Consulting Prep Book IIM Shillong- 2022

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ConsultingCaseBook,ConQuest.

©2022,ConQuest

Allrightsreserved.

FourthEdition:September2022.

Authors:AanchalChowdhury,AditiPathak,DeepaliSinghBaghel,NavalMittal,ParidhiJain,PratikRathi,ShrutiGupta,VivekBansal,YugadhyaMathuria

Nopartofthisdocumentmaybereproducedortransmittedinpartorinfull,inanyformorbyanymeanselectronicormechanical,including photocopy,recording,transcriptionoranyinformationstorageandretrievalsystemwithoutfullandformalapprovalfromConQuest,IIMShillong.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

ThefourtheditionofConsultingCaseBookbyConQuest theConsultingandStrategyclubofIIMShillong,istheoutcomeofyear roundhardworkby all the members. But such a broad idea starts with a vision, the vision was inculcated in us by our immediate seniors, the ConQuest 2019-21 team consistingofAnkitaMittal,AsawariJoshi,DhruvAnand,KanikaGupta,RakshaShetty,SummitGuptaandYashJain.

WewouldliketoextendoursinceregratitudetoProf.SubhadipMukherjeeforhisconstantguidanceasourfacultymentor.

We would also like to thank the PGP batches of 2020-22 and 2021-23, for sharing their valuable interview experiences and helping us make the case transcriptsasclosetorealityaspossible.

WewouldliketoconveyourspecialthankstoAayushJain,AkritiKulshrestha,KaranAgarwal,PratikBapna,RaghavCharan,andSoumyaPrakashfor theextensivesupporttheyprovidedwiththecontentoftheConsultingCaseBook.

Wewouldalsoliketothankallofouralumniandreadersforalltheirsuggestionsandfeedback.

TeamConQuest

2021-23

EDITOR'SDESK

ConQuest, the Consulting and Strategy Club of IIM Shillong is delighted to present the Consulting Case Book, your ultimate guide to prepare for and crackyourConsultinginterviews.ThefourtheditionoftheConsultingCaseBooklookstobuildonthesuccessofthepasteditionsandincorporatethe feedbacksreceivedregardingthem.Thedocumentrequiresyear-roundhardworkwithanaimtoprovideaholisticviewtothereadersaboutthetypes ofcasesthatareusuallyasked inaconsultinginterviewandalsoequipthemwithresources.

It contains a collection of real-life interview experiences of candidates with some of the leading consulting firms. These interview experiences were collected, analyzed and sanitized for reader's ease. We also have provided all the major frameworks that help the students in analyzing and successfullycrackinganycase.

During our interaction with the candidates, who converted their interviews, we realized that another key factor to excel is to have an overview of industries, particularly the knowledge of value chain elements, segments, cost & revenue streams, growth drivers, major players and government policies.Therefore,wedecidedtodedicateanentiresectiontoanalysisof14industriesthatmostfrequentlyshowupininterviews.

Thedomainknowledgeaboutthecareeradvancementandorganizationalhierarchyisreallyimportantforinterviews&alsoforcandidatestohavea clarityofvision.Hence,wehaveprovidedaConsultingPrimertocoveryouonthisbase.Thiswillalsohelptoalleviatesomeofthegreyareaassociated withconsultingdomain.Lastly,inanyinterviewitisreallyimportanttoknowyourwayarounddomainrelatedterminologythatareused,youcanfinda listofallsuchmajortermsinourGlossarysection.

AtIIMShillong,thevisionofgreatergoodisinculcatedinstudentssincedayone,webelievethatthebenefitsoftheworkputinbyourteamshouldnot beboundbycampus.Wehopeanyonewhoreadsthecasebookfindsitinsightful.

PRIMER

WhatisConsulting?

Consulting is a process of providing business advice and helping clients solve a business problemincludingtech,IT,operations,strategy domains.

Consultantsareusuallyreferredtoas'Problem Solvers'

Consultants use various approaches to help thebusiness,itcouldbeintheformofprimary and secondary research, logic and business sense and provide an insight on how to approachandsolveabusinessproblem.

Consultantsworkacrossawiderangeofroles, projects, industries, sectors, geographies to analyze information, and help the client to achievedesiredgoal.

It requires both analytical and people skills. Theconsultingprocessinvolvesunderstanding and comprehending a client’s problem, using tools like Excel and PPT to analyze and then presentinfrontofclient.

The end to end role of a consultant majorly includes defing the business problem, collecting and analyzing data to better understand the problem, provide recommend andplantheimplementation.

TypesofConsulting

StrategyConsulting:

Anupperleveldecisionmakingshowingbroaderpicture, helpsinM&Adecisions,marketentryorexit,etc.

FinancialConsulting:

Providing information and advice on investment strategies, audits, taxes, actuarial, valuation and risk management,etc.

ITConsulting:

Tech consulting, IT advisory, business technology, cyber security, data analytics, designing, advising best use of tech

OperationConsulting:

Improveoperationalefficiency,supplychain,distribution. ItincludesHR,Marketingoperationstoo

HRConsulting:

Employee Management, compensation and recruitment, outsourcingroles,employeesatisfaction

Amongalargepoolofconsultingcompaniesinvariousdomains,someofthemajoronesarelistedbelow:

Management&StrategyConsulting

FinancialConsulting

TechnologyConsulting

ProsofConsulting

Networking:

Workingwithmultipleteams

Interactionwithseveraldifferentstakeholders

Solving a problem requires inputs from people working in several domains, good number of connections in a smaller amountoftime

Diversityinwork:

Exposureinseveralindustry/fields

Typeofprojectslikeoperations,entry/exit,growthstrategy

Hardwork:

ConsofConsulting

When you work in the consulting domain, it generallyentails:

Long working hours can span more than 12 hoursperday

High Pressure environment with stricter deadlines

Diversified project means that you have to putaneffortinlearningwhiledoingjob

Travel:

SteepLearningCurve:

Workingoncomplexbusinessproblems

Developingstronganalyticalandcommunicationskills

Frequent travelling within smaller time span affects the efficiency and could be stressful foranyone

Problems like staying away from family and travelling to remote locations are frequent issues that come while working in this domain

Moreleadershipposition

FrontEndRole:

olesinConsulting

Directlyintouchwithclients

Have the responsibility to present the work done by theteam

BackEndSupportRole:

Specializationinspecificskillslikedomainknowledge, dataanalytics,etc.

KnowledgeTeam:

Releasepapers,sectoralissues,research,etc.

Monitor economic and other macro factors and provideinputstothefirm

SupportStaff:

Prepareclientpowerpointpresentations,decks,videos, promotionalactivities,etc.

ExpertSupport:

Industry domain experts like food, automobile, textile, renewables,etc.

R o l e s g e n e r a l l y o f f e r e d i n B S c h o o l s Director

Manager

Consultant

Buildingcorporatestrategylike

etc.

Associate

Betterclientinteraction,derivinginsights Partner

fromindepthanalysis,etc.

Analyst

Datacollection,documentation,problem solving,etc.

ConQuest, IIM Shillong Page 112022 2023 ROLESINCONSULTINGANDCAREERAHEAD Principal

RCareerAhead

CVShortlist:

Shortlist

HIRING PROCESS

CaseInterview:

Candidatewillbegivenacaseproblem,guesstimates,etc. It judges verbal, quantitative ability, business knowledge, communicationskills&eyefordetailsofthecandidate BooksandMockInterviewsarethewaytoprepare

FitInterview:

Matching candidates personality, skills, with that of firm, culturalfit

Leadershipandothersoftskillsaremeasured

Hiring

HiringDecision:

Basedontheperformanceinrespectiverounds

SoftSkills:

Goodcommunicationskills

Teamwork

Generally,ininterviewsaskingrightquestions reflecttheseabilities

Participationinextra-curricularactivitieslike sports,showsteamwork

Whatdocompanieslookfor?

Practicalityandeffectiveness:

Modularity:

Can you break the problem into smaller modules which could be easily understoodandhelpsinsolvingtheproblem

Feasibility:

Areyoumakingassumptionswhicharemakingsense?

like assuming there are 10 states in India, only 10 universities in the country, doesn’tbodewellinfrontofinterviewer

BUSINESS

FRAMEWORKS

BUSINESSFRAMEWORK1:PESTEL

To guage the MACRO ENVIRONMENT in which the company is operating. It includes an indepth analysis of the factors impacting the firm and its competitveenvironment.

PoliticalFactors

Public policies, Taxes, Fiscal policies, Politicalclimate,FDIpolicyetc.

EnvironmentalFactors

Weather, climate change, and their associatedfactors.

PESTEL ANALYSIS

LegalFactors

Laws & Regulations like labor laws, antitrustlaws,health&safetyetc.

EconomicFactors

Interest rates, inflation, unemployment rate,exchangerate,stock&bondmarket.

Socio-CulturalFactors

Societal values, attitudes, culture, lifestyle, demographicfactorsetc.

TechnicalFactors

Technical changes and developments, geneticengineering,patents&copyrights

PESTELITCExample

PoliticalFactors

High taxation on cigarettes, advertisement banoncigarettes,100%FDIallowedinfood processing, production linked scheme in FMCGsector

EnvironmentalFactors

Increased rules and regulations in packaging and operations of the FMCG industry. Water re-usage facilitiesrainwater harvesting and treatment facilties

PESTEL ANALYSIS

LegalFactors

Cigarettes are highly legalised and most debatable sector in the country , health & safetyissuesinthebusiness

EconomicFactors

India among top 3 tobacco producers in the world, 77% of ITC cigarettes in India, FMCGisthelargestsectorinIndia

Socio-CulturalFactors

Increasedconsumptionofpackagedfoods, increased awareness for ill effects of tobacco consumption, status symbols worksinfavourofITChotels

TechnicalFactors

E-Choupal to target agri-tech startups, growthinadoptionofdigitalsupplychains, operational & logistical efficiency in manufacturingfacilities

BUSINESSFRAMEWORK2:PORTER'SFIVEFORCES

ToguagetheCOMPETITIVEENVIRONMENTandtheMARKETFORCESintheindustrylandscape.Ithelpstodetermineiftheparticularcompanyortheindustry isattractiveornot.

BargainingPowerofSuppliers

Asuppliergroupispowerfulif:

Therearefewersubstitutableproducts

BargainingPowerof Buyers

Abuyergroupispowerfulif:

It is concentrated or purchase large volumes asa%ofseller’ssales

Undifferentiatedproducts

Lowswitchingcosts

Buyers pose a credible threat of backward integration

The industry's product is unimportant to the quality of the buyer's productsorservices

Buyers are fewer in number as compared to manufacturers.

Buyerprofits

Theindustryisnotanimportantcustomerofthesuppliergroup

Thesuppliergroupisanimportantinputtothebuyer’sbusiness

The supplier’s products are differentiated and have high associatedswitchingcosts

Thesuppliergroupposesacrediblethreatofforwardintegration

IntensityofRivalry

Rivalryamongexistingcompetitorsincreasesif:

Numerousorequallybalancedcompetitorsexist Industrygrowthisslow

Fixedcostsarehigh

Undifferentiatedproductsandlowswitchingcosts

Brandidentity

ThreatofSubstitutes

Substituteproductsthatdeservethemostattentionarethosethat:

Competeinpricewiththeindustry’sproducts

Areproducedbyindustriesearninghigherproducts

Switchingcosts

BarrierstoEntry

Thereareanumberof factorsthatdeterminethe degreeofdifficultytoenter anindustry:

EconomiesofScale

Productdifferentiation

Capitalrequirements

Accesstodistribution channels

Costadvantages independentofscale (uniqueaccesstoraw materials)

Proprietytechnologies

Relationshipwith suppliersofraw materials

Geographicalpresence Timecompression diseconomies

Governmentregulations

Legalorregulatory barriers

Strongbrandidentity TradePolicies

BargainingPowerof Buyers-MediumtoHigh

Easytoswitchbetween productsofFMCGcategory

Strongbrandimagein Cigarettes,Aashirvaad atta,Classmate,Savlon etc.

Brandsrunoncustomer loyaltyandhencebrand runsonpremiuminthese segments

Marketpotentialofthe FMCGandtobacco businessishigherand henceplentyofcustomer available

BargainingPowerofSuppliers-Low

Lessconcentrationofsuppliers

Directdistributionhasreducedbargainingpowerofsupplier

Switching costs are low since product differentiation is low, ITC usesstandardisedrawmaterialsforproduction

Plentyofsuppliersavailableforthesametypeofmaterials

BarrierstoEntry-High

IntensityofRivalry-High

Enoughvarieties&productdifferentiationavailableinthemarket

Strong R&D, marketing strategies adopted by rivals to gain marketshare

Substitutesavailableforalmostallproductsineachcategory

Marketfilledwithbrands likeHUL,P&G,ITCwhich havestrongbrandimage creatingdisadvantagefor anyoutsideentry

Massivecapital investmentrequiredinthe sector

Entryintobaccosectoris difficultduetohigh regulationsandincreased awarenessregardingthe downsideofthesector Industryworksona distributormodeland hencequalitydistribution channelisverydifficultto achieve

ThreatofSubstitutes-High

HerbalproductsfromHimalaya,Patanjali,HULandP&Getc. ITCHotels OberoiGroups,LeelaHotels,TajHotels

Tobacco-Kothariproducts,GodfreyPhillips,VSTIndustry,Golden TobaccoCompany

The BCG growth-share matrix is a product portfolio planning framework that helps companies decide how to prioritize their different businesses. Each quadrantinthematrixrepresentsaceratindegreeofprofitability.Theframeworkallowsbetterallocationofresources&capitaltogeneratemostvalue.

HighGrowthRate

QUESTIONMARK

Companies should invest in or discard these“questionmarks,”dependingontheir chancesofbecomingstars. Thesearegenerallynewproducts.

DOG

Companies should liquidate, divest, or repositionthese“pets.”

These products are generally considered asfailures.

STAR

Companies should significantly invest in these “stars” as they have high future potential.

CASHCOW

Companies should milk these “cash cows” forcashtoreinvest.

Funds brought from here can be used for STARS.

QUESTIONMARK

FMCG Foodprocessing

Lifestyle

Infotech

DOG

HighGrowthRate

STAR Hotels Agribusiness Paperboard&Packagingproducts

CASHCOW

LowGrowthRate

ConQuest, IIM Shillong Page 192022 2023 BUSINESSFRAMEWORK3:BCGMATRIXITCExample Cigarettes Tobaccoproducts

SWOTANALYSIS

Aplanningprocessforcompaniestoanalysetheirinternalandexternalenvironmentswhilemakingbusinessdecisions.Ithelps tounderstandchallenges andnewpursuits.

HELPFUL HARMFUL

Strength

Internal factors that give an edge tothefirmintheindustry

Brand Reputations, Resources and Capabilities, Economies of scale andscopeetc.

Weakness

Internalfactorsthatareaweaklink forfirm'scompetitiveness

High attrition rates, lesser returns, etc.

Opportunities Threat

External factors and conditions that are favourable for the firm in achievingitsgoals&missions

Market trends, economic trends , growthopportunities, etc

External factors and conditions thatarenotfavourable forthefirm in growth&profitability

Newlegislations,restrictions,etc.

HELPFUL HARMFUL

Strength

Strongbrandimage

Well diversified range of products &services

IncreasingYoYrevenues Lowdebt HighCSRpresence

Weakness

Highdependenceontobacco segment

Strongcorrelationofthebrand withthecigarettebusiness Hotel,FMCGbusinessunder pressure

Opportunities Threat

Growthopportunitydueto acquisitionslikeSavlonfromJ&J

Increasingpurchasingpowerof middleclasssegmentinIndia

RisingconsumptioninruralIndia

Growthinhygiene,perosnalcare, beautyproducts

Increasingcompetitioninthehotel industryduetoentryofforeign players

Increasingrules&regulationsfor tobacco&packagingindustry IntensecompetitioninFMCG sector

Toevaluateoverallaspectsofthebusinessmodel,givingahighlevelviewofthebusiness,hencehelpingindecisionmakingprocess.

Company

Whatisthebusiness

Segments

BusinessModel

Context

CoveredinPESTELanalysis

Company

Operatesintobacco,hotels, FMCG,stationery,agriproduct Increaseindisposableincome, brandimage , and operational efficiencyare somegrowthfactors.

Competition

HUL,TajHotels,Godfrey, ColgatePalmoliveetcare majorcompetitors

Customer TrustbuiltinAashirvaadatta, customerloyaltyinGoldFlake. Targetsegmentfrom1-5yrsin babycareproducts

Strongbrandimage

BUSINESSMODELCANVAS

Tounderstandtheoverallbusinessmodelofacompany.Itoffersavisualdescriptionofthefirm'selementsoraproduct'svalueproposition.

KeyPartners KeyActivities

Whatarethekey partnersthat motivatesthem& supportsthemintheir business

Whoarethekey suppliers

Whatarethematerials procuredfromthem

Whataretheeveryday activitiesforrunning theorganization

KeyResources

Whatarethekey resourcesconsumed fortheproduct manufacturingand dailyoperationsofthe company

Whataretheproducts andservicesofferedby thecompany

Howdoesthecompany establishandsustain suchrelationships

ValuePropositions CustomerRelationships Channels

Whatarethechannels usedbythecompany tocommunicateacross thevaluechain

CustomerSegments

Whatarethecustomer segmentswhichthe companytargetsforits productsandservices

CostStructure RevenueStreams

Whatisthecoststructureofthecompany-isitfixedorvariable?

Whatarethemajorcostintensiveactivitiesandresources

ConQuest, IIM Shillong Page 242022 2023 BUSINESSFRAMEWORK6: Whatarethemajorandminoractivitiesthroughwhichthecompany earnsitsrevenues

KeyPartners KeyActivities

MajorJointPartners:

ITCEssentraLtd., GujaralHotels, InternationalHouse Ltd. Subsidiaries:ITC Infotech,RussellCredit Ltd.,etc. Investors Suppliers Distributors

Customers Employees

ProductDevelopment Marketing& promotionalactivities

R&Dactivities CSRactivities

KeyResources

TangibleResources: Financial,intellectual, rawmateriallike wheat,paper,tobacco etc.

IntangibleResources: Humanresources, skillsetc.

ValuePropositions CustomerRelationships

HotelBusiness:ITC

hotels

FMCG:Foods,Personal care.education& stationary,Lifestyle retailing,agarbattis etc. Agri:Commodities& services,e-choupal, ITCanalytics ITCbrandworld Information Technology

MarketingCampaigns

Advertisements

CustomerSafety CSRactivities

CustomerSegments

B2Bcustomers Agegroup:5-60years Location:PanIndia Gender:Acrossall genders

Channels

Distributionnetworks ITCapp Retailstores

Costofrawmaterials

CostStructure RevenueStreams

Cigarettebusiness

OtherFMCGbusiness

Agribusiness

Hotelbusiness

Depriciationcost

ConQuest, IIM Shillong Page 252022 2023 BUSINESSFRAMEWORK6:BUSINESSMODELCANVASITCExample Paper&Packagingbusiness

EXISTING

NEW

MarketPenetration ProductDevelopment

Conceptofsellingexisting productsinexistingmarkets

Itinvolvesincreasingmarketshare Thiscanbedonebysellingmore products/servicestoestablished customersorbyfindingnew customerswithinexistingmarkets.

PRODUCT M A R K E T

Developingnewproductsinthe existingmarket

Itcaninvolvethemodificationofan existingproductsothatitcan appealmoretothealreadyexisting market

MarketDevelopment Diversification

Itinvolvesfindingnewmarketsfor theexistingproducts

Abasicassumptionisthatthe existingmarketshavebeenfully exploited

Itinvolvesreachingnewmarkets withnewproductsatthesame time

Itcanbeof2types related diversification&unrelated diversification

EXISTING

PRODUCT

NEW

MarketPenetration ProductDevelopment

Discountschemesontheproducts Augmentedpromotions Diverseproductportfoliocreates highbarrierstoentry

A R K E T

MarketDevelopment

ITC'sAgriBusinessDivision,haseChoupal,aninitiative tolink directlywithruralfarmersviathe Internetforprocurementof agriculturalandaquaculture products.Thiswillhelpdevelopthe marketintheruralsector

ITCintroducedready to eat gourmetcuisine‘KitchensofIndia’ whichspecialisesinbringingtolife age-oldIndiandishesfromacross thecountry.ITCdevelopedthisnew productforanexistingRTEmarket

Diversification

DiversificationofITCintoindustries likehotels,tobacco,technologyetc hasprovedtobeasuccessforitas aconglomerate

Products Price Promotion Place

Define the product and its quality to introduce to the customer

Whoneedsit&why?

Differentiation from the competitor

ITC EXAMPLE

Amount that the consumers are willing to pay for the product

Consideration for real and perceived price while also considering supply costs, seasonal discounts, competitors' prices, and retail mark up

To communicate to the customersabouttheproduct Encompasses advertising, publicrelations,andtheoverall media strategy for introducing aproduct.

Determines where the product should be made available: brick & mortar and/or online platforms

The goals is to make the product available to right customersegmentbyfocusing attherightplace

Products Price Promotion Place

Dynamicbusinessandproduct mix

FMCG, Agri business, Hotels, Information technology, paperboardsandpackaging

Productlength&depthineach segment

ITC has different price points because of its diversified productmix

Covers all price brackets, with a majority in premium segment

ITC promotes its product through Print, television and radio

Different brands have different brandambassadors

ITC launches digital programs forincreasedparticipation

Unmatched distribution network

Products reach to 4 million retailstoresinIndia

E choupals ensure timely supply of high quality raw materials

INDUSTRY SNAPSHOTS

MajorPlayers

Inbound Operations Outbound Marketing Services

OperatingMetrics

UnionBudget2022

BiometricBoarding

Plannedinvestment

ActivityinAAIairports

AirIndia 9,557

Indigo 25,930 Spicejet 6,603

1,887 V5,226 istara

Rs. 10,667 Cr. to Ministry of Civil Aviation,Rs. 601 Cr. forUDAN(RegionalConnectivityScheme)

Plans to introduce biometric boarding using facial technology.Projectintestingphase.

Planning to invest USD 1.83 bn in airport infrastructureandnavigationservicesby2026

KeyDevelopments

Low costCarriers(LCC)aredrivinggrowthintheairlineindustry DomestictrafficcarriedbyLCCshasgrownataCAGRof22.8%, therebyincreasingtheirmarketshareby84.4%inFY2020

EntryofAkasaAir,potentialrelaunchofJetAirways,takeoverof Air India by the TATA group and chances of merger among TATAairlineswillchangethecompetitivelandscapeofindustry

Despite rising fuel cost, depreciation of INR against USD and Russia Ukraine war, the Indian Aviation sector is set to recover fullybymid 2022fromthepandemiceffects.

As per a report from ICRA, the Indian aviation industry's FY '23 net loss is pegged at Rs. 15,000-17,000 cr. as compared to Rs. 23,000cr.inFY'22.

ConQuest, IIM Shillong Page 302022 2023 INDUSTRYSNAPSHOT:Aviation Maintenance

Marketing&

MajorPlayers

Company Market share

Market segment

Supplier

Warehouse management

Electronics Primary production Suspension Brakingsystem

Secondary Production (welding, machining) Body/Chassis

Warehousing Distribution Dealership Management

Advertising, promotion Insurance Financing After-sales services

MarutiSuzuki 43%

INDUSTRYSNAPSHOT:Automobile R&DandRaw materialsupply Auto Components Product Assembly Logistics& Transportation BajajAuto 35% 3-Wheelers

PassengerCars 42% Commercial vehicles

KeyDrivers

OperatingMetrics

Employeecost

UnionBudget2022

BharatNCAP

TATAMotors

GovernmentInitiatives

Introduction of battery-swapping policy to make EVsmoreviableforpotentialcustomers

AnnouncedinFeb2022,planstorolloutIndia'sown vehiclesafetyassessmentprogramme

PLIScheme

MajorSegments(FY'22)in%

Scheme worth Rs. 25,938 Cr. launched in Sep 2021 forautomobileandautocomponents

KeyDevelopments

GST on electric vehicles reduced from 12% to 5% and on chargers/chargingstationshasbeenreducedfrom18%to5%

Tata Motors has signed MoU with the Gujarat government for the potential acquisition of Ford India’s Sanand plant in May 2022

MG Motors, owned by China's SAIC Motor Corp, announced planstoraiseUSD350-500mninprivateequityinIndiatofund itsfutureneeds,includingEVexpansion,inMar2022

TVS Motor Company acquired a 75% stake in the e-bike maker Swiss e-Mobility Group (SEMG) at a valuation of USD 100 mn in Jan2022

ConQuest, IIM Shillong Page 72022 2023 HeroMotoCorp 35% 2-Wheelers

Yesbank ₹273,543

As per Union Budget 2021-22, the government will disinvest IDBI Bank and privatisetwopublicsectorbanks&has carriedoutconsolidation,reducing thenumberofPublicSectorBanksbyeight.

Inbudget'2022-23,Indiahasannounced forcentralbankdigitalcurrency (CBDC)whichwillbepossiblyknowasDigitalRupee

National payments corporation India (NPCI) plans to launch UPI lite for offlineUPIservicesfordigitalpayments(uptoRs.200(US$2.67))

Total assets across the banking sector (including public and private sector banks) increased to US$ 2.48 trillion in FY21. During FY16 FY21, bank credit increased at aCAGRof0.29%.

According to India Ratings & Research(Ind Ra),creditgrowthis expected to hit 10% in 2022 23 whichwillbeadoubledigitgrowth ineightyears.

The Indian banking system consists of 12 public, 22 private, 46 foreign,56regionalrural, 1485 urban cooperative & 96,000 rural cooperativebanks. The total number of ATMs in India reached 213,145 out of which 47.5% are in rural and semiurbanareas.

MajorPlayers

GovernmentInitiatives

UnderOpenNetworkforDigitalCommerce(ONDC)-Equalopportunity toall,bysettingprotocolsforcataloguing,vendor&pricediscovery

100%FDIallowedinB2B&marketplacemodels

AmendmentsinEqualisationLevyRules,2016:Foreignfirmsoperating ecommerceinIndia,aremandatorilytohavePAN.

Rs.1500cr.budgetFY22toincentivizeonlinepayments&initiativesto boostbroadbandpenetrationinruralIndia

Raw Material

Ironore–haematite CoalCoke Limestone Scrap

ValueChain

IronProduction Steel Production

Smallcomponent asplantissetclose tolimestone quarry Rail/roadways usedforother materials

OxygenFurnace: Moltenironand oxygen ElectricArc Furnace:Steel makingfrom scrap

KeyGrowthDrivers

SCM&Logistics Sales

Inbound,outbound Demandplanning Service&Delivery WarehouseMgmt. Ocean/Rail/Road

Pricingofall products Salesteam efficacy CustomerService SupportTools

GlobalScenario

Determinent Fact

MarketSize

Geographies Segments

Trends

China,India, Japan,USA

ERawMaterialCost conomicGrowth

Revenue GCost rowth Construction SaleofBy PProducts olicysupport Salary&Wages

Pallets RPowerandFuel ising HDI

EmergingTrends

Focus

Increasingconsolidation&globalplayerentry Expansion and upgradation of facilities by private playerstoreduceimportreliance

Acapacityof300MTPAistargetedby2030,requiring aninvestmentof$156billionby2030-31

ncreasingInvestment

Steelforcapitalgood IFinancecosts

Disruptions

Consolidation of players: Strategic objectivesrelatedtoM&A’saretogrowat aratefasterthananorganicgrowthrate, Growth Opportunities: Efforts by Govt to makesectorefficient&competitive.

Investmentincrease: Expansion and upgradation of facilities by private players toreduceimportreliance

Import & Export: Steel Scrap Policy to reduceimport.30%exportdutytoensure internalsupply

Govtpolicychange

PM Awas Yojana to boost sector growth and Steel Scrap Policy to reduce import. 30% export duty to ensureinternalsupply

IndustryDynamics

MarketSize&Forecast Facts

Industry is capital intensive. Rs 7000 Cr required for 1 tonne capacity(Greenfield)

For1tonnesteelproduced,3tonnes of raw material transportedexpensive,arduous

Environmentalconcerns Second biggest consumer of electricity.HighCarbonFootprint

On average, 1.83 tons of CO2 is emitted for every ton of steel produced; over 3,3 million tons annually to global emissions.

As of April 2022, India was the world's secondlargest producer of crude steel, with an outputof10.14MT

ConQuest, IIM Shillong Page 342022 2023 INDUSTRYSNAPSHOT:Iron&Steel ProminentPlayers

R&D Procurement Manufacturing Distribution

ValueChain Promotions Advertisement Branding Complaints/

Channeldistributor, retailer&ecommerce

Sales& Marketing

MajorPlayers Company MarketShare

ITC HUL Marico PatanjaliAyurved Nestle Britannia Other

KeyGrowthDrivers

OperatingMetrics

14% 12% 5% 4% 3% 3% 59%

GovernmentInitiatives

Inbudget22 23,Rs.1,725crore(US$222.19million)hasbeenallocatedtothe

DepartmentofConsumerAffairs

In budget 22-23, Rs. 215,960 crore (US$ 27.82 billion) has been allocated to theDepartmentofFoodandPublicDistribution

InFY2021 22,thegovernmentapprovedProductionLinkedIncentiveScheme forFoodProcessingIndustry(PLISFPI)

InNov'2021,FlipkartsignedanMoUwiththeMinistryofRuralDevelopment to empowerlocalruralbusinesses&SHGs

MajorSegments MarketSize&Forecast Facts

The revenue CY of FMCG industry India is estimated to be US$ 110 billion

The FMCG market in India is expected to increase at a CAGR of 14.9% to reach US$ 220 billion by 2025,fromUS$110billionin2020& processedfoodmarket toUS$470 billionby2025,fromUS$263billion in2019-20

The FMCG sector accounts for the fourth largest sector in the economy FMCG includes consumer products & the import export market.

ConQuest, IIM Shillong Page 352022 2023 INDUSTRYSNAPSHOT:FMCG Asia drives growth for Global FMCG with China, India & Indonesia arethebiggestones.

ary/Tertiary

In-patientcare Out-patient

ValueChain Billing Monitoring& Discharge Follow-upvisits

ClinicalSupport Equipment& Supplies

KeyDrivers

UnionBudget2022

MajorPlayers Company MarketCap(Rs.Cr.)

ApolloHospital 62,871

Maxhealthcare 42,659

NarayanHrudalay 14,285

OperatingMetrics

WorldBankLoan

eSanjeevani

Telemedicine

SectorGrowthTrend(USDBn)

GovernmentInitiatives

Ayushman Bharat was allotted Rs. 6,412 Cr. & NationalHealthMissionallottedRs.37,000Cr.

World Bank approved USD 1 bn loan towards AyushmanBharatHealthInfrastructureMission

Enables patient to doctor consultations from home&doctor-to-doctorconsultations

KeyDevelopments

Blackstone, CVC, Temasek & Max are in the fray for potential take over of Care Hospital (15 hospitals in India & 2 in Bangladeshwith2,400beds)atavaluationof~Rs.7,500cr.

InAug2022,thegovernmentidentified139drugformulationson which trade margin rationalization (TMR) will be fixed between 33 50%onpricetodistributorsinordertoreducedrugprices

In Aug 2022, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Boar acquired a significant majority stake in Sahyadri Hospitals Group, the largestprivatehospitalchaininMaharashtrafor~Rs.2,500Cr.

US PE major KKR sold its entire 27% stake in hospital chain Max Healthcare and raised around Rs 9,000 crore from the stake salewhichtookplaceviablockdealin3tranchesinAug2022

ConQuest, IIM Shillong Page 362022 2023 INDUSTRYSNAPSHOT:Healthcare Appointment Booking Hospital Visit Diagnostics Treatment PostTreatment Walk-in Traditional Scheduling Schedulingvia appslikePracto Primary/Second F22,946 ortisHealth AsterDM 12,647

KeyGrowthDrivers

MajorPlayers

Marriott IHCL(TajHotels)

HyattHotels EIH(Oberoi)

Others

GovernmentInitiatives

CampaignssuchasSwadeshDarshan,atheme-basedtouristcircuitwas launchedtoharnessthetourismindustry’spotential

100%FDIallowedinB2B&marketplacemodels

Thegovernmentintroducedaschemetoboostthetourismsectorby providingone monthfreetouristvisato5lakhtouristsuntilMarch31,2022

Rs.2,400crore(US$309.13million)hasbeenallocatedtotheMinistryof Tourismwhichis18.42%higherthantheallocationforFY2021-22.

IndustryDynamics

MarketSize&Forecast Facts

IndianHospitalitysectorhasatotal market size of $50 billion with expectedgrowthrateof11%.

The travel market in India is projectedtoreachUS$125billionby FY27 from an estimated US$ 75 billion

International tourist arrivals are expected to reach 30.5 million by 2028.

The United Nations World Tourism Organisation selected Pochampally in Telanganaasoneofthe besttourismvillages

India was globally the third largest in terms of investment in travel and tourism

Inbound Logistics Operations GuestServices Marketing& Sales Distribution ConQuest, IIM Shillong Page 372022 2023 INDUSTRYSNAPSHOT:Hospitality&Tourism Food& beverage Fuel Essentials Reservations Servicesand feedback Laundryoperation Revenue management Stafftraining CheckIn/Check Out F&Bservices Laundryservices Transportation services Advertisements Promotions& discounts Loyalty programs Tourpackages ValueChain OnlineTravel Aggregators (OTAs) Direct(Website/ app/telephone) •Walk-ins 23% 16% 9% 8% 45%

VisaHandling

Pitching& acquiringnew

Communication

Development Livetestingat client'send Bugfixes Fulldeployment

UnionBudget2022

STPScheme

CyberLab

OperatingMetrics

MajorSegments

AllocationtotheIT&telecomsectorofRs.88,568 Cr.

100% export-oriented scheme for export and developmentofcomputersoftware

Plan to build a cyber-lab for 'Online Capacity BuildingProgrammeonCyberLaw'

KeyDevelopments

Ranked2ndinFDIinflowsbetweenApril2000 March2022worth USD 85.5 Bn. Computer software and hardware make up 14.5% ofthecumulativeFDIinflows.

HCL Technologies to acquire Swiss digital wealth management firmConfinaleAGforUSD53.9mnasannouncedinMay2022.

LarsenandToubroInfotechLtd(LTI)andMindtreeLtdagreedto merge to form India’s 5th most valuable software company in May2022.

ConQuest, IIM Shillong Page 382022 2023 INDUSTRYSNAPSHOT:InformationTechnology Operations Setup Customer Acquisition CRM Service Delivery After-sales service Infrastructure setup TalentAcquisition EmployeeTraining Talentretention Union Bank of India launched a Metaverse Virtual Lounge and Open Banking Sandbox environment in partnership with Tech MahindrainJuly2022.

MajorPlayers Company MarketShare

&Claims

NewIndiaAssurance

OperatingMetrics

Adjudication

Product Development Distribution& Sales Marketing Underwriting Policyadmin. 18% 16% 11% 10% 8% 6% 31%

StarHealth UnitedIndia NationalInsurance OrientalInsurance HDFCErgoGeneral Others

In 2022, the Indian government plans to sell a 7% stake in LIC for Rs. 50,000 crore(US$6.62billion).Thisisthelargestinitialpublicoffering(IPO)inIndia.

India's Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority (IRDAI) has announcedtheissuance,throughDigilocker,ofdigitalinsurancepolicies UnderUnionBudget2021,fundofRs.16,000crore(US$2.20billion)hasbeen allocatedforcropinsurancescheme

In August 2021, the Parliament passed the General Insurance Business (Nationalisation)AmendmentBill

MajorSegments

MarketSize&Forecast Facts

India’s insurance penetration was pegged at 4.2% in FY21, with life insurance penetration at 3.2% and non-lifeinsuranceat1.0%.Interms ofinsurancedensity,India’soverall densitystoodatUS$78inFY21.

The life insurance industry is expected to increase at a CAGR of 5.3%between2019and2023

India is the secondlargest insurance technology market in Asia-Pacific It accounts for 35% of the US$ 3.66 billion insurtech focused venture investments madeinthecountry.

OperatingMetrics

Generation Transmission Distribution

UnionBudget2022

Replacementof thermalunits

PriorityLending

Allocation of Rs. 19,500 Cr. for the PLI scheme of solarmodulesmanufacturing

Identification of 81 thermal units generation to replacecoalwithrenewablesby2026

Increase loan limit for renewables sector under prioritylendingfromcurrentlimitofRs.30Cr.

MajorSegments

KeyDevelopments 2.82 crore households electrified under Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana 'Saubhagya' with an aim to achieve universalhouseholdelectrification.

Energy sector projects with capital expenditure of Rs. 111 lakh crores (USD 1.4 trn) has been approved under the National InfrastructurePipeline(accountforhighestshareof24%)

The Union Power Ministry said the peak power demand deficit stood at 0.4% in 2020-21, compared to 16.6% in 2007-08 and 10.6%in2011-12.

The Government of India is preparing a 'rent a roof' policy for supportingitstargetofgenerating40gigawatts(GW)ofpower throughsolarrooftopprojectsby2022.

Exploration Production Transportation Storage Refiningand Marketing

Identificationof onshore/off-shore site

Seismicsurveysto assesspotential

Project sanctioning Create infrastructure Strike‘FirstOil’

ValueChain MajorPlayers Company MarketShare

Crudeis transportedby tankers,pipelines, trucks,and railroads.

Crude:Storage atportsinlarge tanks Gas:Preservedin reservoirs (artificialor natural)

Refinesraw material:Petrol, Diesel&LPG Distil&convert byBP

KeyDrivers KeyDevelopments

Revenue GCost rowth

SupportiveFDI

GrowingDemand

Others(LPG,

MarketTrends

MajorSegments

PolicySupport

28% 27% 11% 6% 8% 4% 15%

Allowed 100% Foreign Direct Investment under automaticroute.

Commercialise 50% of its SPR to raise funds & buildadditionaltankstooffsethighprices.

Customs duty on certain critical chemicals were reduced.

Industry-SubSectors

Upstream: Also known as the sector for exploration and production.Involveslookingbelowthesurfaceoftheearthorin the water, drilling exploratory wells, assessing their economic potential,andoperatingwellstobringoilandgastothesurface Includes government controlled businesses, integrated oil companies,andprivateplayers.

Midstream: Involves marketing, storage, and transportation of naturalgasandcrudeoil.Oiltankers,trains,barges,trucks,and pipelinesareallformsoftransportation.

Downstream: Includes refining of petroleum crude oil and processing & purifying of raw natural gas to derive thousands ofproducts(petrol,kerosene,diesel,waxes).

ConQuest, IIM Shillong Page 412022 2023 INDUSTRYSNAPSHOT:Oil&Gas IOL RIL BPCL HPCL NEL CPCL Other

Retail

ValueChain

Sourcing

Carrierprovider Coldchain

Allotment&

Outbound Logistics

Channelsof transport Routeanalysis

In-store Operations

In-store replenishment Salesforce management Loyaltyprograms &discounts

KeyGrowthDrivers

OperatingMetrics

MajorPlayers Company Revenue'22(incr)

R₹1,30,566 elianceRetailLtd.

FutureRetailLtd. ₹22,225

A₹21,137 venueSupermart

S₹3,487 hoppersStop T₹2,708 rentLtd. V₹1,674 MartRetail

GovernmentInitiatives

Govt.announced100%FDIinsingle-brandretail&51%FDIinmulti-brand retailundertheautomaticroute.

In budget 22-23, Rs. 215,960 crore (US$ 27.82 billion) has been allocated to theDepartmentofFoodandPublicDistribution

InFY2021-22,thegovernmentapprovedProductionLinkedIncentiveScheme forFoodProcessingIndustry(PLISFPI)

In October 2021, RBI announced plans for new framework for retail digital paymentsinofflinemode.

MajorSegments

MarketSize&Forecast Facts

TheretailindustryinIndiaranks4th in the world in terms of size and accounts for 10% of the overall GDP of the country. The industry's market size in 2020 was approximatelyINR65.50trillion.

Indian Retail Industry expected to reach INR 96.43 trillion by 2024 and itisestimatedtogrowataCAGRof 10.15%.

Retail Industry is dominated by unorganized seller with approximately 13 million kirana stores and neighbourhoodstores

Organised consists of supermarkets, Hyper, Departmental stores, Cash & carry stores & Specialtystores

R&D Network Equipment Technology Provider Scale& Distribution Sales/ Marketing

Developmentof devicesfornew wavespectrum. IdentifyingaddonS/W technology

Manufactures hardware, routers,modem, fiberoptical Ericsson,Nokia, Siemens

Software Technology(4G, 5G)

SterliteTech, Mahindra, Qualcomm

KeyGrowthDrivers

Distribution centresand warehousesfor sim-cards, broadband,etc Scalingup devices

Branding Advertising Promotion Complaintsand feedback

EmergingTrends

Internetofthings devicesandsensors

Satellite-basedNarrowband-IoTNetwork

Wiredandwirelesscommunicationtech

UniversalServiceObligationFund

PublicDataOfficeAggregators

Investmentinopticalfibrenetwork

EmergenceofBWAtechnologies

Greentelecom

GovernmentInitiatives

FDIintelecomsectorhasbeenincreasedto100%from74%.FDIofupto100% forinfrastructureprovidersofferingdarkfibre,electronicandvoicemail.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) initiated discussions with banks to address financial stress in the telecom sector, particularly VodafoneIdeaLtd.(VIL)thaturgentlyrequiresfundinfusiontostayafloat

The Department of Information Technology intends to set up over 1 million internet enabled common service centres across India as per the National e-GovernancePlan

MajorPlayers

MajorOpportunities

Increasingmobilesubscribers

Untappedruralmarkets

Risinginternetpenetration

Govtpolicychange

Growth in Mobile Value Added Services

Telecomadvertisingmarket

GrowingCashlessTransactions

RisingpercapitaIncomeLevels

Emergence of PPP Models in Telecominfrastructure

Enhancedspecturmlimit

PLI Scheme under Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan Rs.12195cr Bharat net ProjectOptical fibers laid in 178417GramPanchayats 100% FDI allowed in telecomsector

PLI Scheme under Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan Rs.12195cr

FRAMEWORKS

HOWTOAPPROACHACASEINTERVIEW?

Understand&clarifytheproblemstatement

Candidates must be very certain that they have comprehended the problem statement clearly; a mistake made here has the greatest potential to sourtheentireinterview.

Start by asking clarifying questions. A person who asks the correct questions is more likely to fully comprehend the issue at hand and to find a workablesolution.

Itisnotuncommonfortheinterviewertowithholdallthepertinentinformationatonceinordertotesttheapplicants'information gatheringskills;the evidentgoalistodeterminehoweffectivelythecandidatewillbeabletodothesamewhiletalkingwithclients.

Unlessabsolutelyrequired,avoidassuminganything;ifacandidaterequestsitthenitsalwaysbettertocommunicatewiththeinterviewertogetthem validated.

Structuretheproblem

Thisentailscompilingalltheinformationobtainedandinterpretingit.

TheA4sheetmethodishighlybeneficialforthis,althoughcandidatesarefreetoutiliseothertechniquesiftheyaremorecomfortablewiththem.

Candidatesshouldaimtomaintaintheirstructureasstraightforwardaspossiblebecausetheinterviewermayoccasionallyaskfortheworkingsheet.

Asaresult,theinterviewershouldbeabletocomprehendthestrategyusedbyquicklyscanningthesheet.

Frameworkscanbeusedtoorganisedata,butyoushouldn'ttrytoforceanyframeworktofityourdatamerelyforthesakeofutilisingit.

Additionally, applicants should explain to the interviewer how they arrived at a solution whenever a framework is used rather than saying that “I’m usingmarketentry

Analysethecase

Theapplicantsareneededtoinferconclusionsfromtheinformationobtainedduringthisphaseoftheproblem-solvingprocess.Theframeworkthey selecttouse,ifany,andthestructuretheychoosetoadhereto,aidintheprocess.

Candidates should ponder the following two questions: a) How did this data point appear to us previously? , and b) How do the competitors' data pointscompare?

It is advised that candidates create a hypothesis that includes several potential answers, validate their hypothesis by asking leading questions, and continuetorestricttheirsetinresponsetodebate.Theapplicantshouldkeeptheinterviewerinformedoftheirthoughtsbycommunicatingfrequently. Wheninterviewersnoticethatacandidateisoffcourse,theywillfrequentlyofferadvicetoassistthemcorrecttheirthinking.

Iftheapplicantdiscoversthatcertaininformationisstilllacking,donotbeafraidtoprobetheinterviewerforit.Noonewillgivetheknowledgeontheir own,butifwell-informedquestionsareasked,someonewillundoubtedlyassist.

Arriveataconclusion

Thisisthefinalroundofproblem-solvingandcoulddeterminewhetheranapplicantpassestheinterview.Allofthecandidate'spreviousworkwillbe fornaughtifsheorheisunabletoformulateasoundconclusionsupportedbyareasonedexecutionstrategy.

Try to make sure that the recommendations are as realistic as possible because this enhances the likelihood that they can be put into practise in actualsituations.Keepinmindthatspecificsolutionsearnmoreratingsthangeneral,nonspecificresponses.

Performabrief"sanitycheck"todeterminewhetherthesuggestedremedy,especiallyifitisquantitativeinnature,makessensebeforedeliveringit.If theinitialresponsewasderivedfollowingtop-downapproachorvice-a-versa,thismightbeaccomplishedbyutilisingabottom-uptechnique.

STRUCTUREOFACONSULTINGCASEINTERVIEW

Thefollowingcriteria,incombination,maybetestedduringinterviews:

Personalityandbehaviourtests(throughHRQ)

Solvingproblems(usingexamplesand/oreducatedguesses)

Personality/behavioural(throughHRQs)

Inadditiontothemorecommoninquirieslikewhatareyourstrengthsandweaknesses,whyconsulting,andwhythisspecificfirm,candidatesare strongly advised to be ready for any type of question that may arise from the information listed in their CVs, particularly past work experience, internships,orprojects.

Problem-solving(CaseInterviews)

Expectations

Case interviews are designed to gauge a candidate's capacity to analyse a novel scenario, unearth pertinent data while using their thought processtogenerateoneormorepotentialsolutions,andthenarticulatetheirideasinaclearandconcisemanner.

Approach

Understandingtheproblemandtherequirementsfirst,establishingastructurethatwouldhelponesolvetheproblem,analysingtheinformationat hand,comingtoaconclusion,andmakingrecommendationsarethebasicstepsinsolvingacaseinterview.

CLARIFY

STRUCTURE

ANALYSE CONCLUDE

PROFITABILITY

PROFITABILITY(Overview)

Thebasicprofitabilityframeworkrequiresbreakingdownofprofitas'Profit=Revenue-Cost',andfurtherdeepdivingintoeachofthebranchestoidentify theKEYPROBLEM.Casescanhaveissuesrelatedtorevenue,cost,orboth.

InitialQuestions

Get a basic

of

Try to understand if it is a company specific problem or an industrywidephenomenon

Consider the quantum of losses and the time period for easy comparison

AlternateApproach

Revenue:

Problems with units sold can be looked at from the demand and supplyside.

Factors affecting revenue can be classified into Internal (Production, Distribution,etc.)andExternalfactors(PESTELanalysis)

Case1:

TheStateTransportDepartmentoftheUnitedStatesofAmericaisexploringwaysto increase theirprofitsafterafewyearsofdip

Isthereaparticularmodeoftransportationthattheywanttofocuson?

Yes–back-officeteamhasmajorityofthestaff

Dowewanttocutcosts?

Whatwouldyourecommend?

DowehaveanyrecentTop LineorBottom LinefiguresforFerrydepartment?

Yes.Ferry. (Dataforonlyoneyearprovided,notrends.Dataindicatesmarginalprofits)

Wouldthedepartmentliketofocusonincreasingrevenueordecreasingcosts?

Let’slookatrevenuefornow

Sure.Dowewanttoincreasenon transportrelatedrevenueorticketvolume?

Canyouelaboratefurther?

So,Iamguessingtherewillonerevenuestreamcomingfromtheferrytickets,and anotherfromnon transportactivitieslikeconcessionstands

Yessure,letslookatthenon transportrevenues

Whatareyourcurrentsourcesofnon transportrevenues?

Onlyconcessionstandsatthedocks saywewantedtobranchout,whatothersourceswould yourecommend?

Well,rentingouttheferriesforprivateparties,hostingbirthdaysandweddings,thatcouldbean avenuetoexplore.Wecouldalsoconsidervendingmachinesontheferries.

Thatsoundsgood–couldyougiveusanestimateoftherevenuewecangeneratefromthis

RefertotheguesstimateonPageNo.98

Thatlooksgood,wenowhavesomedataonthecostside(Givesthebreakupoftheexpenses)

Okaysoitlookslikecloseto80%ofallferryexpensesareforstaffwages doesthatincludethe crew?

Yes–butitisonlyasmallpercentage

OkaysomayIaskwhatistheremainingpercentage?Maintenancestaff?Back office team?

Seeingasitismostlystaffcosts,thismayleadtolayoffs.Ithinktherearewaystotrimtheteam downbyleveragingtechnology,likebyusingERPsystems wecanexplorethatifyouwant

Okaysure

WhatistheprimaryoperationoftheBack office?

PrimaryfunctionsincludeBookingtickets,scheduling,etc.

Ithinkmostofthesefunctionscanbefulfilledbywebsitesandself-servicekiosks. However,wemayneedasmalltechnicalteamforitsmaintenance.

Okaysoundsgood–canyousummarizethecaseforus?

(Givessummary,highlighttheconclusionsreachedandtentativewayforward)

COSTREDUCTION(Overview)

Client'scompanyisseeinglowerprofits&revenueduetosurgeinthecostofoperatingthebusiness.Here,wedoavaluechainanalysis,focusingonthe operationactivitieslikeprocessing,storage&transportationtonarrowdownonthearesofimprovement.

Profit

RCost evenue Storage

Raw Material Processing Distribution

InitialQuestions

R&D Inbound & Outbound Logistics

Machinery Employees

Technology

Capacity Utilization Packaging

Numberof vehicles Quantity pertrip Costpertrip Valuepertrip

Storage& Distribution Marketing

Budget components

Numberof Warehouse Rent/cost per warehouse

Numberof vehicles Quantity pertrip Costpertrip

Valuepertrip

Recommendations

CRM

Customer Service Repair& spareparts Returns

Get a basic understanding of the company ' s cost breakdown acrosstheValuechaine.g. Rawmaterialcosts,process,logistics, storageetc.

Ask if there has been any significant cost increase in any of the activity

Try to understand if it is a company specific problem or an industrywidephenomenon

Understand if there is any redudancy which can be eliminated to reducecost

Recommend solutions to eliminate the extra cost components eg. unusedwarehouses

Recommendsolutiontooptimizetheutilizationcapacityeg.inventory management,loadingcapacity,routeoptimizationetc.

Recommend solution for better functioning & technology usage eg. automation,ERPetc.

ConQuest, IIM Shillong Page 502022 2023 After understanding each cost component & breaking it down to individualexpenses-

Case2:DecliningprofitsofanITServiceprovider

YourClientisanITserviceprovider.Theprofitsofourclienthasbeendecliningsincethepast6 months.Canyouhelpanalysetherootofthisproblemandsuggestmeasures?

Iwouldliketoasksomepreliminaryquestions.

Sure,goahead!

CouldyoupleaseelaborateonthekindofITservices?IsitlikeInfosyswhichhasitsclientsfor whomitdevelopsanewsoftwareorprovideanyservicerelatedtotelecommunicationsand telemedia?

Yes,It'sexactlylikethat.

Weredoesourclientoperate?

Ourclienthas4officesacrossIndiaandhasclientsglobally

Okay,whatisthequantumofthedeclineinprofits?Dowehaveanydataregardingthesame?

Ourprofitshasdeclinedby15%inthepast6months

IsitanIndustryspecificproblemoracompanyspecificproblem?

Theclientistheonlyonewithdecliningprofits,therestoftheplayersintheindustryaredoing wellandtheirbusinessisgrowingatasteadyrate

Okay,CanItake2minutestostructuremythoughts?

Yes

Okay,nowthatihaveallthedata,icanstatethatthedecliningprofitscanbeduetotworeasons. Eithertherevenueshavebeendecliningorthecostshavebeenincreasing.Dowehaveanydata onwhichisthereasonbehindthisdecline?

Wedonothaveanydataregardingthesame.Youcanproceedwithstatingthevariablesfor both

No,youarenotmissingoutonanything.Thenumberofclientshavenotchangedinthepastsix months Alsoourdevelopersareoneofthebestintheindustryanddotheirworkinthemost efficientmanner.Thekindofworkhasalsonotchanged.Youcanproceedwithanalysingthe costs.

Alright, so for an IT Services firm, if I think of costs, major would be infrastructural and administrative,softwaredevelopmentcosts,andtheemployeecosts.

Youarerightinidentifyingthecosts,althoughinthisindustryyoucallitasSG&Aandemployee costs.

Okay,talkingaboutSG&A,Ibelieveitwouldincludehardware,softwarecosts,andalsoallthe Outsourcingcostswhiletheemployeecostswoulddependonthenumberofemployees,their utilisationandwages.ShouldIdiscoverifthereisscopetoimproveanyofthese?

Yes,that’strue.SG&AdoesnothavemuchscopetoreducecostswhileIwoulddefinitelywant youtoexploretheemployeerelatedcosts.Thefactorsyou’vementionedarefine.

Okay,thankyou.Sointhatcase,Iwouldwanttoaskifwehaveanyinformationabouthowmany employeeswehaveandalsoabouttheirutilisationratestoseeiftheyareoverorunderstaffed.

Sure,soyoucanhavealookatthesedatapointsfornumberofemployees,utilisationratesand numberofemployeesinouroffice.NumberofEmployees:5000Employees,75%utilization, AvgCostPerEmployees:Rs70000/employee

Alright,dowehaveanydataonhowourcompetitorsareplacedinthesameparameters?This would help me assess better if there is a problem of overstaffing leading to the problem of increasedemployeecosts.

Yes,wedobutfirsttellmeyouwouldliketherelativevaluesorabsolutevalues?Alsostatethe rationaleforselectinganyofthese?

Iwouldliketoassessitwithrelativevaluesasitwillhelpmeanalyzebetterwithitscompetitors. Relativevaluesarealwayscomparablewhileabsolutevaluescandifferfromfirmtofirm

Correct,soourcompetitorsintheindustryhavethefollowing:Numberofemployees:4500 employee,100%utilisation,AvgcostissameasourswhichisRs70000peremployee

Okaysure,IwouldliketostartwithanalysingtheRevenue. Theequationcanbemadeasfollows:

Numberofclients*Numberofemployeesperclient*Thenumberofdaystheclientsworkis beingdone*Numberofprojectsperclient AmImissinganything?

ConQuest, IIM Shillong Page 512022 2023 Great,thisclearlyshowsthatthereisaproblemofoverstaffingandutilisation.Iwouldliketoask aboutbillableandnon billable(benchworkers)beforeiproceed.AsitisanITindustrybillables andnon billableemployeesareverycommon.Canyougivemeanydataonthat.

.

Goodpoint,Youareright,theextra500workersarethenonbillableemployeesallottedtoeach project.Thisisalsothereasonforthelowutilisationrates.Thisisdonebecauseourclientafter hiscalculationshavereachedtheconclusionthatthecostofnottakingaprojectdueto understaffingismorethanthecostoftheemployees.Couldyoumoveontogivingtheclient suggestionsforsolvingthisproblem?

Alright,Iwouldliketosuggestthefollowing:

1)Reducingthenumberofnon billableemployees

2)Notkeepingmorethan1 2non billableemployeesperprojectifthatisnotbeingfollowed already

3)Thirdly,nowtherearealotoffreelancerslookingforwork,thereforewheneverourclientneeds anextrahandtheycanhirethemfortheprojectsduration,withtheydon'thavetobearthefixed costs.

4) Fourthly, outsourcing can be used in times of extremities in which they can earn the commissionfromtheprojects

5) Lastly, our client should map the number of projects or the prospective projects with the number of employees more effectively. Making more industry relations and increasing their brandnamecanhelpthemutilsetheiralreadyemployedpeoplebetterwithoutlayingthemoff

Greatsuggestions.

Onelastquestion,ifyouweretolayofftheemployeehowmanywouldyoulayoff?

Iwoulddefinitelylayofflessthan500employees.

Great,thatwouldbeall.Thankyou!

Case3:Identifytheissueleadingtodecliningprofitsofathermalpowerplant

YourclientisathermalpowerplantinIndia.Ithasbeenfacingdecliningprofitsforsometime now.Theyhaveaskedyoutoidentifytheproblem.

Iwouldliketoasksomepreliminaryquestions.

Sure!Goahead.

Canyoupleasetellmewheretheplantislocated,andsincewhenhasitbeenfacingthese decliningprofits?

TheplantislocatedinRajasthanandtheirprofitshavebeendecliningsincelast3months.

Sincetheprofitshavebeendeclining,eithertherevenuehasdecreasedorthecosthas increased.

Therehasbeennochangeintheirrevenue.Thedemandandtheirpriceshavebeenconstant duringthisperiod.Whydon’tyoulookatthecost?

Alright!I’dliketoanalyzecostacrossthevaluechain.Atypicalpowervaluechainhas4parts: generation,transmission,distributionandsales.Isitfairtoassumethatourclient,whichisa thermalpowerplantwouldprimarilybeinvolvedingenerationandtransmission?

Yes.Theyhavebeenfacingincreasedcostingeneration.

Okay.ThenI’dliketofurtherbreakthegenerationprocessinto2mainbuckets Rawmaterials andtheplant(whichbasicallycoverstheactualprocessofgenerationofelectricity).I’dliketo analyzetherawmaterialsfirst.Sinceitisathermalpowerplant,themainrawmaterialwouldbe coal

That’scorrect!

Hastherebeenanychangeintheprice,amountorqualityofcoalusedbytheclient.

No,therehasbeennodirectchange,butyes,theproblemseemstobeintherawmaterialonly. Canyouidentifyit?

Alright then, I’d like to trace the journey of coal to identify the problem. Do we have any informationonhowandfromwhere/whomdoestheclientprocurecoal?

TheclientgetsitimportedfromRussia.

Coalisusuallytransportedinships,andsometimesthroughland.Hastherebeenanychange inthetransportationprocess?

Ithasalwaysbeentransportedthroughships.Nochangethere.

So,theclienthasbeenimportingcoalfromRussia,andtherehasbeennochangeintheprocess orthepricesdirectly.

Hastherebeenanychangeinthecurrencyexchangerate?

Yes,exactly!Russianrubblehasbeenappreciatingwithrespecttorupeefor3monthsnow, becauseofwhichtheclient’scostofimportingrawmaterialhasincreased. No,thatwouldbeall!

Okay!ShouldIlookatothercomponentsofthevaluechain?

Case4:

APublicSectorbankisfacingdecliningprofitsinATMbusiness

Yourclientisapublicsectorbank.IthasbeenfacingdecliningprofitsfromitsATMbusiness. Helptheminfindingsolutionstotheirproblem

Iwouldliketobeginwithconfirmingtheproblemstatementandwouldalsoliketoaskfew clarifyingquestions.Also,Iwouldlikeyoutopleasehelpme withabriefunderstandingonhowATMbusinessworksforthebanksthereaparticularmodeof transportationthattheywanttofocuson?

Yessure,goahead.

SoourobjectiveistojustfocusonprofitsorprofitabilityofATMbusiness

Yes,youmayfocusonabsoluteprofits

Soaspermyunderstanding,therevenueforATMbusinesscomprisesofthefeethatischarged fortransactionsofownbankcustomers(overandabovethefreetransactions)plusthefee chargedbyotherbanksforotherbankcustomersusingourATM

Yes,that’scorrectbutyouaremissingonone lineitemthatiscrucialforprofitability

Isitrelatedtofixedcostsorvariablecosts?

No,soinATMbusiness,yourrevenuelossbecomesyourcostandhasadoubleimpactonyour incomestatement,whichmeansifyourcustomerusesotherbankATM,youlooseouton revenueandyoualsohavetopayacosttotheotherbankforthattransaction

Correctthanksforhelpingmethere.So,thisburdenishighmostlyincasesoffreetransactions

Right

So,fewmorequestionsIhave–HowmanyATMsdowehave,anymajorsplitintermsof branch/non branch,geographyetc.HowdowestandintermsofthenumberofATMswith respecttootherbanks?

Okay.Soourclienthasaround3500ATMsspreadacrossthecountryatpresent.Lastyearthey closed500ATMsonaccountoflosses.Asfarasindustryisconcerned,wehavethesecond largestnumberofATMsinIndia.HighestnumberofATMsoperatedbyasinglebankis5000

Thanks.Andanyinformationonhowisourprofitabilityascomparedtothepeers

Yes,itisregulatedbyRBI

Okay,whatIcanthinkofhereisthatwearelosingoutonrevenuewhichinturnisimpactingus withadditionalcostsasexplainedbyyouearlier.ThereasonIfeelthiscanhappenismajorly becauseof2reasons 1.MoretechnicaldowntimeandunavailabilityofcashinourATMs,2. ATMsnotlocatedinappropriateplacesorcompetitionhaveATMsstrategicallylocatedwhich reducesATMtransactionsforus–bothowncustomersaswellasotherbankcustomers

Youmayfocusonthesecondhypothesisofyours

Okay,soforapproachingthissideoftheproblem,weneedtofirstunderstandthe3500ATMswe haveandwhicharetheonesthatarelossmakingintermsofnooftransactions.Weneedto havecasebycaseanalysisofeachATMorclustersanddecidebasedonprofitability,location etc.andadecidetoshutdownlossmakingATMs.Furtherweneedtofindoutlocationswhich bringhighnumberofATMtransactionslikemetrostations,ITparks,Residentialsocietiesetc.and we need to capture those places where competition is less or is not present. A future driven approach has been applied. Further we can explore option of mobile ATMs and can provide portable ATM machines to shops in residential localities where people can withdraw money usingthatmachineandcancollectcashfromtheshopkeeper.IDFChasbeenusingthismodel lately

That’sgoodenough.Thiswasaconstructiveinteractive.Thankyouandalltheverybest

MARKETENTRY

MARKETENTRY(Overview)

Companywantstoventureintonewmarkets,whichcanbenewgeography,newcustomersegmentinexistinggeographyetc.

MarketEntry

IndustryAnalysis

Objective

Whydoestheclient wants to enter into newmarket?

Why particular this market? (target market) What metrics to evaluate?

Market Attractiveness Customers

Addressable Market Growthrate

ProfitMargin

Market structure Consumer Behavior Segments

Competition Barriersto Entry

Major Players Value propositions 4P'sanalysis

Government Policies Financial constraints

Capabilities& resources Suppliers, distributors etc.

Waystoenter?

Organic Inorganic

Structured exporting Settingup company ' s units

Partnershipor JointVenture Acquisition

InitialQuestions

Get a basic understanding of the company ' s product/services, & businessmodel

Trytounderstandwhythecompanyisentryingintonewmarketbusinessexpansion,markettesting,etc.

Keyframeworkstoimplement:

PESTEL for holistic analyses of the market & to identify all the barrierstoentry

STP- to find out the target market and then further narrowing it downtototaladdressablemarket

Analyze the market, structure & behavior, pain points, existing players,etc.

Porter's 5 forces to understand the potential offering from externalstakeholders&alsothethreatsthatcompanycanfacein thenewmarket

ConQuest, IIM Shillong Page 562022 2023 5Cs-Company,Competitor,Customers,Context,Collaborators

Case5:BuilderwantingtoentertheMallSegment

ConsiderabuilderinDelhiwhowantstoentertheMallsegment.Howshoulditdecideonthe locationandwhatwillbetherevenueandcoststreamsforhim?

OkaycanIchangethelocationfromDelhitoMumbaiasIammorefamiliarwithMumbai?

Yessureyoucan

Canyoutellmethemallwillhavepremiumbrandsorbrandscateringtomiddleclassand uppermiddleclass?

Themallwillcatertomiddleanduppermiddleclass

Thankyou,Iwillstartwithlocationfactorsfortheshoppingmall.

Firstly,themallshouldbelocatedinanearbypublicmodeoftransportlikearailwaystation,bus standorautostandsasitcaterstothemiddleclass.

Demographyplaysamajorrolethereforemallshouldbesituatedinalocationthroughwhichit coversthemaximumradiusofthepopulation

Sincemallsfacestiffcompetitionfromeachotherthelocationshouldnothaveanyothermallin closeproximity.

AslandcostsaresignificantinMumbaithebuildershouldlookforlocationsinsuburbanregionto reducecosts.

Themallshouldnotbelocatednearaschool,hospital,airport,oranysuchareawhichcancause regulatoryissue.

Iseeyouhavecoveredeverythinghere,nowtellmeanythingyouwilldodifferentlyinmallsto reducethepainpointsofconsumers?

SureIwillsuggestspecificstepslistedbelow: Iwanttomakeanapplicationformallsthatconsumerscanusetoeasemobilityfromonestore toanother.

Usually,thereareloyaltyprogramsfordifferentstoresbutnottheentiremall,soaconsumer whopurchasesfromotherstoresdoesnotbenefit.

Iwouldalsomakearrangementsforpre-parkingbookingbypre-paymentonline,socustomers donotfacehassleinfindingparkingwhentheyvisitthemall.

Perfect,wecanclosethecasenow.

Majorcoststreamswillbe

1. Landownership/leasingcost

2.

TheRevenuestreamforMallwillbeasfollows:

1. Advertisingkiosksandbillboardsbothoutsideandinsidethemall.AdvertisinginformofAuto showsandfashionshowsalsoaddstorevenueflow.

Shoprentalsformamajorchunkofrevenue

4. RevenuefromParkingspace

Revenuefromopenspacesandbanquethallsbyrentingthemforevents

Case6:

Designamarketlaunchstrategyforleadingwaterpurifiercompany

Iwouldliketoasksomequestionsregardingtheproducttodecideonthetarget segment

Sure,goahead.Youcantake5 6minutestocomeupwiththetargetsegment

Howdoestheprocesswork?Willthepowderpurifyanywater?

Itwillpurifythetapwaterandthegroundwater

Intheentireprocess,isanywastegenerated?

Forourconvenience,letusassumethatnowasteisgenerated.

IwouldliketodividethetargetmarketintourbanandruralsegmentsandHigh income,mid income,andlower-income.InUrbanareas,ourtargetshouldbethelow-incomesegmentto Lowermiddle classsegmentasanupper middleclassandHigh Incomepeopleinbothareas willalreadyhaveautomaticpurifiersinstalled.

Fairenough,whatdoyouthinkabouttheruralareas?

Isupposesimilarlogicappliesforruralareas,soourtargetshouldbeLowermiddleclassand poor

Okay.Arethereanyothercustomersyouwanttotarget?

Yes,asourproductdoesnotleaveanywasteintheprocess,Iwouldalsomarketitinareaswith highwaterscarcityinplacessuchasChennai,asitsaveswater.Thisproducthashighscopein thecomingyearswithgroundwaterreservesemptiedinsignificantcities,aspeoplecannotuse waterpurifiersduetohighwaterwastage.Wecantargetallsegmentsofpeopleintheseareas. Also,thisproductcanbebeneficialwhiletraveling,andwewantpurewater.

Great,sowehavedecidedonourtargetsegment?Howdoyouthinkweshouldlaunchour product?Whatshouldbethepriceoftheproductandquantity?

Ithinkthepriceshouldbelessenoughforthemnottothinktwicewhilepaying.Asourprimary targetsegmentislow-incomegroups,weshouldprovideenoughpowerto purify3litersofwater foronepersonperday.Ithinkweshouldlaunchitinsmallsachetsandpriceitaround10Rs. which is not a burden on them Assuming a family of 4 needs 15 liters of water per day for drinkingandcooking,theywillneedtospendlessthan50Rsforcleanwater

Yes,IthoughtthatweshouldlaunchinasimilarwaylikeORSSachets.Whatarethe costsyouanticipateduringthemanufacturing?

Mentionedthedifferentcostsproduction,Marketing,Distribution,etc.

Okay,assumethatwearesettingthesellingpriceatRs10Per3liters.Whatwillbetherevenue generatedperday?

Iassumethataround50%oftheIndianpopulationwillcomeunderthelowermiddleandpoor segments.AssumingtheIndianpopulationis120crores,60crorepeoplewillcomeunderour targetsegment.Ithink50%marketpenetrationforourproductwith30crorepeopleusingit. So,assumingasinglepersonneeds3litersofwaterperdayif30crorepeopleuseit,ourrevenue willbe300crores.

Amazing.Nowcomingtothefinalquestion.Iwantyoutothinkaboutpitchingtheproductto yourmanager.Thinkaboutfiveaspectsthatyouthinkaremostprominentforthisproduct?I Suggestyoutakearound5minutestogetyourthoughtstogetherandanswerthequestion?

Thefivereasonswhythisproductshouldbelaunchedare:

1. There is an immediate need for a disruptive product like this that will change the hygiene systeminthecountry

2.Theproductisportableandefficient

3 Itwillhaveanenormousimpactonthehealthofthelowermiddleclassandpoorpeople,and positiveadvertisingforthecompany

4.IncreasedcustomerreachwithwatershortagesloominginthenearfutureandROnotbeing anoptionasitgeneratesmorewastewaterforwaterpurified

5.Highsalesareexpectedwiththelowpriceoftheproduct

Yourclientisleadingwaterpurifiercompanyandhasrecentlylaunchedwaterpurifyingpowder inIndiathatwillremovealltheimpuritieswhenmixedwithtap/groundwater.Designamarket launchstrategy

Case7:

Assistabankwantingtoenterthefarmer'smarket

Our client is a bank that is looking to enter the farmer’s market. They want our help to understandwhatkindofproducts/servicescanbeofferedtothefarmers:

1. Whatarethedifferenttypesofservicesthatcanbeoffered?

2. Howwouldyouevaluatewhethertheseservicesshouldbeextendedtothemarketornot?

Iwouldliketoasksomeclarifyingquestions.

Yessureyoucan

Isthisaprivatesectorbankorapublicsectorbank?Also,wheredoesitcurrentlyoperate geographically?

TheclientisaleadingprivatesectorbankpresentPANIndia(inmoststates).

Whichcustomersegmentdoesitcaterto,intermsofurban/ruralandwhatareitsmain competitorsinthefarmers’market?

Theirtargetcustomersarefromtheurbansegment,whichinvolvestierI,II,andIIImetrocities, withsomepresenceinruralareasalso.Andcurrently,onlypublicsectorbanksareinvolvedin thefarmers’market.

Okay,canItakeaminutetostructuremythoughts,ifthat’sokay?

Sure!

Allright,Iwouldliketodividetheproducts/servicesinto2categories–lendingandnon-lending.

I’llfurtherdividelendingintoPersonalLoansandAgriculturerelatedLoans.

Under personal loans, the client can offer property loans, education loans, vehicle loans, and goldloans.Theycandiversifyfurtherbasedonthemarketdemands.

Agriculture-related loans can be further divided into agriculture activities and animal husbandry.

For agricultural activities, the client can provide loans for land, equipment/machinery, inputs (seeds,pesticides,fertilizers),andstorage(warehouses).Itcanalsogivebusinessloansforthe processingofagriculturalproduce.

Underanimalhusbandry,loanscanbegivenforfeedingcattle,building&maintainingshedsetc

Thatsoundsgood.WhataboutNon lendingproducts?

Theclientcanofferbankaccounts,investmentoptions(likemutualfunds),insurance,DMAT accounts,lockerfacility,digitaltransactions,ATMs(cards),microATMsetc.

Alright.Andhowcantheclientevaluatetheseproducts/services?

Forevaluation,theclientshouldfocuson4aspects.Theyshouldfirstperceivemarketdemand (requirement). Then they should explore the competitive space and gauge how the existing publicsectorbanksarefaringinfarmers’market Theclientshouldalsocheckifthereareany regulatory barriers imposed by the local governments. Finally, they should evaluate if the existingsynergiescanbeexpanded.

Verywell.Thatmakessense.Thankyou!

Case8:

EvaluatethepotentialreasonsforthedeclineformarketleaderinthesoyachipscategoryinIndia

YourclienthasbeenthemarketleaderinsoyachipscategoryinIndiaforthepasttenyears.

However,recently,theirmarketsharehasdeclinedfrom60%to20%.Youareaskedtoevaluate thepotentialreasonsforthedeclineandsuggestmeasures.

Iwouldliketobeginbyaskingafewpreliminaryquestionsaboutthecompanyandthemarket.

Sure,goahead.

Whichareadoestheclientservice,andwhatcustomersegmentdoesitcaterto?

TheproductoperatesPANIndiaandcatersacrosscustomersegments.

Iwouldliketoevaluatethepotentialmacro environmentvariablesthatmayhavecausedthe marketsharedecline

Alright!Goahead

So,hastherebeenanydisruptioninthesupplychainimpactingourproduction&sales?

Canyouelaboratewhatallwouldbeincludedinthesupplychain?

Okay,canItakeaminutetostructuremythoughts,ifthat’sokay?

Definitely

ForaSoyaChipsmanufacturer,Iwouldliketodrawthesupplychaininthefollowingway: a)Research&Developmentb)Rawmaterialsc)Processingd)Inboundlogisticse)Storage andtransportationf)MarketingandDistribution.

Am i correct in stating the value chain? If yes, has there been any change in any of these variables?

Good,therehasnotbeenanychangeordisruptionsinthesupplychain

Howdoesourpricingstandcomparedtothecompetitorsandhavetherebeenanychangesin thepreviousyear?

Therehasbeennodifferentiationwhenitcomestoprice.

Hasanynewplayerenteredthemarket?

Yes,therehasbeenanewmarketentryinthesoyachipsmarket

So,Iassumethechangeinmarketshareisduetothenewplayersenteringthemarket. Isthisafairassumption?

Yes,youcangoaheadwithyourassumption

Canyougivemesomedataonwhatthecompetitivelandscapeintermofmarketsharebefore andafterthenewplayerenteredthemarket?

Letmehelpyouwithsomedatabasedonwhichyoucanproceedforward.In2019,ourclient sold12,000units,andtherestofthemarketconsistsoftwoplayersA&B.In2020,the9-month salesofourclientare10,000units,andtheA&Bgrewtheirvolumeby10%.

Ok, let’s calculate the market structure in 2019. Since our client sold 12,000 units which represented60%ofthemarketshare(byvolume),thisimpliesthatthetotalmarketwas20,000 units.So,howisthebalanceof8,000unitssplitbetweenA&B?

Theyaresplitequally.

Ok,sothatimpliesthemarketstructurein2019wasOurclient:12,000unitsA:4,000units&B: 4,000units.Now,movingto2020,10,000unitssoldbyourclientrepresents20%marketshare. Sothisimpliesifwetakeitonanannuallevel,theclientwillsell13,333unitsthisyear,andthe totalmarketvolumeshallbe66,666.

Youcanroundoffthefiguresto13,000and65,000,respectively

Ok,nowconsideringthegrowthrateofA&B.Theywillbeselling4,400unitseachthisyear.So, howisthebalancevolumeof43,200unitsdistributed?

Asingle playercapturesit

Sinceanewplayerhasbeenabletocaptureasignificantshareofthemarket.Canyou providemewiththedetailsofthecompanyanditsproductoffering?

Thecompetitorhascomewithahealthiervariantofsoyachip,gainingasignificantdemand amongstthecustomers.

Ok,socanweimplythatthedeclineinourclient’smarketshareisattributedtothemarket entryofanewplayerwhohasdevelopedahealthiervariantofsoyachips.

Yes,that’scorrect.Youcannowproceedtosuggestpossiblesolutions.

We observe that the customer preference for our market has changed, and they have now preferredahealthiervariantofsnacks.So,Iwouldbreakdownthepotentialmeasuresintoshort termandlong termactions.

In the shorter term, the company should try to regain some of its lost market share by promotionalcampaignandbyofferingdiscountsorbenefitsonourexistingSKUs.Whilethiscan bepilotedinthenearterm,inparallelthecompanyshouldfocusonanalyzingthehealthier variantmarketofsoyachips Theyshouldfocusondevelopingahealthiervariantofsoyachips andcomeupwithdifferentflavors.Intheend,haveapromotionalcampaignforitslaunch.

Whatisthetimelineyouareexpectingfortheseactions?

Wecanexpecttheshort-termactiontopilotinacoupleofmonths,whereasthelong-term actioncanbepilotedend to endinthenext12months.

Ok,canyouthinkofanyothermeasure?

Wecanthinkofacquiringtheothercompany.

Ok,socanyou,inbrief,tellmeaboutthefactorsyouwillconsiderbeforetheacquisition?

Duringtheacquisition,wemustfirstconsiderthesynergisticcapabilitiesofthecombinedentity and the strategic advantage the company brings on board. The factors in evaluating these could be the manufacturing capabilities, product portfolio, supply chain partners, market reputationandlastly,thevaluationoftheacquiree

Okay,great!

Lastly,canyoumentionsomeofthehealthysnackitemsavailableinthesnackingindustry?Do youknowanythingaboutthisindustry?

Snacking industry has been growing year on year now and the customer preferences in this industryhasalsobeenchangingnow.SpecificallynowaftertheCOVID 19hittheworld,people havestartedbeingmoreconsciousabouttheirhealthandwell being.Theyarelookingformore healthyitems.

Thekindofhealthysnacksavailableinthemarketcurrentlyareasfollows:

a)Bakedchips

b)SoyaChips

c)Makhanaitems

d)Chipsmadeusinglesseramountofoil

e)Differentflavoredpopcorns

g)Flowerseedsandhealthyseeds

h)Chipsmadewithcorn

i) Chickpeasnacks

Outofthese,ourclientcanalsotapintooneofthesesegmentsintroducingsomeuniqueand different flavours. They can use the method of sampling for testing the new flavours in the markets

Thankyou,thatwouldbeall!

Case9:Feasibilityofstartingacateringbusiness

DiscussthefeasibilityofstartingacateringbusinessintrainstravelingfromGuwahatitoDelhi

Sir, do we have any information about the number of trains, their frequency, and the seat capacity?

No,andpleasenotethattherewillbenoinformationprovidedtoyouapartfromtheproblem statement Pleasemakeappropriateassumptionsateachstepandletmeknowthem Also, youareprovided10minstoarriveattheconclusion.

Suresir.Forsolvingthecase,Iwillfirsttrytolookattheprofitabilityofthebusiness,thenlookat the operational feasibility and end the discussion with any challenges that may impact the business.

Soundsgood.Pleasemoveforward.

SinceIamfromGuwahatiandIhavetravelledacoupleoftimebetweenGuwahatiandDelhiin trains,soIwillbemakingassumptionsbasedonmypersonalexperience.Currently,thereare3 regulartrainsthatrunbetweenGuwahatiandDelhi,and1weeklyspecialtrain.So,thereare4 trainswhereIcanstartmycateringbusinesswith Isitfinetomoveaheadwiththis?

Yes. Please continue making appropriate assumptions and move ahead with the case. You don’thavetoaskmeinbetweenasthereisa10 minutetimer.

Okay Sir. Last time I travelled in the train, it had 15 boogies, and each boogie had 8 compartments.So,therewasatotalof120compartments.Eachcompartmenthad8seats.So, therewasatotalof960seatsineverytrain.Consideringtheoccupancyrateofaround80%,I canmakeanassumptionthattherewere750peopletravellingineverytrain.

Next, one of the trains is Rajdhani which has their own catering service. So, very small passengers will opt for our catering food. We can ignore this train. Hence, we can run our businessin3trains.

So,atotalof750*3=2250ismytargetaudience.

Now,Iwishtodividemytargetaudienceintothreecategoriesbasedontheticketclass–

(a) FirstClassPassengers

Guwahatiisamarketwherethepassengersprefertotakehome-mademealwhiletravelling, ratherthanbuyingduringthejourney,henceIhavetakenlow%ofpotentialcustomers

So,atotalof~500passengersismytargetaudienceperweek.

Buttheremustbeothercateringservicesalreadypresentinthemarket Ipersonallytriedfood from2catererwhileIwastravelling.Theirfoodwasbelowaverage.IfIcanmaintainthefood quality,thenIwillbeabletocoveratleast30%ofmarketsharewithinfewmonths.

Hence,thetotalcustomerswillbe150perweek.

Now,letmecalculatetheprofitpercustomer.

The ratio of passengers can be divided into 10:30:60 into 1st, 2nd and 3rd class passengers, whichIassumedbasedonmyunderstandingoftheGuwahati’sdemography.Morepeoplehere wishtotravelin3rdclassticket,followedby2ndclassand1stclass.

TotalRevenue=Rs.31,500

Margin=30%(includingLogistics)

Lengthoftravel=2days

Totalprofitperweek=~Rs.20,000

MonthlyProfit=Rs 80,000

Considering the profit, I would say that I can start the business. However, there will be major challengesthatIwillhavetocaterto

(a)Trainsgettingdelayed

(b)Foodmaybeservedcold

(c)Morecompetition(asmanytrainsarestartingtheirowncateringservicelikeRajdhani)

(d) Shift of customer’s preference to travel via flight due to rising middle class income in the country

Overall,lookingatthesechallenges,Iwillre thinkmydecisionofenteringthebusiness,andtry otherbusinessoptionstoo.

Case9:Feasibilityofstartingacateringbusiness

TotalRevenue=Rs.31,500

Margin=30%(includingLogistics)

Lengthoftravel=2days

Totalprofitperweek=~Rs.20,000

MonthlyProfit=Rs.80,000

Considering the profit, I would say that I can start the business. However, there will be major challengesthatIwillhavetocaterto

(a)Trainsgettingdelayed

(b)Foodmaybeservedcold

(c)Morecompetition(asmanytrainsarestartingtheirowncateringservicelikeRajdhani)

(d) Shift of customer’s preference to travel via flight due to rising middle class income in the country

Overall,lookingatthesechallenges,Iwillre thinkmydecisionofenteringthebusiness,andtry otherbusinessoptionstoo.

GoodJob.Iftherewasnotimecrunch,whatmoreyouwillconsiderduringtheanalysis?

Imissedtheincomelevelofthegroup Iwouldhavetakenthisintoaccount

That’sall.Thanks.

Case10:BeermanufacturerwantstoentertheKolkatamarket.EstimatethemarketsizeofbeerinKolkata.

AcompanymanufacturingbeerwantstoentertheKolkatamarket.Theywantyoutoestimate themarketsizeofbeerinKolkata.

Doesthecompanymanufacturepremiumorregularbeer?

Theyhaveproductsinbothsegments.

Doyouwantthemarketsizeintermsofunitsorsales?

Firstestimatethenumberofunitsfromtheremaybewecanlookatsales

ThepopulationoftheKolkataMetroareaisaround15Million.Iwouldsplitthemintodifferent agegroups:lessthan18(whodon'tdrinkbeer),18-30(studentsandyoungprofessionals),31-50 (olderprofessionals)and50+.Theseagegroupswillhavedifferentbehaviourintermsofbeer consumption

Youtooktheminimumageofbeerdrinkerstobe18,isntthelegalage21?

Eventhoughthatisthecase,collegestudentsareoneoftheheaviestdrinkersofbeersoleaving themoutwouldnotgiveaveryaccurateresult.

Okaythen,goahead.

Iwoulddivideeachagegroupbygenderhavinga50:50split.Assignvaluestothepercentage penetrationtoeachgroupandthenumberofbottlesofbeertheydrinkinaweekthiswouldgive metheweeklyconsumption.

Youhavenotconsideredtheincomelevelsofthepopulation.Doyouthinkitisnotamajorfactor inthiscalculation?

Idonotbelieveitdoes.Becausebeerdrinkerswillconsumebeerirrespectiveofhowmuchthey earn.Alsosincethecompanymanufacturesbeerindifferentpriceranges,theywillbeableto catertoconsumersfromallincomelevels.

Thatseemslikeafairassessment.Youcangoaheadwiththecalculation.

(Checkthetableontherightside)

Doyouwantmetocalculatesales?

No,Ithinktheclientissatisfiedwithyouranswer Buttheyhaveafollowupquestion Theyoperate achainofmicrobreweriesinBangaloreandMumbaiandtheywanttoexpandtheirfootprintinto eastern India. They want you to suggest 3 locations in Kolkata where they could set up their breweries.

AnnualConsumption=4.35MX50=217.5M

Microbreweries are mostly frequented by young professionals and college students who are fromanaffluentbackground.Soweneedtoidentifylocationswhichhaveahighconcentration ofpotentialvisitors.The3localitiesthatcometomindare:

1. Park Street Area: Affluent locality, many colleges nearby, many office buildings nearby but mostly traditional companies with an ageing workforce. Threats: High concentration of rival pubs.

2.SectorV:ManycollegesandITParksnearbywithyoungworkforce.Largepotentialmarket. Threats:Lotsofpubsaround.

3 Newtown:SomecollegesandITparksaroundbutnotasconcentratedasSectorV Growing Rapidly. Very few competitors, IT crowd from Newtown frequent Sector V pubs on Friday evenings.

Ithinkthesearereallygoodoptions.Butwhereshouldtheclientsetuptheirfirstbrewery?

Whatprofitabilityandgrowthtargetsdoestheclienthaveinmind?

Theclientneednotbreakevenimmediatelybutarelookingatalongertermpicture.

ThentheyshouldsetupabreweryinNewtownwhichwouldhelpthemthemostinachieving theirlongertermstrategy.

Thankyou.Thatsallforthecase

PRICING

PRICING(Overview)

Clienthasaskedyouforthepricingstrategiesoftheirproduct/services,thiscanbepricingfornewproduct/servicesorrevisedpricingetc.

Variouscomponents inprice(SellingPrice)

1. 2. 3.

Manufacturing costDirect Overhead Profits Distributor margins retailer margins

InternalFactors

Costbased

InitialQuestions

Pricing

ExternalFactors

Competitor benchmark Industry Features

Valuebased (customer)

Costs Returns %markup, margins Breakeven period Payback period

Production costs

R&DCosts Fixed Variable

Otherspecific costs

Others-

Structure Substitutes Complements

Proxy

Additional features

Differentiating benefits Pricerange (existing)

Willingness topay Opportunity cost Extrapolate benefits

Recommendations

Get a basic understanding of the company ' s product/services for whichthepricingstrategeyistobemade

Understandtheexpensecompanyisincurringfromrawmaterialto endproductforthecustomer

Understandthetargetsegmentfortheparticularproduct/services toincoporatevaluebasedpricing

Understand the brand value of the company & market propositioning

Understand the objective eg. market penetration, promotional, inventoryclearance,etc.

Make sure not to dilute the company ' s brand value or value proposition

MarginscanbegivenbasedonIndustrystandards

ConQuest, IIM Shillong Page 662022 2023 Based on the company ' s target revenue & profits, give an estimateprice

Case11:ClientisaKoreanconglomerate,andwantstolaunchanewfertilizerintheUSmarket.Monetizethefertilizer.

Okay,canyoutellmemoreabouttheclient?Whatisthemainbusinessoftheclient?Where doestheclientcurrentlyoperate?

The client manufactures chemicals, fertilizers, and other petroleum products They currently operateintheEuropeanmarket.

SincetheclientoperatesintheEuropeanmarket,whyaretheytargetingtheUSmarket?

FertilizersisnotabigmarketinEuropeduetolesserincomeoffarmers,henceforhigherprofits theclientswanttolaunchitinUSdirectly.

Whatisthenewfertilizer?IsitdifferentfromthefertilizerspeoplegenerallyuseintheUS?

Yes,itacceleratesthegrowthofvegetables.

Doesitworkonallkindsofvegetablesoranyspecifictypesofvegetables?

It has been tested successfully on tomatoes, hence the client wants to launch it only for tomatoesasofnow.

Doestheclienthaveapatentforthisproduct?DoesanysimilarmarketalreadyexistinUS?

Yes,theclienthasapatent.Nosuchmarketexists.

Okay.DoestheclientplantosetupamanufacturingplantintheUnitesStatesorimportthe product?Howaretheyplanningtoselltothecustomers?

Thatwilldependontherevenuesweareexpectedtogenerate,youcanignorethatfornow.They plantosellitthroughretailchainsacrossUS.

Okay. To price the fertilizer, we cannot use competition based pricing since there is no competition,andcostbasedpricingalsocannotbeusedsincewedon’tknowaboutthecost details,henceIthinkthatvaluebasedpricingwillbethebestwaytomonetizethisfertilizer.You mentionedthatitacceleratesthegrowthofvegetables.Byhowmuchdoestimegetreduced?

Thetimegetsreducedby20%

Howmuchtimedoesthenormalcycleofapplestaketogrow?

Ittakes90days.

Okay.Thismeansthatafarmercangrow4cyclesinayear,taking360days.Reducingtimeby 20%meansthenewcyclewillbecompletedin0.8*90=72days,andthefarmercannowgrow5 cyclesinayear.Whatisthepriceofthefertilizerthattheycurrentlyuse?

Thereisonlyonetypeoffertilizerinthemarket,whichcosts$60/kg.

Howmuchquantitydotheygenerallyrequire?

5kgoffertilizerisrequiredfor1acreofland.

Okay.Nowconsideringthatwepricethenewfertilizerat$60/kg,wecansaythatthecustomers spend$60for0.2acrelandpercycle,andanadditional$60forthe5thcycle.Inaddition,they would be making an additional revenue from the 5th cycle. Added profit would be *profit per cycle*per0.2acre,from1kgfertilizer,peryear.Wecanaddapremiumtothebasepriceof$60 dependingonthisvalue,itshouldbelowerthanthevalue(profitpercycle)/5,sinceforthenew fertilizerthecustomerwillbepayingthisamounteverycycle.

Thatlooksgood,thankyou.

GROWTHSTRATEGY

GROWTHSTARTEGY(Overview)

Client'scompanyisaimingforaXX%YearonYeargrowthandhasaskedyoutocreatestepwisegrowthtargets&relevantareastoworkontoahcieve thosetargets.

Growth

Organic Revenue/ User No.ofUsers

Inorganic

Revenue/ transaction No.of Transactio ns/users

Revenue/ transaction No.of Transactio ns/users

increase prices Customer rentention Discounts& schemes Bundling Cross&Up selling

Existing Marketing New Markets

Existing Product New Product Existing Product New Product New Channels Better Marketing

New Marketing New customer segments

Marketing Channels

New Customer Segments New marketing channels

InitialQuestions

Get a basic understanding of the company ' s product/services & whatitdoes?

Understand their target segments, what geographies they cater to?

Understandtheproductportfolioforanycrosssellingopportunities

Understanding company ' s capabilities to expand product/service portfolio

Implementing the Ansaff Matrix and identifying where the companyexisitsinthematrix

Askingrelevantquestionaroundthecompany'sgoals

Recommending strategies on venturing into new segments, leveragingnewchannelsetc.

ConQuest, IIM Shillong Page 692022 2023 Analysis

Case12:

Clientisanautomobilepartsmanufacturer.Theywanttogrowto2Xinthenext5years.Analyze thepossibleoptionsandgiverecommendations

Okay,I'llstartbyaskingyouafewquestionstobettergrasptheissueathand.Whatcityisthe clientbasedin?Whatdoesgrowthmean?Isitmeasuredintermsofrevenue,profits,ormarket share?Whatisthescenarioofthemarketrightnow?

Sure.TheclientoperatesinPan India.Theirgoalistoincreasesales.Themarketisreallycut throat.Togetherwithus,thereare5players,andeachhas20%ofthemarketshare.

Okay, the client's primary clients appear to be auto manufacturers because the business appearstobeB2B.Isthattrue?Whatistheprocedureforselling?

Niceinsights.Yes,90%ofourclientsareautomakers.Weproduceplasticcomponentsforcars likesteeringwheelsanddashboards.Tendersystemisusedinthesellingprocess.

Iwanttoknowmoreaboutthesebids.Whatistheprocedureforbidding?What'stheschedule? Whatmethodofdeliverywilltherebeifwegetthecontract?

Sure Whenabusinessdecidestointroduceanewvehicletothemarket,thetenderisreleased If youprevail,youwillreceivethecontractforthevehicle'swholelife.Thecontractisgrantedin accordancewiththepricingofferedandthepre existingrelationshipwiththeautomakers.After receivingthecontract,youestablishaplantnexttotheautomakerandbeginmanufacturing there.

Interesting.IthinkI’vegatheredafairunderstandingofthecontextandtheclientIwouldliketo start the analysis now. I'd like to break the case up into two sections: market expansion and market research. I would discuss geographic expansion, product diversification, and business integrationundernewmarkets.

Whatpreciselydoyoumeanbyintegrationanddiversification.Howwouldyoualsochoosewhich regionstoexpandto?

Bydiversification,Imeanintroducingnewproductcategories.Forexample,wemightlookinto producing parts for different types of vehicles, like 2 wheelers. Integration can then proceed eitherforwardorbackward.Forwardintegrationwouldrequireustomanufacturethecars,which isnotpractical.Inordertoreduceourexpensesforrawmaterials,backwardintegrationwould entailbuyingaplasticmanufacturingfacility.Inordertoexpandgeographically,Iwouldfirstlook intoforeignclientswhohavebeencollaboratingwithusinIndia,likeSuzuki.Sincerelationships arecrucialtoB2Btransactions,ourcurrentconnectionswillaidourentryintonewmarkets.

Great,let’stalkabouttheexistingmarkets.

The number of contracts and the revenue per contract determine the revenue in the current markets.Sincethemarketiscompetitive,itmaynotbeabletoincreaseincomepercontract; instead,weshouldconcentrateongrowingthenumberofcontracts OurContractsisafunction ofthemarket'stotalnumberofcontracts,thepercentageofthosewequalifyfor,thepercentage of those we apply for, and our victory rate. Total contracts are beyond our control. By concentrating on R&D and comprehending market trends, we can improve our chances of landing the ones we ' re qualified for. We need to be aware of the internal decision making proceduresfortheonestowhomweapply.BettertieswiththeOEMcanincreaseourvictoryrate.

Great,that’llbeall.Thankyou!

MERGERS& ACQUISITIONS

MERGERSANDACQUISITIONS(Overview)

Client has asked your decision regarding a potential merger or acquisition opportunity. It could involve understanding synergies involved, doing cost benefitanalysisandduediligenceprocessandarrivingatadecision.

DueDiligence

Strategic options

Commercial (marketrelated)

Operational (targetrelated)

Financial (valuations) Legal (regulatory norms)

Financial Business benefits DealPrice Business synergies Marketreach (new/existing) Competition/ Survival

NetBenefits/ Gains

Deal rationale

Non-financial

Implementation

Potential Risks

How can the merger or acquisition be effectively implemented? Issues related to cultural and operationalaspects

Valuations

Isvalueafair value? Transaction type Integration cost

Firm's objective Newmarkets/ Channels Cost Reduction Marketshare/ Competition

Synergy realization Integration Cultural Aspects Macroeconomicrisks

ExitStrategies

Buyout

Costsavings/ taxbenefits

Portfolio Expansion

InitialQuestions

1.

Get a basic understanding of the acquiror company (client's company)intermsofitsgoalsandobjectives

Questions related to its current state, growth strategy, aims and aspirations,andintegrationplans.

2.Getabasicunderstandingofthetargetcompany

Questions related to target's market share, profitability, competitors,expansionplan.

Analysis

Net Benefits/Gains

Valuations-Presentvalueofcashflowsitcangenerateinthe futurebasedonthecapitalstructure Synergies Revenue(moremarketshare,etc)andCost synergies(sharingofdistributionchannel,etc)generated throughthemerger/acquisition AnalysisofrisksthroughthePESTLEframework

ConQuest, IIM Shillong Page 722022 2023 Going public through anIPO SaletoPEfirm Liquidation

Case13:

US-basedretailconglomeratewantstoacquireafootballclubinEurope.Provideconsultationonthesame.

YourclientisaUS-basedretailconglomeratewithnoexposure,whatsoever,tosportsandrelated materials.ItwantstoacquireoneofthetopthreefootballclubsinEurope.Youareexpectedto provideconsultationonthesame.

Iwouldliketobeginbyaskingafewpreliminaryquestions,togetasenseoftherequirements andobjectivesofourclientaswellasthesaidacquisition.

Sure,goahead.

Whatistheclient’sobjectivebehindmakingthisacquisition?Isitascopeofbusinessplay,orisit somethingelse?

Theclient’sdecisiontoacquireafootballclubisanambitiousmove.Evenso,ourgoalwouldbe to objectively look at this acquisition and derive the maximum benefit for him and for the conglomerate.

Whentheclientspecifies‘topthreefootballclubs’ dotheyhaveanythinginmind?Ifnot,what factorsdotheywantustoconsiderwhileshortlistingpotentialtargets?

The client is looking for one of the clubs amongst Manchester City, Manchester United, and Liverpool.Sincewearetheonesobjectivelyevaluatingtheacquisition,whydon’tyoustartwith listingdownsomefactorsweshouldlookat?

To evaluate such a decision, the first factor to consider would be the club’s current state revenues,asrevenueswouldreflectbestontheclub’sannualearnings/cashflows.Amongstthe oneslisted,ManchesterUnited’srevenuegenerationisconsiderablyhigherthantheothertwo. However, looking at it from a singular standpoint of numbers would not be an accurate evaluation Weshouldalsolookatitfromarevenuechannelstandpoint

Whatallrevenuechannelsdoyouthinkanyfootballclub,suchasaManchesterUnitedshould haveinplaceandwhataresomeadditionalideasthatcanbeconstructedontodiversifytheir revenuechannelsmore?

Traditionalrevenuechannelsincludethematchdaysales&ticketingasthematchesworkona ‘home ground’hostingbasis Claimsonbroadcastingrightsisanothersuchcorrelatedchannel Basedonthesetwofactors,thereareminimaldifferencesbetweenthetop3clubsintermsof revenuechurn.Movingtosomedifferentiatedchannels,alargeportionofincomereceivableby the clubs can come from sponsors, merchandise sale, retail, tours, and friendly matches. ManchesterUnitedisconsiderablyaheadonthesefacetsascomparedtotheothertwoclubsin question.WhatpushesManchesterUnitedbeyondtheedge,istherecentin-transferofCristiano Ronaldo,whichisnotonlyexpectedtoyieldincreasedsponsorshipsandmerchandisesalesbut alsoenhancedreturnsonthetransfermarket.Additionalrevenuechannels,especiallyinthese digital times, includes discounts and merchandise giveaways through online league battles hostedonclub’swebsiteforincreasedtraffic.(Understandtheleaguebattleconcept,followedby aguesstimateonT shirtssoldduetoRonaldo’ssigning)

I agree on all fronts that Manchester United is a good buy, not only in terms of personal ambition but also from a financial standpoint. But how would you source finance for this acquisition,sinceyouarefromaCFAandIBbackground.

There are a couple of ways to source finance for this transaction If the US conglomerate is cashflowrich,thedealcanaccommodateasignificantcash-dealclause.Usingthesamebase, a lower than usual interest rate loan can be used for a leveraged buyout setup. If the US conglomerateispubliclylistedoristradingintheprivatemarketatapremium,thenastock dealcanbestructuredaccordingly.However,moreinformationisrequiredaroundthecapital structure,cashflowpositionandmarketpriceofthestock.

Thankyou,thatwasveryhelpful.Didyouhappentofollowyesterday’sfootballmatch?

Iamnotaconnoisseuroffootball.Infact,Ihaveonlyseenafootballmatch5-7yearsago,that tooforaruntimeof15minutes.

Wow,Ireallydidn’texpectyoutonotfollowfootball,giventhekindofdetailedexplanationyou gaveonpossiblerevenuechannels,aswellastheRonaldotransfer.Goodjob!

Thankyou!

UNCONVENTIONAL CASES

Sometimes,itmaybethecasethatnoneofthestandardcaseframeworkscanbeappliedtothebusinesssituationathand.Just focusonthedetailswithoutpanickingandtrytodissecttheproblem.

EasyWins

Pointstoremember

Nevertrytoforceaframework

Asktheinterviewerformoredetailsifyouarenotawareabouttheindustry Beascomprehensiveaspossible.Usebucketedapproachtodissecttheproblem andhaveastructuralthinking

If the scope of the case is broad, ask the interviewer if focus needs to be on any specificaspecttostructurethethoughtsinaparticulardirection

Case14:SecondhandcarrefurbisherwhoisenteringtheIndianmarket.Identifytheproblemandsuggestmeasures.

YourclientisasecondhandcarrefurbisherwhoisenteringtheIndianmarket.Heishaving problems in managing the inventory. Could you help with identifying the problem and suggestingsomemeasures.

BeforeIbeginmyanalysis,Iwouldliketounderstandtheproblemstatementabitbetter.What exactlydoesourclientdo?Couldyoupleaseelaborateonthesame.

Yourclient dealsinthesecondhandcarmarket.Theypurchasethesecondhandcarsfromthe sellersandrefurbisheverypartofthecarthatisdamaged.Theythensellittotheconsumers whowanttobuyasecondhandcar

Wheredoesourclientoperate?Doesitrefurbishallkindsofcarpartsorarethereanyspecific partsthattheydealin?

Thiscompanyhas7hubsacrossIndia(Delhi,Mumbai,Kolkata,Chennai,Hyderabad,Bangalore, andJaipur).Theyrefurbishallkindsofcarpartsandkeeptheinventoryrelatedtoitinallthe7 hubs

Canyoutellmesomethingaboutthecompetitivelandscapeandifthiscompanyoranyother companyhasenteredanyothermarketpreviously?

Thisisanewstart upandhasnocompetitioninthemarket.Theyarethefirstofitskind.They havenotenteredanyothermarketpreviously.Wealsodonothaveanyinformationonany othercompanyfollowingasimilarmodel.

Alright,great!Couldyoutellmethekindofinventorythatisrequiredbythecompanyatall times?Also,couldyoutellmetheleadtimeforanycarthatittakestorefurbish?

Theinventorywillincludeallthepartsusedinacar,canbeabreakpadorgears,anythingthat thecarrequirestolookandfunctionlikeanewone.Theleadtimeisgenerallyaweekatthe maximum.

Okay,Nowthatwehaveinformationabouttheleadtimebeing1week,wecanconcludethat theinventoryrequirementsforthiscompanywouldbehugeastheydonothavetimetoplace theorderfortheinventoryafterthecarhascomeforrefurbishing.Thestockedinventorywould behighforthiscompany.Couldyougivemesomeinformationonthenumberoftypesofcar partsthatthecompanyaimstokeep?

Greatpoint,soourclientconductedasurveyandcollecteddataonthekindsofinventoryparts used.Wecanconcludethatthereare6000inventorypartsthathasbeenidentifiedtillnow. Couldyouhelptheclientmanagethishugenumberofinventory?Alsotellmewaysinwhichthe clientcanselectthekindofinventoryitthinksisnecessarytokeep.

AlAlright! 6000 kinds of different inventory is very difficult to keep. Hence the company has to prioritiseonwhichinventoryitneedstokeepandwhichinventorytheydonotwantto.Theycan select their inventory following the frequency of use concept In this we can collect data on whichinventorypartsareusedmorethanothersandwhichareveryrarelyused.Bythiswecan keepmoreofthepartswhicharecommonlyusedandlessofthepartswhicharerarelyused.

Good.Couldyoutellmeanotherwayinwhichinventorytokeep/store canbedetermined?

Theinventorycanbedecidedonthebasisofsizethenagain,thenumberofinventoryparts whicharebiginsizewillbekeptlesswhilethenumberofpartswhicharesmallormedium pricedcanbekeptmore.Although,thishastobeinlinewiththefrequencyofuse.

Anotherwayinwhichwecanmanagetheinventorythatwekeepisbyassessingtheleadtime ofalltheinventoryparts.Forthepartsthattakesmoretimeafterorderingaretobekeptmore. Therearesomepartsthatareeasilyavailableinthemarket,thatcanbepurchasedbylocal manufacturersinstantly.Thesepartscanbekeptinlesserquantitytoassesstheinventorytobe stored.

GoodSuggestionshere.Iwouldtoinformyouthattherearetwokindsofinventoryparts,OEM and OES. OEM parts are Original Equipment Manufacturers and OES are Original Equipment Supplier.InthisindustrysomepartsareOEMpartsandsomeareOESparts.Itisgenerallythe trendthatOEMpartstakemoretimetoprocurethantheOESparts.Whatsuggestionscouldyou givetoaccommodatethisinformationandmanageinventorymoreefficiently?

Okay,nowthatwehaveunderstoodwheretheproblemlies,Iwouldliketogivethefollowing suggestionsformanagingtheinventorymoreefficiently:

a)Usingahubandspokemodelwhereoutofthe7spokesthatourclienthas1-2willbemade thehubs(citieslikeDelhiandBangalore).Inthesehubsmostoftheinventorywillbestoredand thespokeswillhavejusttheidentifiedfrequentlyusedinventory.Thecitiesforthehubswillbe chosenafteranalysingtheconnectivityofitwithallthespokes.

b) Our client can make contracts with the local supplier in which they would give us the requiredcarpartaspertheirrequirementatthetimeoftherepair.

c)OurclientcanfollowamodelinwhichtheycankeeptheOEMpartsmoreastheleadtimefor thesamewillbemore.Thecompanyownershaveamoreformalisedprocesshenceinstant deliveryoftheseofpartscannotbedone.

That'sexactlywhatourclientwaslookingfor,thankyou!

Case15:BigBazaarwantstoincreasethefootfallintheirchocolatecategory.Devisestrategytooptimiseshelf-space.

YourclientisBigBazaar,aretailerwhowantstoincreasethefootfallintheirchocolatecategory division. It is also looking for a strategy to optimise shelf-space and want you to give suggestionstothechocolatecategorymanagerinBig Bazaar.

Justtoclarify,Iwouldliketoaskifthisproblemisonlyconcernedwiththatoneoutletlocatedin centralKolkataorisitforalltheoutlets?

Youjusthavetogivesolutionsforthatoneoutlet,youcanassumeitonlyhasoneoutletin Kolkata.

Alright,firstIwouldlikeknowmoreaboutourclient.Canyoutellmesomethingmoreaboutthe Productportfolioinrelationtochocolates?Dotheykeeponlypremiumchocolatesorhaveall thekindsavailable?

Sure,Ourclienthasawiderangeofproductsintheirportfolio.Althoughtheydonothavealotof premiumchocolates.Theydealinallothervarieties,thatiswhite,milkanddark.Theyalsokeep candies,gumsandtoffeesintheiroutlet.

That'sgreat,couldyoutellmethequantumoftheincreaseinfootfallthatourclientis expecting?

Goodquestion,theywanttoincreasetheirfootfallby10%.

Alright!Couldyoutellmeiftheirareanyotherretailchainsorchocolateoutletsnearbyour client'sstpre?Ifyes,aretheyfacingthesameissue?

Thereisnooutletsnearby,justsomesmallpanshops.Alsotheyarenotfacingthesameissue.

Mylastquestionbeforeimovetothesolutionswouldbethatiftheprofitshavebeendeclining? orourclientjustwantstoincreasetheprofitsasitisagrowingmarket?

Theprofitshavenotbeendecliningbutourclientsseesagoodprospectinthisindustryand wanttomaximisetheirprofitabilitylookingattheupwardtrend

Okay,Toincreasetheprofitsourclientcaneitherdecreasetheircostsorincreasetheirrevenue Whataspectwouldyoulikemetoevaluate?

Costsarenotanissueforourclient.Focusontherevenue.

Alright!Iwouldliketoformanequationforassessingtherevenue.

Numberofcustomers*Ticketsizeofeachtransacion*Avgpriceofeachchocolate AmImissingsomething?

No,canyounowdirectlymoveontooptimisingtheshelfspaceandtheselectionof chocolates?

Okay, First i would be helping you with selecting the kind of chocolates and then go to optimisingtheshelfspace,Isitalright?

Yes,pleasegoahead

Thecategorymanagercanselectthechocolatesbasedonthefollowing:

a)Tasteandpreferencesofthatregion

b)Culturalsentimentslikesomechocolateshavecowsfat,thesemightnotbesuitedinIndia

c)Incomelevel(helpsindecidingbetweenluxuryandnormalchocolates)

d)Demographicsoftheregion

Great,couldyousuggestsomemethodsbywhichwecanascertainthese?

Themethodsthatcanbeusedare:

a)Samplingcanbeusedinwhichsomenewbrandswillbebroughttostoreandasampleof thatchocolatecanbegiventoallcustomerstoincreasethebrandawareness

b)Marketsurveysaboutwhichkindofchocolatesarepreferredbythecustomers

c)Keepingmorequantityofthehighestsellingbrands/chocolates

d)Havingsmallkiosksinthestoretopromotechocolatesandknowthecustomerview

e)Havingfeedbackmechanisminthebillingcounterforthechocolatescounter

f) Keeping all kinds of chocolates like luxury, normal and handmade chocolates as every customerprefersadifferentkind

Goodsuggestions,couldyounowhelphimoptimisetheshelfspace?

Shelf space is one of the most important metrics in any retail chain hence optimising it is essential.

a)Categorymanagershouldstartmakingcombooffersinwhichitiscombingavarietyof2-3 chocolatesandsellinghelpingustosavespacebynotkeepingallthechocolatesseparately

b)Selectingthemostsoldsizeofeachvarietyandthenkeepingmaximumofthose

c)Iftwochocolateshavethesamecompositionthenanalysingthemorepopularbrandand keepingchocolatesofthatonly.

Alright,ourclienthasalreadydonethesenow,couldyousuggest5matrixthatyouwilllookat toevaluatetheperformanceofyourdepartment?

Definitely!

a)Assesstheincreaseinfootfallofthestorebykeepingnewbrands

b)Theprofit/shelfspaceoccupiedbythenewbrandsorthenewchocolates

c)Salescomparedtopreviousmonthwheretheimplementationhadnotbeendone

d)Salesofthenewchocolatesthathavebeenaddedintheportfolio

e)Inventoryturnoverratio

f)Cashconversioncycle

g) Quantity of the purchased chocolates or the percentage of the cart value comprising of chocolates

h)Loyaltyandsubstitutionratesofthechocolates

Perfect,Thankyou Itwasgoodtalkingtoyou

Case16:Thecompanyfacingproblemsdeliveringordersontime.Factorstokeepinmindduringsupplierselection.

YourclientisamajorfurnitureE-commercecompany.Ithasbeenseverelyaffectedrecentlyby theCOVID19lockdown.Thecompanyoutsourcesallitsmanufacturingto third partyfurniture manufacturers,anditonlyhandlesthesupplychain,marketing,andsalesofthefurniture.All manufacturersarebasedinSouthIndia.TherearemultipleSKUs,andthestockistransferred directly from the manufacturing site to company owned warehouses as per order requirements

Thecompanyhasfacedproblemsdeliveringordersontimetoitscustomerspostthelockdown, mainlyduetoitssuppliersnotfulfillingordersontime.Itplanstoexpanditssupplierbase.What arethefactorsyoushouldkeepinmindduringsupplierselectionforsuchavendor?

Weneedtokeepinmindmultiplefactorsbeforeweselectasupplierforsuchacompany.Some ofthemare

•Quality-Idefineitasfitnessfortheintendeduse.Forafurnituremanufacturer,thefurniture must be able to meet the desired specifications. This will also include the style, design, and overallfinishoftheproduct.Wecanalsoconsiderpriorcustomers’testimonials,theirprevious qualitycheck/controlrecords(ifany),andaqualityauditperformedon-site(ifpossible)

•Price-Normally,qualitydoesnotalwaysgosidebysidewithprice,butwemusttrytofindout thosesupplierswhomakebetterthanaverageproductsatanaverageprice.However,sub standardandpoorqualitypurchasesshouldnotbemadeatthecostofalowprice

•Location-Thelocationofoursupplierwouldvastlyaffectourdeliverytimeandcost.Hencethe idealsuppliershouldbelocatednearourwarehouses/beabletodeliverconsistentlyontimeat thelowestpossibleprice

•Flexibility-Thesuppliermustbeabletocopeupwithanydemandfluctuations/seasonality's involved

•Sizeofthesupplier Thiswouldaffecttheordersizethatcanbeplacedwiththesupplier.For fast moving items/ items ordered in large quantities, we need the supplier to have a large manufacturingcapacity

SCNOteam)practicetakesup?

Case17:

Problemsfacedbyatravelaggregator’scustomerserviceteam andrecommendationstodealwiththesame.

OurclientXYZisanonlinetravelaggregator.Theyprovideonlineticketbookingandhotel bookingservices.COVID 19hasstartedspreadingacrosstheworldandisjustabouttostrike India.Thecompanyisdevelopingstrategiestoeffectivelycopewiththevariousproblemsthat mayariseduetothepandemic.Thecustomerserviceteam(callcenter)isexpectedtobe strainedthemostduringthisperiod.Theclienthasaskedustopresentareportonthevariety ofproblemsthatthisdepartmentcanfaceandasetofrecommendationstodealwiththe same.

Listofexpectedproblems:

1.Increaseinnumberofcalls

2.Unprecedentedrequests(cancellations,queriesonsafetymeasuresetc.)

3.Lackofclarityonlocalgovtpoliciesandhotelpolicies

4.Remoteworkingarrangementsforcallcenteremployees

5.Trainingforcallcenteremployeesfortherightresponses

Buckettheseininternalandexternalfactors

ExternalFactors:

1.Increaseinnumberofcalls

2.Unprecedentedrequests(cancellations,queriesonsafetymeasuresetc.)

3.Lackofclarityonlocalgovtpoliciesandhotelpolicies

InternalFactors:

1.Remoteworkingarrangementsforcallcenteremployees

2.Trainingforcallcenteremployeesfortherightresponses

CallshaverapidlyincreasedbutduetoWFH,only50%oftheworkforceiseffective,whatare thesolutionsthatcanberapidlyimplementedtotacklethis?Infrastructureadditionisnot possibletoduetologisticalissues

a.Prioritizationofmostfrequentqueriesandaggregationofthecommonqueriesintothemes

b.Dashboardprovidinglivestatusupdatesonimportantthemes–withmostfrequentlyasked queriesinthattheme

Howwouldtheusersknowaboutthedashboard?

a.Notificationtriggerviamobileapptoredirectcustomerstothedashboard

b SocialmediaadvertisementslikeInstagramsponsoredadswithalinktothedashboard targetedtoXYZcustomers

Doesthiscapturetheentireaudience,whatelsecanbedone?

Emailpushnotificationasacatchforallsegments aseldersmaynotbeusingtheappor wouldbeactiveonsocialmedia

Somequestionsoncontingencyplanning.

GUESSTIMATES

PopulationofIndiais1400Million

Rural-UrbanSplit

GUESSTIMATES:Tips&Tricks

TypeofGuesstimates

MarketSizing:

Thiskindofestimatesentailsestimatingthesizeofamarketora company ' s revenue. By estimating the quantity and choosing a priceforeachsortofgoods,thisproblemisresolved.

Unconventional:

The structure of this kind of estimates might not be clear. Such educated guesses are frequently requested in interviews to evaluatethestrategyratherthantheprecisenumbers.

SplitsandFilters

When, guesstimates are solved by using top-down approach, followingarevarioussplitscommonlyusedtodrilldown–

Rural-UrbanSplit:Geographybasedapproach

GenderSplit:Splitbetweenmaleandfemale

AgeSplit:Splitthepopulationintovariousageranges IncomeSplit:Basedonindividualorhouseholdincome

Methodology

Top-DownMethod:

This method begins with a big set, such the entire population, and works to add various splits and filters while making plausibleassumptionstoarriveatanestimate.

DemandandSupplyMethodology

DemandApproach:

This method of market sizing is based on calculating the number of consumers in the target market and the average numberofunitseachconsumerconsumesoveraspecifictime frame.

Bottom-UpMethod:

Thisstrategybeginsbydevelopinganestimateforaparticular representative unit and then extrapolating with plausible hypothesestoarriveatanestimate.

SupplyApproach:

This method of market sizing extrapolates production amount based on the number of factories or the number of raw materialsbyusingthesuppliervaluechain.

Rate of internet = 40%, hence 40%*1bn=400mn

Reach of e-commerce companiestodeliverproducts= (3/4)*400=300mn

Number of males and females assumedtobe50%each

Females of age group 40-80 yearsrarelypreferuseoft-shirts inIndia,hencenotconsidered In India, 30% of people buy tshirts from e-commerce platforms, while 70% prefer buyingfromthemarket

Notes/Suggestions

Always consider the mindset of thecountryinthegivenproblem Online portals provide coupons and offers but because of trust factor and fitting issues, people inIndiastillprefertobuyoffline

Totalt

0-15

=65*4=260 50-80

=18*2=36

Assumptions/Calculations

Internetandsmartphonearetwo main requirements of people orderingthroughSwiggy Customersusingdesktop/laptop arenegligible; notconsidered

Of all the food delivery platform users, 50% of users in Delhi use Swiggy

Notes/Suggestions

Estimating only the Swiggy customers and not food joints, deliverypartners,etc.

Of food and grocery, only food ordering customers are considered

Ask for calculating just for user base or considering active user base(approxmately)

TotalpopulationofDelhi=3crores

Averagefamilysize=4 TotalfamiliesinDelhi=3cr/4=75lakhfamilies

Householdsusingonlinefooddeliveryplatform

Population ofDelhi Averageno.of households Affordability factor Internet& smartphoneusers

Householdsusingonlinefooddeliveryplatform=(PopulationofDelhi/Averageno.ofhouseholds)

*Affordabilityfactor*Internetandsmartphonepenetration =(3,00,00,000/4)*0.8*0.9 =54lakh

NumberofSwiggyusersinDelhi=Householdsusingonlinefooddelivery

=54,00,000*1.8*0.5*0.7=~34lakh

ConQuest, IIM Shillong Page 852022 2023 GUESSTIMATE3:EstimatethenumberofSwiggyusersinDelhi(1/2) (80%assumption) (90%calculated)

Here,

has not been taken into consideration as they rarely order from

also consider the

factor while solving

Assumptions/Calculations

Both private and government schoolsareconsidered Assumed that large schools have all classes from class Nursery to 12th, medium schools have till class 10th while smaller or primary schools have classes tillgrade5th.

Notes/Suggestions

It's always good to confirm with the interviewer whether to go for private schools or government schoolsorboth

TotalpopulationofMumbai=2crores(approx)

Populationbelow18yearsofage(schoolgoing)=30%

Totalpopulationforconsideration=2cr*30%=60lakh

UpperClass

MiddleClass (40%) LowerMiddle Class(30%) BelowPoverty Line(20%) (60%penetration) ((30%penetration) 100%penetration) (100%penetration)

Therefore,percentageofstudentsgoingtoschool=60,00,000*[(10%*100%)+(40%*100%)+ (30%*60%)+(20%*30%)] =44,40,000

/averagenumberofstudentsperschool=44,40,000/1451=2960schools(approx)

Assumptions/Calculations

Airport doesn’t operate at maximumutilization

Turnaround time: Domestic1.5hrs,International-3hrs No. of Gates: Domestic - 30, International 40 Eachgatehas2hangers

Utilization rate assumed uniform at 50% for international flights, while calculated separately for domesticflights

STEP1:Forthis,wewillfirstcalculatethenumberofflights(carryingpassengers)perdaytoand fromtheairport.

Numberofgates(A) 30 40

Numberofhoursinaday(B) 24 24

Turnaroundtime(inhours)(C) 1.5 3

Notes/Suggestions

Consider both domestic and internationalflights

No.ofhangarsateachgate(D) 2 2

Maximumflights(A*(B/C)*D) 960

Estimatethenumberofcabsto&froDelhiairportinaday(2/3)

Assumptions/Calculations

Airport doesn’t operate at maximumutilization

Turnaround time: Domestic1.5hrs,International-3hrs

No. of Gates: Domestic - 30, International 40 Eachgatehas2hangers

Utilization rate assumed uniform at 50% for international flights, while calculated separately for domesticflights

Notes/Suggestions

On confirming with the interviewer, only the paint used for interior residential walls has beentakenintoconsideration

DomesticFlightRush

Hoursoftheday Numberofhours Capacity TotalCapacity

06:00 09:00 3 100% 300%

09:00-18:00 9 60% 540% 18:00-21:00 3 100% 300% 21:00-00:00 3 60% 180% 00:00 06:00 6 20% 120%

AverageCapacityUtilizationforDomesticFlights =1440%/24 =60%

STEP2:Nextstepistoestimatethenumberofseatsinaflight Forthis,wecanestimatetheapproximate30rowsinaflightwith6seatsineachrowfromAtoF, hence180seatsinoneflight.

Estimatethenumberofcabsto&froDelhiairportinaday(3/3)

Assumptions/Calculations

Flight occupancy during peak hours is assumed as 100% while the occupancy of flight during non-peak hours is assumed at 60%

The slots of peak and non peak hours have been kept same as theonesusedduringcalculation ofdomesticflightrush

Assumed that only 50% of the people take a cab from the airport

STEP3:Calculatingtheoccupancyratesinflightduringpeakandnon peakhours. Fromtheprevioustableitself,peakhoursassumedare06:00-09:00and18:00-21:00,hence6 hoursintotal,sotheoccupancyrateforpeakhourisassumedat100%whilefornon-peakhours, itisassumedtobe60%.

Theaverageoccupancyratecalculatedis62.5%.

STEP4:Numberofpassengersinaday=AverageOccupancyRate*Numberofflights*Number ofseats=62.5%*896*180=100,000approximately

Numberofpeopletakingcab=50%*100,000=50,000

STEP5:Nowweassumethatonaverage2peopleshareacab.

Therefore,numberofcabrides=50,000/2=25,000

Notes/Suggestions

STEP6:Alsoonaverageittakesaround2hourstocompleteacabrideandassumingasiftof12 hoursforacabdriver,he/shecanpull6ridesaday.

Thereforethenumberofcabsto&froDelhiairportinaday=25,000/6=4167(approximately)

Numberofcabsto&froDelhiairportinaday=25,000/6=4167(approximately)

Assumptions/Calculations

Number

McDonaldsStore=5 Time Taken to complete 1 Order =4mins

Operational Hours = 8AM to 11 PM.i.e.,15hours

Orders which can be completed in 1 Hour = 60Mins/4 Mins =

Notes/Suggestions

ratetakenforeachtimeslot

8AM 11AM

225 65% BreakfastTime 146 11AM 2PM

225 60% LunchTime 135 2PM 6PM

300 40% PostLunch(Idle Time) 120 6PM-9PM

225 80% EveningSnacks Time 180 9PM-11PM

70% Dinnerandclosing Time 105

assumed to not haveanyTelevisions

Rural:Urbansplitis70:30

AverageLifeofaTV=5Years

Urbanhouseholds=31/4

Notes/Suggestions

with household

not per person

Common mistake would be to assume only whole numbers as a possible unit of broadband connectionownedbyafamily

Assuming the size of population 100M

Dividinginto35%urbanand65% rural

Family size for urban 4 and rural 6

Assuming each family has 2 parentsandhencekidsinrural2 per family and 4 per family in rural

3 years maximum age for child usingdiapers

Rural has 70% access to diapers whileurbanhas100%

Number of days in year 360 and number of diapers consumed is 4perday Market Size: (0.3*100%) + (1.7* 70%)=1.52M

Average consumption per day = 4 No.ofdaysinYear=360 Total no of diaper consumed= 1.56*4*360=2251Mperyear

Notes/Suggestions

Discount for families who don’t usediapers

Common mistake would be to assumeequalfamilysizeinrural andurban

Assumptions/Calculations

Yearly load taken by cargo planes=1000Kilotones.Dividing the types of planes in three part small, medium and heavy with share of 30%,50% and 20% respectively. Load carrying capacity of 50, 100 and 200 tonesrespectively

Timetakenbyplanetotakeoffis

30 sec with time between the two flights depend upon peak, medium and low traffic demand at 2m,4m,6m respectively. Rush hour, medium traffic, low traffic have time span of 10,8,6 hours respectively.

Number of lanes in airport is 3, airportisrunning24X7andthere are no other types of planes flyingoutfromtheairport

Number of passenger flights = (10* 60 / 2.5) + (8*60/4.5) + (6* 60/6.5)=402

Number of flights: 402*50%*3 =603flights

CargoFlights=342flights

Totalflightsperday=945

Notes/Suggestions

Considercoolingperiodbetween twoflights

Common mistake would be to neglect the cargo planes in your calculations

TypeofFlight

PassengerPlanes

Peak Traffic Medium Traffic LowTraffic

Timeonrunway 30secs 30secs 30secs

Timebetweentwo flights 2mins 4mins 6mins

Totaltimetaken 2.5mins 4.5mins 6.5mins

Numberofhours 10hours 8hours 6hours

CargoPlanes

Light Weight Capacity

Medium Weight Capacity

AverageCapacity 50Tonnes 100Tonnes 150Tonnes Loadsharing 30% 50% 20%

Approach

Step 1: We start by assuming the type of planes which fly out of the airport. Two major type passengerplanesandcargoplanesaretakingofffromtheDelhiairport

Step2:Generally,thetimetakenbyflighttotakeoffwillbesame.So,thetimebetweentwoflights will vary depending upon the flight traffic. If it is a rush hour then there should be minimum time differencebetweentwoflightswhichis2min.

Step 3: Now, we can assume how many hours are rush and how may are not. Do the respective calculations to reach the number for three laned in airport. And hence get the total number of passengerflights.

Step4:Cargoflightsarealsotakingofffromtheairport.Now,duetovaryingsizeofcargoplanes from 10 tones to 200 tonnes. So, assuming a ball park range of 50 ton, 100 ton and 150 ton load capacity for light, medium and heavy capacity cargo planes. Also, the load sharing would be different i.e. assuming 30% for light, 50% for medium and 20% for heavy capacity planes. Earlier assumptionat1000kilotonesfortheyearlycapacityoftheairportwecangetthetotalnumberof cargoplanesperday.

Step5:Addingthenumberofplanesforcargoandpassengerplaneswillgivethetotalnumberof airplanestakingofffromtheairport

Thenumberofplanestakingofffromtheairportis945perday

ConQuest, IIM Shillong Page 962022 2023 GUESSTIMATE10:EstimatethenumberofAirplanesflyingoutofDelhi Heavy Weight Capacity

TotalPopulationofDelhiis2Cr

and above 60 years are assumedtobenotworking

% of people working in customer carecentresis15%

Up to 18 years of Age = 0.25* 2,00,00,000

18 – 60 years of Age = 0.7* 2,00,00,000

Above 60 years of Age = 0.05* 2,00,00,000

Consider both BPO and in house customercarecenters

Common mistake would be to neglect the cooling period betweencalls

SourcesofRevenue

Ferry season comprises of Peak season lasting 4 months rest of themonthsNonpeakseason Fleetsizeis10

Numberofweekspermonthis4

Total Revenue for advertising = 40,000*10*4*4=64,00,000 Similarly for the outsourcing, party hosting for peak and non peakseasons

Total revenue = 1,28,00,000 + 1,28,00,000 + 64,00,000 = 3,20,00,000rupees

Advertising PartyHosting Outsourcing

FerrySeason

FerrySeason

Notes/Suggestions

Outsourcing PartyHosting

PeakSeason 100% 20% 40%

Non-PeakSeason 100% 80% 60%

FerrySeason Advertising Outsourcing PartyHosting

PeakSeason 40,000 80,000 40,000

to neglect the seasonal effect on ferrybusiness

Common mistake

Non PeakSeason 20,000 40,000 20,000

FerrySeason Advertising Outsourcing PartyHosting

PeakSeason 64,00,000 25,60,000 25,60,000

Non-PeakSeason 64,00,000 1,02,40,000 38,40,000

Total 1,28,00,000 1,28,00,000 64,00,000

TotalRevenueforferrytransportRs3,20,00,000

Assumptions/Calculations

AreaofChennai=400sq.kms. Let’s assume that the percentage split of total area into Posh, middle income, suburbs/slums categories is30%,45%,25%respectively

Assuming high income people live inposharea

Population density = 25,000 per sq. km

Percentage of people going to gym =10%

Marketshare=20%

Suburbs/Slums 25%=100sq.km

SplittingTotalareaintodifferentsegments

PopulationDensity 25kpersq.km= 30L

FindingthenumbersofAthleticsInc.gymsinposh areasdependingpeoplegoingtogymandmarket

Peoplegoingtogym 10%=3L

20-35yrs-50%,Fitness-70%,non-30%

35-50yrs-35%,Fitness-40%,non-60% 50+yrs-15%,Fitness–10%,non–90%

Notes/Suggestions

%offitnessfreaksbuyingournutritionfood

– 60% (assuming some people don’t buy nutritionfoodatall)

%ofnonfitnessfreaksbuyingournutrition food–20%

Customersperoutlet=2000/outlet Segmentcustomersonbasisofage groups: Poshareacustomers=120*25K*0.3 =60,000

TotalFitnessFreaks=0.7*1000+0.4* 700+0.1*300=1010

Non-fitness freaks = 2000-1010 = 990

Fitness freaks buying nutrition food–60% Non fitness freak buying nutrition food –20%

NumberofAthleticInc.customers(20%marketshare)=60,000

Numberofstores(2000customersperoutlet)=30

TotalFitnessfreaks=1010,TotalNon-fitnessfreaks=990

mistake would be to neglect gym goers who don’t

Assumptions/Calculations

Let’s assume that the % split of moviebuffsandcausalwatchers in each of the income group is 10%,and25%respectively Operational Hours in a day = 15 hoursi.e.,5showsperday

Weekdays Out of 15 hours, generally night time (5 hours) hashigheroccupancyratesince people return from office and other obligations. Therefore, we cansaythat2showsoperateat 70% occupancy rate and 3 shows function at a 60% occupancyrate

Weekends – Out of 15 hours, apart from morning and lunch time (5-6 hours), which generally sees some idle seats, the other time can be consideredpeakhours.Therefore,we cansaythat3showsoperateat100% occupancyrateand2showsfunction ata70%occupancyrate

LowIncomeGroup=0L

MiddleIncomeGroup=90L*10%*4+ 90L*25%*1=58.5L

High Income Group = 60L* 10%* 4 + 60L*25%*1=39L

Low25%=50L

Bifurcating population on

SplittingPopulationintodifferentincome

Middle45%=90L

High30%=60L

MovieBuffs CasualWatchers

Generally, Low Income group don’t have the luxury to watchmoviesincinemas

NumberofseatsrequiredinamonthinDelhi=97.5L(SeeCalculations)

Now,comingtothescreenside.Let’sassumethatamoviescreenoperatesfrom10AMto1AM, i.e.for15hoursandcaters5showsinaday.

Consider all types of seats offeredinamoviehall. Common mistakes would be to consider Friday as part of weekend.

CONSULTING GLOSSARY

20,000Feet

The big picture—For example: “ The view from 20,000 feet.” Other variantinclude “30,000 feet,” “bird’s eyeview,”and“the1,000-mileview.”

This guideline suggests that 80% of the value of effort can be achieved in 20% of the time. It is a constant reminder in the industry to focus on the most important aspects of a project, rather than getting mired in thedetails

Term generally used while developing an agenda for the team meet. Denotes time schedule to discuss miscellaneous topics in a meeting.

When a company, acquirer, purchases and absorbs the operationofanother, i.e. the acquired. The acquirer gets controlofacquiredcompany

AlignmentModelof

Canbeacteduponorcanbedone.

A general phrase that can mean a number of things, but all of them revolve around the idea of being productive. Evolved from the conceptof“valueadded.”

Focuses especially on aligning the internal operations to work effectively & efficiently towards the mission and goals of the organization.

Business to Business, referring to a companys primary audience for salesandmarketing

B2C

BalancedScorecard Bandwidth Baseline

Business to Consumer refers to a company’s primary audience for salesandmarketing.

A strategic framework for categorizing your strategy into four interdependent balanced areas financial, customer, internal business processes, and employee learning&growth.

Availability. For e.g. : “I will have bandwidthtotakeonthatprojectifI complete this month customer attritionmodel.”

Base level of previous or current performancethatcanbeusedtoset improvement goals and provide a basisforassessingfutureprogress

Benchmarks Beach BestofBreed BestPractices

Metrics or standards that competitors in the client market attain. Used usually for operational efficiency.

It refers to a consultant that is not actively enrolled in any project and thereforenotonabillableproject

Something that is considered superiortoitssubstitutes;canapply to many things in Consulting. See “BestPractices.”

Developingbenchmarksforpractice or techniques that have shown superior results relative to other practicesortechniques.

aka“MBB”

1.McKinsey

2.Bain

3.BCG

Big3

Big4 Blanks BoiltheOcean

Deloitte Ernst&Young KPMG PricewaterhouseCoopers

PowerPoint slides that are drawn on a notepad. More senior Consultants often describe a presentation yet to be drafted by “blanking” a series of slides and giving them to a junior Consultant to perform the work requiredtocompletethem.

An idiomatic phrase meaning to undertake an impossible task to make a job or project unnecessarily difficult. The phrase appears in business as well as in other group settings and is considered to be a negative phrase in relation to how oneapproachesatask.Forexample: “We don’t need to boil the ocean to get the exact number on this. Just make an estimate based on historicaldataforoneproductline.”

BottomUp BusinessPlan ButtonedDown

BypassAttack

Developing an estimate by starting withthelowest-levelassumptions& building those all the way up to an estimate.Forex.,estimatingmarket size by starting with individual products and prices and adding up toatotalindustrysize.Contrastwith “Top down.”

A formal guide outlining your businessgoalsandplanstoachieve the goals. It may also include background information on the organization attempting to achieve thesegoals

Completed thoroughly and professionally.Forexample:“Getthis customer acquisition model buttoned-downandthenwe’llmove ontointernationalmarketsizing.”

It avoids any belligerent move directed against the competitors’ territory. It involves bypassing competitors and attacking easier markets.

Buckets

CAGR CampusHire Case

Categories

Acronym for Compound Annual Growth Rate. For example, if a market grows from $100 billion to $230 billion over the course of 9 years, the CAGR is 9.70%. This is analogous to the Internal Rate of ReturninFinance.

A consultant hired directly from undergraduateorbusinessschools, asopposedto“experiencedhire”

A consulting project. (Also called as aStudyoranEngagement)

CapacityBuilding Cascading

CauseandEffect ChargeCode

It is the process of creating, improving and retaining core skills, knowledge and capabilities of an organization’s people and processes.

The process of aligning the various KPIs, goals, and projects in an organization to the higher strategy. All actions taken should be contributing to a higher level goal orstrategy.

The process of identifying the relationship between things or events. The purpose is to identify if one event or action caused another tooccur.

ConQuest, IIM Shillong 2022 2023 CONSULTINGGLOSSARY An unique code provided with each project/ assignment to which you canchargework relatedexpenses

ChangeManagement

CircleBack Core C-Suite

A service provided by consulting firms to help with a period of major company change, such as an acquisition or a major shift in strategicpriorities.

To catch up again later, but used to indicate that now is not the right time. For example: “Let’s circle up after the 6 p.m. call. I have a few tweaks to make to my model.” Comparewith“Touchbase.”

The chief concerns of a company or businessunit.

Refers to any number of executives with a capital C at the beginning of their title (the C stands for “Chief.” Forexample:COO,CFO,CEO,CIO, CMO,etc.

CoreClient CoreCompetencies

CostBenefit Analysis Critical SuccessFactor

A client with a long standing firm relationship, and one in which there iscontinualdialoguebetweensenior executives even if there are no ongoingprojects

Similar to Core, but usually used to address areas where a company performs very well compared to competitors or similar companies.

For ex. : “Our core competencies in procurement have led to larger gross margins than other manufacturers.”

A management tool that involves calculating or estimating the monetary costs and the potential benefits of a proposed course of action.

The term used to describe an element that is required to reach businessgoalsandvision.

CostLeadership

Crisp

Cultural Competence CriticalPath

It is one of the three competitive strategies an organization may choose to focus on to gain a competitive advantage over their competitors. It requires the organization to offer the lowest prices on goods/services in the marketplace.

An adjective indicating that the referenced work or analysis is thorough and complete, perhaps by gastronomical allusion to food that isfullyprepared;itisdulynotedthat crisp objects, while ostensibly finished,arealsofarmorebrittleand pronetoshattering

A set of values, behaviours, attitudes, and practices which enable people to work effectively across racial/ethnic and cultural lines.

The key tasks needed in order for a processtoachieveadesiredresult

Customer Perspective Dashboard DueDiligence Differentiation

The external customer’s point of viewonanorganization,&thevalue they place on the product/services offeredbytheorganization.

A reporting tool used to consolidate important metrics & information to display in one concise layout to inform the viewer at a glance of currentdata.

Comprehensive study / survey of a business model with an aim to set clearexpectations,risks,etc.aspart ofabusinessproposal.

Differentiation is a competitive strategy used by organizations to gain a competitive advantage over its competitors. The organization using this strategy will focus on offering unique products/services to differentcustomersegments.

DeepDive

Similar to “double click”, this means a thorough and in - depth explorationofparticulartopic.

Deck DrillDown Deliverable

Slidepresentation ,typicallyinMSPowerPoint.

To get beyond the higher- level summaryintothedetails.

Anythingthatisowedbyyoutoyour manager/team,orowedbyteamto client

Doubleclick EconomicValueAdded ElevatorPitch

ExperienceCurveAnalysis

Similar to “deep dive”, this means a thorough in depth exploration of a particulartopic

Method to measure the financial performance which assesses actions and activities of an organization as to whether they have created value and how much forshareholders.

The results and key conclusions in roughly a paragraph. Derived from the idea of being able to convince someone of something important withinthespanofasharedrideinan elevator.

The experience curve analysis is a model which can be used to understand the trend between production output and production costs.

EmpowermentEvaluation

ElevatorTest EncirclementAttack ExperiencedHire

Anevaluationapproachthataimsto improvetheorganization’speopleto helpthemachievetheirgoals.

A test of one’s ability to explain concepts in a short period of time (typically 60 seconds or less). The elevator test represents a hypotheticalsituationwhereyouare sharing the elevator with a VIP and need to give them a quick summary/presentation during the ride

Only well-financed firm use it. It involves an attempt to capture a widesliceofthecompetitors’market throughagrandoffensiveonseveral broadfronts

A consultant hired from an other company, typically with a higher starting position and salary than 1st yearconsultants.

Meetinginpersonorvirtually.

Typically, a “pack” of information that provides essential “facts” on a projectoranindustryoracompany.

This strategy is used when the challenger sets its sights on its targetweakestpoints.

Focusareasdescribethethingsthat you want to accomplish to deliver your vision summarized into distinct themes. When all of your focusareashavebeenachievedyou should also have achieved your vision.

Facetime FactPack

FlankAttack FocusAreas

FocusGroup

Aformofqualitativeresearchwhich engages a group of people (usually 3 or more) in an interview like process in order to gauge their perceptions, opinions, beliefs, and attitudes to a particular product, serviceortopic.

Forecast FrontalAttack GainTraction

Type of bar chart that illustrates a projectschedulewithstartandfinish dates,deliverable,etc.

Theestimatedvalueofametricata

future point in time. Different from the target amount of a metric, a forecast estimate what the metric will likely be based on historical data.

This strategy is used when the challenger masses its competitive forces right up against those of the opponent by attacking its competitors’ strengths rather than its weaknesses. For this to succeed, the challenger needs a strength advantageoveritsopponent.

Have a client or senior person engaged in an idea. This is an important concept for selling new Consulting projects, and/or for suggestinganadditionorchangeto aConsultingworkplan.

Aneducatedguess.

Comprehensive study / survey of a business model with an aim to set clearexpectations,risks,etc.aspart ofabusinessproposal.

Global Management Consultancy, sometimesreferringtojusttheBig3, sometimesreferringtotheBig3plus theBig4accountingfirms.

GanttChart

Guesstimate GapAnalysis GMC

Greenfield

Granular GuerrillaAttack Hands

New opportunity. For example: “Entering the Indonesian insurance market is a true Green field opportunityfortheCompany.”

Adetailedlevelofabstraction;often usedinthecontextofincreasingthe fineness of the analysis, as in: “We needtogetmoregranularhere”

Itinvolvesmakingsmall,intermittent attacks on different territories of the opponent. A guerilla attacker uses both conventional and unconventional means of attacking theopponent.

Oftenprefacedwith‘client,’indicates the interpersonal skills of an individual in relation to a particular group of people, as in, “That manager sure has great client hands”

HardData HardStop HighLevel HumanCapital

Hard data describes data in a numerical form that can be precisely measured and quantified. It represents objective measures of data such as revenue, costs, profit etc.

Used to indicate that after the time indicated, the listeners are on their own, because the person stating thattheyhaveahardstopsureisn’t goingtobearoundtohelpafterthen

Similarto5,000 mileview,buthigh level can also mean a very rudimentary analysis (often lacking indetail)

Describes the skill, knowledge, and output of employees as physical assetstoorganization.

HittheGroundRunning

HybridStrategy JointVenture

The ability to add value in a project quickly, meaning getting up to speed on the important details and understanding and taking on next stepsquickly.

It is a term used to describe organization applying combination of two or more competitive strategies

A joint venture is a form of strategic partnership between a foreign organization and domestic organization

A KPI is a stable indicator that helps to determine whether a goal has been accomplished (KPIs can apply equally to your vision, focus areas, organizationalgoals)

LitmusTest LaggingIndicator LeadingIndicator Leverage

A test that is an effective and definitive way of proving something or measuring it. A litmus test is only determinedbyasinglekeyfactor.

A measurable fact that records the actual performance of an organization. A lagging indicator includesthefollowing-annualsales, growth in annual sales, gross margin, annual net income and growthinannualnetincome.

A measurable factor that changes before the company starts to follow aparticularpatternortrend.Leading indicators are used to predict changes in the company, but they are not always accurate. Leading indicators can include % growth in salespipeline,etc

Make use of; translate into additionalgains.Thisisanextremely common Consulting word. For example: “We just need to leverage the core competencies we have in the mortgage lending business to ourotherproductlines.”

KPI

LowHangingFruits

ManagingUp MarketSegmentation MECE

Thethingsthatcaneasilygetdone.

Helping superiors to do their job better by giving them feedback, keeping them in the loop, and anticipating problems they may have and helping them resolve them. Managing up is an incredibly valuableskillforjuniorConsultants.

Market segmentation describes the processofbreakingupamarketinto clearly distinguishable and relevant subgroups based on a common factor, such as interests, demographics,sociographicetc.

Stands for Mutually Exclusive, Collectively Exhaustive. A standard fordevelopingcommunicationsthat cover all of the relevant issues effectivelywithoutredundancy.Very prominentconceptatMcKinsey.

Megatrends MissionCritical MissionStatement

Near-ShoreOutsourcing

Megatrendisaterm

given to global economic transformations that are persistent andaffectbusiness,society,politics, technology,andenvironment.

A product, concept, analysis, or service that is irreplaceable. For example: “Do we really need this expensive item? Is it mission critical?”

A mission statement describes an organization's core purpose for existing. A mission statement is not a goal and does not usually have a time frameattachedtoit.

Near-shore outsourcing is the strategy of moving certain business operation or functions to low-cost countriesthatarecloseto the home countryoftheorganization.

ParallelHire

PerformanceDriver PipeorPipeline

A consultant hired from another company, typically with a more senior position and higher starting salarythan1styearconsultants.See also“experiencedhire”

A performance driver is a metric used generally as a key indicator or early warning that an issue is present.

Short for pipeline and refers to upcoming projects the Consulting firm may have available (e.g. Supervisor,whatisinthepipe?)

POA PushBack ProgressReview

Qualitative

PlanofAction

To indicate to a superior Consultant that something is difficult or challenging and may not be realistic. Being able to push back effectivelywhenamanagermaybe overpromising or unrealistic is an important, delicate skill. Pushing backcanalsobedone.

A periodic meeting to review progress made and results from time to time. Can also refer to a professional performance review for Consulting.

A subjective form of measurement. Examples of qualitative measurement are surveys and customerfeedbackforms.

PIOUTA

Pulleditoutofthinair

QC

Quality Check, typically referring to need to check for typos, grammar mistakes,calculationerrors,etc.

Space StandUpCall

Amarket,arena,fieldofendeavor,or generalarea

A ‘quick’ round table team call to update status from each team member/lead.

A construct presented purely for the sake of argument, with the implication that it is not designed to withstandrepeatedattacks

ThinkingOutoftheBox TopDown

The ability to be creative or innovative in solving a difficult problem. “Thinking out of the box” typically is a blanket solution to a difficult problem that no one has solvedyet.

Developing an estimate by starting with the highest-level assumptions and using estimates to drill down to a smaller-level estimate. For ex., estimating market size by starting with the number of potential customers and estimating how many purchases the product, how frequently, and at what price points.

Contrastwith“Bottoms-up.”

TouchBase

UniqueSellingProposition

To catch up with someone, typically a person with whom you’ve not had much contact lately. For example: “I’ve been dealing with another client all week and I know I owe you some numbers. We’ll touch base aftermyafternoonconferencecall.”

USP is a marketing technique used to highlight how a business’ products/ services are unique from competitors.

StrawMan

UporOut

UpwardFeedback ValueChain ValueAdd

Employee promotion policy where if you’re not promoted “up”, you’re counseled“out”ofthecompany.

The process of providing feedback “upward”tomoresenioremployees, frommanagerstopartners

The overall process or actions that an organization completes in order to add value to an item. This may include marketing promotion and after-salessupport

A takeoff on “value added,” which is based on the notion of increasing shareholder wealth by contributing to the profitability and therefore valueofafirm.Nowusedtodescribe anything that “adds value,” i.e., is positive, productive, and helpful. For example: “Consultants are clearly value-addprofessionals.”

A statement that outlines how an organization intends to differentiate themselves from their competition andprovidevaluetoitscustomers

Vision statement is an aspirational description of what an organization wants to achieve or accomplish in themidtolongterm.

An opportunity for a company to generate revenue where it is not currently.Forex:generatingrevenue from an existing product in a new market.

It is a schedule for completing a project or set of tasks for a project. Theworkplanisadominantissuein allConsultingprojects.

ValueProposition VisionStatement WhiteSpace WorkPlan