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Note: The INSEAD Consulting Handbook 2011 is strictly for the use of current INSEAD students. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means - electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise - without the permission of the ICC - INSEAD Consulting Club
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Table of Contents
OVERVIEW 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 4 2. Consulting job search at INSEAD ......................................................................................................... 5 3. Consulting industry: history, structure and global trends .................................................................. 7 3.1 History ........................................................................................................................................... 7 3.2 Structure ....................................................................................................................................... 9 3.3 Global trends ............................................................................................................................... 11 4. Profiles of consulting firms ............................................................................................................... 13 4.1 Accenture .................................................................................................................................... 14 4.2 Arthur D. Little ............................................................................................................................ 15 4.3 A.T. Kearney ................................................................................................................................ 16 4.4 Bain & Company.......................................................................................................................... 17 4.5 Booz & Company ......................................................................................................................... 19 4.6 The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) ........................................................................................... 21 4.7 L.E.K Consulting ........................................................................................................................... 23 4.8 Marakon Associates .................................................................................................................... 24 4.9 McKinsey & Company ................................................................................................................. 25 4.10 Oliver Wyman ........................................................................................................................... 27 4.11 Roland Berger Strategy Consultants ......................................................................................... 28 4.12 Others ....................................................................................................................................... 29 5. The Consulting job ............................................................................................................................ 30 5.1 Career development paths ......................................................................................................... 30 5.2 Processes: staffing, promotions, opportunities .......................................................................... 31 5.3 The everyday work – key tasks ................................................................................................... 32 5.4 A week in the life of a Consultant ............................................................................................... 33 6. Networking with Consulting firms - Why and how? ......................................................................... 34 6.1 Tips for informational interviews................................................................................................ 34 7. Cover letter and CV preparation ....................................................................................................... 35 7.1 Goal of your cover letter and CV................................................................................................. 35 7.2 Tips for cover letters and CVs ..................................................................................................... 37 ICC Handbook 2011 Page 2
7.3 Sample cover letters ................................................................................................................... 38 8. Other resources ................................................................................................................................ 41 9. The consulting interview process ..................................................................................................... 43 9.1 Case & Fit interviews- what is being tested? .............................................................................. 43 9.2 Case interview overview ............................................................................................................. 45 9.3 How to prepare for the case interviews? ................................................................................... 46 9.4 Types of cases ............................................................................................................................. 47 9.5 How to ace a case?...................................................................................................................... 48 9.6 Using a Framework ..................................................................................................................... 50 10. Case examples................................................................................................................................. 54 10.1 Discount retailer case (BCG) ..................................................................................................... 54 10.2 Medical software industry case (BCG) ...................................................................................... 60 10.3 Jet fighter manufacturing case (BCG) ....................................................................................... 68 10.4 Gas retail case (BCG) ................................................................................................................. 73 10.5 Consumer ADSL services cases (BCG) ....................................................................................... 77 10.6 Call center case (BCG) ............................................................................................................... 81 10.7 Supermarket deli turnaround case (BCG) ................................................................................. 85 10.8 China outsourcing case (BCG) ................................................................................................... 89 10.9 Specialty paper sales case (BCG)............................................................................................... 93 10.10 Oil tanker case (Booz & Co.).................................................................................................... 96 10.11 Video game case (Booz & Co.) ................................................................................................ 97 10.12 Toy manufacturer case ......................................................................................................... 100 10.13 Pen manufacturer case (Booz & Co.) .................................................................................... 101 11. Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 108
ICC Handbook 2011
Introduction ICC (INSEAD Consulting Club) is pleased to present the ICC Handbook 2011. This book is created with the aim of assisting INSEAD students to prepare for a career in consulting and be successful in their job search and recruiting process. BCG has been a leading contributor to each edition. We hope this tradition will continue further on with the next INSEAD classes. The Case section of the book gives guidance on case interview preparation. providing access to their resources. and possible tools and frameworks to use while cracking the case. Since the inception of the ICC book in 2005. 2011 ICC Handbook 2011 Page 4 . It then features the profiles and some additional insights on the Consulting firms that visit the INSEAD campus for each recruiting campaign. We would also like to thank all the companies featured in the book for validating their profiles. Overview (sections 1-8) and Case preparation (sections 9-11). informal chats and general but very insightful feedback and input. following up on the tradition created by the 2005 class. The first section gives a general overview of the management consulting industry and opportunities offered to MBA graduates. In addition it provides thirteen case examples on how to solve actual cases. ex-consultants and alumni who have contributed significantly both to this book and to the ICC's ongoing activities. Finally. and offering advice and support on how best to compile the information. We would like to acknowledge the support we received from The Boston Consulting Group (BCG). It explains how to prepare for a case interview. Our most sincere thanks also go to the current students. case materials. The purpose of the ICC Handbook is to provide you with the background knowledge you need to consider a career in consulting and to conduct informational interviews. Next it goes on to share the career progression and what to expect in a consulting job.1. types of cases. The book has two distinct sections. in the form of CV reviews. Finally we share a list with a variety of other resources available for INSEAD students to help them in their pursuit of a Consulting career. ICC Board. who is continuously sponsoring the production of this book. we would like to thank the 2005 ICC members for initiating the production and circulation of the INSEAD Consulting Club Handbook. We have also included samples of cover letters to serve as guidance to the first stage of the recruiting process. mock interviews.
Consulting job search at INSEAD Consulting remains a popular choice for INSEAD graduates. Proportion of INSEAD graduates returning to their previous consulting employers also remained high following on a trend of 2009. The selection process remains rather rigorous though. with a stronger emphasis on being well prepared for interviews and increasing importance being given to an applicant's background and expertise while assessing their potential as consultants.2. The job market conditions are becoming cautiously optimistic in 2011 compared to the previous years. There has been a steady increase in the number of graduates who find consulting jobs through INSEAD career activities and networking. ICC Handbook 2011 Page 5 . Despite the crisis recruitment in 2010 remained strong. with over a third of all graduates choosing this sector. In terms of geographical the latest available data (2009) shows distribution 60% of the students who chose consulting joined firms in Europe. And INSEAD is being continuously placed as one of the leading recruitment pool for consulting firms. with stable share in recruitment levels over the past years. The slowdown of activities in Dubai explains the decrease of opportunities in the Middle East while other emerging markets and specifically Asia Pacific and Latin America keep attracting a growing proportion of graduates.
Company case-interview workshops .More Informational Interviews (during the summer project) .Network Companies .Counselling / Advising sessions .K.More informational interviews (especially with the firms not coming on campus) Summer break Internship . This will help you to be more focused on your applications and more confident in your interviews.Informational Interviews . Little Oliver Wyman 106 (36) 40 (9) 35 (13) 21 (9) 12 (1) 9 (4) 6 4 (1) 4 4 3 3 Classes of 2008 McKinsey & Company BCG Booz Allen Hamilton Bain & Company A. when you will have little time and will be more stressed out.Interview preparation with Peers .interview preparation with Peers . Overall.Consult job postings .Attend company presentations .Company case-interview workshops .Do Informational interviews .Career Orientation .E.T.Attend Mock-interview sessions .On-campus recruitment ICC Handbook 2011 Page 6 . Make sure you initiate your job search before the P4 and P5 periods.Attend company presentations .T.Research Consulting Sectors & .T. Think about your goals.More informational interviews P4-P5 Go For It! .Just CHILL! . Kearney Roland Berger PricewaterhouseCoopers Monitor Group Accenture Deloitte Consulting Oliver Wyman 78 (49) 44 (21) 43 (17) 23 (13) 11 (5) 8 (5) 7 (1) 6 (3) 5 (3) 4 (2) 3 (2) Table 1: Top INSEAD employers in Consulting over the most recent years.Prepare CV and Motivation letters .Top INSEAD employers for Consulting positions Classes of 2006 McKinsey & Company Bain & Company BCG Booz Allen Hamilton A.CHILL! P2 P3 Prepare CV & Network Network . Timeline of consulting job preparation December promotion P1-P2 Self Assessment & Internship hunt .T.Consult job postings . Kearney Roland Berger Deloitte Consulting Mercer Management Consulting Mercer Oliver Wyman L. students need to figure out what sector to choose during P1 and P2. Kearney Roland Berger Monitor Group L.Network .K. network during P3 and go for it in P4 and P5.Networking P4-P5 Go For It! .E.Apply for Summer Jobs July promotion P1 Self Assessment . Consulting Siemens Management Consulting Marakon Associates 75 (27) 46 (16) 36 (9) 17 (3) 8 (2) 6 (2) 5 5 3 3 3 3 (1) Classes of 2007 McKinsey & Company Bain & Company BCG Booz Allen Hamilton A.Interview Preparations .On-campus recruitment P3 More Sector Research . do your research on the sector and network through informational interviews or other activities.More Research . Numbers in brackets are former employees Source: INSEAD Career Services reports The main difference between the timelines of the consulting job search process for the January and the September INSEAD promotions is the possibility of doing an internship during the summer break for the January graduates.Prepare CV & Motivation letters .Self Assessment . Kearney Accenture Roland Berger Oliver Wyman Deloitte Consulting Monitor Group Opera Solutions PricewaterhouseCoopers 97 (39) 51 (22) 39 (8) 21 (10) 13 (2) 6 (3) 6 (1) 5 (2) 4 4 3 3 (1) Classes of 2009 McKinsey & Company BCG Bain & Company Booz Allen Hamilton A.Interview preparation with Peers . Consulting OC&C Strategy Consultants Trinsum (formerly Marakon) Arthur D.
Management consulting may involve the identification and cross-fertilization of best practices. Kearney. Management consulting grew with the rise of management as a unique field of study. Little. Booz. founded in the late 1890s by the MIT professor of the same name. McKinsey is credited with being the first to hire newly minted MBAs from top schools to staff its projects vs. a graduate of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. broke off and started A. Another major player of more recent fame is Bain & Company. strategy development or even the simple advantage of an outsider's perspective. After World War II. change management and coaching skills. analytical techniques. and to the firms that specialize in this sort of consulting. technology implementations. hiring older industry personnel. McKinsey and the Harvard Business School during the 1960s and 70s developed the tools and approaches that would define the new field of strategic management. Also significant was the development of consulting arms by both accounting firms (such as Accenture of the now defunct Arthur Andersen) and global IT services companies (such as IBM). in 1914. it originally specialized in technical research.. whose innovative focus on shareholder wealth (including its successful private equity business) set it apart from its older brethren. The current trend in the market is a clear segmentation of management consulting firms. McKinsey was founded in Chicago during 1926 by James O. Management consultants generally bring formal frameworks or methodologies to identify problems or suggest more effective or efficient ways of performing business tasks. Work done at BCG.T. founded in 1963. an original McKinsey partner. Kearney in 1937. The first management consulting firm was Arthur D. which brought a rigorous analytical approach to the study of management and strategy.E.3. Though Arthur D. who believed that management consultancies should adhere to the same high professional standards as lawyers and doctors. McKinsey. Booz Allen Hamilton. Little later became a general management consultancy. but the modern McKinsey was shaped by Marvin Bower. these consulting businesses were well-funded and often arrived on client sites in force. with pure strategy houses such as L.K. Marakon and OC&C competing effectively in this high-end market. Andrew T. Though not as focused on strategy or the executive agenda. most notably the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Booz Allen Hamilton was founded as a management consultancy by Edwin G. structure and global trends 3. setting the groundwork for many consulting firms to follow. and was the first to serve both industry and government clients. BCG and McKinsey retain their strong strategy focus. Bain.1 History Management consulting (sometimes also called strategy consulting) refers both to the practice of helping companies to improve performance through analysis of existing business problems and development of future plans. Many other generalist management consultancies such as Accenture are broadening their offering to ICC Handbook 2011 Page 7 . The first pure management consulting company was McKinsey & Company. a number of new management consulting firms formed. Consulting industry: history.
wikipedia. McKinsey. There is a relatively unclear line between management consulting and other consulting practices. such as Information Technology consulting. BCG ICC Handbook 2011 Page 8 . Figure 2: Evolution of the Management Consulting industry Source: www.include high volume.com. quasi-governments and not-for-profit agencies are turning to the same managerial principles that have helped the private sector for years. As the need for professional and specialized advice grows. Management Consulting is becoming more prevalent in non-business related fields as well. lower margin work such as system integration. other institutions such as governments.
Figure 3: Structure / segmentation of the consulting industry Source: "http://www. and make similar levels of earnings per consultants. The bulk of these firms' work consists of providing strategic and operational advice to executives in the top companies. working closely with the clients.ADD-Resources. Most MBA graduates are hired by the so-called Global Strategy firms. implement and manage their clients' needs very closely. Furthermore. Although often smaller. Although neither exhaustive nor fully accurate. these firms may have impressive reputations. compete equally with the most well-known firms. These consulting projects require larger teams. So-called Global Operations/IT firms typically take on larger projects and design. there are firms that specialize along industries and/or functional lines. as illustrated in the matrix from figure 3. They are usually mentioned as consulting boutiques.3.2 Structure Consulting firms are segmented according to their focus and their size.com" ICC Handbook 2011 Page 9 . this matrix representation shows the best known companies in each category and approximate values of size and earnings per consultant (as in 2003). People who give value to the implementation phase and the operational process could prefer this kind of environment.
across a wide geographical range • Typically larger firms. operations.Here below are some differences between a generalist consulting firm and a specialized boutique: Generalist firms: • Provide the whole range of management consulting services (strategy. usually founded by ex-partners from larger generalist consultancies • Structured around in-depth expertise in and knowledge of either specific functions (strategy. marketing. marketing. etc. where such in-depth niche services are in demand ICC Handbook 2011 Page 10 . finance. to better leverage personal experience Specialized firms and boutiques • Typically smaller firms. with long track record and substantial accumulated knowledge base • Usually multi-regional office array. both in terms of number of employees and geographical spread • Usually more focused on developed markets. organizational redesign. finance.) to all industries.) or industry • Smaller. covering both developed and high-growth emerging markets • Often structured around industry and/or function practices. etc.
In bad economic conditions. The consulting industry has a very interesting value proposition for a recent MBA graduate: the outlook for the industry is good and looks stable.g. aggressive penetration of emerging markets. privatization and the new Information Technology industry drove growth in the consulting industry. salaries and bonuses are highly competitive. ICC Handbook 2011 Page 11 . they have now more structured organizations across industries and functional lines in order to deal with the increased sophistication of their clients and to successfully compete with specialized firms. as in bad ones. There was a huge demand for services and consulting firms were hiring MBAs aggressively on campus. After this boom period.3 Global trends In the late 1990s. • Pay for performance and Measurable Business Results (MBRs). This causes increasing competition among firms in different segments of the consulting industry. the consulting industry recovered growth and firms are now recruiting again and aggressively. Especially during the dot-com boom. with established firms growing as fast as 20% p. who reacted to the economical downturn by postponing major decisions. This resulted in a sharp decline for the industry: many younger and smaller firms had to withdraw and major players had to downscale their recruiting efforts. globalization. Clients demand more tangible results and pay according to a performance measure (e. there is almost no beach time in most firms. and with new players emerging in the marketplace. However. The major global strategy firms do not want to lose their generalist scope and the ability of their consultants to work across industries. clients need advice on down-sizing. the consulting industry was expected to do as well in good economic conditions. consultants can advise their clients on growth strategies. At present. investment projects and due diligences. As the ultimate service industry.a. the growth stalled for a couple of years in the early 2000s. most offices are working at full capacity and the outlook for the sector as a whole is very positive. some clear trends are emerging for the management consulting firms: • Specialization. • Implementation. As we are entering an ever increasingly complex and global world. Earlier. diverse and enriching. Consulting depends heavily on the prospects of large corporations. and the work is interesting. cost savings in procurement optimization projects). Clients are more demanding and ask for consultants specialized in the industry or topic. the rough economy of 2001 and 2002 introduced a lot of uncertainty for the consulting firms' clients. cost cutting and disinvestments. but is also an opportunity for consulting firms to develop long-term relationships with their clients. However. Firms are competing more among each other and with the Investment Banks for the best candidates. In good economic conditions. some firms agreed on partial/full equity payment.3. Clients ask for a greater focus on implementation rather than only theoretical recommendations or strategic plans. From 2004 onwards.
Arabic. Russia and Middle East (Abu Dhabi. etc.• • New geographies. Russian. For example. Fragmented markets. The market for Consulting is growing extremely rapidly in China.). Markets such as Latin America and India are also growing very fast. this trend has led to a very fragmented market. with hundreds of small and medium-sized firms. ICC Handbook 2011 Page 12 . Dubai). in China. a large number of former employees start their own small consulting firms. Major firms are heavily investing in these geographies. They compete aggressively to recruit the candidates who have a connection with these regions or possess the right language skills (Mandarin. In some markets. opening or expanding offices.
4. ICC Handbook 2011 Page 13 . This exercise is imperfect by nature. Profiles of consulting firms The objective of this chapter is to share general information on some of the Consulting firms that recruit INSEAD graduates on a regular basis. The 'Insider Scoop' provided for some of the big firms is based on the feedback from ex-consultants currently studying at INSEAD. since it is difficult to describe the cultures of so many companies and analyze all the opportunities they can offer. It is mostly based on public information and direct input shared by all the firms. However. we do hope it will help INSEAD students to increase their knowledge of the different Consulting firms on the market.
Accenture knows how to help our clients adapt to the dynamics of new competition and changing global markets.recruiting@accenture. industry insights and know-how in the integrated global economy to ensure that the strategic solutions we deliver are pragmatic and can actually be implemented to improve and sustain client performance.4. comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions. Combining unparalleled experience. With more than 186. we know better than most the challenges our clients face in the competitive global economy. Over the last decade we have restructured our business. Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments.1 Accenture Accenture is a global management consulting. Accenture is a longstanding member of the INSEAD Corporate Affiliation Program (CAP) and employs a large number of INSEAD alumni around the globe.000 worldwide that provide a different approach to strategic consulting services that helps our clients consistently outperform their competitors. but gives us real.com Source: Accenture Insider scoop 'The strong hands-on approach to tasks and the easy accessibility of my colleagues. completed a successful public offering. 31. Accenture's Strategy practice is a dedicated network of nearly 2. Any enquiries can be emailed to INSEAD. and extensive research on the world's most successful companies. This understanding not only helps us shape the solutions we design for our clients.' Source: ex-Accenture INSEAD student July' 09 ICC Handbook 2011 Page 14 . because we have done it. and led one of the world's most successful corporate re-branding efforts. Accenture has a regular oncampus presence at INSEAD. As a Fortune 500 company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. the company generated net revenues of US$23. What sets us apart from strategy-only firms is our ability to leverage Accenture's deep operational expertise. grounded experience on how to best implement them in a public environment. both in Europe and Asia. We have also lived through our own strategic transformation. who readily help each other are some of the things I valued most at Accenture. 2008.39 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug.000 people in 52 countries. technology services and outsourcing company.
The company's approach is collaborative and respectful of clients' insight and experience. Arthur D. The involvement of clients' employees is considered a strong prerequisite for durable improvements.2 Arthur D.com ICC Handbook 2011 Page 15 . with over 1. It was founded in 1886 and is the world's first management consulting firm. functional experience and technology skills to help clients grow and create value.000 professionals at their client's disposal.4. Arthur D. It combines industry knowledge.adlittle. Little was an important INSEAD employer in 2007 year and is a regular presence in the on-campus recruiting events. Little combines experience in a range of industries and expertise in various functional areas to help organizations reach their goals. Little Arthur D. Together with their partners at Altran Technologies they have 17. In its assignments. Source: www. Little is a global management consulting firm.000 staff members and offices in 30 countries worldwide.
Kearney joined forces with EDS. and the firm makes continues efforts to foster and develop talents.' Source: ex-AT Kearney INSEAD student July'09 ICC Handbook 2011 Page 16 .T. A. A. In 1995.4.3 A. Since 1926. Across all industries. Today.T. All of the project managers I worked with provided not only support for engagement tasks but also support for my career advancement. it has a broad range of capabilities and expertise. a leader in global technology services. Source: AT Kearney Insider scoop 'AT Kearney's one main focus is its people. Kearney.T. As one of the largest high-value management consulting firms in the world. in all geographies and within markets local and global. seeing it through to implementation and supporting it with business technology solutions is the unique specialty of A. and can deliver the results to make it happen.T. Kearney is one of the oldest management consulting firms. with 100 percent of the equity owned by officers in the firm. Developing strategy. A. privately owned management consultancy. the firm operates with 2.T.T. Kearney's collaborative approach is a time-proven one: to deliver tangible results. Kearney once again became an independent. and long-term relationships with major companies across the globe. In 2006.500 employees in 52 offices in 35 countries around the world. A. business technology and enterprise services transformation. They know what makes businesses grow. offering a full spectrum of services from strategy to operations.T. Kearney has been providing high-value management consulting services — that is 80 years filled with significant growth and geographic expansion. Kearney A.
They are passionate about achieving results in all areas of life. Decide & Deliver. Bain has a tradition of pushing the boundaries of the consulting industry. Bain's passion for local office probono work. Bain's affiliate. Many Bain consultants start as generalists and enjoy the opportunity to explore multiple industries and capabilities. Frankfurt. Bain consultants give back to their communities by serving many local non-profits through their probono work. research papers and books. We bring together perspectives from a wide range of industries. Bain's business is helping to make companies more valuable. the consultants build increasing expertise in one sector. The book asserts that the most successful private equity masters follow a basic set of disciplines any senior executive can use to achieve successful results in his/her company. Chairman Orit Gadiesh and Hugh MacArthur. leader of the firm's global private equity practice. authored by Marcia Blenko. Bain experts keep the firm's name in the news with many published articles. Bain's latest book. We draw on this experience base to help clients produce exceptional results. Bain was founded on the principle of "results. Bain's success translated into spinning off Bain Capital and pioneering private equity consulting. environmental sustainability engagements and grassroots community service efforts illustrated that a 'Bain for nonprofits' could be a powerful lever for change. Bain is made up of exceptionally talented individuals with diverse backgrounds and interests. In 2008. Also in 2008. business models and capabilities. Bain started Bain Capital to leverage their results capability and apply it as a principle investor. not reports. Europe.4. Bain's largest region. which cracks the code on how the best business leaders get outstanding results from their organisations. Michael Mankins and Paul Rogers. Bain is the global market leader in private equity consulting. Bain works with the world's leading corporations. nimble high-performer. Bain measures their clients' results and clients choose them for that. Kiev and Moscow to better serve their clients. offers five practical steps to transform an organization into a decisive. Bain has maintained a relentless focus on driving bottom-line impact for their clients. Our people are our strongest asset. we have broad and deep expertise across every economic sector and region of the world. ICC Handbook 2011 Page 17 . is the largest nonprofit consulting organization with a blue chip list of clients." Since its founding in 1973. At Bain. Today. recently opened offices in Helsinki. They are known as the industry's innovator.800 employees worldwide. consultants Mark Gottfredson and Steve Shaubert wrote Breakthrough Imperative. Over time. particularly around results. Bain's confidence in delivering results resulted in their pioneering the practice of taking equity in lieu of fees—they prosper only if their clients prosper. maintaining powerful partnerships with nearly all the top private equity firms around the world.4 Bain & Company Bain & Company is a top-tier consulting firm with 4. Bain's clients have historically outperformed the stock market by 4:1. Copenhagen. private equity firms and nonprofit organizations. Bridgespan. co-authored Memo to the CEO: Lessons from Private Equity Any Company Can Use. working in 44 offices in 29 countries.
Bain is not about creating complex. Europe and North America.Asia Pacific. not reports. That means giving realistic and actionable advice that the client understands and accepts. On the contrary . culture. These rankings are based on consultants themselves describing what it is really like to work at their firms. but that they like the work they do. Consulting Magazine ranked Bain as the #1 'Best Firm to Work For'. Bain also took the top spot in Vault Europe's 'Best Firm to Work For' in all three regions . fanciful documents that will be filed away in the CEO's drawer.Bain is about results. The recognition hints that Bain consultants believe that they are not only best positioned to pursue career development and advancement.' Source: ex-Bain INSEAD student July'09 ICC Handbook 2011 Page 18 . the people they work with and the environment they work in. Source: Bain Insider scoop 'Everyone at Bain is passionate about delivering real results for their clients. job experience and work/life balance.For the eighth year in a row. Bain also finished first in career development.
part-time working for men and women). as well as on the flexible work models emerging (e. deep functional expertise. it results on more international exposure and experience for the consultants. operations. And their deep functional expertise. now under the name Booz & Company. In practice. Their experience in such diverse industries as aerospace and health allows them to handle the most profound and urgent challenges of our day. whether in organization and change.g. ICC Handbook 2011 Page 19 . The firm continues to work with businesses. Booz & Company have been involved in some of the most celebrated business episodes of our day. With more than 3.4. in order to create incentives to form project teams with the best expertise from different offices. For nearly a century. and the creation of Deutsche Telekom from government agencies that had grown up on both sides of the Iron Curtain all involved Booz & Company assignments. helping the world's top businesses. they have helped their clients realize the essential advantage needed to survive. they separated operations from their U. and a practical approach to build capabilities and deliver real impact. governments. we bring foresight and knowledge. with as downside more travel days. The company operates with a single profit and loss account and its worldwide practices are organized at the worldwide level. and win.300 people in 61 offices across more than 34 countries worldwide. Government consulting business. or some other area. the rescue of the Chrysler corporation from bankruptcy. The firm's clients benefit from their experience in a wide array of sectors as well as from their diverse functional capabilities. thrive. They describe it as fun to work in. information technology. They are very keen on social activities organized by the offices. INSEAD Alumni are very enthusiastic about the company's culture.5 Booz & Company Booz & Company is a leading global management consulting firm. including the dawn of the contract system for Hollywood movies. governments.S. which retains the name Booz Allen Hamilton. provides them with the knowledge to solve their clients' toughest problems while building their capabilities. and organizations around the world. very diverse and intellectually challenging. the merger of the National and American football leagues. In 2008. and other institutions to create and deliver essential advantage.
making work enjoyable. There are 100+ alumni registered on our alumni directory currently working for the firm. Additionally. Booz & Company has been ranked as one of the top employers at INSEAD. Senior partners and principles are very approachable and titles don't matter.INSEAD has a strong reputation within Booz & Company. including several of the firm's Partners.' Source: ex-Booz INSEAD student July'09 ICC Handbook 2011 Page 20 . which increases our impact on our clients' success. Source: Booz Insider scoop 'The environment at Booz is friendly and collaborative.' 'At Booz we not only create strategy but very often support our client in implementing it. They have indicated that Booz & Company has a strong focus on INSEAD as a recruiting target and have a dedicated INSEAD Recruiting team (composed mainly of INSEAD Alumni).
very individualistic.. BCG provides several other programs for employees to become involved in social impact work. Since its inception. while learning a brand new job. impact. Cases are not drawn from central databases. accounting for the unique set of opportunities and constraints of the specific situation/background. Clients' surveys characterize BCGers as inspired by "refreshing consultant humility. It focuses on helping clients achieve sustainable competitive advantage. best practices. As a result of its direct casework done with clients and intensive analyses within competence practices. A secondment program allows selected employees to work at one of BCG´s partners in the social impact work for up to a year while remaining a BCG employee. Beyond classics such as the Experience Curve. BCG alumni believe that one of BCG's key differentiating factors is its people. and trust".6 The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) BCG was founded in 1963 by Bruce D. A social impact leave-of-absence enables interested employees to leave BCG for several months up to a year to work at a social impact organization. ICC Handbook 2011 Page 21 . BCG generally encourages young MBA graduates to start as generalists. and not just analyze. Henderson.700 consulting staff. The low consultants-to-partners ratio and continuous training programs stimulate the out-of the-box thinking. In BCG's view. Ultimately. 90% of BCG business comes from repeat buyers. urban development. Typically 20% of BCG consultants serve on social projects across community. each assignment consists in working with the client towards a tailored solution. Instead. Many of them start their consulting life – if they wish so . The interviewer will describe a situation he / she personally encountered at work in the form of a small case study. BCG has grown from Boston to a total of 70 offices in 41 countries and approximately 4.with projects in the industry of their pre-MBA job and have therefore the satisfaction to leverage their previous experience. The core of BCG's work has been summarized as the "virtuous circle of insight. BCG has been pivotal in establishing that the sources of competitive advantage can be systematically explored and applied. For a newly hired MBA holder. Working closely with the client is a key factor to bring impact into projects. Job interviews are. Growth-Share Matrix or the Time-based Competition theories. the first to collaborate and deliver real change". 24 books published since 2000 by BCG further contribute to changing how business is done. health/social services. nature and arts.4.. In addition to regular Social Impact cases. like many things at BCG. learn how to lead. "the BCG-way" is something that applicants will judge for themselves. benchmarks and off-the-shelf tools are rarely sufficient to create lasting value. this in practice means having the satisfaction and excitement of helping a client break new ground: "I use BCG to see the unseen" as says one of its clients' CEO.
the genetics of altitude sickness and the ethics of private equity investing in a single 20 minute coffee break. knowledge of the local language of the chosen BCG office is required. to joining client businesses while joining a strong and successful alumni network. Generally. The dedicated INSEAD recruiting team is composed almost exclusively of INSEAD alumni who simply enjoy keeping strong links with the INSEAD community. especially in Europe. either by choosing to work on projects outside the home office. The long list of INSEAD alumni includes numerous senior officers. Source: BCG Insider scoop 'I love the curiosity of the people working at BCG . BCG is actively seeking to recruit for all regions.they are happy to discuss any topic and express an original perspective.' Source: ex-BCG INSEAD student July'09 ICC Handbook 2011 Page 22 . I don't know where else I would learn new things about international politics. Career prospects are wide open and range from rising within the firm. INSEAD ranks as one of the favourite MBAs at BCG. or by asking for a temporary (one to two years depending on the program). or definitive. BCG has traditionally been ranked as one of the top employers at INSEAD by the Universum Student Survey.Consultants have opportunities to gain further international exposure. transfer to another office.
the size of the firm.E.'s people.E.K. and who possess a healthy scepticism of the status quo.K. North America and Asia Pacific. According to one INSEAD Alumnus. Source: LEK ICC Handbook 2011 Page 23 . prides itself on utilising the intellectual capital of all its staff.4.E. The firm was founded in 1983 and employs over 900 staff in 20 offices across Europe.K.E. The firm's approach is based firmly on rational deduction and in-depth analysis.K. private equity companies and smaller. transaction services and performance improvement consulting. including 15 partners. deliver improved business performance and create greater shareholder returns. L. Partners are fully engaged in the day-to-day case process.E. L. encouraging those at all levels to offer their ideas from day one. who have a desire to learn on every engagement. advising the largest private and public sector organisations. With a reputation for resolving the most complex commercial issues. This approach to consulting best suits those with well-rounded interests . Consulting specialises in strategy. combining a detailed examination of the facts with extensive sector experience to develop the best strategic options for its clients.E.K. from other Consulting firms. more entrepreneurial businesses.individuals who are drawn to a wide range of strategic issues. helps business leaders consistently make better decisions.E.7 L. staff members across the world are INSEAD alumni.K Consulting L. dedicating a large proportion of their time to client work and case team interaction. and the culture of client service and delivery is what distinguishes L. A number of L. L.K.
as the firm believes that most value is added through longer term engagement and commitment. There is also a strong emphasis on people development with structured development plans for each consultant. There are two main business offerings that often work in tandem: • Strategy development and implementation: a structured.. objectivity and focus and has been described by Fortune magazine as "the best kept secret in consulting". portfolio management. New York and Chicago. This coupled with the firm's meritocratic approach to progression. the firm has brought uniquely tailored and integrated advice to clients. Many of Marakon's long-standing clients rank amongst the world's most respected companies. highly disciplined and valuebased approach to strategic decision-making and effective execution. holistic thinking and domain experience. delayering. return and risk with intrinsic value creation.com Source: www. Client work includes: Corporate and Business Unit strategy. importantly.4. The small firm feel and culture means that everyone knows each other well and works very much as one firm.com ICC Handbook 2011 Page 24 . and strategic risk management • Organisational effectiveness: improving the way that organisations are managed and make decisions to improve long-term performance. Contact Dustin Woodward: dwoodward@marakon. and accountability. as well as take on meaningful firm responsibilities. Since its founding in 1978. This is achieved through a holistic framework combining growth. offers consultants great opportunities to own significant parts of cracking the biggest issues for clients. give consultants plenty of opportunity to get to know people from other offices.marakon. A comprehensive international training programme (recognised by clients as one of the best in the industry). working on the issues that can move the needle in terms of their performance and long term value. organisational Client work includes: design and governance. Marakon a Charles River Associates company. Engagements are typically longer on average versus other consulting firms. as well as international engagements. backed by distinctive ideas. organic growth and M&A.8 Marakon Associates Marakon is a high-end strategy and organisation consulting boutique. Marakon works with the boards and senior management teams of highly ambitious multinationals as well as large and medium sized corporations to help them deliver superior results and accelerated value growth. The practice has evolved over 30 years but maintained a high degree of integrity. simplification. rigorous analytics. The business focused on the key aspects of helping companies achieve superior performance in both the near term and. designing of key management processes Marakon typically develops rich client relationships with the CEO and other members of the Board or Executive Committee. definition of purpose and objective function. over time. works all over the globe with truly international teams based out of our offices in London.
McKinsey is a non-hierarchical organization. where knowledge. Often. The collective expertise. It has also a loyal and important alumni community of 23. A strict professional code of ethics includes putting clients' interests ahead of McKinsey's. and create opportunities for exceptional professional and personal growth. McKinsey has been supporting flexible working arrangements. where advancement and recognition is based on the merit of the individual's contribution. It serves governments in more than 35 countries and conducts over 150 pro bono engagements each year. McKinsey. with more than 40 of them having been elected partners while doing so. more than 900 consultants have spent time on part-time programs. whether these individuals are successful at the firm. Clients come to McKinsey for advice on their most critical issues – when they have major strategic. As an example. There are various training programs available and an ongoing. Therefore. frequent feedback process to support people's development. Since the firm started formally offering flexible programs in 1992. through a pair of 6. insight and the quality of ideas trump seniority.000plus alumni. With its worldwide presence and client portfolio of leading institutions McKinsey is uniquely positioned to deliver such a program. McKinsey has grown into a global partnership with over 8.9 McKinsey & Company Founded in 1926 by James O. McKinsey serves more than 70% of Fortune magazine's most admired companies. provide employees with a wide array of choices. The global network makes McKinsey distinct. and for the world. and experience of its members help deliver lasting impact to clients. It is a merit-based organization.12 months.4. talent. it is not tied to earnings pressures or to increasing returns to shareholders. men and women considering joining McKinsey wonder whether anyone works other than full-time and. operational or organizational challenges. keeping client information confidential. ICC Handbook 2011 Page 25 . It has been recognized by Fortune Magazine for being a Top Company for Leaders as the only professional services firm in the top 25. and delivering the best to the client. The McKinsey Global Rotation Program. more than 150 McKinsey alumni have become CEOs of companies with more than one billion dollars in annual revenues and about 25% have founded their own business. provides a unique global consulting experience. if so. telling the truth as they see it. McKinsey is very effective in concentrating the global knowledge and expertise on the topics of interest to their clients. The fact is. McKinsey puts strong emphasis on developing its people into leaders . The firm is comprised of a global network of offices and practices led by a partnership group. for more than 15 years.000 consultants working in more than 90 offices in over 50 countries around the world. including a variety of parttime options. which consultants can join after 9 . customized to consultants' interests and experience level.to 12-month rotations in two regions outside of the home region. upholding absolute integrity.future leaders for the firm.
McKinsey has long been INSEAD's largest recruiter and more than 100 partners and 480 consultants are INSEAD alumni. McKinsey maintains this culture with its broad reach across industries.mckinsey. If you would like to explore if McKinsey is right for you. When hiring.com/careers/women). functions and geographies. The majority of Associates work as "generalists" to explore multiple industries and functions. There is a dedicated recruiting team for INSEAD students.mckinsey. please take advantage of the events organized on campus for INSEAD students.' 'We are constantly pushing for quality in the work we do. Overall. a sharp analytical mind. the firm has a culture of "making your own McKinsey". activities and the application process (www.com/INSEAD. Marketing. but also Associates for specific functional practices such as Business Technology.com/careers and www. at Christina_Gervais@mckinsey. general careers website www. which centralizes all INSEAD recruiting activities on behalf of the global offices & practices. making transfer of knowledge and people quite seamless. There is also a dedicated website for INSEAD students. with growing seniority. Operations and Corporate Finance. For further information. Source: Mckinsey Insider scoop 'The one firm culture is very evident in any office location. please contact Christina Gervais. specialization is a natural progression.mckinsey. McKinsey typically recruits for generalist Associate positions. integrity.com or +44 207 961 5075. McKinsey seeks individuals with leadership potential. In most offices. Oil & Gas. and personal leadership skills are highly valued here. enabling consultants to determine their own career path. which provides details on events. creativity and the ability to work with people at all levels in an organization.' Source: ex-McKinsey INSEAD student July'09 ICC Handbook 2011 Page 26 . consultants are required to speak the local language. senior recruiter at McKinsey responsible for INSEAD.
4.10 Oliver Wyman
Oliver Wyman combines deep industry knowledge with specialized expertise in strategy, operations, risk management, organizational transformation, and leadership development. The firm works with clients to deliver sustained shareholder value growth. We help managers to anticipate changes in customer priorities and the competitive environment, and then design their businesses, improve their operations and risk profile, and accelerate their organizational performance to seize the most attractive opportunities. We have more than 35 years experience serving Global 1000 clients. Our 2,900 consultants operate from offices in more than 40 cities in 16 countries; it is truly a global firm, with frequent cross-location staffing. Oliver Wyman is among the 4 largest management consulting firms by revenue and is the fastest growing, with a compound annual growth rate of 22% (2003 to 2007). Whether the challenge is to find new avenues of growth, optimize operations, improve the risk profile, or inspire the organization to act in different ways, clients have confidence that we will make a real impact on their top and bottom lines. We bring a number of important advantages to client engagements:
Specialized industry and functional expertise. From senior partners to junior consulting staff, our experts are dedicated to specific industries and functional areas. We know your business and tailor solutions accordingly. Rigorous, proven methodologies. Our strategy and operational improvement methodologies deliver outstanding results. We have the most robust framework for risk and financial management in the financial services industry. And through a blend of management and behavioral approaches, we give clients proven tools to transform organizational performance. Collaborative working style. We deliver results, not reports. To that end, we work side by side with clients to create and implement practical solutions. Agenda-setting research. Our professionals challenge conventional thinking. We continually invest in applied research through many books, our own suite of periodicals, and frequent contributions to leading business publications Consultants describe the environment at Mercer as very relaxed, non hierarchical, and fun. INSEAD has a strong reputation within Oliver Wyman, who has consistently participated in on-campus recruiting. Source: Oliver Wyman
• •
ICC Handbook 2011
4.11 Roland Berger Strategy Consultants
Founded in 1967, Roland Berger Strategy Consultants has grown to become one of the world's leading strategy consultancy firms. With 39 offices in 27 countries, Roland Berger operates successfully in the global market. In 2009, the 2,000 employees generated EUR 616 million in revenues. The strategy consultancy is an independent partnership, owned solely by its currently 180 Partners. Roland Berger supports leading international corporations, non-profit organizations and public institutions in all management issues – ranging from strategic alignment and introducing new business models and processes, to organizational structures and technology strategy. Roland Berger is based on global Competence Centers that are organized along functional and industry lines. This allows offering tailor-made solutions devised by interdisciplinary teams of experts drawn from different Competence Centers. Roland Berger's consulting advice boosts the value of their clients' companies - with creative strategies that work. The company's culture can be characterized by its three core values: excellence, entrepreneurship and partnership.. Working at Roland Berger will allow you to meet and work with smart but pragmatic and not arrogant people. The Roland Berger approach is based on the entrepreneurial character and individuality of the employees – also reflected in the company claim: "It's character that creates impact!" Your advancement at Roland Berger will be based on a meritocracy basis; even if the company does not apply an up-orout policy and allows its employees to develop at their own pace. This experience will rapidly allow you to take responsibility in projects and be exposed to senior managers. Roland Berger is currently recruiting for all its offices. Please note that the local language isa pre-requisite for the application to most offices. . The recruitment process will start oncampus with a first round of 2 interviews followed by 1 or 2 round(s) at your chosen office. INSEAD has a very strong reputation within Roland Berger as the company sponsors the INSEAD chair of Business and Technology and Roland Berger himself is a member of the Board of INSEAD. Source: Roland Berger Insider scoop 'At Roland Berger it's character that creates impact!' Source: ex-Roland Berger INSEAD student July'09
ICC Handbook 2011
4.12 Others
Other consulting firms recruiting at INSEAD in 2009 are:
Corporate Value Associates For more information visit: http://www.corporate-value.com/index.asp Diamond Management & Technology Consultants, Inc. For more information visit: http://www.diamondconsultants.jobs/fit/careerpath.aspx Monitor Company For more information visit: http://www.monitor.com/tabid/151/Default.aspx OC&C Strategy Consultants For more information visit: http://www.occstrategy.com/ PA Consulting For more information visit: http://www.paconsulting.com/Home PricewaterhouseCoopers For more information visit: http://www.pwc.com/ PRTM For more information visit: http://www.prtm.com/ RSM Robson Rhodes Consulting For more information visit: http://www.emperordesign.co.uk/ourwork_272.asp Spectrum Strategy Consultants For more information visit: http://www.spectrumstrategy.com/ Strategic Decisions Group For more information visit: http://www.sdg.com/ Theron Consulting For more information visit: http://www.pwc.com/
XP Consulting For more information visit: http://www.consulting-xp.com/
ICC Handbook 2011
document creation. thought leadership. key client interface for project. client relationship management and development. relationship management and some client development •Expertise building •Pre-partner position •Typical responsibilities: professional support and oversight on projects. with time and experience. for the major consulting firms. Typically. internal initiatives. sales & marketing. TYPICAL CAREER PATH IN THE CONSULTING INDUSTRY Business Analyst Associate Consultant Associate Project Leader Engagement Manager Manager Associate Partner – VP Project Director Partner Principal Director • Pre-MBA entry level position •Typical responsibilities: data gathering. oversight work. admin & coordination. initially very similar to Analyst/Associate. scheduling and time management. firm. firm policy and development •Office or practice leadership 2-3 years 2 years 2 years 2-3 years - Figure 4: Typical career path in the Consulting industry ICC Handbook 2011 Page 30 .1 Career development paths Career paths in the consulting firms are very fast and allow professionals to have quick access to Partner positions or to access senior positions in the industry when leaving the firm. team leadership. greater client interface •Mainly generalist •Main middle management function in consulting •Typical responsibilities: work stream planning and execution. data analysis. modelling. sales and marketing •Function and/or industry expertise building •Leadership position •Typical responsibilities: core client relationship management. team management. The Consulting job 5.5. business development. practice. office. time length between Associate/Consultant and Partner positions is 6 to 7 years. problem solving with team •Generalist role • Post-MBA entry level position •Typical responsibilities: if no prior consulting background. interviewing. growing focus on leading Analysts.
pure luck (i. particularly after the first ICC Handbook 2011 Page 31 . as the industries and the financial services players are spread out across the country. opportunities Generally. the amount of traveling depends to a large extent on the country's size and the concentration of industries and services in a given city. having the right opportunities at the right time) plays a major role. In Germany. consultants tend to travel more than in other European countries. staffing in major consulting firms takes usually place on a countrywide basis. choose a sector/function and develop your personal interest. Therefore. In many cases. promotions. They will facilitate your integration in the firm • Get exposure to a variety of engagements: industries you are interested in or you want to know better. staffing takes place on an international level. make sure you don't focus too early in a single industry and explore different sectors After a first few projects. down and sideways • Identify what interests you • Consider your willingness for in-town / out-of-town engagements. At the beginning of your career as a consultant: • Try to identify and get to know good "teachers" and mentors. especially initially.e. If you are specialized in one given sector.up. In this case. knowledge and network in this area: • Focus on true personal interests • Formulate mid to long-term plans • Identify and connect with mentors. assignments' diversity is highly valued and important for the development of a consultant. either by promoting temporary transfers across offices or by supporting the participation in international projects. Therefore. you must manage your luck: • Network . For some firms. before you acquire expertise and generate demand from the managers/project leaders' side.5. The management consulting career has a very fast career track. project staffing is preference-based.2 Processes: staffing. for example. the major consulting firms give consultants the possibility to have additional international exposure if they wish so. Average compensations in top consulting firms are above Industry. they are important in your career evolution and on staffing choices for the long-run • Think about long-term networking with clients • Keep in mind exit opportunities if you do not wish to stay in consulting all your career long Regarding geography. as showed in figure 4. to leverage competences on a given industry or functional practice. The firm will staff you where possible in a given moment and minimize your "on the beach" time. but with some external constraints. In many management consulting firms.
etc. and comparable to Investment Banking positions.years.g. much less volatile than Finance positions. business plan scenarios. The Consulting industry career is also quite stable. market segmentation) • Synthesize quantitative results and build recommendations Team management • Design. you can find several exit opportunities after some years as a management consultant. a set of key tasks are listed here below: Information gathering • Perform interviews (clients / internal / external) • Synthesize research reports. consultants are expected to gather information using efficiently all resources available. As a final point. statistical analyses (e. bonuses recovered after the 2001-2002 economical downturn and are significant. prioritizes analysis and test arguments Quantitative analyses • Perform financial and operational modeling. previous work done by firm in this area. both internally and externally with the client's team. Problem-solving • Understand client's overall problem and identify the issues relevant to the problem • Plan analytical steps to solve issues • Generate hypothesis. There is no typical project but rather a very diverse set of tasks. manage team processes. prepare and staff clients' meetings • Present findings and expose arguments • Facilitate discussions. Consultants "do what needs to be done" for the success of the project and the success of the team.3 The everyday work – key tasks In their everyday work. Starting a career in a management consulting firm opens many possibilities. communicate results and recommendations in an effective way and build good client relationships at all levels. public sources. Clients commonly make very good offers for consultants to join their firms. incorporate inputs and validate recommendations/hypotheses ICC Handbook 2011 Page 32 . As an illustration. market research. especially after reaching Project Leader/ Manager positions and onwards. organize. 5. this being one of the main reasons of the high turnover rate in the management consulting industry. Furthermore. perform quantitative analyses. Consultants are very well perceived in the market and adapt easily to different positions. generate hypotheses to solve the relevant issues.
4 A week in the life of a Consultant A W E E K I N TH E L I FE O F A CO N S U L TA N T IN A T Y P I CA L O U T O F T O W N E N G AG M E N T Log i stic s Leav e house M onda y a t 7am Return Thurs da y 8pm Ty pi cal ac tiv iti es With team • M eet p ro jec t m a na ger (PM ) da il y to prop ose your pla n fo r the d ay /w eek a nd g et feedba ck • I nfo rm him of potentia l m eetings with cl ients • Chec k prog ress of o ther tea m m em bers • M eet w ith senior pa rtner once in two week s With cli ents • 1-2 c lien t m eeting s . a gree on struc ture a nd hy pothesi s • M a na g er m ay c om e a long to g a in i nsig ht and w ill let yo u lea d • Ch eck y our initi a l hy pot hesis a nd refin e thin ki ng • G et ex pert ad vi ce o n how probl em shou ld b e struc tured • Ch eck hy pothes is a nd d ata g a thering L ater i n c areer / eng ag em ent • L ead the problem solv in g .Process management • Design the work stream process: working calendar. org a nize tea m even ts: S pa . B owli ng . both internally within the project team and externally with client's team Client presentation • Prepare written documents (slides and reports) • Communicate findings and recommendations to clients (e. m a ke story li ne s mo oth a nd g a in cros s fu ncti ona l insi g hts • G et feedba c k on prog res s • Chec k prog res s a nd rela tio nship bui lding • D evel op netw ork s a nd get i nsi gh t into yo ur in dustry a nd func tion al ex pertis e Mond ay through Thurs day Fr iday • F am i liariz e y oursel f wi th offic e Li fes tyle • Tea m : PM + 2 • 8a m – 8p m • O nc e in two week s. milestones. refine s tory line a nd h elp o ver tea m ma tes • Run the meeti ng wi th m ini m al PM l ea d a nd PM pa rti ci pa tion • I ntegrate work -strea ms . resources needed • Validate and facilitate the work stream process.g. Di nner a t nic e restaurant • F eedba ck s ess ions wi th PM onc e in 2 w eeks a nd with S eniro Pa rtn er onc e a mon th Source: July '09 student currently with McKinsey ICC Handbook 2011 Page 33 . 2-3 tim es per week • M eet o ffic e coll ea g ues • F ini sh Ex pens es a nd book ing tra v el Ini tial part of c areer / engagem ent • Tea m p ro blem s olv e. F ootba l l Ga m es. formal presentations) Client relationship management • Manage day-to-day relationship throughout project at all levels and build long-term relationship after the project • Assist in subsequent drafting of proposals Source: INSEAD Alumni 5.
Is your job typical of others in this field / for this company? .Why and how? A good start to the job search is to conduct several informational interviews with employees of companies that you are interested in. but rather to gain further insight into the company as part of your research on the industry Preparing for the interview • To make best use of your interview time. the sooner you can get contact with the firms you are interested in.What is a week on this job really like? . Examples of questions: . Networking with Consulting firms .What is the corporate culture like at the company.What do you like about your job? What do you dislike about it? . to make a better decision as whether to apply and will serve as a good preparation for the application process. The goal of these interviews is to increase your understanding of this company. Don't hesitate to get back to the INSEAD Consulting Club should you need any help to set up informational interviews. 6. understand which firms you would consider working for and get used to the contact with potential interviewers.1 Tips for informational interviews Contacting people to interview • Try to set up informational interviews with INSEAD alumni (1-5 years out of INSEAD) as they can relate to you more easily than an INSEAD student and are usually more willing to give you a hand. the better. The INSEAD Alumni database is easy to use and can be exploited to contact alumni • Clearly indicate where you got the person's name • Make it clear from first contact that you are not contacting for a job.Which firms do you think are your toughest competitors in your local market. Informational interviews are useful to • Learn what the company values in its employees • Gain insight in the process of recruiting • Evaluate how your skills and interests fit with a particular career or business. and at the particular office? . and how do they differ from your company? ICC Handbook 2011 Page 34 . It is a great opportunity to clarify your thoughts. know in advance what questions you are going to ask.6. • Learn about the working environment and office specific culture Remember.
What is the purpose of this letter? 2.Thank the person for taking the time to meet with you Following up • Don't forget to send a thank-you note.Ask for a business card for your records . this is tested in the interviews. Generally. The target of your cover letter and CV is to attract the attention of the people working in the recruiting process. First. Why does this company interest you? 4.- How do you stay current in your knowledge? What kind of experience or training is required? What are employers looking for (in terms of skills. not only to coordinate the interviewing process but also to match your preferences with the system's needs. Why should the company in question consider you? 3.Stick to the time limit that you agreed on when you set up the interview . even though this is not a job interview. education and experience)? What is the potential for advancement? What are current job prospects like? Conducting the interview • The person with whom you are meeting might be a valuable contact. So.1 Goal of your cover letter and CV Before starting your cover letter and CV. Regarding the cover letter. the knowledge of the local language of the office of choice is required. Cover letter and CV preparation 7. You must contact the Recruiting Coordinators to check for exceptions. recruiters will look for two aspects. the recruiters will look for the offices you are applying for. they will try to assess the candidates' motivation. Some pieces of advice: . you want to make a good impression. Secondly. You are not going to prove your qualities as a consultant yet.Take notes . which are better described in the CV. A business card will contain the information you need to be sure the note is delivered to the recipient 7.Dress professionally . ICC Handbook 2011 Page 35 . remember the four following basic questions: 1. either by their knowledge about the company or by the description of their experience while they attend companies' presentations. The cover letter has to be short in order to be read: it is useless to re-copy extensively your main achievements or qualities. What action do you want the reader to take next? The answer for the last answer is straight forward: the goal of your cover letter and CV is to get an interview.
Leadership and impact • Track record. especially in high-stress situations • Teamwork: Ability to function well in a team setting. writing. development curve • Increasing responsibilities over time. e.In the CV.g. your CV should demonstrate the use of these skills. time etc. you communicate your achievements and the skills that you have and are useful and transferable to the consulting business (especially if you were not working in the consulting industry before). Key skills to focus on are: • Leadership and impact: proven track record of "making things happen". functions and responsibilities • Problem-solving track record. analysis and synthesis capabilities • Communication: ability to effectively convey messages both orally and in writing. awards). preparing.g. editing and/or presenting written and oral communications ICC Handbook 2011 Page 36 . number of people managed • Unusual/outstanding responsibilities and challenges • Results and achievements – preferably concrete quantifiable impact ($$$. responsibilities and achievements • Accumulated communication-related experience. both as a team-member and as a team-leader For each one of the skills mentioned above. past accomplishments (academics. specific problem-solving tasks you were in charge of or involved in – including the result (preferably successful…) • Specific problem-solving initiatives you have self-started and concluded successfully (impact) Communication • Previous communication roles.) Quantitative skills • Quantitative background. e. GMAT • Number-related functions/activities/responsibilities performed Analytics and problem solving • Analysis-focused or related activities. leading people in complex challenges and achieving substantial results • Quantitative skills: comfort with numbers and ability to meet numerical challenges • Analytics and problem solving: logic-based problem structuring. advancement path.
For another.2 Tips for cover letters and CVs Cover letter • • • • • Do not copy letters or pieces of letters from sample sources. and why you would be a good fit • • CV • • • • • Leverage MBA Career Services CV sessions to get feedback both from Career Services and from your peers Use the MBA Career Services one-on-one CV sessions to polish up your résumé. this also applies to most of their competitors.). with ideally one paragraph for each of the questions mentioned in the point 7. For one. this shows that you have not done your homework to identify why you really want to join the company Get your cover letter read by at least two other people to check for spelling mistakes. development curve (time and number of people) • Successfully coordinating cross-functional/organizational efforts 7.). SkillBased or Hybrid) you should use – there is no one "right answer" for everyone Look at a few dozen other résumés– what can make you stand out? Ask your peers (especially those with prior consulting background) to review your CV before submission ICC Handbook 2011 Page 37 .g. leader etc.1 Do not use any fluffy or generic statements about yourself or your experiences (e. excellent interpersonal skills. grammatical errors and ease of reading Use informational interviews rather than company presentations and websites to find out what is really different about each firm. team player) unless you can back them up with tangible examples Do not use generic statements about the company you are applying to (e. etc. Recruiters do recognize them easily Do not exceed one page for the cover letter Most cover letters follow a simple structure.Teamwork • Teamwork history: number of people you have worked with and how that grew over time • Functioning in various team-oriented structures (team-member. blue-chip Company. excellent reputation. Think carefully about which of the three typical CV formats (Chronological. leading firm.g.
and business acumen to make a strong contribution to Recruiting Company Name. affording me the opportunity to establish. and manage two companies in the challenging environment of the Former Soviet Union. With full managerial. As I informed you last week. I believe that both my strong academic background and my professional accomplishments attest the fact that I possess the analytical abilities. highly entrepreneurial metal trading and processing company.3 Sample cover letters Sample cover letter 1 INSEAD Boulevard Constance 77305 Fontainebleau France INSEAD Recruiting Manager Company Name Dear Name. If I can be of any assistance in the meantime. motivation. Recruiting Company Name's prestige and reputation are unparalleled. However. Company Name. commercial. extreme intelligence. The experience was extraordinarily rewarding. However. I came to INSEAD after spending six years in a fast-paced. and insatiable curiosity are common to all. build. my brief chat with x last week was both informative and inspiring. intellectual integrity. The ideal environment for me to pursue this development further is in management consulting.7. please do not hesitate to contact me. I faced a remarkable range of challenges and rapidly developed my personal and professional skills. I was unable to attend either the presentation or the dinner on date. Office 2. interpersonal skills. Name ICC Handbook 2011 Page 38 . or Office 3. and financial responsibility for these two subsidiaries. I am writing in order to express my interest and enthusiasm in applying for an Associate position at Recruiting Company Name. I decided to apply to INSEAD in order to continue this process while receiving the theoretical framework for all that I had been doing during my time at Company Name. what was decisive in convincing me to apply for a position were the qualities shared by the many people I have met from the company. Sincerely Yours. strong ambition. I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to interview later this month for a position in Office 1.
I am currently enrolled in INSEAD's MBA Programme. I am interested in pursuing a career in Consulting. I have enjoyed and learned a great deal through my research work. After nearly four years at Company Name. Early on. While at INSEAD. with a backup choice in the Office 2. I am building on my prior financial experience and increasing my management skill set. I have included my résumé for your review. I would specifically like to be considered for the Office 1. and project management skills and reached a level of success rare for someone entering the firm at a junior level. and was promoted to an Analyst position. and will complete my degree in December of this year. leadership. I became one of only two people in my Associate class of 25 to be asked to stay on at the firm. I was entrusted with numerous important responsibilities and frequently interacted with senior executives at the firm to present my research and conclusions. Although my experience has been in Investment Management. Name ICC Handbook 2011 Page 39 . but I am much more interested at this point in my career to develop my strategy and management skills. as I demonstrated my skills and tenacity to my team. My strong reputation has followed me even outside of the bounds of employment. I have combined financial acumen. my current focus is consulting. My superior undergraduate education at the School Name gives me an advantage given its formal and rigorous business and financial training. In the spring of 2003. and particularly with the Recruiting Company's Place Office.Sample cover letter 2 Dear Sir or Madam. and I continue to be consulted by Company Name's senior management regarding current issues at the firm even while I am pursuing my MBA studies. As a result of my prior education and work experience in research. I believe that my previous work experience coupled with my general management MBA give me an important skill-base that can be successfully applied in this environment. and please do not hesitate to contact me if you require further information from me. I feel I am extremely well-suited for a demanding career solving key business issues for global managers. Sincerely Yours.
Currently in the process of completing my MBA degree at INSEAD. strategic. I look forward to your response to the above and the attached CV. problem-solving and people skills. and practical style to provide sustainable and nonconventional solutions for the customers. Having followed your company and been influenced by your diligent. Yours truly. After INSEAD MBA. and values. I am convinced that I would prove a valuable contribution to Recruiting Company Name. open. living in Europe (EC citizen).Sample cover letter 3 Dear Name. unique learning and skill development opportunities. It also fostered my ability to thrive in high-pressure situations. and have been responsible for the strategic planning and business development for Company Name in Europe. self-aware. to embrace new challenges. Thanks to the above-mentioned attributes and my personal determination and motivation. and to assimilate quickly and flexibly different cultural and business contexts. The meeting with the partners and other Recruiting Company Name's consultants at the dinner reinforced my belief that your company commits to provide its members an international and stimulating environment. both professionally and personally. Such a complex environment has helped me to be a dedicated. and a progressive career track. and sincerely hope to meet with your recruitment team in the near future to explore potential mutual interest. My personal. I therefore decided to apply for the Senior Consultant position at Recruiting Company Name. It is my determination to work with a committed team to achieve the goal of creating value. one of the biggest Japanese multinational companies. diversified business contexts. interesting and interested person. I am convinced that Recruiting Company Name will be the ideal workplace for my background. Name ICC Handbook 2011 Page 40 . I am Chinese. academic and professional pursuits have allowed me to develop a solid band of analytical. competencies. which make me a good candidate for your company. it is my aim to go on to a successful Consulting career by combining and extending my skills and learning into a management position with more explicit project management and business development requirements. I had the pleasure to meet your team at your on-campus presentation. collaborative.
tough and challenging cases. So below. most of which are found in INSEAD's Doriot Library. one thing is certain which is that practice make perfect. you can visit his website at: http://www. provide you key insights on the interview process in general and gets you started in practicing case interviews. a student should go through 50 cases on average to be well prepared to the case interview. Ohrvall is considered the guru of case interviews and provides a very interesting approach to cracking the case using his own methodology. Included in this book are 10 detailed cases with thorough solution and analysis. Other resources Although both volumes of the ICC Book give you an exhaustive overview of the consulting industry. On average.8. you will find a list of the most reliable resources on the market. it is very important that student go beyond these references to improve skills in solving cases.mbacase. Whether this statement is true or not. (On career Services Website) This collection of books is a very important practice source since it provides around 60 well designed. For more information about the book or the author. Crack the Case by David Ohrvall Mr. Ace Your Case: Consulting Interviews Ace Your Case II: Mastering the Case Interview Ace Your Case III: Market-Sizing Questions ICC Handbook 2011 Page 41 .aspx WetFeet Editions WetFeet provides five case books with some 12 cases in each.com/default.
three main books are available and should be used to complement the other two resources. (On Career Services Website) The case interview book will give you an overview of the methodology used to solve consulting case interview along three levels of frameworks (the most advanced pointing to frameworks such as Porter's Five Forces. Collection of cases Presentations of consulting firms on campus. Please refer to them in case you don't have access to these resources. Other ICC Resources These resources should be provided to you by the ICC board. the Four Cs etc. Another famous book is the Case in Point book. WetFeet provides detailed information on each consulting firm. For the consulting interview. Vault Guides Vault is the most famous interview and career resource in academic circles.Ace Your Case IV: Business Strategy Questions Ace Your Case V: Business Operations Questions Also you will find a collection of books about consulting. other consulting books ICC Handbook 2011 Page 42 . 25 Top Consulting Firms Careers in Management Consulting Finally.) Other Books There are other books in the library available to the students to prepare for the case interview.
they are all crucial and very important for getting a job into a consulting firm. The consulting interview process 9. leadership etc. During an interview you can face three different exercises: • • • Questions on your CV. ICC Handbook 2011 Page 43 . (why firm xxx?) Case interview – a job simulation You have to be prepared for all three sections of the interview.1 Case & Fit interviews. your story (Why consulting?) Questions testing your fit with the company culture on teamwork. applicants will have to make their way through multiple interviews. The first round is generally organized on campus: applicants will have two 1 hour interviews with Associates/ Project Leaders.9.what is being tested? For getting a consulting job. with more senior people. The second round is often at the offices you are applying to.
not this kind of problem"? • If the candidate gets stuck on a particular issue.What are consulting companies looking for during an interview Leadership and Impact •Ability to lead teams •« Make it happen » •Personal initiative •Entrepreneurship •« can do » attitude Teamwork •Build on other's people ideas •Manage information flows •Willingness to follow when appropriate Communication •Ability to convince •Understanding •Comfort with ambiguity •Empathy •Presence Problem Solving •Business sense •Ability to structure complex business issues •Analysis and synthesis capabilities •Creative thinking Quantitative skills •Comfort with numbers •Ability to simplify complex calculations •Confronting numbers with reality/business sense Figure 5: Five key dimensions for evaluating consulting interviews Source: BCG What do the interviewers tend to evaluate? Structure: • Does the candidate have/follow a structure while tackling the problem? • Is the structure relevant to the case being analyzed? • Does the candidate have a structure that is both concise and flexible? Quantitative/analytical ability: • Is the candidate comfortable with numbers? • Does she break down ambiguous problems systematically? Issues/Prioritizations: • Does the candidate quickly identify a list of issues that are most relevant to the business problem? • Can she prioritize/organize the issues or is it more like a laundry list? Energy/Presence: • Is she comfortable with the case or is there a sense of "oh no. does she recover gracefully? ICC Handbook 2011 Page 44 .
the firms have their own needs. both in terms of your problem-solving skills and your personality. Candidates should never rush into a hypothesis or probe details (quite different from Bain or BCG. Finally it is very important that she gives actionable recommendation. The issues should be mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive (MECE). according to a survey made in the US (Source: Chicago GSB). Bain & Company: Hypothesis driven – the candidate should quickly analyze facts and make a hypothesis. Candidates should also definitely ask questions to understand industry/business trends (this is true for all firms.For the fit interview. It tends to evaluate the candidates on their micro skills. Big picture. select and organize information • Formulize and test hypothesis (very important!) • Think creatively • Have business and common sense ICC Handbook 2011 Page 45 . supply/demand etc.2 Case interview overview During case interviews consultancies watch precisely how candidates analyze. for example) 9. McKinsey & Company: Big picture. Main problem solving skills: • Analyze a problem with structure • Recognize critical issues • Gather. Boston Consulting Group: Intellectual curiosity and prioritization of issues . structure and solve business problems. they should demonstrate out-of-the-box thinking. It evaluates the candidates on numbers. Booz & Co: Booz & Co is big on microeconomic concepts MR = MC. but with Booz & Co you get dinged if you forget this part). but it is vital that they lay out all the issues systematically. Case interviews are in fact an excellent indicator of how good you will be as a consultant. She should then drill down to see if the hypothesis is true or should be modified. Big picture. This is not intended to be complete but is rather the informal feedback of former MBAs. according to the different cultures: We list below what is considered to be potential characteristics that some popular management consulting firms look for.while the candidates should be structured.
consultancies will also evaluate your quantitative. You are expected to make quick calculations on paper or in your head. your own energy. You don't have to do all the cases you can find but the process is much easier if you have done a couple of them before interviews are scheduled. the interviewer will look if you have enjoyed the case preparation and interview. and the confidence and poise you present. It is about the questions you raise. 9. giving them an insight of the consulting job. the areas of exploration you prioritize.Candidates will face a typical business problem. you will most likely enjoy the problem solving in your job as a consultant. or to compare business problems with your previous experiences • Have a point of view • Clearly voice your opinion and be prepared to defend your point of view with a couple of good arguments • Practice answering behavioral questions • Listen to the questions asked by the interviewer. but rather about the method you use to derive your answer. they might contain some hints • Identify your high priority employer and try to interview with him last • Use the interview to find out if you really want to work for the company ICC Handbook 2011 Page 46 . the issues you identify. communication and teamwork skills. the frameworks you use. the creativity involved. Internet. However. Preparation tips • Do research on the firm (Peers. Management consultants are problem solvers. the assumptions you make. Most students don't ace cases naturally. the logical solution you recommend. database resources in library) • Do online case simulations available on the consultancies' websites • Practice with your peers in mock interviews • Read the financial newspapers. Booz strategy + business. during a case interview. • Remind yourself of your High School and GMAT Math. Consultants love back-of-the-envelope calculations General interview tips • Be prepared • Demonstrate that you did your homework • Don't hesitate to quote your personal readings. Finally. Look for new ideas in HBR and in corporate papers depending on which company you target (the McKinsey Quarterly.3 How to prepare for the case interviews? Practice! And start practicing early. Case interviews are the cornerstone of the recruiting process in the consulting industry. etc…). flexibility and personal human maturity. If you did so. The case is not about finding the right or wrong answer. thus case interviews test mainly problem solving skills.
sketch and draw • Drive to potential actions for the client • Do not "Boil the Ocean" 9. This is the best way to do well while being under pressure and stress.4 Types of cases Business case A business case is an analysis of a broad business problem.demonstrate your analytical skills • Take notes. The business cases are as different as the consultants' engagements. printed charts or graphs. Interviews include sometimes written information such as complete cases (Monitor). Most of the time. Use Porter only if it really helps you. most of the business cases faced by MBA students belong to one of the following families: • Profitability • Market entry • Launch of a new product • Competitive response • Reaction to a change in a market • Mergers and Acquisitions • Market sizing ICC Handbook 2011 Page 47 .Case interview tips • Stay calm. not by a rigid focus on impressing the interviewer • Define issues and hypotheses • Be creative – do not rely on just "bookish frameworks" or industry jargon. Use the entrepreneur business approach • Accept guidance and clues • Try to quantify . You should focus on developing a sensibility to general business problems and develop their own structured methodology to solve them. take time to think • Ask (intelligent) questions • Show sincere enthusiasm – answers driven by intellectual curiosity and energy. Some cases include no information at all on the business considered in the case. the case will be presented without written information. You will then have to make reasonable assumptions. You are expected to analyze the problem and to formulate recommendations. A good preparation to the case interview won't consist in learning the typical problems and usual frameworks for solving it. You could even build your own business cases based on previous experience or on newspaper articles. However.
The candidate has to estimate an unknown amount. as it does not really test your analytical capabilities. showing logical thinking and making reasonable assumptions. Such cases are rare at MBA-entry level but are regularly integrated in a business case. With market sizing cases. Ask the first clarifying questions You should here make sure you have all the information you need to successfully structure the problem. take some notes with a pen and paper.5 How to ace a case? Don't forget it's all about structural and logical thinking. Ex: Why are manhole covers round? How do you think M&M's are being manufactured? Why are our watches showing the time in the clockwise rotation and not counter-clockwise? These are seldom used in consulting interview.A consultant deals on a daily basis with numbers – may it be for evaluating the impact of the project he is working on or for conducting an industry analysis. Ex: How many ties are being sold in Brazil every year? How many golf balls in Japan? Make assumptions and be sure to argue them well! A good exercise for backing up your arguments in general Brainteaser Brainteasers problem are often questions that you have never asked yourself before. Are there any additional constraints? Do you have the big picture of the problem? ICC Handbook 2011 Page 48 . consultancies test your quantitative skills. Brainteaser interviews tests your creativity. ability to structure an uncommon problem and to break it into component parts. you can easily prepare to the most important ones with the standard case interview books. Your interviewer won't appreciate to have to repeat information. Nevertheless. the business situation and some initial information. Some cases are deliberately left with little information to see how candidates will deal with initial ambiguity. Here is a common interview approach that should allow you to address the business cases with serenity. Understand Listen carefully to the situation The interviewer will first introduce the case to you by giving information on the industry. Make sure you listen very carefully. 9. Firmly establish your understanding of the case You may want to verbally paraphrase the situation to show you have a firm understanding of the case.
Make sure he is enjoying the interview as well.. evaluate their impact using. back-of-the-envelope calculations. Remain focused and pragmatic: consultants don't like academic minds. prioritize the issues you want to address and to indentify key information you need. to formulate a couple of hypothesis early on. don't focus on the first solution you will find. but watch at the time. not a monologue • Pace yourself. Give a roadmap to your interviewer This is the main part of the case interview. Conclude Give to your interviewer a brief overview of the alternatives you have analyzed and which actions you recommend. Compare the importance of each sub-problem. It's very beneficial. analyze the sub-problems you have defined.Structure Take time to evaluate the problem Candidates may ask for a short time. You should be very careful while evaluating all alternatives. use classical frameworks as well as their own creativity. If you feel confident enough with the business case. If you think the information is not worth a question. Analyze Ask focused questions Here is the time to gather the information you need to analyze the sub-problems you have just defined. Successful candidates focus on critical issues. and show your passion and enthusiasm for the job. Your interviewer will probably conduct several interviews on the same day. This can help you to get rid of your stress if you feel you are not ready to structure the case. The interviewer will focus on your analytic and structured approach to the problem rather than the solution itself or specific business knowledge • Hone the problem on the most important issues. Your interviewer can give you feedbacks. Write your roadmap on a piece of paper in front of you to make sure you don't forget it throughout the case.. Explain clearly the reasons that push you to prioritize certain alternatives. Very often you will divide it into sub-problems. An efficient approach is to analyze the sub-problems using a 'hypothesis driven approach'. the interview is a dialogue. This is the consultant's bread and butter. don't rush to conclusions. Make sure you don't forget the big picture of the problem. • Most important. pay attention to them but don't let him solve the case for you. instead obsessing over the details • You should interact with the interviewer. relax and have fun. Evaluate the situation Now that you have the information you need. You should develop an approach to solve the problem. While explaining this roadmap. Think aloud and show your logical thinking. make an assumption and check it with the interviewer. if not crucial. ICC Handbook 2011 Page 49 . about a minute. for example. to think about the problem. try to prioritize the sub-problems by guessing their relative importance and start with the most relevant ones. Additional advice: • Don't forget there is no "right" way of solving a case.
9. competition… Internal factors/supply distribution. Profitability These cases are about companies willing to increase their profitability. You will find here useful frameworks to analyse them. and you are asked about how to achieve it. supply chain… Growth strategies new customers. SG&A Market entry In this case you face a company which plan to enter a new market. costs structure Legal regulations Page 50 ICC Handbook 2011 . Using these frameworks can help you feeling secure while you are analyzing. new products possibilities Fixed costs vs. price taker Product differentiation generic strategies Price discrimination selling products at customers' valuation Volume External factors/demand substitutes/complements. Start with the following formulas: Profits = Revenues – Costs Profits = Price*Volume – Fixed costs – Variable costs Profits = Unit contribution margin*Volume – Fixed costs Explore the following potential causes: Price Market competition market power vs.6 Using a Framework Classical business cases Consultancies use sometimes classical business cases. capacity. variable costs Evaluate the weight of the fixed costs in the industry Short run vs. Don't forget frameworks remain tools at your disposal and should be used only if they are relevant in the case you are facing. You will have to evaluate activeness of the market for this company. long run costs Benchmarking with competitors COGS vs. profitability. It's time to open again your strategy and marketing books and/or use some of the following steps: • • • Industry value chain Market: size.
capacity. Porter's 5 forces Customers needs: segmentation. competition. market share. BCG growth/share matrix Competitive pressure: Identify competitors (Analysis with SWOT). investments Complements Blue ocean opportunities Launch of a new product In this situation the frameworks of the market entry may be useful. however further frameworks can be helpful: Marketing-mix BCG Matrix Core competencies Break even analysis Competitive response In such cases.• • • • • • Risks/opportunities. the interviewee has to advice a company following a change of the competitive landscape: 4 C's: customer. capabilities Core competences SWOT ABC Analysis Mergers and Acquisitions Here you will have to evaluate the positive effects – or synergies of different merger or acquisition scenario: 5 C's: character. costs. concentration. marketing plan Ability of the company to be successful: core competencies. conditions. barrier to entry. competitive advantage Value of targeted companies: actual value + potential optimizations + potential synergies Value chain ICC Handbook 2011 Page 51 . reaction to entry. capital.
Competitors. Growth. Maturity. competitive pressures (Porter's 5 forces) The 3 C's: Customers. Capabilities The marketing mix (or 4 P's): Product. Threats BCG Growth/Share matrix BCG matrix High Industry growth rate Low Market share High Star Low ? Cash Cows Dogs Product/Market expansion matrix Product/Market Expansion Current Markets New Products Current Market Penetration Market Development New Product Extension Diversification Product/Technology life cycle: Introduction. Decline Synergies analysis Synergies can come from: Price Increase market power and higher pricing opportunities Costs Paying the fixed costs over a higher production level Demand Increasing sales though higher brand recognition Supply Value chain improvements. market size and growth. Weaknesses. Place. Promotion SWOT Analysis: Strengths.Other useful frameworks: Strategic tools Industry analysis: Industry value chain. increase capacity utilization of plants Others Increase international presence ICC Handbook 2011 Page 52 . Price. Opportunities.
Supply chain analysis through costs. higher quality. Pull manufacturing Economics tools NPV Cost driver analysis ICC Handbook 2011 Page 53 . and operational expense Learning curve: the more a company produces. the cheapest it can produce it through lower costs. Division of work Push vs. quality. The firm with the largest market share should have the lowest per unit cost. inventory.Porter generic strategies Generic Strategies Broad Market Scope Narrow Costs Low Cost Leadership High Differentiation Segmentation Operations tools Lessons from "The Goal": throughput. and more effective pricing and marketing. flexibility Just-in-time production / lean manufacturing vs. delivery (speed. reliability).
generally carrying everything from house wares and appliances to clothing. is transferable to the Canadian market.10. and Wal-Mart are prime examples in the U. with the Canadian discount retail market. or do they serve different geographic areas? ICC Handbook 2011 Page 54 . First of all. I see. the client. is facing competition in Canada from a U. competitor. Kmart. the largest discount retailer in the United States. CanadaCo. What would you like to know? Step 4: Evaluate the case using the framework Are CanadaCo's 500 stores close to the competition's 300 stores. Our task is to evaluate the extent of the threat and advise the client on a strategy. Before I can advise the CEO I need some more information about the situation. That sounds fine. I'm not sure I understand what a discount retailer is! A discount retailer sells a large variety of consumer goods at discounted prices. However. Woolworth. let's understand the competition in the Canadian market and how CanadaCo has become the market leader. For several years running. USCo. with 500 stores spread throughout the country.S. Step 3: Set up the framework Oh.S. we can merge the two discussions to understand whether USCo's strength in the U.1 Discount retailer case (BCG) Step 1: Actively listen to the case Your client is the largest discount retailer in Canada. then. and asks you the following questions: Should I be worried? How should I react? How would you advise the CEO? Step 2: Establish understanding of the case So. CanadaCo has surpassed the second-largest Canadian retailer (300 stores) in both relative market share and profitability. Then I think it makes sense to structure the problem this way: First. Let's call it CanadaCo. At the end. Let's start. has just bought out CanadaCo's competition and is planning to convert all 300 stores to USCo stores. Then let's look at the U.S.S. Case examples 10. to understand how USCo has achieved its position. The CEO of CanadaCo is quite perturbed by this turn of events.
For certain items CanadaCo is less expensive. Its higher per-store profits are due to higher per-store sales. Well. but the average price level is similar. ICC Handbook 2011 Page 55 . How so? The competitor's stores are centrally owned by the company. Do CanadaCo and the competition sell a similar product mix? Yes. higher profits could be the result of lower costs or higher revenues. the product mix is similar. CanadaCo's stores tend to have a wider variety of brand names. CanadaCo's average store size is approximately the same as that of the competition. why are CanadaCo's per-store sales higher than the competition's? It's your job to figure that out! Is CanadaCo better managed than the competition? I don't know that CanadaCo as a company is necessarily better managed. or does it have higher profits per store? It actually has higher profits than the competition on a per-store basis. Are CanadaCo's prices significantly lower than the competition's? No. In fact. and for others the competition is less expensive. and the competition on the very next corner. but I can tell you that its management model for individual stores is significantly different. but by and large. Are the higher perstore profits due to lower costs than the competition's or the result of higher per-store sales? CanadaCo's cost structure isn't any lower than the competition's. while CanadaCo uses a franchise model in which each individual store is owned and managed by a franchisee that has invested in the store and retains part of the profit. you might even see a CanadaCo store on one corner. Is CanadaCo more profitable just because it has more stores. Is that because it has bigger stores? No.The stores are located in similar geographic regions. If they're selling similar products at similar prices in similarly-sized stores in similar locations.
000 square feet.000 stores. whereas the nearest competitor sells about $1 billion worth of merchandise. Are USCo stores bigger than those of the typical discount retailer in the U. I think you've sufficiently covered the Canadian market-let's move now to a discussion of the U. You are exactly right.? Yes. more attractive. market. better stocked. given the larger average store size. Does it have a lower cost of goods than the competition? In fact.000 square feet. So it seems that USCo has been so successful primarily because it has lower prices than its competitors. I would guess that the CanadaCo stores are probably better managed. Those numbers suggest that USCo should be selling roughly eight times the volume of the nearest U. USCo bet that people would be willing to buy from it. Its prices are on average about ten percent lower than those of the competition. and how many does the second-largest discount retailer own? USCo owns 4. The stores are cleaner. and it was ICC Handbook 2011 Page 56 . USCo's sales are approximately $5 billion. whereas the typical discount retail store is approximately 100.000 stores and the second-largest competitor owns approximately 1. since the individual storeowners have a greater incentive to maximize profit. Its success probably also has something to do with a larger selection of products.S. and so on. How did USCo get so much bigger than the competition? It started by building superstores in rural markets served mainly by mom-and-pop stores and small discount retailers..In that case. The company discovered this through a series of customer surveys last year. So it probably has lower prices.S. It turns out that CanadaCo's higher sales are due primarily to a significantly higher level of customer service. That's partly right. Right again.S. USCo stores average 200. I would think that sales of that size give USCo significant clout with suppliers. its cost of goods is approximately 15 percent less than that of the competition. How many stores does USCo own in the U.S. competitor! Close.
Sometimes it does. it began to buy out other discount retailers and convert their stores to the USCo format.S.? ICC Handbook 2011 Page 57 . success. Although members of the Canadian business community are certainly familiar with the company because of its U. Let's just assume that it doesn't plan to expand the Canadian stores beyond their current size. or does the Canadian consumer expect different products and brands than the U. Does USCo have a strong brand name in Canada? No. the Canadian consumer is basically unaware of USCo's existence. local real estate costs. although the CanadaCo stores lean more heavily toward Canadian suppliers. such as the size of the existing store. Well. but when I said it converts it to the USCo format. local market competition. but I don't think we need to go into that here. I'd like to ask a few questions about USCo's ability to succeed in the Canadian market.S. What criteria does USCo use in deciding whether it should physically expand a store it's just bought out? It depends on a lot of factors. for example. As it grew and developed more clout with suppliers. I thought it might be relevant in terms of predicting what it will do with the 300 stores that it bought in Canada. discount retail consumer? The two companies carry similar products. How much volume does CanadaCo actually sell? About $750 million worth of goods annually. it also physically expands it? Not necessarily. OK. are labor or leasing costs higher in Canada than in the U. Does CanadaCo carry products similar to USCo's.right. So whenever USCo buys out a competing store. I meant that it carries the same brands at prices that are on average ten percent lower than the competition's.S. Is there any reason to think that the costs of doing business for USCo will be higher in the Canadian market? Can you be more specific? I mean. I think I've learned enough about USCo. and so on.
. Step 5: Summarize and make recommendations I would tell the CEO the following: In the near term.Canada does have significantly higher labor costs. All this suggests that USCo will be able to retain a significant price advantage over CanadaCo's stores: if not ten percent. before it's too late. Your stores have a much stronger brand name in Canada than USCo's. they will realize that shopping at USCo means significant savings over the course of the year. you might be safe. the actual advantage to CanadaCo is not great-only about two percent of overall costs. ICC Handbook 2011 Page 58 . then at least seven to eight percent. That's probably true. CanadaCo must also cope with the same high labor costs. CanadaCo has the advantage in distribution costs. Can you suggest possible strategies for CanadaCo? Maybe it can find ways to cut costs and make the organization more efficient.S. Can you think of additional costs incurred by USCo's Canadian operations that would not be incurred by CanadaCo? USCo might incur higher distribution costs than CanadaCo because it will have to ship product from its U. so it can keep prices low even if its cost of goods is higher. warehouses up to Canada.S. and they seem to be well managed. You certainly have to worry about losing significant share to USCo stores in the long term. You should probably do something about it now. However. since CanadaCo continues to get a good deal of products from the U. Anything else? It might consider instituting something like a frequent shopper program.S. What are you driving at? I was thinking that if there were a higher cost of doing business in Canada. You are partially right. to cover its costs. Although some consumers will remain loyal out of habit or because of your high level of service. it is reasonable to expect the discount shopper to shop where prices are lowest. but remember. where consumers accumulate points that entitle them to future discounts on merchandise. Moreover. and I'm not sure about the costs of leasing space. since its network spans less geographic area and it gets more products from Canadian suppliers. I would agree with that conclusion. perhaps USCo would have to charge higher prices than it does in the U. over time your brand-name advantage will erode as USCo becomes more familiar to Canadian consumers. as consumers get used to seeing prices that are consistently seven to eight percent less at USCo. However.
and you would want to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of each in more detail before making any recommendations to the CEO. All of your suggestions are interesting. How would you advise the manufacturer? What does it need to know before making an entry decision? If it chooses to enter. Ask a friend or career counselor to give you a case using the sample business problems below. Any other suggestions? CanadaCo might want to prepare a marketing or advertising campaign that highlights its high level of service. 1. How would you answer her question? ICC Handbook 2011 Page 59 . The best way to prepare for a case interview is to practice a few. is there anything CanadaCo can do to appear competitive to the consumer? It might want to consider offering fewer product lines. The CEO of the utility wants to understand whether this trend will continue and how she can prevent further loss of share. with their own in-house power-generation capabilities. but it may be able to retain the customer who is buying a limited array of items and is just looking for the best price.What might be a potential problem with that? Well. since it would be rewarding a significant number of shoppers who would have continued to shop there anyway. Now that the market has been deregulated. Assuming the only way to keep customers is through competitive pricing. it might not be that cost-effective. Additional Case Questions By the time you've gone through the case interview example and the interactive case you probably will have developed a good idea of what a case interview is all about. what strategy would you recommend for the manufacturer? 3. A large public utility formerly had a monopoly in the British electricity market. so that it can consolidate its buying power and negotiate prices with suppliers that are competitive with USCo's. It might even institute a CanadaCo Service Guarantee that surpasses any guarantees offered by USCo. what might a viable strategy be? 2. Jeep Cherokee) after noticing that the market has grown dramatically worldwide in the past two years. A North American manufacturer/retailer of high-end glassware experienced a dramatic decline in same-store sales at its retail outlets last year. How would you begin to assess the reasons for the decline? Using your analysis as a basis. A German luxury car manufacturer is interested in entering the sport-utility vehicle market (for example.K. It might lose some customers who want the variety of products that USCo has. small power-generation companies have already captured a five percent share from the utility by offering to provide large businesses in the U.
The company it purchased. Third. This would be the company's first foray into the cancer treatment center business. they are not designed for managing patients or providing other physician and technical support.4. it expanded into the health care software industry by purchasing MedCount. a large. MedCount turned to BCG to help identify potential ways to increase revenues. The Swiss Ski Association has been petitioned by an international snowboarding club to permit snowboarding on the ski slopes within its jurisdiction. the company is considering establishing and operating similar centers in China. international. Next. A U.2 Medical software industry case (BCG) Step 1: Actively listen to the case Your client is GenCo. In view of the growth and profitability of stand-alone cancer treatment centers in the U. and now is looking for new sales opportunities. but before the acquisition was not involved in health care software. the software division has failed to deliver the growth needed to justify the multiple GenCo paid for it.) If the association is interested in maximizing profits.S. It is now looking for opportunities to increase revenues.S. MedCount.S. Since it was purchased. That is correct. I'd want to understand the market size and growth rates for MedCount's market and related software markets. Could I take a moment to jot down a few thoughts? Sure. GenCo feels it has already squeezed margins as much as possible. I would like to examine customer ICC Handbook 2011 Page 60 . let me make sure I understand the problem. diversified company with a health care division that produces a wide variety of medical instruments and related services. Five years ago.-based pharmaceutical company that focuses on discovering. I would like to explore the competition and their market shares. hospitals. The parent company produces medical devices and services. and selling drugs for the treatment of cancer has been experiencing flat growth and is interested in expanding into new businesses. sells only administrative systems software to large hospitals. how should it respond to the petition? What factors would the answer depend upon? 10. How would you evaluate the attractiveness of the opportunity? 5. (Assume that the association currently forbids snowboarding on all Swiss ski slopes. Step 3: Set up the framework I would suggest using the following framework: First.. that would be fine. which markets administrative systems to large U. These systems are designed primarily for back-office functions. How would you approach this problem? Step 2: Establish your understanding of the case First. developing.
I would like to know how large each market is and how fast each is growing. analyst reports. Besides administration systems.requirements and then.200 12% From a size and growth perspective. I know that there have been a lot of changes in the industry as a result of managed care.500 5% Patient administration 1. to obtain this information. I would use secondary sources such as press releases. Our information revealed the following market sizes and growth rates.000 5% Physician support 1. the team focused on three primary markets: administration systems. look at the division's capabilities to understand how well prepared it is to meet the needs of the marketplace. What do those systems do? Patient administration includes systems like admissions and tracking. given those external conditions. and published market studies. what other types of medical software systems do large hospitals purchase? There are many software systems. but for the sake of time. but we know that these hospitals make up the vast majority of the total medical software market. That would make sense. and physician support systems. I don't know much about the industry. Physician support systems are more specialized. Approximately what percentage of the market do they represent? We were unable to get an exact breakdown. for individual physician procedures. I'd like to know a little about the customers themselves. Great! That is what we did during the market study. The client is currently targeting large hospitals. ICC Handbook 2011 Page 61 . That sounds fine. the first hurdle would be to identify the markets the company would be interested in. since the more sophisticated procedures at a hospital might necessitate more advanced software solutions. Administrati on Market size ($M) Growth rate 1. physician support systems look like a very attractive market. so I would want to look at market studies and press clippings to get a better sense of the hospital market in general and any technology or software trends more specifically. patient administration. So what do you want to know about the market? Step 4: Evaluate the case using the framework Well.
many hospitals upgrading their older systems If hospitals are consolidating vendors. particularly as these large hospital networks acquire smaller hospitals (centralization of functions being a key cost issue) Many hospitals seeking to consolidate their vendor base With regard to technology. Let's say that you did that and were presented with this summary of market trends: Consolidation in the industry. You are given the following data: ICC Handbook 2011 Page 62 . but the person who makes the final choice is different. let's assume that you don't have an infinite amount of time to look at all the competitors. Software decisions are usually made by the hospital IT function and those for instrumentation by the medical staff. but the larger hospital networks have tried to consolidate their purchasing not only within but also across hospitals. I think I have a pretty good understanding of the market for now. Are the people responsible for purchasing software at the hospital the same for all three segments? Like all things. We could identify all the competitors and build up the market shares using a combination of public data and estimates. the head of purchasing influences both decisions. it differs by hospital. perhaps our client has an advantage in being part of a larger medical company.Okay. Is the decision maker for medical software the same as for medical instrumentation and devices? In some cases. Well. You can only look at the top five competitors in each market. Maybe the client could also gain some advantages by expanding into other software segments. with three to four large hospital networks dominating 45 percent of the market Cost controls instituted. Let's look at competition next.
I would want to know what gross margins look like in each of these markets as well. In administrative systems. But in the physician support market. I might turn to analyst reports and look at competitors' financial statements to deduce whether they are making money in each market. the top five competitors control 66 percent of the market and in patient administration. they control only 25 percent.Administration Systems MedCount HCS Software Systems Morningside Software Admin Systems Solutions HTI Software Patient Administration HTI Registration Software Solutions Signup Software HCS Software Systems Patient Software Physician Support HCS Software Systems Physician Support Systems Medical Technology Inc HTI MedSys Sales ($M) Growth (%) 700 100 80 70 50 Sales ($M) 300 240 60 30 20 Sales ($M) 150 100 25 20 5 4% 7% 3% 2% 15% Growth (%) 5% 4% 3% 16% -1% Growth (%) 16% 11% 18% 32% 15% Very interesting. ICC Handbook 2011 Page 63 . they control 65 percent. The first thing I would note from the data is that the market concentrations are very different.
let me think about that for a moment. It looks as if the client is slowly losing market share in its segment. the margins tend to be higher. From your earlier description. I guess it would be harder to get into those types of systems. each had a strong position in its own segment. since the company is already in the software industry. You'd find that they recently entered these non-core markets. Although it is more concentrated and offers lower margins than physician support. these systems appear to be pretty basic. I would want to look at their financials. of course. ICC Handbook 2011 Page 64 . more like 45 to 50 percent. administrative systems. given it has high growth and lack of a dominant competitor. but you should think a little more closely about these types of software. However. For physician support. but the analyst reports have margins of 25 to 30 percent for administrative systems and for patient administration. I suspect patient administration would have relatively low entry barriers. dealing primarily with admissions and patient tracking. Let's say there is evidence in the sources you consult that supports your assertion. Perhaps.Gross margins vary. In particular. the client may be able to enter this segment with a smaller up-front investment. Well. I see that two competitors. these two companies could be a threat not only in the other two segments. the entry barriers in physician support might be higher. The market and competitor trends could also suggest that the client may want to enter these other markets. That should not be too difficult. Good observation. The higher gross margins may provide attractive returns on the necessary investment in software development. and press releases to find out a bit more about their strategy in each of these areas. the patient administration market may also be attractive. it may be important for MedCount to have a product offering in each of the three market segments. Are all software systems alike? Well. HTI and HCS Software Systems. like our client. That is a very good hypothesis. Maybe they too decided to branch out into the other segments to find additional growth. Why might they have done that? Perhaps. Given the trend toward upgrading existing computer systems. although they each dominate one. annual reports. However. HTI in patient administration and HCS Software Systems in physician support. if that were true. but also in our client's segment. the physician support market looks attractive. since it is growing more slowly than its market. have very large revenue growth in all three sectors. since these systems are more complex and there are probably multiple systems for the various physician procedures.
So far. I would want to know how important it is to have products in all three segments. How did HTI perform? The HTI representative had heard that the company was considering switching software vendors and provided a sales representative to pitch HTI's administrative product the next day. ICC Handbook 2011 Page 65 . Do we know if the competitors are marketing their products as a bundle? How might you find that out? Since it would be difficult to talk to a competitor directly. I would like to move on to the client itself. Could you tell me a little about the marketing department? The marketing department is organized regionally. Let's say further interviews support those assumptions. There also seems to be an advantage from both a marketing and sales perspective in having multiple software products. particularly one that just converted from our client's software. Teams are assigned to hospitals within each state or geographic region. particularly for the larger hospital chains. Let's say you get an interview with a customer that recently switched to HTI. we know that our client offers administrative software and that there may be a problem with sales and marketing. it tried to contact MedCount. It definitely sounds as if there was a problem with the sales function and that customer relations need to be improved.That would make sense. You discover that the competitor was offering it a better pricing deal and service for software products in all three segments. I'd like to know more about its marketing and selling organization as well as its software development skills. I would want to confirm those views by doing further interviews. How were MedCount's software and service perceived in relation to those of competitors? The customer thought that its administrative systems were adequate. "the old standby. Since the company might want to go into only some of the segments. Were there any other key reasons it switched from MedCount's system? When it decided to upgrade its systems. but could never get a representative to describe its options." but not stellar. such as New England. Interesting. I would probably target a competitor's customer. Since we have already looked at the external conditions.
Both markets are relatively concentrated and appear to offer lower margins than physician support. the software developers believe that certain modules could be used to build the foundation for other administrative software programs. Patient administration is also growing relatively slowly. If hospital purchasing is centralized. There should be a team dedicated to each of the major chains. With regard to software. The client should also look at improving customer tracking so that it is clear when its customers are going to upgrade. Each has a dominant position in one segment and is branching out into other areas. the product is modular in design.That could explain some of the problems with MedCount's marketing and sales. The purchasing agent is often the same for the three types of software. and could potentially provide higher margins. They appear to be marketing their products and services as a bundle and are using service as a key point of differentiation. There should also be clear contacts so that the customer can easily keep in touch with MedCount. Although the company has never branched out into other market segments. ICC Handbook 2011 Page 66 . Step 5: Summarize and make recommendations Let's start with our client's market. particularly in marketing to the larger hospital networks. The client offers only one type of system and appears to have some weaknesses in its marketing organization. MedCount will have trouble expanding into new markets if it can't defend its current position and shore up its existing customer relationships. The company feels customer support is also an area in which it excels. The client dominates the administrative software market. and the company appears to be slowly losing market share. particularly for the large hospital networks. appear to be particularly threatening. which allows for easier upgrades. which offer the most promising market opportunities. but it conflicted with the regional structure it had in place. there are no dedicated teams. Looking at our client's competitors. which is fairly large but growing slowly. How would you recommend proceeding? The first priority should be to fix the marketing organization. but would require a larger investment. does the company feel it has any strengths or weaknesses? It feels that their administrative product is very strong ("best of breed") and is the dominant technology. the marketing organization may be outdated. The physician support market is large and less concentrated. They talked about doing that for a while. two. The hospital market itself is becoming more concentrated and is pushing to consolidate vendors. Does the company have any teams dedicated to the four or five biggest hospital networks? No. HTI and HCS Software Systems. Also.
I would recommend that the client explore entering the other market segments by leveraging its dominant position in administrative systems. given its high margins. however. since the client may lack the technical capabilities to enter this specialized market. in having products across the product range. and fragmented competition. low margins. Thank you. however.Next. If the customer base is interested in one software provider for both back-office administration and patient administration functions. There appears to be some advantage. ICC Handbook 2011 Page 67 . At first glance. More research would be needed. high growth. Smaller companies would probably not offer an important enough position in the market. If the client does decide to enter this market. I would recommend going for one of the larger companies. patient administration does not appear to be very attractive. The modular design of its existing administrative software suggests internal development of the patient administration product may be the way to go. as that would give the client a stronger position. it should look at the lowest-cost method of entry. with slow growth. I would definitely think about an acquisition strategy. and large. including both cost and time to market. but we would need a more thorough comparison of the internal development and acquisition options. dominant competitors. I would recommend that we interview some of MedCount's existing customers to better understand their needs and future IT requirements. for us to better understand the intricacies of the market and each potential acquisition. either developing a product internally or acquiring a competitor. I think that physician support offers our client an exciting growth opportunity. this segment looks promising. Those are very interesting conclusions.
and to win the program. Next. defense contractor that manufactures the Mohawk Light Fighter Jet for the British Royal Air Force. please do so. has to reduce its cost by 5 percent. Could I take a few minutes to think about the case? Sure.S. the client's purchasing agents have estimated. How would you interpret it? ICC Handbook 2011 Page 68 . That sounds like a very logical approach. Finally. Is BCG's role also to verify the purchasing department's estimate? No. It has asked BCG to help it reduce costs. however. I would like to look at major factors driving the costs we are targeting. so I think that would be a good idea! You have the following cost information for the jet. the company will need to cut its costs by 5 percent.10. because of competitive forces. I would like to explore potential ideas to reduce cost. I think we should try to identify those areas most responsible for the cost of the jet. Let's proceed. BCG's role is to find the cost savings to meet that estimate.3 Jet fighter manufacturing case (BCG) Step 1: Actively listen to the case Your client is a U. Step 3: Evaluate the case using the framework Because the time for the interview is limited. The company has produced the $20 million fighter jet for the past 12 years. Step 1: Establish understanding of the case Let me first clarify the question. I would like to understand the cost structure of the jet to see what we should look at first. you can assume that the purchasing estimate is correct. The British government has decided to put the contract out to bid. Step 2: Set up the framework First. Time is limited on real projects as well. The client manufactures a $20 million jet and.
and raw materials. That sounds like a good place to start. since that's where most of the costs can be found. A component is a smaller part. allows "commercial off-the-shelf" purchases. you can assume that the British Ministry of Defense. as are program management and corporate overhead within overhead. I know that governmental agencies often have very strict guidelines about purchasing that could affect the cost of materials. An example is the pilot night vision system. MOD. I see that purchased subassemblies comprise more than 70 percent of materials. For the sake of this case. I think we would want to concentrate most on materials. but what would be the difference between components and subassemblies? A subassembly functions on its own. That seems like a relatively small number. such as a part of the engine. components. which means that the client is free to purchase from whomever it wants. Within manufacturing. Where would you look within materials? I see that materials are broken down into purchased subassemblies.The major cost driver for the jet appears to be purchased materials. Are there more suppliers that are qualified to do this type of work? ICC Handbook 2011 Page 69 . How many suppliers are there for these subassemblies? There are seven suppliers of major subassemblies that go into the fighter jet. I understand what raw materials would be. as long as it can ensure that the parts meet MOD quality guidelines. however. direct labor is a fairly large component of cost.
Even then. If the cost of subassemblies represents 40 percent of the jet cost and 70 percent of that is purchased materials. particularly if the client is trying to reduce the price it pays to the subassembly manufacturers. Of course. But remember. if the competitor is underbidding your client. Are the majority of its costs in materials as well? How could you find that out? I would want to interview the purchasing and engineering personnel of the different subcontractors in order to understand their cost structures. it will lose its customer unless it is teamed with the competing bidder. it could reduce the cost of the jet by more than 8 percent. I would look at the number of suppliers. That sounds reasonable. Since there are only a few subassembly suppliers. Perhaps it would have an incentive to reduce its costs in order to maintain the contract. for a total of around 43 percent of the cost of the jet. total purchased materials would be approximately 28 percent of the cost for subassemblies. there will be even less room for it to profit. If our client could reduce the cost of raw materials by 20 percent. Let's say that purchased materials average approximately 70 percent of the price paid to most of the manufacturers.The manufacture of these parts requires a substantial investment in R&D. If we had a better understanding of their economics. Perhaps we should look elsewhere for savings. and the investment hurdle would preclude bringing in competing manufacturers. It would be very costly for new suppliers to make the required investment. more than enough to offset the 5 percent reduction it would need to win the contract. but 20 percent is a very lofty goal. it would be difficult to reduce the price paid. Are there a large number of suppliers to the subassembly manufacturers? The client estimates that there are approximately 125 suppliers of raw materials and components among the manufacturers of the subassemblies and itself. and infrastructure. How would you go about doing that? First. Are these suppliers providing customized or more commodity products? ICC Handbook 2011 Page 70 . they could be providing very specialized materials to the subassembly manufacturers. if your client loses the contract. our client might be able to reduce cost across the board. that sounds like a large number of suppliers. Well. engineering. Purchases of raw materials and components represent another 15 percent. allowing it to compete more effectively for the contract without killing everyone's margins.
I think we should start here. The largest area of opportunity appears to be in purchased materials. I know that commodities typically have lower margins than more customized products. Let's say that you did this and discovered that approximately 30 percent of the cost of raw materials is from similar materials used across the subassembly manufacturers. such as sheet metal and wire harnesses. ICC Handbook 2011 Page 71 . such as printed wire boards and circuitry. particularly with basic materials such as screws and sheet metal. but we would still need to know whether the subcontractors are using the same suppliers.About 80 percent of these products are commodities. do you think the 15-20 percent cost reduction is achievable? Well. That sounds promising. the majority of which comprise subassemblies manufactured by seven subcontractors. Although there are some common suppliers. Even some of the electronics. To achieve the 5 percent cost reduction. I suspect it may be challenging to hit the client's savings target by focusing only on these purchases. Do the engineers believe that the percentage of overlap could be increased if the designs were modified? They believe they could increase that percentage substantially. But since raw materials and components represent about 40 percent of costs and there is an opportunity to concentrate purchasing. Good suggestion. Are there many commonalities among the parts used by the different subassembly manufacturers? We could talk to their engineers and look at the designs and bills of material to determine how much overlap there is. That's great news. By looking at its purchases in total. We could analyze the number of suppliers for each of the areas of overlap. but I would need to know whether these commodities are interchangeable. It could try to do that by increasing commonality in the design of the subassemblies and components and by shifting volume to a smaller number of suppliers. but also in other more customized areas. Step 5: Summarize and make recommendations Our client needs to reduce costs by 5 percent. the analysis indicates that the subassembly manufacturers tend to use different suppliers. it would need to reduce costs by 15 to 20 percent. the client can target approximately 40 percent of costs. It seems safe to assume that the client would need more commonality to be successful in concentrating its purchasing and reducing costs. are fairly generic. so that our client could concentrate spending with fewer suppliers. Considering that the majority of the raw materials and components are purchased commodities.
we could look into that area as well. I would caution you. both for the redesign and for the implementation of the purchasing system. How would you recommend the company pursue both of the initiatives you have discussed? I would look first to combine purchases across the subassembly suppliers with our client's purchases. to examine the upfront costs involved in your recommendations. I suspect that the client and the subassembly suppliers will need to share a great deal of information. That sounds great. That's an interesting suggestion. and is very similar to a project we did. I've read that other companies use outsourcing to lower their manufacturing costs-perhaps our client could do the same. it might want to increase its use of purchased subassemblies and reduce the amount of direct manufacturing it does. ICC Handbook 2011 Page 72 . Of course this would work only if it could drive direct labor costs below the offsetting cost of these subassemblies. before going ahead. however. The Internet could prove to be a very effective medium for forming a single "virtual" purchasing department to consolidate both the flow of information and purchase orders across the companies. with potential suppliers of the raw materials and components.Where else could you look for savings? If I look back at the cost data on the jet. Next. including engineering drawings and specifications. As a contingency. Our client might also want to use a bidding system for those materials that are true commodities. This may give it an opportunity to explore the suppliers' capabilities at the same time. For example. direct labor is another large cost component. I would turn to the engineering departments and form cross-company teams to look for areas in which to increase commonality of design. The client will be working closely with the subassembly suppliers to implement its purchasing initiative. At the same time. those teams could explore opportunities to use more purchased subassemblies and decrease the client's direct labor costs.
to the end consumers. risks) and the entry barriers (gas availability. Situation Concretely. He is in the following situation: Today. This implies the existence of a large ensemble of infrastructures: transportation network.10. distribution network. profitability/margin. how many and what types of competitors are likely to enter the market? (Structure) I believe I would need to evaluate the market attractiveness (market growth. I would need to ask the following questions: What are the rules of the game/key success factors (access to suppliers. the market's deregulation means The end of the monopoly for the gas sales. but under the surveillance of an independent authority that guarantees equal access to all competitors Your client is at the head of the purchases/sales department.4 Gas retail case (BCG) Client Your client is the major operator (monopolist) in one of the largest European gas market. brand). Norway. Algeria…) Gas transportation from the national border. the arrival of new competitors The preservation of the monopoly on transportation. where it is delivered by the producer. methane terminals… Let's discuss the challenges on the natural gas market after market liberalization in Europe. storage equipment. cost advantages. services …)? ICC Handbook 2011 Page 73 . branding …)? How are other players positioned to enter the market? What are their competitive advantages thanks to synergies with other activities (electricity. customer intimacy. company market share is 100% At a certain point in the next years the market will at once be opened to competition (which is a simplified way of putting it since in reality there will be stages) Client's question About the gas sale activity that will be opened to competition What will be the level of competitive intensity at opening? What actors are likely to become my competitors? Evaluate the case According to you. His business includes two major activities: Gas sales to households and firms (gas bought from large producers in Russia.
the profitability of this activity and the risks associated with it. especially in industries that consume a lot of gas (general price and risk issues). I think the consumption will decrease due to global warming and to better built houses. What cost advantage can a new entrant expect to build for each one of these costs? (Judgment) Most probably. competitiveness with other energy forms Given the market's main growth levers for the firms' segment and for the households' segment. I would forecast???? the rise of penetration (network extension) but. I think it will decrease. The key levers by client type would be: Households: network penetration. So what) I think there will be weak or inexistent growth. isolation …) Firms: same as households. there is a small opportunity of differentiation through costs: Gas is sourced at comparable prices Infrastructure prices are identical for all competitors New entrants have to invest rather more in marketing New entrants are not expected to have a productivity lever and only have a small pricing lever. Structure) I believe it would include the energy itself (cost of goods – gas). What are the market's growth levers? (Structure) I would differentiate between firms and households. do you think that the market will strongly grow. commercial costs – 7% and the margin is around 3%. plus industry growth. other energies. the infrastructure cost and sales and marketing costs (commercial). So what is your conclusion? (Synthesis. stagnate. productivity. Here is a simplified cost structure: gas – 50%. There are three dimensions you should consider: the natural gas market's growth potential. A new entrant will have to take clients from the major player. or decrease? (Judgment) For the households. consumption of gas/household (climate.Let us focus on the gas retail sale activity's attractiveness. Can you imagine what a gas retailer's cost structure is? (turnover = 100)? (Synthesis. ICC Handbook 2011 Page 74 . I would have to check these assumptions. For the firms. Let us start with the market's growth potential. infrastructures – 40%. overall. share of gas vs.
Rigor) If I assume I can reduce commercial/marketing costs by 33% (500 x 7% x 33% = 11. makes 12. -0. 90 (-10%) _____________________ Gas: 50 vs.55) and I allow a 50% lower margin (500 x 3% x 50% = 7. then a new competitor can reduce the gas price around € 15–20/year (11. What will be our gas retailer's margin? (Structure. so it is a high risk business.55+7.8 3 vs. During a "warm" year. 38. at 70%.5). let us focus on what is called the climatic risk.Let us put ourselves in the shoes of a household client whose yearly gas invoice amounts to € 500. Rigor) I am basing my analysis on the sales and cost structure of a normal year (turnover = 100). What is the price reduction potential for a new entrant? Can you give a rough estimate? (Judgment. it is more expensive to sell gas. let's suppose that the heating volumes decrease by 10%. Your first meeting with your client is tomorrow morning. What can you tell him/her to answer his/her question based on the analyses that we have just done together? (Synthesis) ICC Handbook 2011 Page 75 . 90. Cold vs.2) Commercial: 7 stay 7 Total cost: Margin: 97 vs. Let us now consider the risks borne by our retailer. In order to simplify. Then I calculate the value of each cost block for a warm year. whether the winter is cold or not. that the infrastructure costs are partly flexible. 45 (-10%) Infrastructure: 40 vs. warm Sales: 100 vs.8 (30% of 40 is variable. 10% reduction makes 1. Marketing costs can be reduced if the new entrant is already established in other energy markets and benefits from scale and known brand name.5=19). What can we deduce from this risk calculation? (Judgment) The climatic risk is too high to justify the small margin in a normal year. What can we conclude on a new entrant's margin level? (Synthesis) Margin will necessarily have to be weak or inexistent to attract clients and draw away from established player. that the commercial costs are totally fixed. This might allow it to compete with the established client. also the margin and compare with the margin in a normal year. that the cost of supply/gas are totally variable. The sales volumes will vary a lot depending on the year.8 In a warm year.
services or other products. the firm's traditional strategic vision must be questioned due to the emergence of the new market conditions and rules of the game. But we need to take into account that the rules of the game might change and that other energy providers might enter the market. synergies would be mainly based on the commercialization cost synergies. also for retailers. Those providers might offer additional products to the gas client: electricity. What is it? (Creativity) We have looked at the gas market on a stand-alone basis. there could be cost synergies on the commercialization: Client back-offices could combine gas and electricity sales Brand and client acquisition Who could the other new players in the gas market be? (Judgment) Potential new players that bring additional value to the client could be major electricity firms. oil. For the oil producers.Well. What can we finally say to our client? (Judgment) The threat is real. For the electricity firms. In fact there is a bias in our reasoning from the start. there are synergies on the supply side. Finally. as soon as the monopoly disappears. ICC Handbook 2011 Page 76 . Examples of dangerous players are large power firms. it looks like our major player does not have to worry. the market is not that attractive and new entrants are a weak threat. oil producers if they don't have more profitable investments to make and a partnership between a large European energy player and a large retailer. We have been influenced by the client's historical view. major oil producers and/or major retailers. the gas retailer activity's attractiveness is so weak that one would have to be stupid to venture in it at its opening! But why would it be a big mistake to tell our client not to worry? (Creativity) We are not working on the right strategic segment: the gas retail sale segment in not independent of the electricity sale and services. Are there other levers that would enable a player to enter the gas market in a profitable way? (Creativity) By offering other energy products or services and products. there can be synergies with the gas supply: Channel diffusion/delivery costs Margins from other services can cover production risk On the other hand.
how comfortable the candidate is in doing some basic calculations and if he/she applies sanity checks to the outcome (Rigor). the new entrant can hire the copper wire from the incumbent operator but has to purchase its own ADSL equipment.10. the company will at first generate loss. I mean. to set up some easy calculations to verify initial hypotheses.5 Consumer ADSL services cases (BCG) The situation is as follows: ADSL is a technology that enables the implementation of broadband Internet services via the existing telephony infrastructure. set by the regulator Required investments for the ADSL equipment is EUR 120. the interviewer asks the candidate to do some easy calculations to see if he/she can apply the structure. A good structure should enable the candidate to systematically solve the case. The technical set-up that a new entrant would need in order to establish an ADSL connection basically consists of three elements: MDF access (copper wire). covering all households in Norway Internet uplink capacity is commercially available.000 per location. we assume that the consumer ADSL modem is client-owned. This way the interviewer tests if the candidate can combine the elements to a useful outcome (Synthesis). this idea will certainly not fly. there are 250 locations where ADSL equipment could be installed. but rather than making this too complex at the beginning. The case interview starts with an open question to test the candidate's ability to apply structure to a problem while a lot of information is still unknown. and navigate back and forth through the case. costs are on average EUR 2 per end-user per month For simplicity reasons. Interviewer: Suppose you wanted to assess if a new entrant can run a profitable business in offering consumer ADSL services. As in most European countries. Now. I would start by calculating some sort of break-even point. since we are considering a new entrant. This means. This telephony infrastructure is owned by the incumbent telecom operator in Norway. how would you approach this? Candidate: Let's see. Depending on the required end-user speed. I could make some assumptions on the pace at which the customer base will grow. ADSL equipment. using the existing incumbent-owned telephony infrastructure via MDF access. if we never reach break-even. who has initially no customers. The structure is the basis for the entire case. Internet uplink capacity (fiber access connecting the ADSL equipment to the Internet). ICC Handbook 2011 Page 77 . For simplicity reasons we assume linear depreciation with no interest costs. depreciation period of 5 years. The costs involved in establishing the technical set-up are given (amounts have been converted to Euros): MDF access tariff is EUR 12 per line per month. and gradually will become more profitable as the number of customers increases. the regulator has ruled that new entrants may offer ADSL services. In total.
For 250 locations that's EUR 500. We know that these percentages were established in 5 years time. That means he has EUR 6 per customer per month to cover all other costs. So I could assume a price and then calculate the number of customers we need. Per customer. C: Hmmm. C: OK. The new entrant has done some pre-work and has calculated that an annual budget of EUR 4.000 per month. the incumbent operator was still the only provider of ADSL services in Norway. ICC Handbook 2011 Page 78 . but I don't see anything on personnel costs. so what do you think.at first sight. we know all the costs. of which it uses EUR 14 to cover the expenses for MDF access and the Internet uplink. then I can calculate the break-even point. let's assume we could also ask EUR 20 to start with.000 per month per location. 20% used Broadband via cable. how would you calculate the break-even point? C: Hmmm. For instance: is there a lot of growth in the market? How many competitors are there? Can you tell me a bit more about that? I: Yes.. 150. Later we may need to reconsider this and see if we need to lower the price in order to become more competitive. which is EUR 400. Do we know anything about the price? I: We know that the incumbent charges on average EUR 20 per month. Subsequently. 50% still used dial-up and 10% had no Internet. which would be price times number of customers. We write off the ADSL equipment in 5 years. we have to cover the organizational costs. is that a realistic number to achieve? Let me add that we have roughly 2 million households in Norway. the new entrant earns EUR 20. The distribution was as follows: 20% of the households had ADSL services. I see we have a lot of information on technical costs. but I would like to know a bit more about the market. the interviewer assesses the candidate's ability to make some basic assumptions in order to get to the next level (Judgment) and play around a little bit with that to see if the candidate can really see through the drivers of the case (Synthesis). C: OK. So let's see if we can calculate this… hmmm. but others have considered entering the market.000 per month. After the basic set-up of the case. we also need an organization and a small marketing budget.000/EUR 6=150. just as we are doing now. I would need to check if the required number of customers would be a reasonable number. wait. but we don't know the revenue.I: Sounds good. at the time of this situation. So for break-even we need EUR 900. I: OK. In addition. so that's EUR 2. We have no data from in-between years.000 customers.000 out of 2 million does not seem impossible.. That is: 5 years before no broadband Internet existed. is this correct? I: Well spotted.8 million would be sufficient to cover the entire country. let's see.
000 new households will subscribe to ADSL. So it seems that it won't be possible to reach break-even from new customers only. or if the new entrant would offer a much lower price. I would say we start focusing on acquiring new customers from the group that is currently using dial-up. the interviewer would finally test if the candidate is able to assess the problem from different angles and if he/she can come up with alternative solutions (Creativity). For instance a 10% discount…. since this is the largest group and since it is probably easier to acquire new customers than to persuade customers from our competitors to switch. there's the risk that our competitors would lower their prices too. Concluding.000–100. the service is very reliable.C: OK… so that's a fast growing market. which means 400. When the basics of the case have been cracked. Now. Let's assume we would be competing against 1 or 2 other competitors. C: OK. or ~70. In addition. We could also have a look at the existing customers. so let's look at lowering the price. The way we have been looking at it. So. both ADSL and cable customers. I still think it would be unrealistic to assume we could persuade a large number of customers to switch for a EUR 2 discount. Do we know anything about customer satisfaction? I: Most customers are very satisfied. Could you think of some ideas that would make this business case more attractive? C: I was struck by the negative effect a slight price decrease has. So… let's say the incumbent operator gets at least a 50% share of that. particularly if they are satisfied with the current service. Even if we could get a greater share from new customers. that is something you may want to investigate. against the incumbent operator. this can only be justified by offering better service.000 customers in this case. But let's spend a minute to see if we can come up with some creative ideas here. Would it be possible to increase the speed. the business case looks very challenging indeed. which means we could get 17–25% share of the new customers. We would be competing for these clients. if we would take a situation for instance 5 years later and if we assume that by then the market has grown again with roughly the same amount. But then I would need to know how likely it is that they would switch? I: OK. If the case runs smoothly and there's time left. the ADSL market increases from 20% to 40%. I: I agree. A 10% discount means we drop from EUR 20 to EUR 18 contributing EUR 4 per customer instead of EUR 6 to the fixed costs. I was thinking: could we somehow increase the price? Of course. for instance? ICC Handbook 2011 Page 79 . Hmm… but that would mean we also would need more customers to reach break-even. the candidate can even quantify part of these alternative solutions. I would say this is a risky business to step into. and maybe some other new entrants as you mentioned. So we would need 225. since it has a strong presence in the market already.000 in total. But what would be your upfront judgment on this?" C: I can imagine that customers would want to switch if they are very unsatisfied with the current service.
we would spread our largest cost component across multiple services. and you know. technically this would be possible. ICC Handbook 2011 Page 80 . plus some other larger cities. C: OK. I: You're absolutely right. offer higher speeds at premium prices. I: OK. for instance the Oslo area. Let's assume the speed you can offer is directly proportional to the capacity you buy and the costs associated with it. Furthermore. this would certainly improve the case. sounds like these ideas are worth investigating. If we could diversify our offering. I am considering offering additional services.I: Yes. any other service we can offer. which re-uses this asset. I mean. would greatly improve the case. and – at a later stage – expand the service by offering additional services. we can perhaps reach 50% of the households through. maybe only 20% of the locations and thus only 20% of the ADSL equipment cost. instead of covering the entire country from the start? Is the number of customers per location equal across the country? I: Good point! The area of each region is more or less the same. maybe EUR 30 or so. That would make a difference. and if part of the customers subscribe to the premium packages. which means… C: You have a huge variation in the number of households per location. Of course we would need to make a separate business case for that. Anything else you can think of? C: What about starting in a limited number of regions. If we pick the high density areas. You would need to make sure that you buy enough capacity on the Internet uplink. in particular to small and medium-sized enterprises. so doubling the speed would increase the cost per subscriber by EUR 2 per month. like telephony or even video services if that's possible. but since EUR 12 out of the 20 we charge is spent on MDF access. looking back this is exactly what new entrants have done when entering the ADSL market: start in high density areas. I don't know. while we could probably charge a much higher tariff.
The first question tests the candidate's creativity and ability to come up with more than one idea.6 Call center case (BCG) The case interview There is a company. ICC Handbook 2011 Page 81 . let's say a travel agency. The candidate can ask additional questions if the problem is not completely clear. but one tailored to this specific situation. tailored to the problem. and then specify these main causes in more detailed possibilities. the candidate should check if he/she completely understands the problem stated. in this case: a call center agent is not productive 8 hours per day).g. Before answering any questions. it is important to set up a good structure to tackle it. at the same time it tests the use of a structure. the candidate should think of main causes. This is one of the main things the interviewer tests with this question: can the candidate set up a good structure. How would you calculate the required number of call center agents needed to fix the problem? For this question. bad weather…) I: Let us assume that the overload in the call center is not caused by technical problems or by peaks in demand. by poor planning) Poor organization of the call center (unstructured call-diverting) Caused by technical difficulties Calls are not transferred to the centralized call center Caused by demand Peak in client demand (more calls than expected due to international affairs. Interviewer: What could cause the overload of the call center? Candidate: I believe there could be different types of reasons: Caused by supply Lack of call center agents (by sickness.10. the travel agency is virtually unreachable because of the large amount of phone calls received. First. Not a general structure. that sets up a centralized call center where all incoming phone calls from all branches are diverted to. the interviewer tests if the candidate understands the problem and has some (business) judgment (e. Furthermore. highseason. Shortly after setting up the call center. but is solely caused by the fact that the amount of required agents does not match the number of agents in the center. which helps coming up with more ideas.
The third driver of the volume of calls is the seasonal pattern. The next step would be to divide these three main parts into smaller parts. enter information in a computer). The capacity per agent starts of course with the working hours per agent. average time spent on a call and capacity per agent. but an agent is not 100% productive. this is called the average number of calls per customer. customers can call up more than once. in this example the productivity is split up in two parts.g. There are several ways to define the productivity. The average time spent on a call is simply the duration of the call and the time needed by the agent to wrap up the call (e. For the volume of calls. The second is "working time duration". Furthermore. this is the percentage of the time the agent actually is busy with a phone call. An agent can be busier during prime time and less during other hours of the day. I: How many agents are required in week 20? ICC Handbook 2011 Page 82 . the first important driver is the amount of diverted customers. The first is gross versus net working hours due to lunch breaks etc. There is now a clear structure to show what drives the amount of agents needed.A possible answer could be as shown in the next figure: Number of diverted customers x Call volume Number of calls per customer x x Required number of agents Average settlement time Seasonal pattern (%) Call time (sec) + Wrap-up time (sec) : Working hours per agent (sec) x Capacity per agent Gross/net ratio (%) x Working Time Duration (%) This answer first divides the required number of agents in volume of calls. and therewith a way to calculate the required amount of agents.
the candidate can ask the interviewer for data.000 200.000 customers 1.000 400. The candidate should always clearly state when he/she is making an assumption and how he/she comes up with it. and thirdly the candidate can make assumptions using common sense. an interviewer might give the candidate some data to start with.000 0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Week Note: At the moment of set-up of the call center.000. ICC Handbook 2011 Page 83 . and he/she will have to pick out the numbers to use in the calculation. Secondly. In this case interview. First of all.200. the graph starts with 0.Most case interviews have some computation in them.000 Cumulative number of customers who are diverted to the centralized call center 800. To solve it. the candidate will have to figure out the numbers for all parts of the "driver-tree" to compute the required number of agents. the following data is given by the interviewer: Number of 1. There are several ways to figure out the numbers.000 600.
but it's always best to make assumptions and test these with the interviewer. ICC Handbook 2011 Page 84 . or weeks) and not make any unnecessary mistakes. since there are no additional trained call center agents available. The candidate then calculates the calls' volume: 140. but the candidate could still give it a try. What other ways can you think of to help the travel agency with its telephone problem? It is stated that the amount of required agents does not match the number of agents in the center.000 / 52 * 2 + 0% = approximately 5. To determine the average settlement time. The interviewer may either tell the candidate to make an assumption.5)/8 = 81%). For example: "I assume that on average. so either 28 or 29 agents are needed. The candidate can assume that the number of hours an agent works is 40 per week. So in week 20. From experience. Now.5 hour is lost to lunch and other breaks. a client has contact with an agent of the call center twice per year.400 calls in week 20. other data in the driver-tree is needed.000 clients "in the database of the call center".From this graph. The candidate should not forget to use the same units for all parts of the equation (all in seconds. the candidate can deduct the cumulative number of diverted customers in week 20: approximately 140. and the candidate will have to figure it out. or give the numbers. approximately 1. In this case. the candidate has all numbers to calculate the amount of agents needed in week 20. the candidate could ask the interviewer. there are 140. hours. The candidate should then ask the interviewer if the assumption is more or less right. the candidate has to find ways to decrease the amount of agents needed. the candidate can ask the interviewer for information. To calculate the required number of agents. To determine the gross/net ratio. However. The last driver is the capacity per agent. so the average number of calls per customer is 2". In this case. these are given: "Monitoring talk. the number of agents needed in week 20 is: 5.1. He/she can start off with asking the interviewer for data. This makes the gross/net ratio ~80% ((8-1. though he/she could also easily make an assumption on own experience: "I assume that of the 8 hours worked in a day. And: "I wonder if there are many more calls in week 20 versus the other weeks of the year. this is a hard number to guess without knowledge of call centers. The last number to figure out is the working time duration. I: There are no additional trained call center agents available.000 customers. for now I assume the seasonal pattern to be 0%".and wrap-up-time gave an average call time of 240 seconds and an average wrap-up-time of 60 seconds per call". the number is ~50%. This gives the capacity of an agent per week: 40 * 80% * 50% = 16 hours per week. This information gives the candidate the average settlement time: 240 + 60 seconds = 5 minutes = 1/12 hour.400 calls *1/12 hours per call / 16 hours per week = 28.
Competitors Increasing competition from deli departments of other supermarkets. Client's deli financials See Exhibit 1 2. etc. 10. Looking again at the structure. the answer is clear: There are three levers to decrease the amount of agents needed: 1. a possible solution would be: Align planning of agents with actual demand for agents by mobilizing more agents during peaks in client demand and less during a low. increasing advertising. Increase the capacity per agent To determine specific solutions. Also competes with fast food restaurants in prepared foods category. Overall industry/ customers Deli meat category has been flat to slightly declining recently. On the first lever: Stop diverting the calls from branches to call center (and divert back) Insert a computer-based menu which answers the most frequently asked questions A possible solution to the second lever is: Reduce the wrap-up time by monitoring it.This question will test if the candidate really grasps the problem and if he/she uses his/her structure in the right way.7 Supermarket deli turnaround case (BCG) Questions and Facts 1. Reduce the average settlement time 3. the candidate needs creativity and understanding of the problem. 3. 85 ICC Handbook 2011 Page . – e.g. This solution can be for example achieved by stimulating the agents to work part-time. discounters. expanding product lines. For example introduction of a computer application that helps the agents with the standard wrap-up actions such as "sending a brochure" For the third lever. Prepared foods category has been growing at roughly 10% per year as people have less time to cook at home. determine the most common wrap-up actions and shorten these actions where possible. Reduce the call volume 2..
SUPERMARKET DELI TURNAROUND Exhibit 1 $M 2002 Deli meats Revenues COGS 260 160 2003 255 155 2004 260 160 Prepared foods Revenues COGS 360 190 400 230 440 270 Overall Revenues COGS Gross margin 620 350 270 655 385 270 700 430 270 ICC Handbook 2011 Page 86 .4. etc. although they take a little longer to fry and are tossed in BBQ sauce after frying. 5. 6. one employee's sole task is to make sandwiches to order for customers. with the exception of two products introduced a couple of years ago – BBQ chicken wings and "made to order" sandwiches. – for two hours during lunchtime and two hours during dinnertime. Client's product mix and recent events Mix has remained constant. "Made to order" sandwiches is client's response to Subway. Info on new products BBQ wings are similar to the chicken wings the company already sells. Financials of new products Revenues for each product are $40M annually. See Exhibit 2. Costs are not broken down at the product level. Both products have been a major boost to prepared foods revenue.
deli meats category flat • Increasing competition from other deli departments – starting to expand product lines.made-to-order (MTO) sandwiches losses offsetting profit growth from BBQ wings • People have less time to cook at home – prepared foods category growing.10 per piece 15 minutes per batch of 200 $20 per hour (fully loaded) $2.consistent with overall category • Prepared foods showing revenue growth (10% consistent with category) but no profit growth – therefore declining margins – why? .SUPERMARKET DELI TURNAROUND Exhibit 2 BBQ wings Price Total material cost Prep time $5 for 20 pieces $0. promotions. increase advertising.50 per 20 pieces $2. Recommendation • Eliminate made-to-order sandwiches (at least in low-traffic stores or during non-peak hours) • Raise or lower prices on MTO sandwiches (depending on demand elasticity) • Boost demand for MTO sandwiches (e.50 per 20 pieces Price "Made-to-order" sandwiches $4 per sandwich 20 sandwiches per day $2 per sandwich $20 per hour (fully loaded) 4 hours per day $80 per store per day $120 per store per day $(40) per store per day Avg. merchandising) Other factors • Eliminating MTO sandwiches or boosting demand can impact overall traffic in store and deli ICC Handbook 2011 Page 87 . etc.g. sales/store Total material cost Employee cost Employee cost Total COGS Margin Dedicated hours Revenue Total COGS Margin Note: Boxes indicate figures that should be calculated by the interviewee SUPERMARKET DELI TURNAROUND Sample Approach What should supermarket do to turn around deli? Main question Key areas to explore Revenue and profit breakdown within deli External factors influencing the overall deli market Analysis • Deli meat revenue and profits flat .. advertising.
the candidate is asked for some potential reasons for deteriorating margins (e. therefore. promotions. The candidate should be suspicious at this point and ask to learn more about these products.Framework and Analysis There are three main questions asked to the candidate: Which part of the business is responsible for the lack of profit growth – deli meats. prepared food profits have been flat.. rising material costs. On the other hand. indicating that they are not a problem. the candidate can find that BBQ wings have a 50% margin. which could include: 1) Eliminating the "made to order" sandwich 2) Restricting the "made to order" sandwich to busier stores or during busier times of the day (e. the candidate will see that gross margins for both business lines are flat. implying deteriorating margins. he/she will find that the client is losing a lot of money on the "made to order" sandwich concept. etc. ICC Handbook 2011 Page 88 ..g. Furthermore.g. increasing costs.). better merchandising. The candidate should recognize that the client's deli meat and prepared food sales have been growing at about the category averages. or both? Is the lack of profit growth caused by flat revenues. By doing a back-of-the-envelope analysis of product profitability (based on data in Exhibit 2). despite robust growth in prepared food sales. the interviewer informs him/her about the BBQ chicken wings and the "made to order" sandwiches. At this point. lunch hours only) 3) Raising or lowering prices (to either increase profit per sale or units sold – will depend on demand elasticity) 4) Boost demand (through increased advertising. mirroring sales. The candidate is then asked for recommendations. rising labor costs). The candidate can also consider the second-order effects of eliminating the product or boosting sales (the effect on traffic in the deli and the overall store). revenues are not the main issue here. If the candidate asks about changes in product mix. or both? What is causing the flat revenues or increasing costs (and what should the client do)? Based on Exhibit 1. However. prepared foods. deli meat sales have been basically flat while prepared foods sales have been growing at 10%. change in product/sales mix. Deli meat COGS have been more or less flat.
2. The category leader has a strong brand and strong innovation. since low quality bags will result in food spoilage.10. Client is #2 in category. According to customers. No strong competitors. with 200 million lbs. with 300 million lbs. 3. top purchase criterion is quality. According to customers. Client is #1 in category. The CEO has been reading for some time about American companies outsourcing their production overseas to low-cost countries such as China. Specialty plates and utensils Plastic plates and utensils produced for specific retailers. this could be a tremendous opportunity to gain a competitive advantage. intended for single/limited use. on the other hand. Question and Facts All three product lines have similar cost structures and savings (see Exhibit 1) 1.8 China outsourcing case (BCG) Problem set-up The client is a national manufacturer of plastic consumer products that are sold in a variety of retail formats. It worries her that none of her main competitors have established foreign production capabilities. club stores. Client is at cost parity with category leader but has a weaker brand. She wonders whether this makes sense for her company as well. ICC Handbook 2011 Page 89 . demand is highly variable. We have been asked to help the client understand the benefits and risks of moving its production capabilities to China and to provide a recommendation. Freezer bags Plastic bags are used mainly to store food items in freezers. and 3) specialty plates and utensils. sold. According to customers. Plastic plates and utensils Disposable plates and utensils. Client is #3 in category. The company has three main product lines: 1) freezer bags. and dollar stores. sold. top purchase criterion is price. including supermarkets. customized to their design specs. 2) plastic plates and utensils. with 100 million lbs. Because many products are new and untested. top purchase criterion is style/design. sold. discounters.
All three product lines have similar cost structures and savings (Exhibit 1). current client presence All three categories are relatively underdeveloped but growing. Lead time: need 3-4 weeks of additional lead time for each product line for transportation from China to U.. Wal-Mart) do have presence there. dominated by local manufacturers. ICC Handbook 2011 Page 90 .g. Client does not currently have any sales in China.S. 5.4. Chinese production options Client has no previous experience in building and managing a factory overseas. Client has met with several Chinese manufacturing partners and has done initial product testing. Quality: lower quality on freezer bags. Current client production capabilities All products are made in a single factory in Ohio. equal quality on plastic plates and utensils (both regular and specialty). customers (e. Chinese market. distribution center. The factory is at capacity and the company is considering building or acquiring a nearby facility. although a few of their U.S. 6.
$25M in specialty plates and utensils • Quality is top purchase criterion for freezer bags . distribution center to customer Total Costs in U.outsourcing would eliminate need to build additional capacity • Plastic plates and utensils are 50% of total production . (25% of current costs) • At current production levels.CHINA OUTSOURCING OPPORTUNITY Exhibit 1 Costs Labor Material • Plastic resin • Other material (incl.S.30 Costs in China relative to U. 8% of wage rate 80% of productivity 80% 75% 140% 60% Costs in China ($/lb. rent out spare capacity.S.S.$50M in freezer bags .05 0. would save: .lower quality from China • Price is top criterion for plastic plates and utensils • Style is top criterion for specialty plates and utensils .05 1.$75M in plastic plates and utensils .highly variable demand requires short lead times • Current plant is at capacity .outsourcing may create too much extra capacity Recommendation • Outsource plastic plates and utensils to China • Do not outsource specialty plates and utensils • Do not outsource freezer bags (although further analysis may be warranted) Other factors • To compensate for extra capacity that would be created in current plant. Same CHINA OUTSOURCING OPPORTUNITY Sample Approach Main question Should plastics manufacturer move production to China? Key areas to explore Cost savings Consumer behavior and purchase criterion Effect on current production capabilities Analysis • Would save $0.S. distribution center • U. ($/lb.20 0.) 0.30 0. packaging) Variable overhead Fixed overhead Transportation • China to U.00 $6K to ship 40K lbs.10 N/A 0. or move to smaller facility ICC Handbook 2011 Page 91 .25/lb. could produce new product line.) 0.
Plastic plates and utensils: the top purchase criterion here is price. higher safety/cycle stock. Specialty plates and utensils: the highly variable and unpredictable demand for these products means that shorter lead times are critical in order to adjust production quickly. customer service). The main benefit is lower costs. There are three main questions asked to the candidate: How much cheaper is producing in China? What do consumers value and how would outsourcing affect those criteria? What are the client's current production capabilities and how would outsourcing part/all of their production affect the remainder? First. $75 million by outsourcing plastic plates and utensils. specialty plates and utensils should not be outsourced. which makes this product line an attractive outsourcing opportunity.. The candidate can be asked what the client should do with the cost savings – potential recommendations include dropping price to steal share. Two notes: 1) costs may increase if the Chinese Yuan rises versus the dollar and 2) these estimates do not include a profit margin for the Chinese outsourcing partner. The candidate should suggest market research to understand consumer behavior. ICC Handbook 2011 Page 92 . The candidate can be asked about the ramifications of longer lead times – they include greater carrying costs. higher cycle and safety stock. the client would save $50 million by outsourcing freezer bags. innovation. and less responsiveness to demand. greater forecast error.25/lb. additional transportation costs. investing to defend its position in case competitors begin outsourcing (e. A more sophisticated recommendation would be to conduct market research to see the impact on sales of the lower quality bag at lower prices – even though quality is more important than price. Risks include lower labor productivity. Therefore. Longer lead times will result in greater forecast errors. brand. possible quality issues. the candidate should size the opportunity – is this a $5 million or a $500 million opportunity? By solving for the last column in Exhibit 1. the magnitude of a price change may override the drop in product quality. mostly driven by inexpensive labor. and more unsold inventory and/or out-of-stocks. the candidate will find that the client would save $0.g. longer lead times. The candidate should also recognize that cost savings alone are not sufficient to make a decision. (25% of current costs) by outsourcing to China. Freezer bags: since customers' top purchase criterion is quality and outsourcing would produce lower quality bags. and potential communication/coordination issues. A secondary benefit is a possible springboard into the emerging Chinese (and other Asian) market. and $25 million by outsourcing specialty plates and utensils. and milking the product line as a cash cow. It is important to understand how an outsourced product will affect sales. Given current production levels.Framework and Analysis The candidate should start with a brief overview of the potential benefits and risks of outsourcing to China. the candidate should raise a red flag here.
removing it may create too much extra capacity in the current plant for the two remaining lines. The final step is to understand the impact of outsourcing on the client's current production capabilities. moving plastic plates and utensils offshore would actually save the client from investing in new facilities. and freezer bags probably should not be. For example. ICC Handbook 2011 Page 93 . However. the client could produce a new product line.An analysis of customer purchase behavior indicates that plastic plates and utensils should be outsourced. but the business has failed to grow over the past few years. rent out the extra capacity.9 Specialty paper sales case (BCG) Problem set-up Your client is a leading manufacturer of specialty papers sold to commercial printers. The client would like to invest in the business and you have been asked to identify opportunities for growth. 10.). Your client's operations are profitable. specialty plates and utensils should not be. will it lead to plant closings (resulting in closing costs and possible negative publicity)? Will it lead to underutilization of current facilities? Since the current plant is already near capacity. since that product line makes up 50% of total production (in terms of lbs. The client produces self-adhesive sheeted papers that are ultimately used in a variety of labeling applications – including the labeling of consumer goods and the printing of self-adhesive signs. To compensate. or move to a smaller plant.
00 0.50 1. primarily driven by the type of printing technology employed . It is interesting to note that this is currently a profitable.GROWING SPECIALTY PAPER SALES Questions and Facts (I) Topic Supply chain Raw mats • Rolls of paper • Adhesive • Non-stick liner Layering • Adhesive and liner applied to rolls Inform ation Sheeting • Rolls of layered paper cut into sheets Packaging Distrib.000 100 Medium (carton) 18.Large printers prefer to receive palletized shipments of specialty paper • The client has approximately 30% market share with small printers and only 10% share with medium and large printers • Margins are currently acceptable but management is against cutting price to gain market share.00 0.50 3. Investment can take many forms including expansion of manufacturing operations and capacity.000 20. knowing that competitors can match price cuts • Price and cost to serve per equivalent box are different for each customer type Market share Client financials GROWING SPECIALTY PAPER SALES Questions and Facts (II) All figures are per equivalent box Small (boxes) Price to printer Materials Coating Sheeting Packaging (direct costs) Gross profit/($ per equivalent box) Number of printers Annual usage (number of equivalent boxes) Total potential profit pool ($) 20.00 5.000 500 Large (pallets) 15.00 0. medium.50 1.50 2.00 20. • The client is not capacity constrained in its manufacturing processes • The client's manufacturing and packaging operations are currently configured to package specialty papers in boxes Customers • There are approximately 24.Medium printers prefer cartons of specialty paper .50 1.000.00 5.00 7. Investment decisions cannot ICC Handbook 2011 Page 94 .000 13.00 5.00 9. and large • Differences among the groups are driven by the type of printing technology employed and the size of print jobs that the printers are able to serve • Printers prefer to receive product from the specialty paper manufacturers in different forms.500.000 3.Small printers prefer to receive their specialty paper in boxes .00 3. and acquisition of competitors.000 commercial printers in the United States • Printers are roughly categorized into three groups: small.000.000 21.00 1.000 Framework and Analysis The problem set-up indicates that the client wants to invest in this business. no-growth business for the client.00 10. expansion of customer-facing activities.50 1.
but not both. The candidate should evaluate the profit pool from serving medium and large customers. For simplicity. Ultimately. Strong hypotheses might include: Assuming the client is not capacity constrained. Client economics and cost to serve each customer group are shown on Exhibit 1. The candidate should recognize that a comprehensive solution evaluates the required investment to serve a particular market segment (packaging line. additional SG&A) against the expected return.000 per year A logical conclusion would be that an investment in a carton packaging line would be a superior investment compared to the palletizing line Potential conclusions: The carton packaging line is a less-risky investment (requires less up-front capital) The solution assumes a static environment. the candidate should decide whether investment is warranted. A strong initial response is to list a set of internal and external factors that must be understood and evaluated.000 per year Investment and operation of the palletizing line would cost $2. the client could capture an additional 20% of the medium or the large printer customer segment The following is given to the candidate: Investment and operation of carton packaging line would cost $675. where. Assuming the client can match its small printer market share. there are likely groups of customers that represent opportunities for profitable growth Depending upon the current go-to-market strategy. this may change the answer The investment in a new carton packaging line would need to be evaluated against other potential investments to understand if it is the optimal use of the client's capital ICC Handbook 2011 Page 95 . the client may need to re-evaluate the way that it is configured to serve existing and potential customers The client can expand its packaging operations to better serve medium or large customers. and if so.be made unless the management team (and the candidate) understands the market conditions as well as the client's internal capabilities This case does not lend itself well to traditional "case solution structures". This should be based upon an assumption about the size of the market that the client can capture. If large printers are growing in number and or usage of specialty paper.300. manufacturing operations. taxes and depreciation are ignored and SG&A is assumed to be fixed.
The discount rate is 10%. each tanker is identical to every other. Scenario II: fixed demand for 650 units of capacity per year (note: change demand-side scenario to this only if student correctly determines value of tanker under first scenario and if time permits). I have just inherited a medium tanker Step 2: To be given as a response to student inquiries: Supply-side information Small 100 1 unit 1 $50. The large tankers can supply 400 units of oil transportation ICC Handbook 2011 Page 96 . there are 3 types of tankers in the world: small. medium.) Step 1: Background and question My grandfather has just died and left me an oil tanker. and large. Within these three classes. and the marginal unit will earn revenue just sufficient to cover its costs. Step 3: Solution Because the market is competitive. and I have hired you to tell me what it is worth.000/trip Number Capacity Number of trips per year Operating cost Demand-side information Scenario I: fixed demand for 500 units of capacity per year (transport costs are a negligible part of total oil-cost structure. The market is highly fragmented and therefore competitive. the market price will be the lowest price sufficient to cause enough capacity to enter the industry to serve the fixed demand. For your information.10 Oil tanker case (Booz & Co. and demand is completely inelastic for purposes of this analysis).10. the large tankers have the lowest cost structure.000/trip Medium 100 2 units 1 $75. I need a valuation for tax purposes. Clearly. followed by the medium tankers and finally the small tankers.000/trip Large 100 4 units 1 $100.
000. Finally. What are the critical issues we should plan to examine to determine if the industry is an attractive one for the CEO to continue to invest and why? 97 ICC Handbook 2011 Page . scrap value only). Half of medium tankers will be employed at rates that just cover their costs.000 per year and be worth $1.000 per year and be worth $250. For completeness. and the small tankers 100 units. and we can say directly that the market-clearing price will be just sufficient to cover the costs of operating such tankers.000. the medium tankers 200 units.) Step 1: Background The CEO of a large. If demand is instead fixed at 650 units. 10.000. and be reasonably creative about asking for the right kind of data to get at least part way to the solution. while the other half sit idle. Specifically. alternatively.000 per unit. the market-clearing price will be $37. he needs to know if he should approve a $200 million capital request for tripling the division's capacity. will earn profits of $50. Medium tankers will earn $25. the small tankers will be the marginal capacity and medium tankers will earn profits and have positive value. Step 2: Question You are a member of the team assigned to this project. students should first demonstrate a good conceptual framework for determining the tanker's value. Students need not get all the way to a numerical answer for the value of the tanker. Note that both the revenue and cost side of the problem need to be understood in order to reach a valuation. Step 4: Discussion This case is a business problem that at its core is a relatively simple problem in microeconomics. The equilibrium price will now rise to $50.000 per year and be worth $500.11 Video game case (Booz & Co. So my tanker has no value (or. Large tankers. and few should be expected to give both answers depending on demand assumptions. then medium tankers will be the marginal capacity. diversified entertainment corporation has asked a team to examine the operations of a subsidiary of his corporation that manufactures video games. Assume you and I are at the first team meeting. large tankers will earn $100. If demand is fixed at 500 units.services. small tankers will not have costs low enough to enter the market and will also be worth zero or scrap value only.500 per unit. Nevertheless. all of which will be employed.000.
000 units annually Industry growth has been strong though over last few months Sales growth has slowed Division's current sales price for the basic unit is $45 per unit Division remains less than 20 percent company sales Top two competitors also develop. to appeal to segments of the market ICC Handbook 2011 Page 98 . new type of remote joy stick). margins have recently been falling Product Hardware standards have been established by the industry leaders Product features are constantly developed (e.000. not on obtaining more information. manufacture and sell software/games though division sells only licensed software Industry growth of software continues to increase Cost Division estimates current cost is $30 fully loaded..g. however. Market share Division is 3rd largest manufacturer of hardware in industry (10 percent market share) Top two producers have 40 and 35 percent market share Remainder is divided by small producers Division sell to broad range of consumers Sales Division sales have increased rapidly over last year from a relatively small base Current estimate is annual sales of 500. though the candidate should focus on identifying issues. Requested expansion should reduce the cost by 5 to 7 percent and triple production of the hardware unit Top two competitors are estimated to have a 10 to 15 percent cost advantage currently Main costs are assembly components and labor Current Division estimates much of initial target market (young families) has now purchased the video game hardware No large new user segments have been identified Distribution Primarily outlets of distribution are top and electronics stores Profitability Division currently exceeds corporate return requirements.000 units Current estimate of industry hardware sales is 5.Step 3: To be given as a response to student inquiries The following information may be given if requested by the candidates.
Step 4: Solution Minimum Requirements: the following issues would need to be covered for candidate to have done an acceptable job: 1) What is future market potential? The candidate needs to question the continuation of overall industry growth. and R&D capabilities (rate of new product introductions. hardware versus software) Price/Volume Relationships Discuss the effect capacity additions can have on overall industry price/volume relationships and on industry price levels Company Ability to Compete Should ask what the capacity expansion is designed to do Explore the cost position of the client division relative to that of other competitors Seek to understand reasons for poor profit performance of division ICC Handbook 2011 Page 99 . 2) What is the competitive outlook? The candidate should at least recognize the need to examine competitive dynamics. yields an industry volume estimate Address the shifting mix of product purchases. i. Better/Outstanding Answers: no bounds on creativity. the division as a secondary player will have to follow these standards Recognize that different distribution needs may exist for different products (in this case. She/he might ask about the saturation of markets. Issue areas might include: concentration of market shares.e. in this case from hardware (player unit) to software Seek to look at buyer behavior in key buyer segments. when combined. control of retail channels. etc. and declining "per capita" usage. In this situation.. 3) What will be the price/volume relationships in the future? Issues of prices need to be considered. but better answers would address: Market Potential Recognize that there is a relationship between market penetration and growth in new users which. "fad" potential of product Software Recognize technology standards are set by industry leaders. competitive products (home computers).).
if our client's position in that industry is sustainable. which are mainly supermarkets and department stores on the one hand and dedicated toy shops on the other hand . but should not be expected to solve the problem. he/she may be asked "how will that analysis help to assess the attractiveness of the industry or our client's position?" 10. Not all households have children. Sales had been rising before. which translates into about 3 million households if you take an average of 3 people per household.Company segments their market into: pre-school (0-6 years. responsible for sales in these markets. If the candidate begins to discuss too deeply a specific issue. especially. and some have more than one. Why are sales like this? How can the client improve the situation? Which elements would you like to analyze? Information to be given as a response to student inquiries: . dolls and vehicles + action figures .Brand image of client is good Question asked: Suppose you are in a meeting with this client and the question arises as to how large the toy market really is in Belgium? How would you determine this? Suggested answer: Let's say that we consider mainly (for this client) the market of 0-14 year old children.Production takes place in Asia . 100 ICC Handbook 2011 Page .Highest volume products are: plastic toys.Company has subsidiaries in main European markets.Step 5: Discussion The primary issue of the case is to determine if the industry is attractive and.Profit margin is ten to fifteen percent .5 children on average in this age category per household.Company is selling traditional toys . There are 10 million people in Belgium. The candidate should identify issues which are necessary for assessing both the industry and our client's position. The sales force visits the distributors of the toys. girls' toys and boys' toys) . and so I guessed that there would be about 0.Industry growth has been flat . before having covered the key issues overall. he/she will probably be brought back to discuss the industry more broadly by questions such as "what other issues must be examined?" If the candidate is discussing issues which seem irrelevant to the attractiveness of the industry. so 1.5 million children.12 Toy manufacturer case Your client is the third largest toy manufacturer in Europe and has come to you because their sales have been stagnant or even declining during the last few years.
which has been the fastest growing segment over the last decade in the toy industry. this step is crucial. Europe and South-East Asia. Penco's CEO has asked you to determine the cause of the decreasing profit in the European pen division. ICC Handbook 2011 Page 101 . What would you think could be a reason of the stagnant sales of the client? Suggested answer: The first one that comes to mind is that the client is not strong in the electronic game business. and to come forward with suggestions to bring it back up. Verify whether you understood the objective of the case and write down the main question. Penco's decreasing profit within the European pen division is caused by flattening sales on one hand. and maybe one more occasion.) Step 1: Background Penco is a global leading manufacturer of writing products. beginning and end of school. Penco's global sales equals € 50 million whereas its profit amounts to € 25 million. So this means that each child receives toys for an amount of about 250 Euros per year. and this could be accumulated by increasing costs on the other. Then I said that each time the parents would spend 50 Euros on average. Step 2: Question Within the European region. or else form a partnership with such a firm. discuss the mayor aspects you would like to study in order to understand the decrease in profit.13 Pen manufacturer case (Booz & Co. sales are flattening and profit is decreasing. Step 3: Set out the broader structure First. take the time to determine your structure and make sure to communicate your plan clearly] Suggested answer Profit is defined by sales minus costs. which gives 5 in total. The mayor activities of Penco's European division are within the manufacturing and sales of disposable pens. Christmas.Then I looked at the gifts they receive and started to enumerate important occasions children at that age get presents from their parents: birthday. 10. The client should consider one of three options: either grow their electronics business themselves. [In a case interview. During the interview. I then multiplied the 250 Euros with the 1. with divisions in North-America.5 million children to find my estimate for the toy market in Belgium of about 375 million Euros. or buy a company that already is specialized in electronic games.
When production utilization increases.Possible causes for flattening sales The number of pens sold is decreasing The price per pen is decreasing An unfavorable shift is taking place within the product mix Possible causes for increasing costs Increasing direct costs Material costs Direct wages Increasing indirect costs Production costs Transportation costs Indirect wages Marketing & Sales costs Overhead costs Excellent addition remark Within the cost-price of a pen. these indirect costs are determined by the utilization of the production capacity. let's first study the opportunities on the sales side a little more. make sure you are asking for a specific answer. the share of indirect costs is substantial. For a great part. such that the costs per product diminishes. the candidate could request the following information What are the segments in which Penco is operational? How aggressive is the competition within these segments? What is the current stage of the pen market? Suggested answer I would like to identify a few possible means to increase sales: Increase sales to existing customers: for example. the indirect costs can be distributed over a greater number of products.] In order to provide a delicate answer to the question. Therefore. [In an interview. attach sales of accessories or fillings to pen sales ICC Handbook 2011 Page 102 . we should test the hypothesis that utilization of the production capacity could be increased. Step 4: Study the means to increase sales in further detail Before looking into possibilities of reducing costs. do not hesitate to ask for it. For example: "Would you want me to look at the sales of pens or would you also be interested in sales of other writing products?" The answer in this case is: "We are only interested in the sales of various kinds of pens". if you think you need more information. However.
Initiate sales to new customers: for example by increasing the number of distribution channels and/or intensifying marketing Selectively increase the prices Launch new products: for example, premium pens Get rid of unprofitable pens within the existing product mix, such that sales will shift from unprofitable pens towards more profitable pens Cut a deal with retailers: for example, attach a pen to a specific notebook within their assortment Excellent addition remark The pen market is highly competitive, especially within the segment of disposable pens –in which Penco is operational. Therefore, to Penco price is extremely important. This makes the sales increase by means of an increase in prices fairly unrealistic. If we would have been looking at premium products (i.e., products with added value which customers are willing to pay for), price would be of minor importance. Study the launch of new products in order to increase sales in further detail There seem to be opportunities within the market of premium pens. In this example, we will assume fountain-pens which are produced in vast volumes, with minimum selling price € 10. Penco does not yet operate within this segment. Let's look into this in some further detail. 1. Estimate the market for premium pens in Europe [This means: Provide an estimate of the number of premium pens sold per annum within Europe] [Be prepared to be solving mathematical problems during the case. It is expected that you will do calculations without the use of a calculator. In client situations, there will often not be a calculator either. Make assumptions and round numbers such that multiplying and dividing is easier. Also, make sure to perform a sanity check after deriving an answer] Suggested answer I will start with some assumptions, and then calculate the estimated number of premium pens sold per annum within Europe: The number of inhabitants of Europe is 400 million Persons below the age of 12 do not possess premium pens This category represents about 15% of the European population (12/80≈15%) On average, 1 out of 4 persons possesses a premium pen On average, a premium pen is utilized over a period of 5 years Over a period of 5 years, the number of premium pens sold in Europe is: 400 million * (100% - 15%) persons * 0.25 pens = 85 million premium pens. This corresponds to a market of 85 million pens over 5 years /5 years = 17 million pens per annum. Let's assume the total market of premium pens within Europe equals 15 million pens. We round down because the assumed average of 1 out of 4 persons possessing a premium pen seems a bit high.
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Excellent addition remark Besides the direct sales of premium pens, the sales of accessories and fillings encompass essential elements of the total size of the market. 2. Consider entry barriers for Penco As Penco is not yet operational within the premium pen segment, Penco will have to enter this market as a new player. In order to determine whether launching premium pens is a successful strategy, we first have to consider the barriers to entry. Suggested answer There are a few considerations regarding barriers to entry: Access to distribution channels Penco holds a distribution network for the current assortment. However, in addition to these channels, premium pens are sold through distribution channels Penco does not yet have access to, such as specialty stores. Therefore, Penco will need to invest in these distribution channels. Market consolidation in the segment of premium pens The size of the market for premium pens is relatively small and highly consolidated by established strong brand names, such as Waterman, Mont Blanc, Cartier and Dunhill. A successful launch of a new premium brand name seems impossible unless great risks are taken by mayor investments in marketing and sales. Access to resources Penco is a global leading company, such that access to resources is not expected to be a problem Image/ reputation of the brand 'Penco' The main obstacle for Penco is the image it has a manufacturer of disposable pens. This existing image makes it extremely difficult to position itself within the market of premium pens. In conclusion, it is difficult for Penco to launch premium pens because the market seems consolidated and dominated by strong brand names. 3. Consider the financial attractiveness of entering the market As consultant, it is important to support the advice you deliver by analyses. From the previous answers, it became clear that launching premium pens is difficult, but it could still be profitable. Would you advice the client to extend the assortment with premium pens? Suggested answer In order to derive a conclusion on the financial attractiveness of entering the market of premium pens, I will estimation Penco's possible market share, its corresponding sales and the resulting profit within premium pens: Penco's market share within premium pens Assume the strong brand names cover a consolidated market share of 80% Assume Penco would indeed be able to position itself and capture a 2% market share
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Penco's sales in premium pens With its 2% market share and a market size of 15 million pens, Penco could sell 300.000 pens. With an assumed average selling price of € 20, this results in € 6 million sales. Penco's profit in premium pens The reason people are willing to pay more for premium pens, is the added value of a special design or a brand name. Premium products usually have a gross profit margin of over 25% (this is the difference between the sales and fixed and variable production costs). The costs of premium pens are mainly determined by the marketing and sales of the product, instead of the manufacturing. Penco will need to make mayor marketing & sales expenses in order to gain market share. Assuming the profit margin after the marketing & sales expenses to be about 5% results in € 300.000 annual profit. Compared to the € 25 million total profit, this is extremely small. In conclusion, launching premium pens is financially not attractive. It seems sensible to study further other possibilities for increasing the sales, or look into the possible means of reducing the costs. Step 5: Study the means to decrease costs in further detail In order to resolve Penco's main problem- that is, its decrease in profit- in the beginning we concluded that there are two sub problems we need to analyze. On one hand, it involves increasing the sales; on the other it enhances reducing the costs. In the previous analysis, we looked into the optimization of sales. We would now like to proceed and question whether we could realize a cost reduction. Suggested answer I will first create a cost breakdown, and then discuss the possible means to decrease those costs Penco's main costs Direct costs Material costs (both for the pens and packaging) Direct wages (wages of e.g. temporary employees) Indirect costs Production costs (machinery, buildings, maintenance of production lines) Transportation costs (both inbound and outbound) Indirect wages (supervision, administration) Marketing & Sales costs Overhead costs Possible means to decrease costs Reduce material costs Use economies of scale Purchase in low-wage country such as China
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Overhead costs: 50% 20% 5% I assume wages in China are about 10% of the wages in Europe [This could be created with the help of the interviewer] The resulting impact of moving to China is as follows: Impact on wages ICC Handbook 2011 Page 106 . Marketing & Sales and Overhead costs Increase efficiency Make use of wage differences among varying groups of employees more efficiently Move production process to low-wage country Study the move to low-wage countries in order to reduce costs in further detail What will be the cost reduction when moving the production process to China? Suggested answer First.g. use skilled persons only where necessary) Move production process to low-wage country Reorganize the production process Consolidate factories Move production process to low-wage country Computerize parts of the production process Reduce transportation. I will assume a cost structure. Marketing & Sales costs. Next I will use these assumptions to discuss the impact of moving to China.Use cheaper material for e. followed by an assumption on the incorporated differences when moving to China. packaging Rationalize the product / packaging design Reduce the complexity of products Reduce wages Make use of wage differences among varying groups of employees more efficiently (replace temporary employees by contracted employees. I assume the following cost structure: [This could be created with the help of the interviewer] Direct costs Material costs: Direct wages: Indirect costs Production costs: 20% Transportation costs: 5% Indirect wages.
A disadvantage is the increase in costs due to increasing distribution costs. such that sales will shift from unprofitable pens towards more profitable pens ICC Handbook 2011 Page 107 . clearly summarize your findings and test whether the outcome answers the initial question. It appeared not to be sensible to enter the market of premium pens. attach sales of accessories or fillings to pen sales Initiate sales to new customers: for example by increasing the number of distribution channels and/or intensifying marketing Launch other new products Get rid of unprofitable pens within the existing product mix. A decrease in indirect wages will imply an additional cost reduction Further impact Reduction in costs could be obtained by the local purchase of materials. In addition. 1. A mayor opportunity to reduce costs is to move the production process to a low-wage country such as China. It will be necessary to further investigate whether the cost reductions above offset the increase in distribution costs Step 6: Summarize and make recommendations What is your advice to Penco's CEO? [At the end of the interview. Other means of increasing sales need further investigation Increase sales to existing customers: for example. Therefore. the change could be used as an opportunity to consolidate factories and better utilize production capacity. Especially in the disposable pens' segment.this needs to be investigated further. Possible means to increase sales: Price optimization seems impossible The pen market is highly competitive. as the market seems consolidated and dominated by strong brand names. it is incredible that an increase in sales could be obtained by a price increase Launch of premium pens seems not worth the effort We studied the possibilities to broaden the Penco's product portfolio by the launch of premium pens. This will imply a decrease in production costs. resulting in a smaller amount of indirect costs per product and an increasing profit margin. price is extremely important. Never forget the main question of the case] Suggested answer The goal of the client was to improve the financial performance of the European pen division.The costs per pen attributable to direct wages will decrease by 18% (20% 10%*20%). The main aspects we investigated are possibilities for an increase in sales and a decrease in costs.
in order to ensure that the future editions incorporate these suggestions and build on the last one. Conclusion The INSEAD Consulting Club Handbook will prove useful to all INSEAD students in finding both summer internships and full-time jobs in consulting. The INSEAD Consulting Club in association with Career Services also organizes a range of useful events through the year which you would also benefit from attending if you are serious about a job in consulting. Please consider this book as one source of preparation for a career in consulting.2. Please make the most of these stimulating events. We would welcome any feedback on improvements or general comments about the book.INSEADConsulting@insead. All the best!! ICC Handbook 2011 Page 108 . ex-consultant INSEAD students sharing 'a day in the life of a consultant' experiences and group crack the case sessions.edu). further reduction in costs could be obtained by the local purchase of materials Other means of decreasing costs need further investigation Use economies of scale Rationalize products Consolidate factories 11. at least 18% of the product costs can be saved Moreover. Possible means to decrease costs: Move production process to a low-wage country such as China captures opportunities With wages 10 times lower than in Europe. Please email the ICC (CLUB. Some of these events include peer to peer mock case interview sessions. in addition to seeking more informal opportunities to practice cases with colleagues and friends.
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