very much!
CASE 8
Candidate: Preksha Mangal

Case: Automobile Industry-Declining Revenue
(First 5-7 mins of the interview went in general chit-chat and HR questions. The interviewer was
trying to make me feel comfortable before starting the case. He also asked about my opinion on auto
industry.)
Interviewer: Hi Preksha, Good morning! Is it your first interview?

Candidate: Good morning sir. Yes, it is.
Interviewer: Are you nervous? I think you are. So let’s discuss the case after some time. First, tell
me three things you really enjoyed doing in school.
Candidate: Told him my hobbies and 1-2 interesting incidents
Interviewer: So do you know how to drive? What all cars have you driven? Which brand do you
prefer and why?
Candidate: Told him about my experience.
Interviewer: Do you know how a car is designed?

Candidate: Not much (told him the little bit understanding that I had)
Interviewer: So, since you drive car and also take decisions in which car to buy, would you mind
if I ask you to help me on one of my projects with an auto client. The client is the market leader in
auto industry in India. But recently observed a drop in the conversion rate? Can you identify the
root cause behind it?
Candidate: Asked about the client – their presence across India, where exactly they are facing the
problem and from how long. Also asked about the industry and competition landscape.
Interviewer: Client has PAN India presence. They are facing this problem from last 1 year in one
store located in Bangalore. Industry is performing as per the expectation.
Candidate: Clarified if the drop in conversion rate is impacting only the revenue of the firm. Also,
if it is related to the drop in footfall
Interviewer: Footfall is same.
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Candidate: Do we have any data that suggests that conversion rate has dropped in one particular
type of car/model or across all products
Interviewer: Same impact across all the products.
Candidate: Ok. Let me take a couple of mins to lay down the points.
Interviewer: Sure.
Candidate: So the drop in conversion rate leading to drop in revenue (of a particular store) can
happen due to following reasons:
1. Drop in # of customers
a. Due to demand side reasons
i. Drop in # of old customers
ii. Drop in conversion of new customers
1. Changes in macro policies
2. Sales people – training and quality of service provided
3. Ambience of store
4. After sales services offered
5. Location of store
6. Competition is offering better services or products
b. Due to supply side reasons
2. Price of the product
Do we have any information about the above mentioned points?
Interviewer: Great! We have some information. The conversion of new customers has dropped.
Sales people are the reason.
Somebody knocked at the door informing that only 5 mins are left.
Interviewer: Ok. We don’t have much time left. Let’s quickly get to the solution. How can we make
sales people more competent while dealing with customers in auto retail store?
Candidate: The whole process can be divided into 3 stages:
1. Recruitment: following should be analyzed
a. Evaluation of candidates on the qualities needed for the job
b. Past experience/performance of the candidate
c. Origin: a local candidate is preferred sometimes
2. Training
a. Knowledge about product and company policies
b. Brief description about different categories of customers
c. Communication skills – emphasis on personalized conversation
d. On job training sessions
3. On job monitoring
a. Dress code
b. Customer feedback
c. Feedback from sales people
Comparing the feedback from customer and sales people will help in getting to the root cause of
the problem.
Interviewer: Awesome. It was great talking to you. Good luck for other interviews.
Candidate: Thank you sir. Have a good day!
CASE 9
Candidate: Preksha Mangal

Case: Healthcare Industry-Increase in complaints
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(Interview happened over call. The interviewer went straight to the case. Case was not very tricky,
but interviewer wanted to check if I cover all the points leading to problem.)
Interviewer: Hi Preksha! Since you have worked for Pharma and Healthcare clients in your
previous company, let’s do a case related to that only. There is a hospital located in Delhi, which
is doing very well. From last 1 year, the number of patient complaints have been rising. Can you
please find out the reason behind it?
Candidate: Asked a few preliminary questions about the client, objective of the study and if there
is any pattern in patient complaints (type of patients, reason of complaint, related to particular
disease/doctor, time of complaints).
Interviewer: Yes, just one pattern has been observed. The patients are complaining that the
waiting time has gone up.
Candidate: Sure. Can I take 2 mins to write the possible reasons for it?
Interviewer: Sure.
Candidate: The waiting can go up due to the following reasons

1. Increase in the number of patients
a. External:
i. Changes in weather or other macro factors
ii. Deterioration of services by competitors
b. Internal:
i. Better services offered by the hospital
ii. Better marketing
2. Decrease in the number of doctors
a. Internal
i. Changes in policies/pay structure
ii. Reduction in recruitment
b. External
i. Poaching by competitors
ii. Other lucrative alternatives
3. Increase in the service time: it can happen at one or more of the three activities listed
below:
a. Registration desk and alignment
b. Service time by doctor
c. Billing desk
These can be the possible reasons for increase in waiting time. We can deep dive into the relevant
options depending upon the data available.
Interviewer: Good. Let me give you some information. On an average, 20 patients are registered
per hour. 8 doctors are available all the time who take around 15 mins/patient. What do you think
the problem is?
Candidate: Ok. So, the available slots for treatment for patients per hour are 60*8/15 = 32 and
patients arriving are 20. Average utilization of doctors is 20/32 = 62.5%, which is a good number.
But this is average utilization which can be a misleading number. The actual utilization might vary
during peak and non-peak hours.
Interviewer: Perfect. The utilization of doctors during peak hours (8-9 AM and 6-8 PM) is 150-
200% and during non-peak hours, it falls below 50%. What measures can we take to avoid under-
utilization and over utilization of doctors?
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Candidate: Possible measures could be:
1. Increase supply of doctors during peak hours:
a. Appoint contract/guest doctors. This is a usual practice in some hospitals
2. Decrease demand of doctors during peak hours
a. Discounts in consultancy fees during non-peak hours
Interviewer: Great! Good Luck Preksha!
CASE 10
Candidate: Priyanka Bagai

Case: Disinvestment
Jain Sinha, an Ex-Mckinsey partner is the MoS Finance and has a 5000 crore disinvestment budget.
Prioritise and achieve this target. (This was a telephonic interview, the first 2-5 minutes were about
general courtesy and them apologising for the delay. it was supposed to be on VC, but technical
glitches, etc. occurred.)
Interviewer: You are aware what disinvestment means right?

Candidate: Yes, from what I understand Disinvestment is the sale of government’s stake in a
Public sector (PSU) undertaking for cash. Government ownership in the PSU goes down and the
intent is to raise funds for fiscal expenditure.
Interviewer: That is correct. And the funds raised go to the Union budget.
Candidate: Well, seeing this as a budgeting exercise I believe it’s important to focus on both- the
sources of revenue and the application of funds.
Coming to the source of funds, we would need to determine
(1) Which and how many units to disinvest
(2) How would the process be conducted - would it be public or private disinvestment
(The interviewer cut me here and asked)
Interviewer: How would you decide what units to disinvest from.

(I initially started by mentioning 1-2 factors, then realising that there were going to be multiple
dimensions I could cover, I asked the interviewer for a minute to structure and prioritise them.)
Candidate: There are a number of factors to be considered.
First and foremost the performance/Profitability of the unit. There is an opportunity cost
involved here, if I sell a high-performing unit I forego a continuous source of income in lieu of a
higher lumpsum amount I can receive now. On the other hand, a low performing unit, which is a
burden on public funds, will raise lesser funds.
Then we might want to look at

(2) the assets of the PSU (Tangibles vs Intangibles-IP, etc)
(3) the people (briefly explaining about the impact on employment of the workforce, the
severance costs, etc)
(I had written the following factors on my sheet but somewhere in the middle the interviewer had
interrupted me, writing these down for your reference)
(4) Industry the PSU belonged to

(5) Demand (what % of it is contributed to by the PSU)
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(6) Regulation
(7) People/Political Opposition
(8) Cost incurred
(I believe it was after the 4th point, because there was something specific the interviewer was
looking for, and I realised later it was mentioned low on my list)
Interviewer: There is this one specific and important factor I'm looking for, think about the recent
cases, in Bengal- why have such initiatives been successful or otherwise.
The political opposition - that can be a make or break in such decisions- as unfortunate as the
case might be.
Okay, so once you have decided which unit to disinvest from, what are the caveats to be wary of?
Candidate:
(1) Employee Resistance
(2) Corruption in raising/deploying funds (motive behind sale)
(3) Controlling interest- who runs the show (caveat being loosing the reigns)
So the big Decision is to ascertain what % share is to be disinvested
Interviewer: Once you've got the funds, tell me one sector you would want to use it in?
Candidate: (thinking for 10 seconds) Education sector.
(There was no political/economic rationale behind this, education is one field I personally believe
in and I told the interviewer the same, further giving them justification on why and how.)
Interviewer: That’s it, thank you!
Key takeaways:
(1) Mckinsey does a lot of government projects and the socio-economic ecosystem it
operates in are key considerations
(2) Factors to be considered are sometimes beyond the conventional P&L items that
govern decision making in corporates. So it helps to bring out the nuanced factors first
CASE 11
Candidate: Priyanka Bagai

Case: Tyre Industry-Market Entry
(There is case on this industry, context being on how to enter the industry, which I recommend you
go through (from last year’s ICON Casebook, Gaurav Chauhan’s interview with Accenture). It's quite
comprehensive. My case, however, was quite different. It was a competitor analysis piece.)
Interviewer: Two tyre companies having different tyre purchase costs for different
technology/quality. Your competitor had a first mover advantage but this new technology
investment could help change that. How will you evaluate the investment?
Candidate: Maintenance costs were a key consideration- the frequency vs cost trade-off.
And initial costs of purchase vs recurring costs of maintenance and life.
Interviewer: How will you acquire new customers for this new technology tyres? Can this new
technology be leveraged to poach existing customers? Is the investment a feasible one?
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There were also two sales promotion Offers the company was trying to evaluate and I had to tell
which one would be better. Helps to know the nuances of the industry- what factors influence the
decisions of key stakeholders- for this industry, it is the truck drivers, and not the owners, who have
more say.
This was followed by another 10-minute interview.

Case: Market entry strategy into F&B industry by multiplex chain
(This was very brief- 10 minutes of which the first few minutes went into discussing about earlier
interviews. Then about interests, of which food was one. This case was asked to two other people as
well since it was an ongoing project and they were looking for fresh/innovative answers.)
Interviewer: You have to devise a food and beverage strategy for a client who is currently among
the top 50 multiplexes in India. He now wants to compete in the packaged branded foods
category- 1500 crore, 5 years, from scratch.
Candidate: Some decisions choices include:

(1) channel for sale: multiplexes (premium pricing but niche) vs retail (mass volumes
but intense competition from existing brands like ITC and Nestle.
(2) Analysis of existing food categories - i could think of Confectionary, Ready to eat,
Frozen Foods, carbonated Drinks, Health drinks. The intent here was to understand the
competitive landscape and identify avenues lucrative for a new player to enter.
My interview was stopped here.
CASE 12
Candidate: Utsav Giri

Case: Telecom Sector-Declining Profitability & Valuation of a celebrity
(I had a pretty long slot of interviews with McKinsey. I had three interviews in which I had to solve
four cases. At the outset I would like to say that in none of the interviews that I had could I reach a
conclusion that was satisfactory for the interviewer. However, in each of the interviews I learned
something about the case interviews that multiple case prep sessions didn’t teach me.)
(I went inside and after the initial pleasantries, the interviewer asked me why I was nervous. I told
him it was a big occasion for me. He asked me why. I gave him my reasons (mostly revolving around
how not getting into an IIT was a big regret for me and how badly I have wanted to prove myself
ever since). He then asked me about myself and I dictated my “About myself” monologue.)
Interviewer: The client is an Indian telecom major. Over the past 5 years, our client has been
experiencing a decline in profitability even though its market share has been increasing. What
information do we require from the client in order to solve this problem from him?
Candidate: How I approached the case: I made a typical revenue and costs issue tree and tried
to find possible reasons for the decline in profitability. Then I started suggesting what could be
the possible problem for the client and how it could be solved.
The mistakes I made:
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 The question was what information is required from the client. This is like the typical first
stage of the client engagement where data is required from the client. I was not expected
to hypothesize possible solutions at this stage. I was just supposed to come up with a list
of data sources.
 I didn’t suggest competitor benchmarking as a possible method to analyse the problem.
 I thought this was similar to a telecom case that I had solved and I tried to solve it that
way. I didn’t realize that this was a completely different thing- unlike all the cases that I
had prepped for I was not expected to solve this case at all.
The interviewer asked another case in the same interview.
Interviewer: The interviewer asked me what I do in my free time. I said that I watch TV Series. He
asked me what my favourite TV series was. I said Sherlock. Then the interviewer asked me to
determine the valuation of Benedict Cumberbatch
Candidate:
How I approached the case: This case stumped me as it was completely new for me. I divided his
valuation into two parts- current assets and present value of future projects. Current assets were
easy to value. Future projects was where I got stuck and could not proceed further.
The mistakes I made:

 Didn’t think of competitor benchmarking as a possible solution. To evaluate any actor’s
future valuation, we are supposed to compare him with another actor of similar calibre
and assume that both their careers will follow a similar trajectory.
Key Takeaways:
 Always take an outside-in approach- Think of the competitors first and then go to internal
processes.
 Never assume that a given case is similar to a case you have practised- the interviewer
will ensure that he gives a case that will stump you.
CASE 13

Case: Pharma Sector-Declining Revenues
(The interviewer introduced himself. He then asked me about myself and I dictated my “About
myself” monologue.)
Interviewer: The client is a national-level pharmaceutical retailer. Over the past two years the
client has been experiencing a decline in its revenues whereas its competitors’ revenues are
increasing. What could be the possible reasons for this?
Candidate:
How I approached the case: I broke down the revenues to a store level including factors such as
price of drugs, availability of drugs, customer footfall etc. Then I started listing down possible
reasons that could impact each of these factors. I also considered competitive benchmarking this
time. For every reason that I listed down, the interviewer said that this could not be a possible
reason. After a point I could not proceed any further.
Key Takeaways: One important difference in this interview was that the interviewer turned the
concept of “solving the case along with the interviewer” on its head. When we do case prep we
are asked to think loudly and verify any assumptions/ hypothesis/ conclusion with the
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interviewer. In this case, when I was asking the interviewer if this assumption is correct, he was
saying “I don’t know, you say.
You are the consultant. I am paying you money to give me answers not ask question.” In other
words, he was acting like a typical client. This situation can get quite stressful. It’s important not
to get flustered in such a situation. More importantly, expect the unexpected.
CASE 14

Case: Market entry strategy in F&B Sector by multiplex chain
(This was the final interview. The interviewer was a McKinsey Director so it was a make or break
kind of interview. The interviewer asked me about myself and I dictated my “About myself”
monologue.)
Interviewer: The client is a national level multiplex chain. The client has decided to diversify into
the FMCG sector. What products should the client start manufacturing?
Candidate:
How I approached the case: Since none of my prep cases were helping me, I decided to approach
this case in a little unorthodox manner. My tree in this case divided the FMCG sector into all its
different products (This was more of a brute force kind of approach). I then listed down factors
that could be used to select the suitable FMCG products – synergies with existing products,
distribution channels envisaged (internal at multiplexes or externa through grocery stores) and
competition. The interviewer asked me to focus on competition. Ultimately, with the help of the
interviewer we were able to narrow down to energy drinks as a possible market product.
Key Takeaways:
 Never be afraid to ask the interviewer questions. Unlike the previous interview, in this
interview the interviewer was willing to help out. The final answer of the energy drinks
was given by the interviewer himself.
 If it’s a completely new problem don’t be afraid to apply brute force. It’s not necessary to
have an efficient solution to the problem at hand. It’s more important to have a solution.
 Always structure the problem, even if you apply brute force. Always think of ways of
pruning the tree, i.e., reducing the number of possible solutions.
Lessons Learnt Overall:

 The “About Me” monologue is very important. Use it not to tell anything about yourself
that is already there in the resume. Use it to tell the interviewer about your passions, your
hobbies and your extra-curricular activities. As an example, I started my monologue with
this line- “I am passionate about 3 things in life- quizzing, automobiles and fine arts…” and
then went on about these things.
 Structure the problem and write it down well on the A4 sheet. Try to make the tree as
neat as possible. Practice drawing trees and writing in a good handwriting. Your entire
problem solving approach should be understandable to anyone who reads that piece of
paper.
 Be prepared for a lengthy interview process if you desperately want to get into a
particular company
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CASE 15
Candidate: Koustav Dey

Case: Healthcare industry- Hospital facing increasing customer dissatisfaction
(Interviewer: Mandar Vaidya, Partner)
(General discussion in beginning, gave introduction. The overall case interview was more like a
discussion rather than a Q&A session. So I asked the interviewer for his inputs at various points.)
Interviewer: There is a hospital in Mumbai which is facing increasing customer dissatisfaction,

what could be the reasons behind this?
Candidate: (Started off well, asked relevant questions) What is location of hospital? Are the
complaints and dissatisfaction from out-patients or inpatients? Is there a particular segment of
patients facing the problems?
Interviewer: Customer dissatisfaction is with OPD patients
Candidate: (Asked some good questions) Since OPD is taking an appointment and consulting a
doctor, is the problem faced on certain specific days?
Interviewer: Yes, the issues are mostly on Mondays and Wednesdays
Candidate: What could be the reasons for there being complaints on these days? Could it be due
to the doctors present on these days?
Interviewer: Yes, there are specialist doctors who sit on these days. They are very busy and have
a large influx of patients.
Candidate: So the problems faced would be in terms of long waiting time and cancelled
appointments. Also since these are working days, people must be suffering from traffic in Mumbai
(Thought that case is over since problems have been identified.)
Interviewer: What could be the solution?
Candidate: Could we ask the doctors to change their schedule? Then we could distribute these
specialist doctors on other days of the week
Interviewer: Changing the doctors’ schedule will not be possible.
Candidate: Okay, please tell me what is the process for admission at this hospital?
Interviewer: Patients call up the customer service no. and book an appointment. Sometimes calls
are not picked up. Also sometimes appointments are not given correctly. Patients may take an
appointment and come to hospital but then have to return back due to no appointment available.
After this, patients arrive at the appointed time. Then they have to register at the registration
desk. There are typically long queues there.
Candidate: So we can increase capacity at the customer service department. We can have an app
through which patient can book appointments. Thus, patients can know well in advance whether
they have an appointment scheduled or not.
Interviewer: Where will you get this extra capacity from? How can we improve the overall service
levels?
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Candidate: (after discussion, took time here) Extra capacity can be sourced from nurses and staff
working in other departments/areas who were underutilised. Can have staff rotation and
multiple shifts of staff. Design staff incentives such that they are rewarded for this.
(Hardly 15 minutes had passed when interviewer asks to summarize the case.)
Candidate: Summarizes case.
Interviewer: How do you think the interview went?

Candidate: I think it started off well however towards the end I could have done it better.
Interviewer: Don’t worry you did fine for the amount of time available.
(We usually practice long interviews which last around 30-40 minutes. However, this one as well as
the others were short interviews which ended abruptly. So do practice cases which are of a shorter
span of time.)
CASE 16

Case: Guesstimate- Market sizing for new product
(Initially asked HR Questions. What drove you at IIT Kanpur? How would your friends describe you?
Lasted for 10 minutes)
Interviewer: US based company has launched an automatic insulin injector. This is a new product
with an innovative technology. Traditionally you have to go to a hospital to get yourself injected.
What would be the market size of this product?
Candidate: Do you want me to estimate the market size of people who suffer from diabetes and
would need insulin injections or the market size of this specific product only?
Interviewer: Good question. Please estimate the market size of this specific product only.
Candidate: Can this be sold over the counter, without a prescription, at any store? Or can it be
sold only in medical stores, with prescriptions?
Interviewer: Initially sold only with prescription.
Candidate: (Took India’s population. Assumed family size to be of 4. Found the total no. of families.
Divided this into urban and rural areas. Then did segmentation by income by dividing the no. of
urban and rural families into income brackets. I did not take low income families in consideration
due to lack of affordability for the product. I took that in urban areas there would be x no. of diabetic
patients per family while in rural areas there would by y no. of diabetic patients per family. X would
be greater than y as in rural areas many diabetes cases are not diagnosed. Using the assumptions
made calculations to arrive at the answer. Made some calculation mistake and got an answer in
billions)
Interviewer: It’s okay, now tell me what should the price of the product be?
Candidate: What is the competitive landscape? What all competitors are there?
Interviewer: There are two major Indian competitors but our product is better than them. (Gave
details of the two products). Tell me the rationale behind pricing the client’s product.
Candidate: Sir could you tell me about the manufacturing costs? Are they significant?
Interviewer: The manufacturing costs are very low so don’t use base your price on the costs.
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Candidate: Okay, our product is much better than competitors, but functionally it is comparable
to the third product that you mentioned. Since we are entering the market, our prices should be
less than the comparable product so as to achieve market penetration. We can increase it
gradually after we have gained market share. So it should have a market price of $10.
(The reasoning behind this was as follows:

Our product could be used for around 20 insulin injections. Competitor’s product could be used for
around 5 insulin injections and had a market price of $3. This was given by the interviewer.
So based on this I said that it should be prices at $10 instead of $12 even though it has 4 times greater
usage. When people get to know about the exact utility of the product we can raise the price.)
Key Takeaways: I felt that that the interview was okay since I made a silly calculation mistake
which should not have been done. The best part of the interview was the initial 10 minutes talk
which I gave my introduction and talked to the interviewer. So the key takeaway is to have a good
conversation with the interviewer. The initial part of the interview was about my life goals, how
friends described me, the best feeling in life etc. Also whenever you are doing guesstimates or a
numeric case, always pause in between and verify the numbers. Try to ask the interviewer if you
are going in the right direction or not. Do not forget this while under interview pressure.
Case 17

Case: Market entry of Flipkart into Financial Services
(Interviewer: Sameer Shetty, Principal in the Financial Services vertical)
Interviewer: I have to take a decision in the next 5 minutes whether to take you or not. So we will
go through a very short case. So tell me if Flipkart or some company like it wants to go into
financial services what recommendation will you give it?
Candidate: What do you mean by financial services?
Interviewer: (Sort of misled me.) What are the products you use in the financial services space,
think about them.
Candidate: So when I think of financial services I think of a bank, I think of a credit card, deposits
etc. So maybe it can go into the payment gateway business. It can even get payments bank licence
from RBI and accept deposits from customers.
Interviewer: Very good question, but farfetched. Think of something else.
Candidate: (Thinking along the same lines as before.) Sir I don’t understand how Flipkart can
become a full-fledged bank or a credit card company. What do you say?
Interviewer: Think harder. This is not the only kind of things in financial services industry. You
have financial products also like loans, insurance etc.
Candidate: (Should have thought of this.) Sorry, I was thinking about banks only. But even in this
case how can Flipkart give loans without becoming a bank?
Interviewer: It can extend loans to its suppliers that is the merchants which transact on Flipkart.
Thus by giving loans to small sellers it can increase its suppliers base.
Candidate: Okay, also since Flipkart does not have any core competency in selling insurance or
loans or other financial products like say LIC has in giving insurance. It should, instead of
specializing, become an aggregator of financial products. This will be something on the lines of
policybazar.com but much wider in scope. Thus it can give people good deals on buying financial
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products. People can search for the products they want. On choosing the product they get
redirected to the site of the seller of the financial product.
Interviewer: Welcome to McKinsey, you are hired.
Key takeaways: You have to manage to do well under pressure. You should have the ability to
think on your feet. Give examples like those of payment banks and policybazaar.com given in the
interview. Take help from and discuss the case with the interviewer. Think of it as a team project,
don’t think of it as only a Q&A session.
ROLAND BERGER
CASE 1
Candidate: Smriti Priya

Case: Cost Reduction
(I was around 6th or 7th to be interviewed. There were 2 rounds of interview. Round 1 was technical
and Round 2 was Org fit + Aptitude. Both lasted around 20 mins.)
There were 3 panels on 2 people in each panel. My first round interview was with a panel of 1 male
and 1 female interviewer.
Interviewer 1: Give us a short introduction of yours.

Candidate: I am Smriti from Muzaffarpur district of Bihar. I had my under graduation from NIT
Allahabad and then worked as an Assistant Manager in NTPC for 3 years.
Interviewer 2: Do you think you are intelligent?

Candidate: Yes I believe so
Interviewer 2: Okay I am giving you a small case to solve. It is an easy one but will depend on you
if you find it so. There is an electricity producing company which wants to reduce it’s per unit
electricity cost significantly. Can you suggest some ways in which it can do so?
Candidate: We can arrive at the solution in different ways. The electricity charges we pay
comprises of a significant component for amortization of fixed cost and the rest is variable
component for variable costs such as operating and fuel costs plus desired margin.
I will start with different cost inputs which go into the final electricity charges. 1 st and foremost
factor is the set of fixed costs which incur before an electricity generating unit starts producing
electricity. Since huge fixed costs are involved in various processes starting from acquisition of
land to erection/construction and procurement of heavy-duty machines, a memorandum of
understanding is signed between State Government and the utility company. As per this the State
Government agrees to pay pro-rata based fixed cost over certain number of years. If a utility major
is able to get land at reasonable cost and finalize good contract deals for say for Steam Generator,
Turbo Generator, Cooling Towers, etc. and do reasonable cost saving without compromising on
quality, it can reduce the fixed cost component of cost. Besides these contract deals, how
efficiently and effectively the project execution team manages different construction and erection
activities in project phase also decides how fast a plant will be set up and hence plays an
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important role in deciding the fixed cost. Since I was working in project execution I can tell you
that this is also a deciding factor.
The variable cost components are mostly cost of coal, water and operating cost. Cost of coal is a
major component and transportation cost is a big addition to that. If a plant is close to coal mines,
its variable cost reduces significantly. An electricity major can also go for captive mines or
alternatively strike good long-term deals for procurement of coal at reasonable prices. Percentage
of time a plant is operational of reduced no. of shutdowns i.e. operational efficiency also has a
significant role to play in deciding the cost.
Further grilling on intricacies on production of power, engagements with vendors, contracts &
procurement and operational aspects of power plant which were very subjective to my profile
and resume.
Interviewer 2: That will be enough (impressed).
Interviewer 1: What is your favorite subject here?

Candidate: Financial Accounting
Interviewer 1: Tell me the formula for Return on Capital Employed

Candidate: Net operating profit / (Total assets – current liabilities)
Interviewer 1: What is quick ratio?

Candidate: (Current assets – inventory on hand)/ Current liabilities
Interviewer 2: What improvements do you expect from your 2 years at IIM Bangalore?
Candidate: I would want to emerge as a more confident individual at the end of 2 years
Interviewer 1: That will be all. Thanks a lot.
I waited for few minutes outside and was called for Round-2. Round-2 panel consisted of India
Partner of RB and the HR Manager. Partner was sitting in the balcony and he invited me there. Most
of the questions were asked by him only. So I would refer to him as ‘Interviewer’ here.
Interviewer: (After glancing through my resume.) You have scored high all your life, did you study
all the time?
Candidate: No I had many other hobbies too (spoke a bit about them)
Interviewer: If you want to change something about the placement process, what would you
recommend?
Candidate: I would probably make the process more staggered i.e. extend over more no. of days.
Interviewer: Describe yourself in 3 words to give me a reason to hire you.

Candidate: I am smart, intelligent and diligent.
Interviewer: You switched on the light of a room but it didn’t light up. Give me 10 reasons for that.
Candidate: May be the filament is damaged or there is city blackout or the mains is switched off
or the light is so bleak that I am unable to observe or I just entered from bright sunlight therefore
find it dark……(gave 8 such reasons). I cannot think more
Interviewer: How many other shortlists you have for the day?
(There were 2-3 more HR questions before the interview was concluded)
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STRATEGY&
CASE 1
Candidate: Khizar Sheriff M

Case: Market Sizing
(The candidate got a sneak peek into the interview room. Waiting at the desk was the Director at
the firm – about whom the candidate had done his research. He knew the case would most likely be
from the Consumer & Retail Industry.)
Interviewer: Hi. Is this the first interview for you?

Candidate: Yes, sir.
Interviewer: Great. Let’s get started. Our client is a Japanese beverage manufacturing company
with global presence. They manufacture & sell jam/marmalade. They want to explore the idea of
sourcing ingredients from India. What do you want to know?
Candidate: What are the ingredients of the marmalade?
Interviewer: Gave a rough break-up of the ingredients

Candidate: Is there any particular ingredient they want to source from India?
Interviewer: Yes - Orange oil extract.

Candidate: Where are they currently sourcing it from, and why not from there?
Interviewer: Good question. They are currently sourcing from Mexico. There is a widespread
agricultural disease which has affected the quality of oranges, and there are other issues like the
drug mafia.
Candidate: Okay. What is the yearly requirement of the marmalade?
Interviewer: 2 million tonnes of marmalade.

Candidate: And what is the percentage of orange oil extract in volume terms?
Interviewer: 5%
Candidate: So that’s 100,000 tonnes of orange oil extract to be sourced from India.
Interviewer: Right.
Candidate: What is the yield? (Had to rephrase for easier understanding – how many oranges per
unit of orange extract?)
Interviewer: 1 tonne of orange will give you around 4 kgs of oil.

Candidate: (Did some calculations: (100,000,000 X 1,000 / 4). Arrived at 25 million tonnes of orange
as the requirement.)
Interviewer: Alright, let’s stop here. Do you have any questions for me?
Candidate: Yes. (The candidate had read an article that the interviewer had authored – asked a
couple of questions based on that. The interviewer appreciated it.)
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Key takeaways:
1. Do your research diligently about the top people at the firm
2. Sometimes there need not be a set framework to apply. Just ask the right questions, sequentially
3. Calculations can be slightly tricky during the D-day. Don’t mess up in conversions - tonnes to
kgs & millions to thousands etc.
CASE 2
Candidate: Khizar Sheriff M

Case: Guesstimate
(This was with a Partner at the firm. It was a 40 minute interview, divided into 3 parts.)
Part 1 : A 15-20 minute Q&A session solely about candidate’s work experience at TVS Motors.
Questions from specific projects - how I went about doing them, etc. The candidate was able to
answer all the questions here.
Part 2 :
Interviewer: Here’s a ball point pen. Tell me how many days it will serve you before the next refill.
Candidate: Sure. (Paraphrased the question just to be doubly sure.)
Interviewer: Yes. Tell me when you will come to me for a refill.

Candidate: I’m going to take a week in my life as an IIMB student.
I knew there were two parts to the solution –

1) The rate at which ink is consumed
2) Total no. of pages consumed by an IIMB student in a certain time period.
I attacked the 2nd part of the problem first.

Made some assumptions, and came up with the following table:
Days in a Class Notes Home Prep Notes
week Total Pages Total Total Pages Total
no. of consumed no. of no. of consumed no. of
hours per hour pages hours per hour pages
Monday 3 2 6 1 1 1
Tuesday 3 2 6 1 1 1
Wednesday 3 2 6 1 1 1
Thursday 3 2 6 1 1 1
Friday 3 2 6 1 1 1
Saturday 0 2 0 3 1 3
Sunday 0 2 0 3 1 3
Total / week 30 11
Total pages consumer per week = 30 + 11 = 41

The candidate took the partner through the assumptions in the table. He was ok with it.
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Now, for the 1st part of the problem. Take a scale and measure length of ink in refill. Assume it is
15cm (150mm). Write an entire page and check the reduction in length. Assume it is 3mm. We’ve
arrived at an equation i.e. 1 page consumes 3mm. Therefore,
No. of pages before refill runs dry = Length of ink in refill / Consumption per page (150/3 = 50
pages)
So, if you give me the pen on Monday, I will come back to you the next Monday night for a refill.
Interviewer: Great. Sounds alright.

Candidate: Do you want me to further refine it by including the impact of quizzes, exams and other
miscellaneous purposes?
Interviewer: No, this is good. We will stop the case here.
Part 3: 10 minute discussion on Auto Industry
Key takeaways:
1. Identify the variables in an equation quickly. Arrive at the variables by presenting it legibly. (No
matter how simple the case might seem)
2. If you have work experience, know all the points in the resume very well - to the point you can
defend it to nth level.
3. Be up to date with your industry of experience.
CASE 3
Candidate: Kottana Naveen Kumar

Case: Guesstimate (Abridged version)
Interviewer: Shall we get started?

Candidate: Yes, Sir.
Interviewer: Describe three aspects from your resume that I should remember. You have 30
seconds
Candidate:
1) The patents that I filed & the self-initiated projects that I did demonstrates my motivation to
do something new.
2) The National and International competitions that I won in technology domain indicates the
expertise that I built in my area of interest.
3) The multiple musical instruments that I learnt within span of two years, indicates my focused
approach and self-learning abilities.
Interviewer: Good, let’s quickly do a guesstimate. Estimate the current users of fountain pen in
IIM Bangalore.
Candidate: (Repeated the statement for cross checking) Can I have 30 seconds to structure my
thoughts sir?

Candidate: (Thought about the methodology as given below and asked for his approval to proceed
further)
Method:
1) Categorize people as per their profession
2) Drill down to second level of categorization
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3) Quantify strength of each category
4) Come up with individual characteristics of each category from which a probability proxy
can be assumed.
5) Compute the overall number using both strength and probability.
Can I go ahead, sir?
Interviewer: Seems fine. Please go ahead.
Candidate:
Classified all the people staying at IIMB and quantified with available information and reasonable
estimations. Examples: 800 PGP students, 200 faculty members, 100 faculty families (remaining stay
outside or visiting) etc.
Students Teaching staff Non-teaching staff Faculty families Recruiters
PGP Senior faculty High level admin Age > 50

positions
EPGP Mid-level Mid-level admin Age 20-30

positions
Others Associates Workers Age < 20
(Try to be exhaustive and ensure mutual exclusivity across categories)
Interviewer: You can neglect faculty families and recruiters.

Candidate: Sure, sir. Now I will try to assign probability of fountain pen usage in each sub
category. Broadly we can assume that the probability of using fountain pen is a function of
1) Personal habits- Someone who is into literature will have more chances of using fountain pen.
2) Position -A senior faculty who is also a board member of various companies will have high
probability to maintain such pens. On the other hand, non-teaching staff and someone not in
administrative positions will have very low probability.
(Wanted to go further, but the interviewer stopped).
Interviewer: Ok, got the approach. Tell me if you want to find out how many students are inclined
towards literature, how will you arrive at that number?
Candidate: (Took a while to think) On campus, there are different clubs and students join these
clubs according to their interest. We can take the relevant club membership number as a proxy
to represent such people and a small fraction of them might be using such pens
Interviewer: Yeah, that can used. But, don’t you think you are missing a platform where you can
get data for few sub categories like students & Professors?
Candidate: (Thought for a while) I think class room is one place where I meet both professors and
students. But, I am not able to come up with what kind of data we can get there.
Interviewer: Have you observed any student or professor using a fountain pen in this due course
of 2 terms?
Candidate: So sir, do you mean that direct observations like this can represent as a sample of that
sub category (population) and we can use that for extrapolation?
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Interviewer: Exactly. Anyway, enough of this. Do you follow news regularly?
Candidate: No sir, not after coming to IIM Bangalore.
Interviewer: (Started laughing.) Ok tell me “If you become the Prime Minister of India, what will
you do to promote business in this country”?
Candidate: To my knowledge, Indian tax system is complex and is not business friendly. If I
become the prime minister, I will try to implement GST bill as early as possible.
Interviewer: Don’t you think Land bill is more important than GST bill? So many projects were
stalled because of this.
Candidate: Yes sir, that is true. This is also a major issue that has to be resolved.
Interviewer: Thank you Naveen. Please wait outside. We will let you know about the second
round.
Candidate: Sure. Thank you.
Key takeaways:
When you get such vague guesstimates, don’t panic. They might be just checking whether you can
structure the problem or not, whether you can think of decent data proxies for arriving at a
number or not etc.
CASE 4
Candidate: Kottana Naveen Kumar

Interviewer: Quickly tell me why your intermediate score is just 93%. I saw several people from
Andhra scoring above 96%.
Candidate: I took a two month break just before board exams due to health reasons. And also,
those were transition years for me. Before that I used to study in Telugu medium that too in a
local government school. But, I agree that I could have done better.
Interviewer: Is that a chronical health issue?

Candidate: No sir, it was severe jaundice which took me down.
Interviewer: Oh, okay. You seem to have decent work-ex in steel industry. Let’s do a case on steel
industry itself. You met Mr. Kaushik Basu, CFO Tata Steel Limited (TSL), in a conference. He said
that he is observing significant decline in TSL’s profits and asked you to analyse about the same.
How you want to go about this?
Candidate: Can I take 30 seconds to structure my thoughts?
Interviewer: Sure.
Candidate: Can you please tell me how the other steel companies are doing?
Interviewer: They are doing fine. Only TSL is suffering.
Candidate: Okay. So, it is not an industry problem but a company specific problem.
Interviewer: Yes, absolutely.
Candidate: Were the profits declining over a period of time or it was just a one-time decline?
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Interviewer: They were dropping for the last 4 years.
Candidate: Okay. So, can I conclude that it is some kind of chronical issue specific to Tata Steel?
Interviewer: Yes.
Candidate: Okay. I would like to start analysing the profit equation of Tata Steel.
Interviewer: Do you want to consider entire Tata Steel or you want to narrow down further at
this stage?
Candidate: (Stuck for a while.) Sir, I think we can narrow down by geography. Is there any specific
geography which is not performing well?
Interviewer: Tell me what all geographies Tata Steel is operating.

Candidate: India, Europe, South East Asia. If I can use the factual information, it is very well known
that Europe division of Tata Steel is not doing well. (Then there was a discussion on a few things
about Tata-Corus deal. The case went slightly off track but it was an interesting discussion.)
Interviewer: Okay. Come back to the profit equation. Let’s analyse profit equation for Europe
division.
Candidate: Sure. (Explained the standard Profit equation also given below)
Profit = Revenue – Cost
Revenue = Market Size * Market Share * Price
Cost = Raw Material + Labour + Inventory + Transportation + Maintenance + Finance +
Marketing + Others
Since we have already established that the problem is specific to Tata Steel, I won’t be analysing
Market size and prices. Is that fine? (Prices can be firm specific. But in Steel industry, that too in
Europe, there won’t be much difference in prices across firms. So, for other industries, you can’t
assume price to be industry specific)
Interviewer: Yes, seems like a valid assumption. Go ahead.

Candidate: Was there any gradual decline in market share of Tata Steel Europe division?
Interviewer: No.
Candidate: Okay. From the above analysis it is safe to conclude that revenues are not the problem
for the firm. So, I would like start analysing the cost side of the equation. Is that fine?
Interviewer: Sure. Go ahead
Candidate: Started with each cost head. Was there any increase in raw material costs?
Interviewer: You tell me. What is happening outside?
Candidate: Global Iron ore prices are dropping. Coal is kind of stable. (Discussed a while about
global scenario of steel industry, china role etc. Again the case went slightly off track but we came
back quickly.)
So, raw materials are not a problem as per actual scenario. Can I assume the same for this case?
(Never mix your outside knowledge with case until unless they allow you to do so. Because most of
the time they want to check your structure, approach and comprehensiveness rather than what you
already know)
Interviewer: Yes. Anyway, I don’t think we have much time left. Just analyse the maintenance cost
head.
Candidate: Okay. So, I am assuming that the maintenance costs are going up over a period of time
and leading to decrease in profits. Is that correct?
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Interviewer: Yes. How can you measure the performance of maintenance department?
Candidate: % machine utilization, recovery time, Spares inventory turnover ratio are some the
metrics which can be used.
Interviewer: Do you know what MTBF means?

Candidates: Yes, Mean Time Between Failures. This can also be a good metric to measure
maintenance performance.
Interviewer: Assume that MTBF is going up. Come up with possible recommendations.
Candidate: Sure. Please give me a minute to think.
Interviewer: Sure.
Candidate:
1) For immediate action, analyse all the failures, apply Pareto rule (80-20) and identify the major
contributors. Form cross functional teams and assign these problems/failures as DMAIC or
DMADIC projects.
2) For long term, study the maintenance philosophy that the firm adopted (Predictive/
Preventive/ Proactive) and assess what modifications are needed.
Interviewer: Thank you very much Naveen. It was a nice conversation. Do you have any questions
for us?
Candidate: No, I don’t have any questions. Thank you very much.
Key takeaways: Be prepared about the industry/company that you worked for. Make the
interview more like a conversation. If you stuck somewhere, don’t panic. They will help you out.
All the best!
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ALL THE BEST FOR YOU PREPARATIONS
-Team ICON
112
APPENDIX
order)
Name Company
Duration
(months)
Awards/
Gaurav Accenture Mechanica IIT Philips,
60 Work Ex Extra
Chauhan Strategy l Eng. Guwahati Think3
currics
Int’l
Shrirang Accenture Mechanica Acads &
RVCE RIL 11 internshi
Chilapur Strategy l Eng. PoRs
p
Coimbatore Well
Harini Rao AT Kearney IT EMC 30 Acads
Inst. of Tech rounded
Electronics ZS Extra-
Rushil Kaul AT Kearney NSIT Delhi 20 Work Ex
& Comm Associates curricular
Kapil Bain &
Civil Eng. IIT Kanpur SOM LLP 34 Work Ex Awards
Mathur Company
Bain & Credit
Nidhi Rai Civil Eng. NITK 36 Work Ex PoRs
Company Suisse
Ankur Chemical Opera
BCG IIT Kanpur 9 Acads Work Ex
Agrawal Eng. Solutions
Diamond
Kshitij Chemical Extra-
BCG IIT Delhi Consultin 22 Acads
Chaudhary Eng. Curricular
g
Vishwas ZS Dept
BCG Civil Eng. IIT Kanpur 22 Publication
Sharma Associates Rank 1
Meenakshi Biomedical NIT Sony India Dept
GEP 35 -
Singh Eng. Rourkela software Rank 1
McKinsey & Extra-
Issac Jojy Civil Eng. IIT Madras ITC 36 Work Ex
Company Curricular
Ishita McKinsey & BA (Econ.&
St. Xavier’s - - Acads -
Kayastha Company Stats)
Irunway,
Karthik McKinsey & Electrical
IIT Madras Teeyenaar 56 Acads PoRs
Krishna Company Eng.
Foods
Mohit McKinsey & Mechanica Social start-
IIT Delhi Citigroup 36 Work Ex
Aggarwal Company l Eng. up
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Swapnika McKinsey & Engineerin ZS
IIT BHU 12 Awards PoRs
Nag Company g Physics Associates
Sabre
Sumedh Mechanica
Roland Berger IIT Madras Airline 40 Work Ex Publication
Vidwans l
Sol.
Utkarsh Mechanica IIT Caterpilla
Strategy& 22 Acads Work Ex
Rustogi l Kharagpur r
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ACCENTURE STRATEGY
Gaurav Chauhan
Interviewer: Hi. How are you?
Candidate: Good morning, sir. I am fine. How are you?
*pleasantries*
Interviewer: So, please tell me something about yourself?
*And I did*
Interviewer: Let’s talk about a case. So there is a tyre manufacturing company that wants to
know whether it should enter India? So how would go about consulting this client.
Candidate: Sure, sir. Before I begin, our client is an international tyre manufacturer and wants to
know if they should enter the Indian market. We need to formulate a plan for the same. Sir, do we
have a time frame in mind? Also, can you tell me a little bit more about our client and its objective
in entering Indian market?
Interviewer: You can assume it is a big manufacturer with the necessary wherewithal. They want
to be a big player in India in the next 5 years.
Candidate: Sure, sir. I would begin by doing a market sizing to gauge market attractiveness.
Candidate: I am assuming, the client operates in personal automotive segment and hence I would
try to do market sizing for 4 wheelers in India. Is that a fair assumption?
Interviewer: Yes, that is fine.
Candidate: I will assume India’s population to be roughly 1000 million (eases calculation) which
translates to roughly 200 million families assuming a family size of 5. Now, I would break this
number equally among the 4 zones, North, West, East and South.
Interviewer: Do you think that is a fair assumption?
Candidate: Not really. Since, north and east have different population densities. Do you want me
to assume different numbers?
Interviewer: No, go ahead.
Candidate: So assuming roughly 50 million families per zone. Based on census, 30% of our
population lives under poverty line and hence can be excluded from this calculation. From the
remaining 70%, I would assume that 50% people would only be able to afford 2 wheelers which
leaves us with 20% which is roughly 10 million. Assuming, similar number for all zones, I would
assume 40 million cars pan India.
Interviewer: Don’t you think that is a little too much?
Candidate: Yes, sir. I still have to amortize purchase over the lifetime. So assuming a lifetime of
10 years since in India people keep cars longer, I would assume that 40 million / 10 = 4 million
new cars are purchased every year. This means a market size of 16 million tyres per annum. Is
there a specific market share we are looking at in 5 years?
Interviewer: Okay, so that’s our per annum requirement in India. You can assume any market
share that a dominant player would aim.
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Candidate: Assuming market competition and the time it take to grow business, I would assume
a market share of 2% in the first year when we start operations, which would linearly reach 20%
in the 5th year. This will make us one of the big players in India.
Interviewer: Okay. What other things would you consider in this analysis?
Candidate: I would also look at the capital requirement for the company – whether they are going
for Greenfield or taking over some plant. I would also look at tying up with car companies because
they are the ones who would be our main customers. For this, I would look at their current
contracts and timelines and look at offering them better deals.
Interviewer: And what else?
Candidate: I would also look at suppliers for raw material, rubber etc. And see if good deals can
be struck at the onset.
Interviewer: Any other things?
Candidate: I would also look at the regulatory aspect since transport and regulatory associations
are active in this area.
Interviewer: Good. I think we have covered decent ground.
Candidate: Thanks sir.
Some questions on resume, post which I was asked to go for the second round. This round was
about resume and personals and was taken by the HR head and Partner.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Shrirang Chilapur
Interview 1
(The interview was a market entry problem with real names of the players, so some industry
knowledge was essential. The interviewer was a consultant at the firm. It went on for 45 minutes)
The interview starts with pleasantries, the tension of day zero, etc.
Interviewer: Let’s start with the case. What do you know about the civil aviation industry in
India?
Candidate: The civil aviation industry in India is one of the largest in the world, probably the
third or fourth largest market. The modernisation of airports, the increase in business and
corporates, travel preferences moving towards air travel, and the advent of low cost carriers has
led to the boom of this industry.
Interviewer: Can you think of a couple of key business drivers in this industry?
Candidate: On top of my mind, hassle free booking of tickets, availability of tickets on all common
sites, providing good passenger experience, competitive rates, connectivity between cities,
adherence to schedule, etc.
Interviewer: You spoke about the advent of low cost carriers in India. Can you tell me how it has
changed the industry?
Candidate: Before 2000s, we had few players, like Deccan and Jet, and a couple of other local
carriers. Most of them were expensive to travel with, and flying was for the elite. After that,
players like Kingfisher, Indigo, SpiceJet have come in and are providing services at highly
competitive prices.
Interviewer: How do they do that?
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Candidate: As per my knowledge, these are the reasons:
 Ease of regulations have decreased costs to enter the market compared to pre 2000s
 Cost savings on frills – food is paid for separately, baggage costs separately, cramming up
more seats leading to lesser leg space, etc.
 Availability of aircraft renting options – many investment banks are getting into this. This
reduces capital investment needed. I think Kingfisher has mostly rented aircraft.
Interviewer: Does Kingfisher fall into the cost saving category?
Candidate: No. It falls under the premium category. They differentiate based on service provided,
and their prices are higher.
Interviewer: What categories of players are there in the market?
Candidate: Please allow me to think for a minute.
(Doodled with a price vs. service 2x2, that looked somewhat like this and explained the
positioning of each airline briefly)
Interviewer: Are you aware of the latest entrants in the airline industry?
Candidate: Yes. Tata’s Vistara and AirAsia are planning to enter (they were in induction phase at
that time)
Interviewer: Supposing the Tata group is your client. How would you advise them to enter the
market?
Candidate: (After thinking through for a minute’s time) I would like to analyse the Company, the
industry, the competitors in that segment and the customer segment it wants to target to start
with.
Interviewer: We have spoken about the industry. Please elaborate on the rest.
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Candidate: OK. Firstly, the Tata Group and Singapore Airlines bring together the best capabilities.
Here I knew some facts of the Tata group and how it has excelled in most of the businesses it has
ventured into, the synergies of the group companies and its inspiration to come in the aviation
industry. However, I did not know much about SIA, so I requested the interviewer to help me out,
which he did. I then elaborated on how the two companies could have synergies.
Interviewer: What strategy do you suggest to tackle competitors and gain customers?
Candidate: I have heard that Vistara wants to enter the premium segment. Is that true?
Interviewer: Yes.
Candidate: In that case, the only competitors are Jet and Air India (KF is no more a player). Shall
I go ahead?
Interviewer: Yes.
Candidate: Let us look at the services Jet offers and the customers it caters to. Jet charges higher
prices, but it offers a premium flying experience. It gives free meals, offers quicker check-in times,
has India’s best frequent flyer program called Jet-Privilege, and it has a very good footprint. It
attracts the business traveller and the wealthy traveller. People look at travelling in Jet as a special
experience (compared to the service of Indigo and SpiceJet).
So Vistara will be catering to almost the same customer segment. Hence, providing all of the above
will be just the first step in building the brand. (I then provided a few additional ideas the carrier
could offer, which the interviewer seemed to like)
Interviewer: I like your ideas. But do you think it will be enough? Tata has always been
associated with lower prices. How about reducing the prices to the level of Indigo/SpiceJet?
Candidate: I think lowering the prices will have the following effects:
 Financial burden on the firm, immediately after it launches. It is manageable as Tata has
deep pockets, but not sustainable in the long run
 Users may get confused with Tata’s offering (premium or not-premium)
 The price point in the minds of consumers will get set at that level for Vistara. So if they
increase it later, it may have a negative effect and reduce customers.
Interviewer: So what do you suggest?
Candidate: Start off with promotional offers so that the actual prices are visible and the
consumers know that it is discount and that the actual prices are similar to Jet and Air India. Sway
them with all-round excellent service. Give offers to fly again. (Add 2-3 more minutes of
suggestions)
Interviewer: Ok that was a great interview. As a personal opinion, do you think that Vistara will
do well?
Candidate: With the current price war and increasing fuel and airport costs, almost no player is
making profits, except probably jet. If anyone has the deep pockets to enter the industry, it is the
Tatas. Even then, I don’t see them making any profits for the first few years.
Interviewer: OK thank you.
(Interview 2 was with a Partner on the crude oil market; the case was on a public sector firm’s
future expansion strategy: expanding in India vs. expanding abroad. This was asked because of
my experience in the oil industry)
(Overall takeaways: Industry knowledge is very important, at least to an extent where you can
have a decent discussion. Prepare for this in groups. Especially know your relevant industries
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(the ones you have an undergraduate degree in, or worked in) like the back of your hand. Always
ask questions when you assume. Let the interviewer know if you don’t know a particular piece of
info, it’s not a crime. He will gladly provide the relevant information. Structuring your answer is
as important as the answer itself. It helps you get brownie points, especially if your answer is
slightly out of track)
____________________________________________________________________________
119
AT KEARNEY
Harini Rao
Interview I – Numbers Case
Caselet: A Hypermarket chain is planning to open a store in Bannerghatta. Estimate the expected
monthly sales in the first month.
(This is a quant based hypermarkets case. They were looking at the breadth of factors considered,
not the depth)
Candidate: First I would like to estimate the demand. This can be approached at by considering
the population of Bangalore , which is about 4.2 million people. We can now narrow this
population by splitting it in 3 ways: Area Split, Age Split, and Income Split. Should I continue with
this approach?
Interviewer: Yes, please go ahead.
Candidate: Considering the area split first, Bangalore can be divided into 10 major localities,
including Bannerghatta. Assuming an equal distribution of population among these 10 localities,
Bannerghatta will have 1/10th of the population, i.e. 0.42 million.
Now, assuming the same age split statistics apply to this region, as those of India, I would consider
the 18 to 60 years old population segment. This makes up about 50% of the population. I am not
considering people below the age of 18 years, because they either have no money, or don’t spend
it in hypermarkets. I am not considering people above 60 years, because they generally make
their purchases from nearby stores, instead of hypermarkets. Are these assumptions good to go
with?
Interviewer: Sure, we can work with these.
Candidate: Okay, so this leaves us with a population of 0.21 million. Now, using the income split,
40% of this population will be in the middle and higher income group, which should be the
relevant consumer base for a hypermarket. This brings it down to 84000 people. Dividing this
number by 4, we get the number of families (assuming 4 to be the average size of a family). Thus,
21000 families.
Now, assuming that a family spends about Rs.2000 – 3000 on groceries in a month.
Interviewer: Let’s work with Rs.2000.
Candidate: Sure. We should also consider that people buy only those groceries from a
hypermarket that can be stored at least over a week, for example, vegetables, pulses, sugar, etc.
They would typically not buy milk or bread from a hypermarket. Also, they purchase other
products like electronics.
(The interviewer concluded the analysis here)
Interviewer: Okay, that should give us a good estimate of the potential demand. What else would
you consider?
Candidate: We should look at the footfall to the store. Are there any other hypermarkets in the
area?
Interviewer: Yes, there is one another hypermarket. It is a comparable brand.
Candidate: Then we should divide the target group by 2. However, we could also consider that
during the first month, the new hypermarket would conduct several promotion activities. People
120
will be attracted by these activities and also by curiosity to check the new store. Thus, for the first
month, I would split the target group 60% to 40% between the new and the old hypermarkets
respectively.
Interviewer: Great job. That should sufficient to estimate the sales.
Interview II – Creative Game
Interviewer: I will give you a statement, a situation. You have to come up with a back story that
explains the situation. You can ask me 20 questions, to which I will only answer in a Yes or a No.
Statement: There is a naked man in the middle of the desert with a straw in his hand.
(I approached it by dividing the statement into 3 parts:
1. Why is the man naked?
2. Why is he in the middle of the desert?
3. Why does he have a straw in his hand?
I asked questions trying to solve the above parts step by step)
Candidate: Is he alone?
Interviewer: Yes
(I tried to then answer the question, why is alone?)
Candidate: Was he there with a group before?
Interviewer: Yes
Candidate: Was he left behind by force?
Interviewer: No
Candidate: Did he lose a bet?
Interviewer: No
(I realised this may be related to the straw)
Candidate: Is this piece of straw short?
Interviewer: Yes
Candidate: Were these people in some difficulty, where they picked straws, and the person with
the shortest straw stayed back?
Interviewer: Yes
Candidate: Did they have a mode of transportation, and did the rest of the group leave in the
same vehicle?
Interviewer: Yes
Candidate: Thus, N came and (N-1) left. Is that correct?
Interviewer: Yes
Candidate: Did the vehicle have a technical failure?
Interviewer: Yes, but this information might be misleading.
Candidate: Was there anything else around him? Like other people’s clothes?
Interview: Yes, but again this information could be misleading. You have solved 90% of the case.
What is your hypothesis of what must have happened?
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Candidate: There is a group of people who came in a car. The petrol tank must have started
leaking. So, they needed clothes to stuff the tank, to stop the leak. They must have picked straws
to decide whose clothes that would be. Probably, the weight of the passengers was also a factor,
so they had to leave the guy behind.
(Now I think the situation must have been this:
The problem wasn’t with the fuel tank, but may be a tire was losing air. They must have decided
to offload weight from the car. So they offload some weight every few kilometres. First, the
suitcases, then, the clothes that they were wearing. Then finally they picked straws to decide
which guy should be left behind.)
Interview III – Hypermarkets Case (not quant based)
Interviewer: The sales of a hypermarket have tanked. Could you think of the possible reasons?
(I thought this meant that the sales have decreased. However, this in fact meant that the sales
have stagnated.)
Candidate: Have the sales decreased only for us, or for others as well?
Interviewer: No, the sales have not gone down. They have stagnated.
Candidate: Have the sales stagnated only for us?
Interviewer: Yes.
Candidate: Have the sales stagnated only for this branch?
Interviewer: Yes.
Candidate: Have there been any major changes in the last one year that led to this?
Interviewer: No. Don’t think of the typical, obvious reasons. Can you think of something else?
Candidate: Have there been more competitors that have sprung around us?
Interviewer: Yes.
Candidate: Has the footfall stagnated, or have the purchases gone down?
Interviewer: The footfall hasn’t increased year on year.
(I concluded that this means that competitors are setting up in newer malls with high footfall)
Candidate: Is customer service a problem?
Interviewer: Yes.
Candidate: Is the industry as a whole losing out?
Interviewer: No.
Candidate: Is the variety of the stock a problem?
Interviewer: No.
Candidate: Is inventory planning a problem?
Interviewer: Yes, the store is experiencing frequent stock outs.
Candidate: Is parking a problem where the store is located?
Interviewer: Yes.
Candidate: Is promotions a problem? Is the store not promoting itself enough?
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Interviewer: No. Okay, these problem areas are well rounded. Thank you.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Rushil Kaul
Case 1: Your client is an Indian automobile manufacturer. They have recently doubled their
production capacity...but are not happy with their sales in the Indian market. Their market share
has fallen from 20% to 12% in the last few years and India is a stagnating market. Please suggest
what factors you would look at while expanding to overseas markets.
Approach: The problem statement was pretty long but the case was a simple market entry
analysis really.
Candidate: Our client is an Indian automobile manufacturer. Despite doubling their production
capacity, they are faced with stagnating sales and their market share has gone down by 8% (down
to just 12%). Now they want to expand to overseas markets and would like our help in analysing
which markets are attractive. Is there any other objective?
Interviewer: Nope that is the only objective.
Candidate: Alright. I just need a few clarifications regarding our client. What kind of automobiles
do they manufacture?
Interviewer: For the purpose of this case, only consider commercial 4-wheelers.
Candidate: Okay. And in the Indian market, are there any particular regions where they have a
very strong presence (North, South etc.)? I’m asking this to understand if expanding in India is
also an option for reviving sales.
Interviewer: They have a strong national presence. And no. I don’t want you to think of ways of
expanding in India. Just focus on expanding to foreign markets. What are some of the factors that
you will consider? Give me a generic approach first.
Candidate: Sure. Just give me a minute to structure my thoughts.
Interviewer: Of course. Take your time.
Candidate: (after about a minute). Alright to assess the attractiveness of any market, I would
want to look at 4 key things:
1) Understanding the Market: i) What is the size of the market?
ii) What is the growth like?
iii) Are there any trends?
2) Customer Analysis: i) Which segment am I going to target?
ii) What is my value proposition and what are the possible substitutes?
3) Competitor Analysis: i) The number and size of all competitors
4) Barriers to entry: Government Regulations, Suppliers, distributors, Capital required etc.
After that I’d also want to look at how I’m going to enter:
1) Whether I want to start from scratch
2) Acquire a smaller player
3) Have a Joint Venture
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Interviewer: Good. Now assume that we have market data available (population, number of
automobiles sold, trends in the automobile industry, regulations) for all the major countries in
the world. How will you go about identifying the right country to enter? Assume that the client
only wants to enter one market/country right now.
Candidate: (after thinking for 5-10 seconds): So the first thing I’d want to look at is the size of
the market. In the sense I would want to know whether the demand in the market is large enough
for us to enter. Can you tell me what our current production capacity is and how many cars are
we looking to sell overseas?
Interviewer: Assume that 2 million cars are sold in India every year. And that our initial
production capacity was 200,000 cars a year.
Candidate: Alright. Can I assume our market share will stay constant at 12%?
Interviewer: Yes we expect it to stay at that level in the foreseeable future.
Candidate: Okay. So that means 12% of 2 million. We should be able to sell some 240,000 cars
in India. Our production capacity is now double and stands at 400,000. Would it be fair then to
assume that we wish to sell around (400,000 – 240,000) = 160,000 overseas?
Interviewer: Yes. How will you proceed further?
Candidate: Since we’re an established player in India and have 12% market share, optimistically,
even if we capture 5% of a new market, we would have done extremely well. So I’d only look at
markets that are greater than 20 times 160,000 (automobiles sold per year).
Interviewer: 5% is a little too optimistic but I like the approach. Okay now assume only 5
markets are big enough. – U.S. UK, China, Japan and Australia. How will you decide now?
Candidate: We should look at our target segment of consumers? What kind of price range do we
want to play in. Also look at what competitors exist in that segment? (went into a bit of a
monologue here about how we should assess customer preferences in different markets)
Interviewer: Assume that we sell cars in a variety of price ranges and all markets are equally
competitive. Would you want to consider anything else?
Candidate: Okay I’d take a closer look at barriers to entry. What kind of government regulations
exist and what are my supplier options.
Interviewer: Okay the U.S. and Australia have left hand drive vehicles only and we don’t want to
modify our production lines to accommodate for that. In the U.K. , you have to set up your own
manufacturing facility is you want to sell cars. In China, there is no such restriction but you have
to procure 50% of the parts from local Chinese suppliers. In Japan it’s the same except you only
have to procure 20% of the parts from local Japanese suppliers.
Candidate: Hmm. I guess that rules out U.S. and Australia completely. I guess it doesn’t make too
much sense to set up a completely new manufacturing facility just now right after we just doubled
our capacity so that rules out U.K as well (interviewer nods). Procuring 50% parts from China
may just bring down our manufacturing costs (if we are fine with the quality) but it might upset
our relationships with suppliers in India. I guess with this information, Japan seems like the most
feasible target market right now.
Interviewer: Very good. That’s correct. Now just go through all your notes, take some time to
think and tell me if you had to solve the case again, would you change the order of the questions
you asked me to get to the answer.
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Candidate: Yes I would first begin with barriers to entry (especially government regulations
first). That’s the first and most important filter that should be applied I guess because it could
completely rule out some markets that are probably big enough or have the correct target
consumers but are just not feasible to enter because of regulations. So we won’t waste any time
analysing size and trends when it’ll eventually be pointless. Then I’d go with the order of
questioning that I followed.
Interviewer: Very good!

__________________________________________________________________________________
125
BAIN & COMPANY
Kapil Mathur
Interview 1 – A Numbers Case
Caselet: This case is about a tech startup in 2009. The target customer segment is the ageing
population in the developed world (US, UK, Australia etc.). Our client will provide tech support
for laptop users in these countries by setting up a call center in India. We will market our service
on the internet and the clients can call us on the toll free 1-800 number listed on our landing page.
We will help them to fix the issue with their laptops over the phone. How will you go about pricing
this service?
Candidate: [I asked a few questions about the company, its business model and value prop.,
existing competition etc. to understand the context for further analysis. Interviewer gave general
information about what kind of services Dell provides when you buy a laptop from them and for
how long. He also explained the kind of issues we can tackle over the phone – say someone
accidentally uninstalled a driver, we can help them fix it.
Then I listed down three ways to price the service – benchmarking with comptt., cost-based, and
value-based – and asked for relevant numbers].
Interviewer: I want you to focus on cost-based pricing. Here are the numbers, listen carefully.
 Search engine marketing will cost us $0.5/click each time someone clicks on our ad. that
shows up in search results.
 This click will take you to landing page which provides our toll-free number to call on.
 1/10 people who visit the page will call us.
 When someone calls us for the first time, we will follow a ‘serve to sell’ strategy, which
means that we will solve their current problem for free and then we will make a pitch to
them to buy our service. Each call of this kind will last 1 hour long on average and will
cost us $12/call (everything included). 1/10 first-time callers will subscribe to our
service.
 Once a caller subscribes to our service, he will call us 6 times a year on average. Each of
those calls will be around 1 hour long and will cost us $10/call to serve
Candidate: I quickly calculated the cost of serving one subscriber annually:
= [0.5*100 + 10*12 + 1*10*6] = $230/subscriber/yr. [The interviewer specifically asked me not
to write down any calculations and just do mental math]
How much margin do we want to keep on revenue/subscriber?
Interviewer: 20%
Candidate: Ok then we should charge $287.5/subscriber/yr for our service
Interviewer: Good. Now, say Dell sees us providing this service and has decided to soon (in a
year or so) enter the space and provide the exact same service at $225/subscriber/yr. To
compete with Dell, you’ll need to bring down your price to $200/subscriber/yr. How do you
stay profitable now?
Candidate: [Profit = Revenue – Cost]. I can start looking at cutting down my costs first.
Interviewer: Of course, assume you are barely able to meet your costs at this price. What else?
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Candidate: I’ll start looking at revenue then. [For a start, Revenue = price x vol. x variety. I started
jotting down several ideas, thinking out loud and rejecting them if they didn’t make sense.
Narrowed down to 2 ideas]. Variety brings to mind product mix. We should look at alternate
revenue streams i.e. cross-selling
Interviewer: Exactly. What would you cross sell?
Candidate: Anti-viruses, other software that enhance performance of laptops [gave several
examples.]
Interviewer: Cool, What else?
Candidate: Well, the other idea in my mind is that we should focus on renewal or repeat
customers – making them stick with us.
Interviewer: [Smiling] Why?
Candidate: Cost of serving them will be lower – no need for initial clicking cost or ‘serve to sell’.
In fact, the cost of serving renewed subscriber will be just $60/yr. [Then gave several ideas about
how we can make them stick with us and not move to Dell. Some more mental calculations on pricing
for renewed subscriber].
Interviewer: Great, can you summarize?
Candidate: [I did the same. The focus here was on mental math and ideation]
_________________________________________________________________________
Nidhi Rai
Case: PE Client – BPO Industry problem
Interviewer: Hello Nidhi. How are you doing today? First case interview of the day. Are you
nervous?
Candidate: I doing very well. A little nervous but I think that’s a good thing. How are you?
Interview: I am doing great. Very excited to be back on campus after almost a decade.(Continues
with a lot of small talk about himself). So tell me about yourself.
Candidate: (Give my rehearsed introduction.)
A little cross questioning about my hobbies is done.
Interview: OK. So let’s get started. I have a case for you. The problem statement is - A PE Client
wants to start a 2 week project based in the US. They are keen on investing in a BPO in Gurgaon
which is the 2nd largest player in its space (Commercial dealing and Finance). The general concern
is about the macro economic conditions in the country. They believe that man power is going to
be an issue wrt to quality and numbers. They believe that this is a risk. Evaluate the risk and
return.
Candidate: (I repeat the main points of the problem for clarity and ask for a minute to think over
the issue)
Candidate: Could you tell me a little more about the PE client?
Interviewer: Sure. The PE firm is a mid-sized firm. This is their first investment in India and for
the next 3-4 years they plan to turn their focus to the IT industry.
Candidate: Could you tell me a little more about the BPO they are looking to invest in?
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Interviewer: This is a diversified firm. They generally recruit graduates and have a thorough
training program.
Candidate: Thank You. Could you also tell me how the BPO Industry is doing in India.
Interviewer: So currently the industry requires 1 mn graduates annually. 20% is met by lateral
recruitments and the rest are fresh graduates.
Candidate: So I understand that if we can size the market of the fresh graduates and highlight the
risks that the PE client may have and allay their fears we will be able to convince the client to
invest in India.
Interviewer: Correct. So can you size the market for me?
Candidate: Sure. So I would like to work with sizing the fresh graduate market first. I would like
to assume that the total number of metro, tier 1, 2 and 3 cities in India is 25. I would like to take
the city of Bangalore because I am comfortable with it and to simplify it I will divide it into North,
South, East and West. From this I will pick South Bangalore.
Interviewer: That sounds good. Now how will you estimate the graduates?
Candidate: I would like to assume that there are 5 big colleges with a graduating batch of 500
each and 15 medium and small sized colleges with a graduating batch of 300 each in South
Bangalore. This gives me a total of 7000 fresh graduates in South Bangalore.
Interview: Alright. That sounds like a fair number. How will you proceed?
Candidate: Would it be safe for me to assume that of the big colleges only 20% would be
interested in a BPO college.
Interviewer: Yes.
Candidate: Ok. So that gives me 500 fresh graduates will to join the BPO. From the small and
medium, we can assume that 60% of the graduates are engineers, 20% of the graduates are
doctors and others make up the rest of the category. I would like to assume that 50% of the
engineers may be interested in joining, 20% of the medical students might be interested and the
BPO recruiting team will be interested in only the top 20% of the other colleges. This gives me a
number of 3000 people in South Bangalore. This would give me a total number of 3,00,000
graduates available for recruiting by the BPOs.
Interviewer: Ok. That sounds right. Now can you tell me what we can tell the client?
Candidate: So with 3,00,000 fresh graduates available, we can safely assume that the crème de
la crème will be interested in joining the top BPOs. Since our client is interested in the 2nd largest
player in the market, they should not face any issues with regard to the quality and headcount of
employees.
Interviewer: Alright. Sounds good. So how do you think this case went?
Candidate: (After some thought) I think it was okay.
Interview: I think it was very good. We’ll see you in the next round. Thank You
Candidate: Thank You
___________________________________________________________________________
BOSTON CONSULTING GROUP
Ankur Agrawal
128
Here is the detailed dialogue I had with the BCG recruiters during the 3 case interviews in
Summers. I have tried to produce a narrative of the events that occurred on the D-Day to highlight
the overall experience and also in between I have pointed out the key takeaways for someone
who is preparing for case interviews.
Interview 1
I first interviewed with a Senior Principal in the firm. Given it was the first interview of the day,
I was both excited and anxious, however the interviewer was friendly enough and made sure I
was at ease in the beginning itself.
Interviewer: Hi Ankur! Have a seat, how are you feeling? Would you like some tea?
Candidate: No, Thank you. I am fine.
Interviewer: Ankur, I can see in your resume that you have been academically very bright
throughout. So, what is the secret to that?
Candidate: Sir, I have always been very hard working and I have always enjoyed performing
better than others. Also, my school teachers have been instrumental in shaping up my confidence
that I can go way ahead in life.
Interviewer: Okay. I have heard about your school, CMS. What is so special about it?
Candidate: Sir, there is a lot of focus on providing value based education which instils leadership
and confidence in the students. Also, the school aims at holistic experience including international
stints. (Proudly) It has the record for the largest number of students in a single city..!
Interviewer: That’s great! So, Ankur tell me one thing you remember about being Head Boy of
your school.
Candidate: Sir, of all the activities I remember my active involvement in the International
Mathematics convention which saw our school winning lot of competitions, something that was
unprecedented.
Takeway: Be prepared to speak about each and everything mentioned in your resume.
Interviewer: Okay Ankur. Should we do a short case analysis? If yes, which sector would you like
to work on IT hardware or Defence?
Candidate: Sir, I would prefer IT industry.
Equally clueless, I chose one of them. Usually, such choices are not given by interviewers.
Interviewer: Our client is an IT service provider and they have hired us to cut down on their
costs. What all can be done to improve the situation?
Candidate: Okay, to be clear our client is a major IT service provider and their costs have to be
reduced. Sir, just to get more perspective, is there any reason behind the client’s strategy to
reduce costs. Have the costs increased in the past or the industry has become price competitive.
Interviewer: That’s right, in the recent couple of years, many competitors have increased and
the price points have gone down. The client is looking to bring down costs to maintain its margins.
Candidate: Okay. That is helpful. Major costs in software development include hardware costs,
employee costs, SG&A costs, rent/lease etc. I believe hardware and employee costs form the
major portion of the company cost sheet.
Interviewer: Let us look into the employee costs.
Candidate: Sure sir. I would like to ask if some analysis has been done to assess if the client has
optimum number of employees in the organisation basis the number of projects in pipeline.
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Interviewer: The CEO communicated to me that there are 60 projects already in pipeline and
they are falling short of bandwidth to complete them.
Candidate: Interesting, so to summarise the client has a pipeline of projects which it is unable to
take up and it is also hurt by high employee costs. (Thinking aloud)
Interviewer: Precisely.
Candidate: Is the company able to deliver projects in time. If no, then there is some issue with
the productivity of the employees.
Interviewer: Good! The client has faced significant delays in its project delivery.
Candidate: Sir, can I assume that manpower utilisation as the metric to evaluate productivity of
companies in the sector? Also, I wanted to know if other competitors in the industry are facing a
similar issue with delay in projects. If it is a client specific problem then by improving the
utilisation cost per project can be controlled and more projects can be completed per year.
Interviewer: No, the industry is in its growth stage and there is no delay of projects. The
productivity of our client is lesser than competitors and our client wants to know how they can
improve the utilisation and churn out more projects annually. Yes, you can use the utilisation
matrix to analyse the productivity.
Candidate: Sure sir. Do we have any information on the current productivity levels of the
organisation?
Interviewer: I would like you to estimate that for me.
Candidate: Sir, I would need data on the # of employees in the organisation and the time required
to complete each project.
Interviewer: Here is the data you need for the analysis.
He showed to me a sheet of paper with the below information.
# of hours per # of hours per # of hours per

project (S1) project (S2) project (S3)
Design 60 70 80
Development 60 80 110
Testing 50 70 70
Cost per hour 100 80 60
Team size 10 20 30
Projects completed in 130 150 90

2014
130
Candidate: Sir, couple of observations here - It appears that S1 is the senior-most class of
employees since they are able to complete the same project in lesser hours. Also, the S1 class of
employees seem to be much more efficient than the S2, S3 class. There is only incremental
difference in the performance in the S2, S3 class of software developers.
Sir, I would like to ask if the employees are specialised in either of Design, Development or
Testing. And the # of hours in the sheet given is the ideal time or the actual time taken by the
employees?
Takeaway: HR cases can in involve calculations too…
Interviewer: No, the employees are well versed with each stage of software development and
all 60 of them can take up any task. Each project is allotted to either of S1, S2, S3 class of employee.
Aforementioned gives the ideal time which an average an employee takes to complete a project.
Candidate: Sir can I take a minute to calculate the total capacity of projects that can be completed
by the employees given their performance levels. Based on the actual projects done, we can arrive
at the utilisation level.
Candidate: Assuming 10 working hours for each day and 250 working days in a year, the total
man hours available is 2500 per employee.
S1 S2 S3
Time for 1 project (hours) 170 230 260
Projects per employee ~15 ~11 ~10
Ideal no of projects 150 220 300
% utilisation (based on completed 90% 70% 30%

projects)
Total cost per hour 1000 1600 1800
Cost per annum(INR) 25 L 40 L 45 L
Overall utilisation ~60%
Candidate: Based on the above calculations, it is clear that the overall utilisation of the company
is hurt by the inexperience and under performance of the S3 class of employees.
Interviewer: So, what would be your suggestion to the company at this stage?
Candidate: I would give 3 recommendations to the company:
1. Invest in the training of the S3 class of employees to improve their efficiency and reduce
the time taken by S2, S3 employees in completing a project.
2. Hire better talent through campus recruitments, job portals.
3. Allocate projects based on the competency of individuals to increase efficiency of the
employees.
131
Interviewer: There has already been significant investment done in training & development of
employees. What else can we do here? The employees are trained extensively in each aspect of
software development.
Candidate: thinking with a pause…
Candidate: May be the company should switch from a project based model to a functional model
whereas the employees are focussed in a particular stage of software development and develop
a competence over a period of time.
Interviewer: Can you draw an organisational structure for the same?
Candidate: The organisation structure will be as drawn.
Based on initial evaluation and interest, the employees can be ask to involve only in either of
Design, Development or Testing stage. Working on design of multiple projects for the same
function would exponentially improve the learning curve of the S2, S3 employees thus reducing
the time in which they complete their task. Also, the more experienced S1 employees can be
utilised in the project management and they can oversee the effort of the developers involved in
design, development and testing phase of a project. Job enhancement based on experience would
be an incentive for employees to work hard and perform better.
Interviewer: Thanks Ankur. You can wait outside.
Interview 2
Note: This case experience rather than practice should be taken as reference as to how to handle
the situation when you are really grappling with the case
This one was with a Senior Partner in the firm in the practice area of Financial Services.
Interviewer: Good Morning Ankur, take a seat. How has the day been for you so far?
Candidate: Thank you sir! The day has been good so far. This is my second interview of the day
and I think my first interview went well.
Interviewer: Okay. You have been editor to college magazines. Do you also write?
Candidate: Yes, sir I write sometimes however, mostly that is for my own sake. I kind of use it as
a medium to give vent to my thoughts.
Interviewer: Good. Ankur, do you use a debit card?
Candidate: Yes sir. I do have a SBI card. I use it quite often.
Interviewer: And do you have other savings bank accounts apart from SBI?
Candidate: Yes, sir I have an account with PNB, however I do not use it that often.
132
Little did I realise that the case revolved around the above statement of mine.
Interviewer: Our client is a large PSU Bank and is losing out on profitability. We have been hired
to solve the problem for me. They have currently 20 million savings/fixed deposit account.
Takeaway: Take very careful note of each and every data thrown at you.
Candidate: Sir, is this an industry wide phenomenon or only our client’s profitability has
declined?
Interviewer: No. Let us just focus on the client only.
Candidate: Sure. So, can I assume that the interest rates and CRR regulations etc. are same for
competitors and there have been no major changes?
Interviewer: Yes, absolutely.
Candidate: Sir, since this is about profitability I would like to first look at the revenues and then
the costs to understand what could be troubling the company.
Interviewer: ok.
Candidate: Sir, give me a moment to lay down the revenue and cost drivers for a bank.
Candidate: (showed him the paper), Sir these are the areas I would like to inspect to assess the
profitability.
Interviewer: (little unsure…) Okay, let’s go ahead with your approach.
Later I realised it was a cookie cutter not at all suitable for the context.
Candidate: Sir, I am trying to understand if the interest income from our investments/loans has
declined or there is a decrease in the brokerage income in the past few years. This might have
affected the company’s bottom line.
Interviewer: I don’t think that has been a problem for us. In fact, our loan portfolio has increased
with the launch of the loan advisory portal.
Candidate: Sir, have the overall revenues declined over the past year or it has increased?
I should have asked this first before jumping onto the revenue drivers.
Interviewer: I think our top line has been steady. Look, Ankur I think the case is not really going
in the right direction. Can you rethink about it!
I thought he is just trying to create pressure so wanted to complete the analysis of cost drivers as
well.
133
Candidate: Sir, should I look into the cost drivers? I might find something there.
Interviewer: (almost uneasy….) Go ahead!
Candidate: Sir, has the default ratio increased, have we written off more debt this year than
previous years?
Interviewer: Look Ankur, I think we have spent a lot of time and we are not really going
anywhere. Would like you to take a deep breath and think of an alternative approach. If it helps
let me tell you that the total money currently deposited lying in the savings bank account of the
client is INR 5000 Cr.
Candidate: Okay… Can I take a minute to pause here…..
Though the interviewer was calm and supportive, I guess I was now under a little pressure (okay
may be I was totally clueless and nervous as to what I should do!) I spotted the no of accounts
opened written in the corner of the page and suddenly realised I had not used that information at
all.
Candidate: Sir, INR 5000 Cr deposits and 20 million accounts that makes INR 25000 deposit per
person.
Interviewer: (same uneasiness…) Ankur, are you sure of the figure!
Candidate: (checking the math...) Sorry, sir it is 2500 per person. Now that I am looking at this
number, I think I completely went wrong on my approach.
Interviewer: okay! Now that you have realised that can you quickly tell me where we went
wrong, what would be the new approach and what would be your hypothesis. We don’t have
much time left.
Candidate: Sure sir, I think I missed out on the customer perspective totally in the beginning and
our how our services might have affected our old/new customer base. My alternative approach
in that would have been to understand the various customer segments and see if we are losing
out on our customer share either the existing ones or the new ones.
Interviewer: Customers is fine but you still haven’t got it completely. What if I tell you that new
customers are daily opening our account?
Candidate: In that case, as I calculated earlier INR 2500 per month means that they are not saving
enough money in our bank. To further diagnose the problem, I would like to isolate accounts
which have been dormant for more than a year. Some of the possible reasons for this could be:
1. Poor service as compared to competitors
2. Low Interest rates
3. Poor income of a certain set of customers
4. Alternate investment options for customers
Interviewer: Now we are talking sense. Can you also tell me how dormant accounts could be
hurting the bank?
Candidate: Sir, this would happen in three ways:
1. This might hurt the liability side of the balance sheet of the bank. Less deposits would
require the bank to look for alternate sources of funds for asset management.
2. Bank’s liquidity and solvency would also be affected.
3. The bank would unnecessarily bear the cost of carrying dormant accounts.
Interviewer: Thanks Ankur. You can go now.
134
I was fairly confident that the interview could not have gone worse. The confident admission of
wrong approach and laying down the alternate one would have been possibly my saving grace
because I was asked for a third interview.
Takeaway: Do not lose temper and never let nervousness come on your face. It is not really
necessary to crack the case, most of us don’t manage that in 20-25 minutes. Important is to keep
your calm, use your common sense and keep looking for hints from the Interviewer. Also, try to
think aloud so that the Interviewer can steer you in the right direction if required.
Interview 3
After waiting for about 10 minutes, I was escorted to meet a Partner in the firm. I was told he was
from IIM Bangalore and had recently made a Partner. Also, I was given a feedback that I need to
buckle up on my quantitative skills and I was always mindful of that during the interview.
Interviewer: Ankur, Good to see you! Without wasting any time let us get to business
immediately. Our client is a pharmaceutical major in and is looking to enter the snow melter liquid
chemical market in US. They need us to estimate the market size and how they should enter the
market.
Candidate: Sir, to make sure I have understood the context clearly, our client is a pharmaceutical
company and they are considering expansion into snow melter liquid chemical market in the US.
I am required to estimate the markets size, analyse the current market players and decide
whether to enter or not enter the market.
Interviewer: That’s correct!
Candidate: Sir, if I may inquire any particular reason why they want to enter the market.
Interviewer: They think that there is a large opportunity in the market since the market share is
quite fragmented, however they are not sure how big the opportunity size is.
Candidate: Okay. I would like to first like to take a shot at estimating the market size and then
think of the business opportunity. I would like a moment please to jolt down.
Interviewer: Sure, go ahead and let me know what information you need.
A minute’s pause…
Candidate: Sir, I would first understand the market area – regions where there is regular snowfall
and the product is most likely to be used. Areas with scanty snowfall are less likely to use the
product as the weather would self-clear the snow (Demand side estimation). Then, based on the
average snowfall in these locations (thickness * volume) I would estimate the amount of snow
that needs to be thawed. Based on the frequency of usage per year and the amount of liquid
needed to thaw per unit volume of snow, I should be able to estimate the volume of chemical
needed in the market. Please let me know if this approach is correct.
Volume of liquid needed = Area * snowfall amt. (height) * frequency (per annum) * Liquid /unit
snow
Interviewer: Okay. How do we reach to an approximate area where it snows heavily?
135
Candidate: Well I am aware of approximate area of India and I would assume that USA is roughly
3-4 times our country’s size. Further I would need a weather report indicating areas with above
average rainfall.
Interviewer: So, can you calculate the area for me.
I knew it was coming!
Candidate: Sir, assuming India is a double triangle shaped body,
Area = 2* (1/2*base*height).
Base = East to west length = 2500 km
Length = (North *South length)/2 = 1200 km
Area of India = 3,000,000 km2
Area of US = 10, 000,000 km2
Sir, do we have the reports or should I assume a fraction of the area would be our target market?
Takeaway: Due to paucity of information, you may have to take assumptions, however before
assuming make it clear you know the real source of data. In some cases, interviewers do carry
necessary reports and date.
Interviewer: Assume 70% area is under consideration. The snow is thawed 20 times in a region
on an average, average rainfall is 100 cm and per unit (metre cube) snow 10 mL of liquid is
required. Can you quickly estimate the volume needed every year?
Candidate: Sure sir.
=7000000*1000*1000*1*20*0.01
=7000 billion *20 * 0.01 litres
= 1400 billion litres
Sir, what is the cost per litre of this liquid.
Interviewer: 6$ per litre.
Candidate: Okay, that makes the overall industry roughly 10$ billion in size.
Interviewer: You sure, the industry size is this big. Check for the zeroes.
Candidate: (Checking the calc. for moment) Yes, sir I think I am right.
Interviewer asking you to recheck your calculations can be either a check of your confidence or
you might have actually fluked. In my case, I knew he was checking my confidence.
Interviewer: So, Ankur what is your understanding should our client enter into the market or
not?
Candidate: Sir, I would like to understand the current distribution of players. Who are the major
players and what is the industry growth rate?
Interviewer: The industry has 8-10 players currently and none of them have a share of more
than 8%. There is not much happening in the industry, margins have also saturated.
Candidate: Okay. Interesting! I am trying to understand that given a fragmented industry, our
client might want to consolidate its position and emerge as the market leader. However, I am
bound to think otherwise given the industry has reached its maturity.
Interviewer: That is correct.
136
Candidate: Sir, I think I need to take a pause to assess if I have analysed the complete situation.
Interviewer: Sure!
Takeaway: Be prepared to apply frameworks in between of the case. In this situation, I had talked
about the industry and the companies but forgot to ask about the Product because I did not
propose any framework while discussing.
A possible structure to think about market entry could be as follows:
Candidate: Sir, I am trying to think why the company wants to enter the industry. Is the product
that they are offering any different?
Interviewer: There you are, so our client has come up with a patented solution in an independent
research which thaws snow using lesser amount and this would bring down the cost of thawing.
So, given the scenario, how should the client enter the market?
Candidate: The client could either enter independently, acquire small sized players in the
market, or do a joint venture with one of the major competitors. I would suggest given the
inexperience of the client and the Industry and the strong R&D support, it would be better if the
client goes into a Joint Venture with a couple of the existing local players using their B2B local
distribution network and building strong product capabilities through its R&D focus.
Interviewer: Great! Ankur. That will be all. You can wait outside.
_________________________________________________________________________
Kshitij Chaudhary
Interview 1:
I had heard that the interviewers generally start with some chit chat to reduce the candidate’s
stress level. This is generally true but in my case, the interviewer decided to directly start with a
case. So one should be mentally prepared for this. The case was a profitability case for a hotel
franchisor.
Interviewer: So Kshitij, I have gone through your CV. Let’s assume we know each other and
directly get started with the case.
Candidate: Sure. (It was a little unnerving to not get a chance to introduce myself)
Interviewer: The client is the CEO of a hotel franchisor with revenues close to $600 mn. They are
seeing declining revenues. The client wants us to find out why the revenues are falling and what
can be done to revert this.
137
Candidate: (I confirmed the problem statement and then went on to get some information to
understand the context better). I would like to ask a couple of questions before I begin to solve
the case to understand the client and the context.
Interviewer: Sure Kshitij.
Candidate: Is the client the owner of a hotel who has taken a franchisee or is he the franchisor?
Interviewer: He is the franchisor.
Candidate: Where is the client located? And what kind of hotel segments are we looking at? I
mean Budget hotels, 5 star hotels, 4 star etc.
Interviewer: The client is located in the USA and the franchise deals in budget hotels and the
lower end of the spectrum at that.
Candidate: Thank you. Since when has the client been facing declining revenues?
Interviewer: 2-3 years.
Candidate: I would like to take a couple of minutes to structure my thoughts
Interviewer: Sure Kshitij. Take your time
Candidate: (I thought for a couple of minutes and then came up with a simple structure). So the
revenues for a franchisor are a function of Average Revenue earned from a franchisee and the
number of hotels it has signed a franchisee deal with.
(I drew the above structure and showed it to the interviewee).
Interviewer: Ok
Candidate: The revenues can decline if the average revenue per franchisee falls or if the number
of franchisees signed fall.
Interviewer: That sounds right
Candidate: So have we seen a decline in Avg. Revenue per franchisee?
Interviewer: No
Candidate: So no. of franchises signed up with us must have fallen. Have we seen that happening?
Interviewer: Yes. Many of our hotel partners have decided to terminate the contract with us.
Candidate: Ok. So, now this can again happen due to three reasons. Either the market itself is not
doing well. Or the hotel franchisees might be going independent. Or they might be switching to
competitors.
Interviewer: We do see hotels moving to a competitor franchisor. What might be some of the
reasons?
Candidate: The hotels are typically looking for more profits. They would like to take the
franchisee of a chain which helps them get more profits.
Interviewer: That is right. So hotels have been complaining that they can earn 10$ per room
more if they tie up with a competitor.
Candidate: Ok. Can I take a couple of minutes to think.
So revenue generated by the hotel is a function of the Avg. Price of the room, no. of rooms the
hotel has, occupancy levels, number of days the hotel operates in a year and % revenue shared
with the franchisor. No. of rooms and No. of days are not dependent of the franchisor that the
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hotel has signed up with. So, somehow the competitor must be able to give the hotels a better deal
at Avg. Price and occupancy or they might be giving a better revenue sharing deal.
Interviewer: Good. Average Price and occupancy are related factors as you might have guessed.
If Price is increased then occupancy will fall.
(After this there was a discussion on how the franchisor helps the hotels by training the managers
on how to handle different booking portals such as Makemytrip. A more skilled manager may be
able to go for better dynamic pricing on these portals leading to higher profits. So the problem
was that the franchisor had a centralized training system for hotel managers. As a result the hotel
managers missed a lot of training sessions as it was a hassle to travel far. The solution is to go for
a decentralized training system).
Above are the offerings that a franchisor offers a hotel. Training was the issue in this case.
Interviewer: So let us do a simple guess estimate on this case. A training session costs $200,000.
In a centralized training system, 1 trainer can train 200 hotel managers in a session while in a
decentralized training system, a trainer can train 50 hotel managers. Which one would be more
profitable for the franchisor given that there are 5000 hotel partners with 100 rooms each?
Candidate:
Centralized training system: Cost is 1/200 * 200000 * 5000 = $5 mn
Decentralized training system: Cost is 1/50 * 200000 * 5000 = $ 20 mn but there will be additional
revenue of 10% * 10$ =$1 per room per day (mentioned above that training can increase revenue
for hotels by 10$ per room per day. 10% of this is shared with the franchisor)
Additional revenue: $1 * 5000 * 100 * 300 (Assuming that a room is occupied on 300 days in a
year on average) = $ 150 mn. Clearly, decentralized training system is more beneficial.
Interviewer: Good. The numbers are all cooked up but essentially we did a very similar
calculation to recommend the decentralized training system to the client. Now suppose that you
want to present a summary of your work today to the CEO of the client in 2 minutes. Can you take
a shot?
Candidate: (I summarized the case going through the main points and assumptions)
(It was a pretty long interview, about 45 minutes. In summary, I was tested on structure, ability
to handle pressure, quant skills and communication skills in just one interview)
__________________________________________________________________________________
Vishwas Sharma
Interviewer: Hi Vishwas, how are you?
Candidate: I’m good. Thank you sir.
Interviewer: Let’s start with the case, shall we?
Candidate: Sure
Interviewer: Ok, so our client is a mining firm in South Africa, who are looking to improve their
profits. Simple enough, right?
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Candidate: Got it. But I would like to ask a few questions.
Candidate: Since I am unaware of the general background of this market and the firm. Could you
please tell me more on the market trends, market positions of various players etc.?
Interviewer: Sure. So the market is currently stagnant with a mere growth of ~1% YOY. There
are many players in the market but no market leader. Each player has 7%-15% market share
overall.
Candidate: Ok. Next I would like to have more information on our operations. What metal is it
that we mine?
Interviewer: Assume it’s Mica.
Candidate: Ok. Next I wish to know whether we own the mines or are we an intermediate player
in the value chain. Could you please let me know more about what processes are we involved in?
Interviewer: Good question. So we own the mines ourselves. There are numerous processes
involved in the business, which are as follows in this order: Drilling, extraction, purification,
trucking, transportation and selling.
Candidate: Got it. May I ask if it is a B2B business model where we sell the extracted ores to other
firms, or directly to customers?
Interviewer: Why do you ask?
Candidate: I ask because there may be some revenue side levers such as pricing, and cost side
levers such as marketing etc. which may be explored.
Interviewer: I think we can safely ignore the selling efforts as a part of this case.
<This was a cue for me that the opportunity lies somewhere within the operations efficiency and
cost structure of the firm>
Candidate: Please give me a few mins to structure my thoughts.

<I took a few minutes. Meanwhile the interviewer went out and came back with a cup of coffee.
By that time I had drawn the typical cost structure and diagram of the value chain>
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Interviewer: So Vishwas, where are we?
Candidate: Yes. So I would like to begin by analysing costs incurred in the value chain. I think
that the operations efficiencies should be looked at first. There may be some fixed costs such as
machinery, administrative costs, salaries, as well as some variable costs such as the
manufacturing costs themselves like electricity, fuel, transportation, cleanup costs etc. Do you
want me to look more deeply into these?
Interviewer: Ummm… That may be one way but let’s start by analysing the value chain itself.
Candidate: Sure. Let me start with drilling and extraction. Are we using the most efficient
processes designed to reduce costs?
Interviewer: Yes we are. Actually all of our processes are up-to-date with respect to technology.
Candidate: Ok. So then in order to enhance profits, is it possible to increase the extracted volumes
by increasing the workforce or run-time for the mill?
Interviewer: Good point but no. Carry on.
Candidate: Ok. Next we have purification. Since you mentioned the technology is not an issue, is
it fair to assume that purification processes will also be robust enough?
Interviewer: Ok. You can assume that.
Candidate: Alright. Next we come to the transportation. I would like to know how the extracted
ore transported to the purification facilities. Is it through trucks? Also, in what form is it
transported?
Interviewer: Yes. We used trucks. Regarding the form, it is just like any other rock or pebble form
Candidate: Ok. Next I would like to question the no. of trucks and their run-time frequency. Do
we own these trucks as well? Or are they acquired on a lease basis?
Interviewer: Good question. So we have leased these trucks from a local contractor, on a fixed
contract basis.
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Candidate: Ok. Does it mean that he provides a fixed number of trucks per day etc.? Or it’s a
flexible limit?
Interviewer: The contractor provides his trucks to many other players in the market. Terms of
the contract are the same for all.
Candidate: Ok. Then I assume it would be difficult to negotiate any different contracts. Next,
regarding their run-time frequency, have we seen inventory pile-ups at extraction zones, because
of delays in transportation?
Interviewer: Yes, that has been the case.

<That was the catch of this case>
Candidate: Ok. In that case, I believe that removing the inefficiencies in transportation due to
over-reliance on the services of this external contractor can help us in generating more profits. I
would like to advise the firm to either negotiate with a different contractor or buy their own
trucks. Buying own trucks would be advisable in the longer run, to remove external dependencies.
Interviewer: Good. Any other suggestions?
Candidate: The firm may also look to revise the terms of contract to increase the no. of available
trucks to get a higher run-time frequency, though it may be a difficult proposition.
Interviewer: Good. That would be all, thank You. All the best.
Candidate: Thank You.

________________________________________________________________
GEP
Meenakshi Singh
What is the potential market size for cab services in Bangalore?
Sir, I would like to approach this problem by dividing the customers into two broad categories:
1. Business Travellers: Regularly use cabs for commuting to office
2. Leisure Travellers: Book cabs for travelling to malls, restaurants hospitals (basically
anywhere other than office)
The demand of cabs for the former stays relatively stable over a workweek, whereas, it is variable
for the latter category.
Business Travellers:
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From my limited knowledge of Bangalore, I would like to divide it into 5 major business districts:
Electronic City, Outer Ring Road, (BTM, JP Nagar, Jayanagar), Indra Nagar, Kormangala. Assuming
the average no. of organizations in each of these areas is
Total Area of Bangalore 750 km2 (approx.)
Assumption The 5 biz. dist. cover half of Bangalore’s area
Average Area per biz. district 750/2*5 = 75 km2
Assumption 15 organizations per biz. district
Average Area per Organization 5 km2
Population Density Interviewer gave me some no. (X ppl. per km2)
Assumption 40% of the office goers commute by cabs
No. of business travellers in Bangalore 0.04*5*X
Assumption Every traveller books an individual cab
No. of cabs used for office travel Same as no. of business travellers in Bangalore
The interviewer stopped me from continuing with the Leisure Traveller category. He later
explained that he was expecting the answer to be in terms of the average no. of trips taken by the
driver per day however, this approach brought in a fresh perspective.
NOTE: The panel is not concerned with the accuracy of the figures (The same is reflected very
well from my intermediate figures☺): They want to understand if a candidate can break a bigger
problem into smaller no. of structured problems. The logical flow of thought and a structured
break-up of the problem is what they look in a candidate. Ensure that you confirm your
assumptions with the interviewer, as and when you make them.
_________________________________________________________________________
MCKINSEY & COMPANY
Issac Jojy
Interviewer: A bank is facing reduced customer satisfaction. Can you please tell me what could
be the possible reasons?
Candidate: Is this a retail bank or a non-retail bank?
Interviewer: Retail Bank
Candidate: Can you please tell me how customer satisfaction is measured?
(Thinking – Always quantify the problem first. Do not jump into the solution)
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Interviewer: We have been receiving a lot of complains in the customer feedback register placed
near the Bank ATM
Candidate: Can I reduce the problem to customer’s journey to ATM and out? Are you ok with that
approach?
(Thinking – Always get the buy-in from the interview about your approach)
Interviewer: Yes that is ok.
Candidate: Can I take a couple of minutes to think?
Interviewer: Sure
Candidate: So these are the possible reasons I think could cause the customer to complain.
(MECE) Are there any other elements to be considered?
(Get Interviewer buying again)
External Internal
Car Parking ATM Process

- ATM location very congested - Complicated process
- Bad User Interface
Outside Ambience Ambience

-Dirty - AC not working
-Noisy - Smelly
Security Guard
- Behavior
Interviewer: No, this looks fine.

Candidate: So have four options. Do the customer complains show any trends in relation to
these?
Interviewer: You can exclude the external parameters. I just wanted to see if you cover all
options.
Candidate: Ok. Now I am going to proceed by restricting the scope to internal parameters only.
Is that ok? (Create a connection to solve the case collaboratively)
Interviewer: Yes
Candidate: Do we have any data to show problem with any internal factor?
(Do not ask about particular aspect. First ask the data availability)
Interviewer: Ambience is not an issue.
144
Candidate: Then it looks like an issue with the ATM process. Can I drill down further on that?
Interviewer: Ok
Candidate: I need a minute to think please.
If I was the customer these are the 3 main steps I follow:
1. Insert ATM Card
2. Make transaction
3. Get cash
Is there any issue in any of them?
Interviewer: Yes getting cash is a problem.
Candidate: So cash availability should be the issue. This could be because of no cash or
denominations.
Interviewer: Correct. A lot of times cash is not available and customers get an error. Give me
some recommendations to solve this issue
Candidate: Can I understand what the current system in place is?
(Whenever you are asked for recommendations ask for current system in place to avoid
repetition of solutions that might already be there)
Interviewer: The bank does weekly data analysis, based on which vendor replenishes the cash
twice a week.
Candidate: Is the vendor putting in cash according to contact terms?
Interviewer: No he is not. He sometimes misses replenishing the cash.
Candidate: The following are the recommendations:
1. Get a new vendor
2. Multiple Vendors so you have backups
3. Ensure current system enforced by imposing penalty based contract
Do you want me to think on other lines?
Interviewer: No these recommendations sound good. Thank you.
_________________________________________________________________________
Ishita Kayastha
Interview 1
The first interview was with Noshir Kaka, the MD of McKinsey India, over a Skype call. It started
off with him asking me to introduce myself. This went on for a good 5-7 minutes.
Interviewer: Let’s give you a case outside your comfort zone, something you haven’t experienced
at all?
Candidate: Sure! I’m always up for a challenge.
Interviewer: There are 3 large companies in the IT space – say Cognizant, Infosys and Igate with
annual turnovers of $8.5 bn, $6.5 bn and $2 bn respectively. They service large banks for
technology systems. Their sales productivity figures are $16 mn, $8-10 mn, and $6-8 mn. What is
causing this difference in sales productivity? Why is one company able to get twice as much?
Candidate: Firstly, how is sales productivity calculated? Per person or per hour of work?
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Interviewer: Sales Productivity = Revenue/ Salesperson
Candidate: Okay. Since I have no prior knowledge about this sector, I would like to know a little
more about the functioning and revenue models of these firms.
This conversation went on for a while, and I asked him basic questions about IT services. Realizing
that this would take a little time, he decided to change the case question. I kept remained calm.
Interviewer: What sector would you be prefer?
Candidate: Anything that I have been exposed to would be fine – Retail, Hospitality, Tourism
Interviewer: Okay, let’s pick a retail case.
(At this point, someone walked in to the room to tell us that time was up. The interviewer asked
for 5 more minutes)
Interviewer: Zara has been experiencing a 2 – 5% loss of sales in India over the last year. What
could be the possible reasons? You have 2 minutes.
Candidate: I can think of 3 possible reasons, from the time of manufacturing to the time of
purchase by the customer. First - customization of products for the Indian consumer. They need
to have the right styles and colours, that will appeal to the Indian market. The fit of the garment
and sizes need to be tailored as per Indian requirements. Second – Availability of products. This
will depend on the method of procurement, i.e. whether products are manufactured abroad and
shipped to India, or manufactured in India and distributed within the country. Third -
management at Zara stores. There should be uniformity across the country. Bad management in
a particular city or circle could be the reason for drop in overall sales.
Interview 2
The second interview started off with brief pleasantries, and chit-chat about how the first round
went, after which we started off with the case.
Interviewer: There is a Telecom company in the Philippines, in South East Asia. It has done well
in the past, growing at a rate of 5-10%. However, it has stagnated in the last 1-2 years.
Candidate: Firstly, is it a Telecom Infrastructure company or Service Provider? And is this the
company’s primary source of revenue?
Interviewer: Service Provider. Yes, it is the core business.
Candidate: I would like to break this down into external and internal factors. External factors
would cover the overall environment of the Telecom industry in Philippines, while internal
factors are more specific to the company, such as revenue streams, pricing, and customer
segments.
Interviewer: Okay, go on.
Candidate: I would like to know if other competitors are experiencing the same problems. If so,
it could be an industry wide-problem, which can be attributed to external factors.
Interviewer: Yes. The market has declined. What could be the reason for this?
Candidate: I would like to explore this in the following aspect:
Demand Supply
146
 Changes in macroeconomic  Increase in the number
environment leading to decrease of competitors
in purchasing power  Government
 Sudden shift in consumer regulations imposing
demographics – lesser people restrictions on service
using telephone services  Substitute services
entering the market
Interviewer: New competitors have entered the market. The government has banned
promotions. There has also been a trend towards mobiles, with fixed lines decreasing.
Candidate: Okay, and are these competitors local or international companies?
Interviewer: Local.
Candidate: I would like to look along the following lines:
 Product – Do new competitors offer better network coverage, more packages and VAS
 Service – Better customer service? More payment options?
 Pricing – Are they priced lower?
Interviewer: The new entrants are offering services at a 20% discount.
Candidate: That would force the other companies to lower their price, leading to Price Wars. As
a result of this, the industry is declining. Our client is experiencing stagnation due to declining
market share and revenues due to the low prices.
Interviewer: Good. How can they now improve their position?
Candidate: With such low prices, competing on prices is difficult. Thus, the company should aim
to differentiate itself.
 Provide incentives to customers through long-term contracts
 Tie-up with companies like Apple (phones sold on discounted prices only on specific
network)
 Acquire a smaller telecom company with different reach
 Increase Value Added Services, Online features.
________________________________________________________________
Karthik Krishna
<Opening chat for a few minutes - we got on quite well and it helped. If you have the right rapport
and attitude interviewers are happy to help you along! ☺ >
Interviewer: We are short on time, so let us jump into the case. There is a public sector bank,
which is facing service issues in its branches. What will you do?
Candidate: What sort of complaints is the bank facing?
Interviewer: Long waiting time at the branches
Candidate: Are the number of customers of the bank comparable to other similar sized banks?
Interviewer: Yes customer size is comparable but service is bad.
Candidate: (Thinking that I need some more context) Can I understand the bank location and the
customer profile?
147
Interviewer: It is a typical branch in a city. Assume that the customer profile at a branch is similar
for all banks.
Candidate: (Thought I had enough to visualize the problem, so done with opening questions)
Could I have a minute to think about it? (Thinking)
I have some possible reasons that could lead to bad customer service:
1. Bad processes as compared to other banks
2. Poor computer systems or technology
3. Poorly trained staff
4. Complicated branch layout
Interviewer: The reasons you have given are good but none of these is the problem as these are
all standard in the banking industry
Candidate: OK … (Realized that I had obviously not understood the problem yet)... I want to take a
step back. What are the customers complaining about?
Interviewer: (Looking more attentive) that it takes them a long time to get anything done at the
branch.
Candidate: (He just repeated the same thing from earlier – from this and non-verbal cue I got the
sense that I should probe better) Is it the time required at the teller window which is long?
Interviewer: No.
Candidate: So it is the footfall that is higher as compared to the other banks!
Interviewer: (Smiling) Yes. Why do you think that is?
(Was thinking that I could have structured this more eloquently into the previous question itself.
Total Wait Time = Time per customer X No. of customers, or something like that.
“Damn It!”)
Candidate: (thinking hard…silently!)
<While writing this now I realize that I choked because I wasted time self-evaluating during the
interview.>
Interviewer: (Prompting me) What are the different ways banks serve customers?
Candidate: Oh… Maybe the other services are not so good so people are forced to visit the branch.
For example, online banking and phone services – are they comparable to other banks?
Interviewer: No, not many customers use the online services. Why do you think that is
happening?
Candidate: Maybe it’s a technology-related issue, or not enough advertising, or the processes are
too cumbersome?
Interviewer: Let us look at the technology, how will you solve that? Why do you think people are
not using the online platform?
Candidate: Maybe it’s not user-friendly?
Interviewer: That can be fixed, what could be a more fundamental reason? … Do you use online
banking?
Candidate: Yes.
148
Interviewer: Do your parents use internet banking?
Candidate: Hardly. (Could not figure out where we were going with this…beginning to panic)
Interviewer: Do your parents use Flipkart?
Candidate: Yes ... but Flipkart started with cash on delivery and eventually built trust. … (I was
wondering whether he fed this to me! Thank you, kind Sir. Meanwhile, interviewer is looking at me
like “So…?”) So, here the bank’s customers are yet to trust the security of the online services. The
bank will need to strengthen security measures and ensure that the customers are aware of its
online services and that they are secure.
Interviewer: (Big smile) OK. We are out of time. Can you quickly synthesize our discussion?
Candidate: A public sector bank is providing poor customer service because too many customers
are visiting its branches in person. The main reason for this is that their online platform is not
being used by their customers as they do not perceive it to be secure. Therefore, there is a need
to strengthen and communicate the safety of their online platform.
<Didn’t think I synthesized it too well. Came out wondering whether I botched the whole thing
up. But it was slightly rushed was it not? And the interviewer was smiling a lot at the end, so
maybe I did OK?
This is typical mental chatter going on at this point. It never helps! ☺
_________________________________________________________________________________
Mohit Aggarwal
Interview 1
Interviewer: Tell me about yourself in not more than 2 sentences
Candidate: After graduating from IIT Delhi, I worked with Citigroup Markets in Mumbai and
London for three years. I have been actively involved in social entrepreneurship in the education
sector for the last 7 years and would like to go back to social entrepreneurship after a couple of
years’ experience in consulting.
Interviewer – If I look at your resume, it looks like you are lying!
Candidate: What????
Interviewer: It nowhere says you have worked in London!
Candidate: Can I please take a look?
This is not my resume! This is the other Mohit Agarwala from our batch!
(All sorts of questions were flashing in my mind. Did they shortlist the other Mohit? Am I wasting
my slot 1 here? In the meantime the interviewer figured out that they somehow got the wrong
resume and indeed, I was the one they had shortlisted. He tried to calm me for a couple of minutes
after this fiasco. The point is irrespective of whatever happens don’t lose your calmness!)
Interviewer: Shall we start the case? It is a very simple case.
Candidate: Sure
Interviewer: My client is a telco player in Middle East and the profits have been declining for the
last two years.
149
Candidate: Just to ensure that I got the problem, we are looking for the reasons for decline in
profits of our Middle East Telco client.
Interviewer: Yes
Candidate: Before starting the case, I would like to get some more information about the market
and the player. I will first seek information for the external environment and then go to internal
environment.
Interviewer: Fair enough. Go ahead
Candidate: How is the overall market doing? How has the trend been over the years for the
industry overall?
Interviewer: The demand has continued to rise at a steady rate. The market seems good.
Candidate: Is the market very fragmented or concentrated? Who are our competitors and how
are they doing?
Interviewer: There are quite a few players in the market. In general all the players have taken a
hit in the last few cycles.
Candidate: Ok! So, the market demand is overall good and still the players are losing profits. Is
there any particular segment in which telco players are losing money – calls, internet, VOIP etc.?
Interviewer: No, they are losing money in all the segments.
Candidate: Ok! So almost everyone in the market is losing money in telco business though the
demand is not decreasing.
(Repeating the statements helped the interviewer understand my line of thought and gave me
time to think of the next step)
Candidate: There can be two plausible reasons 1) Prices are in general decreasing and 2) The
costs are increasing, ceteris paribus.
Interviewer: Indeed the prices seems to be decreasing. What can be the reasons for this?
Candidate: I will list down a couple of points and then we can go into details of any of those. Can
I take a couple of seconds to list down the points?
Interviewer: Sounds good.
Took 30 seconds break
Candidate: 1. Number of customers are same but people are switching to cheaper products like
VOIP, internet rather than calls
2. Competition in the industry is increasing
3. There is a price war going on in the industry
(Cut- in between by the interviewer)
Interviewer: Bang on!
OK, Can you elaborate a bit on point 2 and 3?
Candidate: 1) Given that you mentioned there are quite a few players in the market, most of them
would be trying to undercut each other.
2) The industry seems lucrative in general, because of which a lot of new players are entering the
market.
150
3) There have been changes in Government regulations because of which barriers to entry have
reduced.
Interviewer: Good job. Thank you
Interview 2
Interviewer: (Looking at my resume) All good Mohit?
Candidate: Yeah. By the way this is not my resume. Here is the correct copy.
Interviewer: This is the one we shortlisted. Don’t know how did this happen. Apologies
Candidate: No problem
Interviewer: I don’t like to get directly into a case, but given the paucity of time do you mind
doing a case? Actually, it is not a case. I am meeting a CEO day after tomorrow and would just like
to have your inputs for my meeting.
Candidate: Sounds interesting.
Interviewer: I am meeting a CEO of a big FMCG company. Everything is good, apart from the fact
that the CEO is taking a lot of time in decision making. I have to advise him on what should he do.
Candidate: So, the company is doing well financially. The right decision do get taken, but the
decision making process takes a lot of time. Is that what is happening?
Interviewer: Yeah, the company is financially doing well. The problem is with the CEO. The
overall decision making process is fine.
Candidate: OK! As the problem looks quite open-ended, can I ask you a couple of question to get
more info about the case?
Interviewer: Shoot
Candidate: Is the problem with all the decisions the CEO makes – including the ones he decides
on his own and those that are made by his subordinates, which only requires a green signal from
him?
Interviewer: Almost everything.
Candidate: (Not sure how to start and trying to take time) So the decision making process is fine
and the CEO is a problem. Can you tell me a bit about the CEO – his education background, his
past experiences, how is he as a person?
Interviewer: Education background is irrelevant. In term of work, he has been in FMCG industry
for the past 34years and know in and out of the industry. He is very highly respected in the
industry and has joined our client a year back.
Candidate: Cool. So has his performance been like this even before or just after joining our firm?
Interviewer: He was really good in the old firm. He takes a lot of time in this firm. Give me five
reasons for this.
Candidate: 1. He is not yet accustomed to the systems and processes of the firm
2. Cultural mismatch 3. He wants to live upto his past record and is being over-cautious.
Interviewer: Lets discuss more on points 3 and then 2.
Candidate: Ok, for point 3) He doesn’t want to take any wrong decision and thus wants to double
check each and every thing he and his subordinate are doing – someone like Bezos.
Interviewer: and point 2
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Candidate: I will list a couple of points for this 1) Atmosphere: Very fast moving vs laidback
culture
2) Organisation structure: Highly mechanistic vs organic
3) Trust: There was very strong trust culture in his previous organization. May be in the current
organization there are norm like that every decision needs to be passed by a senior or something
like that
4) Coordination: Lack of co-ordination between different departments.
5) Failures may not be taken very negatively in the previous organization – something like Google
_________________________________________________________________________________
Swapnika Nag
Interview 1
[The interview was supposed to be a video conf., but due to connectivity issues happened on a
call]
Interviewer: Hi Swapnika, I’m Kshitij – a partner with the McKinsey Gurgaon Office.
Candidate: Hi Kshitij
Interviewer: So, have you had any interviews before this?
Candidate: No, it’s the first interview of the day.
Interviewer: Good. Tell me a little about yourself.
[Talked a little about my background – college, work-ex etc. He was quite interested in the pharma
consulting experience in ZS– hence the pharma case.]
Interviewer: So Swapnika, let’s strat with the case. Say a new player wants to enter the US
pharma market – how should the company proceed with the same?
Candidate: Understood. Do you mind if I take a few minutes to jot down some thoughts?
Interviewer: Sure.
Candidate: I solve all my market entry cases in the following way :
1. Understand the objective of our entry – geographical expansion?, profitability?
2. Divide the structure into - Should we do it ? & How should we do it?. The first is to understand if
the market is attractive & the next is the implementation strategy
3. Should I do it – This is further subdivided into - Attractiveness, Expected Returns,
Feasibility/Risks, Synergies
 Attractiveness – Understand Customer segments (size of segments, customer trends etc),
Frequency & Volume (durable/non-durable good?), Influence factors (affordability,
awareness, pre-requisites etc)
 Expected Returns – Would the product be profitable?
 Feasibility/ Risks – Further divided into Internal, & External.
 Internal - Impact on current products (cannibalising?), Manufacturing capacity (is there
enough to handle new markets?), Finance (are we funded properly?), Technology (if tech
heavy, do we have the expertise?)
152
 External – Market (are there any entry barriers?, what is growth, size & life cycle of the
market?), Competition (how heavy is competition?, how is their product different? etc),
Substitues/Complements (does our product have any substitutes/complements), PESTLE
(Political, Economic, Social, Tech, Legal & Environmental issues if any)
 Synergies - Are there any synergies with my existing markets, distribution or products
that can be exploited?
4. How Should I do it – Address risks, Exploit synergies, Entry Strategy (Quite extensive again –
wasn’t discussed in the case)]
Candidate: Kshitij, is the company still gauging the attractiveness for entry, or has it decided on
entry & is looking for an implementation strategy?
Interviewer: Let’s say it’s still gauging the attractiveness. Can you take me through the structure
you have in mind?
Candidate: Sure, this is how I’d go about it [took him through all the steps of the “Should we do
it?” part, highlighted below are the points he really liked]
1. (While discussing customer segments) For an organized market like US, the customers for a
pharma company are doctors, & not the patients directly. And a doctor’s prescriptions are heavily
influenced by the insurance companies. Insurance companies cover the cost of some dugs fully,
some partially & don’t cover the cost of a few. So it is essential that the tie ups with insurance
companies be strong for the drug to take off
2. (While discussing the L of PESTLE) Another important feature of US pharma markets are the
price caps on certain drugs. If the client’s drug falls in the category, then the profitability could
take a hit. Have to keep this in mind.
Interviewer: Thanks Swapnika, you did well.
Candidate: Thanks Kshitij, hope you have a good day.
[P.S - Not all parts of a structure are relevant to all cases. Use your judgement for the same]
_________________________________________________________________________________
153
ROLAND BERGER
Sumedh Vidwans
Interviewer: Our client is an airline who is making a decision on whether to introduce paid in-
flight Wi-Fi or not. How would you go about making this decision for the airline?
Candidate: Ok, so the answer will depend upon different factors: country in which the airline
operates, domestic or international operations, low-cost and full-service. Shall I make
assumptions and move forward?
Interviewer: No, you ask me questions and I will tell you the required information
Candidate: Ok. Is this a low cost airline or a full service airline?
Interviewer: Umm, this airline is still in the planning phase, they could go either way.
Candidate: Ok, do we know if they will be based in which country and will they be domestic of
international?
Interviewer: Yes, they will be based in India and they will be running domestic flights only.
Candidate: Ok, are they going to be focused on metro cities or smaller cities?
Interviewer: Mixture of both.
Candidate: What will be speed of the Wi-Fi and will there be any download limit?
Interviewer: As fast as your home internet, no download limit.
Candidate: Will it be based on satellite or based on a carrier (Vodafone / Airtel) or some other
technology?
Interviewer: It is not decided yet.
Candidate: Okay. Can you give me a minute?
Interviewer: Sure
(After a slight pause)
Interviewer: Remember it is about paid Wi-Fi
(This was the interviewer giving hint to me. I was focusing on Wi-Fi not so much on the paid part).
Candidate: Okay, how much will be the per hour charge?
Interviewer: Okay, we have some data for this, we know it will charge 100,000 INR per hour for
this system to run.
Candidate: Okay, thanks for giving me the variable cost. What about fixed cost of the equipment
and hardware to be given?
Interviewer: Don’t worry about fixed cost
Candidate: Ok. Can I assume that the number of seats on the plane are about 180 as is the case of
most Indian carriers – 30 rows x 6 seats?
Interviewer: Yes.
Candidate: Ok, then even if we consider a best case scenario of all seats being filled and all
passengers decide to avail the service, then the cost per passenger per hour will be almost Rs.
520.
154
Interviewer: Ok, what is your conclusion based on this number then?
Candidate: I think the cost is prohibitively expensive. Most of India domestic flights are about 2
hours. Few are about 2.5 hours. I think there is a very small segment of people who will feel the
need to check their email in that 2.5 hours. Most people will be ok with using their mobile data
packs before and after the flight. Also, the cost of Rs. 520 is assuming a best case scenario. In a
more realistic scenario, the cost will increase even more.
Interviewer: So, in what scenarios will such a system likely succeed?
Candidate: I think on longer duration flights, say 6 hours or more, more people will likely avail
such a service. Also, the type of planes used for such long flights are also bigger and hence cost
will also reduce per passenger.
Interviewer: Okay thanks, you can go have your second round interview now.
_________________________________________________________________________________
STRATEGY&
Utkarsh Rustogi
Case 1:
Interviewer: (breaking some ice) How have you been since morning? How many interviews have
you faced till now? How was your first interview?
Candidate: It has been all pleasant. Hope this one goes well too.
Interviewer: Let’s start with your case for today. Let's say we have to set up a new airport in
Bangalore. What is the estimated number of parking spots that would be required?
Candidate: Looking at the current space availability in the city, I think the new airport would be
located outside the city and it would take about 1 hour to reach the airport from the city. Also,
assuming that the airport is of the same size of the existing airport, it would be handling about
350 flights in a day. Are these assumptions correct?
Interviewer: Yes, please continue.
Candidate: With 350 flights per day and about 160 passengers per flight, the airport will serve
about 56,000 passengers per day. Among these 56,000 passengers, I would assume 70% of the
passengers to require taxi services, 20% passengers to have their friends and families drop them
off and the remaining 10% passengers to be travelling on a day trip to keep their cars in the
parking. Also, I would assume that the flight arrival and departure are uniformly distributed.
Interviewer: Looks ok. Go on.
155
Candidate: First I would like to estimate the parking requirement from taxis. 70% of 56,000 is
about 39,000 people which translates to about 1600 passengers per hour. Let's assume that out
of these 1600 passengers, about 600 people will share a cab with 2 people per cab, 150 people
with 3 people per cab and the remaining 850 people with single person per cab. This takes the
total cab requirement to 1200 cabs per hour. Day trip passengers would account for another 230-
250 cars. Hence, total parking required would be for about 1500 cars.
Interviewer: Sounds good. Let’s stop here.
Case 2
Interviewer: For every student that gets placed, IIMB charges a price and on differential basis.
How are the prices decided?
Candidate: Well, the institute provides a lot of services to companies during the placement time.
It provides for rooms and infrastructure, basic necessities such as tables, chairs, water bottles etc.
It also takes care of refreshment needs of the recruiters.
Interviewer: Do you know how much the institute charges for every student placed?
Candidate: it's about 1 lakh per student selected on Day 0.
Interviewer: Do you think that amount is justified over a set of chairs, tables, rooms and
refreshments?
Candidate: No sir, but the institute must also look at how competing institutes charge for their
students. I would expect Ahmedabad and Calcutta to also charge similar amounts.
Interviewer: But why is there a differential pricing?
Candidate: Well sir, it is believed that the students who get placed on day 0 are better in
comparison to the ones that are left out. Hence the institute charges a premium to the companies
based for the privilege of hiring earlier.
Interviewer: Yes, this sounds logical.

_________________________________________________________________________________
156
Graduation Work Experience Resume Spikes
Name Company
Duration
(months)
NITK Goldman Extra-
Venkat Iyer AT Kearney CSE 11 PORs
Surathkal Sachs Currics
Akanksha Electronics Nvidia
Bain & Co IIT BHU 22 PORs Awards
Trigun Engg. Graphics
Electrical & KK Birla
Ekansh Nayal Bain & Co BITS Pilani 10 Acads Awards
Electronics Group
Extra-
Saumya Misra Bain & Co ECE NIT Bhopal BHEL 24 PORs
Currics
Int.
Electrical Well
Ankit Agarwal BCG IIT Delhi NA NA Internship
Engg. (Dual) rounded
s
Industrial IIT
Gireesh Gera BCG Nestle 24 Acads Work Ex
Engg. Roorkee
Jincy James Extra-
BCG Civil Engg. NIT Trichy Mu Sigma 12 Acads
Patrick Currics
Acads
Loveenia Gulati BCG Civil Engg. PEC CH2M Hill 36 Work Ex
(M.S.)
NITK
Amit Rao Booz & Co Mech. Engg. Mahindra 22 PORs Work Ex
Surathkal
Kumar Dhruv Electrical Ericsson R
Booz & Co IIT Bombay 11 PORs Awards
Soni Engg. &D
Halliburton
Electrical (26), Int. Publicatio
Vinit Gawande Booz & Co IIT Bombay 50
Engg.(Dual) Schlum. Experience n
(24)
Symbiosis KPMG (13),
Karthik Ram Deloitte BBA 36 PORs Awards
Pune TFI(23)
Ranjani NIT DAAD
Deloitte Biotech. Wipro Tech 22 Work Ex
Rajagopalan Warangal Schol.
Coimbator Mu Sigma
Sujitha Information
Deloitte e Institute (12), 35 Acads Awards
Paramasivan Technology
of Tech Dell(23)
157
Wells Fargo
McKinsey Chemical BITs Pilani
Akshay Goenka (12), Oracle 36 PORs Work Ex
& Co Engg. (Goa)
(24)
McKinsey
Rupali Jain Commerce SRCC Deloitte 9 Awards PORs
& Co
McKinsey
Sonali Jain Commerce SRCC Deloitte 9 Awards PORs
& Co
Schlum. (8),
McKinsey Electrical
Vivek Yelisetti IIT Delhi Auronova 21 Awards PORs
& Co Engg.
(13)
Roland Architectur
Soumya H. NIT Trichy L&T Const. 22 Work Ex Awards
Berger e
AT KEARNEY
Venkat Iyer
Interview 1:
[The interview was a guesstimate problem and the interviewer was a Manager with the firm]
Interviewer: Let’s get started, we’ll do a market sizing case. I want you to predict the market size
for premium biscuits in India.
Candidate: I would like to get a clearer understanding of the problem at hand before I start.
Should I solve for market size in terms of monetary value or number of consumers?
Interviewer: Let us solve for the monetary value of the market say for a month.
Candidate: I am assuming that by premium biscuits is any biscuit which costs more than Rs. 30
per pack. Is this a fair assumption?
Interviewer: Yes, go ahead.
Candidate: I would like to segment the population based on rural/urban divide. Then segment
based on income of the households and then based on age distribution
Interviewer: Alright, sounds good, go ahead.
Candidate: The population of India is approx. 1.2 Bn, with a rural urban divide of 70%: 30%. I
would like to focus only on the urban population and neglect the rural population for the problem
at hand.
Interviewer: I don’t think you should completely ignore rural population. Let’s say 2% of
premium biscuits are consumed by the rural population.
Candidate: After this, I would segment by income into 3 buckets. (up to 1Lakh, 1-10Lakhs and
10+ Lakhs) and this split up is approx. 15%, 75% and 10%.
Interviewer: This is not exactly true, but go ahead.
[At this point for each income group, I got the number of Indians who fall under each group for
urban, and there was the 2% for rural]
158
Candidate: I would like to do an age profiling of the Indian Population. The population
distribution of India is like the shape of an inverted funnel. Can I go ahead with this? [He corrected
me saying that it isn’t exactly like an inverted funnel, it is wider for the younger ages and tapers
quickly as the age becomes greater than 30-35.]
I made a tree with three levels, segmented the population and calculated how much of premium
biscuits each of the segments would use and the rate of consumption using necessary
assumptions. What he was trying to test here was the structure of the approach and what all
aspects I considered. He didn’t have any idea of the market size for premium biscuits either.
[Takeaways: Be methodical, explain each step and correct them if he mentions so. Listen carefully
to what the interviewer says, they always speak something useful. Be neat with the approach and
quick with numbers.]
Interview 2:
[The interview was with another Manager of the firm. It was very open ended.]
Interviewer - If you were the CM of Karnataka, tell me a 3 bullet point agenda of what you would
want to change. [The interview was more focused on me having to defend whatever stance I took]
Candidate: I request you to give me a minute to think about this. (Later) My three point agenda
would be improve the healthcare situation in the state: in the line of what Jayalalitha had done
for TN. Second, provide better agriculture/irrigation equipment/financing, etc. facilities to the
farmers. Thirdly, speed up infrastructural changes and proactively improve on them on a speedy
basis.
Interviewer: These are good points. But why not boosting the IT services industry more since
that is the prime business in Bangalore? Also, I think a very pertinent issue is that of corruption.
Do you think this should not feature in your agenda?
Candidate: I feel that the IT services industry is already very prominent in Bangalore and things
will expand on its own with companies wanting to set up offices in Bangalore. And IT services is
predominantly urban, I took a more holistic stance for the state as such. Secondly, I totally agree
to your concern about corruption. It is something that cannot be eliminated completely with me
being the CM. I can enforce certain check points but people will definitely find ways around it.
When you asked me the questions, I thought of implementable issues and prioritized them.
Corruption came to my mind too.
[The rest of the interview was just debating about the issues that he raised and the ones that I
did. I hadn’t thought that such an interview would happen, but must say was better than a regular
case interview.]
Interview 3:
[Again not a regular case interview. Tell me about the current state of the global economy. It was
a 20-25 min discussion on different countries and the problems facing the global economy at that
time.]
_________________________________________________________________
BAIN & COMPANY
159
Akanksha Trigun
Interviewer: So here is a problem I faced recently. A client who is a big ‘women apparel’ retailer
came to us with this margins problem. They saw a constant sales growth but there was a cost
problem in the retail side. How would you look at the problem and identify it?
Candidate: Well, first I would like to understand more about this retail chain. Where does it
operate what does it specifically sell and what is the retail side model.
Interviewer: What do you want to know first?
Candidate: Please tell me about the geography of operation and the products.
Interviewer: Ok. They are a chain in the USA, they sell women merchandise and they are present
in the entire country.
Candidate: Do we sell only through our own stores or we display in other super markets?
Interviewer: Good question. But let’s just assume that we ONLY sell through our stores.
Candidate: Ok! I would take a minute and think through this.
[I understood that he wanted me to look at the cost side of things. So, I made a cost breakup
structure of fixed and variable costs. Listed down the few fixed costs like Land lease, electricity,
machinery, design, sale, salaries and a few variable costs like raw material, transport, etc. The
interviewer was constantly studying my drawings]
Candidate: Ok, to look at where we are losing money more than usual I would look at these cost
components.
Interviewer: I would want you to concentrate on the salary part of it.
Candidate: Perfect! [I sensed that he wanted me to ask questions now]. So, first, I would like to
understand the structure of the retail side of this business as in where all do we pay salaries. The
few things that come to my mind are – the retail shops service staff, maintenance staff. I would
want to go a level up in the value chain and understand the salaries that we pay.
Interviewer: Ok, So there are 4 layers in the value chain. The regional sales heads (4), divisional
sales heads (10), territory heads (16), shop sales heads (60).
[Drew a pyramid like structure to show hierarchy at each level]
Candidate: Do we have data about the salaries at each level?
Interviewer: Yes. Regional sales heads ($350), divisional sales heads ($300), territory heads
($280), shop sales heads ($100)
Candidate: [drew the salary cost incurred at each level]
Regional Sales head 1400
Divisional sales 3000
Territory sales 4480
Shop sales 6000
I see that the Shop and territory level salary expenditure is higher. I would look at this part.
Interviewer: How would you look at it?
160
Candidate: Well I would try to determine if these are fair. To do that I would like to see how the
competitor in similar business is doing? To compare efficiencies I would look at ours and their
revenue per head. I would make my processes lean and I would also asses why I need so many
levels of sales personals. Maybe prune out the layer which do not add value.
Interviewer: Indeed, in the real case we looked at the competitor and saw that they had 5 people
manning per store were as we had 6 people manning each store. What would you do with this
information then?
Candidate: Then I have zeroed in on the problem. The problem could be in the efficiency or in
the training. I would analyze why we needed six instead of 5 in the 1st place and asses my
capabilities in training my employees, number of hours they put etc. I would look and see if the
customer volume we handle is the same, more or less and take appropriate actions.
Interviewer: That’s good. Thanks! Can I hold on to this sheet you have been working on?
Candidate: Sure! Pleasure meeting you.
___________________________________________________________________
Ekansh Nayal
Caselet 1: HP is our client which is a major player in the laptop business in the US. Currently, it
largely depends on laptop sales for its revenues. An average user in the US replaces his/her old
laptop in 4-5 years. However, the company has information that due to voltage fluctuations,
improper handling and other such reasons, the consumer demand for servicing and spare parts
is increasing. It is also known that only 5% of HP users contact HP for repair services. Others
prefer to go to local service centers.
Interviewer: Could you list the types of repairs/services a user could need?
Candidate: Sure sir. I would first categorize the repairs/after sales service into: software and
hardware.
I could further categorize them as:
Hardware – Service post accidental damage, Replacement of malfunctioning parts, Service post
damage due to overheating/power fluctuations
Software – Antivirus related issues, Software freeze issues and issues related to software
activation
Interviewer: In which of the two types of services mentioned do you think the profit margins
would be higher?
Candidate: I believe the margins are higher in software services. Because once completed, the
software only requires periodic updates. A small team of software experts work on it and capital
investments are low compared to the hardware end. Moreover, I do not believe HP manufactures
all the laptop hardware pieces and the share of 3rd party vendors would also eat into the hardware
profit margins.
Interviewer: Can you think of any other reason why software services would be convenient and
profitable for HP?
161
Candidate: Sir, many of the software related issues can be handled online by trained servicemen
using technologies like remote desktop connection, skype etc. For this reason software services
could be more convenient for HP.
Interviewer: Yes, that is right. Now can you suggest two new revenue streams for HP?
Candidate: I would recommend the following:
- Annual Maintenance Contracts (If not available already)
- Online antivirus/ scanning services
Interviewer: Assume AMC already exists. Keeping in mind that the storage capacity of a laptop
is limited, what other revenue streams would you recommend?
Candidate: Yes sir. Since the storage capacity is limited, the company could provide online
storage services similar to Dell’s online backup, Dropbox or Google drive.
Interviewer: Can you give me a common name for this technology?
Candidate: Sir, I believe it is called cloud storage or cloud computing.
Interviewer: Ok. Thank you.
Caselet 2: A company has 5 brands. Previous year’s financial performance has been given below
for each brand. Currently, the company spends Rs. 50 crores on each brand as “marketing
expense”. It is known that an increase of Rs. 1.5 crore on marketing (of a particular brand)
increases the revenue from that brand by 2%. [Unavailability of original data from the case.
Numbers chosen for ease of explanation]
162
Brand 1 Brand 2 Brand 3 Brand 4 Brand 5
Sales(cr) 100 150 125 75 100
COGS (as % of sales) 25 50 40 5 10
Other expenses (cr) 25 10 25 22 40
Marketing expense (cr) 50 50 50 50 50
a) On which brand(/s) should the company increase its marketing expenditure?

On calculation, we see that the only Brand 5 shows an increase in profit with increase in
marketing expenditure. The other brands either show no increase in profit or show a decrease in
profit. Hence the company should increase its marketing expenditure on Brand 5.
b) Company cannot generate funds from outside. How can the company fund the additional
marketing expense (analyze the table)?
After calculations, we see that only Brand 2 has positive profit currently. This profit from Brand
2 can be utilized for marketing of Brand 5.
c) Mention any one learning on business decision making from the case.
A diversified firm should shut down brands/ products that are not profitable and invest more in
the ones generating profits.
__________________________________________________________________
Saumya Misra
Caselet 1: Case about a telecom infrastructure provider whose profitability was declining. The
objective was identify the reasons for this decline.
Candidate’s approach: By discussing the state of the industry, recent trends, technological changes,
competitors etc., the reason was identified as the introduction of new routers in the market which
could serve both 2G and 3G networks in contrast to earlier ones which were either 2G or 3G models.
Caselet 2: Case about an IT giant where although employee strength had increased, the cost incurred
currently was lesser than that incurred in previous years (which is a positive sign) and the objective
was to find the reason behind this change.
Candidate’s approach: Upon asking pertinent questions, I discovered that the reason was
better planning in deployment of employees to project, matching skill sets of people with
projects and deploying more people on site
Caselet 3: Case about market entry by a telecom services provider in India introducing machine to
machine (M2M) technology.
163
Candidate’s approach: This was a general discussion over which consumers would benefit the most,
how will commercial firms use this technology and why would they be interested. What way should it
be priced?
Caselet 4: Case about a software solutions provider (basically an agency that resolves software issues
in personal computers over phone).
Candidate’s approach: This was a calculation intensive case to determine the pricing of service. The
discussion further extended to ways in which this company can retain its customers.
___________________________________________________________________
Ankit Agarwal
Caselet: The client is a global consumer electronics manufacturer with a strong presence in India.
They intend to start a new business model of direct selling of consumer electronics like TV, home
theatre, etc. Design a pilot for their national rollout.
Candidate’s approach:
1. Identify current methods of sales
o Self owned
o Retailers
2. Identify the target customer segments

o Wide consumer base
o Targeting premium electronics to up-segment consumers by direct selling
3. Identify representative place for conducting pilot

o Tier-1 – eg. Delhi
 Large number of target customers
 Better feasibility of conducting pilot
o Location – eg. up-segment locality (say, in South Delhi)
 Retail selling happening in Delhi
 Easy to compare with existing methods to take a decision
4. Understand profitability of existing and new method

[Evaluation narrowed down to a 1 month pilot on direct selling of TV]
o Price – 30,000
o Distributor Costs – 10%
o Dealer Costs – 15%
o Cost of TV – 15,000
o Expenses for direct selling
 Salary costs per person = 15000
 Other selling expenses per person = 5000
5. Define evaluation metric to decide on national rollout of direct selling

164
o Aim of pilot - Higher profitability from direct selling
o Metric – No of monthly TV sales per employee (“N”)
 Profit per TV from traditional method = Price – Dealer costs – Distributor
costs – TV costs = 7500
 Profit per TV from direct selling = Price – TV Costs – Direct Selling Costs =
15000 – 20000/N
 For direct selling to be profitable, N>3 (decision criteria to be checked
after pilot for national rollout
o Risks
 Direct seller becomes face of the brand – premium nature needs to be
ensured – better sales force - salary costs may increase – N may increase
 % conversion as opposed to no. of sales should also be high – skilled sales
team – salary costs may increase – N may increase
__________________________________________________________________
Gireesh Gera
Interviewer: A truck manufacturing company has a new truck in development. Help it decide if
it should launch the truck. If yes, what is the price premium it can charge over competition? And
assume there is enough demand for trucks.
Candidate: Sure. Sir can you help me with the description of the truck and its usage?
Interviewer: It is a standard 20 T truck, same as competition and is designed to carry
refrigerators from the warehouses to nearby dealerships.
Candidate: Ok Sir. Could you tell me the differing features of the truck and it what aspects is it
different from the standard truck of competition?
Interviewer: Well, this truck has many advantages over the existing trucks of the competition.
First, it has an air conditioned cabinet, a music system and a bed for the driver to sleep. All these
are absent in the current trucks of the competition. Also, it requires minimal effort to drive, so
only 1 person is enough per truck.
Candidate: OK Sir. I’ll begin with quantifying the various benefits that the new truck has over
competition. Sir, is it safe to assume that the current trucks run for 16 hours a day with 2 persons
(driver and helper) operating the truck. And that they sleep for the remaining 8 hours.
Candidate: In that case, we can potentially run this truck for 24 hours with 2 drivers. Each driver
can drive for 12 hours and the other can sleep comfortably on the bed in the AC cabin. They don’t
have to stop on the road to sleep in the night. This means 50% more capacity utilization.
Interviewer: OK well, what else?
Candidate: Could you help me with the dimensions of the new truck’s loading area and if they
are different from the current trucks?
Interviewer: The new truck has 20 ft X 10 ft X 15 ft (length, width, height) loading region vs 18
ft X 10 ft X 8 ft for the current trucks.
Candidate: Also, could you help me with the weight of each refrigerator?
Interviewer: Weight is not an issue. Refrigerators are filled basis space available.
165
Candidate: Ok. Assuming a refrigerator size of 2 ft X 2 ft, we can fit 5 more refrigerators per truck
in the new trucks. Assuming we can’t stack refrigerators on top of each other, the greater height
of new truck won’t be of use. Could you tell me how many times on an average a truck would go
from the warehouse to the dealers and the distance covered?
Interviewer: A truck has 5 trips every day with one way distance of 50 km on an average.
Candidate: Ok. [Then showed annually how many extra refrigerators could be transported].
Interviewer: Also, there is a difference in the mileage. The new truck is 14 kmpl vs 12 kmpl for
the existing truck. Also, the tyres in the new truck last for 15000 km vs 5000 km for the existing
truck.
Candidate: [Showed him the annual savings per truck on fuel]. Could you let me know the
difference between the cost of each tyre during replacement?
Interviewer: Current tyres cost Rs. 5000 each. The new truck tyres will cost Rs. 10000 each.
Candidate: Is it safe to assume that the life of the truck is 10 years and that there are 6 tyres per
truck?
Interviewer: Yes, that is fine.
Candidate: [Then showed 10 years savings on tyres]. Sir is there any other difference between the
2 trucks?
Interviewer: Yes, the new trucks are faster. They drive at 40 kmph vs 30 kmph for existing ones.
Candidate: So this would mean faster delivery and more number of round trips. [Then showed
how many more return trips each truck could make annually].
Interviewer: Any other thing?
Candidate: Sir there are the intangibles like comfortable cabin, air conditioning, music player,
etc. which will improve the efficiency of the drivers.
Interviewer: Ok. Now you have all these numbers. How do I decide truck pricing basis these?
Candidate: You see the savings under each of these heads annually and multiply by the life of the
truck. That is the maximum premium that the company can charge over the price of the standard
truck by competition.
Interviewer: Would the company be able to charge such a premium? What are the hurdles?
Candidate: No they won’t be able to charge the exact premium as calculated as the entire value
is not visible to the customers who would mainly be the transporter companies giving services to
refrigerator manufacturers. The upfront cost is very important to them. However with educating
them and showing them the value, the company can charge a premium somewhere in between
the value created.
[Basically, the interviewer was giving me more and more factors to work upon and wanted to see
how quickly I could find out & calculate the value implications of those features.]
________________________________________________________________
Jincy James Patrick
166
Interviewer: A mine in South Africa wants to improve its revenue. They mine an ore which
contains lead and zinc. They currently export to East Asia. But competition is increasing and so is
demand. How will they go about increasing their revenue?
Candidate: How is this product sold – as in what is the cost, concentration and in what form.
Interviewer: Cost is irrelevant. It is sold in a concentrate form which usually has 20-25% zinc.
Prices are fixed for this concentration.
Candidate: Can we charge a higher price after increasing the concentration – say make it 40%.
We can ask for almost double the price. How expensive would it be to increase the concentration?
Interviewer: It would be difficult to attain that level of concentrate with the current facility. Up
to an increase of 5% is possible but that will not improve the price significantly.
Candidate: Alright. Can you draw the process? The process of extraction and concentration. All
the steps involved and the resources used.
[Interviewer draws a detailed diagram. Explosives being placed in the mines. Bombing. Drilling
equipment. Followed by trucks to transport. And then chemical process to extract.]
Candidate: What is the capacity of each of these and what is the current utilization?
Interviewer: The trucks and the drill are working at 100% utilization. The chemical process has
unused capacity.
Candidate: So basically the trucks and drilling machines are the bottleneck. How expensive is it
to buy this machinery?
Interviewer: Cost is not a problem but the equipment will come only after a year.
Candidate: In that case, the best option would be to rent trucks and drilling machine (if that is
possible) for now and commission a new drilling machine which will come later. The mine can
operate on the rented machine in the mean time.
As for the trucks, if it is more economical to keep using the rented ones, do not buy new ones.
________________________________________________________________
Loveenia Gulati
Interview 1
[The interviewer had a sheet with some data about a truck manufacturing company (Company
X). During the course of the interview, he suggested to refer to the sheet to answer questions.]
Caselet: Identify a market enter strategy [How to sell, in simpler words] for Company X [company
resembled Volvo]. The truck manufacturing market is a mature market with existing major players
like Tata and Ashok Leyland.
Candidate’s Approach:
The existing players cannot be competed against based on pricing and discounting strategies.
Also, trucks of Company X were not as fuel efficient. There is duopoly in the market with Tata and
Ashok Leyland having national pockets, strength and fleet.
Think what the customer wants - Provide him with more choices.
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Possible offerings of Company X - Warranty, Value, Cost benefit, Extra sleeping berth, Wider axle
implying more load carrying capacity, after sales-service.
Follow-up question:
[Interviewer referred to his note with diagram and data]
Do a cost analysis for comparing two products, where Product A is from Company X and Product
B is from a major rival company (based on data given in sheet)
Calculate both fixed costs and variable costs. While fixed costs are given, variable costs can be
broken down based on the following tree structure.
On calculating, it was found that cost was relatively same in both the cases.
[Part of final answer not covered: Product A may also have a resale value]
Interview 2
Caselet: Run a diagnostic of Bank X on the retail banking side. The bank has a growth rate of 10%
in its savings account segment where as the market growth rate is 20%.
I broke down the problem into several sub-parts to identify what could be the possible reason.
Below is a tree structure of how the break-down looked like -
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Key drivers
Industry Customer External

s factors
Market Competition Consumer Add Economy Technology

share _______ new
product
New Substitute
player
Interviewer: Can you probe into the branch of customers? [He showed some data from which it
could be interpreted that it wasn't the other two factors]
Candidate’s Approach: The structure shown below gives an idea of the reasons for drop in
savings by breaking it down further
Savings
Old
Number of Size of
customers deposits
New
Brand
Marketing
name
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Upon further discussion, the interviewer pointed out that the drop was actually because of
marketing reasons and their front line interfacing with customers had deteriorated.
The discussion pursued a while on how the issue could be fixed.
___________________________________________________________________
DELOITTE STRATEGY & OPERATIONS
Karthik Ram
Caselet: Deloitte is consulting an Indian health care manufacturing company who wants to enter
the US market. Design a market entry strategy for the company.
I asked for the data points on states in US where the company is looking to enter.
[Interviewer gave growth data and the kind of markets prevalent in each state]
I chose state where there is less monopoly and the market is fragmented. These states also
showed some growth potential for new entrants.
Interviewer: What type of customers will you choose?
Candidate: Market has to be divided into segments based on the amount of usage. Within
segment choose individual groups.
[One interviewer played the role of a Government regulator with subjective questions on entering
markets]
Some calculation had to be done to find out growth potential. Data was provided for calculating
number of people in terms of usage and present penetration of competitors.
Interviewer: What should you consider about your client company before suggesting these
ideas?
Candidate: We must know the life cycle of our own company. We must also know that their niche
is. [The company was a growing Indian player]
______________________________________________________________
170
Sujitha Paramasivan & Ranjani Rajagopalan
Caselet: Deloitte is consulting for an Asian company that wants to enter the heath care equipment
manufacturing market in the US. The client is new to both the country and the market segment.
The client has multiple product categories to choose from. [Data available on multiple product
categories for the company to choose from]
Which product should the company go with? Design a market entry strategy for the company.
Candidate’s approach: Sir, to design a market entry strategy, I would want to look some data on
the states in US the company is looking to enter, including the competitor data and competitor
market share for each product
[Interviewer gives data on kind of markets, competitors and growth for products in each state]
Interviewer: Any other parameters you would consider?
Candidate: Sir, I would also want to look at profitability of each product segment
[Interviewer gives data on profit margins for each product segment]
Interviewer: Anything else?
Candidate: Since we have covered market size, competitors & profitability, I would also want to
look at legal regulations specific to this market
Interviewer: Why do you think this parameter is important?
Candidate: Sir, since regulations & laws in Asian countries and the US are widely different and
we are looking at the healthcare segment, I believe data on legal regulations would be relevant.
[Interviewer gives data on legal regulations specific to each product in different states]
Interviewer: Anything else you would want to look at?
Candidate: Sir, I would want to look at internal capabilities too. Do we have the capability to
manufacture all these products with precision?
[Interviewer very happy with this new approach]
Interviewer: Why this approach?
Candidate: Sir, the equipment that the company is planning to manufacture are all high tech. If
we do not have the internal capabilities to get into a particular product segment, the analysis
would be pointless.
Interviewer: That is interesting. For now, we will assume that your client can manufacture all
the products/equipment with precision. Could you analyze all the data available and let me know
which product your client should choose?
Candidate: I analyzed the data – only one product has a clear cut advantage in all segments. It
has few competitors in high density states. It shows high profitability and the legal environment
is conducive to its launch. I suggested the same.
Interviewer: That is it. Thank you.
[Deloitte does not give you all the data upfront. They wait for you to ask for it. This is to
understand your approach. If you miss any parameter while analyzing, the data sheet will not be
given to you. In the end, the approach is more important than any amount of number crunching
one would do]
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__________________________________________________________________
MCKINSEY & COMPANY
Akshay Goenka
Caselet 1: You are the MD of a large firm that is looking to acquire a mid-tier pharmaceutical
company. How would you go about it?
Candidate: Could you help me answer a few questions like:
- What kind of a pharmaceutical firm are we?
- What kind of firm are we looking to acquire?
- And why?
- What markets do we currently operate in?
- Are we looking to acquire firms internally or externally (in terms of markets)? [This was to
understand if the acquisition is for integration in terms of some capability or is it just money
driven]
Interviewer: Ok, say yours is a private equity firm and not a pharmaceutical firm. How would
you go about it now?
Candidate: Could I take a minute to structure my thoughts?
Interviewer: Sure.
Candidate: Firstly, we should do an internal analysis of the firm and external analysis of the
market. And the same for the company we are looking to acquire.
Internal: What are our strengths and weaknesses? Are we currently in a position to invest? etc
External: Is this a good opportunity? , Do we have better investment opportunities currently? Etc
For the company we are looking to acquire:

Internal: Is the company growing? How is the management? What is the competitive advantage?
External: Is the market conducive for continuous growth?, How are the peers/competitors doing?
Secondly, if we believe the company is going to grow, we need to analyze what is driving the
growth:
- Is it the patents the company currently holds?
- Is it because it is ramping up production?
- Is it in another country that is showing rapid growth?
Based on this we can come up with a valuation - an initial valuation and a projection for five years.
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Thirdly, we should look at exit options. If we are looking to sell it how should we sell it & who
should we sell it to, when is the right time for exit?
Also once we sell it, what do we intend to do with the money, will we re-invest? [This was one
step more than they expected and the interviewer was really happy about it]
[It is best to give a comprehensive list of all the approaches you would take and then ask the
interviewer if it sounds good to go. In the interest of time, interviewers generally ask you to focus
on one approach/ lever]
Interviewer: That is a comprehensive list [sounds happy]. Can we talk about how you would go
ahead with the valuation?
Candidate: There are multiple approaches one could take
- Valuate the company in terms of its market capitalization and stock price
- Valuate it as a sum of its parts i.e look at all the businesses/sectors the company is in –
separate intellectual capital, separate property and assets and valuate them
- Do a comparable company analysis. This information can be used to determine a
company's enterprise value and to calculate other ratios used to compare a company to
those in its peer group.
Interviewer: Would you dump the firm in the end? How would you evaluate exit opportunities?
Candidate: First approach - At the given point, when evaluating exit opportunities, I would look
at all opportunities to re-invest. If there is a better investment that would make more money, I
would go ahead with that without being emotional.
Second approach – A more emotional way of looking at it is if I feel that there is hidden potential
in the firm that is not coming out in the numbers, say because they have spent much in R&D and
I would expect it to show results only in a few years, I would stick with the company.
Interviewer: That sounds good. Let us get you to the second round.
Caselet 2 (with Director Rajat Dhawan): Estimating the cost of India’s Mars Mission
Interviewer: Have you read about the Mars mission?
Candidate: Yes, a little.
Interviewer: How would you go about estimating the cost of the mission?
Candidate: Ok. I would first look at different cost levers for such a mission
- cost of equipment
- cost of personnel
- cost of R&D
- cost of operations
To estimate the cost of the equipment, I would first estimate the size of the rocket then look at
different parts on board (including what would be left behind in the orbits) [guesstimate number]
- Amount of fuel required [I asked the interviewer about the cost of jet fuel in the market -
guesstimate number]
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- Number of personnel - Is it a manned or unmanned mission, how many people in R&D, how
many people at the launch station? [guesstimate number]
- Cost of setting up the launch station. [guesstimate number]
Interviewer: Don’t you think they have many of these already?
Candidate: Sorry, skipped my mind. If you don’t mind I would like to take a few minutes and
divide these into what they would already have and they would not have.
[I divided them into two verticals and started working out the costs. Along the way, I remarked
that the cost seems small. NASA spends like 20 times this]
Interviewer: [Gets excited & speaks about how he personally met Madhavan and how ISRO is
doing a remarkable job] Good. Let’s get together for coffee someday and discuss this further.
[More case interview related tips from Akshay Goenka can be found at:
http://www.gradstory.in/gradschool/consulting-consulting-10-tips-success-iim-student-
akshay-goenka/]
______________________________________________________________
Rupali Jain
Interviewer: How has the day been for you?

Candidate: It's been good so far. I am excited as I have got the opportunity to interview with the
company which topped my preference list.
Interviewer: Good. Let's begin the case.
Caselet: There is a telecom company which manufactures Base Station Antennas and its revenues
have declined by 30% over the past 2 years. You have to identify:-
 Why the revenues have declined?
 What shall be the future projections (say for 3-4 years) of the revenues?
Candidate: Began with clarifying questions like understanding the product (base station
antennas), the scope of operations of the telecom company, its position in the market,
competition, industry overview.
Interviewer: Detailed explanation about the product and the telecom company followed by facts
like- The company is a market leader with 60% share; the industry is growth oriented; onset of
competition from foreign players from China & Europe
Candidate: Is the declining revenue a trend across the industry & competitors or is it specific to
the client only? What is the setting of the case- Location & Time period?
Interviewer: Not an industry-wide trend. Specific to our client only. India and the time when 3G
licenses were issued.
Candidate: Broke the problem into two heads.
Decline in Revenue can be because of :-
INTERNAL FACTORS EXTERNAL FACTORS
Fall in Price Technological change
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Fall in units sold Foreign Player's preferred
 Contracts with buyers over
 Modifications in existing contract
clauses/Terms with the buyers
 Unable to tap new buyers
 Renewal of existing contracts
Life of the antennas(Product Life cycle) Other competitor's Growing
Intrinsic Flaw in the antennas/Product quality Government Regulation changes/Taxes
Problem in distribution 3G License scam
network(Understanding Point-of-Sale for
antennas)
Product mix/types of antennae sold and fall in Better Substitutes available
revenue because of which type
Defamation/Tarnished Reputation of the
Client owing to some accidents/inappropriate
BOD decisions leading to fall in units
sold/prices
Interviewer: Understood all the mentioned points and gave inputs at places about whether that
point was relevant or not to solve the problem of the caselet. Asked me to give weights to the
above parameters on the basis of their importance in solving the case making use of the
information he provided. Also asked:-
How will you decide which among the two i.e. Price and Volume has a greater impact on the fall
in Revenue? Say prices have fallen by 10-15%.
Candidate: Let 10 units be sold for 10 rupees. Client's revenue= Rs 100. Since prices have fallen
by 10%, so the total revenue on 10 units will be 90 rupees. However, revenue has declined by
30% i.e. it is Rs 70. Therefore the remaining fall of Rs 20 in revenue is due to fall in quantity sold.
Interviewer: Good. Thank you.
________________________________________________________________
Sonali Jain
Caselet: Calculate the revenue of a Barista Lavazza store at Bangalore Airport from 6 to 7am at
any given day.
Candidate: Sir, I will first look at the factors/decision-variables that will influence the estimation
of revenue. They would be:
 The time of the day for which we need to calculate the revenue (6-7am, as given)
 The no. of flights taking off/ landing/ stationed during that period
 No. of people waiting at the airport post security check(both passengers & airport staff)
 Product mix at Barista
 Pricing at Barista
 The number & type of restaurants/ eating joints at Bangalore Airport
175
Interviewer: Yes, the parameters chosen are appropriate. Could you focus only on passengers
and not on personnel?
Candidate: Sure. I would split the problem further into that of volume and price. The price would
depend upon what a typical consumer’s basket of goods bought at a coffee shop contains. I will
assume an average price for the basket (say Rs.300). After this, I would want to estimate the
number of passengers who will visit that coffee shop.
And calculate assuming:
 Capacity of the airport to station aircrafts(passengers for them could be waiting)
 The number of flights which take off in an hour(assuming a flight takes off every 5 mins,
so 12 flights in an hour)
 Seating capacity of a plane- based on economy & business class, the number of rows in a
class & seats per row including seats for flight crew
Economy ~ (30 rows) * (6 seats per row) = 180 seats
Business: ~ 20 seats (assumption)
Total = 200 seats
I will then multiply the number of flights with the seating capacity. This number should be
reduced based on the occupancy rate (assumption) and further reduced based on the conversion
rate of people visiting Lavazza (assumption). The final number would be x.
Interviewer: That sounds like a reasonable number. Thank you.
[Interviewer understood all the mentioned points, kept on agreeing to clarifying questions and
gave inputs at places about whether that point was relevant or not to solve the problem of the
caselet. All in all, I was able to give an approximate number to the question and interviewer
seemed satisfied by the approach.]
_____________________________________________________________
Vivek Yelisetti
Interview 1
Caselet: There has been a good growth in the media industry. One of the companies is
diversifying into hyper local newspaper. It is planning to run a pilot for the same in
Chandigarh. How will you choose an area within Chandigarh?
Candidate: Before proceeding into the case, can you explain what exactly the hyper local
newspaper is for? Is the company already into the business or does it have to start afresh?
[I asked a few similar questions about the company and its business to understand the
context for further analysis].
Interviewer: The newspaper is primarily to cater to the local needs of Chandigarh. It would
be a weekly newspaper. The company is new to the business.
176
Candidate: This is how I would like to proceed into the case analysis. First, I would identify
the qualities that the company is looking for in its audience; identify various sources of
revenue, the type of paper to be launched and such existing newspapers if any. Starting, are
there any specific qualities that the company is looking for in its audience?
Interviewer: Nothing as such. What are the qualities that you consider are important?
Candidate: Weekly Newspapers are normally categorised by the affordability, the population
reach, their preferences and age - like retired people, housewives, and may be youth. As the
revenues for such kind of newspapers are through advertisements and they depend on the
reach and circulation, it is extremely important for the company to target such a sector where
you maximise the revenues. Is that assumption right?
Candidate: Given the target audience of retired people and housewives, the revenues can
come from food supermarkets and restaurants in the area.
Interviewer: What do you think retired people and housewives look for?
Candidate: Housewives might look for offers on household items, recipes, for discounts on
fruit juices etc - jewellery, some coaching centres and tips regarding health and education for
their children. The retired people might be looking for events like concerts that they can
indulge in during their free time.
Interviewer: Alright, so which area to target.
Candidate: We shall identify the area which has a lot reach in Chandigarh, an area which
has lot of retail stands where the newspaper circulation would be maximum, an area which
has good infrastructure – good roads, restaurants etc where businesses would be maximum.
Interviewer: Cool, Can you quickly summarise the points?
I did the same. It was a short 15 minute interview.

177
Interview 2
[The interviewer was doing his own work sitting in a corner. I went into the room and sat but
he was busy doing his own work. A minute or so passed. I initiated the conversation – asking
which office he works in, which sectors etc. He said he has few mails to send and asked
about Wi-Fi in campus and campus life. Then he came to the table and then mentioned
about his sectors etc. and that’s how the case got started.]
Caselet: Our client is from the consumer space. It is a fast moving FMCG. The CEO is
newly appointed. He visited some stores recently and found low on-shelf availability of
products. He wants to analyse why is it so.
Candidate: Asked a few details about the FMCG company and the kind of products to get
an understanding of the type of business. Then I told him that I would analyse the supply
chain to identify the problem. He asked me to go ahead with it.
Candidate: I drew this regular diagram {Raw Materials – Plant – Warehouse – Distributors
– Retailers – Consumers}. Is there any problem with the availability of raw materials or
manufacturing techniques due to which there is a delay of distribution or any reent plant
failures or shutdowns?
Interviewer: No. Nothing like that.
Candidate: How are the products distributed – to warehouse and from there to distributors?
Interviewer: The products are sent daily to the warehouse and from there through small
trucks every month. The distributors DBSR’s – They go every week to visit all the stores in
the area.
Candidate: How many stores does a distributor has to cater to?
Interviewer: Approximately 10-15 in an area. On an average a DBSR spends 3 hrs in a

shop taking orders etc.
178
Candidate: Assuming, a DBSR spends 25 hours in a week (5 days *5 hours) working on this
– client relations, taking orders etc, a DBSR would cover roughly 8 stores – there by not able
to reach out to all the stores – leading to a low on-shelf availability.
Interviewer: Good analysis. So what to do?
Candidate: The Company has two options – Increase the number of DBSRs’ if it takes that
much time for the order – or Reduce the time spent in each shop – In order to do this,
incentivise the DBSRs so that they cover all the stores in the area etc.
Interviewer: Thank you. How are the placements going on?
[It was a short simple case. But I felt they tested me on whether I could start off a
conversation with a random person and whether I could take initiatives.]
___________________________________________________________________
ROLAND BERGER
Soumya H.
Interviewer: Hi, so could you please tell me about yourself?
Candidate: Hi, I am Soumya, an architect. [Gave basic intro about myself, work experience, extra-
curriculars, PORs, everything included]
Interviewer: That’s interesting, an architect, who worked on a project site. So tell me, do you
know how much were the profit margins for your company?
Candidate: Well, I could tell you how much they were for my project. We were working on a 12%
margin. I must tell you that, although I was a designer, I was also given the responsibility of
planning and billing and hence I had access to these numbers.
Interviewer: Good, that’s good exposure. So how big was this project did you say?
Candidate: INR 246 Crores
Interviewer: Ok. So, how much was the ROCE on your project? Do you know what ROCE is?
Candidate: Yes, ROCE is Return on Capital Employed. Could you give me a few minutes, so that I
could work out the numbers?
[Paused, worked out the numbers]. In terms of the capital employed, I would consider the assets;
I am not considering the liabilities because we worked with very small credit periods of less than
30 days with their suppliers. [Gave the figures estimating the rent of plant and machinery on the
179
project site, and the cost of other materials on the site. I knew the value of the some of the resources
on site, and used industry standard thumb rules to assess the others, and stated all of these to the
interviewer].
The ROCE measures the Operating Profit as a percentage of capital employed. [It’s very important
to walk your interviewer through every single step, every single assumption etc; they do not care
about your answer, but the process]
Interviewer: Ok now that you have a number, do you know what it signifies?
Candidate: It shows the efficiency of the use of the capital employed to generate profits.
Interviewer: And what is your conclusion, was your project making good use of the resources?
Candidate: Well Sir, I cannot say that without knowing what the industry standards are in the
construction industry.
Interviewer: Ok. So how many companies have you applied to?
Candidate: This is the only consulting firm that I have applied to.
Interviewer: [Smiles] Or is it the only one you got shortlisted for? I am just kidding. So what do
you want to do?
Candidate: Sir, I see myself in the marketing domain. I would like to be in the top notch marketing
companies such as HUL and P&G
Interviewer: Ok, and do you have any questions for me?
Candidate: Yes sir, the only thing I know about Roland in India is about the Jaguar deal. Your
global website spoke about consulting in the consumer retail sector which really interested me.
However, the Indian website seemed to be heavily focused on the automotive sector. Could you
educate me a little more about Roland, particularly about its India operations?
Interviewer: We came to India in 2012. We have worked with a few conglomerates, and are in
the process of growing our business. It just so happened that we could gain a great access into the
automotive sector. We are one of the top most consulting firms in Europe, and by nature not as
media savvy like our American counterparts, so you know much less. We have 3 offices, in India
- Mumbai, Delhi, and one coming up in Pune. Your interest in the consumer retail is great but we
don’t know how fast we will be able to get there.
Candidate: Ok. Thanks for that.
Interviewer: Soumya, I think I really like you. Most importantly I like the fact that you are not
desperate for this job. I will put my best word for you, but I have another Principal coming to have
a word with you before we take the final call.
[Meeting with Principal 2 was a casual discussion where he asked only about me work ex, and
my strong and weak subject areas. I did not consider myself strong in both finance and analytics,
and conveyed the same. He asked me if I could make good PPTs, and I said I was very good at it.
He concluded by saying, that his partner had left him with little choice by putting in a strong
recommendation for me. I thanked him at the end of the interview.]
___________________________________________________________________
STRATEGY& (FORMERLY BOOZ & COMPANY)
Amit Rao
180
Interview 1
[The interview started with a lot of PI questions. We spoke a lot about my work experience and
thereby the case also was related to the company I worked for.]
Caselet: A multinational automobile company wants to launch its electric vehicle in India. How
should it go about it? How should it price it?
Candidate: First I would try to understand the company [Since I had worked for the company
anyway, knew everything necessary, I asked nevertheless to check.]. Then I would like to do a
customer & product analysis.
Interviewer: Yes that’s right. I want you to find out what car should they offer and to whom?
Candidate: [Did market segmentation and identified which segment is likely to buy] I will now
identify what this segment will want from this vehicle. Factors that they will look at include
 Mileage
 Price
 Convenience of travel
 Licence/ Ease of documentation
 Environmental issues
 Others
[Initially I had missed out the first point, but he hinted me at it and I got it]
Interviewer: Okay. You seem to have got all the requirements. Now how will I position my
product to meet these needs?
Candidate: Use promotions to state the fact that mileage will be substantially lesser for electric
vehicles, almost Re.0.5/km compared to fossil-fuel vehicles Rs.10/km. No maintenance. Do road
shows to grab people’s attention. Price it such that it replaces a smaller vehicle like Nano or
scooters like Activa. Give extra battery for emergency situations. Give boot space/ foldable seats
options. Get pumps to have charging stations. Launch it primarily in cities with good infra since
these vehicles are not made for rough roads. Touch the environmental sensitive aspect during
promotions. [Gave a few more options]
Interviewer: That’s sounds good. Now let’s look at the pricing
Candidate: I believe that cost based pricing is the best way to go about this.
Interviewer: That won’t be entirely right. Can you think of a better way?
Candidate: I will calculate how much an average family spends on a car of same size and compare
it with an electric car.
Interviewer: That would be the correct way to do this. [Gave data about average monthly travel,
maintenance costs, fuel charges etc.]
Candidate: After the calculations, it turns out electric car is expensive than a petrol car due to
very high battery replacement cost. Hence we need some government relaxations for taxes so
that the benefit can be transferred to the buyer.
Interviewer: Okay. That’s good. I will send you to the next round.
Interview 2
181
[Again a lot of personals were asked here for almost 15mins. Somewhat repetitive.]
Caselet: Our client is diabetes solution provider in Vietnam. Wants to increase market share.
How will he do it?
Candidate: I will want to do an industry analysis. [Did Porter’s 5 forces, took 2 minutes to write it
down and then explained each aspect]. Can you tell me more about the client?
Interviewer: Our client has 70% market share. Has the most effective remedy for diabetes
currently. All other players are fragmented and provide temp solutions which are cheaper and
not that effective.
Candidate: Okay. Essentially we will be selling these drugs to the doctors? Or do we sell them to
the chemists?
Interviewer: Well, that’s a good point. What do you think?
Candidate: Since, it’s a serious ailment I believe that these medicines will be availed through
chemists but only on doctors’ prescription. So we need to target this market. Since they are
knowledgeable themselves, it is easy to educate them about our product. Do we have any as such
direct substitutes?
Interviewer: That’s correct. Besides exercise and diet control nothing as such. How do you think
will the market expand?
Candidate: The market will grow as more people are made aware of the product. It doesn’t have
to do with more people getting affected by this disease.
Interviewer: Yes, that’s what I was looking for.
[Then we did further analysis on revenue streams and costs to see if we can increase the
profitability in some way. Turns out that they were importing some aspects of the drug and we
came to a conclusion that since we have a got market share its best to invest in a facility at
Vietnam]
Interviewer: Okay. That will be all.
[Both interviews went for around 45 minutes. I was given the offer after 2 rounds itself. I believe
PI is as important as Case prep. They look at your clarity of thought, communication skills and
passion to do consulting.]
________________________________________________________________
Kumar Dhruv Soni
Caselet: Company A is an established player in the airline industry. In recent years, A has started
facing financial issues. Company has hired you as a consultant, how would you go about
suggesting a turnaround for them?
Candidate: Since A has been an established player in the industry, recent facing financial issues
means either their profits are declining or growth is not to the expectations.
Interviewer: That’s right, in fact company has started incurring lose since last 3-4 years.
Candidate: I believe either the costs have been shooting up or there is not enough demand in the
market.
Interviewer: yeah, but what do you think?
Candidate: Let’s look at both of them, first I would like see what all costs are involved and if any
of them have been shooting up in last couple of years. Then I would like to look at the revenue
side and see if prices or demand has declined in recent years.
182
Interviewer: Well as far as prices are concerned it has always been very competitive market.
What do you think about demand?
Candidate: I can comment if we can see how has been the industry performance in recent years
and if any other airline is also facing the similar issues.
Interviewer: Well, as far as the industry is concerned, there are lots of competitors and the
performance varies. However, the financial issues of A are more severe than any other player in
the industry.
[Got the hint that problem is specific to A and should analyze the costs]
Candidate: I believe analyzing the costs incurred in airline operations for A would give a better
picture.
Interviewer: You are right, so how do you go about it from here?
Candidate: We first list different costs involved, then see factors affecting each of them and if any
of the costs are shooting up in recent years for A.
Interviewer: That sounds good. But how would you go about listing the different cost heads?
[I listed the cost heads for an airline as per below while following the conversation]
Interest Airport Rent Fuel Salary Add. Services Repair & Maintenance
Candidate: Well, I think of it as if I am running an airline company. First I will have to buy the
aircraft, which counts for initial borrowing or investment, hence the interest to be paid on the
capital. Then I will have to pay rent to the airports.
Candidate: Then there are costs regarding fuel, salary to the employees, additional services
offered on the flight as well as regular repair and maintenance costs and… [Interrupted by the
interviewer]
Interviewer: That’s good enough for the analysis. So Dhruv actually the fuel prices are going
really high for A, in fact all the airline companies. Do you have any suggestions for them?
Candidate: Actually there are couple of ideas which can be implemented based on the situation.
To start with, not relying on single supplier. Have short term contracts, which would give
opportunity to negotiate acceptable price variation range at each renewal. Having multiple
supplier would increase the bargaining power for sure and hence better price negotiation. What
can also be done is, create incentives for suppliers and provide opportunity to grow their business
and negotiate price reduction in return. For example co-branding with Airline or use the same
supplier for other business of company A.
Interviewer: Thanks Dhruv, that sounds good.
_________________________________________________________
Vinit Gawande
Caselet: A pharmaceutical company has come up with a new diabetes drug and is looking to enter
the diabetes market in Vietnam. How would you go about the same?
Candidate: First, we need to estimate the potential market size to see if it is viable.
183
For estimating the size, I will start off by assuming the population of Vietnam to be roughly 100
million (i.e 1/10th that of India). Then assuming that around 5% of people worldwide have
diabetes, I would arrive at the number of diabetics in the country.
Assuming 5 million is a good size of the target market, I would start collecting data on the diabetic
population of Vietnam. The entire potential market will not be the target immediately. We should
only target people who are aware of them being diabetic.
Interviewer: But how would you get the data for the same? A country like Vietnam would not
have organized data available.
Candidate: Maybe reach out to the national/ state health departments to get a record of the
same. The records would give us an idea of
- Number of people with the knowledge of they being diabetic
- Number of people who can afford the shots
Interviewer: Sounds like a reasonable approach. Thanks.
___________________________________________________________________
184
CASE INTERVIEW EXPERIENCES - SUMMERS 2013
order)
Name Company
Duration
(months)
Pushkar
Bain & Co Electrical IIT Kanpur ITC 22 Work-Ex Academics
Aggarwal
Dual Strand
Aashish Mckinsey &
Degree IIT Madras Life 22 Academics Awards
Dattani Co
CSE Sciences
Aditya
Ritesh Birla
BCG Electrical IIT Bombay ITC 23 Academics
Agarwal Scholarshi
p
Integrated
Abhay Mckinsey & MSc. IIT
ITC 24 Work-Ex Academics
Kumar Co Mathemati Kharagpur
cs
Madhur Mckinsey & Extra-
B.Com (H) SRCC NA NA PORs
Bansal Co curriculars
Mckinsey & B. Tech.
Ishaan Puri IIT Kanpur ITC 24 Work-Ex Academics
Co (EE)
Mckinsey & Maths & IIT
Nikita Garg NA NA Academics PORs
Co Compt. Guwahati
Boston BITS Pilani Oracle
Ishan
Consulting Comp. Sci. K.K Birla India Pvt. 10 Academics PORs
Vishnoi
Group Goa Campus ltd
185
BAIN & COMPANY
Pushkar Aggarwal
Interview 1
The first interview wasn’t one case, but smaller discussions on graphs, charts and financial data
showed by the interviewer on a laptop screen. The interview started of with general chitchat
about high stress level on Day 0
Interviewer – Shall we get started? (Turns around his laptop showing a bubble chart) What do
you infer from this graph? (It was a ROA/ROS vs RMS graph, example below)
Candidate – This is the first time I am seeing this kind of a chart. I can see that the Y-axis is Return
on Sales but I am not sure what Relative Market Share means. Could you guide me through it?
Interviewer – The Y-axis is correct, the relative market share is the ratio of that company’s
market share to the share of the largest competitor. However, for the market leader, it is the ratio
of its share to the 2nd largest player.
Candidate – Ok, and the bubble size reflects the actual number of sales?
Interviewer – Yes
Candidate – Looking at the graph, I can say that Nike is the largest player in the market, with a
size almost twice of Reebok, the 2nd largest competitor. However, Adidas is an outlier, generating
a higher return than both Nike and Reebok. Also, beyond these three players, there are no major
players. Thus, the market is highly concentrated.
Interviewer – If Reebok were our client, what advice would you give them?
186
Candidate – Let me think about that for a minute. (Pause) I can see two paths for them. Either
they can try to move up the Y-axis – by focusing on increasing return to sales or try to move up
the X-axis – trying to capture a larger market share.
Interviewer – What do you think is more suitable?
Candidate – Seeing that Nike is such a dominant player, I would focus on increasing my return to
sales, which Adidas shows can be achieved in the industry.
(Moves to a second slide and shows me a profit and loss statement for two hospitals)
Interviewer – Hospital #2 is our client, what would you recommend, looking at these
statements?
Candidate – Could you tell me, what is the market position of Hospital #1? I mean, why have we
focused on them for comparison?
Interviewer – Hospital#1 is the most profitable hospital in the area
Candidate – If we compare the two statements, we can see that Hospital #2 has similar revenues
but a higher cost than Hospital #1. Thus, we should focus on identifying cost-cutting
opportunities.
Interviewer – Ok, what specific suggestions would you give?
Candidate – Looking at the major deviations from Hospital 1 again, I would focus on doctor’s
salaries, consumables and insurance cost.
Interviewer – How would you reduce cost in these heads?
Candidate – We could look at multiple options
1. For doctors – We should look at rationalizing number of doctors; maybe we have too
many on staff. Further, the type of doctors may be focused too much on specialists, driving
up the costs. A benchmarking should be done for the salary structure as well, to see if the
pay could be rationalized.
2. For Consumables – A benchmarking study will give us a better idea of cost. Then, we can
look better procurement practices, including centralized purchasing, single vendor
development, etc. to reduce cost.
3. For insurance – there may be overlapping insurance policies on the different facilities. We
might be over-insuring due to an unduly high-risk assessment. Also, we might be able to
renegotiate a better deal with the insurance provider, using this data as a benchmark.
(We then discussed the feasibility of some of these ideas till the end)
Interview 2
Interviewer – What are you planning to do after your MBA?
Candidate – (gave a small overview of my career plan, mainly used as a icebreaker)
Caselet: Are you aware of Starbucks’ recent entry into India recently? (I said yes). Let’s say they
have appointed us as advisors, and they are looking to expand into Bangalore. What would you
recommend?
Candidate – To be clear, we are looking at Starbucks entering into the Bangalore city market
through setup of coffee cafes in Bangalore city? (Interviewer said Yes). Since this is a specific
question, I would first like to understand the background. Could you tell me the expansion
strategy, and what is the aim of their expansion into Bangalore?
187
Interviewer – I agree. Right now, Starbucks is looking to setup a flagship store in Bangalore to
establish a foothold into the Bangalore market.
Candidate – So we need to figure out how to establish one flagship store in Bangalore. Am I
correct? (Interviewer said yes) Can I take a minute to structure my thoughts? (Pause) So, I would
like to look at the case on these dimensions –
 Identify location for flagship store
 Setup costs involved with the store
 Day-to-day running costs
 Sales and marketing
I assume product choice, pricing is fixed as per Starbucks standards. Is there any head you want
me to start with?
Interviewer – Why don’t you start in terms of importance?
Candidate – Starting with location, we will need to identify the following:
 First, identify the locality in Bangalore – probably in high-end commercial market areas
towards the centre of the city. As per my experience, the main commercial areas are MG
Road, Koramangala and Indiranagar. We should look at customer footfall density in each
of these areas, to choose one.
 Second, decide to setup a store on the high street (main road) or one in a mall. I would
suggest a flagship store, since it is more premium. Further, it doesn’t limit the customer
population to people who visit the mall.
Interviewer – How many people would visit the store in this location?
Candidate – Should I do a first-principle estimate or there is any data available?
Interviewer – Yes. You could use first principle estimate.
Candidate - I would like to do a day-by-day hourly estimation. The first thing is the capacity of
the café. In my limited experience of cafes, a typical café would suit around 50 people.
Then I assume, on a typical weekday, the timings are from 11am to 11pm. During this, occupancy
will be,
Weekday Weekend
11am-1pm 30% 70-80%
1pm-3pm 70-80% 90-100%
3pm-6pm 50% 70-80%
6pm-9pm 90-100% 90-100%
9pm-11pm 40% 60-70%
Assuming, a person spends an hour on average in the store, we can calculate the total number of
people in a week – 850 (weekday-350+ weekend 500)
Interviewer – what do you think will make up the setup and running costs?
Candidate – the setup costs will involve –
 Initial interiors of the store
 Machinery and utensils for the store
188
 Setting up a supply chain for the store
 Product launch costs – events, etc.
The running costs will be –
 Rental for real estate – including seating, kitchen, employee space
 Employee costs – for servers, cooks, cleaners, manager, security guard
 Maintenance
 Advertising costs – including promotions, signboards, radio ads
 Cost of coffee – We can look at average margin/cup from existing stores. Assuming, same
products are being sold and no extraneous costs are present.
(This was followed by a detailed estimate of some of these costs, which involved breaking them
down a level further. The focus was on the process of estimation and not the final number)
Interviewer – That’s great, one last question. What do you think competitor response will be to
Starbucks entry?
Candidate – They have the following options
 Engage in a price war by cutting prices – but its not sustainable and not good for anyone.
Further, Starbucks is a premium player and hence, price war won’t be applicable to them
 Develop stores to emulate Starbucks experience and products – like developing premium
stores and range of coffees to prevent migration of customers.
 Start aggressive advertising and customer loyalty programs
Interviewer – Sounds good. Thank you.
___________________________________________________________________
Ritesh Agarwal
Caselet: A cement company wants to decide which markets to sell its cement in. Help them do
this.
Candidate: So, as I understand, I need to help this company decide which markets to serve. I am
assuming the company is looking to maximize profits here?
Interviewer: Yes, you should maximize profits.
Candidate: Is the company a regional firm or a national firm? What geographies does it operate
in?
Interviewer: Consider an Indian company deciding what quantities to supply in which markets
in North India.
Candidate: Ok. Before starting, I would like to know whether the company has multiple cement-
manufacturing units.
Interviewer: Yes, consider the firm has 3 units spread across 2 states in the North. Also, cement
firms use warehouses to supply markets.
Candidate: Thanks. I would like to take some time here and think my way through.
189
(Took a minute here)
Candidate: Okay, so here is how I am going to attack this problem. In order to maximize profits,
I will look at the price that I can earn in a certain market versus the cost of serving that market. I
assume the price will be given for a market. The cost will depend on various factors: Cost of
transport from the manufacturing unit to the warehouse which is distance * cost per km, Cost of
transport from the warehouse to the demand point, and cost of storage in the warehouse. Then, I
will try to maximize profits. Is this okay?
Interviewer: Okay, what are the constraints you need to keep in mind?
(Here, I realized that this conversation was turning into a linear optimization problem – Second
term: QM II. Thank you Professor Sastry)
Candidate: (After a minute.) There will be three constraints for this: First, the total supply from
a manufacturing unit should not be more than the capacity of the unit. Second, the total quantity
that can be sold in a market should be less than the market demand. Third, the total quantity
supplied by a warehouse should be less than warehouse capacity.
Interviewer: Assume that each warehouse can be built as large as required; warehouse capacity
is a choice and not a constraint. Anything else you need to do?
Candidate: Well, this turns into a linear programming problem. Solving this, we will get the
answer: how much to sell in each market, where to open warehouses, which market to supply
from which unit.
Interviewer: Okay, then write this problem on a paper with the objective function and the
constraints.
Candidate: (Writes and hands over the paper)
Interviewer: Good. But there is another important constraint you have not considered.
Candidate: (A little panicky) I am not sure which one. Can you help me with this?
Interviewer: Will the price in a market remain fixed, or does it depend on something?
Candidate: (Sorry look)
Interviewer: Go back to your basic economics. The amount that you try to sell in a market
changes the price that you can get in the market.
Candidate: Yes, the demand curve, but I assumed that the price is given for a market.
Interviewer: No, try to model this as a constraint in the linear problem.
(Tried to build in the constraint, the interviewer seemed partially satisfied with the answer)
Interviewer: Okay, no problem. You have solved most of the problem. Just the last part needs
more thinking. Anyways, good job! Thanks.
___________________________________________________________________
Ishan Vishnoi
190
Caselet: Our client is a company ABC which wants to start a new venture revolving around supply
chain management for small kirana stores in the villages of the country. Our client wants us to
evaluate how feasible this model is and what can be possible areas of concern.
Candidate: Sir, before I begin, I would like to ask a few questions. I understand that the
consumers for this company would be the village kirana stores. But where do they plan to source
the supplies?
Interviewer: The supplies will be taken from large wholesale retail chains like Metro.
Candidate: Alright, and I believe that they will have a hub and spoke model, where a central
town/city will act as warehouse and then they can distribute to each of the kirana stores?
Candidate: Can I take a few minutes to understand what could be the possible areas of concern?
Interviewer: Sure.
(Take 2 minutes to think about the possible concerns that could be there in the model)
Candidate: Sir, I would like to take a look across the value chain step by step. First of all, would
like to take a look at the possible issues that can arise from the suppliers end. Some of the issues
that I could think of were discount margins and availability of credit. Should I explore these issues
in detail?
Interviewer: No, that is not necessary. Why don’t you focus on the issues from the customer –
village kirana store – side?
Candidate: Sure Sir. From the customer side, I think the most important issues will be – product
variety, credit facility and replenishment cycle. Have I missed out on anything?
Interviewer: Do you think they will be willing to accept a model like this?
Candidate: I think that also depends on what kinds of margins we are offering them. Better prices
and higher variety of goods will be the motivation for them.
Interviewer: Alright. Regarding your point on product variety, what kinds of products would be
needed?
Candidate: Sir, I think grocery products would be the main requirements in these stores. Apart
from these, FMCG products can also be used. Agriculture products will also be useful in such
stores.
Interviewer: Hmm, do you think you are missing out on something?
(Take 2 minutes to think)
Candidate: Yes Sir, dairy products will also be an important part of this. This would include milk
packets, curd and cottage cheese.
Interviewer: Yes, that is correct. Could you think what kind of problems can be there in this?
Candidate: Sir, dairy products are difficult to transport. They need to be consumed within a day
of production due to lack of proper refrigeration facilities.
Interviewer: Correct. Could you suggest a few ways to tackle this?
(Candidate suggests a few ways like smaller spokes, use of mini-refrigerated facilities in the hubs
of every district and tying up with local producers of dairy products in the villages)
191
Interviewer: Alright. One final question, the suppliers give us a credit window of 2 weeks. But
the village kirana stores demand a credit window of 4 weeks. By assuming some interest rates,
could you estimate what issues this might lead to?
(Candidate uses the time value of money concept, along with opportunity cost analysis to come
up with rough numbers)
Interviewer: That is all. Thank you.
____________________________________________________________________________
MCKINSEY & COMPANY
Aashish Dattani
Caselet: Company X has newly entered the BPO business in India and wants to set up its first call
center in India. How many employees should it hire? Assume that company X is currently going
to serve only one client.
Candidate: I will break-up the day into 3 shifts of 8 hours each. Can I do the requirement analysis
for each shift independently?
Interviewer: Yes. You need not count the common administrative staff across shifts (e.g. HR,
security, support etc.) in your calculations.
Candidate: In each shift, there are two kinds of employees: call center operators and managers.
Can I assume a constant operator-to-manager ratio?
Interviewer: You can assume an operator-to-manager ratio of 12:1
Candidate: The number of operators required in a given shift depends on these factors:
1. Average time taken to service a call (including post-call processing) and
2. Average number of calls you would expect to receive per minute
Interviewer: Are you sure it is average number of calls? Do you want to service only ~50% of
the calls you receive?
Candidate: Sorry. It depends on the maximum number of calls expected at any point of time
during that shift.
Interviewer: Good. But generally clients do not want all 100% of their calls to be serviced. It is
usually ~95%. Can you reason why?
Candidate: The incremental cost of servicing the extra 5% of calls might be much higher than the
revenue generated from those customers.
Interviewer: Can you draw a graph showing the trade-off?
Candidate: Service-level on X-axis and cost/revenue on Y-axis. Drew two curves: Linear revenue
line and exponential-looking cost curve. Intersection point is target service level
Interviewer: Thanks Aashish. That’s it for now.
___________________________________________________________________
Ishaan Puri
192
Interview 1 (Partner interview)
Caselet: Our client is the owner of a factory which is being built. A dashboard needs to be created
for him. What all do you think would he be interested in and why?
[So this is a slightly unusual case since it was more like a general discussion about what all would
be useful to the client, rather than solving a problem]
Candidate:
 Budgeted vs. actual expenditure till date and reasons for deviation
 Project schedule vs. actual completion
 Status of work and purchase orders and reasons for delay
 Present exchange rate and forecasts
 Regulatory developments
The candidate included reasons as to why these would be useful to the client.
[Evaluation: The evaluation was based on the basis of coverage, relevance etc]
Interview 2: (Partner interview)
Caselet: Our client is a BPO operator and his profits are falling. We’ve been called to help him.
How would you go about it?
Candidate: Are the costs increasing?
Interviewer: Yes
Candidate: What about revenues?
Interviewer: They are constant
Candidate: The cost driver of a typical BPO are salaries paid to the hourly employees. Have the
salaries increased?
Interviewer: Yes
Candidate : Is the increase due to increase in number of hours or increased new hires?
Interviewer: The BPO has had increased number of people joining the company in the last few
months
Candidate : Assuming the business volumes have been the same, hiring more people means
average productivity is going down. This could be either because personnel were getting less
efficient, or some of the staff was on the bench.
Interviewer: There are lot of people on the bench right now
Candidate : The increase in the number of people on the bench could be attributed to the attrition
plans of the BPO.
193
The company should create detailed plans on hiring and attrition. It should check if paying by the
hour actually works or if there is a better way. Other recommendation would be to reduce salaries
for those on the bench, better forecasting techniques as far as attrition is concerned and focusing
on reasons for attrition.
__________________________________________________________________
Nikita Garg
Interview 1
Interviewer: A German manufacturer of trucks is operating in the US. The company has been
facing declining profits over the past 2 years. Identify the reasons and then we can talk about
what could be done.
Candidate: First, I would like to enquire more about the manufacturer and its operations. Is the
manufacturer operating out of the US or some parts are imported from Germany or any other
country and assembled in the US?
Interviewer: All operations are being carried out in the US. It has been in the US for quite some
decades and is a market leader.
Candidate: There could be two aspects to the reasons for declining profits: (wrote them down on
the paper)
• Internal: Cost, Volumes, Prices, Sale schemes
• External: Industry growth, Competitors, Regulation (if any), State of the economy
Starting with the first, has there been any increase in the cost of operations?
Interviewer: No. The volumes and prices of new trucks have also remained the same.
Candidate: Ok. Since volumes and prices have remained the same, can I assume that revenues
are the same?
Interviewer: Let’s not make any assumptions just now.
Candidate: Ok. Not assuming that revenues have remained constant and exhausting all the
internal factors, has the firm recently introduced any schemes or discounts or has there been in
any change in the sales model of the firm?
Interviewer: The firm introduced a buy-back scheme in which you can sell your used trucks to
the firm for an appropriate price. The scheme was introduced 4 years back.
Candidate: As I understand, the firm has been seeing falling profits for the past 2 years. Which is
the current year we are talking about in the case?
Interviewer: You can take the current year to be 2011.
Candidate: A look at the external factors and the years under consideration hint at the recession
in the US economy as one of the reasons behind falling profits.
Candidate: As you mentioned earlier, the volumes and prices have remained the same but we
can’t assume that revenues have been the same as well.
194
So one of the reasons could be that the general demand for new trucks has declined because of
the slowdown in the economy but the numbers of existing users of trucks exchanging their old
trucks for new ones have increased. Hence there has been no major change in volumes but the
revenue from a sale (New Truck Price – Old Truck Price) has declined. Thus, prices and volumes
and costs have been the same, but revenues have declined leading to declining profits.
Interviewer: Good.
Candidate : Thank you.
___________________________________________________________________
Abhay Kumar
Case-let: Estimate the number of 4G users in India in 2020.

Candidate: I would like to look at this problem from demand and supply side, i.e. the potential
users for 4G Network and the availability of the network. Would that be fine?
Interviewer: Sure. Go ahead.
Candidate: I am assuming the current population as 1.2 billion and a growth rate of 2% till 2020.
Do you think that is a fair assumption?
Interviewer: Sounds fine.
Candidate: That makes the expected population to 1.4 billion. Could you suggest the current
mobile penetration rate?
Interviewer: Assume it to be 80%
Candidate: Since the market penetration is high, there is little room for further penetration. So,
by 2020 it could be 85%.
Interviewer: That sounds a little low. Consider it to be 90%
Candidate: Okay. Let me now consider this 90% population belonging to Rural and Urban, with
Rural at 60% and Urban at 40% in 2020 (which is higher than current 30% urban due to
continuing urban migration). Can I now start eliminating the pockets of population which will
either not have 4G enabled phones or will not use 4G.
Interviewer: Sure
Candidate: First, I will remove 60% rural population. Within urban, I will remove Kids (<12),
which would be almost 25% population, considering uniform distribution and the fact that 50%
of our population is below 25. Then I will remove Old (>60), which would probably be 10% of the
population. We are now left with 65% of urban population, from 12-60 ages. The last segment to
remove would be urban poor from this range, say 10%, leaving us with 55% of urban population.
Do my assumptions sound relevant?
Interviewer: I would rather have 15% of the urban population removed from 65%, leaving you
with 50% of urban population.
Candidate: Okay. So, 50% of the urban population would translate to 50% of 40% of 90% of 1.4
billion ~ 250 million. I am assuming a rounded figure for ease of calculation.
Interviewer: That is fine
195
Candidate: Now looking at the supply side - 4G is currently only in one city. And by 2020, it would
only cover metros and tier-1 cities. Assuming a uniform distribution of urban population and 40%
of the urban population of 250 million would be in metros and tier-1 cities in 2020, we would
have 100 million potential users. But this is independent of the price point. Could you suggest
average price of 4G services?
Interviewer: Assume rupees 5,000/month
Candidate: This price would reduce demand even in urban areas. I imagine only white collar
working professionals and businessmen (age 25-60) and rich students (age 12-25) could afford
it. Can I assume that 25% of the 100 million belong to working professionals and businessmen
category and 5% belong to rich students category.
Interviewer: Sure
Candidate: So putting all the numbers together, it boils down to 30% of the 100 million I
calculated earlier. Essentially, 30 million users.
Interviewer: That sounds like a fair approximation. Thank you
_________________________________________________________________
Madhur Bansal
Caselet: An MNC banks wants to venture into the microfinance business in Bangalore. What all
should they be looking at?
Candidate: I would like to start with the assumption that their microfinance model i.e. the
interest structure is such that the business can be profitable. Will that be a fair assumption?
Interviewer: Sure, go ahead. But what all factors should this interest charge consider?
Candidate: Well, apart from the cost of funds, this would include the risk of default (which is
usually high in micro finance), administrative expenses for reaching out to the expectedly large
customer base and profit margins.
So, now I would like to look at the market potential, the competition in the region, and what all
will be the requirements for the bank
Interviewer: Fine. Let’s look at the market potential first.
Candidate: So I would like to use the population base as the anchor for the market potential.
Taking the population of Bangalore and dividing it by 4 (average family size), we can do a first
level cut using income level as only the lower income groups will avail microfinance. Then we
would have to normalize the figures taking into account the people who would have a job,
willingness to take loan, etc. (This went on for some good five minutes and I ended up one a number)
Interviewer: What all reasons can you think of for taking such a loan?
Candidate: Since the amount of the loan is small, these would be ideally taken for things like
buying a stall or a rickshaw. (Discussed various other avenues)
Interviewer: Ok. So this is in terms of people, let’s talk money.
Candidate: Ok. So an average microfinance is around 15,000. (Multiplied the figure with the
guesstimate figure to calculate market potential.)
Interviewer: Good. So what do you think will be the interest income on this?
196
(The interview got over after a brief discussion. We also discussed qualitative factors like what
all will be requirements by the bank to give loans to such people, risk factors, etc.)
197
Graduation Work Experience Resume Spikes
Name Company Duratio
n
Accenture
34 Academic Work
Avinash K Management Civil NIT Trichy NTPC Ltd.
months s Experience
Consulting
Indian Oil
Accenture
Saurabh Corporation 23
Management Chemical IIT Kanpur PORs -
Arora (Operations months
Consulting
)
Mohana T Mechanica NITK Academic
Bain None None -
Rajan l Surathkal s
College of Dell Force
Shobhana 11 Academic
BCG - Engineering, 10 PORs
Raja months s
Guindy Networks
Awards/
Saurabh Grant 11 Academic
BCG Biotech IIT Roorkee Achieveme
Bansal Thornton months s
nt
1.Capgemin 29
Shantanu i Consulting months Extra -
BCG - IIT Bombay PORs
Chaudhary 2.Boston 18 curriculars
Analytics months
Amitansu Computer D. E. Shaw & 47 Work
Booz BITS Pilani Awards
Kar Science Co. months Experience
Deloitte Extra-
Nishant IIT 47 Work
Strategy & - ITC curricular
Katoch Kharagpur months Experience
Operations s
Deloitte
Global e- B.Tech 11 Extra-
Dhruv Shah DA-IICT Consulting PORs
Procure (ICT) months curriculars
USI
Global e- Mechanica NIT 22 Extra-
Vishwas Tata Motors PORs
Procure l Surathkal months curriculars
Work
Kartik Global e- Mechanica BITS Pilani- 21
BHEL Experienc PORs
Yeleswaram Procure l Goa Campus months
e
Soumil Mechanica Academic
McKinsey IIT Kanpur None None PORs
Srivastava l s
198
Production
35 Academic Work
Mohd Qasim McKinsey & IIT Delhi Caterpillar
months s Experience
Industrial
Electrical
Rajamayyoo Academic Extra-
McKinsey & BITS Pilani None None
r Sharma s curriculars
Electronics
Karthik Mechanica Deloitte 34 Academic
McKinsey PSG Tech PORs
Manivannan l Consulting months s
Siemens
Ramya Computer ZS 23 Academic
Management NIT Trichy PORs
George Science Associates months awards
Consulting
ACCENTURE MANAGEMENT CONSULTING
Avinash K
Caselet: An electric utility located somewhere in Eastern Europe wishes to improve its
operational performance. How will you, as a consultant, go about it?
Candidate: What is the fuel type? How old is the plant?
Interviewer: It is a thermal plant (using coal as fuel). The plant is about 15 years old.
Candidate: Since it is a thermal power plant, we first need to understand the grade of coal used.
The higher the grade of coal, the higher the calorific value of coal and higher is the energy output.
We need to assess the quality of coal that is locally available and if local coal is of low grade then
we need to look at importing higher grade coal.
Interviewer: Fair Enough. What other parameters will you look at?
Candidate: Is the plant located close to the sea?
Interviewer: How is it relevant?
Candidate: A sea side plant will use sea water as feed water in the boiler (to produce steam that
ultimately drives the turbine, thereby generating electricity). Though sea water may be deionised,
there can be residual salts present in the water. If this water is used it may lead to scaling,
corrosion of tubes and frequent breakdowns.
Interviewer: That is a good point. They were indeed a sea side plant.
Candidate: As far as operating parameters are concerned, I will also look at the number of
unplanned shutdowns in the plant. Every time there is a shutdown, it takes 2 to 3 days to bring
the plant back on stream. This would affect the annual plant utilisation. I would compare these
parameters with other plants in the country to benchmark this plant's performance.
Interviewer: Okay. That was a very comprehensive analysis of the case. Thanks and I am
recommending you for next round of interview.
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Saurabh Arora
Caselet 1: A heavy commercial vehicle manufacturer is considering introducing a new

commercial vehicle in light-medium segment? How should they go about the launch?
Candidate: There are two parts to the problem:
1) Marketing of the new product
2) Supply Chain for the new product
Marketing:
 What could be the uses the vehicle can serve?
 Who could be the potential users?
 What should be the mode of communication to them?
Supply Chain:
 How is the current supply chain like? (In terms of dealers)
 What are the supply chain requirements for this vehicle?
What are the changes that one needs to make to the current supply chain?
Caselet 2: You are in a flight with Mr. Mukesh Ambani. What will you suggest to him to improve
his refinery business?
Candidate: I enlisted down some important parameters, which one should be aware of in refinery
operations and what are the best practices to increase efficiency.
Then, I stressed upon the domestic and international avenues which a refiner should keep an eye
on in the wake of changing Government and business scenario.
BAIN & COMPANY
Mohana T Rajan
Caselet: A metro is being set up in a city like Bangalore. What factors will you take into
consideration before pricing a ticket?
Candidate: I shall first look at the various costs and revenue associated with a metro.
Interviewer: Sure, go ahead. What would you consider to be the main expenses involved?
Candidate: The one-time expense is the setting up of the infrastructure required.
Interviewer: Essentially, the capex is never fully recovered and since it is a govt. undertaking.
Thus, it isn't taken into consideration while pricing tickets.
200
Candidate: In that case, the metro officials must make sure that every metro run must at least
break even and the opex involved must be taken into consideration.
Interviewer: Ok, in that case what are the various opex involved?
Candidate: The main expenses are the wages for the staff - the driver, security and ticketing
personnel. The energy required for running of metro and the air-conditioning must also be
considered.
Interviewer: Now let's look at the revenue buckets.
Candidate: The direct source of income is from tickets. Another source is advertisements in the
stations and trains. The third source is the stalls that are inside the stations.
Interviewer: Now, let's see what other factors you will take into consideration while pricing a
ticket.
Candidate: The main reason people use the metro is that it is cheaper than other modes of
transport, well apart from bus transport. Metros have no traffic and thus would be time saving,
as compared to other modes like road transport using auto-rickshaws.
Interviewer: Very good, so finally how will you price the ticket?
Candidate: The ticket would obviously be priced based on the distance - number of stops. The
opex and getting a quantitative feel of how much value people place on their time, we can get a
good idea of the prices. This would be offset by additional revenue through advertisement and
other commercial activities within the metro station and trains.
Interviewer: Excellent. That's it for now.
201
Shobhana Raja
Caselet: An FMCG company, which is into food products, is experiencing reduced stock
availability of 75% in their depots. This is impeding their growth. What should it do?
Candidate: As per my understanding, 25% of the orders from distributors do not get fulfilled. Are
these stock-outs specific to one particular brand or common across brands?
Interviewer: This is a common issue faced across all brands.
Candidate: Fine. It could be a supply side issue. Can you tell me the production capacity?
Interviewer: There are 12 manufacturing sites. I don't think it is a supply-side issue.
Candidate: In that case, some of the other reasons could be:
1. Seasonal demand for the product from the consumer
2. Poor demand forecasting
3. Poor stock deployment norms - Eg: Insufficient safety stock requirements at depots
4. Distributors not planning their orders sufficiently
5. Inefficient logistics resulting in stock not reaching depot on time
Interviewer: Of these factors, can you look into demand forecasting?
Candidate: Sure. Is there an estimate of forecasting accuracy of the company?
Interviewer: The company has a good national-level forecasting accuracy.
Candidate: Okay. I think there is a chance the depot-level forecasting accuracy is low.
Interviewer: Yes. The depot-level accuracy is 40-50%. The traditional ways of forecasting have
not worked. What should the company do?
Candidate: The Company should use an automated tool (Eg: SAP) to manage the process.
Interviewer: Thanks Shobhana. I think we can wrap up.
Saurabh Bansal
Caselet: An international packaged foods company operating in India is facing stiff competition
from domestic players. Design their future strategy to tackle this issue?
Candidate: Can you give me a brief idea about the company?
Interviewer: You can assume it to be one of the biggest food companies. It has been operating in
India for a long time and has enjoyed a leadership position in food items like chips, wafers and
other snacks. This position has been threatened by some Indian players.
Candidate: How has the company positioned its products in India? Is it a premium/high quality
player or are its prices comparable to local Indian players?
Interviewer: The prices of our client’s products are roughly 10-20% higher.
202
Candidate: Since we are talking about packaged foods, I am assuming that some of the Indian
players are attracting customers because of relatively lower prices with quality not being a
significant deterrent to purchase. Does this assumption sound reasonable?
Interviewer: Fair enough, go ahead.
Candidate: Is there a significant difference between our client’s products and the products of
these new competitors?
Interviewer: Yes, our client entered the Indian market with products that have been successful
in other countries, with slight tweaks to cater to India. But the essential form has remained the
same. The Indian players however, have introduced more ethnic products.
Candidate: Has our client’s position been threatened by competitors in the domain of
chips/wafers?
Interviewer: No, but the overall volumes have declined because of substitution with other
snacks.
Candidate: (Took a minute to organize before responding) With the key issue being declining
volumes, the client has to look at ways to target customer segments other than premium product
buyers. It has to prevent customer shift to other foods. Would you want me to go a level deep into
this?
Interviewer: Sounds good. What would be your recommendations to the client?
Candidate: I think our client should focus on a two pronged approach for growth. Firstly, the
client can look to leverage on its economies of scale to expand to more points of sale and gain an
aggregate volumes advantage over smaller Indian players. Secondly, the client can launch another
brand with a more Indian line of products that would appeal to the Indian taste. The new brand
should be associated with high quality and should maintain the premium position of marginally
higher prices than competitors. The rationale behind this is to maintain the premium quality
brand and cater to the segment buying Namkeens/Bhujias etc.
Interviewer: Can you think of ways by which the new brand you discussed can come about?
Candidate: We can probably do a detailed market study to identify flavors/forms that appeal to
large customer segments and introduce an assortment of products under a new brand.
Alternatively, the client can look at acquisitions of smaller players and build on that leveraging
parent company scale/expertise. It can also look at a partnership model if it finds itself
constrained for resources.
Interviewer: Sounds great. I think we have discussed the major heads.
Shantanu Chaudhary
Caselet: A large diameter steel rod manufacturer is launching a new product from its stable which
is small diameter steel rod. Do they need to build a warehouse after the launch of this new
product? If yes, where?
Candidate: Currently, does the manufacturer have a warehouse for the large diameter steel rod?
Interviewer: No, they deliver it directly from their factory.
Candidate: Does the factory have a large warehouse attached to it?
203
Interviewer: No.
Candidate: So are these large diameter steel rods made-to-order?
Interviewer: Yes.
Candidate: Will the target customers for the new product remain the same as for large rods?
Interviewer: May be, you tell me.
Candidate: I would like to think about a few industries that may be potential customers of small
diameter steel rods, may I take a minute?
Interviewer: Sure. Go ahead.
Candidate: I think construction, automobile and railway industries could be a major target. Could
you help me identify the industry with which their current competencies align best?
Interviewer: Yes, the industries you mentioned could be their targets, however they are looking
at the growing construction business in India through various residential and commercial
projects.
Candidate: In that case, would I be right in assuming that these rods would be used as
reinforcements to go along with the concrete for building structures?
Interviewer: Could you think of any other major use of small diameter rods in construction?
Candidate: May be window fittings in buildings, to name one.
Interviewer: Ok, let's not go there; you assumed correctly that reinforcements are a major part
of steel usage in construction.
Candidate: Is there anything special that our client is trying to manufacture other than the
normal steel rods used as reinforcements in construction?
Interviewer: Yes, they are planning to manufacture the same small diameter rods that are
normally used in reinforcements for construction.
Candidate: Considering this product is common, am I correct in assuming that there would be
several players in the market competing for this space?
Interviewer: Yes, there are many players already in the market.
Candidate: For a common product, I would like to think that this product should be made-to-
stock rather than made-to-order, so that the construction clients' orders are not lost to
competition whenever there is a potential deal on the table.
Interviewer: Yes, you are thinking on the correct lines. Go ahead.
Candidate: In that case, it would make sense to have a warehouse for storing the made-to-stock
inventory.
BOOZ & COMPANY
Amitansu Kar
Caselet 1: One of the leading players in the Indian airline industry wants to re-paint the exteriors
of its entire fleet. How many litres of paint would be required for this?
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Candidate: I have some follow-up questions. Does the airline have international flights?
Interviewer: No. Consider it to be a leading domestic player.
Candidate: Fine. Do we have an idea about its reach - number of cities covered?
Interviewer: What do you think would be a reasonable estimate?
Candidate: Since, it’s a leading player, it would have a wide reach - say around 20-25 cities.
Interviewer: That's a good estimate.
Candidate: To arrive at an estimate of its fleet size, I would find out the # of planes required to
cover its network of cities with an estimated # of frequency per day. I have segmented the cities
into two buckets – Metros (Tier1) and Tier 2/3 cities.
Tier 1: Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad (Total: 6 in number)
Tier 2/3: Ahmedabad, Pune, Jaipur, Lucknow, Bhubaneswar etc (Total: 15 in number)
Interviewer: Fine.
Candidate: I assume there would be direct flights (to and fro - twice per day) between all Tier 1
cities, direct flights (to and fro - once per day) from Tier 1 cities to some Tier 2/3 cities (say half
of them) and some direct and some hopping flights between some Tier 2/3 cities. Is it valid
assumption?
Interviewer: Sounds like a valid assumption.
Candidate: (Reading out loud while calculating on paper)
Among Tier 1 cities: 6C2 = 15 combinations. Avg travelling time = 2 hrs. To and fro plus waiting
time = 2+2+2 = 6 hrs. Twice per day = 12 hrs.
I guess a plane can't be used for more than 12 hours per day. Hence, 15 planes would be required.
Between Tier 1 city and Tier 2/3 cities: 6C1 * 15C1 = 90; Not all combinations for direct flights
would exist. Let's take 1/2 of this. That makes it 45.
Avg travelling time (to and fro) + waiting = 6 hrs. Flying time per day per plane - say 12 hrs. (6*2).
So, planes required = 45/2 = 23
Among Tier 2/3 cities: Say direct flights for 5 cities and they cover remaining cities as hopping
destination. 5C2 = 10 (similar calculation as above)
Hence fleet size = 15 + 23 + 10 = 48. Is this a good approximation?
Interviewer: Yes, very good. So, how many litres of paint would be required?
Candidate: The fleet would comprise of different types/sizes of planes. The ones connecting the
metros would be bigger than the ones for Tier 2/3 cities. Do we have information on size of the
planes?
Interviewer: Well, what do you think would be fair estimate?
Candidate: For the purpose of estimating paint required for exteriors, I can assume the plane to
be in the shape of a cuboid.
Length: Bigger planes have generally 30 rows of seats. Each row say occupies 3 feet. 30*3=90 feet
plus cockpit plus restrooms space = ~120 ft
Breadth: 3*2 seats in each row. ~6 * 1.5 feet each + separation distance = ~12 ft
205
Height: Interior height = one persons height (6 ft) + allowance of say 2ft = 8 ft. External height
might be double of this = ~15 ft
Interviewer: Sounds good. Let's stop the problem here.
Caselet 2: We are a leading global consulting firm operating in India. Recently, we heard that
another global player is entering the Indian market. What do we do?
Candidate: I am assuming our objective is to maintain as much market share as we can?
Interviewer: Yes - that's a fair assumption. Go ahead.
Candidate: Could you tell me the competitive landscape of the Indian consulting industry?
Interviewer: There are 3 major firms. Apart from that, some small players also do exist.
Candidate: What are the market shares of each?
Interviewer: Well you can consider one firm to have 40% share, the other 30%. We have around
20% share. And, the rest 10% is made up by small players.
Candidate: Okay. Are the other firms doing something to keep this new player out?
Interviewer: That's a good question. But, let's concentrate on our strategy.
Candidate: We should follow a two pronged strategy:
1. Protecting existing clients
2. Getting new clients
Since, consulting entails repeat business, we should mainly focus on protecting our existing
clients. At the same time, we should increase our marketing efforts to get new clients.
Interviewer: Sounds good. Could you tell me how you could protect existing clients?
Candidate: Essentially, we need to raise the switching costs. Three points that I can think of:
1. Deliver our work really well so that it wouldn't make sense for them to switch.
2. Know the client well, their existing issues and pitch for solutions to those.
3. Incentivise and give them some benefits to re-sign us for another job/task.
Interviewer: Sounds good. Let's stop here.
DELOITTE STRATEGY & OPERATIONS
Nishant Katoch
Caselet: An Indian mobile handset maker wants to target rural markets. There are over 500,000
Indian villages not all of which can be chosen. What framework should they use to select suitable
towns/villages?
Candidate: (I asked for some time to jot down my points) I think we need to look at their potential
customers, competitors.
Interviewer: What competitors and which customers?
206
Candidate: Maybe we could look at regions that are close to cities that would be easier to catch.
Interviewer: True, but this is a minor factor.
(After this I mentioned factors like villages with a great profile of outstation workers, villages
without existing telephone network etc.)
Interviewer: Yes, you spoke of a lot of disjointed points but let me help you, why don't you think
of demand and supply factors. So what is the first demand factor?
Candidate: The population
Interviewer: Precisely, in fact it is one of the best filters.
In the rest of the interview, other factors like village connectivity, literacy levels etc. were
discussed.
I suggest you to be confident, improvise on frameworks and learn to pick up negative signals early
on in your interview.
GLOBAL E-PROCURE
Dhruv Shah
Caselet: A company has designed a new golf ball which can potentially last forever (can withstand
any amount of wear & tear). How should it be priced?
Candidate: What does the company manufacture? Do they already have a golf ball offering?
Interviewer: They manufacture sports equipment and yes, they do have a golf ball offering.
Candidate: Ok. What are the types of golf balls available in the market?
Interviewer: There is very little variety, but there are two major firms (apart from this company)
that manufacture golf balls. A golf ball would be priced in the range of $10-15.
Candidate: My approach would be to first understand the value add this product brings. For that,
I would estimate the typical number of golf balls used by an average user in his lifetime (discarded
due to wear & tear) and the average loss rate of balls during play. Our product addresses the
former issue only. Then I would compare it to the value a normal $10-15 ball gives (in terms of
average life), and arrive at a price point for the new ball (by extrapolation). Next, I would like to
know the cost of manufacture - to get an idea of the operating margin.
Interviewer: Yes, but what would you do with the margin?
Candidate: So the margin (difference in price computed and cost incurred) can be reduced - given
that consumer acceptance would be low for a new product. We can divide the surplus between
the producer and consumer. In order to fix the price, I suggest we could conduct consumer
surveys to get an estimate of the willingness to pay within the arrived range.
Interviewer: But who do you include in this survey?
Candidate: Regular members at golf clubs could be a good starting point.
Interviewer: Sounds good. So go ahead now with your pricing analysis.
207
Candidate arrived at guesstimate for average number of balls used in a lifetime. E.g. playing from
20-60 age (US context), plays 3 days a week, average plays per ball, factor in number of balls lost
in a year etc. and finally comes with a price estimate.
Vishwas
Caselet 1: A large construction company is to build a high-rise office complex in Mumbai, but
faces heavy costs in sourcing material. Suggest how or why?
Candidate: Rising commodity prices due to construction boom in India is a possible reason. Can
the company explore alternative options such as plastic concrete or building bricks made from
recycled plastic?
Interviewer: Fine, green materials is one suggestion, but not practical.
Candidate: How much material does the company source within India? How much from outside?
Interviewer: There is very little sourcing from outside India.
Candidate: Do they have any long-term contracts with suppliers? Can they negotiate terms?
Interviewer: Yes, they have long-term contracts for a few materials. Can you guess what could
be the terms of such a sourcing contract?
Candidate: The Company would have arrived to the supplier through an RFQ or Reverse Auction
process, correct? They would have received quotes from many suppliers?
Interviewer: Yes, that is a fair assumption
Candidate: So, the contract negotiated would have details of the price and an inflationary
adjustment factor?
Interviewer: Yes, go on. What could be the other conditions in the contract?
The interview went along these lines till many concepts in strategic sourcing and supply chain
management were covered.
Caselet 2: A large Indian car manufacturer has huge revenues but poor profits. How would you
approach their problem?
Candidate: Clearly, their costs are too high. If I name various cost heads, would you suggest which
ones I should explore further?
Interviewer: Go ahead and name a few cost heads
Candidate: Material costs (unsatisfactory relationship with suppliers, escalating commodity
costs), R&D costs, production costs, recent investments and related costs of capital, import costs
- which one should I explore?
Interviewer: Explore each one of those and explain the technicalities.
(After that was completed) Could there be any reason other than the costs?
Candidate: Are there any heavy duties (taxes) that the Company is paying?
Interviewer: Can you illustrate what kind of heavy taxes could be levied?
(After that was completed, I was asked to elaborate on any other reasons for low profits)
208
Candidate: Could it be that the Company was not charging an adequate premium on the product?
Interviewer: So, why would any Company do that? Could you list a few reasons?
Candidate: Competitive market, poor industry profitability, Company has commitment to
customers to sell at lower prices (like Nano), heavy exchange offers or discount schemes affecting
profitability, month-end schemes to reach sales targets hitting profitability.
(Reasons affecting profitability) The Company may not be making good use of its customer
service channel. This is usually a profit centre. The company should check its spare parts sales
and annual maintenance contracts (AMCs)
Interviewer: How would an AMC affect profitability?
Candidate: An AMC for a defective product would mean free replacement and hence, the
Company loses money on them. It could also be that the AMC business is not doing well and the
Company is spending on the business. This could pull down profits.
Interviewer: What about spare parts business? How could that be critical? How does a Company
manage that vertical?
Candidate: The mark-up on the cost at which it is procured may not justify expenses. There are
costs of maintaining warehouse, paying the service provider, transportation (FOC) costs,
packaging costs, cost of schemes in the market, promotional material in the retail markets.
Interviewer: Ok, you have covered the details fairly exhaustively. Thank You!
Kartik Yeleswaram
Caselet: A Fortune 500 packaged foods company is facing a consistent rise in MRO costs for its
plant in England. How can sourcing strategy be changed to mitigate this?
Candidate: What are the different categories of MRO components? How is total MRO expenditure
distributed across these categories?
Interviewer: MRO components can be classified into 75 categories on the basis of functionality,
required quality and criticality. These vary greatly with respect to expenditure per unit and
frequency of purchase.
MCKINSEY & COMPANY
Soumil Srivastava
Caselet: A car tire manufacturer is looking to enter the market for truck tires. Should they go
ahead with this?
Candidate: What is the current market structure for truck tires and the current product mix of
the client?
Interviewer: The market is mostly concentrated and has 4 major players currently.
Candidate: I am going to focus on any unique competitive advantage that the client might have
in the market if it decides to enter.
209
Interviewer: The client will be able to use its advanced production processes (which were being
used for cars) to manufacture better quality tires which will have better performance
characteristics such as dry/wet traction, force variation and would last longer.
Candidate evaluated whether the truck tire market would actually value such characteristics, the
expected revenues and costs. After profitability analysis, recommended going ahead with the
launch of the product. Candidate was also asked to evaluate any softer aspects of the market
entry.
Mohd Qasim
Caselet: An Indian IT company wants to enter the health care segment in the US. It has two
options either to develop software for hospitals or for insurance companies.
Candidate: Could you please elaborate on the use of IT in the health sector?
Interviewer: In US, health care is primarily cash less and insurance based. To run this effectively,
both hospitals as well as insurance companies require systems to process the claims.
Candidate: So, health institutions would require the software to process patients' billings while
insurance companies would need it to process hospitals' claims. Am I right?
Interviewer: Yes
Candidate: What is the objective for the IT company to enter US market?
Interviewer: To expand and increase revenue
Candidate: (Asked for a minute to think) We can come up with some critical parameters to
evaluate the two alternatives.
Interviewer: And what would they be?
Candidate: We need to look at the competition, market size, growth prospects of health care and
insurance sector, margins, company's current expertise, time to implementation, regulations and
required investments. We need to prioritize these criteria.
(Interviewer asked to explain some of these parameters. He provided some data on each of the
above parameters and based on which insurance sector turned out to be the preferred one.)
Interviewer: Fair enough. What about the implementation? How should the company go about
it?
Candidate: Three alternatives can be considered- starting alone, forming an alliance with an
existing player or acquiring another company based on its current expertise, capital availability,
familiarity with the country, business relations and time it would take to enter the market.
Rajamayyoor Sharma
Caselet: Estimate the number of flights in the air in India at any given time.
Candidate: One way of estimating would be to narrow down the number of people using flights
in each city.
210
Interviewer: Could you think of a different approach? You do not have any data regarding no. of
aircrafts each airlines has or any other information from the airports, to help you.
Candidate: Alright. Could you give me some sort of indication as to what sort of methodology you
want me to use?
Interviewer: Try and look at the constraints that would limit the no. of airlines in the air.
Candidate: There are multiple constraints, one of them being the no. of airports we have. Would
that be correct?
Interviewer: Fair enough. Let’s take only the major airports, i.e. the metros, Bangalore and
Hyderabad.
Candidate: Sure. So we have 6 airports to consider. Within each airport, we can study the
constraints, figure out the major bottleneck in each and this would help us decide the no. of
aeroplanes in the air.
Interviewer: Try and look at a single largest constraint that would be present across all airports
and then see how it affects our estimates.
Candidate: The single largest constraint could be the time on the runway, as each airport has
only 1 or 2 and each runway can accommodate only one aeroplane at a time.
Interviewer: Good. Now, how can you estimate the no. of flights in the air, once you have figured
out the biggest bottleneck?
Candidate: Let’s assume that each flight takes 2 minutes on the runway. So there can be about 30
flights that can take off or land in an hour. Will that be a correct assumption?
Interviewer: Sure. Now, how would you convert this rate of take- off or landing into no. of flights
in the air?
Candidate: If we assume an average flight time of say 2 hours, all flights that take off in the first
hour will land in the third hour. So roughly 2 hours multiplied by 30 flights per hour should be
the no. of flights in the air from each runway. This, multiplied with the number of runways would
give us an approximate number of flights in the air in India.
Karthik Manivannan
Caselet: One of the magazine companies is diversifying into local evening newspaper. It is
planning to run a pilot for the same in Chandigarh. How will you choose an area among 4
prospective areas within Chandigarh ( Eg: Indira Nagar Times etc)
Candidate: (I asked a few initial few questions about the company and its business to understand
the context for further analysis).
Candidate: Are there any important qualities that the company is looking for in its audience?
Interviewer: None is specific. But who do you think are the customers for such a newspaper?
Candidate: Mainly retired people, house wives and may be teenagers could be included. Given
that such newspapers are usually free of cost and revenues are mainly through advertisements,
211
the area that is chosen should have enough local businesses which will gain through these ads. Is
that a right assumption to make?
Interviewer: Yes that is right. Can you tell me what such businesses might be?
Candidate: Given the target audience, I can think of apparel retailers, food supermarkets and
restaurants.
Interviewer: What do you think retired people look for?
Candidate: They might be looking for leisure events, for e.g. a carnatic concert or any social event
that they can indulge in during their free time.
Interviewer: Fair enough. What about housewives?
Candidate: Recipes, offers & discounts in apparel/cutlery and jewellery might be of their interest
Interviewer: What else do house wives look for? (Hinted me towards mothers)
Candidate: Mothers might look for heath tips for their kids. Some newspapers carry
advertisements regarding tuitions and summer sports camps, which might interest them!
Interviewer: Alright, Good then. Can you quickly summarise the points that we have discussed
and factors to be taken into account?
Candidate: <I summarized the above points >
Interviewer: Ok, cool thanks!
SIEMENS MANAGEMENT CONSULTING
Ramya George
Caselet 1: A heavy engineering product company sells standard & customized products and
services. Their current organization setup includes a product vertical and a service vertical. Each
of these verticals has their own dedicated sales force. What are the structural problems that you
foresee in this organization setup?
Candidate: Could you please elaborate on the product verticals.
Interviewer: The product vertical carries a huge portfolio of products – simple as well as
complex. The service for each kind of product may vary from preventive maintenance to repair
in nature.
Candidate: One of the possible problems could be the tedious process involved in ordering
products, because of the multiple talk-points for the customer.
Interviewer: Any other problem that you can think of?

Candidate: There might be an increase in company’s service response time because of lack of
internal co-ordination between product and service verticals. Since there are separate sales force
teams for each vertical, the scope of pro-actively monitoring service requirements is reduced.
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Overall implication with the current setup was contribution to top line was being driven more by
product volume than service volume. The company had a legacy of products installed in the
market and hence a huge service potential. Given the current internal situation, the service
potential was highly untapped.
The solution suggested was to have 3 verticals – product, service and sales. The sales vertical acts
as a common link between product and service as well as drives service volume in the market.
Caselet 2: How would you estimate the market for flanges in India?
Candidate: As I did not have much idea about the product, I clarified the product usage upfront.
The uses ranged from construction to manufacturing to automation industries. I followed a
demand-side estimation in which I classified the market into B2B and B2C. At this point, the
interviewer stopped me from going further into numbers and we then discussed key distribution
tie-ups possible.
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AT KEARNEY
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Siddharth Parthasarathy
Caselet: Estimate the market size for an automobile repair chain in India
Candidate: Automobiles include commercial and personal vehicles. Personal could be further
split into 2 wheelers and 4 wheelers. What is our client’s focus?
Interviewer: Four Wheelers
Candidate: Is the client focusing on all the markets or the metro markets alone?
Interviewer: Our client is interested in metro markets
Candidate: I would like to start the estimation of market size with Delhi as the start case and
extend it to other metros
Interviewer: That would be fine
Candidate: (I took a minute off the pen down my approach, which was pretty much like this)
We could broadly classify the revenue stream as shown (using the paper) , we may also include
insurance also.
Interviewer (interrupted): Why not
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Candidate: Of these revenue streams, I would safely assume 80% of the revenue would be
through service stream and would want to focus on this stream. Is the approach & assumption
fine or would you want me to consider other areas as well
Interviewer: This would be fine, go ahead
Candidate: (ran through the following calculations with the interviewer on paper with
commentary)
Delhi’s population is around 10Mn, 20% would be SEC A and another 30% in SEC B (Socio
economic class). It would be safe to assume Sec A will have two cars per household and sec B will
have one car per house-hold.
Assuming 4 people form a household, No of cars in Delhi would be 10 x 0.2 /4 + 10 x 0.3/4 = 1.25
Mn cars in Delhi. Each car is serviced every quarter on an average
No of services in an year = 5 Mn
Cost per service would closely be around Rs 2000
Interviewer (interrupts): I get your approach, I know how you will proceed. Good work!
Interviewer: Tell me about you work experience
Candidate: Talked a bit on my work-ex.
Interviewer: Any questions for me
Candidate: I don’t think I have any questions
Interviewer: Great, Thanks, That brings us to the end of the interview!
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Shovik Banerjee
Caselet: A private equity firm is considering buying a stake in the BPO unit of a financial services
company. The firm is employed on a 4-5 week project to evaluate the proposal. Do you think it is
a good idea to buy out a stake in the unit?
Candidate: The evaluation would require us to look into multiple facets and parameters. Would
you like me to list the out for you?
Interviewer: Fair enough (clearly he is looking for a comprehensive set to see if all options would
be considered by me)
C: Let me list out various factor grouped together under five primary categories – market
attractiveness, company attractiveness, competitors, exit options and external factors. (I list out
5-6 factors under each category)
I: (Appears satisfied with the listing) Ok let’s leave that aside. Let us assume you have considered
all the alternatives. If I asked you to pick one hot button, which would it be?
C: I would want to look at the profitability of the unit in terms of its revenue and costs (fixed and
variable)
I: Great. Let’s go ahead with the revenues aspect.
C: I would assume that BPOs primarily have voice and non-voice services. However, these could
be rendered to multiple clients. Which sectors does the unit specialize in?
I : The BPO specializes in financial services as it was set up by a bank. The market is fairly large,
about a $100 bn globally. (Randomly throws numbers regarding the industry in general to
distract my attention)
C: Do we have information regarding the revenue split between voice and non voice services?
I: For every $8 dollars it earns for non-voice services, the BPO earns $4 for its voice services.
Billing is done on a per contact basis.
C: Non voice services seem to be generating more revenues than voice on a per contact basis. I’m
curious about the volumes for each that the unit handles.
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I: Good you asked. About 75% of it’s per contact volumes come from voice services.
C: (After a quick summary of the case facts) The revenues seem quite steady, however, I would
like to know where the cash flows come in from i.e. who are its clients for its voice services.
I: Almost 80-90% of its volumes stem from the holding bank itself.
C: Prima facie, it looks like the BPO won’t have enough business once the bank sells it, it might
not be a good idea for a PE firm to invest in it unless it has a larger portfolio of clients in the
pipeline.
I: That’s what we told them as well.
C: (Looking back at the list I had initially drawn out) Are you sure you don’t want me to go through
the remaining items listed down?
I: (Smiles) It’s fine, you are good to go for the next round. We don’t believe in complicated
frameworks anyways!
ALVAREZ & MARSHAL
Deepak Nanwani
Caselet 1: A cement company is facing a problem of reduced margins and their performance is
last 3 years has been very poor. You are hired as a consultant to identify the possible reasons and
solve the problem
After asking questions to develop basic understanding of their operations and the geography they
operate in, candidate approached the case as below:
Candidate: Is there a major change in competition, is there any new product launched?
Interviewer: No change
C: Are other companies also facing the problem of reduced margins?
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I: No, their margins are the same
C: Is there any rise in material costs or other regulatory changes which have increased the costs?
I: No, had it been the overall change, other companies would have faced the same problem.
C: So, this cost increase is definite to their firm. I will start with identifying different cost buckets.
These specific costs can be advertisement cost, transportation cost, distribution cost.
I: consider transportation and distribution under one bucket and go in detail
Conclusion:
After going in the details of their distribution and warehouse strategy, candidate identified that
the company was basically a south India based Cement Company which was trying to expand in
North India. But the warehouses they were going for were not leased and they were on lease
basis. This was one of the factors responsible for increasing their costs.
Second issue was their distribution. They were trying to expand without a comprehensive hub
and spoke model and without identifying key target regions.
Suggestions to improve the situation:
1. Regional Warehouses, Hub and spoke model for distribution
2. Go for regions with high demand density, identify target regions and stop supply to
regions which are not concentrated
3. Tie Up with Construction companies
Caselet 2: There is a US based confectionary brand trying to launch a new breakfast cereal.
Explain the product strategy they should go for.
C: I will start with identifying cost buckets.
I: Is there a product already available? You should not assume that product is already available.
Candidate listed 5 areas of focus: Target Segment Identification, product development, Branding
Strategy, Distribution Strategy, and Pricing Strategy and explained each of them in detail
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Interviewer gave numbers on product development costs, advertisement budget etc. and
candidate was asked to find out the break even volume.
Overall, most of time candidate was asked to explain without much guidance.
BAIN & COMPANY
Aditya Mukherjee
Main tips: The Bain cases I encountered were comparatively longer, with more direct analytical
questions asked, including graph and accounting interpretation for data shown on laptops.
Interviewers were very relaxed and friendly and gave guidance when necessary.
Caselet: A hospital chain is looking to expand and wants to start a new hospital. Tell me the key
things that affect profitability that they should look at.
Candidate: The analysis can be broken up into cost and revenue drivers. On the cost side, factors
to consider would be:
 Usage of reusable equipment such as gloves, thermometers, hospital gowns etc
benchmarked against peer hospitals, sourcing discounts possible
 Costs in different specialties, equipment required for them and the break-even period,
doctor/surgeon costs in different domains and geographical areas
 Nursing and maintenance staff costs per bed benchmarked against peer hospitals, staff
attrition costs
Interviewer: That’s good, and on the revenue side?
C: The market for different specialties in different geographies, and the price points at which
different medical services will be accessible. This will depend on price-points offered by
competitors in the locality. There will have to be deep analysis of which specialties to open in the
hospital depending on estimated market since it will tie back to break-even period and
amortization of equipment.
I: Alright, any other revenue drivers?
C: Sale of medicines will be another large contributor to revenue. Sale of medicines prescribed by
different specialties can go into deciding which departments to open. Moreover, (luckily
remembering snippets and terms from case done in strategy class) it is important to be able to
convert IPD to OPD since OPD margins are typically higher than IPD.
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I: Ok. What about prices? You mentioned competitor’s price-points. What else will determine the
prices you can charge?
C: (Completely blank) Let me just take a minute to go over the main drivers and see what I’ve
missed.
(Repeating some of the key drivers for prices) The specialties, competitors, internal cost and
amortization needs, paying capability of customers.
I: Which depends on?
C: Location (with a happy sigh)!
I: Exactly
C: (Digging in) In fact, location will be a major factor of success for a hospital. Channel dominance
in a service like hospital or hotel depends on taking up the limited number of good properties in
major cities.
I: Exactly. Alright so let us take the general issue of expansion of a hospital chain. Suppose you
met Malvinder Singh in an elevator, what will the things be that you tell him for revolutionary
growth? If you only have 60 seconds to talk to him.
C: I would tell him to focus on bulk sourcing, attrition.
I: (Interrupts) No, I don’t want cost-tweaking. I want revolutionary ideas. For 10x growth
C: (Wondering if case preparations were any use at all) I’ll just take a (another) minute.
I: Take your time. Give me something radical.
C: (After a lot of thinking) They can tie-up with high-end realty. All these construction projects
aimed at high-end homes that are happening – they can tie up to build in hospitals. Takes care of
channel dominance.
I: Ok. Anything else?
C: They can also use their scale to go into the fiend of medical testing.
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I: Ok great. (Opens laptop and shows their Balance Sheet and P&L) So here are the accounts of a
typical hospital. How many days will it take them to break-even (He used a different term but
clarified it upon asking)
I went through the calculation with him, clarifying different items in the sheet to make sure I’m
not making any wrong assumptions. He was very helpful and prompted generously.
I: Ok that’s great. Any questions for us?
I asked something.
Mansi Baranwal
Introduction: Interviewer who is a partner introduces himself. Reads resume and asks about
two-three points mentioned there – details, future plans, etc. Then, asks the question.
Caselet: A construction equipment manufacturer is showing no growth in profits for the past 3
years. This quarter, the profits actually declined. What are the things that I should look at to
determine the problem?
Candidate: The way I understand the case is… (Repeats problem in own words). Then asked a
few questions about the company’s product portfolio, if the trend is industry wide or company
specific, etc
(Picks up paper and pen) If you could give me a moment to structure my thoughts.
Interviewer: No that’s ok. I don’t want you to draw the framework on paper and all that. Just tell
me, what are the areas that could be problematic and why?
C: (Don’t remember exact details) Started by using the classic revenue and cost framework. Went
on to describe the possible constituents of costs and revenue and problems that might be there.
Used the following framework: -

Revenue ->
1. Revenue streams (prices, niche, differentiation)
2. Product demand (market size, growth, segmentation)
3. Competition and substitutes (market share, price, promotions, growth)
4. Environment (technology, regulation, economic)
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Cost ->
1. Fixed (depreciation/rent, salaries, marketing, maintenance, interest, etc)
2. Variable (materials, manufacturing, labor, freight, inventory)
The important thing here is to say only the things that are relevant to a construction company
and also say them in terms of a construction company e.g. depreciation on the equipment and
manufacturing units; Differentiation in terms of use of equipment, scale of operation, longevity,
material used, weight bearing capacity; Segmentation could be big infrastructure companies,
builders, individuals). Say as many relevant things that come to your mind. They don’t expect you
to know anything about the construction industry as such. Also list some of the related problems
that might be happening with each of the component. Be brief and crisp.
I: Very well. Can you tell me some other ways of looking at where the problem might lie?
C: Then I elaborated using components from other frameworks such as

1. Industry analysis (size, growth, segmentation, lifecycle, players, shares, strengths,
differentiation, pricing, external factors, buyers, suppliers, substitutes, etc),
2. Product analysis (past sales trend, volume, price, USP, portfolio, strengths,
weaknesses, service, warranty, bundling, patents, substitutes, seasonality)
3. Market strategy (distribution, advertisement, value proposition, suppliers,
promotions, competitors response, etc)
4. Customers (need, value, segmentation, growth)
5. Growth strategies (market penetration, new product development, new markets)
Again keep making it relevant to a construction company and how this component could be
posing a threat to the profitability. Be brief and crisp.
I: All right, now consider that you fixed the profitability problem and the company has asked you
for some recommendations to improve their business. I don’t expect you to know much about the
construction industry. Just tell me some generic improvements that they could look at.
C: This is an open-ended question and you could answer anything. They will look at how well you
think on your feet.
I don’t remember most of the things I recommended. I do remember saying something about
financing deals, differentiating product portfolio with smaller equipments for small building
projects in cities and heavier machines targeted at infrastructure companies, developing a renting
agency for individuals and small companies, mobile equipment mounted on trucks, etc.
Shivani Pal
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Caselet: A San Francisco based credit card company wants to enter India. What should be the key
considerations for this market entry venture?
Candidate: There are two aspects to deciding the viability of the market entry:
a. External: Market size, Industry growth, Competitors, Regulation(if any)
b. Internal: Financing the entry, Sources of Revenue, Cost of Operations
To assess the market attractiveness, I’d like to first understand the external factors starting from
estimating the market size, industry growth and competitive scenario in that order. Then I’ll move
onto discussing the internal factors with revenue streams, the cost of operations and finally the
finances for entry such as debt/equity/leveraged buyout.
Interviewer: Ok. How do you propose to estimate the market size of the credit card users in
India?
C: We can look at the demographics of India in the form of a pyramid:
I: Let’s now move to the internal factors. What do you think are the sources of revenue for the
firm?
C: The primary sources of revenue for the credit card company would be interest on the
outstanding credit owed by the consumers, late fee if user fails to pay minimum amount by the
due date, annual membership premium(if any), commission from the merchants and advertising
charges from vendors issuing promotional deals with the credit card company.
I: And what would be the internal costs to the card issuers?
C: Besides their borrowing costs on capital from larger banks, the credit card issuer’s major costs
would come from their “uncollectable” or “write-offs”. Many of the users could be declared
delinquent after a certain credit period. Other costs would be Rewards such as Frequent Flier
program, free dining and hotel stays etc.
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I: Great. Thanks a lot.
C: Thank you.
Rachit Chandra
Caselet: A steel products company is diversifying into new products. Should the distribution
network of the company change?
Candidate: What is the current product mix of the company? What is/are the new product(s)
that would be launched?
Interviewer: Currently, the company only manufactures boiler-plates for very large boilers and
hulls for ships. The new product to be launched is TMT bars targeting the entire country.
C: What is the plant network of the company currently? Is it expected to change with the launch
of TMT bars?
I: Currently, the company has one plant near a port city, as the port is a hub for shipbuilding. The
plant has spare capacity and hence the decision to produce TMT bars.
C: One final question, is the company planning to distribute the TMT bars to a nationally
distributed set of retailers/whole sellers? Or is the company looking to distribute the bars in bulk
to a national distributor?
I: The plan is to own the distribution at a national level. What do you suggest?
C: I would assume that the market for TMT bars would be spread all over the country as they are
used in construction. In such a case, the plant located at a port city, would be servicing far-flung
markets.
Till now, the client has been distributing high value-low volume products to concentrated
markets in and around the plant. To set-up a distribution network to distribute the bars nationally
doesn’t seem like a good idea. I do not think that they would have the in-house capability to set
such a distribution network.
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I: Interesting that the first reason you give is based on organization capability and not analytical
reasoning. Can you give me one more reason why the client should not own the distribution?
C: Am I right to assume that margins in this product would not be huge? (Interviewernods)In such
a scenario, owning inventory in a national distribution network doesn’t make sense. Price
fluctuations can have severe consequences on the profitability. The risk should not be borne by
the company.
I: Are you sure you don’t want to apply a framework? (Smiles)
C: I can if you want me to…
I: No I think we are done. Best of luck for the next round!
Ritesh Ritolia
Caselet: A conglomerate which missed the IT revolution is now trying to open an IT company.
Tell me what are the things the conglomerate should give to this company and what are the things
it should not give?
Candidate: Can you give me a brief idea about the conglomerate?
Interviewer: You can assume it to be among top 10 business houses in the country. They have a
diversified portfolio and are growing rapidly.
C: What is the motive behind this diversification?
I: Mainly profits. The conglomerate believes that the sector would be profitable in future. I don’t
want you to get into deep numbers. You may just give me a qualitative idea.
C: The primary resource will be finance or the startup capital. To identify other key resources, I
would want to go ahead by taking P&L statement of an IT company and see how the conglomerate
can help with each item of the statement. Does this seem ok to you?
I: Fair enough, go ahead.
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C: Starting with the Revenues, the conglomerate can help the subsidiary in two ways:
a. Internal Projects: Since the conglomerate is among the top 10 business houses in India, it
is fair to assume that it will have huge IT expenditure. The routine work can be outsourced
to the subsidiary. However, the critical-most jobs should be status-quo for now.
b. Branding and relationships: The conglomerate can introduce the subsidiary to its key
business contacts, who can be potential customers.
I: Ok.
C: Now moving to the costs side, I see two major cost heads for an IT firm – employees and real
estate. Is it a safe assumption to make?
I: Yes, you may consider these are the biggest cost heads and ignore the others.
C: Coming to real estate first, the conglomerate can lease out space in its existing offices and
buildings to the new firm. This way it can save on startup costs and lead time.
Now talking about employees, the conglomerate’s branding may help the firm in getting talent at
entry and middle levels. A big conglomerate will give them a sense of security not Associated
generally with a new firm.
I believe that the top management should be mix of people from the IT industry and
conglomerate’s existing resources. Especially functions like finance and control should be from
the existing setup.
I: Is there anything else which can be important in terms of employees that the conglomerate can
offer?
C (had to think hard, a minute break): The conglomerate can offer functional expertise in forms
of employees from the existing companies who can act as functional consultants. This can also be
a core competency for the IT firm and help them get a foothold in the market.
I: Great. I think we have discussed the major heads. Anything that you want to ask?
C: No, nothing as of now. Thanks.
I: Thanks Ritesh.
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Anurag Oak
Caselet: An automotive distributor wants to enter India. What should be its market strategy?
Candidate: Can you give me a brief idea about the automotive distributor?
Interviewer: Please be more specific.
C: Where is the distributor based and what cars does it want to sell?
I: The firm is Japanese and it is a subsidiary of an automobile manufacturer. The distributor

exclusively sells cars of its parent company.
C: Is the automotive manufacturer already selling in India?
I: Yes. They are a global major and had entered India 3 years ago. They had been selling the cars
through collaboration with a cohort of local distributors.
C: Can you give me more information on the type of cars sold by this firm and where it wants to
sell through this distributor?
I: The auto firm sells premium cars and has a set of popular brands. It wants to sell specific
premium cars. Their focus is on metro cities and that is its target market.
C: How does the distributor make money? I believe there will be sales margins and revenue
through car service. Am I right?
I: Yes. The distributor gets 10% margins on sales. The total market for premium cars is given as
Rs. 100 Cr. Based on the information, following details about a city, give me a market strategy.
a. The city divided into 4 zones
b. Two zones have lots of existing cars and rich people. Other zones less car less
people
c. Services contribute more than sales to revenue.
d. Two client bases corporate and individual
C:
a. Services is actually greater sales in revenue
b. Land rentals in areas with more cars is very high
c. For corporates relationship selling.
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d. For individuals test drive
e. For sales have sales force targeted at these segments which visits clients
f. For services again have service force which goes to client
g. Put up showroom in cheaper areas
Arpit Nanda
Caselet: A telecom company wants to enter the rural sector. What would be the key things they
should focus on for this venture?
Candidate: The major differences between the urban and rural sectors are :
1. Population Density
2. Purchasing power
Taking population density first, the sparse population of the rural areas makes it more difficult to
cover them, since efforts to tap them would need to increase. This would increase the costs to
cover this area.
Interviewer: What costs are we talking about here?
C: I can think of two major cost heads that would increase if the client moves into the rural areas.
1. Infrastructure costs: A lot more towers would need to be established to cover the same
number of consumers as in a city.
2. Sales and Distribution costs: Since the shops would be further apart, the costs of
distribution to these remote areas would increase.
3. Publicity costs: Similar to infrastructure, the number of hoardings/banners etc to
capture the same number of eyeballs would be much higher in rural areas due to sparse
population density in comparison to urban areas. Although costs for such promotion
would be cheaper in the rural areas, the trade off is something the company must be
aware of.
I: That is correct. Considering sales and distribution, apart from the increase in costs because of
moving into remote areas, what other issues can you think about?
C: Another issue could be of inventory management. Since these are remote areas, it would be
very costly to service them regularly. But another limiting factor here would be the retailer’s
working capital.
Since SIM cards and recharge coupons are not very fast moving items, they would be in the
retailer’s inventory for a longer period of time. Most retailers in rural areas stock all kinds of
household items
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together, and they would not want to lock up their working capital into a slow moving product if
they can buy FMCG goods which give them much higher inventory turnover. This might lead to
supply outages in the rural areas, and limit our sales.
I: Good. As a matter of fact, these costs do increase, but they have become essential, since the
urban markets are saturated, and thus some of these investments need to be incurred. ARPU (Avg
revenue per User) is an important metric used in the telecom industry to account for revenues.
Could you tell me the relationship between ARPU and reach for a telecom operator who is just
breaking even?
C: In case of break even,

ARPU * No of customers = Costs
No of customers = Reach * Mkt Size
So, for break even,
ARPU * Reach = const.
Hence they have an inverse relationship, and the graph is parabolic.
I: If one was over the graph, one would be in profit, and if one is below the graph, one would be
in a loss.
If our client is in a loss, what are the ways to move up to a profit?
C: There are 3 ways to do that:

1. Move up the Y axis: This would mean increasing ARPU. This cannot be done by increasing
prices, as purchasing power of the rural customers is lower. So, the ways to increase ARPU
in the rural areas should be through Value added services such as information about
weather, crop prices etc available through SMS and phone.
2. Move along the X axis: This would mean increasing reach. This is through coming up with
increasingly popular products which address the rural needs, thus helping in expanding
the base of users.
3. Pull the curve down: One can also move into profits by reducing the fixed cost investment
by investing into newer and cheaper technology, or taking advantage of scale to reduce
infrastructure and other costs. This would also help the company make profits.
I: Great. I think that more or less completes the case. Any questions for us?
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C: No, nothing as of now. Thanks.
I: Thanks, all the best.
BOOZ & COMPANY
Subhodeep Ghosh
Caselet: You happen to meet the CEO of the Wall Street Journal at the JFK airport and he is
contemplating entry into the Indian market. With one billion dollar revenue per year and a 50%
market share in the US, it is the largest newspaper in the US, by circulation. The CEO wants to
know if India would be a good market considering the entire buzz about emerging economy in
India and its impressive year-on-year GDP growth. He says he has two months to go for the annual
meeting where he would ideally want to make this proposal about entering India. He wants you
to first tell him if it is a good idea to enter India and if yes, then how and in what capacity.
Candidate: As far as I understand, WSJ falls into the category of business newspapers which
primarily covers American economics and international business articles. So is that a right
assumption to make that WSJ, if it enters India would be covering Indian economics and the news
would be more catered to the Indian audience?
Interviewer: Of course, Yes. WSJ is looking to enter India with local content, however they would
ideally want to leverage their international stature and have a strong international section.
C: Considering this in mind, may I know the business daily market size in India, or rather how it
compares to the US market
I: So I don’t have the exact numbers, but I can give you some relative numbers. The US market
size, in terms of circulation, is almost 10 times the Indian market size. BTW, can you name some
of the Business dailies of India?
C: The popular ones are Economic Times with the largest market share, then Business Standard,
Mint etc.
I: Okay, keep going.
C: So is it safe to assume that the US market size is 10 times that of India even in revenue streams
or is there is a huge difference in the price points in the two markets.
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I: Well, they are priced at the same level based on the buying power in the two markets. Is there
something you should be looking at?
C: Yes, the first thing would the currency conversion factor and how that accounts to determine
the different market sizes
I: Exactly, taking into account the currency conversion, the US market is about 50 times the Indian
market size.
C: So to summarize this, the US market is 50x of the Indian market. And as WSJ has a 50% share
of the US market, WSJ’s business itself is about 25x the entire Indian market available. This makes
India look like not such a tempting market to enter. However I have an opinion on this extremely
small market size for business daily in India in spite of having one of the largest newspaper
markets in the world. And that is probably due to the fact that the share of English newspapers is
small as such compared to the local languages and then within English newspapers, the share of
business dailies would be further smaller due to relatively smaller share of corporates in the
country.
However, this being the case, it presents a huge opportunity for growth in this segment, since as
more of India develops, more and more readers would migrate to English newspapers and more
so to English business newspapers. Keeping this in mind, do we have any numbers on the
potential growth in US and India?
I: Good analysis. Let us assume that the growth in US is about 1% and that in India is about 15%.
C: If this is indeed the case, then the actual calculations would show that even with the 15x growth,
it would take a much longer time for India to catch up with US, mostly because the base for growth
in India is much smaller (about 50 times smaller) that that of US. But, even then, the US market
with this slow growth shows that the market is almost saturated and if WSJ is looking to expand,
then what are the potential options apart from India and what are the market size/growth
estimates for those markets.
I: Let us concentrate only on India for now.
C: Okay. So given the high growth rate, India does seem to be a good market to enter, however
there is a lot of analysis that remains to be done in terms of competition, distribution etc.
I: Okay, now it’s been one month since you met the WSJ CEO and now you happen to meet him
again at the London airport. He asks you what the current status of the analysis is. What would
you tell him?
233
C: The brief summary would be that the current market size in India is about 25 times smaller
than the business that WSJ does in the US itself. However, with the on-going economic boom in
the country, the market is expected to grow at a rate of 15% that is 15x that of the US market. This
presents a huge opportunity for WSJ to enter since the market is very ripe and expects a lot of
readers to shift to business dailies in the near future.
However, analysis with respect to competition is pending, especially with Economic Times which
comes right after WSJ in terms of circulation globally. The other analysis would be on how to
position WSJ in India and figure out how it could differentiate itself from the other business
dailies, by leveraging its huge parent in the US. For example, a very strong international section
with articles from all across the globe is something where WSJ can really differentiate itself.
Also, pricing is a key feature in this industry. But then again, business dailies exercise the
maximum margins as the target is not that price sensitive. So it would be interesting to see how
much of the margins can WSJ get based on its international brand image.
The last aspect would be that of distribution since that is a huge aspect in terms of dailies. This
would highly depend on how WSJ segments its target market and its promotion strategy.
I: Okay, good. I was about to ask where do you think WSJ can bring in some value on the table but
you covered it well when you spoke about the ‘International section’. So I would wait for analysis
to complete and let’s fix up a meeting in our HQ in a month’s time. Thanks for the good work and
looking forward to the interesting results.
C: Okay thanks.
Aritra Das
Caselet: Your client is a major player in the Indian coal tar business, located in eastern India.
Their primary product is Coal Tar Pitch (CTP) which is used as a binder in the Aluminium
industry. With the demand for Aluminium growing strongly, the market for CTP is looking quite
attractive, and as a result, foreign players are planning to enter the market. On the other hand,
the supply has become tight with the rise in prices of coal tar in India. In addition to this, a recent
controversy involving the mining major Sterlite has also affected the client’s business. You have
been hired as a consultant to evaluate the strategic options available to your client and identify
options that it can avail in order to sustain its leadership position.
Candidate: Can you kindly give me a brief idea about the coal tar business, CTP and the source
and uses of CTP?
Interviewer: Coal tar is a by-product generated while processing coking coal into low ash
metallurgical coke in a recovery-type coke oven plant (e.g. a steel plant). Coal tar accounts for
234
around 3.5-4% of coke produced. Coal Tar Pitch, which is manufactured from this Coal Tar, is
used as a binder in the Aluminium industry – as a coating on the anodes used for electrolysis in
Aluminium extraction process.
C: Ok. And the controversy regarding Sterlite, which you were mentioning – was it the recent
Nyamgiri Hills controversy with the Sterlite bauxite mines?
I: Exactly. That is the one I mentioned. Sterlite is a major customer for our client.
C: Then that would mean, due to halting of bauxite mining, the associated Aluminium plant is also
not functioning and hence there has been a demand side shock for our client.
I: Yes, that is correct.
C: Ok, coming back to the case, let me first summarize it: The client, a major Indian coal tar player,
is currently facing the following threats:
1. With the Indian market looking attractive, the international players are trying to enter the
market and set up facilities in India. Alternatively, they may also be trying to export CTP
to the customers in India
2. Coal tar feed stock has become tight and their prices have increased
3. Following the Nyamgiri Hills controversy, Sterlite has halted / reduced production in its
Aluminium manufacturing unit in Orissa, which was a major buyer of CTP from your client
I: Perfect. Please go ahead.
C: I would like to look at the case from the following aspects: the company, its competitors, the
product, the buyers, the suppliers, barriers to new entry, pricing & promotion and also other
factors such as substitutes, regulatory constraints if any etc.
I: Looks fine to me. Let me also mention here, that there are no presently available substitutes to
CTP and hence the pricing and promotion are simple. And as such, there are no regulatory
constraints in this business.
C: Fine. Now looking at the company, as you mentioned, it is a market leader in the coal tar
business in India. Can you give me an idea about the market share of the company in India? Is it
present only in India or is present elsewhere? Also, if possible, can you give me an idea about the
turnover and margin enjoyed by the company?
I: Ok. The company is present only in India. Let us for now focus only on the CTP product. It has a
60-
235
65% market share in India. The annual revenue of the company amounts to Rs. 500 crore and it
enjoys an EBITDA margin of 30%. Bain Capital holds a 25% in the company.
C: A 65% market share and a 500 crore revenue would indicate that it dominates the market and
would enjoy sufficient economies of scale. Can I make an assumption that there are no other major
players in the market?
I: Yes, that is true. The next 10 players account for up to a mere 5-7% market share.
C: Is there any differentiating factor that puts the client ahead of its competitors?
I: Most other competitors are European and US players, who export their CTP as a dried powder.
Our client on the other hand enjoys benefits around logistics, using which it can deliver liquid
pitch to the customers.
C: In that case, I would assume that this benefit can only be enjoyed when the customer locations
are located nearby to the CTP manufacturing plants. This can again imply that most of its buyers
/ customers are located in eastern India.
I: Yes, that is correct.
C: Ok, now coming to the suppliers – since coal tar accounts for a very small fraction of the coke
produced, the revenue contribution of coal tar sale to the suppliers would not be very large. Also,
there would be multiple other uses of coal tar other than CTP manufacturing, which would further
reduce the bargaining power of our client.
I: Exactly. In fact, coal tar contributes to hardly 1-2% of the total revenue of a steel plant.
MCKINSEY & COMPANY
Arijit Sarkar
Main tips: I only had one case, which was more of a free flowing discussion than directed to any
particular solutions. The interviewer was willing to let me take it anywhere as long as I put forth
some structure.
Caselet: A medical devices is looking to expand 3X in the next 5 years. If you were in the company,
what are the questions you would ask?
236
Interviewer: I am not going to provide any answers. Kindly tell me your thought process.
Candidate: In order to achieve a 3X growth, I would like to look primarily at topline growth, as
my assumption is cost reduction would not be the primary driver. Is that fair?
Interviewer: All right, let’s proceed with that assumption.
C: In that case, I would like to figure out what are the kind of products that this company makes.
I: Alright, let's say they are largely into higher end medical devices used for critical life saving
applications, such as pacemakers and cardiac stents.
C: Great, so in order to understand the potential sources of breakthrough growth, we would have
to look into the characteristics of primary customers in order to determine current and future
market size.
I: Ok. What characteristics would be of interest?
C: I believe that even though the patient pays for these devices, the consulting doctor would have
a big role to play in determining which particular device is appropriate. Given that some
consolidation is happening, hospitals might be important as well, though in India, most surgeries
requiring devices that you mentioned would have doctors as stronger determinants than
hospitals, as patients follow specialist doctor advice more than hospitals.
I: That is partially correct but changing.
C: All right, so I would probably segment the market according to urban centres, as Tier I, II, III
cities.
Smaller cities would be unlikely to have a major hospital industry able to support volumes of
critical devices like stents and pacemakers. In larger cities, my primary customer group would be
hospitals, and I would focus my sales force and market research to understand the key factors
which determine purchase.
I: What are some factors you could think of?
C: Quality and reliability should be major, with cost as a secondary driver.
I: Anything else.
237
C: (Clueless) Perhaps the vendors’ ability to source inventory rapidly would let hospitals maintain
lower inventory and reduce their costs?
I: (Interrupts) Good. Now any other macro questions that you think would affect their strategy?
C: (Realizing I’m not even halfway done with my questions and this is a sign to speed up) I believe
the increasing consolidation of hospitals would be important in defining the strategy. (Buying
time while I think of something). Now since we have primarily looked at market sizing elements, I
would also like to know about market share. What is the competitive landscape like?
I: Well there are 3-4 other major players, but devices are a small component of their portfolio,
and they’re unlikely to have focused strategies. What else?
C: (After a lot of thinking) Perhaps the client can look into optimizing pricing as a lever. What are
margins like?
I: Margins are healthy, and all players price similarly. It is difficult to differentiate quality and
hence pricing between the 5 major players. Though the market is price-inelastic on the whole, the
choice between the device brands would have price as an important decision variable, and we
cannot increase or decrease prices substantially without hurting ourselves and possibly our
competitors.
C: Perhaps the rise of organized insurance can be an important factor, as they would influence
which device to buy, as these are expensive devices?
I: That’s a great point. Thanks for discussing the case. Now tell me, which element of this case
strikes you as remarkable?
C: Umm, err….
I: Did you have Kotler as your marketing book?
C: We actually do, but in this term.
I: (Noticeably warming up) Oh, is that so? In my campus it was a first term course. Very well, then
you might not be aware, but through your questions you might have realized that influencers are
very important in this industry.
238
C: (AHA!)Yes, that’s probably true.
I: Thanks, Best of Luck.
Ayesha Jaggi
Caselet: An Emergency Response Force (ERP) needs to be set up as a PPP. What is the magnitude
of the problem in terms of the emergencies in India? (The question focused largely on estimating
the number of emergencies in India)
Candidate: To begin with estimating the emergencies in India it would be best to first define and
lay out the scope of an emergency:
1. Broadly, and emergency would be an event that would require immediate attention and
a typical response time would be within 2-4 hours.
2. The scope can be narrowed to include emergencies of the kind of road accidents, trauma
and heart attacks etc. or broadened to include natural calamities, terrorist attacks etc.
Interviewer: In specific, our client will be setting up an ERF for road accidents. Would it be
possible to estimate that number?
C: We could look at estimating that number by dividing road traffic in the following manner
Each of the types described above would have a different frequency and probability of accidents
occurring.
Let us say that the total number of cities are in the ballpark range of 5000 and the split between
high, moderate and low traffic cities is 500, 1500 and 3000 cities. If this assumption is accurate
could I proceed with calculating the number of accidents in a city in a day?
I: Sure, lets proceed, for the moment though lets only concentrate only on the urban or more
developed cities
C: Sure, if we take the total population of India to be roughly a billion, roughly 25% of the
population will be concentrated in a developed or urban city, which comes to about 250mn
people.
239
I: Let’s take the accident rate to be 0.15% for this group.
C: So, on an average about 0.15% of this population will be involved in a road accident in a day
which translates to 0.375mn?
I: Fair, and suppose our ERP is to be set two years from now?
C: In that case we could assume a growth rate over the calculated number and project a 2 year
forward estimated number.
I: Let’s assume a growth rate of 10% a year
C: Sure, then 2 years hence we the estimated number would be 0.45mn
I: Great. If the accidents reported at each call centre are 1% of the total accidents and each
accident will make 5 calls, how many calls would we receive?
C: At a rate of 1%, each unit would roughly get calls for 4500 accidents and at the rate of 5 per
accident that would be 22500 calls
I: And if each ER unit can handle 15 accidents what would be the requirement of the number of
ER units?
C: At 4500 accidents, we would require 300 ER units.
I: Great, with that we can wrap up this case. Do you have any questions?
C: Sure, No questions, Thanks!
Jitesh Khanna
Caselet: The government of Bhutan wishes to revive its tourism industry which is currently
facing the problem of high seasonality and highly variable returns even in peak seasons. What
would be your strategy to help them solve these issues?
240
Candidate: Asked for the split of various types of tourists that visit Bhutan, and developed it with
some inputs from the interviewer as:
1. Nature lovers
2. Therapeutic tourists
3. Geographical researchers
4. Religion based tourists
Interviewer: What should be your strategies for each of these sections?
C: Develop a framework to analyze the possible issues with various sections and what should be
the target advertising media to penetrate each section.
I: So elaborate more on how we can increase our reach to these sections of tourists?
C: Trade consortiums and fairs, govt. tie-ups, advertising in public media etc.
I: These are okay, but they require a lot of cash, and the govt right now is cash strapped, can you
suggest some economical yet effective mechanism to boost tourism?
C: Agency models and tie-ups with travel agents based on a revenue sharing principle. They bear
some parts of the cost and get a share of the revenues in return.
I: So tell me which country should we ideally target if we wish to boost religious tourism, and
why?
C: I think Western European countries like Germany would be a good potential base due to a high
concentration of religious scholars and researchers in these countries coupled with higher
spending capacities.
I: Great. I think we will stop here as you seem to have touched upon the major key-points. Will let
you know about the rest of the process pretty soon. Do you have any questions for us?
C: No, nothing as of now.
I: Fine then, all the best.
C: Thanks a lot.
241

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IIM BANGALORE

iii. Practice Cases

Me: Good morning, may I come in?

Priorities NA NA Oil & Gas, Consumer

McKinsey & Company Roland Berger Strategy&

Managing Noshir Kaka Wilfried Aulbur

Career Associate Consultant Consultant

Real Estate Infrastructure

Residential SEZ Commercial Utilities Urban Infra Transportation

Exhibit 1.1 Construction Industry Outlook

Growth •Highly leveraged balance

Exhibit 1.2: a) Sector Risks b) Growth Drivers vs Growth Inhibitors

Urban Public Sector Regional Rural

Exhibit 1.1: Banking Structure in India

Banking System in India: Business Segmentation

Wholesale Deposits Credit BFSI

Exhibit 1.2: a) Business Segmentation; b) Products and Services

Banking Industry Performance Metrics:

Exhibit 1.1: Outlook on Infrastructure in India

Branded Generic Chronic Acute

Mapping Pharmaceutical Companies Performance

 Parent's R&D expenditure as a percentage of sales: In a regulated market, new drug

 Advertising and sales promotion expenses as a percentage of sales: In the domestic

•70% share of PSUs •200 kv (52%) and • Major bottleneck in the

a. Guaranteed return: A power company is guaranteed a certain return on capital employed

7. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SECTOR

1.0 Sector Overview:

2.0 Value Chain:

3.0 Market Entry Considerations:

Supply Abundant supply across segments, mainly lower-end, such as ADM

Competition Competition is global in nature and stretches across boundaries and

Technology development: 4G/5G enabled services, mobile banking and commerce

Procurement: Supply Chain network to procure tools, and software

Input Process Output Marketing & Post Sales

3.0 Market Entry Considerations:

Supply Intense competition has resulted in prompt service to the subscribers.

2.0 Value Chain:

Procurement: Components, Spare parts

Raw Tier 2 Tier 1 Original Equipment Dealers

3.0 Market Entry Considerations:

Bargaining power of Low, due to stiff competition.

Bargaining power of Very high, due to availability of options.

Competition High. Expected to increase even further.

Table 1: Market Entry Considerations - Automobile Sector (Source: Equitymaster)

10. FMCG SECTOR

1.0 Sector Overview:

Personal Food & Household

Characteristics and trends:

2.0 Value Chain:

3.0 Market Entry Considerations:

Barriers to Huge investments in establishing brand identity and setting up distribution

Candidate: Amit Kumar

Candidate: Amit Kumar

Interviewer: Why are you looking for consulting?

Candidate: (Gave a small overview of the program)

Interviewer: Can you know name some brands of P&G?

Interviewer: Do you know about Gillette strategy to increase market share?

Interviewer: This (1,2,3,4) is related to Gillette. Can you guess it now?

Interviewer: Yes. What will you do?

Candidate: Aayushi Agarwal

Interviewer: Can you please walk me through your resume.

Interviewer: You can continue.

Candidate: Aayushi Agarwal

Interviewer: Aayushi, what are your favourite subjects at IIMB?