![MECE and Mathematical Formulation
Often in different case themes, we have to drive the interview in a specific way to get to the root cause or the localised issue at hand. Various tools
can be used to this end that enable us to get to the problem in a structured and reiterative manner.
The MECE principle suggests that in order to break any problem, it should split
into smaller buckets that are
1. Mutually Exclusive: All subproblems fit into different categories, i.e. they
should be independent of each other.
2. Collectively Exhaustive: All subproblems put together should completely
define the scope of the original problem.
Being MECE in their approach helps candidates in breaking complicated
problems into simple chunks assisting them in identifying the root cause
without the possibility of any duplication
MECE (Mutually Exclusive and Collectively Exhaustive) Mathematical Formulation
Cost of travelling from Delhi to Kolkata
Cost of one liter petrol
(Rs./lt) * *
Mileage
(lt/km)
Distance
(km)
Consider the case of estimating the number of cycles in India. The
population of India, in this case, can be split on the basis of various age
segments such as 0-18, 19-45, 45-60, 60+ to simplify the challenge of
figuring out the proportion of the population that owns cycles.
Similarly, MECE splits can be drawn on the basis of gender, rural/urban,
product segments, etc. depending on the case at hand.
MECE
0-18 19-45
60+
46-60
0-20
18-45
40-60
60+
Not MECE
The process of mathematically breaking down various case-
affecting factors to quantitatively gauge them and drill down to the
root cause of the problem in a highly precise manner.
So is possible due to the MECE nature of mathematically breaking
down things into formulae, where each individual component can be
assessed independently and can hence assist the interviewee in
going a level deeper in an efficient manner
if one were to estimate the cost of travelling from Delhi to Kolkata,
they could break the cost into [Cost of one liter petrol (Rs./lt) *
Mileage (lt/km) * Distance (km)]. Further, each of the three
components can be assessed individually to analyze which factor is
causing change in costs
EXAMPLE
EXAMPLE
Why MECE?
What is MECE?
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![I want you to estimate the quantity of paint used in India in a year.
Okay, first, to understand the problem better, I would like to ask a few
clarifying questions.
Yeah, sure, go ahead.
Are we considering wall paints only or all kinds of paints?
For this case, we are looking for wall paints only.
And can I assume that houses and stores are to be painted?
Yes, you can assume that.
I also wanted to ask how many surfaces are to be painted
5 surfaces are to be painted, considering 4 walls and 1 roof.
Okay, so I will assume that the total population of India is 100 crore, of
which 10% are rich, 50% are middle class, and 40% are poor.
Furthermore, I’ll split them on the basis of number of houses.
Let’s say the rich population own 2 houses each. 50% of the middle
class population own 2 houses, 25% own 1 house while 25% don’t
own any house. Finally, 20% of poor population own 1 house while
80% don’t own any.
Does this segmentation sound fine to you?
Yes, you can go ahead with making those assumptions.
Alright, thanks. To get the number of households, I will assume that
there are 4 members in every rich family, 5 in every middle-class
family, and 6 in every poor family. And for shops, I will assume that
there is 1 shop owner in every 20 households.
Yes, fair enough. You can move ahead.
Great, moving ahead, I’ll take the average size of each wall to be 12
sq meters and of each painting, stroke to be 100 millimeters. And I
will assume that each house or store is painted once every 6 years.
Sounds great!
Finally, to get the volume of paint used I’ll solve this-
[(No of surfaces) x (Area of each surface) x (Size of each stroke) x
(No of houses + shops)] / Probability of a paint job in a year
= [(5) x (12 m2) x (100 mm) x (18.33crore + 5crore)] / 6
= 233.3 crore m3
GUESSTIMATE | MEESHO BA (1/2)
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![KEY Takeaways:
In case the interviewer doesn’t
mind a simpler approach, the
candidate can choose to assume
the stadium to be an inverted
cone cut at the ti
The candidate can then calculate
the volume by first evaluating the
volume of the whole original cone
and subtract the volume of the tip
to get a good estimate of the
volume of the stadium
Approach:
Problem statement : How many tennis balls can fit in a stadium?
Alternate Approach:
Total Available Volume
Volume above the pitch
[Formula]
Volume of stands
[Formula]
Number of balls= (Total Available Volume * Packing
Efficiency) / Volume of One Ball
Volume of showcase
area at ground floor
[Formula]
In cases which are related to area, volume, customers related to revenue per customer, value chain based on import/export, it
is easier to use a bottom-up approach.
For the main approach candidate must try to fully explain the formula and all its components in detail, so that the interviewer
stays in the loop of things.
While asking clarifying questions, it is good to cover as many things as possible. Furthermore, the interviewer might even
provide additional information which helps the interviewee a lot
GUESSTIMATE | OYO BA (3/3)
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![Correct.
Your figure is slightly off, but I liked your approach. This is all for the
interview, thank you for coming in.
Guesstimate | L.E.K Consulting - 2 (2/3)
Now, I’ll split these segments into their respective fitness consciousness
buckets and calculate the approximate number of mangoes consumed in
New York in a given month.
[Calculation]
So my calculation tells me that 10.75 million mangoes are consumed in
New York in a given month
Thank you.
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![Market Entry | Model Case - e2W (2/3)
Yes, that seems like a detailed enough analysis. Now you can suggest
some recommendations, and we can close the case.
I will rule out the below-poverty income category because affording an
electric 2-wheeler would not be possible for them. I will further split the
remaining 3 categories based on direct and indirect competitors
pertaining to the traditional 2-wheeler companies and use that factor to
understand the adoption of electric two wheelers. The lower income
bracket has lower environmental awareness and is also price-conscious.
The upper middle class has relatively more disposable income and is
more environmentally conscious. Finally, the upper class can easily afford
these vehicles. Based on these, the calculation would look as follows:
What is the cost of the economy electric 2-wheeler that we’re offering ?
Given our analysis and that we are pitted to make profits once we enter
the markets and given the other favorable conditions listed above, I
think it will be a feasible option for us to enter the market. Do you also
want me to map out a detailed GTM strategy along with pricing,
competitor pricing, and the geographies (states) we should enter?
Ok, that seems nice. Please proceed ahead.
Yes, I could have added the age split in the urban population to make it
more precise, as the age group of 18-25 is more environmentally
conscious.
No, that wouldn't be required, and we can close the case.
Assume that we make substantial profits and the number and our bottom
line is financially feasible. How would you approach the problem in that
case, and what would be your recommendations?
Yes, this number seems fair. But do you want to talk about certain
elements you could have added to make the calculations more
accurate?
I would like to whip out a quick analysis of the facts we have discussed in
the case today.
Our strengths are:
We already have a customer base that is loyal to us and knows our
brand name due to our electric buses
We have infrastructure that we can leverage to manufacture these
electric 2-wheelers
Specifically, in the electric 2-wheeler segment, the Government's
policies are very favorable and there are heavy subsidies
Typically, the 18-25 population is the country's most environmentally
conscious and voluminous population. This is something that we can
leverage.
Our weaknesses are:
The upfront costs is very high
Also, our first mover advantage can be disadvantageous as we do not
have competitors to benchmark our price with, also it will make it
difficult for us to negotiate with OEMs as there are no other
competitors
The EV market in India is very nascent and not very well established,
even though the perception is still changing.
Does this seem like a detailed enough analysis?
Total urban population: (30/100 x 1.2billion)
Total number of households: ¼(30/100 x 1.2billion)
Total households in lower middle income: ¼(30/100 x 1.2billion) x 25/100
Total households in upper middle income: ¼(30/100 x 1.2billion) x 25/100
Total households in upper income: ¼(30/100 x 1.2billion) x 10/100
Total E2W market: 10/100[¼(30/100 x 1.2billion) x 25/100] +
30/100[¼(30/100 x 1.2billion) x 25/100] + 40/100[¼(30/100 x 1.2billion) x
10/100]
= 12,600,000
Does this number seem fair to you?
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![Finance & Economics (1/5)
represent the potential
benefits that an
individual, investor, or
business misses out on
when choosing one
alternative over
another.
Opportunity cost = FO – CO
Where,
FO = Return on best Forgone
option
CO = Return on Chosen Option
The most fundamental TVM
formula takes into account the
following variables-
FV = Future value of money
PV = Present value of money
i = interest rate
n = number of compounding
periods per year
t = number of years
Based on these variables, the
formula for TVM is FV = PV x [ 1 +
(i / n) ] (n x t)
Time value of money means that a sum of
money is worth more now than the same
sum of money in the future.
This is because money can grow only
through investing. An investment delayed
is an opportunity lost.
The formula for computing the time value
of money considers the amount of money,
its future value, the amount it can earn,
and the time frame.
Opportunity cost is the forgone benefit that
would have been derived from an option not
chosen.
Considering the value of opportunity costs
can guide individuals and organizations to
more profitable decision-making.
Opportunity cost is a strictly internal cost
used for strategic contemplation; it is not
included in accounting profit and is
excluded from external financial reporting.
The time value of
money is a basic
financial concept that
holds that money in the
present is worth more
than the same sum of
money to be received in
the future.
Definition Formula Key takeaways
143
Opportunity costs](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/iit-bhu-230204144550-43268525/85/iit-bhu-pdf-159-320.jpg)
![Finance & Economics(2/5)
Definition Formula Key takeaways
Net present value
(NPV) is the
difference between
the present value of
cash inflows and the
present value of cash
outflows over a
period of time.
If there’s one cash flow from a
project that will be paid one year
from now, then the calculation for
the NPV is as -
NPV = [cash flow/(1+i)^t] – initial
investment
Where,
i=Required return or discount rate
t=Number of time periods
Net present value, or NPV, is used to
calculate the current value of a future
stream of payments from a company,
project, or investment.
The discount rate may reflect your cost of
capital or the returns available on alternative
investments of comparable risk.
If the NPV of a project or investment is
positive, it means its rate of return will be
above the discount rate.
The internal rate of
return (IRR) is a metric
used in financial
analysis to estimate
the profitability of
potential investments.
IRR is a discount rate
that makes the net
present value (NPV) of
all cash flows equal to
zero in a discounted
cash flow analysis.
Where-
• Ct=Net cash inflow during
the period t
• C0=Total initial investment costs
• IRR=The internal rate of return
• t=The number of time periods
The motive of IRR is to find a discount rate
such that the total present value of annual
nominal cash inflows equals the
investment's initial net cash outflows.
IRR is ideal for analyzing capital budget
projects to understand and compare
potential future annual returns.
IRR helps investors determine the return on
investment of various assets.
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![If the value of the test statistic is lower than the critical value,
we accept the null hypothesis or else reject the hypothesis.
Stats for Business (5/5)
2. T-test
It also assumes the distribution to be normal and is used to
compare the mean of two samples.
t = (x1 — x2) / (σ / √n1 + σ / √n2)
x1 = mean of sample 1
x2 = mean of sample 2
n1 = size of sample 1
n2 = size of sample 2
3. Chi-square test
It is used in the case of categorical variables. Null
hypothesis is that the two variables are independent.
Χ2 = Σ [ (Or,c — Er,c)2 / Er,c ]
Or,c = observed frequency count at level r of Variable A &
level c of Variable B
Er,c = expected frequency count at level r of Variable A &
level c of Variable B
Sample is assumed to be normally distributed and calculated
on basis of parameters like mean and standard deviation.
Null hypothesis is that the mean of the sample is the same as
the original dataset.
z = (x — μ) / (σ / √n)
x = sample mean
μ = population mean
σ / √n = population standard deviation
Z-test
152](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/iit-bhu-230204144550-43268525/85/iit-bhu-pdf-169-320.jpg)
iit-bhu.pdf
- 1. Casebook ‘22 of IIT(BHU) Varanasi presents
- 2. Issues & Copyright Casebook ’22, The Business Club, IIT(BHU), Varanasi© 2022, The Business Club, IIT(BHU), Varanasi. All rights reserved. Notice No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system – without permission in writing from the First edition: July 2020 Second edition: November 2021 Third Edition: October 2022 The Business Club, IIT(BHU), Varanasi.
- 3. A couple of years back, a step was taken by The Business Club to help peers and juniors who sat for placements and internships. The Club received lots of appreciation for curating preparation content for Analyst, Consulting, Quant, and Product Management roles and compiling it into a book, which turned out to be one of the most successful initiatives: “Casebook 1.0”. The “1.0” in the name was a deliberate showcase of commitment and confidence by the Club to produce more editions of the Casebook. “Casebook 3.0” is one more step in that direction. This book, like its previous editions, is an affirmation of the vision of the club to aid the students who want to test their business acumen by venturing into business-related fields. Last year’s placement and internship data and the students' achievements at various levels point out the trend of rising analytics, consulting, and product management opportunities (culture) at IIT(BHU). Matching the “demand”, Casebook 3.0 “supply” not just more, but better cases, interview transcripts, and techniques to help people learn the skill of problem structuring and solving and become more confident with their presentation and articulation process. Reinventing and adapting itself to the Covid-induced changes in the process of tests and interviews, this book will be an essential tool for folks to accustom themselves to the “New Normal”. Going through the content, I can only imagine the concerted effort of the authors and editors in compiling interviews and transforming them into a book. I want to thank them for adhering to the Club’s principles and vision in helping their counterparts prepare for but not limited to, their placements. I would also like to acknowledge the significant contribution of Ashwin, Aayush, Pratyush, Hritwik, Addya, Ishika, Manish, Sanchit, Anesh, and all the former and current secretaries and club members in taking this instrumental initiative for the college. Harsh Nadar Former Secretary The Business Club IIT(BHU) Varanasi Foreword
- 4. Index CONTENTS PAGE NO. S.NO. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. Index Acknowledgement About Business Club IIT BHU All About Cases Alumni Testimonials What’s new and how to use this book? About Consulting All about case interviews HR question tips Supplementing your toolkit i) Guesstimates 1-3 4 5 6-7 8 9-12 13-14 15-18 19-25 26-47 1 48-61 29-30 31-33 34-35 36-38 39-40 41-43 44-46 47 MEESHO BA OYO B JPMC Analys Redseer Strategy Consultants B Mastercard Consulting Analys L.E.K Consulting - L.E.K Consulting - Model Guesstimates 50-52 53-55 56-57 58-59 60-62 LEK Consultin Model Case - Petrol Pump Model Case - Automobile Model Case - Health Car Model Case - Logistics ii) Profitability
- 5. Index CONTENTS PAGE NO. S.NO. 2 63-76 64-66 67-68 69-71 72-74 75-76 Meesho BA - Meesho BA - Housing.com Model Case- Airlin Flipkart APM -1 iii) Root Cause Analysis 77-91 79-81 82-84 85-88 89-91 KPMG Model Case - e2 Model Case - Dog Owner’s Marke Model Case - Energy Device iv) Market Entry 100-112 100-101 102-104 105-107 108-110 111-112 Flipkart APM - Model Case - WhatsApp Payment Microsoft TP Flipkart APM - Flipkart APM - 4 v) Product: Metrics and Design 92-99 92-94 95-97 98-99 Dalber Model Case - Unhappy Studen L.E.K. Consulting iv) Unconventional
- 6. Index CONTENTS PAGE NO. S.NO. 12. Industry Insights 3 113-121 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 Oil & Gas Healthcar Aviation Retai FMC E-commerc Hospitalit Automobile Logistics 13. Assorted Frameworks 13. 122-142 122-123 124-125 126 127-128 129-130 131-132 133-134 135-136 137-138 139-140 141-142 3C & 1P Framewor Internal/External Analysi Cost Benefit Analysi Qualitative & Quantitative Analysi McKinsey’s 7S Framewor BCG Growth-Share Matri Porter’s Five Forces Framewor SWOT Analysi 5W1H Framewor PESTEL Analysi Value Chain Analysis 14. Fin & Eco Overview 143-147 15. Statistics for Business 148-152 16. Product Primer 153-160 17. 18. Datasheets Contributors 161-162 163-166
- 7. Acknowledgement We commend and are eternally grateful to the people who have helped in the development of the casebook by sharing with us their interview insights and enabling us to put together this comprehensive documentation. It was a thorough process filled with a lot of long hours. This book is dedicated to all our esteemed alumni who helped us in creating this compilation of business and placement interview questions. This compendium would not have been possible without the formidable contribution of the club members and their diligence. We are grateful to the previous team for creating the Casebook 2.0 edition, which served as the great stepping stone to build upon. We would also like to thank Archit Gupta, Ayush Gupta, K Abhishek Kumar, Mugdha Shelke, Shivam Shukla, Vaibhav Tripathi, and Yash Gupta for their diligent efforts towards continuing this culture of excellence at the institute. Suyash Tripathi Chief Editor IIT BHU Casebook ‘22 4
- 8. About Business Club IIT(BHU) The Business Club, IIT(BHU) is the student-run club of Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University), Varanasi where the confluence of finance, economics, consulting, analytics, and product management transpires. The club doesn’t just limit itself to these few verticals, but rather focuses more on the ever-flowing culture of constant learning and curiosity to learn even more. Having begun a few years with a team of a handful members, the club has since moved forward by leaps and bounds to a size of over 150+ core members and an enthused learning community of 400+ members. The club launched its flagship publication, The Casebook, 2 years ago in 2020, and it has since become the most widely- followed and preferred placement preparation material in IIT (BHU). Being from a technical institute, the club’s members never fail to bring a unique perspective from a technological standpoint that can often be the difference-maker in problem solving. Thus, with the same sheer confidence in our mind, we dedicate ourselves to building a casebook that is fresh with tools to build in-demand hard and soft skills, with innovation at the top of our minds, every year. The Business Club IIT (BHU) Varanasi 5
- 9. Alumni Testimonials Ishika Mittal, Investment Analyst | @SpecialeInvest “Casebook has been one influential resource for me to gauge and build my first principle thinking. The learnings I had from the same, have shaped a lot of how I structure thoughts during work, beyond interviews and have been instrumental in my day-to-day life here as a VC. I would really recommend everyone to go through it, and develop the skill, albeit the questions of sitting in tech or non-tech roles.” 6 "Casebook really helped me develop first-principle thinking, and to structure and streamline my thoughts. Through it, I was able to hone how I'd approach any case problem, fictitious or real. It represent industry norms, standards and expectations, which are an incredibly important yardstick for one anyone preparing for placements. The Business Club's Casebook was definitely an important cog in the wheel to help me land a role at L.E.K Consulting and in the process, become a better problem-solver" "Having seen the casebook grow and evolve as an initiative, I can confidently convey that this will be an immensely advantageous tool for anyone looking to brush up on their placement preparations. I used to refer to the casebook to get an understanding of the current requirements of interviewers and common questions asked in case interviews. It helped me develop my problem-solving muscle and was a really important resource in helping me succeed in the interview process for Accenture" Dibyajyoti Dey, Consulting Associate | @Accenture Strategy Vikram Mehta, Associate | @L.E.K Consulting
- 10. Alumni Testimonials “Be it any profile (SDE, analyst, consulting, product, quant, etc.) or company you're sitting for, the companies these days demand three utmost critical skills: problem-solving, structured thinking, and confident speaking. The IIT BHU casebook has just been a step in preparing peeps by compiling the latest business cases/culture-fitment questions and curating study material per the latest industry requirements. Having been associated with the compilation of casebooks 1.0 and 2.0, I can assure 3.0 is going to be better and can vouch for the team's honest efforts to get the best prep material. All the best for placement season :) ” “For product roles, I'd recommend solving a ton of case studies and guesstimates with your peers. Solve these in an actual interview format and environment, get feedback, and improve. The IIT BHU Casebook is excellent for this! Other ones would be IIM-A Casebook, Case Interviews Cracked, and Cracking the PM Interview. Apart from this, be thorough with your resume. Do multiple iterations and prepare solid answers for questions like tell me about yourself, your favorite product, and other similar ones. ” Addya Joshi, Product Manager I @ Expedia Group Harsh Nadar, Software Engineer | @Cisco
- 11. What's new and how to use this book? Structured thinking and clarity of thought are still the most sought-after traits in not just consulting interviews, but in analytics, finance, and product management too. Why? Because they represent your capability to break down problems and identify root causes effectively. After developing a refined understanding of the root causes, you can suggest empathetic and actionable solutions! Defining the problem well, laying down the structure, asking the right questions, and subsequently recommending the most appropriate solutions is a sure shot recipe for success in case interviews. While the professionals make it look effortless, it is a skill that needs dedicated practice and long hours. The Business Club, IIT (BHU) Varanasi has compiled this Casebook to serve that very purpose. We aim to provide you with a hassle-free learning experience that caters to all your needs from a single place, and provides you with an all-encompassing source to refine your case solving approach and apply them first-hand at cases curated specifically for that purpose. While case interviews from a diverse set of profiles and companies form the crux of this document, we’ve ensured that the learner is assisted further in their preparation by providing frameworks as a starting point, industry insights on current trends to complement a case’s learnings. Additionally, knowledge sections and primers on finance and economics to serve as the building blocks of your business acumen, statistics to refresh your math, datasheets to keep you updated. And, to cap it all off, personal and case interview preparation tips to supplement your problem solving skills We strongly recommend case practice in groups of 2-4 people to be done multiple times on a weekly basis. Ensure that you take up both the roles, the interviewee’s and the interviewer’s, to better understand the dynamics of a case interview from both ends of the table. The case solving should be done by self, and the approach by the interviewee and key takeaways should be analyzed for learning purposes. Wherever possible, we’ve made sure to suggest alternate approaches and case facts to ensure broader learning. Outside of just interview practice, we hope that this Casebook assists you in building an analytical stream of thought and structured approach to solving problems in general. Just as much as it stands true to solving a case, the journey of learning is often more important than the end result. We hope that this book will help you fulfill your most sought-after endeavors! Happy Case Solving! The Business Club IIT (BHU) Varanasi “It’s the little things that are vital. Little things that make big things happen.” - John Wooden 8
- 12. About Consulting
- 13. Consulting Primer (1/4) What is Consulting? Key Working Areas Consulting involves providing advisory services to organizations to improve their performance or to assist them in dealing with business problems that may require special expertise. It provides a third party(outsider) perspective to business're gonna love consulting if you love brainstorming & solving real life business problems The problem solving process is a series of analytics & structured approaches that involves primary and secondary research combined with business acumen & creative thinking. In short, it helps companies, CXOs & other leaders with solving relevant business problems. Strategy Consulting : Services such as drafting & implementing business strategies, mergers and acquisitions, client strategy, organizational strategies, etc come under this part. Management Consulting or Business Consulting : Involves advice to management towards improving business strategies and operational processes. Operations Consulting : Includes improvement in the operations level(supply chain, outsourcing, etc) & performance in organizations. Financial Advisory : The segment covers services such as transaction services, risk management, actuarial valuation, tax advice, audits etc. Human Resources : Includes all advice and implementation activities related to human capital management and the HR departments. IT Consulting : A segment that advises companies on how to best use their IT infrastructure & suggests improvements. 9
- 14. Consulting Primer (2/4) Hiring Process Qualities They are Looking For: Basic Filter: CV shortlistings, cover letters, HRQs, etc Interviews: Few (generally 2-3) case interviews Final Hiring call! This involves three main parts: Problem Solving Skills Soft Skills Leadership & X-factor Analytical & problem solving abilities, business acumen & creative thinking. Usually tested in guesstimates and/or case questions. Communication & Presentation skills, ability to structure, teamwork etc. Usually tested in HRQs & case interviews. Track record, extraordinary projects or achievements in CV. All of these skills can be highlighted through projects and/or contribution in events. 10
- 15. Consulting Primer (3/4) Business Analyst Pre-MBA Position Responsibilities: Research, data collection & its analysis, documentation & deck making, financial models too(sometimes) Tenure(Usual) - 2 years Post-MBA Position Responsibilities: portion of consulting projects to work on, data gathering(a bit), managing few senior clients, leading analysts, problem solving. Tenure: 2.5-4 years Project Managers Responsibilities: Project leads, coordinate team’s activities, relationship management, partner meetings. Tenure: 2-3 years Associate Partner Responsibilities: Client meetings, selling firm’s expertise, development of staffs, oversight on projects, business development & frequent travels. Tenure: 3-4 years Position at the absolute top of the hierarchy Responsibilities: client relationship management, business growth, inspiring initiatives, firm’s policy. Tenure: NA Associate Consultant/ Consultant Engagement Manager Principal Partner 11
- 16. Consulting Primer (4/4) Problem Solving Structure (Example) Define & Identify: Project - Increase profits of a FMCG company. Increase profits by 15% by cutting costs & discovering new markets to increase sales. Proper understanding of the context & business is crucial.* Analysis: Use critical data of the transportation & inventory management operations to identify potential flaws. Analyze market data for different geographies and selling channels & identify opportunities for the client. Understand the competitive landscape in the new markets & selling channels. Implementation: Implementation of the recommended solutions. This involves a great deal of coordination between various stakeholders involved. Monitoring implementation & re-evaluation along the way is equally important to ensure success. Hypothesize: Better managed supply chain will reduce costs by 6-8%. Expansion to X market & y selling channel will help increase the sales. Decision Making: Closing of some inefficient inventories & channels to cut costs, supply of goods based on estimated demand (data analysis) Setting up a new selling channel for expanding presence in identified geographies. Formulation of detailed sales & marketing plan. 12
- 18. Structure of a Consulting Case Interview (1/2) Case Questions - In a case interview, a candidate is usually tested on these two parameters: Personality - Strength & weaknesses and if the candidate is suitable for the job(through HRQs) Candidate’s problem-solving ability & analytical skills(through case questions) Aim : Case Questions are asked to gauge the candidate’s analytical skills, creative thinking, problem- solving ability and general awareness of their surroundings. Apart from these, the candidate’s soft skills are also tested. Approach : The standard approach to solving a case interview is to first understand the problem by asking some basic contextual questions, then lay out a roadmap(or structure), walk the interviewer through each step and then conclude by presenting logical solutions & suggestions. The main aim is to judge the candidate’s personality, strengths and weaknesses & to understand whether he would be a good fit for the role & the firm using behavioral and past work experience- related questions. Clarify Framework & Structure Analyze Conclude HR Questions 13
- 19. Structure of a Consulting Case Interview (2/2) A clear understanding of the problem statement is absolutely essential. Candidates can’t afford to commit a mistake here. Ask clarifying & contextual questions to have a better understanding. Asking good clarifying questions at first would help you see the problem from a much better perspective & will also earn you brownie points. Interviewers won’t give away all information at once. It’s about a candidate’s skills to squeeze out all the necessary information. Candidates must communicate & validate all the assumptions taken. This involves synthesizing all the findings, squeezing out more info and making some sense out of it, Candidates should try to build a logic/theory consisting of various possible outcomes/reasonings, get their hypothesis validated and keep narrowing down the outcomes. Candidates should make sure to walk the interview through each step and ask well-directed questions to gather more info & to move in the right direction. Structuring involves putting all the data gathered together & make something out of it. Laying out an analysis framework helps the candidate be organized & at the same time, it provides a visual roadmap for both the interviewer and interviewee. Candidates should understand that there is no one perfect framework. Rather the framework they are using should be MECE; also it should be thorough but not wasteful. This is to be a concise yet very crucial stage. Candidates should come up with logical suggestions for an implementation plan for the client & should also cite the reasons which led to this conclusion. One should also highlight any one action that the client should take to mitigate major concerns and should also mention the factors that the client should be aware of that may impact the recommendations. Quickly performing a sanity check, i.e. roughly evaluating the proposed solution(quantitatively), might earn you brownie points. Understanding the context & problem statement Analysis of the case Framework & Structure Conclude 14
- 20. Cracking HR & Fitment Questions (1/4) KNOW YOURSELF Develop that muscle to walk through the details of your resume and fill in the details. You will be asked about a lot of things on the resume. Be prepared to answer those. Why did you make the moves you have? What have been the most significant decisions you have made? Where were the challenges and where were the triumphs? Create a perfect story such that being in that firm seems like the next logical step in you career. Give them something to remember you by, some amazing life story, a skill that separates you from the rest, a unique talent that you might have. Learn to mitigate weaknesses in your skills or background., also learn the self-insight that is required to answer your interviewer’s questions honestly and persuasively. What does the firm pride itself on? Try to show those qualities in yourself For e.g. if a firm takes pride in doing ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) Consulting, include some ESG projects in your resume and mention them in the interview Research about the company and the interviewer. For example, if the interviewer has been recently promoted, ask the interviewer about their role and responsibilities, how the roles and responsibilities have changes since they got promoted or if the company has just merged with any other company ask them how the company policies have changed internally If the interviewer specializes in that sector, talk about your experience in that sector and take their opinions on your projects in that sector and certain disruptions or trends that can symbolize the sector recently. For eg if the interviewer has a lot of interest in the e-commerce industry, mention your take on the trends in the industry like horizontalization, verticalization or cross sales and also take their opinions on the same Know the basics of the company like where they are located and how they are structured. If unclear, ask do show some initial understanding thoug Knowing the firm will help you a lot in articulating the why questions, “why do you want to work in our firm”, “why do you think you are a good fit for our company” Highlight the values of the firm, show them you are a perfect fit for the firm. If it is a firm that values an entrepreneurial mindset, highlight that you have tinkered with the ideas, and have a keen interest in startup space KNOW THE FIRM 15
- 21. Cracking HR & Fitment Questions (2/4) OBSERVE WELL Hints and clues are everywhere. Be on the lookout for them. The moment you walk in the office start observing, try to pick up any information that you can. Look for the buzzwords the company use to define themself and try to include them in good things about you, but be ready to justify them as well Pay attention to the interviewer, things like what makes them look interested?, what do they ask you to elaborate on? If you mess up, listen for a chance to show your skills at a later point Story telling - As Tyrion Lannister once said “ There is nothing more powerful than a good story”, especially as a consultant the storytelling skills are very important and they will be looking for them during the personal interview Structure and articulation is very important for a consultant when they have to present to the clients and the interviewer will be looking for it not only during the case questions but also during the personal interview. The most important thing that they will be looking for is the ability to perform well while put under the cosh. They will put you in tough situations during the personal interviews just to see how adept you are at navigating through difficult scenarios. They also seek answers to questions like Can you make things happen? Are you goal-oriented? Is it you who has been on the driving seat of your life? WHAT THEY ASSESS? These questions test your ability to reason and come to a quality conclusion. Your interviewer may also use these questions to test for the consistency of your responses. You can form a comparison between the positives and negatives of the options you had while making the choice. Know your resume in and out and be prepared for follow-ups to any information you reveal in your conversations with the interviewer. While preparing, ask “why” about all the facts on your resume and any major events in your life story that you have elucidated on in the personal round “WHY?” QUESTIONS 16
- 22. Cracking HR & Fitment Questions (3/4) You will be asked “Do you have any questions for us” Be ready to ask two to three intelligent questions that shows your interest and preparation and provide you with any information you think you need Don’t ask something that is too obvious in the brochure or web page State that you look forward to a follow-up interview or to receiving an offer from the firm Ask when you can expect a phone call with the results of the interview. This way you will be able to ask for a feedback about your performance in the interview Never ask, “How did I do?” directly Use this opportunity to showcase your knowledge of the firm by mentioning questions pertaining to a recent merger that might have taken place, clarify the roles and responsibilities associated with the role, etc. CLOSING THE INTERVIEW This, most probably, will be the first question they ask you and also the one which answers what they want to know about you the most. So, it is of great importance that you put forward a coherent, compelling, and compact story for yourself through this. Stop from rambling about unnecessary points and talk about stuff that moves the needle. Don’t stretch the answer by including irrelevant things. Describe your life’s wants, goals and your resulting accomplishments. Tell your story in such a way that it seems that you are the one who led your life Give the interviewer something to remember you by, some unique thing about you, some thing that distinguishes you from all the other interviewees. Don’t just show the smart side of yours also show them the creative, well thought and well-mannered side of yourself. TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF 17
- 23. Cracking HR & Fitment Questions (4/4) Be prepared for competency based questions around work-ethic, leadership, accountability, ownership, etc. Examples of such questions are enumerated below: Recount an incident types questions like recount an incident that shows you are a team player, recount an incident that shows you are a good leader, etc. Have some stories ready that can fit in more than one such incident e.g. there will be some stories that shows you both as a good leader and as a good team player. COMPETENCY BASED QUESTIONS Clearly identify your greatest strengths State the strengths that have direct relevance in you being a great consultant. Identify a weakness that can be perceived as a strength but don't be too obvious saying things like, “I tend to work too hard” State a weakness that you can fix or a weakness that won’t directly affect you in the job that you are applying for. Don't say you don’t like long hours, traveling or working with people Whenever you mention a strength, try to back it up with an anecdote from your life exhibiting that particular strength. Whenever you mention a weakness, mention that you identified it as a pressing problem and you are working on it. For example, I recognized that public speaking was somewhere where I had room for improvement and following that realization, I’ve enrolled for certain courses and have attended multiple workshops Dont cough up a huge list of weaknesses STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES 18
- 25. Asking Preliminary Questions Preliminary questions carry a two-fold purpose Understanding the problem at-hand better Seeking more pieces of information regarding the case They help a candidate in identifying the scope of the problem and the solution expected from them, as well as gauging the situation of the client in-depth It’s recommended that the candidate tries to cover the following two buckets of preliminary questions while seeking more information:- Defining the objective : Problem statements provided during the case often leave the candidate oblivious to a vital piece of information For example, consider the following case, “Your client is a daily-use electronics manufacturer which has been facing stagnation in growth of sales. Identify why” A candidate can uncover the treasures of hidden information by iterating over the case statement and identifying certain keywords. What are daily-use electronics? What does the company manufacture within this? Who is the company selling to? How do we define “growth” in sales? What do we mean by stagnation? Since when is this happening? Why is it a problem if the company is facing stagnation in growth of sales? Another way to better understand the problem is to use the 5W1H framework (What, Why, Where, When, Who, How) to clearly define all the key aspects. Most importantly, fully clarify any new piece of information that you come across. Analyzing the company : Now that a thorough understanding of the problem has been established, it’s important to uncover the other pieces of information critical to the case. These can typically be categorized into the following four types, depending on the client : Product : The candidate should know what exactly the company sells. What’s the product mix like? What problem is the product trying to solve? Value Chain : How is the product/service being developed? What are the various steps involved? Who are the stakeholders? Who are the customers? Industry : What’s the industry landscape like, is it a monopoly or a perfect competition? If competition exists, then how differentiated are their products/ services? Geography : Understand where the company is located, where it manufactures its products, where the distributors and customers are located, etc. 19
- 26. While conveying an overall strategy, it is generally utile to follow the breadth then depth approach. In this approach, you begin by detailing the breadth of the structure you'll be following to solve the case and then, after clarification from the interviewer you focus on an individual subsection of all the possible verticals. In a nutshell, we provide the interviewer a bird's eye view of the approach first and follow that up by looking at the range of possible solutions in a specific bucket. Breadth then depth : EXAMPLE Breadth then Depth After the preliminary questions have been answered, a scope has been agreed upon. Use the breadth then depth strategy mentioned below to convey the same. Once you relay the strategy to the interviewer, they can correct you if need be and you’ll be on the same page For example, if you have to go about assessing the possibility of setting up a pet store in Delhi. How you can go about detailing the overall strategy, you can begin by saying that my objective is to assess whether the company should open a pet store or not. To assess this, I'll first look at the financial feasibility of such a venture and then suggest the GTM. Then, you can individually highlight what you'll do for each specific bucket For the sub-sections, ensure you highlight what you'll be covering. So, it would look something like this In assessing the financial feasibility, I shall estimate the profits, for which I shall look at revenue and costs. In revenue, I shall look at the market size, market share, and product lines. In terms of costs, I'll look at fixed and variable costs Discussing your mini-strategies and takeaways with the interviewer ensures that you proceed in the right direction, and keeps the interviewer engaged. Drafting an overall strategy and mini-strategies Mini-strategies Overall strategy Assume a premium airline’s revenue is declining, and the major sources of revenue are ticket sales and in-flight services. So you can convey the structure by saying that on the revenue side, I'll be looking at ticket sales and in-flight services, with ticket sales looking at volume, type of ticket, frequency, and % occupancy, and in-flight services looking at meal categories, airport lounge services, and so on. In this manner, you can detail the approach by first focusing on the breadth or different categories of solutions, and then on the depth or individual factors of a particular bucket. 20
- 27. What? EXAMPLES Why? The 80/20 rule states that 80% of outcomes of a given situation result from 20% of the inputs. In other words, we can say that weight isn’t uniformly distributed all across the board, and there are some aspects of a problem that carry more weight than the others. Using the 80/20 rule becomes a crucial aspect of approaching a case in the consulting world because of limited resources (cost and time) and scarce human capital. Thus, it is a good rule of thumb to integrate the 80/20 rule into your toolkit for dissecting problems Profits (50% ) Flipkart Cost Cost SG & A (50%) White Goods (50%) Employees, Wages & Schemes (20%) Electronics (30%) Others (30%) Others (20%) Revenue Revenue (30%) We will be considering SG & A for our analysis as it has 50% to the overall cost. We will be considering SG & A for our analysis as it has 50% to the overall cost. Even though Electronics has only 30% contribution to the revenue but as the sales have gone down by 80% we will focus on this segment. Let’s say company X has seen a decline in profits by 50% over the past year. You are to identify why and suggest recommendations. After your clarifying questions, you understand that SG&A (Selling, General, and Administrative) costs comprise 50% of costs incurred by the company and employee wages & compensation schemes comprise 20% of the costs. But, trends matter the most when it comes to problem- solving. For instance, let’s say Flipkart has undergone a decrease in revenue by 30%, and 50% of the revenue comes from white goods (large household appliances like microwave ovens, washing machines, etc), but after clarification, you understand that 30% of Flipkart’s revenue comes from electronics and the sales of electronics have gone down by 80%, whereas sales of white good appliances have plummeted by 20%. Pareto Principle or 80/20 Rule 21
- 28. MECE and Mathematical Formulation Often in different case themes, we have to drive the interview in a specific way to get to the root cause or the localised issue at hand. Various tools can be used to this end that enable us to get to the problem in a structured and reiterative manner. The MECE principle suggests that in order to break any problem, it should split into smaller buckets that are 1. Mutually Exclusive: All subproblems fit into different categories, i.e. they should be independent of each other. 2. Collectively Exhaustive: All subproblems put together should completely define the scope of the original problem. Being MECE in their approach helps candidates in breaking complicated problems into simple chunks assisting them in identifying the root cause without the possibility of any duplication MECE (Mutually Exclusive and Collectively Exhaustive) Mathematical Formulation Cost of travelling from Delhi to Kolkata Cost of one liter petrol (Rs./lt) * * Mileage (lt/km) Distance (km) Consider the case of estimating the number of cycles in India. The population of India, in this case, can be split on the basis of various age segments such as 0-18, 19-45, 45-60, 60+ to simplify the challenge of figuring out the proportion of the population that owns cycles. Similarly, MECE splits can be drawn on the basis of gender, rural/urban, product segments, etc. depending on the case at hand. MECE 0-18 19-45 60+ 46-60 0-20 18-45 40-60 60+ Not MECE The process of mathematically breaking down various case- affecting factors to quantitatively gauge them and drill down to the root cause of the problem in a highly precise manner. So is possible due to the MECE nature of mathematically breaking down things into formulae, where each individual component can be assessed independently and can hence assist the interviewee in going a level deeper in an efficient manner if one were to estimate the cost of travelling from Delhi to Kolkata, they could break the cost into [Cost of one liter petrol (Rs./lt) * Mileage (lt/km) * Distance (km)]. Further, each of the three components can be assessed individually to analyze which factor is causing change in costs EXAMPLE EXAMPLE Why MECE? What is MECE? 22
- 29. This is something that will separate you from the bunch. While suggesting solutions, ALWAYS prioritize. Communicate to the interviewer that we should act on this first, followed by this and then the next thing Categorization on the basis of time period: Prioritization of proposed suggestions: Synthesis Instead of just plainly listing out what can be done, it's important to signify the time frame and when it can be done. For example it would look something like this, I think we can do X in the short term and then consider Y in the long term in order to address the situation How to Synthesize a Case While summarizing the case be extremely crisp about the details of the case and mention them in a top-down format without going into the thick of i Remember two things while suggesting actionable recommendations for the case So, you've done everything right up until now. Asked the right preliminary questions, laid out a good structure. But, a strong synthesis serves as a make or break. So, let's look at how to properly synthesize the case. Here are two things that you should adhere too. 23
- 30. Problem Isolation Tools Benchmarking with competitors comes in extremely handy and is a very useful tool in your arsenal. It ensures that you don’t fall behind or fall short in terms of things like supply chain, tech stack, inventory management, direct, and indirect costs and other facets. Competitive Benchmarking Company-specific or Industry-Wide Segmentation The Company-specific or Industry-wide segmentation essentially provides direction to the interviewee to then proceed with the case. EXAMPLE Carrying out a company-specific or industry-wide segmentation, enables us to understand the market well. It expedites the case-solving process and improves drill speed in arriving to the solution. Revenue = (#Units) * (Product Mix) * (Price/Unit) Now, through a company-specific and industry-wide segmentation, you get to know that it is a product mix issue with one of our product lines shutting down and that is an industry wide issue owing to a legislative amendment passed by the constitution that prohibits the sale of that product line. Revenue # Units Price/unit Product mix In the above example, it gave us the conclusion that all companies had to discontinue that product line thereby the interviewee can analyse that and prioritise that issue in the remainder of the case. In this given, case, it was a product mix issue as one product line had to be discontinued following an amendment passed in the assembly An example of the competitive benchmarking of neckbands in terms of sourcing, supply chain, market share (Volume and GMV) can be carried out between JBL and boAt to understand the competitive landscape Similar competitive benchmarking can be carried out for Average order value (AOV), frequency and volume of sales, along with gross margins and product cost build-ups EXAMPLE Brand Wearables (Market Share) Hearables (Market Share) 34.3% 11.5% 8.7% 42.8% 8% 4.5% InboundLogistics Top Players Operations Outboundlogistics Benchmarking Storage expense Benchmarking Inventory Management infrastructure and expenses Comparing margins across raw materials in sourcing, etc. Comparing logistics partners across volume, type, and the extent to which they push individual brands 24
- 31. BuildingaBusinessAcumen Whatisbusinessacumen? Howwillithelpyou? Howtobuildanacumen? The ability to understand how businesses operate, their problems and the WHY behind the organization. An interviewee needs to understand the business, its customers, its model, among many other things, to be able to appropriately structure their approach and provide sound recommendations. Step1:Pick any industry that you like. It could be something that excites you, you wish to understand better, or you’ve worked on in the past. In the same industry, pick 5-6 companies (preferably the biggest in the industry for beginners) Step2 : Research on the 5-6 companies you’ve picked. This is to understand their businesses better. It can be done by tracking their stock movement and analyzing the related news pieces. Carry this on for 3-4 months. While it might seem mundane at first, soon you’ll start understanding the functioning of the industry and the standard operating model. Step3 : It’s time to apply your knowledge. There are two ways to do this. Take up the aforementioned Step 1 and 2 with your friends and have regular group discussions on the same. Case competitions can also be a great way to upskill yourself further in the relevant industries. Step4 : Make projects and do internships. Experiential learning will overshadow any theoretical learning that you can take up. 25
- 32. All about Cases
- 33. i) Guesstimates
- 34. How to approach Guesstimates (1/3) Guesstimation is the estimation of a ‘number’ or a ‘market size ’ of a certain product using very limited information. A guesstimate question aims to test a candidate’s logical thinking and reasoning acumen, basically qualitative and quantitative skills. Apart from problem-solving, communication and presentation skills are also very crucial while solving a guesstimate. Guesstimate is not about finding the right and precise answer but more about the approach used to find the answer. The goal is to make reasonable & logical assumptions and even if you are slightly off, that is perfectly fine. The following methodology should be used while solving a guesstimate: Handy Tips: Use well-rounded numbers that are easy to work with. Remember and use standard divisions based on demographics(income, gender, geography, etc). Avoid guessing any data, if you’re not sure, just ask it. At least confirm it. Make it engaging, talk through the steps, and convey all the assumptions and the overall approach. No awkward silences! Never start solving without discussing your approach. Keep your worksheet neat & organized and don’t use too much text. Always ask to perform a sanity check. Ask a few preliminary questions to understand the problem. Look at the problem from a bigger perspective & take some time to gather your thoughts. Try to relate the info provided with day-to-day knowledge, make realistic assumptions and try to prepare a structured approach by breaking down the problem into workable segments/demographics. Use tree diagrams & visuals while segmentation and make sure to check if your approach & segmentation is MECE & discuss that with your interviewer. Mentally double-check the ‘guesstimated values’ that you will apply to the pieces of the calculation you developed. Ask to perform a sanity check (that would get you brownie points) CLARIFYING QUESTIONS Analyze & Structure Visual MECE Structure Conclude 26
- 35. How to approach Guesstimates (2/3) Top Down Approach Keep in mind the following segments: Demographics(Age, income, gender, rural-urban, etc) Weekdays vs Weekends, Peak vs Non-peak Occupancy rate Start with detailed products/services information Take into account the volumes & prices Then scale up to say, revenue. Replacement Frequency Demand-side Approach Market sizing using the demand size approach involves the estimation of end consumers to whom products or services will be sold & the quantity consumed by them. Variables to be considered: Demographics-based segmentation. Frequency of replacement. Seasonality. Start with the largest universe possible, apply required conditions & filters and break it down into workable segments/ demographics. Supply Approach The supply-side approach works better in clearly outlined environments. When the target consumer base is highly fragmented or the numbers are non-computable, then the supply-side approach is considered. The supply-side approach involves the following methodology: Looking at the market share & volume sales of competitors. Sales growth trend & level of market saturation. Retailer & Distributor segmentation. Bottom Up Approach Start with some small figures, focus on micro attributes, find replicable blocks and then move towards the general and scale up. For Example: 27
- 36. How to approach Guesstimates (3/3) Bottleneck Approach (Unconventional) EXAMPLES: Used by targeting the most fundamental thing in the operational flow of information, flow and goods, controlling/restricting the demand & then forming a structure on it. It is an unconventional approach yet a very effective one. The methodology: Find the step in the flow which is getting self-constrained (the bottleneck) Segmentation (Peak vs Non-Peak, demographics) and Structur Assumptions & Calculations Seating Capacity in a McDonald’s outlet is a constraint (bottleneck) for them & can’t be helped The maximum no. of Pani-puris a seller can sell in a fixed duration is constant, irrespective of the demand The max number of flights that can take off from a runway is fixed 28
- 37. I want you to estimate the quantity of paint used in India in a year. Okay, first, to understand the problem better, I would like to ask a few clarifying questions. Yeah, sure, go ahead. Are we considering wall paints only or all kinds of paints? For this case, we are looking for wall paints only. And can I assume that houses and stores are to be painted? Yes, you can assume that. I also wanted to ask how many surfaces are to be painted 5 surfaces are to be painted, considering 4 walls and 1 roof. Okay, so I will assume that the total population of India is 100 crore, of which 10% are rich, 50% are middle class, and 40% are poor. Furthermore, I’ll split them on the basis of number of houses. Let’s say the rich population own 2 houses each. 50% of the middle class population own 2 houses, 25% own 1 house while 25% don’t own any house. Finally, 20% of poor population own 1 house while 80% don’t own any. Does this segmentation sound fine to you? Yes, you can go ahead with making those assumptions. Alright, thanks. To get the number of households, I will assume that there are 4 members in every rich family, 5 in every middle-class family, and 6 in every poor family. And for shops, I will assume that there is 1 shop owner in every 20 households. Yes, fair enough. You can move ahead. Great, moving ahead, I’ll take the average size of each wall to be 12 sq meters and of each painting, stroke to be 100 millimeters. And I will assume that each house or store is painted once every 6 years. Sounds great! Finally, to get the volume of paint used I’ll solve this- [(No of surfaces) x (Area of each surface) x (Size of each stroke) x (No of houses + shops)] / Probability of a paint job in a year = [(5) x (12 m2) x (100 mm) x (18.33crore + 5crore)] / 6 = 233.3 crore m3 GUESSTIMATE | MEESHO BA (1/2) 29
- 38. 2 Houses (50%) 1 House (25%) 0 Houses (25%) 2 Houses Poor (40%) Population of India = 1000 crores Rich (10%) Middle Class (50%) KEY Takeaways: Verify the scope of the guesstimate very clearly with the interviewer, never assume that they’re on the same page as yo Clarify any and all assumptions that you take during the guesstimate, be it a split or the population of India The candidate could have reached a more accurate estimate of the number of houses in India by following an urban-rural spli The rich are even more likely to own houses in the urban areas than the poor and the middle classes, which would give a more accurate answer Approach: 1 House (20%) 0 Houses (80%) Problem statement : Estimate the quantity of paint used in India in a year. GUESSTIMATE | MEESHO BA (2/2) Alternate Approach: 30
- 39. It can be taken as 7cm GUESSTIMATE | OYO BA (1/3) How many tennis balls can fit in a stadium? Before I proceed, I would like to ask a few questions, is that okay? Go ahead Is the stadium used for multiple sports or any particular one? You can assume it to be a cricket stadium Okay, so can I consider its shape to be a cylinder? It would involve a bottom-up approach, since it is a volume related question. The volume of the tennis ball would be found assuming it to be a sphere, with radius as 3.5cm The volume of the stadium can be divided into 3 parts · The cylindrical playing area of the pitch · The stands for the supporters · The changing rooms and the showcase/hall of fame area for visitors After taking into consideration the packing efficiency, I will be dividing the total volume by the volume of a tennis ball to get to the answer. Does this approach seem fair enough? The volume of one tennis ball would be 4/3π (0.035)3. The volume of the pitch space will be taken as 4π (75)2(30). Since the height of the bottom floor is negligible as compared to the whole stadium, its volume can be taken as 4π (200)2(2). 50,000 seats are there, each with a volume of (4*2*1) Do we only need to fill the floor or the full stadium? An average cricket ground has a diameter of 150m and a height of around 30m. A seat may have the volume the same as that of a sitting adult which can be assumed to be 4*2*1 m3 and the bottom floor can be considered to have a diameter of 200m, with 2m height. The packing efficiency may be considered to be 30%. Are these assumptions satisfactory? Yes Do we only need to fill the playing area or the full stadium? The full stadium needs to be filled What is the seating capacity of the stadium? You can assume it to be 50,000 What should the diameter of the cricket ball be taken as? Sure, go ahead You can go ahead with this approach. The full stadium needs to be filled One last question, do we need to put the balls randomly or in a stacked manner? The balls can be filled randomly Yes, you may proceed with the calculations Thank you, I would like to take a few moments to structure my approach and get back to you. 31
- 40. GUESSTIMATE | OYO BA (2/3) Hence, the total volume would be: That will be all, thank you. Volume of 1 ball ((Volume of space above Pitch + Volume of stands + Volume of ground floor showcase) x 30%) 32
- 41. KEY Takeaways: In case the interviewer doesn’t mind a simpler approach, the candidate can choose to assume the stadium to be an inverted cone cut at the ti The candidate can then calculate the volume by first evaluating the volume of the whole original cone and subtract the volume of the tip to get a good estimate of the volume of the stadium Approach: Problem statement : How many tennis balls can fit in a stadium? Alternate Approach: Total Available Volume Volume above the pitch [Formula] Volume of stands [Formula] Number of balls= (Total Available Volume * Packing Efficiency) / Volume of One Ball Volume of showcase area at ground floor [Formula] In cases which are related to area, volume, customers related to revenue per customer, value chain based on import/export, it is easier to use a bottom-up approach. For the main approach candidate must try to fully explain the formula and all its components in detail, so that the interviewer stays in the loop of things. While asking clarifying questions, it is good to cover as many things as possible. Furthermore, the interviewer might even provide additional information which helps the interviewee a lot GUESSTIMATE | OYO BA (3/3) 33
- 42. GUESSTIMATE | JPMC Analyst (1/2) Guesstimate the number of cars in the city of Delhi. I would like to ask a few clarifying questions first. Does the number of cars refer to cars owned by all people staying in Delhi or the number of cars running on the roads of Delhi on any given day? Sure, The average size of a household would be four, to the best of my knowledge. So the final figure would look something like this as per my suggested approach I am expecting the former. Alright, I would like to use a demand-based approach to proceed with solving this guesstimate. I would like to divide the population of Delhi into three segments based on their income. I’m proceeding with the assumption that the people of the higher end can afford two or more cars per household, the middle end can afford one car per household, and those of the lower end cannot afford a car. Good. Do walk me through the rest of your calculations for the same. The total number of cars owned by the resident of Delhi will thus be the total sum of the number of cars owned by the individual segments of its population, which can be calculated easily as the number of households in the segment x No of cars per household wherein the number of households per segment will just simply be the percentage of the total number of households belonging to that segment. Delhi being an urban city, its population split would probably comprise 20% belonging to the upper class, 50% belonging to the middle class, and the remaining 30% belonging to the lower class roughly. Very well, that makes sense. Sure, go ahead. Alright. What do you think the split of the Delhi population would look like? Will this be your final answer, or would you like to account for any other outlier values? No, I would like to add to it further. There would also be certain people like cab drivers and car rental agencies who own a significant number of cars. This should not affect the answer very much, though. However, I think it would round off my guesstimated number to around 7Mn cars. Your answer is slightly off the expected number, but your approach to the guesstimate was well-structured enough. That will be all for now, thank you and good luck! Thank you. Upperclass (30Mn*0.2/4)*2 = 3Mn + Middleclass (30Mn *0.5/4)*1 = 3.75 = 6.75 Mn 34
- 43. KEY Takeaways: It is good practice to ask clarifying questions and confirm your line of thinking with the interviewer to ensure you are both on the same page and avoid confusion. Moreover, often, in guesstimates, the interviewer is looking for the line of thinking and approach of the candidate and is not so interested in the specific numbers. Thus it is more important to have a structured line of thinking and develop a robust approach to tackling the case rather than worrying about the final answer to the guesstimate. + + = = = Approach: Problem statement : Alternate Approach: Population of Delhi Lower Class (30%) Upper class (20%) Middle Class (50%) Average size of a household = 4 1.5 × 2 = 3 Mn 3.75 × 1 = 3.75 Mn 0.2 × 30 / 4 = 1.5 Mn 0.5 × 30 / 4 = 3.75 Mn 0.3 × 30 / 4 = 2.25 Mn Number of households Number of cars per households Total Number of Cars(7 Mn) 2 1 0 Outlers-Cabs and rental agencies(0.25 Mn) GUESSTIMATE | JPMC Analyst (2/2) Guesstimate the number of cars in the city of Delhi. The candidate could have first divided the population on the basis of whether they can afford a car or not They could have then proceeded with classifying those who can afford cars based on number of cars per household and those who cannot afford cars could be used to give a rough estimate of the number of cars being used as taxis and cabs This could have been a possible alternate approach to solving this case. 35
- 44. GUESSTIMATE | Redseer Strategy Consultants BA (1/3) Estimate the size of the tennis players’ market in India. To define the scope more clearly, I’d like to clarify a couple of questions. Should I include both the amateur (or recreational) and the professional tennis players, or do I focus on individual segments? Yeah, sure. I applied the area filter basis rural or urban because rural India doesn’t have access to tennis infrastructure. Additionally, since tennis is a very cost-intensive sport, only the demographic segments from higher income classes can afford the operating costs associated with the sport. Typically, individuals in the age bracket 0-15 and business professionals having active tennis club memberships will constitute the market. Got it. Let’s take the population of India to be 1.2B. Therefore, 30% of 1.2B will fall under Urban India, which is 0.36B. For ease of calculation, let’s assume it to be 0.4B. Further, we’ll apply an income filter to get 20% of 0.4B (0.08B) for the Upper Class and 25% of 0.4B (0.1B) for the Upper Middle class, 35% of 0.4B (0.14B) for the Lower Middle class and 20% of 0.4B (0.08) for below poverty line (BPL). We shall discard the lower middle class and the lower class for further calculations since they don’t have access to the required infrastructure Proceeding further, I shall apply an age filter on the two demographic segments in the following age brackets 0-15 (35%), 15-25 (25%), 25-45 (25%), >45 (15%). I shall then consider the two segments of 0-15 and >45 to estimate the tennis players market as young professionals typically play tennis and a lot of established working people are enrolled in club memberships. Furthermore, given tennis has to compete with sports like cricket, hockey etc. that are legacy sports so we’ll have to include an interest factor of (10%) for someone looking to take up tennis as its contemporaries are more popular and have less cost of maintenance. For this guesstimate, include both recreational and professional segments Sure. Additionally, I wanted to understand whether we have to calculate the market size in terms of volume (number of tennis players across India) or in terms of GMV (Gross Merchandise Value). Understood. I hypothesize that it can be calculated using the mathematical formula GMV= (# Tennis players) * (Average spend per player). Then, I shall estimate the number of tennis players followed by the average spend to get the final answer. Shall I proceed with the approach, or are tweaks that I should incorporate into my approach Seems alright. Do state why you applied these splits. To compute the total number of tennis players across the country, I shall begin with the population of India, then apply splits on the population based on the following parameters Area (Rural - 70% /Urban - 30%) Annual Income (Upper/Middle/Lower Class basis income) (20%, 50%, 30%) Age (0-15, 15-30, 30-45, 45+) (30%, 30%, 25%, 15%) Does this seem fine, or should I think of an alternative approach? The approach seems fine. Kindly proceed with the individual calculations. Good clarifying question. Proceed by calculating the GMV of the tennis players’ market Perfect. The approach seems fine, do plug in the numbers and estimate the total market in terms of volume. This looks fine. How will you go about your calculations next? Perfect! Do plug in the numbers and compute the exact figure. 36
- 45. Yeah, so 35% of 0.08B () + 15% of 0.08 B + 35% of 0.1B + 15% of 0.1B. Upon adding all the sub-segments the answer that we get is 0.09B, and upon applying a 10% interest factor basis sports, we get the final answer to be 0.009B, which is 9 million I’ll carry out a quick sanity check on the number. If we benchmark the number with the population of India we get a ratio of 0.009/1.2 we get around 8 tennis players in a sample space of 1000, which seems like a reasonable number. Do you want me to mention certain edge cases that could have made it more accurate Typical costs would be cost of racket, costs associated with tennis accessories (bandana, arm band, tennis jerseys), additionally costs associated with club memberships. Other costs include those related to logistics costs since there are only one or two tennis clubs in cities meaning that typically enthusiasts would have to travel long distances to reach those clubs. Yeah, so the costs are as follows: Cost of racket : INR 3000 on average annually Cost of accessories : INR 2000 on average annually Cost of memberships : INR 20000 on average annually Othe miscellaneous expenses: INR 5000 on average annually The figure is roughly around INR 30000 annually. So, the figure would be roughly around INR 30000 across a year. To cross-check the numbers, we can carry out a quick sanity check, in which we can benchmark this with the typical expenses for food, which are around INR 40000 - 50000 annually. So, it passes the sanity check as it is around 60-70% of the expenditure on food which seems reasonable. Do, you want me to estimate the GMV as well? Yeah, so a couple of other things that could have been included to yield an even more accurate answer would be accounting for the fact that both sexes don’t have the same access to taking up tennis as their career, so a split based on sex could have been included. Other than this, we could also include a tier split, since the vast majority of tennis players come from metros or fairly well-established tier 2 cities What kind of costs would these be and could you give us a rough estimate for this number as our client is looking to venture into the market and wants to get an idea of the financial feasibility of the foray into the market. Yeah, so to obtain the GMV, I shall calculate the operating expenses/ typical costs that an average tennis player avails. Based on that, I shall multiply that with the volume of the tennis players across the country to obtain the final answer. Great! Now, how will you obtain the GMV for the tennis players’ market in India. Sure, kindly account for those said edge cases that’ll lead to a more accurate answer Could you quantify these costs and give me a number? Could you try to put the number into perspective by taking up certain examples. No, that won’t be required. We can close the case here. This approach seems fine. GUESSTIMATE | Redseer Strategy Consultants (2/3) 37
- 46. KEY Takeaways: Approach: Problem statement : Alternate Approach: Estimate the size of the tennis players’ market in India. Urban (30%) Rural (70%) Below Poverty Line (20%) >45 (15%) >45 (15%) Lower Middle Class (35%) 25-45 (25%) 25-45 (25%) Upper Middle Class (25%) 15-25 (25%) 15-25 (25%) Upper Class (20%) 0-15 (35%) 0-15 (35%) Population of India (1.2Bn) GUESSTIMATE | Redseer Strategy Consultants (3/3) The total figure thus obtained =0.09 Bn Interest factor in tennis basis benchmarking with different sports = 10% So, final answer = 9 million. Carrying out sanity checks based on demographics and geographics help us get a look and feel of the problem. Benchmarking the number of people playing tennis with the entire population and tennis expenses with food expenses helped us establish the viability of the approac Accounting for certain edge cases helps you demonstrate breadth of thinking and gets you brownie points Given that we had to account for amateur as well as professional player segments. Separate calculations could have been carried out for both For the calculation of amateur tennis players, the number of players in the age segments 0-15, and 15-25 could be calculated and a very small percentage (1-2)% of that could be taken to calculate the professional tennis players. Working professionals with club memberships pursuing tennis as a hobby can be calculated in a similar manner. 38
- 47. Before you proceed, keep in mind that I am referring to only Coca- Cola and not soft drinks as a whole and proceed. GUESSTIMATE | Mastercard Consulting Analyst (1/2) Guesstimate the number of Coca-Cola bottles sold in India. of less than 15 and more than 40 might drink lesser comparatively maybe once a week in tier 1 cities and once in 10 days in tier 2 cities. In the tier-3 cities, this frequency would be even lesser, with those in the 15-35 bracket drinking once a week and the remaining people drinking very rarely say once in 15 days. With this, I will be able to obtain a final answer for the total number of soft drinks consumed, and multiplying that with coca cola’s market share, which would be around 50%, would give me the final answer to the guesstimate. Very well, I’d like to use a demand-based approach to calculate the same. Firstly I would classify the population into 3 brackets based on the tier of the cities they belong to i,e, Tier-1,2, or 3. Alright. Could you give me an idea of how you would proceed to calculate the final number now from these assumptions? Firstly, the average income of the people living in tier 1 and 2 cities is greater than those in Tier-3 cities. Further, on average, there are more stores in well-developed cities for people to access coca-cola drinks. Thus, it would make more sense for more bottles to be sold in these cities as compared to Tier-3 cities, and thus such a classification would help me out here. I’d further like to divide the people under these groups on the basis of their age into 3 brackets- <15 years old, 15-40 years old, and >40 years old. The drinking preferences of these groups of people will vary for a number of reasons like financial independence, eating habits, and lifestyle; thus, it makes sense to classify them this way. Alright. Why do you think such a classification will help you out here? I wish to know how many bottles are sold in a single day. Well justified, you may go ahead. No, that will not be necessary. Your approach is sufficient enough, this will work fine. Thank you and good luck. Very well. That makes sense. Do you have anything else to add? No, that will be all. Would you like me to go into the specific numbers for the individual segments and derive a final answer to the guesstimate now? Alright, before I go ahead, could you also clarify over what duration you wish to know how many bottles were sold? 39
- 48. KEY Takeaways: >40 Years Old (once in 15 days) 15-40 Yrs old (once in a week) <15 years (Once in 15 days) >40 Years Old (Once in 10 days) <15 years (Once in 10 days) >40 Years Old (Once a week) 15-40Yrsold (2-3times/week) <15 years Old (Once a week) Guesstimate the number of Coca Cola Bottles sold in a single day in India. Population of India Tier III Cities Tier I Cities Tier II Cities Approach: Problem statement : Alternate Approach: It is necessary often to justify your assumptions and steps taken towards solving any guesstimate as done here by the candidate. This helps the interviewer follow your line of thinking and shows one’s clarity of thought. This is a key trait one looks for in any case interview and goes a long way in proving one’s credibility. The candidate could have first divided the population on the basis of age groups and then divided these groups on the basis on frequency of drinking taking into account some more factors like season, demography and climate This would have been a good approach as well, as drinking trends are more well found in an age group than based on the tier of the city which they belong to. 15-40Yearsold (2-3times/week) GUESSTIMATE | Mastercard Consulting Analyst (2/2) 40
- 49. Estimate the market size of healthy food Industry of Mumbai in terms of revenue. Sure, go ahead. GUESSTIMATE | L.E.K Consulting - 1 (1/3) Before i proceed with the approach. I would like to ask a few clarifying questions , is that okay? Would it be fair to assume that fruits and green vegetable fall under the healthy food category? What else could be considered as a healthy food? Yes, you can consider fruits and green vegetables to be healthy food. It would also comprise low calorie food such as pulses and sprouts. Alright, What should be the time period for which we have to calculate revenue for this Industry You can calculate revenue for a year Also, I would like to clarify what sources of sales of healthy food do I have to consider? For instance, do I have to consider food used in both residential and commercial segments, Also should I also include the food that government purchases for vulnerable population i.e. Rationing. Yes you have to consider all the mentioned sources of healthy food distribution for revenue generation, which includes the case for government purchase. Firstly, I would like to segregate the market into Rural and Urban areas of living. With Rural population being 70% of total population. Focusing on that, people in rural areas are self sufficient due to farming as their main activity of work. On the other hand they have lesser access to organised and packed healthy food industry due to either unavailability of packed food or affordability issues. This in turn directs focus to government provided rations which constitutes 70% of healthy food and the organised food available to non lower class population, while neglecting other contributing factors. That sounds very logical, you can proceed with that. Yes, that would be an appropriate assumption. Yes, that is reasonable, proceed with that. Ok, so before moving ahead, since we are mainly concerned with rationing and family wise food distribution, we should be concerned with number of households in rural areas. This can be found, considering an average number of 5 people, in every household. After that, Let’s divide the rural population on the basis of income, that is ones that receive the benefits of rationing, which are within an annual family income bracket of 1,20,000 Rs which due to Rural income distribution would be around 90% of total households. Is that safe to assume. Alright, with the available households, certain fraction would be unaware of the rationing scheme and wouldn’t be benefiting from them, though this number would be around 20% of the households that lie in this income bracket. Thus, by assuming total population of India to be 1.2 billion, the number of households that get ration are, = 1.2 * 70% (rural population) * 90% (lower income bracket) * 80% (Awareness of rationing) / 5 (average number of people per household) billion = 85 million households Now, for every household, can I assume that the government would spend approximately 10,000 Rs per annum on rationing, out of which only 35% contributes to healthy food? Alright, then the net revenue that rationing would generate annually will be, = 85 million * 10,000 Rs (amount spent per household) * 35% (amount spent in healthy food industry.) = 300 Billion Rs Alright, let’s move to the other income segment now. 41
- 50. Guesstimate | L.E.K Consulting - 1 (2/3) Now, the income segment above 1,20,000 Rs would meet their healthy food needs due to the presence of farming as a major activity, and the negligible amount that one spends on packaged and organised food industry. Should I move ahead with urban segment? You can move ahead with the urban segmentation and neglect this income bracket. Now, for urban segment of population, we shall follow a different approach. Considering the fact that household eating patterns may differ to a high degree in urban areas and regularity in trends of eating habits would be found for age groups rather than households. So, let’s start with segmentation of market based on income groups, i.e. Below poverty line which should be 40% of population , Lower middle class that should be 30 % of population , upper middle class which is 20 % of population and higher class that is 10 % of population. Now due to limited access to organised food industry and lesser availability of funds, can I assume that BPL category would have a negligible contribution in the healthy food industry revenue? Yes, you can assume that. Alright, Now for every segment of income highlighted, we can further subdivide the population into age groups that have similar eating habit due to activities of similar nature, i.e. of 0-10, 10-18, 18-30, 30-45 and 45+, however given the time constraint should I club the age group of 0-10 and 10-18 together? Yes, you can do that. would be fitness conscious people and pregnant women, this is due to the fact that healthy food industry would only have substantial revenues from people that follow a regular diet. Fitness conscious individuals would be 2% of general population as observed in surroundings through number of gym attendees verses that of non attendees. For 30-45 age group, which comprises 25% of the population, we will have only fitness conscious individuals and people with chronic diseases and prescribed diet. These individuals would be approximately 5% of total population. Do I proceed with the same? Alright this gets us to consider major channels of age group populations in which revenue of healthy food industry is generated. For instance the following factors would be substantial for the industry, Eating habits of 0-18 which is 35% of population and 45+ that is 15% of population, age groups would be similar as both are supposed to follow a general diet that would be supervised by either the ones they are dependent on (their parents or children) or their dietitian. Major contributing elements in 18-30 age group that is 25% of population Yes, you can proceed with this. Alright, before I move ahead with the revenue for the highlighted segment, I would like to verify the number of pregnant women. This can be done by understanding the fact that an average woman, in consideration with the fertility rate and miscarriages, is pregnant for approximately 2 years in her life (2.2 fertility rate, 9 months per child and miscarriages) Which is mostly in this 18-30 age bracket, Implying that probability that a woman would be pregnant in this segment is = 2 / 12 * 100 percent Which when multiplied by the number of women will give number of pregnant women annually, thus, making it easy for classification. Would this be a right approach? Should I move ahead with revenue segmentation? Yes, this is a reasonable approach, please proceed ahead! This was a very nice approach, thank you. Ok, Using the above knowledge we can generate the number of concerned people in every age bracket for the revenue and have segmented the consumer base according to their behaviour. We will calculate the amount that each of the above listed segment spends per day and multiplying it by their population to get the revenue numbers for them per day. After that just calculating the annual counterpart and adding them together we’ll get the net revenue of the healthy food Industry. 42
- 51. KEY Takeaways: Approach: Problem statement : CASE FACTS: GUESSTIMATE | L.E.K Consulting - 1 (3/3) Estimate the market size of healthy food Industry of Mumbai in terms of revenue. Rural(70%) Urban(30%) Commercial Urban BPL 5% 2% 5% 15% 25% 25% 15% 40% 30% 20% 10% LMC 0-18 18-30 30-45 45+ UMC UC Supervised Eating Chronic Disease Chronic Disease Fitness Enthusiasts Organised & Packed Foods Rationing Can avail Rationing(90%) Aware about such scheme(80%) Cannot avail Rationing(10%) Annual Income>1.2L Total cost incurred by the govt. for healthy food: % Healthy food (35%) * Cost per family * Total eligible families = Population Annual Income<1.2L Rationing was explored as it accounts for a major percentage of the healthy food industry, particularly in rural areas and upon clarifying, the interviewer asked us to include i Here, to be available for rationing, an individual’s annual income should be less than 1.2L per annu Major consumer personas consuming healthy food include those suffering from chronic disease, fitness enthusiasts, and children who are subjected to supervised eating When it comes to policies or schemes that are not that widespread, it is usually very helpful to apply a filter based on awareness. For example, the rationing scheme mentioned in the questio It is very important to be on the same page with the interviewer with regards to what needs to be calculated. For example, had the interviewer talked about the online healthy food industry, the calculations would have been massively differen Creating customer personas like fitness enthusiasts, pregnant women really helps in cases where there is no set consumer type 43
- 52. Estimate number of mangoes in New York in a given month in season. Yes, please. Let’s take it to be 10% of the fruits. Yeah this looks okay. Please put the filter on people consuming mangoes and hence, calculate the number of mangoes in a given month. Kindly walk me through the complete split for the same. Yes that is quite accurate. How would you estimate the need for mangoes in each household? That seems fair. Yes. For the sake of simplicity, let’s focus only on the urban population for this case. Sure, that sounds reasonable. Number of mangoes refers to the amount purchased by the consumers. We intend to calculate the number during the mango growing season, i.e. summers. Consider this to be New York State. I’d like to begin by asking a few clarifying questions first. Where is this hospital located and what customer segment does it primarily cater to? Does the number of mangoes refer to the mangoes bought by consumers in a month or the number of mangoes produced? Also, does “in season” mean the time of the year when mango production is optimal? Guesstimate | L.E.K Consulting - 2 (1/3) Great. So I’d like to start by breaking down the population of New York into an Urban and Rural split. If I remember correctly, New York is composed of 90% urban population and 10% rural population, does that sound fine to you? Got it. Further, the urban population can be split on the basis of income segments of upper, middle and lower class with 10%, 50% and 40% shares respectively. Next, I’d like to simplify the situation by splitting these population segments into households. It’s well-known that New Yorkers typically live in small apartments, and hence, I’d like to assume the average household size to be 3. Does that make sense? We can further split these income segments into different groups based on focus on health, wellness and affinity to consume fruits, and one final filter on the proportion of such people consuming mangoes. Sure. We can split these segments into 3 groups; fitness enthusiasts, the average eaters, and the people who aren’t very health conscious. Upper class can be split as, 40%, 40%, and 20%. Middle class can be split as 20%, 50%, and 30%. Lower class can be split as 5%, 45%, and 50%. I hope this split is reasonable? Sure. I expect the fitness enthusiasts to consume fruits everyday, i.e. 30 times in a month. The average eater will consume fruits 20 days in a month. The last category probably consumes fruits 10 days a month. Since mango is a fairly common fruit, it shouldn’t be impractical to assume that 20% of the time mangoes are consumed. Alright. Should I proceed with the calculation? So the population of New York is approximately 20 million, hence, the urban population would comprise 18 million individuals. That means that upper, middle and lower classes comprise 1.8 million, 9 million, and 7 .2 million people. Dividing the population into households of average size 3 gives us 600k, 3 million, and 2.5 million (approximately) households. What does “New York” refer to? The state or just the city? Understood. So I suppose supply won’t be an issue and we can take a demand-side approach? 44
- 53. Correct. Your figure is slightly off, but I liked your approach. This is all for the interview, thank you for coming in. Guesstimate | L.E.K Consulting - 2 (2/3) Now, I’ll split these segments into their respective fitness consciousness buckets and calculate the approximate number of mangoes consumed in New York in a given month. [Calculation] So my calculation tells me that 10.75 million mangoes are consumed in New York in a given month Thank you. 45
- 54. KEY Takeaways: Approach: Problem statement : CASE FACTS: Guesstimate | L.E.K Consulting - 2 (3/3) Estimate number of mangoes in New York in a given month in season. Urban( 90%) Upper Household Fitness Conscious Fitness Conscious Fitness Conscious Middle Household Average Eater Average Eater Average Eater Not Conscious Not Conscious Not Conscious Household Rural (10%) 40% 60% 10% 50% 40% 20% 20% 50% 30% 5% 45% 50% New York Identifying certain keywords that have multiple interpretations aids you in understanding the problem statement clearly and also shows the interviewer that you are cognizant of each and every word of the problem statement. For example, clarifying whether New York in question is a state or cit Crafting buyer personas helps you structure your thoughts and simplifies calculations. For example, categorizing buyers as fitness enthusiasts, non-fitness enthusiasts helped us assign different frequencies to the users The Urban-Rural split in New York stands at 90-10 Since, it was in season, supply was taken to be available, thus approaching the problem was solved using the demand sid The category splits based on frequency of fruit intake was done based on the income segments to account for varying purchasing behavior 46
- 55. Model Guesstimates Some more cases to practice Estimate the batch size of student entering in 203 Estimate the washing machines across all hostels at IIT BH Estimate the number of packaged water bottles sold at IIT BHU canteens in a da Estimate the revenue generated through Samosa Sales at the Limbdi Corner (LC Estimate the distance traversed by a typical IIT BHU student on a holiday Estimate the amount (in liters) of water used each day for bathing in all boys' hostels Estimate the number of courses that IIT BHU offers Estimate the number of cycles on campus (pre-covid situation) Estimate the number of students using the library each day (non-exam period as well as exam period) Estimate the total residing capacity of all hostels combined (count a single seater room as 1 even though there are 2 people residing, count a double seater room as 2 even though there are 3 people residing) Estimate the number of people with a CPI>= 9 after the 1st yea Estimate the number of people attending Kashiyatra (participants only) Estimate the number of pens sold each day by Aryabhatta Hostel's stationary shop Estimate how many people use trains for coming to college and for going back home. Estimate the size of the washing machines’ market in 2024 (Pro Tip- Include the growth rate of Indian Economy in your calculation Estimate the number of airplanes flying out of New Delhi Airport (Pro Tip- Use the Bottleneck approach mentioned previously Estimate the number of ATMs in Indi Estimate the number of sixes being hit in a gully-cricket match at this moment Estimate the number of burgers being sold at a typical Mc Donald’s outlet (Pro Tip- Divide the sales on the basis of peak and non-peak hours Estimate the number of taxis operating for business use cases in afternoon, daily in Bangalore Estimate the size of the online healthy food market in Varanasi What is the number of cars present in your city How many iPhones are currently in use in India What is the market size of washing machines in India How many cricket balls can fit inside a Boeing 747 Estimate the monthly revenue of a hair salon in Indi Estimate the number of petrol pumps present in Indi Estimate the average number of stories posted on Instagram by all Indians in a mont Estimate the screen time of all Indians in a single day Cases with respect to IIT(BHU) Varanasi 47
- 57. How to Approach Profitability Cases (1/2) Approach through preliminary questions Get a basic understanding of the business: What products or services does it provide What geographic area does it serve Understand whether it is an industry-wide phenomena/problem or a company-specific problem. What was the trend before? This framework should be used for questions on profits, related operations, or new business opportunities. Profitability cases deal with the cost-side problems, revenue-side problems, or both. Revenue: Volume could have declined either due to: Cost: Avg cost / unit depends on: Revenue Cost Profits Volume Average price/unit Product Mix Volume Average price/unit Revenue: Avg. price/unit can be affected due to - Competitor Substitute Elasticity Production Distribution Push Customer Pull External Factors Procuring Processing Efficiency test Packaging Inventory Distribution Policy Marketing Invoice Fewer Distribution Channel Margins Other products Shelf life Inventory Price Preferenc Product Promotio Policy Demography Competitors Pushers - Distributors & Retailer PESTEL Covid Porter’s Five forces Rent Labor Salaries Administrative expenses Fixed Cost R& Procurement Manufacturing Packaging Distribution Sales/ Marketing Variable Cost 48
- 58. How to approach Profitability Cases (2/2) Due to a potential rise in operating costs, the client would likely see a decrease in earnings/profits (bottom line). An interviewee is first expected to identify different cost components followed by validating them, identifying the key cost drivers as well as the levers affecting their value, and finally suggest how the company could change its ways to become more profitable. Cost Reduction- Value Chain Analysis Equipmen Human Capita Cost of Finance R & D Cost of raw materia Contract & deal Quantity Used Machiner Factory Ren Labor Hour Technology Transport to Warehous Storag Transport to Customers Sales Channe Sales Forc Training Marketing Channe Strategy Raw Material Processing Storage & Transport Distribution Marketing Repair Spare Part Returns Customer Service 49
- 59. There’s a nimbu-pani seller in Mumbai. He’s been facing a decline in profits. Find out why and suggest recommendations. To align with you on the case and define the scope of the problem clearly, I had a couple of clarifying questions. How long has the nimbu- pani seller been experiencing this loss and has it been a gradual decrease or a sudden decrease in profits? To answer your questions, the nimbu-pani seller has been experiencing a dip in profits over the past 6-7 months and it has been consistent over the same period. Great, so now that we’re on the same page. I shall approach the problem by taking profits as revenue - costs. So, the decline in profits could either be because of the decline in revenue or a cost surge. Should I proceed with the revenue side or inspect the cost side to get the root cause of this problem? Yeah, that’s a reasonable assumption. You can proceed with the same Has there been a change in either the price/product or the volume or the units sold? You can proceed with the revenue side Revenue can further be divided into the product of volume, product mix, and price/product. Shall I assume the product mix is one as the nimbu- pani seller has only one product line in nimbu-pani. Yes, the volume has gone down To proceed further, I shall look at the value chain of the revenue side. So, there are three value chain segments: production, distribution push, and customer pull. Has there been an alteration in any of these segments? I think these are too broad buckets to comment on whether or not certain segments have experienced a change over the past few months or not. Could you clarify what possible reasons you would analyze in these three segments and be somewhat more precise Sure, so in the production leg, I’ll be covering the following processes: Procurement, Processing, Efficiency testing (QC), Packaging, Inventory, Inbound Logistics, Outbound Logistics. Given that the volume of nimbu-pani has remained consistent, I hypothesize that it won’t be a procurement, processing, efficiency, packaging, or inventory problem. Has there been any change in the inbound logistics (referring to the logistics involved in bringing the raw materials to the manufacturing centres) or outbound logistics (referring to the logistics involved in storing and delivering goods to the end consumers)? Analysing the outbound logistics processes might yield some valuable insights Correct, so the typical value chain of outbound logistics would include the following steps: Order placement by the business or consumer, Transmission & processing of order, Transportation, Delivery to the end customer segment. Has there been any change in either of the steps that are affecting the lemon’s efficiency? Well, we’ve noticed that the transportation segment might cause the problem. What are your hypotheses on the same? Profitability | L.E.K Consulting (1/3) 50
- 60. We haven’t noticed anything related to that which might be of concern or might be causing this issue. Would you like to look at other steps/ processes? To draw the connection between outbound logistics and the loss in profits, I shall map out the user journey of a nimbu-pani seller. As I see it, a common user journey would include the following steps: Picking the nimbu out of the carton, Placing the nimbu in the machine, Squeezing, the nimbu juice out of the nimbu, Pouring out the nimbu juice and giving it to the customer. So, has there been a change in the efficiency or procedures associated with any of these steps. Has the carton been drying up the nimbus rendering a decrease in the final juice that can be extracted out of the nimbu or has there been a change up in any of the other processes. Yes, there has been a decrease in the amount of nimbus juice that can be extracted out of the nimbus. But, could you pinpoint where in the supply chain or outbound logistics is this taking place? Yeah, so I hypothesize that the main reason the nimbus are arriving with less amount of juice in them is because they are getting dried up in the transportation process of the outbound logistics. That should be the reason, correct? Correct. Could you suggest certain recommendations so that the nimbu- pani seller can actually become profitable Sure. In the short term the nimbu-pani seller can negotiate with the dealers to wet the cartons or sacks that nimbus or brought in, ice could be placed in them to prevent drying. In the medium to long term, we can think of changing our distributors or altering the outbound logistics processes to make sure that the nimbus don’t dry up. Great, those seem like actionable recommendations. Thank you! Profitability | L.E.K Consulting (2/3) 51
- 61. KEY Takeaways: It is extremely crucial to approach the case from a variety of angles if you can’t think of the next step. Typically in these situations value chain analysis and inspecting the user journey yields nice insights. For example, when the price/product as well as the volume remained constant. There was no definite path, thus, it becomes important to conjure up other approaches to improve the drill speed and arrive at the solution Approach: Problem statement : Alternate Approach Profitability | L.E.K Consulting (3/3) There’s a nimbu paani seller in Mumbai. He’s been facing a decline in profits. Find out why and suggest recommendations. Costs (Is constant) (Has gone down) Product mix Volume Price per Product Revenue Decline in Projects Customer Pull Production Procurement Outbound Logistics Processing Packaging Inventory Efficiency Testing Inbound Logistics Shelf Lif Distribution Channel Margins Pric Produc Policy Distribution Push Nimbu Pani Value Chain Order Placement by customer Transmission & Processing of order Delivering to the end consumer Outbound Logistics Transportation User Journey of Nimbu-Pani Consumer Placing Nimbus in Machine Pouring in a glass Nimbus are getting dried up in transportation Squeezing nimbu out Picking the Nimbu out of cart An alternative approach could have been to start analyzing the profits from the value chain point of view and analyze cost and revenue for those individual segments of the value chain, which could have contributed to declining profits. The costs and revenue involved in different stages of the value chain varied quite a lot here, and thus it would have been more beneficial to follow such an approach to solving this case more efficiently 52
- 62. Yes, sure Problem - Your client is a petrol pump owner who has noticed a decline in profits of the pump in the past few months. Please look into the problem and suggest recommendations for the same. Seems like a fair assumption. How would you proceed further with this information? I’d first like to ask a few clarifying questions. Since when exactly have they been facing this problem and was it a gradual or a sudden drop? Did the petrol pump change locations? This problem started 3 months ago and it was a sudden drop. They haven’t changed their location. And has the decline in profits been concentrated in either of the two lines of business or both have suffered? Both have faced proportionate declines in profitability. Alright. Since the sale of petrol, diesel and oil is the primary line of business, I shall focus on it more. I’d now like to break profitability down into revenue and costs. I’d like to focus on the revenue side first. Does that sound good to you? Yes, please go ahead. So revenue can be broken down mathematically into (Petrol Purchased) * (Price of Petrol) * (Product Mix). Have we noticed a change in either of these buckets? Before I make use of that information, I would like to first break sale of petrol into (Petrol purchased per customer) * (Number of customers). Have either of the two figures declined? Is there any issue with the ability of the drivers to locate the petrol pump? Possibly the removal of a sign, a notice or something related that used to direct drivers to the petrol pump earlier? Or maybe the opening of a new pump? Okay, and what about the road that leads to the petrol pump? Any changes in the nature of the road, any blockage, or anything? Is it affecting the truck and van drivers who wish to refill at the petrol pump? Perhaps a restriction or the constrained size of road? Got it. What all products and services does the petrol pump offer? Its primary business lies in the sale of petrol, diesel, and oil. It also hosts a convenience store at the pump itself which sells products like car scents, window shades, etc. Yes, the number of customers has declined recently. Yes this looks satisfactory. How do you suggest we move further? No changes have come up in the information at the drivers’ disposal and no new petrol pumps have opened nearby. Yes, the road that leads to the petrol pump has been under renovation for a while. Yes, as a matter of fact the client has reported a fall in the amount of petrol purchased. This decline has come mainly due to a fall in the sale of diesel. Profitability | Model Case - Petrol Pump (1/3) Okay. To identify the reason, I’d like to look at the value chain of the customers visiting the petrol pump. I visualize the process as follows: Identifying location of the petrol pump Path to the petrol pump Queue at the petrol pump Quality of service Additional amenities (eg, general store, tire pressure check, etc) Exit Does this look good to you or should add something more? 53 Would it be right to assume that the primary users of diesel would be truck and van drivers?
- 63. Yes, sure 56 Correct, the smaller width of the road isn’t allowing larger trucks and vans to pass, hence, they’re forced to use other petrol pumps. You have identified the core issue of the problem. Kindly provide a recommendation for the same. Sure. Since the problem is with the road leading to the petrol pump, maybe the client could open a temporary pathway to the petrol pump, if feasible. Another option could be to cut down their diesel purchase costs so as to improve the profitability of their business until the road is fully operational again. However, I would prioritize the first solution over the second. That sounds reasonable. Thank you so much. Thank you. Profitability | Model Case - Petrol Pump (2/3)
- 64. KEY Takeaways: Approach: Problem statement : Your client is a petrol pump owner who has noticed a decline in profits of the pump in the past few months. Please look into the problem and suggest recommendations for the same. Cost Revenue Price Mix Petrol Purchased Petrol per person Number of Customers Profits Profitability | Model Case - Petrol Pump (3/3) Location Path to Petrol Pump Queue at Pump Extra Amenities Service Exit case facts: decline in profits of petrol pump was reported due to major fall in the amount of petrol purchased and this was influenced by fall in the sale of disel here the fair assumption that the primary users of diesel were truck and van drivers, helped to approach the case in a right direction Accessibility of petrol pump was hindered due to the road renovation, and this was affecting their profits. focusing on the primary users of the product line and the accessibility of the product Visualising the value chain as being a customer itself helps to easily identify the problem try to solve an external issue by providing a temporary pathway in addition to the internal solutions. 55
- 65. Consider it to be related to the customer pull issue. Profitability | Model Case - Automobile (1/2) Your client is an automobile manufacturing company experiencing a fall in revenue recently. Figure out problems and suggest ways to improve the profitability of the business Do we know about the segments of the automobile value chain segment the client operates? What are the operations run by the client? For the sake of simplicity, let’s just say that our client produces one model of a single type of car The quantity sold has gone down in the last 6 months and the price / unit has remained constant. So revenues have been declining for personal cars or tractors, and since when? What kind of personal cars does our client produce? It manufactures personal cars and tractors Yes, sure Only personal car profits have been declining for the past 6 months. You can consider the client to be operating all across a general automobile value chain from manufacturing till after sales service. You can consider it from the demand side issue. Since this is a case of declining revenues, it would primarily be due to two factors: quantity sold and price / unit. Do we have any information about these two factors i.e. either increased, decreased or remained constant in the last 6 months? Since the quantity sold has declined, it can be due to either supply side issue or a demand side issue. What is the case with our client? Before delving deeper into the case, I would like to ask a few clarifying questions. Shall I proceed? So, we can divide customer pull issues into four issues of product visibility, product likability, affordability, and feasibility. So do we know out of four factors which factor relates to customer pull issues? Firstly we have to look into In the last two years, there has been a drastic shift in the way customers want to interact and make a purchase decision and technologies including artificial intelligence continue their growth, more connected services and features are expected in vehicles. Bringing new technological modifications into our product could improve customer satisfaction, and hence, the likability of our product. The demand sector can be further divided into two segments, marketing and customer pull. Do we know on which of these two fronts our client's product is affecting the client's customer segment? That is quite an insightful question. The issue is related to the product's likeability. That sounds satisfactory. Thank you. 56
- 66. KEY Takeaways: Approach: Problem statement : case facts: Your client is an automobile manufacturing company experiencing a fall in revenue recently. Figure out problems and suggest ways to improve the profitability of the business Price per unit Mostly manufactures personal cars and tracto Declining revenu Price have remained same decline in units sol Decline limited to company and not to the industr Less likability of the product Design Feasibility Affordability Visibility Distribution Manufacturing Issue Market Share Profitability | Model Case - Automobile (2/2) Revenue Declining Number of units Technology Likability Demand Market Size Understand the company and get to know about its profits/losses and period. Interact with the interviewer to get an in depth knowledge of its revenue/costs , market size and supply chain and build your strategy accordingly. 57
- 67. Profitability | Model Case - Healthcare - (1/2) I’d first like to start with a few clarifying questions. Since when have they been facing this problem? Do we have the magnitude for profit drop? Alright, Considering that profits are a function of revenue and cost, am I supposed to focus on any particular segment from them? Ok. now, to understand the breakdown of revenue I would like to better understand, what are the segments of products that our client has been involved with? For Instance, Do they deal with both drug and non-drug segments of medicines? Has the profit drop for both the segments been equal? The profit drop was only seen in prescribed medicines and not for over- the-counter drugs. No, this consideration for patient footfall sources is exhaustive. Also, The profit drop was only visible in direct referrals from clinics and nursing homes. Sales from third party prescription and Online consultation prescription were constant in the concerned period. Ok, so we can directly look into the clinics and nursing homes that provide refferals for our client. What are the numbers of such prescription centers? Alright, revenue from this segment is equal to (Number of medicines per person * no of patients). Has any of these varied in the concerned period? This can be due to the following reasons, 1 Prescription Center related issue The clinic/nursing home referring to a different Pharmacy The clinic/nursing home have started their own Pharmacy The clinic/nursing home have shifted to online consultancy. 2 Patient related issue Choosing a competitor because of better quality or pricing I would suggest the following 2 solutions in order to solve the problem, Try to get listed on such online platforms and increase the footfall for the patients in online consultancy prescription Find more clinics and nursing home to integrate with for direct referrals to increase the footfall for direct referral patients Yes Indeed, The fooftall for this segment of people has gone down sharply in the past 2 months Nice approach, and yes the nursing home has shifted to online consultancy and the patients are choosing to use the online services due to the comfort of home. Also, the drop in footfall is also due to the same reason. Now, What would you recommend to our client in order to solve the above issue? Yes, cost has remained constant since the beginning of the concerned period and only revenue has gone down. So, you focus on revenue only. This has been seen for the last 2 months and we do not have data for the exact drop in profitability. Yes indeed, they do deal with both drug and non-drug segments of medicines, however the profit drop is only seen in The drug segment. We can further classify the drug segment into Prescribed medicines and over-the-counter drugs i.e. The ones that can be purchased without any sort of prescription. Was the profit drop equal in both the segments? Alright, Now channels or sources for footfall of patients that come for prescribed medicines can be, direct referrals from different clinics and nursing homes through any third party prescription patients with online medical consultancy prescriptions Do I have to consider more sources for patient footfall than the ones listed? Was the profit drop uniform across all these segments? There is a clinic in a kilometer of radius and a nursing home that is just on the adjacent space of pharmacy store. Your client is pharmacy store in New Delhi. They have encountered a decrease in profitability and want you to analyze the reasons while suggesting recommendations for the same. 58
- 68. KEY Takeaways: Approach: Problem statement : Your client is a petrol pump owner who has noticed a decline in profits of the pump in the past few months. Please look into the problem and suggest recommendations for the same. Profitability | Model Case - Healthcare - (2/2) case facts: When it comes to product mix or distribution channels, being MECE is really helpful to narrow done on one particular issue that might be the caus Detailing the prescription and patient issues across multiple buckets and possible reasons shows the breadth of thinking and expedites the time to arrive at the solution The division based on distribution channels (drug/non-drug) when it comes to medicine sales was MECE and shaped the case wel Carrying out prescription and patient analysis to better get a drift of possible reasons for the fall included a change in the mode of sales as well as changes in customer preference Have shifted online Referring different pharmacy Prescription issues Patient issues Average price/medicine No. of Patients No. of medicines/patient Online Medical Consultancy Prescription Third party prescription Direct referrals Nursing homes Clinics Online Medical Consultancy Prescription Third party Prescription Direct Referrals OTC Prescribe medicine Non-drug Drug Cost Revenue Profits Their own pharmacy 59
- 69. Yes, there has been indeed a decline in the number of units sold. The quality has been decreasing for some time(because of the low shelf life of fruit juice) & also there have been some issues regarding the availability of our product. Profitability | Model Case - Logistics (1/3) Your client is a fruit juice manufacturer. Over the past couple of months, it has seen a decline in profits. You’ve been hired to diagnose the problem and suggest mitigation measures. Where do we lie in the value chain? Like, do we manufacture the fruit juice and supply it to our distributors? Or do we have control over the entire supply chain(inventory & transportation)? It has been around six months since the sales have been down. How much is the decline in the profit What actually do we sell or what is the product mix? The company serves pan India. Alright.Go ahead.. I would want to know if this is an industry-wide problem or just company specific. What is the demography in which we will sell the product We sell only one product which is fruit juice. There has been around a 20% decrease in the profits This is a company-specific problem & our competitors have been doing fine. Yes indeed, the company owns the supply chain and they directly supply the final goods to the consumers. No, there has been no change in the price and it is on par with the competitors No, the quality is the same. Thank you.Since there is a decline in the profits so either the revenue must have decreased or the cost would have increased, so I am assuming that the revenue part would fall and would later analyse the cost part. Has there been any change in the price at which the product is being sold recently? From how long the sales are down So across the value chain, we have a production phase, distribution of products, and managing customer demand. Do we have any information related to these areas? Alright, so further analyzing the distribution system, do we have any info on if there is an increase in the transportation costs or warehouse management issues? Since the prices have not changed, there must have been a decline in sale volumes Also, dealing with the customer demand part, how is our product different from that of our competitors(in terms of price, quality, packaging, availability, etc.)? Has there been any change in the quality of the product Yes, there has been an increase in the distribution costs recently & also the customers are not satisfied with the quality of the product and thus are switching to our competitors. Yes indeed, transportation costs have increased recently due to the rise in fuel prices. Also, some warehouses are going through a re- building phase & few have almost been dead(inefficient) for a long time. 60
- 70. Spot on. So what recommendation would you like to give to your client? Okay great! We can end our case here. Okay, so in this case what I can conclude is that, due to the inefficient functioning & management of the supply chain, the costs have shot up by a margin. Also, due to the non-functionality of some warehouses aligned with the low shelf life of our products, the availability & quality of our products have been a major problem & thus our customers are looking for alternatives. Few recommendations that I would like to give: Shifting the warehouses to the location where the demand is much higher in order to improve their efficiency. A third-party substitute for the distribution system if it cannot be improved or managed by the company as it is inefficient. Building new warehouses and re-building the warehouse at a greater pace so that they fulfill the demand of the company. Profitability | Model Case - Logistics (2/3) 61
- 71. KEY Takeaways: Approach: Problem statement : Case facts: Your client is a fruit juice manufacturer. Over the past couple of months , it has seen a decline in profits. You have been hired to diagnose the problem and suggest mitigation measures. Revenue Number of Units Price per unit Procurement Delivery Outbound Logistics Procurement Raw Material Logistics Waste of Resource Inventor Transportation Marketin Availabilit Quality Distribution Customer Demand Profits Profitability | Model Case - Logistics (3/3) Major fruit juice manufacture with declining revenu Decline in the number of units sol Decline limited to company and not to the industr Quality and availability issues Cost 62 Get a primitive understanding of the company by asking preliminary questions to the interviewer. Understand whether it is a company-specific or industry-wide phenomenon. Build your strategy keeping in mind profit/losses and the period.
- 73. How to Approach RCA Cases Root cause analysis is a complete analysis of a given situation turning every stone that plays an important role. To understand the approach, we’ll take up an example. Business Model: Questions under this segment shall focus on understanding the business model of the company that is under targe Objective: Clarifying the mission and vision of the institution. Timing: Knowing the environment of the market and the globe while this situation has occurred. Market Target: this checklist will give clarity on the target market of the comp Geography: It provides the information about the terrain, locality and culture that created Clarifying Questions: “Asking the right questions” is a common phrase from industry experts and guides. But how to ask the right question. There is no precise path to asking clarifying questions, but you can create a checklist according to the situation. A list may include a part or entire or combination of frameworks like 3C-1P, 5W-1H, BOTMG etc., to make it MECE. Keep in mind to follow a top-to-bottom structure. For example, if we take up BOTMG. Think deeply about the facts you accumulated from the clarifying questions and structure the appropriate framework. There are two ways you can distinguish frameworks: ii. External factors: These factors are generally beyond the company's control but are industry-related problems. Considering the factors into consideration, one needs to find a perfect framework. Internal and external factors: i. Internal factors: In most cases, these are the factors an interviewee is expected to dwell on. Includes: 1. Recent developments in the management of the company 2.Products launched by the company Creating a proper framework: At this stage, evaluating the facts and formulating a hypothesis to find the root cause of the situation. For example: In the above example, you can segregate the consumers into divisions like the given below and based on clarifying questions, you can create an appropriate hypothesis Creating a Hypothesis: Superficial Causes Root Cause If you stop here the problem will recur A cause you can take action on that can prevent the problem from recurring 63
- 74. Meesho’s sales have been declining recently. Diagnose the reason and suggest suitable solutions. Thank you for the problem statement. I would like to ask a few preliminary questions before getting into the case. What all product segments the company is involved in? The company has various product segments. Meesho offers products related to baby care, casual & formal wear, home & kitchen products, and cosmetics. So, in the pre-purchase stage, we consider marketing and digital infrastructure. During the during-purchase stage, we consider the availability of products, prices & delivery, and in the post-purchase stage, we consider customer services such as the return of items, feedback, etc. So as you mentioned earlier, the decline in sales is mainly in casual & formal wear and kitchen product segments. One of the main reasons could be a change in customer preferences of product mix due to COVID. During COVID times, as most of the working population was working from home, there was a decreased demand for formal wear and increased demand for casual wear and kitchen-related products. Sure, let us look at the value chain of Meesho So there are three stages - procurement of products and then their outbound logistics i.e. transportation to a central warehouse, then to regional warehouses, and then delivery to the customers. There are other areas as well such as sales & marketing, development of digital infrastructure, rental costs for warehouses, etc. Is there any specific area you want me to look into? Is there any data regarding whether the decline in sales is specific to a particular product segment? Yes, there has been a decline in sales in the casual & formal wear & kitchen product segments. Since the profit is declining, there could be a decline in revenue, an increase in cost, or a relative increase resulting in low profits. Initially, let us assume that the revenues are declining and then maybe later, we can have a look at the cost part. Sure, go ahead. Now, revenue = Number of units sold * price. Has the company changed its prices recently? Can you elaborate what all aspects you would cover in these three stages? Yes, so the main reason is availability. What can you think of this? Sure, regarding sales, we have procurement, distribution, and customer demand, like are our customers switching to other competitors. Do we have any information related to these areas? Does the company sell its products all over India? Also, for how long Meesho has been facing the decline? Is the entire industry facing the same issue? Yes, the company serves pan India. The company has been seeing a decline in profits over the past year. Other competitors have not seen much decline but Meesho has been significantly affected. No, there were no recent changes in prices. You may analyze the decline in the number of units sold. Yes, the customers are not satisfied with our service and thus looking for other options. Can you please analyze the user experience? Sure. I would like to divide it into three stages - pre-purchase, during purchase, and post-purchase stage. Do we have any information on where the issue is? Right, there has been an increase in demand for casual wear. The company has been missing out on that readjustment and thus is falling behind. Now, can we have a look at the cost part? RCA | MEESHO BA - 1 (1/3) 64
- 75. Yes, let’s look into outbound logistics. The company has to bear high costs for orders from the north and northeast. Why do you think this is happening? The company has warehouses in New Delhi, Kolkata and Lucknow. The warehouse in Kolkata has high rental costs, and connecting the northeast region from there is a problem in itself. The warehouse in Lucknow is not so active due to less demand but the others are quite active. Absolutely. So what would be your recommendations to the client? Do we have information about where the current warehouses are located? And are they actively working? Are there other options available in warehouses? Like, in terms of pricing and demand? So I can see that in this case, both the transportation as well as the storage costs are increasing. The warehouse in Kolkata is very expensive and the warehouse in Lucknow is very inactive thus producing very less value. Few recommendations that I would like to give: To match consumer demand, the company should try to readjust its product portfolio more often. Currently, it should focus more on selling casual wear. Regarding logistics, to cut down costs, the company should try to transfer its warehouses from Kolkata to somewhere cheaper(Patna). Also, it should shut down its warehouse in Lucknow or at least give it for lease and open a warehouse somewhere else depending upon their demand demographics. Considering the demand in the northeast region, the company should look at the option of opening a warehouse in Guwahati. There are cheaper options such as Patna but the company is reluctant to change Its distribution structure. Interesting. It was great interacting with you. Thank you! RCA | MEESHO BA - 1 (2/3) 65
- 76. KEY Takeaways: Approach: Problem statement : RCA | MEESHO BA - 1 (3/3) CASE FACTS: Falling Sales Price/Unit Cost Revenue No of units Procurement High costs in North and North-East India Availability Pricing Delivery Marketing Digital Infra Return Feedback Procurement Distribution Pre-purchase Post - purchase Delivery Customer Demand Outbound Logistics During Purchase availability failure due to change in customer preference of product mix due to Covid problem with outbound logistics i.e high cost for orders from north and northeast Warehouse rental cost high for Kolkata lucknow warehouse not active due to less demand Transportation and storage costs are increasing. Understanding the industry and its product mix and then focusing on the right product line segment to take further approach breaking down each stage of value chain into sub-stages for deep analyzing that where the problem is Lowering the fixed cost i.e(rental cost of warehouse or shifting to cheaper locations) according to sales trend and readjusting product portfolio can help to match the consumer needs. Meesho’s sales have been declining recently. Diagnose the reason and suggest suitable solutions. 66
- 77. RCA | MEESHO BA - 2 (1/2) Yes, that is correct. A new restaurant has opened up in the outskirts of the city. It is offering heavy discounts on the menu. Hence, a major portion of orders on Zomato are from that specific restaurant. The high number of orders causes a delay in preparation of food and its location increases the food delivery time. The delivery time of Zomato in tier 2 cities (Moradabad in this case) has increased by 20%. Inspect the reason behind it. Is this happening in only a certain area of Moradabad or in the whole city? It is happening throughout the city. I'd like to look at the value chain of ordering food from Zomato in this case. Time is consumed in the following exhaustive steps: So, has there been an increase in the distance between the restaurants and the houses of the customers? Yes, the time required to prepare the food, as well as the time taken by the delivery partner to take the order from a restaurant to destination has increased. Alright. First let’s introspect the increase in time of food preparation. Food preparation can be broken as : Number of chefs × Average number of orders prepared by a chef. The increase in time can be due to a decrease in the number of chefs, or due to an increase in the number of orders. Has there been a change in the number of chefs? No. Has there been an increase in the number of orders? Yes, there has been a rise in the number of orders taken up by the restaurant. No, that is not the case. 1. While ordering the food 2. The restaurant accepts the order 3. Food is prepared 4. Delivery boy reaches the restaurant 5. The delivery boy delivers the order Increased time must have been due to a problem in one of these steps only. Is that so? Now let’s introspect the increase in the time of delivery. Since time = distance/speed, one of these factors has been affected Has there been a decrease in speed at which the delivery partner operates due to any reason? 67
- 78. KEY Takeaways: Approach: Problem statement : The delivery time of Zomato in tier 2 cities (Moradabad in this case) has increased by 20%. Inspect the reason behind it. RCA | MEESHO BA - 2 (2/2) Delivery time of zomato has increased by 20% in Moradabad Time taken to order food has increased Time taken to pick up the food has increased Time taken to accept the order has increased # Chefs has changed Average order distance has increased Speed of delivery partner has decreased Time taken to prepare the food has increased Time taken to deliver food has increased # Orders/chef has increased CASE FACTS: Analyze the step-by-step process of receiving, preparing and delivering an order on Zomato to identify the pain-point Mathematically breakdown each step to improve your drill speed to the root caus Link both insights of increase in number of orders per chef and average order distance to identify that the problem might be an outcome of the opening of a new restaurant The increase in the delivery time occurred due to the increased time spent in preparing the foo The overall delivery radius has increased leading to increased delivery time 68
- 79. RCA | HOUSING.COM (1/3) The supply side of Housing.com is falling on a quarter-to-quarter basis, identify the problem associated with it So, what exactly is the supply side of Housing.com? The houses that we rent as well as the plots that we sell, basically comprise the supply side of Housing.com What is the exact reason for this fall, Is any one of these two specified domains a major contributor to the fall? No, it is not specific to any domain, it is common in general to both the domains. Are there any more products of Housing.com which are facing a fall in the supply side? Are our other competitors like 99 acres, facing the same issue? Are we facing any issues on the legal front or some government restrictions, due to which we are not being able to list properties from our side? Is this any seasonal trend? Was this fall observed last time in this season too? Coming to the internal factors, was there a major change like some other product like makaan.com being launched and the entire audience shifting to the other product from the existing product, basically internal cannibalism? Yes, recently a law was passed in the assembly for the southern states which stated that any rental property can only be dealt with through government authorised personnel. This is a new step for government authorisation. No, currently we have to focus only on these two. Since when are we experiencing this fall and is it observed in some specific parts of the country like North or South India? This fall can be seen in the last few quarters and yes, it can be predominantly seen in the states in the south. Is this problem observed with specific users, like are the new users not listing on our site or the existing users have stopped listing? Also based on the demographic data available, can we see anything like high- income users are listing less or users in the rural areas are listing less? No, we are not observing any such trend according to our data. Now I am assuming that since housing-related work is serious so most people must be using laptops for the same and there is not any issue with Android/ IOS devices. Yes, you are right. It works on both Android and iOS devices. Okay, go ahead. No, they are not facing any such issue. No, there is no seasonal trend. Let’s come to the solution part, I would like to analyse this problem in two ways, one considering the external factors while the other considering the internal factors. In external factors, I’ll analyse the following things: · The institutes/organisations on which Housing.com is dependent, has that dependency weakened in any way? · The competitors which are parallel to Housing.com · The implied audience (the ones who are affected) of Housing.com · The problems with the existing dealers. 69
- 80. No, that’s not the case. That’s not the case either. I agree with you. Do you have any suggestions to tackle this? That sounds logical, thank you. Then are there any major policy changes like an increase in the rent percentage? So, I analysed that, due to the new government rule in the southern states the user experience for the users in that region is being disrupted. They have to go through an extra step which is either arranging the documents all by themselves or the waiting period is too long. Yes, we can arrange pre-filled forms for this purpose and give the users a hassle-free experience. We can also offer agents in order to deal with long waiting periods and get our users covered. RCA | HOUSING.COM (2/3) 70
- 81. KEY Takeaways: Approach: Problem statement : CASE FACTS: Supply Side Plots Sold Internal Internal Combination Rent changes due to policy External Issues with Dealers Changes in the competitive ecosystem Change in customer perception/ behavior Policy Changes House Rent RCA | HOUSING.COM (3/3) The Supply side of Housing.com is falling on a quarter-to-quarter basis, identify the problem associated with it For terms like ‘supply side’ and other similar terms that have different contextual meanings, it becomes increasingly important to clarify and understand their compositio The candidate, breaks the issue down into internal and external issues and steers the problem through that framework. Realize that this split is MECE in nature. Whenever laying out a structure, follow similar splits which are MECE. Doing so makes sure that you don’t miss out on any possible reason 71 The supply side of Housing.com included Plots sold and Houses ren North and South India differ significantly in their supply busines Owing to a policy change, an additional step of government authorization for southern steps was mandated leading to a dissatisfaction amongst the consumers
- 82. RCA | Model Case - Airline (1/3) You have been hired as a consultant for a major domestic airline. The NPS Score of the airlines has fallen by 11 points, identify why. Before starting off, I want to clarify one thing. NPS score here is an indicator of the customers’ experience. It calculated based on the survey of the customers asking them whether they would recommend the airlines to an acquaintance. Got it. That’s all for the clarifying questions. I’d now like to move onto looking at the customer value chain for the business class travelers from the said investment bank. Is that fine with you? Got it. Now, I’d like to move on to the clarifying questions. Firstly, since when have we been experiencing this drop and was it a gradual one or a sudden one? This fall in NPS Score has been observed for the past 2 months. It has been falling gradually, but the rate of decrease is increasing. Okay. Is there any specific category of customers that has provided these negative reviews? For example, those traveling in economy class? No, their feedback has not changed. Any change in business class? Yes, as a matter of fact, professionals traveling in business class for work purposes have been increasingly providing negative feedback to the airlines. And are we in any contractual agreements with their firms for the work travels? If so, when did we settle on these agreements? I’d like to understand whether there are any Service Level Agreements decided earlier that aren’t being complied to currently. Moreover, reasons for negative feedback from recent customers would be significantly different from the old customers. Makes sense. So, we have been in a long-term contract with an investment bank for the past 4 years. It includes several SLAs concerned with the quality of services, discounted fares, priority check-in and check-out, and complimentary airport services amongst many others. The majority of negative feedback has come from their end only. Sure, please go ahead. According to our estimates, the time taken between getting off the flight and departing the airport has risen by approximately 45%. Any particular reason why you think that would be useful for this case? Yes, it essentially refers to that only. So, since most of the business travel occurs on a short-notice basis. I’d evaluate the value chain keeping the same in mind. The firm goes onto our website looking for flights They find the well-suited flight and proceed to booking and payment This is further followed by the travel to the airport on the day of the flight, the onboarding process and leisure activities available Duration of the flight Arrival at the destination, followed by offloading and departure from the airport Post-travel facilities such as rental cabs and hotels. Has there been any specific issue in either of these steps? That’s an interesting finding. This doesn’t seem to be a nation-wide problem, is it? That’s correct. This problem has been identified at Delhi Airport. The situation at the other airports across India remains the same. 72
- 83. Yes, due to the closing of the regular route to the baggage claim for renovation purposes, travelers have to take a longer route to reach the same. The same has slowed down the process of the luggage reaching the baggage reclaim carousels. No, you’ve identified the core issue behind the negative feedback. That would be all. No, those services have been optimal. Understood. I’d like to focus on this aspect of the value chain with focus on Delhi Airport. Is there any problem with the departing servicing provided by the cabin crew and the offloading process? Sure. First I’d like to understand whether any changes were made to the baggage claim process in the past 2 months at Delhi Airport? If so, what changes were made? Okay. What about the baggage claim? Thank you. This seems to be the major reason behind the increase in time taken to exit the airport. It’s causing the travelers to spend more time at the airport, which is in turn violating the SLAs and potentially causing them to get late for meetings. Due to the consistent delay after every flight for the past couple of months, the rate of decrease in NPS has been escalating. Is this all or should I dig deeper? Many travelers have raised complaints about the baggage claim process. How about you look into it? RCA | Model Case - Airline (2/3) 73
- 84. KEY Takeaways: Clarify your understanding of the product with the interviewer instead of assuming that you’re both on the same pag Identify the key goals of the products (retention, growth, etc.) before moving to metric Analyze the customer journey funnel to improve the judgement of metrics The product is an in-chat payment feature available only on mobil Feature is available in India & Brazi Accessible by scanning QR Code or directly sending to UPI ID Approach: Problem statement : You have been hired as a consultant for a major domestic airline. The NPS Score of the airlines has fallen by 11 points, identify why. Case facts: Businesss Class Travelers’ Value Chain Finding Flight Booking and payment Travel to airport and check-in Flight Check -out Airport exit services Baggage Claim Exiting the flight Post Departure services RCA | Model Case - Airline (3/3) 74
- 85. RCA | FLIPKART APM - 1 (1/2) You are the Product Manager at Facebook. The traffic on Facebook is down by 3%. Identify why. I have a few clarifying questions in mind before proceeding with the approach. How do we define “traffic”? Is this drop in traffic happening only on the app, desktop site, or both? Since when is this happening? And was this a gradual drop or a sudden one? So if it is an internal issue and the number of sessions have been on the decline, I can draw the inference that there is a bottleneck in users launching the Facebook app. Now, the app can be launched in multiple ways, namely, via shared links to posts/profiles, ads, notifications, logging onto a site with Facebook, or directly opening the app. Has there been any drop in sessions launched via any of these routes This has been experienced on the Facebook mobile app. We have been noticing falling numbers for the past week and this was a sudden drop. Traffic refers to the number of sessions taken up by the user in a single day Got it. And was this drop experienced across the world or was it concentrated in some region? Okay. Number of sessions can come from new users or returning users. Have we experienced a drop in specifically either of the two? It’s an internal issue in the app I’d like to break the number of sessions as the number of returning users multiplied by the number of sessions launched by a user on average. Has there been a fall in either of the two? So is this an external issue, i.e., has there been a fall in social media usage due to certain restrictions, new legislation, competitors, etc. or an internal issue? Yes, there has been a fall in the number of sessions by returning users. This is a global issue and not region-specific. There has been a decline in the average number of sessions launched by a user on average. The number of sessions launched through notifications has fallen, the rest have remained the same. You may look into notifications. Alright. I would like to further break down the number of sessions launched through notifications into number of notifications sent * Click rate. Have we changed the number of notifications sent to users? Correct. The click rate has fallen by over 30% in the past few days. Correct. You have identified the problem, we can stop here. Thank you for coming in. No, the same number of notifications are being sent to the users Thank you. The click rate can fall due to multiple factors. It could be due to lack of engaging content, timing of the notification, etc. Have we changed the content that goes into the notification? So, has the click rate fallen? 75
- 86. KEY Takeaways: The candidate asked great clarifying questions to clearly define what the exact problem is so as to choose the most optimal framework to approach the proble Smaller buckets of internal factors were exclusive in nature, but since they were formed in an unstructured manner, the interviewee runs the risk of not being exhaustive Approach: Problem statement : RCA | FLIPKART APM - 2(2/2) case facts 3% fall in number of daily sessions Decrease in number of users External Number of notifications sent Click Rate Internal Directly Opened Notifications Ads Links Sign-ups on other sites Ads Timing Links Content Decrease in average number of sessions per user You are the Product Manager at Facebook. The traffic on Facebook is down by 3%. Identify why. 3% fall in number of daily sessions Decrease in number of users External Number of notifications sent Click Rate Internal Directly Opened Notifications Ads Links Sign-ups on other sites Ads Timing Links Content Decrease in average number of sessions per user Traffic refers to no. of sessions taken up a user in a single da Traffic decline has been recorded on the Facebook App suddenly in the past wee It is a global issu There has been a fall in traffic originating from returning users 76
- 87. iv) Market Entry
- 88. Market Entry Approach Now to answer the question “How do I enter?”, the candidate should follow the process Target Value Chain Segment: Thoroughly understand the target market's value chain and decide which segment of the value chain should the company ente Possible Barriers to Entry: It is also advisable to often check with the interviewer about possible barriers to entry in this market and pertinent issue Mode of Entry: Following the completion of the above two steps, the candidates can propose the mode of market entry. Typical modes of entry include Partnerships, Mergers and Acquisitions, Joint Ventures, and organic modes of entry. Careful perusal and cost-benefit analysis should be carried out before choosing a mode of entr GTM strategy: To synthesize, the candidate should propose a GTM strategy incorporating all the above-stated information and should outline future targets and objectives Customer Competition Company Product 3C1P Market Entry Company Assessment New Geography New Product New Customer Segment Is the market attractive? How do I enter the market? Implementation Profitability Conclude Conclude Financial Feasibility Value Chain Analysis Executive Plan Market Assessment 77 How to Approach Market Entry Cases (1/2)
- 89. How to Approach Market Entry Cases (2/2) A market entry is a case type that includes candidates to evaluate and decide whether a client company should enter a particular market. These cases can primarily be of 3 types- Geography Product Diversification Customer Segment Expansion In these cases, candidates whether the business should expand to a new geographical market, for example, if Tesla should enter the Indian market. In these cases, candidates assess whether the business should launch new business lines into their existing market, for example, if Apple should start selling smartwatches. In these cases, candidates assess whether an improvement on an existing product or service caters to new customer segments who don't use the product. Solving any market entry case primarily involves answering the following two questions - Through this question, the candidate assesses whether the company should take the market opportunity or not. To answer “Should I enter?”, there are two assessments one will have to make – market assessment and company assessment. Company assessment will reveal the company’s internal motivations to expand, whereas market assessment shows the external motivations driving expansion decisions Company assessment: The first step after receiving any case is to clarify about the company. This includes data like history of previous products, launches and overall vision of the company. Understanding the client’s internal motivations will help one solve the cas Market assessment: The next step is to inquire into the market of interest to understand external motivations for expansion. Is it the market size or the potential market demand? Candidates can use a profitability framework to judge if the market is attractive enough If you decide that the company should not enter, you no longer need to answer the next question. If you decide that it should enter, move on to the next step Figuring out how the company should enter the market will involve assessing the feasibility of entering a new market for the company – Does the client company have the financial capacities and capabilities to adapt to and profit from the new market? Figure out whether the client company’s financial situation can cover investment costs. To do this, you first need to estimate the amount of investment required. The company’s capabilities help it secure market share by differentiating it from other competitors in the market. Examples of capabilities are firm-specific competitive advantages such as patented technologies, efficient logistics & production capacities, local knowledge, a low-cost structure, etc. The candidate can get this data about the company from the interviewer and then proceed accordingly. To better analyze the position of the company, the candidate can use a 3C1P framework just to be exhaustive in their approach Is the market attractive enough? If yes, how should the company go about it? 78
- 90. Market Entry | KPMG (1/3) As a Consultant for a German energy supply firm looking to venture into renewable sources of energy like photovoltaics, you have to analyze the investment opportunities of solar panel deployment in the Indian market and provide an initial Go or No-Go recommendation based on your analysis. Sure. To answer your questions, the company is present in international markets with plants all around the world. It has expertise in the development, installation, and operation of all kinds of renewable energy sources and has successfully tested and deployed several solar panels across Europe. It does not have any business networks, partnerships, or assets in India I just had a few preliminary questions, to begin with. Starting off with the internal factors, I would like to know more about the German company. Where all does the company operate from, and what are its core competencies? How far along is it in the know-how of constructing and operating solar panels? Does it have any existing business partnerships or infrastructure in India? Got it. Moving on to my next question, what exactly is the scope of the deployment? Is it supposed to be for residential, commercial, or industrial purposes? So, when we say a solar panel, I wanted to understand if I should include only conventional solar panels in the analysis, like rooftop and ground- mounted ones, or floating solar panels, as well? From what I know, conventional and floating panels both have different capacities and investment costs, The capacity for floating panels is low, and the investments are high, but it’s the other way around for conventional solar panels. Fair enough. Let’s focus on only conventional panels for this case. Great. Moving on, as far as I know, the technology readiness of conventional solar panels is high in India since India ranks 5th in global solar power deployment. This means that there won’t be any R&D necessary for market entry. Is this right? Yes. Go ahead. So, I wanted to get a grasp on the costs of conventional solar panels to know the market better. These costs depend on a lot of factors like- The type and issues of the roof or surface Energy consumption The type of technologies used in the system and its installation Size of the installation. Since we are currently going to focus on industrial deployment, the end customers are going to be energy consumers like companies, public facilities, and industries with grid providers and distribution companies as intermediaries. I have some more assumptions about the external market factors. It would be great if you could validate them as well Sure So, India is within the top 5 countries in terms of the magnitude of energy consumption, with a strong focus on moving towards carbon neutrality by 2070 with coal phase-out, nuclear power reduction, and a strong focus on renewable energy sources There is a pipeline of renewable energy projects being planned by multiple multinational companies providing quite a strong competitio There are a lot of companies and private individuals, as well as government incentives like M-SIPS, that provide a favorable environment for investment in renewable energy sources in India. Right? Yes. Solar energy is a very crucial technology for India’s decarbonization plans, and the government is providing several PLIs and subsidies for incentivizing the adoption of solar power. In fact, investments in the renewable energy sector in India have surged more than 125% in the year 2022. Let’s do a quick estimation of market potential then, shall we? The company wants to start by deploying the panels in the industrial sector for the time being. How will this affect the decision? 79
- 91. Market Entry | KPMG (2/3) Right. So, what all data do you need to calculate the market potential? Great. So, Consider the high-side land use estimate for net-zero to be 75,000 km2 for solar, with 95% area for conventional solar panel systems. 8 solar panel systems can be accommodated per km2. Each system has an average capacity of 6.4 MW. Sure. So, for the market potential solar, I need to find the conventional solar panel potential in 2050 in India, right? Cause that is the standard metric for market potential solar in the energy sector. I’d need to know the land-use estimate for solar energy in 2050 in Indi The approx area of utilization for conventional solar panels for industrie Number of solar panels per square km that can be installed and, The average capacity of an industrial solar panel Noted. So, Area available for solar= 75,000 km2 Expected area utilised for solar = 72,000 km^2 (95% of available area) Number of conventional solar panel systems in that area = approx 6,00,000 (8 per km^2) Market potential solar in 2050 in GW = (6,00,000 * 6.4) / 1000 = 3800 GW According to my calculations, the total market potential solar for conventional solar power systems should be 3800 GW in India. Now that you have assessed the future market potential, what should be the next step? Well, after analyzing the problem across various qualitative assessment factors like Company, Product, Competition, and Market, I’d like to do a profitability calculation to be able to give the Go or No-Go recommendation. Perfect. Please, let’s just go ahead with the general approach of how you’ll do that and skip the calculations for now. The qualitative factors show that going ahead with the investment opportunity would be a wise decision. Coming to the quantitative part - I think conducting the profitability analysis for one conventional solar panel system over its lifespan will ensure the general profitability. First, I’ll find the sales by taking the product of the capacity, which is usually taken in MWh with the price/MWh, the lifetime of the panel. Next, I’ll find the costs by taking the sum of investment costs and the running costs over a lifetime. Finally, the profits will be the difference between the Sales and the Costs. And if the profits are positive, I would suggest the Company with a Go- recommendation. Could you elaborate on the calculation of running costs over a lifetime? Great. So, we have concluded that the company should go ahead with investing in conventional solar panel deployment in India. That would be all. Sure. So the running costs over lifetime is the product of the running costs per annum and the lifetime of the panel. The running costs per annum comprise of fixed costs like leasing and insurance costs and variable costs like operating & maintenance costs. If there’s anything else that you’d like to know, I would be happy to answer. Thank you 80
- 92. KEY Takeaways: Knowing the company's current situation and goals is crucial in any market entry case. Having industry-specific knowledge comes in handy as it helps you access the market situation more comprehensively and calculate the market potential solar more accurately. x x Market Potential for Solar Energy Approach: The client is a German company with an international presence and expertise in developing, installing, and operating all kinds of renewable energy sources. It does not have any partnerships/ business networks in India. Focussing on the introduction of only conventional solar panels in the Indian market for the time being. Solar energy is a crucial technology for India’s decarbonization plans, and the government is providing several PLIs and subsidies to incentivize the adoption of solar power. Problem statement : CASE FACTS: Market Entry | KPMG (3/3) Average Capacity / Solar panels/km^2 Expected area utilised Area available for solar Conventional Floating Profits Sales Costs Capacity Lifetime Running costs Investment costs As a Consultant for a German energy supply firm looking to venture into renewable sources of energy like photovoltaics, You have to analyze the investment opportunities of solar panel deployment in the Indian market and provide an initial Go or No-Go recommendation based on your analysis. 81
- 93. Market Entry | Model Case - e2W (1/3) Your client is an Electric 2-Wheeler manufacturer with successful operations in Asian and European markets. Analyze if they should introduce Electric 2-Wheeler in India. Thank you for the time. I will approach this problem in the following way. Firstly, I will analyze how financially attractive and feasible this opportunity would be. After that, I shall explore how we could go about the go-to-market strategy and how we can enter the market if it is feasible. Is this approach nuanced enough? That's correct. You've understood the situation well. How do you propose going about the solution? Could you please tell me a lit bit more about the company's operations and where in the value chain do we lie? Given that the company has successful operations in European and Asian markets, would it be fair to assume that its products comply with environmental regulations in these countries? In addition to having electric 2-wheelers as one of the products, the company specializes in electric buses, and we also have a vast market share of electric buses in India. We also specialize in other electric vehicles and are currently exploring R&D opportunities in different segments like heavy-duty vehicles (HDV). Yes, it sounds great. Yeah, yeah, that looks fine enough. Please proceed. Yes, that wouldn't be an issue, as both vehicles need a similar electric battery. It wouldn't be difficult for us to switch up and manufacture those and come up with CBUs (completely built units) Yes, our products comply with the latest environmental regulations. I would like to take a few minutes to structure my thoughts and move forward with the case. Yeah, sure! The client's primary objective is to maximize its profits and establish a market share in the Indian market. And, as there are no current players in the market, we get the first mover's advantage. Do we have the infrastructure to manufacture the electric 2-wheelers, given that we already have the electric buses set up in India that we could leverage? To start with, can you tell me something more about the objective of the client? What is the primary goal of entering the Indian market? Could you elaborate more about the customer segment we plan to cater to in India? I'll do a quick guesstimate to calculate the market size. I'll take the population of India and split it into urban and rural segments. Given that rural India lacks environmental consciousness and is also a price- sensitive market, it will not have good adoption so I shall rule that out. For the urban population, I will classify it on an income basis, breaking it down into below the poverty line, lower middle class, and upper middle class, and upper class brackets. Furthermore, I will apply a household split and assume that there are 4 people in each household in urban India. To assess the attractiveness of the market, what I will do is first calculate the market size, then I will multiply that by the price of our product. After that, we will deduct the fixed and running costs we currently know of and can estimate. On that basis, I’ll assess whether it’s a good opportunity. Does this look like a reasonable approach? I want to be sure I comprehend all the critical details of the client’s business. Our client is a maker of electric two-wheelers with a sizeable following in other regions. To determine whether this would be a wise course of action, we must decide if this product can realistically be introduced in India and assess the market's features. We are planning to release an economy vehicle that most people would be able to access. 82
- 94. Market Entry | Model Case - e2W (2/3) Yes, that seems like a detailed enough analysis. Now you can suggest some recommendations, and we can close the case. I will rule out the below-poverty income category because affording an electric 2-wheeler would not be possible for them. I will further split the remaining 3 categories based on direct and indirect competitors pertaining to the traditional 2-wheeler companies and use that factor to understand the adoption of electric two wheelers. The lower income bracket has lower environmental awareness and is also price-conscious. The upper middle class has relatively more disposable income and is more environmentally conscious. Finally, the upper class can easily afford these vehicles. Based on these, the calculation would look as follows: What is the cost of the economy electric 2-wheeler that we’re offering ? Given our analysis and that we are pitted to make profits once we enter the markets and given the other favorable conditions listed above, I think it will be a feasible option for us to enter the market. Do you also want me to map out a detailed GTM strategy along with pricing, competitor pricing, and the geographies (states) we should enter? Ok, that seems nice. Please proceed ahead. Yes, I could have added the age split in the urban population to make it more precise, as the age group of 18-25 is more environmentally conscious. No, that wouldn't be required, and we can close the case. Assume that we make substantial profits and the number and our bottom line is financially feasible. How would you approach the problem in that case, and what would be your recommendations? Yes, this number seems fair. But do you want to talk about certain elements you could have added to make the calculations more accurate? I would like to whip out a quick analysis of the facts we have discussed in the case today. Our strengths are: We already have a customer base that is loyal to us and knows our brand name due to our electric buses We have infrastructure that we can leverage to manufacture these electric 2-wheelers Specifically, in the electric 2-wheeler segment, the Government's policies are very favorable and there are heavy subsidies Typically, the 18-25 population is the country's most environmentally conscious and voluminous population. This is something that we can leverage. Our weaknesses are: The upfront costs is very high Also, our first mover advantage can be disadvantageous as we do not have competitors to benchmark our price with, also it will make it difficult for us to negotiate with OEMs as there are no other competitors The EV market in India is very nascent and not very well established, even though the perception is still changing. Does this seem like a detailed enough analysis? Total urban population: (30/100 x 1.2billion) Total number of households: ¼(30/100 x 1.2billion) Total households in lower middle income: ¼(30/100 x 1.2billion) x 25/100 Total households in upper middle income: ¼(30/100 x 1.2billion) x 25/100 Total households in upper income: ¼(30/100 x 1.2billion) x 10/100 Total E2W market: 10/100[¼(30/100 x 1.2billion) x 25/100] + 30/100[¼(30/100 x 1.2billion) x 25/100] + 40/100[¼(30/100 x 1.2billion) x 10/100] = 12,600,000 Does this number seem fair to you? 83
- 95. KEY Takeaways: Very often in case interviews, the interviewers are more interested in the approach than the number. For instance, the interviewer didn’t want us to go into the costs and rather wanted to see the next approac Using unconventional frameworks like SWOT analysis in between cases, helps you structure your thoughts and suggest better recommendations. Approach: Problem statement : Alternate Approach Market Entry | Model Case - e2W (3/3) After analysing that it is financially viable to enter the market, the candidate could have explored states with more favorable PLIs for Electric two wheelers and looked into optimizing distribution channels for the economy product offering 84 Your client is an Electric 2-Wheeler manufacturer with successful operations in Asian and European markets. Analyze if they should introduce Electric 2-Wheeler in India. Population Rural(70%) Urban(30%) BPL 10% 30% 40% LMC Awareness and Affordability UMC UC
- 96. Your client is an ex-veterinarian backed by a sizable investment from an investment banking unit. Through a recent survey, they became cognizant of the gap between the supply of pet care products and the demand for these products among concerned dog owners, with 20% of the dog owners opening the unavailability of these stores at optimal locations. On the basis of this finding, the client wants to set up a pet store in Delhi. For that purpose, you have to assess the following two questions. What’s the market size of the pet owners’ market in Delhi, and would it be feasible to focus vertically on the dog owners’ market or should we cover all the different pet owners horizontally? How should the client enter the market? Sure. Any domestic animal owned for non-commercial purposes like dogs, cats, etc. You can consider households having pets of all income brackets and pet centers where animals are taken care of collectively. You can do it on an annual basis. Correct, Please go ahead. Yeah, it does sound fair. Sounds good; please go ahead. you can take that 80 - 20 instead. Makes sense; please continue. Market Entry | Model Case - Dog Owners’ Market (1/4) May I go ahead with a few preliminary questions? What exactly is a pet for the reference of this case? Whom can I consider as pet owners? For what timeline or duration should I find the market size? Ok, to find the required market size, we need to find the product of the price each customer bears annually and the total volume of the customers in Delhi. So let me start with finding the latter one first. Sure, so taking the population of Delhi as 2 crores with a split of 70% to 30% for urban and rural, respectively. Ok, now in the rural section, considering the income factor and low standards of living, we can assume the volume to be negligible in this section as owning a pet accounts for leisure expenses which exceed their affordability. For the urban region, we can again split it into a lower class, middle class and upper class, with each having a share of 20%, 60% and 20%, respectively. Since we are considering the urban section here, we can consider the average household size to be 5, so the number of households in the lower class will be (2 crores)*(0.7)*(0*2)/5 which comes out to be around 6 lakhs households, and similarly, for middle and upper class it comes down to 17 lakhs and 6 lakhs households respectively. Now, considering factors such as leisure time and expenses, maintenance costs and income levels, would it be fair to assume that 5% of households lying in the lower class have pets, 10% of households in the middle class and 20% of households for the upper class Ok, so after calculation, the number of households that own pets comes down to 30K, 1.7 lacks and 60k for lower, middle and upper classes, respectively. Again the number of pet centers will be insignificant in comparison to the this figure, so we can simply increase the final value by 2% to cater the gap occurred, is that fine? Alright, now i will move forward with the cost incurred by each individual annually, The main expenses can be divided into procurement cost and maintenance costs. For procurement would it be correct to assume 10k rupees for the lower and middle class whereas 15k for the upper class considering that they can afford pets of better breed. 85
- 97. Sounds good. Market Entry | Model Case - Dog Owners’ Market (2/4) Now for the maintenance part the major costs incurred account for food expenses, self care products and other accessories like toys, etc. Can i know the cost of few of these products to move ahead with calculations? You can take a good assumption here. Alright, so let us assume for the middle and lower class the food cost is nearly 30K per anum, self care cost is 10K and cost for accessories is 5k. And again as the upper class has higher affordability limits, they will opt for premium products so cost split for the upper class will be 50k , 20k and 10k for food, self care and accessories respectively. What are the resultant maintenance costs? For lower and middle class the overall maintenance cost comes down to INR 45K annually and for upper class it is 80k. Now, considering procurement happens once in ten years for each households so the final cost incurred per household boils downs to INR 46k for lower and middle class and INR 82k for the upper class. So the final market size is INR (30k)*(46k) + (1.7 lacs)*(46k) + (60k)*(82k) = 141 crores which after increasing by 2% comes down to nearly INR 144 crores (final market size). And instead of covering it horizontally by incorporating every animal, it would be more feasible to focus vertically on the dog owners comprising nearly 45% of all the kind of pets owned. So the dog owners’ market would be around 45% of the total market size which would be nearly INR 65 crores annually. Good job. So, is the market attractive or not? I’d first like to understand the market share that we’d like to accomplish of the entire dog owners’ market and the competitors’ individual market shares. Sure, you can assume 2% market share, since the market is very fragmented and legacy brands have a lot of customer loyalty. Understood, thus the potential revenue that we stand to make would turn out to be 2% of 65 crores, which is 1.3 crores on an annual basis. Additionally, I’d like to enumerate the costs associated with the venture. I hypothesize that shop rent, employee wages, electricity expenses, etc. will fall under fixed costs, which would roughly account and certain variable costs would be those associated with materials like pet food, pet care products, etc. In total, these would be somewhere around 4-5 lakhs on a monthly basis. Should I proceed with this assumption Given that a lot of dog owners have a reasonable dispensable income, this seems like a fine estimate. You can proceed with the same. Additionally, Consider the fixed investment to be around 10-20 lakhs incorporating marketing , brand-building investment, etc. Correct, so the profit that we can make is Revenue - Fixed Investment - Running Costs. Thus, the bottom line is around 50-60 lakhs on an annual basis, which seems very promising Great, so how do we go about entering the market? Before I begin suggesting that, are there any barriers to entry that might pose a challenge. Yeah, so we were thinking of setting up the shop in a posh locality which a good percentage of dog owners’ reside but there are existing shops there that have nice brand loyalty amongst the customers. Additionally, as of now, we don’t have any differentiating factor that would help us accomplish the market share that we target In terms of establishing our presence in the posh localities, we could consider marketing our pet care facilities and distinguishing them as premium. Additionally, we could collaborate with pet grooming stores (which this posh populace frequents) in order to get access to this populace. There would be other spots like parks or dog races, etc. We can identify them and either partner with such events or use these events as a marketing opportunity 86
- 98. Market Entry | Model Case - Dog Owners’ Market (3/4) For collective dog centres, we can come up with schemes to offer them products in bulk at a discounted price initially to build trust and make the customer acquisition process hassle-free. As for the economy buyers, price would be a significant factor. So, that should be looked into to smoothen the acquisition process. Additionally, since the client is an ex- veterinarian, they already have a good network in pets Summarize the case and what should be our mode of entry Given that upon assessment, the market turned out to be attractive. I’d recommend entering the market organically, since the client already has a broad network in the dog community, owing to his years of experience working as a veterinarian. We could collaborate with certain pet-grooming centres to establish a better market presence. Good job, we can close the case here. 87 Great, what about the other customer segments? Economy buyers and collective centres?
- 99. KEY Takeaways: Approach: Problem statement : CASE FACTS: Market Entry | Model Case - Dog Owners’ Market (4/4) Costs Market Size Market Share Fixed Investment Price per Product Running Cost Revenue Profits Profits = 2% of 65 Cr - Fixed Investment - Running Cost Profits = 60 Lakhs/Annum Customer Segments Collective pet centre, economy and premium buyers Organic leveraging the client’s existing network Collaboration with pet grooming stores and altering pricing Mode of Entry Product Differentiation Market Entry The interviewee could have either focused on all the pet owners horizontally or explored the dog market vertically. Given, that the dog owners’ market is a substantial chunk of the entire market, vertical entry was prioritise Marketing can be done by partnering with pet grooming stores, which are popular in the posh populac Three customer segments were zeroed in on, the collective pet centers, economy dog owners and premium dog owners The decision of vertical/horizontal entry was made basis the sheer proportion of the dog owners’ market from the pet owners’ marke Be on the lookout for subtle clues/tidbits in the question that enable you to make better/more substantiated decisions. For instance, given that it was already mentioned in the question that the client has a strong network owing to his vast experience as a vet, we were able to propose an organic mode of entry into the market What’s the market size of the pet owners’ market in Delhi, and would it be feasible to focus vertically on the dog owners’ market or should we cover all the different pet owners horizontally How should the client enter the market? 88
- 100. Market Entry | Model Case - Energy Device (1/3) I want to begin with some clarifying questions. First of all, I would like to understand the company's vision in launching such a product. Since a household needs to make a considerable investment, our target market would be regions with strong wind throughout the year. Such areas are among the top populated states so that I would consider 35% of the total population in the region. I hypothesize two costs :-, Capital and Operational Expenditure. What would the cost to the customer be for these two buckets What is the landscape of the competitors in the Indian market? I shall take some time to structure my thoughts before beginning I will find the profits, the company would make from the Indian market using the mathematical breakdown Profit = Revenue - Cost (Fixed investment and running costs) Cost is already given, i.e. INR 700 crore. Revenue = market size (in volume) * market share * price per product. Guesstimating the market size of the energy-saving devices Since the device requires mild to strong wind exposure, I would like to apply a split based on geography. Could you please provide me with information on the same? The customer only needs to make a one-time investment of INR 1 lakh, and in terms of running operating expenses, they’re around 20% of the Fixed investment The company realised that given the rapid surge in carbon emissions, it is the need of the hour to cut down on our carbon footprint to meet international goals. For that purpose, we put things in motion for this initiative. In the process, it also wants to become a do well, do-good company. Got it. I would like more details about the product we plan to launch. Our product is a sophisticated device that operates on wind technology, i.e., converting wind energy into electricity. It is an extreme upgrade to the traditional sources in terms of energy efficiency. If the device is integrated on a large scale, it could significantly lower the carbon footprint. It’s requirement is exposure to mild to strong wind and periodic replacement of internal fluids and chemicals As of now, the Indian Govt. hasn't provided any incentives. But, the company is optimistic that the future landscape with respect to incentives is bright as EVs and solar energy devices are already incentivized Great approach. The entire country experiences strong winds, but they are seasonal. Some regions like Leh-Ladakh, parts of Rajasthan, Gujrat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Kerala, experience strong wind across the calendar. The market is at a nascent stage right now and the market is fragmented with no one having a consolidated share Sure, go on There are no wind energy linked incentives provided by the Government. Are there any other incentives worth considering? Your client is a manufacturer of electronic equipment for industrial customers operating in the US. The Research & Development department has developed a new product -- a device that could replace all typical energy costs using wind technology. The estimated household price to the customer is around INR 1 lakh, with an estimated investment of around INR 700 crores. Assess if they should enter the product into the Indian geography or not. 89
- 101. Market Entry | Model Case - Energy Device (2/3) Target market population = 35% of 1200 M = 420 M Also, there are, on an average, 4 members in a household Target market household = 420 M / 4 = 105 M Does this seem reasonable to you? Therefore, if we assume the government of India has provided the incentives in our favor, our total available market will be 0.00036225 bn households. Our approx gross revenue = INR 121 crore Comparing the revenue and the investment by the company, the market does not look attractive. To conclude, I would not recommend entry into the Indian geography basis the following reasons. First, the consumer perception of alternative sources (especially wind) is not very optimistic. Next, the majority of the population resides in non-viable based on geography. Third, the government doesn’t have any scheme or incentive, and depending on it would create several problems. Further, inside each segment, some portion of the population has potent awareness to understand the need for an alternate energy source. Hence, a division into aware and non-aware portions can be carried out. The affordable segment has greater environmental consciousnesses, taking it to be around 30% of the population. While, in the might-be-affordable segment, 15% of the population is aware. Do I need to make any changes? Conscious portion of affordable segment = 30% of 3.15 M = 0.945 M Conscious portion of might-be-affordable segment = 15% of 1.785 M = 0.26775 M I shall apply a filter based on affordability of the device, some households can afford the device without any incentives. In contrast, some can afford it after government incentives, and others cannot. The first segments (which can afford the device without incentives) are economically more prosperous than the rest of the areas, so the first segment, i.e. affordable group, can be 3% of the population with an income of more than 10 LPA. The might-be-affordable segment(who have an annual income between 6 lakhs and 8 lakhs) will account for 17% of the population, and the rest is the non-affordable segment. Do the percentage and reasons sounds good? Affordable segment = 3% of 105 M = 3.15 M Might-be-affordable segment = 17% of 105 M = 17.8 M Yes, it is reasonable. Continue. No, you can continue with your assumptions. Since, the market doesn’t look attractive. Please summarize Yes, seems reasonable. Kindly proceed 90
- 102. KEY Takeaways: Approach: Problem statement : Market Entry | Model Case - Energy Device (3/3) CASE FACTS This essentially was a product entry case, and thus, began with the market size estimatio The market turned out to be unattractive owing to low adoption and policy support for the shift to sustainable wind energy in the current ecosystem Since, the requirement of the device in question was strong winds, a classification based on geography was carried out to estimate the total market siz While summarizing, the candidate has substantiated their recommendation with 3 reasons. It is a very good practice to mention crisp and concrete reasons in support of your conclusion & Development department has developed a new product -- a device that could replace all typical energy costs using wind technology. The estimated household price to the customer is around INR 1 lakh, with an estimated investment of around INR 700 crores. Assess if they should enter the product into the Indian geography or not. Your client is a manufacturer of electronic equipment for industrial customers operating in the US. The Research Indian Market Geographically feasible locations (35%) Geographical non-feasible location (35%) Population in affordable segment (3%) Population might-be- able-to-afford (17%) Population that cannot afford at all (80%) Aware (30%) Aware (15%) Interested (10%) Interested (5%) Not interested (90%) Not interested (95%) Non- Aware (70%) Non- Aware (85%) 91
- 103. v) Unconventional
- 104. Unconventional | Dalberg (1/3) Your client is a large cancer hospital in Mumbai. They have been facing the problem of overcrowding outside the hospital for 6-7 months now. Identify the reason and suggest recommendations for the same. I’d like to begin by asking a few clarifying questions first. Where is this hospital located and what customer segment does it primarily cater to? It’s located in the outskirts of Mumbai and its major customer segments belong to the middle to upper class. This issue started gradually and escalated very quickly within a few weeks. It’s mainly due to a large number of pedestrians and the patients typically visit the hospital in a car. The overcrowding is at its peak during 4-6 PM. Sure, go ahead. Alright. I’d like to understand more about the problem now. Did this overcrowding start suddenly or gradually? What is causing this overcrowding, pedestrians or vehicles? What’s the typical mode of commute to the hospital for the patients? Does this problem arise at a specific time of day? Any particular part of the hospital and its surroundings where this overcrowding typically happens? The crowd is concentrated right outside the reception area and the pathway leading to it from outside the hospital. Got it. That's all for the clarifying questions. I’d now like to look at the journey of the patients leading up to the hospital and identify the points where the crowding is happening. 1.) Driving to the hospital 2.) Parking the car 3.) Walking to the hospital 4.) Getting an appointment at the reception Do we have any insight on where the patients are spending more time during their visit or where they are witnessing big crowds? Yes, the patients are spending more time walking to the hospital and getting an appointment Sure, go ahead. So, given that there was a rapid increase in crowding outside the reception area, my initial hypothesis is that a lot more patients may have started visiting the hospital. Did the hospital shift its medical focus or introduce a new therapy around 6-7 months ago? Yes. The hospital started admitting patients of lymphoma and melanoma around 8 months ago. That change must have led to an increase in the size of staff as well, correct? Right. The hospital had to increase its staff size by approximately 20%. That’s interesting. I’d now like to shift my focus towards the staff at the hospital. What’s the staffing like at the hospital? So the hospital employs people in 3 shifts of 8 hours each; 9 am - 5 pm, 5 pm - 1 am, and 1 am - 9 am So the hospital employs people in 3 shifts of 8 hours each; 9 am - 5 pm, 5 pm - 1 am, and 1 am - 9 am.in 3 shifts of 8 hours each; 9 am - 5 pm, 5 pm - 1 am, and 1 am - 9 am. So there’s a shift change occurring at 5 pm during which there is a rapid influx of Shift 2 Workers and an outflux of Shift 1 Workers. Does the staff also enter and exit through the reception area itself? Yes. The hospital staff check-in kiosks have been installed in the reception area, so the staff is forced to move in and out from there only. The crowd inside the reception could be causing the crowd along the road by slowing things down. So, I’d like to first look into that. I hope that’s fine? 92
- 105. Since it’s a case of overcrowding, I’d like to understand whether the hospital made some changes to account for the greater size of staff. I shall assess their journey while checking-out to identify pain points Wrapping up work at their work stations Taking staircase/elevator to the reception area Checking out at the kiosks Heading to the parking lot Exiting the hospital In what all aspects did the hospital make changes? None, as a matter of fact. Right. So I can now form a clearer picture in my head around this. Given the increase in staff size but no change in number of kiosks and lifts, the incoming and outgoing staff are spending approximately 20% more time in leaving the hospital. Due to this crowd, people right outside the reception are getting slowed, and further the people on the road are getting slowed and causing crowding. Does that sound reasonable? Yes, you seem to have identified the core issue behind the problem. Please share some recommendations for the client and then we can wrap up the case. That sounds reasonable. Thank you. Sure. First and foremost, the hospital should increase the number of check-in kiosks to reduce the crowd at the reception area. The new kiosks should preferably be installed at other points of entry, if any, to distribute the heavy demand during shift change to ensure that patients don’t have to suffer due to an occasional surge. Unconventional | Dalberg (2/3) 93
- 106. KEY Takeaways: Approach: Problem statement : CASE FACTS: Unconventional | Dalberg (3/3) Your client is a large cancer hospital in Mumbai. They have been facing the problem of overcrowding outside the hospital for 6-7 months now. Identify the reason and suggest recommendations for the same. Driving to the Hospital Wrapping up work at work stations A Staff Member’s Journey A Patient’s Journey Parking the Car Taking elevator/ stair case to the reception Walking to Hospital Checking-out at the kiosks Getting an appointment Heading to the parking lot Exit The cancer hospital had opened up two more specialities in, lymphoma and melanoma leading to increased staf The cancer hospital had check-in kiosks at the common entry leading to a lot of congestion at the entry poin The rapid influx of shift two staff members lead to the congestion In unconventional cases like these clarifying questions have increased importance as there is no set framework. After understanding that the staff has increased for two new specialities, the candidate clarified staff timings through which they concluded that there was congestion due to rapid influx of shift two customer It’s often advisable to lay out recommendations using the time bucket. For example, in the short-term this can be done and in the long-term this should be employed 94
- 107. A student at IIT BHU is unhappy with his lifestyle. Identify why and suggest recommendations Unconventional | Model Case - Unhappy Student (1/3) First, I had to clarify some specifics. How long has he been feeling unhappy and when did he join the college? He’s been feeling unhappy since the past week and he is a junior undergraduate student at IIT BHU. Understood. So, to understand this better I'd like to look at the kind of activities he's involved in, in college and then, delve deeper to get to the root cause. Sure, what do you want to know? Essentially, I'd split his activities into two buckets: Educational and Leisure. In education, I shall look at academic factors (pertaining to his department and what is being taught there) and non-academic factors (subjects or learning of his own interests). In leisure, I'd look at the activities which he takes part in just to refresh and rejuvenate Very well. In terms of academics, he has six subjects and his disciple is Economics. For, other interests, he particularly likes reading autobiographies and likes to stay up-to-date with the latest happenings worldwide through monthly primers. He's also part of the entrepreneurship club of his college, where he is extremely active in discussions and workshops Got it. So, has there been any alteration in his educational involvements (have his grades dipped, has he been not able to partake in the entrepreneurial club activities) and have they changed in comparison to other students since the past week No, in terms of his educational involvements, they're typically similar to other students. This hasn't been any cause of concern. I'd like to explore the leisure side now. In the leisure side, given the constitution of leisure activities varies basis the type of day it is. I'd like to break it down into Weekdays and Weekends. Yeah, so typically on weekdays, he attends classes and leisure activities include going to volleyball practice, and hanging out with friends. In terms of weekends, he goes out with his friends on Saturday and other engages in other recreational activities. Is there any reason as to why he goes out specifically on Saturdays? Yes. It is basically because the hostel messed are closed on Saturday evening I see. So, has there been any change in his leisure involvements in weekdays or weekends? Nothing that we've noticed in the weekdays. You could maybe look at weekends. For weekend involvements, I'd like to look at the Saturday plan, and how his typical weekend composition looks like. I'll benchmark that with how a typical happy student to understand the possible causes. Yeah, go ahead. Alright. So, for the weekends, I hypothesize that there'd be two types of activities : individual ones (only involve the student) and community ones (involves a bunch of friends). In terms of community activities, we know that he goes out on Saturdays. What about the individual ones? On an individual level, he works out on the weekends and also makes time for interests such as cycling, and swimming. Got it. Has there been any change in engagements from an individual standpoint. That won't be an useful route to go ahead with So, I'd like to look at community activities. Has there been any change in his plans with friends and other community activities he's been engaged in We haven't noticed any changes in his involvements with the entrepreneurial club or his recreational sports engagements. So, I'd like to look at Saturday evening plans as a possible cause. 95
- 108. Unconventional | Model Case - Unhappy Student (2/3) Yeah, so he hasn't been able to go out with his friends for the past few Saturdays Got it. So, since he has been unable to go out on Saturdays. I shall look at the student's journey across a Saturday. I hypothesize that he'd wake up and refresh, go to the gym to work out. He'd then have lunch, followed by entrepreneurial club activities. Then, he'd either swim or cycle. And, post which he typically would have gone out with his friends Seems decent. How would you proceed ahead? I reckon there has been a change in any of the activities leading up to the plan that has left him feeling unhappy. Has there been a change in any of these. For the past few weeks, he hasn't been able to wake up on time on Saturdays, which derails his entire schedule and then, he either can't go for swimming or work out, which leaves him feeling bad, thus he skips the Saturday meetings and eats at the canteen instead. Understood. So, I'd now look at the possible reasons why he can't get up on time on Saturdays. We know that since, Friday is the final weekday, students typically stay up late causing them to no get up on time on Saturdays. This cannot be changed. Could you suggest certain recommendations to circumvent this? Right. Since, the major cause here is that he is unable to get up on time. I think in the short term, he could switch up dinner plans and schedule them on a weekday or else, he could think of switching an activity (swimming or cycling) into the weekdays so that he can wind down and not feel drained for Saturday plans. Any long-term recommendations? In terms of long-term recommendations, I think he can realistically reassess his weekly schedule and make it to account for waking up late. Bathing in the evening on Saturdays or practicing energy replenishing activities like meditation would have a positive effect. That seems reasonable. We can close the case here 96
- 109. KEY Takeaways: Approach: Problem statement : CASE FACTS: Unconventional | Model Case - Unhappy Student (3/3) Student Saturday Plans Leisure Educational Academic Non-Academic VolleyBall Practice Individual Hanging Out Community Weekdays Weekends Six Subject Economic Dept Reading Autobiographie Monthly Newsletters Saturday Dinne Other Recreational Swimmin Cycling Working Out Wake up and Refresh Unable to wake up because of erratic Friday night plans Go to the Gym He would have lunch Entrepreneurial club meet Swim or Cycle Saturday evening plans A student at IIT BHU is unhappy with his lifestyle. Identify why and suggest recommendations The student’s leisure activities were split across weekends/weekdays and included hanging out with friends, volleyball practice, swimming, and working ou Due to erratic Friday nights, the student was unable to stick to his routine leading to lower levels of energy across the day Segmentation on the basis of type of day (weekend/weekday) for leisure activities was an important split here as the nature of his activities varied across weekends/weekday In order to arrive at the root cause, the interviewee mapped out Saturday plans. In cases, where you have to find the major cause, user journeys help to bucket thoughts and isolate important elements in the case 97
- 110. You have to take a survey across educational institutions in Mumbai. How would you go about it? The survey is essentially to validate and understand the customer preferences before we begin with full-fledged market research as part of our current engagement with a client, a leading player in the retail sector You can proceed with both the internal and external landscapes for the survey Sure, go ahead. How will you break down the buckets further? Unconventional | L.E.K Consulting (1/2) To begin with, I’d first like to understand the objective of the survey as to what we’re trying to gauge and who we are conducting the survey for. Got it. Additionally, is the objective of the survey to get a look and feel of the company and its perception amongst the student base (internal) or is it to get an idea of the competitive landscape of the retail market (external) Understood. So, I’ll proceed with the internal assessment or company assessment and then look at the external assessment In terms of internal analysis, I shall assess the different factors like customer perception of the company and its product offerings, and whether it meets the needs and requirements of the customers. In the company perception, I shall look at NPS, and brand image across environmental (whether the company’s operations and CSR initiatives are potent or not), legal (whether the company complies with legal policies or not), political and social (what does the company offer for the society, alignment with the vision of the company) factors. Additionally, I shall also understand the customer’s use case for the company and the sales mix in terms of different sales channels like (online/offline). Additionally, for the offline channel, assess which stores do they frequently visit, and their perception of different stores across amiability, hospitality, etc. Great. In online sales, what will you consider? app. How do customers’ buying preferences as well as engagement preferences vary across the website or application? Additionally, I shall also assess the frequency with which they visit the app and would include certain questions that benchmark it with the time they spend on games, school essentials, YouTube, etc. For online company sales, I shall look at the perception of the website/ Seems decently exhaustive. What factors do you plan to include in the product offerings? Right, so for the product offerings, I shall look at the volume of product categories sold and which product category (Appliances, electronics, White goods, hearables, wearables, etc., gaming equipments), is purchased the most. Additionally, I shall also try to make questions around the most favoured product category and most purchased product category across online and offline sales channels. Great. Now, move on to the external survey The purpose of the external survey is to gauge the competitive landscape. So, first, off I shall understand the customer perception and customer opinion across how we compare with our competitors in terms of our political compliance, in terms of our environmental consciousness, and also look at our fitment with the customers and pit it against our competitors, Seems decent. How do you plan to include the different product categories in your analysis For the product categories, I was planning to create a survey to understand customer preferences across price, product, performance, most frequently purchased categories, whether they prefer purchasing products from our customers and factors like those. How do you plan to gauge product-market fitment? In terms of product-market fitment, I shall assess how much the customers’ can align with our value proposition and additionally, look at certain gaps that exist in terms of what they need. Maybe, they want more product lines or more options in certain categories. We shall create a dedicated section to assess that. That seems exhaustive enough, thank you! 98
- 111. KEY Takeaways: Approach: Problem statement : CASE FACTS: Unconventional | L.E.K Consulting (2/2) Objective External, Competitor Internal Company Company Perception Offerings Perception Brand Imag Political Perceptio Environmental Perceptio Social Perceptio NPS Sales Mix across channel Online (Comparing Engagement and UI Offline (Hospitality Product Offering Volume of Sale Most purchased product categories Bench Marking across Brand Image, social factor Price Produc Preferenc Benchmarking Sales You have to take a survey across educational institutions in Mumbai. How would you go about it? The objective of the survey was two-fold, an internal analysis (company) and external analysis (competitor Internal analysis was carried out on two levels, the company level and then, analysing its different product offering A varied range of factors like NPS, external perception through environment, etc. were carried ou In the external analysis, price, product, preference etc, were benchmarked with those of competitors Since, it wasn’t mentioned what kind of a survey the client wanted to conduct, clarifying the objective was the first step and provided clear and coherent direction to the cas A survey is very undefined so it becomes extremely important to be as exhaustive as possible, as that would show breadth in thinking, and in the process bag you brownie points 99
- 112. v) Product: Metrics & Design
- 113. Product | Flipkart APM - 2 (1/2) You are the product manager at Zomato and focusing on the Delhi region. All the restaurants are concentrated in a particular area. Now, only people from that particular area can place orders from Zomato. You want everyone from across Delhi to be able to place an order from Zomato. What is that one metric that you’ll analyze to track whether you are going in the right direction or not? Before starting off with the problem I’d like to clarify, is retaining the consumer base for repeat orders also a goal? Yep, makes sense. Since we can segregate the people on the basis of the pincodes, we can keep track of all the pin codes where our target has been satisfied. Yes, that is also a goal we can target. In order to check whether everyone across Delhi is able to order or not, the key factors to keep in mind are the number of orders and the time to deliver the order. I hope this is in the right direction? Right. I would like to clarify one thing. Say we consider the weighted average of the delivery time, customer feedback, Number of orders etc, would that still be counted as a single metric? But that would be a 2-D metric. We are just concerned with a single 1-D metric, let’s focus more on the numbers available, limiting them to find the regions of concern, instead of visualization of the data. Understood. The end goal is increasing the reach of the delivery orders in far places in time and measuring the same. Thus, we can start by dividing Delhi into different spaces and then creating a way to measure progress. Now, this can be done by using the pin codes to segregate the regions. So, the segregation on the basis of pin codes can be stacked and plotted against the number of active users and that could be the required metric? What you are saying is correct, but I want you to focus only on one metric that encapsulates the whole idea of what you are trying to do. Relating delivery time with all these factors can have some flaws. As the delivery time for a famous restaurant due to a larger number of orders from consumers at far places will be more, thus this won’t be an accurate depiction of the progress made. Yes that is correct, but what target will you be setting and how will you measure it? We can now consider that there are x number of regions in Delhi and, say, in 2 of them the problem has already been solved, i.e. these lie in the area of restaurants, now we can compare the data of these 2 areas with the other regions and filter the same on 2 different basis. This can be done in the following manner: First the number of orders placed from that region must exceed a certain number y that can be the average of the data of 2 regions that we mentioned. Next the delivery time of the order must be under a fixed number of minutes z that again can be calculated through the data of the 2 regions. If more than y orders are placed from a pin code and the same are delivered under z minutes, then we shall add that pincode to the list of penetrated areas to keep track of the overall progress. Thus, in conclusion, we can keep track of the pin codes by creating a list and adding codes to the list by applying two filters based on number of orders and time of delivery. Yes that approach will work now, we can track and segregate on the basis of the two filters. Yes that works. Thank you I hope that works as a metric? 100
- 114. KEY Takeaways: Approach: CASE FACTS: Engaging with the interviewer is a key fundamental that helps ensure two things. First, that you get time to come up with a structure or an approach and second, the interviewer steers you in the right direction if you’re headed in the wrong on Note how the candidate includes filters to his current approach to make it a viable metric for the serviceable (target) areas. Applying filters is key when it comes to qualitatively distinguish between certain elements The candidate segmented the areas from which most orders could be placed based on the delivery time and number of orders corresponding to different pin codes from all across Delh Since, we had to make a segmentation based on area, using pin codes turned out to be really useful Target areas refer to areas that qualify the criteria based on- Number of rders > Minimum Acceptable Valu Delivery Time < Maximum Acceptable Value Target Areas Non-target Areas Delhi Eligible (Target Areas) Ineligible (Non-target Areas) Pin Code PROBLEM STATEMENT : You are the product manager at Zomato and focusing on the Delhi region. All the restaurants are concentrated in a particular area. Now, only people from that particular area can place orders from Zomato. You want everyone from across Delhi to be able to place an order from Zomato. What is that one metric that you’ll analyze to track whether you are going in the right direction or not? Product | Flipkart APM - 2 (2/2) 101
- 115. You are a product manager at Whatsapp. Define metrics measuring the success of the payment feature in Whatsapp. I would like to start with my understanding of the product. WhatsApp Pay is an in-chat payment feature that allows users to make transactions via WhatsApp to their contact list. The goal of our metrics is to determine how successful the feature is. Please correct me if I’m inaccurate. The description looks accurate. Beginning with the journey of a sender The user needs to set up the UPI in the app Selecting the contact/ scanning the QR Code /using UPI ID, then selecting the appropriate bank account. Entering the amount one needs to pay. Entering the UPI pin and the payment is successful Then, at the receiver’s end: The user needs to link the UPI They need to share their mobile number/ UPI ID/ QR Code with the sender. They can see the history of the transactions. Since, this feature is very new, it is in a growing phase so, I would like to start by assessing our control over the consumers. To measure this, I would like to list out some criteria: Percentage of users activating UPI Percentage of users making atleast 10 transactions Next, I would like to measure the engagement of the users. For example, the average number of transaction made by a user, the average amount of transaction per user. Is this feature available only for mobile applications or web interface also? This feature is only available in mobile applications for security purposes. Is the company focusing more on revenue generation or customer acquisition? Both, go ahead. Does Whatsapp have any tie-in promotions? Can you please provide details of the feature, like where is it available on the app, the process of payment and how can we view the transaction history? That looks good. Please go on with the respective journeys Please let me know when this feature was launched? What will be our target geography? This feature is only available in India and Brazil. No, it doesn’t have any such feature right now. The feature is accessible in two different ways. The first is between the chat section and the second is from scanning the QR code and paying via UPI ID. The app provides a detailed transaction history. This feature was launched in June 2021 A payment can occur between two individuals or two businesses or an individual and a business. However, there is always a sender and a receiver. From this, we can conclude that both of them are stakeholders. To define metrics, I would like to keep the viewpoints of both stakeholders. Ok, you can proceed to defining the metrics. Product | Model Case - Whatsapp Payment (1/3) 102
- 116. Product | Model Case - Whatsapp Payment (2/3) 103 Satisfying criteria, would you like to add more? Yes, as the feature isn’t very old apart from acquisition of costumers we also need to take a look on the retention rate of users which can be measured by Bounce Rate Stickiness Index Ratio of Day 1 retention to Day 7 retention Ratio of Day 7 retention to Day 30 retention At last, the happiness of the user to gauge whether the user is satisfied with product or not as this will help us understand if they will stick with it. For this, we can analyse the data collected through surveys and also, look at average number of issues and failures occurred per user. Great, we can wrap up the case here
- 117. KEY Takeaways: Clarify your understanding of the product with the interviewer instead of assuming that you’re both on the same pag Identify the key goals of the products (retention, growth, etc.) before moving to metric Analyze the customer journey funnel to refine assessment of metrics The product is an in-chat payment feature available only on mobil Feature is available in India & Brazi Accessible by scanning QR Code or by directly making the payment to concerned UPI ID Approach: Problem statement : You are a product manager at Whatsapp. Define metrics measuring the success of the payment feature in Whatsapp. Case facts: Payments in whatsapp Metrics Sender Acquisition Retention Happiness Receiver User journey of sender User journey of receiver Percentage of users activating upi on watsaap Bounce rat Stikiness index Consumer surve # Issues of faliure occurred Percentage of users making 10 successful transactions Day 1 retention/Day 7 retentio Day 7 retention/Day 30 retention Setting up upi in the app Linking via bank Selecting contact or scanning the upi Sharing mobile number or code with sender Entering amount to be paid Seeing history of transaction Entering upi pin and authentication Product | Model Case - Whatsapp Payment (3/3) 104
- 118. Design an app that will serve as a marketplace for handymen. Does handymen refer to plumbers here or something else. Please clarify that. Also, is the end goal of creating the app generating revenue? Yes, a handyman here refers to anyone who earns a living repairing things like plumbers, carpenters, mechanics, etc. For now, the primary goal of creating this app would be to improve customer acquisition. Once we have achieved that, we will focus on other goals like increasing retention and revenue. The pain points from a consumer’s perspective are as follows Getting trusted and reliable handymen to get their work don Ensuring that the handymen hired are available whenever they are free and want to get their repair work done I would like to list down the solutions through a user journey if that works. Alright, go ahead. I would like to look at the pain points of the handymen. They are paid for their working hours, and thus the optimum allocation of work will be necessary. Handymen are not tech-savvy and need an easy-to-use interface I have also observed that many handymen often have to go back to hardware stores/workshops after inspecting the site to get the necessary tools for the job. It would help them if they were to know about the nearest stores. Handymen also sometimes don't know about technological improvements and can find it challenging to repair modern items. Alright, what solutions would you recommend to now address these pain points? My first priority would be keeping the handymen occupied and ensuring they have maximum bookings. The second would be the availability of information related to workshops. Then, I would prioritize improving the interface to make it user-friendly and finally work on keeping the handymen updated about the latest technology and fixing problems that arise on the go Alright, the user journey is as follows: Onboarding: The onboarding process can be more user-friendly through vernacular support and guiding users through pop-ups, and prevent information overload. Building a user profille: Handymen should be able to add their personal details and also what kind of handymen they are from a drop-down menu (with an “others” option). Additionally, a profile picture to give more credibility to their profile. Receiving and responding to customer orders: The handymen will be notified when they are hired as they are not as tech-savvy and wouldn't have to log in to the app to check every time they have been hired. Also, allowing the handymen to view an image of the object they are expected to repair would ensure they come up with requisite tools. We can do this by asking the consumer to upload a photo whenever they are hiring through our app. First, I would like to start designing this app by listing the stakeholders involved. There would primarily be three stakeholders involved- i) The service providers (handymen), ii) The consumer using our app to hire the services of these handymen, and iii) We, the company providing the platform to connect both these entities. Since our primary focus is acquisition, I would like to start designing the app from the service provider's point of view. How would you go about prioritizing these pain points now? Yes, that will work. Go ahead. Very well. Before you propose your solutions for the same, could you also define the pain points for the consumers? Product|MICROSOFTTPM(1/3) 105
- 119. Good that will be enough for the service provider's user journey. Let me know what the consumer's user journey would look like now. Yes, we could consider having a certification system for the handymen from the company’s end. So, whenever a new handyman signs up, he will be made to undergo a one-week training program and then be certified according to his capabilities by our company. This will make them more reliable and build consumers’ trust in our brand. Sure. The consumer’s user journey would be as follows: Signing up: Sign up through phone number. We should avoid asking for location and other details while signing up, as consumers may be apprehensive about the app early on Placing the problem request: A section to describe the problem they are facing that needs to be addressed and upload photos for the handyman's reference must be included. Computer vision algorithm can be used to recommend problems similar to the ones that the consumer faces. This would help them choose handymen who have previously solved similar issues and have been rated highly. Once the request has been placed, we can ask them to temporarily allow us to access their location via GPS. Finding the suitable handyman: We can then implement a sorting algorithm to find the nearest handymen available to process the request and the customer can choose based on ratings and reviews Specifying their availability: To address the issue of time preferences and schedule of the consumer, the customer would have an option to specify when they’d be free. Finalizing the payment: Once the work is completed, there must be a gateway to compensate the handyman’s services, in case it isn’t COD Rating the service: Apart from these, there must also be an option for the consumer to rate the service of the handymen and review them. Since we are primarily focusing on acquisition, I would mostly prefer metrics indicative of the app's success with the same. These would include metrics such as the number of sign-ups and the number of problems resolved. Another metric we could consider would be the CIS rate to give us an idea about the app's utility. I suggest we have a commission-based model wherein we can monetize consumer requests. Whenever a consumer wants something fixed, they will be charged a commission fee whenever they put up a request out for handymen on the app. Another source of revenue could be offering a premium recommendation service wherein handymen can pay extra to get recommended more to the consumers. Is there anything else you can think of that could be done to ensure the same? Very well. What do you think will be the USP of this app? Fair enough. How would you go about ensuring that trust and reliability are maintained? Great that will be all for this case. Thanks for your time and good luck. The customer review and feedback system we have implemented would be one feature that ensures that trust and reliability are maintained. USP of our app, in my opinion, will be the trust and reliability factor we would provide to the consumers regarding hiring handymen. Great, let’s now talk about the revenue model. What revenue model do you think we should implement for this app? Nicely put. Now that you have defined the various aspects of the app, why don't you tell me about some metrics you would like to use to access the app's performance? Product | MICROSOFT TPM (2/3) 106
- 120. KEY Takeaways: Feedback and review Finish & close order View order details Receiving orders Onboarding Our Company Handymen Pain Points Work optimizatio App interfac Tech knowledg Overtravelling Consumers Pain Points: 1.Trust and Reliability 2. Availability Stakeholders Approach: Problem statement : CASE FACTS : Product | MICROSOFT TPM (3/3) User Journey User Profile Design an app that will serve as a marketplace for handymen. 3 stakeholders- Handymen, Consumers and Company Primary goal- Customer Acquisition followed by Retention Addressing pain points of handymen and consumers alik Designing metrics to assess the app’s performance Sign up Request booking Upload details Feedback & review Confirm booking Check availability Note that the candidate begins to define metrics by looking at the service provider’s side since the app was to be designed for the The candidate provides solutions by looking at each step in the user journey and the pain points of the target audience, handymen. This is a very good practice and yields implementable and effective solutions 107
- 121. Is the target audience of 50+ supposed to be just from India or all over the world? It is just supposed to be in India and in metro cities. One question, would you create a new application for them or work on the existing one? Ok, the solution is well constructed, now what about the metrics that we have to consider for understanding and validating the progress made? Makes sense. You may move forward. To tackle the listed problems I’d like to propose 3 solutions as follows: Improving Recommendation UI: The recommendation engine must not be presented in a complicated way to the consumer as that would be painful for the consumer to select what to watch, on the other hand we can create structure where just what to watch segment exists and you can scroll to see what you have to watch according to the recommendations provided by the data available, similar to the UI of Reels on Instagram. To further boost the recommendation system, we can lay increased focus on the actors/actresses starring in the media since, old age people have an attachment to their favorite stars. We can also add a feature to join with friends and see what they are watching so that the consumers can check out the more popular and related content and be connected to the same. Now, we can target design elements at the initial stage and make it more visual thus correcting the issue of weak eyesight and language barrier in the consumer base. We can create a separate profile icon for old age people for ease of navigation. Further, an option to change the language can be added at the top of the page once they’re logged in for ease of switching. Now, the first solution holds priority over the other as the unique selling point of netflix remains the recommendation engine. In addition to that, the recommendations for old age people if done properly can increase the retentivity by a strong margin. You are the Product manager at Netflix. Now, Netflix wants to target the consumer segment of the age group 50-60. How would you go about the design? Since downloading another application is a big pain point for the old consumers, the same should only be done through the same application. Ok. So mapping their journey through the app, I can identify the following pain points. In metro cities, it's highly probable that the families of those old age people already have Netflix installed on their devices. We can just create an account for them with a more user-friendly UI. Now, the pain points that they’ll have using the existing UI is the categorization on the basis of genres and the top charts layout. It’s too complicated for them and hence, this will in fact hamper their usage time. Another problem that might arise is that most people in the concerned age brackets have weak eyesight and face issues in adjusting to what’s written on the screen In addition to that, one of the issues that remains unhighlighted is the effort that the old age people have to exert in finding the profile that is specifically made for them from the multiple profiles when they log in. They typically resort to using any random profile. By resolving this, we can directly take them to the UI that we have customized for them and hence make their work easy. You have identified the problems pretty well, now what are the possible solutions to the issues listed by you, what are the design differences that you would like to propose for them? Product | Flipkart APM - 3 (1/3) 108
- 122. We will have to consider different metrics in different buckets for a complete overview for the product. First of all we will follow 4 different buckets, which are- Acquisition, activation, retention and monetisation. For Acquisition and Activation, we can consider the ratio of the number of accounts for old age people created to normal accounts created. Also, We can consider region specific accounts created to understand the language barrier issue and its impact on the elderly. For Retention, we can look at the number of people that do not renew their services. Also, we can look upto the number of people that a consumer adds to their friends list, in the old age group, as that would provide us with the data regarding the concerned community and group retention statistics. Finally, for monetization, we can look at the number of people that upgraded their plan after first use and the ratio of number of people invited to the app and the number of them joining it. Product | Flipkart APM - 3 (2/3) Yes, that looks satisfactory. Thank you. 109
- 123. KEY Takeaways: The candidate understood that installing another app would be a major pain point for the target customers and thus suggested using the same app. It is really important to have great presence of min It is vital to showcase relevant skills like user empathy, structured thinking, and analytical skills rather than using complex jargon to do well in any case as showcased here. Browses Recommendations Opens App Watching Chooses Profile The target users are 50-60 year old people living in metro cities in Indi An addition needs to be made in the existing Netflix app Approach: Problem statement : You are the Product manager at Netflix. Netflix wants to target the consumer segment of the age group 50-60. How would you go about designing the product? Product | Flipkart APM - 3 (3/3) Case facts: PAIN POINTS: Confusing Profile Icons Lack of relevance of information with respect to age Recommended content is displayed in complex manner for the old aged 110
- 124. Product | Flipkart APM - 4 (1/2) Design a Camera as a product for the elderly. My understanding of a camera is something that captures moments, stores them, and replays or rewinds them whenever we want to revisit them. Yes, correct. That’s our understanding of a camera too. Do we have any constraints, like the product is to be designed within a specific budget? So, the uses of a camera can be broadly classified into two categories: One is for capturing our precious moments. The other is to store doctors’ prescriptions or other similar documents as an archive or for professional uses Yes, it would be better if we design the entire product within 20-25K. Other than that, there are no constraints. What do we mean by ‘elderly’ in this context? Elderly is basically the age group above 60. The user persona is defined quite well over here, but we will be primarily targeting those people in this specific age group who are native to digital devices, which can be seen mainly in tier 1 cities. Yes, go ahead. I propose an AR/VR camera which is a three-legged device and its software works through a mobile application. The three legs are adjustable and each leg contains a camera that when operated performs 3D rendering of the image in your mobile application. The world is shifting towards AR/VR and 3D so this product is quite viable in that aspect. So, an elderly person who wants to capture any object at any moment in his life, will place the device near the object in such a way that three legs of the device cover all the angles of the object, and on capturing a picture from the mobile application, a 3D image will be rendered in the mobile application and then the person can share that on various social media. Define the user journey of the product. Okay great, thank you. I see the following pain points Trembling of hands - The elderly face physical issues like trembling of hands so the product can be designed in such a way that stability is enable Eyesight - there’s usually an eyesight problem in this age group so we can keep this in mind while designing the device. 111
- 125. KEY Takeaways: Approach: CASE FACTS: Problem statement : Product | Flipkart APM - 4 (2/2) Here, the interviewee missed an important question. It is extremely important to clarify what the end goal i One major pain point that the interviewee missed was the emotional one. The elderly folk mostly live away from their families and thus, there is an increased emphasis on revisiting captured moment It is very important to exhibit creativity in product design cases. Design the product from scratch, with new features and additional edits and come up with something out of the box rather than, building a camera with basic details. This shows depth and breadth in thinking Camera Use Cases Pain Points of the Elderly Capturing Moments Trembling of hands Archive a stores essentials Eyesight Solutions were proposed after exercising empathy, and thus a three- legged AR/VR camera was suggested to account for the trembling of hands in the elderl The target audience for the camera was the 60+ age demographic hailing from tier 1 cities Design a Camera as a product for the elderly. Placing device near object so that object falls completely in the field of view Capturing the Picture Shareable 3D image rendered in mobile app. to be shared across social media platforms User journey of the elderly 112
- 126. Industry Insights
- 127. Industry Insights | Oil & Gas Industry Key drivers for Revenue & Cost Top Players Revenue Company Cost KPI Formula KeyPerformanceIndicatorsforValueChain Industry trends & Highlights Value Chain Downstream Midstream Upstream Exploration: Identification , assessment and extraction of re Production: Separating oil, gas, natural gas, and water Transportation: Gathering and transport to refinery Storage: Storage and preservation of oil in reservoirs and tankers Refining of crude oil and natural gas Distribution via B2B or B2C channel Cost of machinery and equipment Maintenance of pipelines, transportation vessels and storage setups Operational costs of refineries Logistical costs Crude oil and gas prices Production Volume Per Day Production Costs Per Unit Reserve Life Estimated life in years of the reserves = Reserves left / Production Volume Production costs per unit = (Total fixed costs + Total variable costs) / Total units produced Number of Oil Barrels produced per day Market Share Market Cap. Demand growth: The demand for primary energy is expected to nearly double by 2040 Expansion: India aims to commercialize 50% of strategic petroleum reserves to raise funds and build additional storage tanks to offset high oil prices Govt. Support: 100% FDI in upstream and private sector refining projects Budget: Custom duties on critical chemicals for petroleum refining were reduced IOC Reliance Petroleu BPC ONG OIL 32.0% 24.0% 9.00% 8.45% 1.32% INR 1.04T INR 17.43T INR 708.43B INR 1.721T INR 1.728T 113
- 128. Industry Insights | Healthcare Industry IndustryOutlook: The Indian healthcare sector is expected to record a three-fold rise, growing at a CAGR of 22% between 2016–2022 to reach US$ 372 billion in 2022 from US$ 110 billion in 2016. India has been ranked 10th in the Medical Tourism Index (MTI) for 2020-21 out of 46 destinations by the Medical Tourism Association. Investments: In the Union Budget 2022-23, Rs 1.89 crores ( US$ 2,500 billion) was allocated by the govt for various schemes like Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY), Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY). India currently holds the fourth position in attracting VC funding to the health-tech sector, with investments of US$ 4.4 billion between 2016 and 2021, with US$ 1.9 invested in 2021 alone. Governmentinitiatives: 748 e-Hospitals were established across India as part of the central government's ‘Digital India’ initiative. 117,771 Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWCs) are operational in India. Patent Licensing and royalties Growth in over-the-counter drug sales Patient bills Rise in chronic ailments Increasing average population age Rise in awareness 7.44 (in USD bn ) 2.82 (in USD bn ) 4.64 (in USD bn ) 5.78 (in USD bn ) 27.02 (in USD bn ) Consulting Key drivers for Revenue & Cost Top Players Diagnostics Admission Post-Treatment Revenue Company Cost KPI Formula/ Description KeyPerformanceIndicatorsforValueChain Industry trends & Highlights Value Chain Treatment Patient arrives at the hospital as per awareness Medical Histor Screening based on the Symptoms Diagnosis through pathological tests. Emergency Sectio On boarding and refferal case OPD and IPD Medical Infrastructur Medical Supplie Quality of Doctor Surgical/Non-Surgical Procedures Treatment Charges and Insurance Clai Follow-up check- ups Infrastructure- buildings and equipment Salaries - doctors and other staff R&D costs Transportation - of equipment, amenities, and drugs General and Administrative Expenses Evaluates the amount of time patients are staying Monitors the availability of hospital beds Ensures you have enough staff to cater to patients Improves cost management of medications Prevents patient mortality under your care Average Hospital Stay Bed Occupancy Rat Staff-to-Patient Ratio Patient Drug Cost Per Sta Patient Mortality Rate Apollo Hospitals Fortis healthcare institute Narayana hrudayalay Aster DM 12,000 4,000 5,849 6,300 Market Cap. Number ofBeds 114
- 129. Industry Insights | Aviation Industry Key drivers for Revenue & Cost Top Players Services Revenue Company Cost KPI Formula/Definition Market Share KeyPerformanceIndicatorsforValueChain Industry trends & Highlights Value Chain Marketing & Sales Marketing & Sales Outbound Logistics Operations Inbound Logistics Route Selection Fuel Flight/Crew Scheduling Facilities planning Gate operation Aircraft operation Onboard services Baggage handling Flight connection Rental car and hotel reservation systems Promotion & Advertisin Travel agent program Group Sales Electronic Tickets Support center Complaint follow-u Lost baggage service Cargo and Passenger revenue Package and tour In-flight services Fue Rental of Flight Equipment, hangar cost Flight Equipment, Maintenance and Overhau General and Administrative Expenses Departure Punctuality Regularity Seat Load Factor Percentage of flights departing on time at the planned origin airport from all operated flights The regularity KPI reflects the percentage of operated flights concerning planned flights Calculated as the percentage of checked-in passengers to aircraft’s available seats Industry Outlook : India is expected to overtake China and the United States as the world's third-largest air passenger market in the next ten years Investments: The Indian Government is planning to invest US$ 1.83 billion for the development of airport infrastructure along with aviation navigation services by 2026. Artificial Intelligence: A new market study predicted a CAGR of 46.4% for AI in the aviation market by 2023. It is being used to deliver a personalized traveling experience maximizing customer satisfaction. Interglobe Aviation Ltd 44% 7,900 Cr 7,505 Cr Not Listed Not Listed Not Listed Not Listed 13.7% 13.4% 9.0% 5.0% 4.7% SpiceJet Ltd Air India GoAir AirAsia (India) Limited Vistara Market Cap INR. 115
- 130. Industry Insights | Retail Industry Key drivers for Revenue & Cost Top Players Revenue Company Cost KPI Formula/Definition KeyPerformanceIndicatorsforValueChain Industry trends & Highlights Value Chain Supplier/ Retailer Distribution Warehousing Manufacturing Raw materials Licensing fee Distribution Promotion Rent/storage cos Processing Costs Total Gross Profit / Average Inventory Cost (Measure of profit earned from the amount spent) Total Sales from Transaction/Total Distinct Count of Transactions Industry Outlook: Contributes to around 10% of India’s GDP and is expected to grow to $2 trillion by the end of 2032. Creates 8% employment in India AutomatedTechnology: Helping retailers handle labor shortages, reduce their teams’ hands-on work, and digitize value chain Personalization: Tech based customization to ease customer shopping experience by leveraging past interactions and behavioral data Market Cap. Market Share Reliance Retail 30% 22% 18% 4.0% 2.0% Avenue Supermarts Future Retail Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Shoppers Stop 17,65,000 Cr 2,75,307 Cr 257 Cr 25,913 Cr 6,616 Cr Cost of inventory sold / Average Inventory Cost (Helps figuring out how fast an inventory moves) Raw Material Procuremen Product Development Storag Inventory Managemen Contracts with various producers & distributors Distribute inventor Tracking packages Localized deliver Stocking good Selling to customers Disposable income of peopl Store locations and demographic Margins and turnover Store image and trust Average Transaction Value Gross Margins Return on Investment Inventory Turnover Ratio 116
- 131. HUL ITC Key drivers for Revenue & Cost Top Players Revenue Company Cost KPI Formula KeyPerformanceIndicatorsforValueChain Industry trends & Highlights Value Chain Marketing & Sales Outbound Logistics Operations Inbound Logistics Industry Insights | FMCG Industry Sourcing Raw Materials Quality Test Warehouse Storages Production Quality Control Packaging Warehouse Storages Distribution Market Research Branding, Advertising, and Promotion Sales Analytics Service and After Service Facilities. Raw Materials Processing Costs Distribution Promotion Volume of Sale Profit Margins IndustryOutlook:TheFMCGmarketinIndiaisexpectedto increaseataCAGRof14.9%toreachUS$220billionby2025,from US$110billionin2020.Householdandpersonalcareaccountfor 50%ofFMCGsalesinIndia Digitization: PostCOVID-19,digitizationwasanemergingFMCG trendduring2021.India’sruralsegmentexperienceda10.6% growth. GovernmentSupport: Investmentapprovalofupto100%offoreign equityinsinglebrandretailand51%inmulti-brandretail ProductionLinkedIncentives(PLI) : Schemetoboostexports throughanoutlayof$1.42billion. 35.63T 6.23T 675.96B 3.87T 1.89T Customer Service J&J Marico Nestle 117 Packaging:Machine Uptime Measures the efficiency and availability of the company's manufacturing machinery. Product Development: Average Product ROI Net profit earned by new product*100/Costs to produce new products Customer Service:Average handle time Measures the average amount of time spent on each call Market Cap. INR
- 132. Estimated MAU Key drivers for Revenue & Cost Top Players Revenue Company Cost KPI Formula FY2021 Revenue KeyPerformanceIndicatorsforValueChain Industry trends & Highlights Value Chain Marketing & Sales Services Outbound Logistics Operations Inbound Logistics Industry Insights | E-commerce Industry Storag Demand Planning Inventory Management Transformation of raw materials - Changing all inputs into the final product Delivery Plannin Logistics Partner Omnichannel Fulfillment Advertisin Promotion Pricing Customer Service Servicin Restoration and Refun Exchange Operating Expenses Shipping costs Inventory management Returns and refunds Sales commissions Advertisements Strategic affiliate partnerships Featured listings INR 16,379 Cr INR 43,357 Cr INR 3,800 Cr INR 2,466 Cr INR 510.2 Cr INR 753 Cr Amazo Flipkar Nyka Myntr Snapdea India MART 322.54 MN 242.62 MN 20.83 MN 48.03 MN 56.41 MN 56.41 MN Industry size: India’s e-commerce sector is expected to reach US$ 111.40 billion by 2025 from US$ 46.20 billion in 2020, growing at a 19.24% CAGR, with grocery and fashion/apparel likely to be the key drivers of incremental growth Prominent trends: Omni-channel commerce, upselling and cross- selling are prominent trends along with personalization D2C digital businesses: An increment in the D2C digital businesses echoes the competitive advantage that the D2C model hoards over brick and retail stores. Nike has started to pull off from offline stores Cart Abandonment Rate (CAR) Inventory Turnover Operational Efficiency 1 – (TotalNumberofCompleted Transactions / TotalNumberof ShoppingCarts) x 100 CostOfGoodsSold/((Beginning Inventory+EndingInventory)/2) Operating Expenses/ Total Revenue 118
- 133. Oberoi Hotels Market Cap. Key drivers for Revenue & Cost Top Players Revenue Company Cost KPI Formula Market Share Key Performance Indicators for Value Chain Industry trends & Highlights Value Chain Industrial Services Industrial Operations Procurement and Suppliers Industry Insights | Hospitality Industry Regular Good Inventory Management and Planning Housekeeping Services Transportation Services Inbound and Outbound Logistics Food and beverage services Online check-in services On-demand services (e.g., medical room) Analyzing customer demands by their buying behavior Customized campaigning Rent, construction, and maintenance Employee wages Rawmaterials (for services) Electricity and fuel prices Room Tariffs Food and Beverage Services Events and Recreational Activities Upper and Mid-scale Segment:Average room rate INR 318B INR 99.42B INR 70.61B INR 10.38B INR 6.52B 25% 17% 15% 6.3% 0.5% Marketing &Sales Chalet Hotels TajHotels Hyatt Hotels Hotel Leela %ofrooms that are currently occupied Luxury Segment:Occupancy Rate Average room rate paid per customer for each room. Mid-to-Lower Segment RevPAR (Revenue per Available Room) Average daily room rate * Occupancy Rate 119 Industry Outlook- Its contribution to GDP in FY 2020-21 was 4.7% and is responsible for 7.3% of the country’s total employmen Tourist arrival through E-Tourist Visa- increased with a CAGR of 39.44% from 2016-19, this saw a decrease in FY-2020-21 due to covid Impact on ForEx - The hospitality industry is an important sector to bring Forex, and from 2016-19, Forex grew at a CAGR of 7%. However, this number decreased in FY-2020-21 due to covid restrictions. (Forex is the Amount of foreign currency reserves, Particularly used for a country)
- 134. IndustryInsights|AutomobileIndustry MarketCap.(in$B) KeyPerformanceIndicatorsforValueChain InboundLogistics KeydriversforRevenue&Cost TopPlayers Operations Outboundlogistics Services Revenue Company Cost KPI Formula/Description MarketShare Industrytrends&Highlights VALUE CHAIN Receivingrawmaterials fromsuppliersand distributingthem throughtheirproduction linetostartproduction. VehicleManufacturingand Sale PartsandAccessorySale FinancingServices Rawmaterialanddistribution cost AutomatedProductionLine LabourCost ProductDevelopmentand Marketing Marketing& Sales MarutiSuzuki Hyundai Tata Mahindra Kia 42.75% 16.24% 11.45% 6.86% 5.71% 33.80 28.85 23.29 19.66 23.21 Transformingraw materialsintothe productthecompany is designing Collecting, handling, storinganddistributing theproducttoits destination. Advertising/Promotio Managementofthe distributio Salesandrelationship withcustomer CustomerSupportafter sellingproduc ProductMaintenanc CustomerRetention Logistics: Safety Quality: IncompleteVehicles OntimeShippingRate Restrictedtoplantswherehandling isdonebycompanypersonnel. Indicates numberofincomplete vehiclesatthee.o.l., forproblemsof material/componentsunavailability IndustryOutlook- The India passenger car market was valued at US$ 32.70 billion in 2021, and it is expected to reach a value of US$ 54.84 billion by 2027, while registering a CAGR of over 9% between 2022-27. Investments- Industry attracted Foreign Direct Investment equity inflow (FDI) worth US$ 32.84 billion between April 2000-March 2022, accounting for 6% of the total equity FDI during the period. Funding- EV startups that attracted funding in 2021 were Ola Electric (US$ 253 million), Blusmart (US$ 25 million), Simple Energy (US$ 21 million), Revolt (US$ 20 million) and Detel (US$ 20 million). 120
- 135. Industry Insights | Logistics Industry Key drivers for Revenue & Cost Revenue Cost KPI Formula KeyPerformanceIndicatorsforValueChain Industry trends & Highlights Value Chain Technology Development Procurement Top Players Price to Earning Ratio(P/E) HR Management Firm Infrastructure Market Cap.(In Cr) Company Inbound Logistic Operations Outbound Logistic Marketing and Sale Service Warehousing costs - Incoming goods and storag Fulfillment cost - pick and pac Shipping costs - deliver Other costs - return Order Management: Order Accuracy Supply: Capacity Utilisation Inventory: Inventory Turnover (Orders delivered on time without any errors / Total orders received) * 100 (Actual Weight of Goods Transported / Maximum Possible Weight that can be Transported) * 100 Net Sales / Average Inventory at Selling Price Supply Chain Visibilit Digital Logistic Collaboratio Fill Rates CONCOR (Container Corporation of India Ltd) Blue Dart Express TCI Express Ltd AllCargo Logistics Aegis Logistics Ltd. 40,153 38.92 42.60 47.93 7.58 20.73 19,100 7,404 6,977 6,175 Industry Outlook- The Indian logistics sector is valued at USD 160 billion. The sector contributes around 13 to 14% of the country’s GDP and employs over eight million people directl Globalization and compliance - Globalization is forcing many logistics companies to focus on a strategy of achieving delivery KPIs while keeping costs in check. The need for increased flexibility across the supply chain is paramount along with recognizing that no single solution to the growing complexity will be one-size-fits-all Integrated 3PL Services - As e-commerce continues to expand beyond epic proportions, businesses are bringing in heavy assets in trucking and adding freight brokerage capabilities and warehouse facilities to provide deep integration into customers’ systems 121 Financial Polic Improvement in the road infrastructure and rail tracks Increasing number of ports and airports. Improved cross-trainin Competitive compensation packages Investing on truck drivers, supply chain planners and warehouse workers. Last-mile deliver Shifting to AI and cloud based systems Use of autonomous vehicles and drones.
- 136. Assorted Frameworks
- 137. 3C & 1P Framework (1/2) Nature of product (think out loud about the product, it's benefits, why someone would buy it Commodity good or easily differentiable goods (could company increase differentiation) Identify complementary goods (can we piggy back off growth in compliments or near compliments? Identify substitutes* (are we vulnerable to indirect competitors namely substitutes? Determine product's lifecycle (new vs. almost obsolete) Who is the customer? identify segments (segment size, growth rate, % of total market compare current year metrics to historical metrics (look for trends) What does each customer segment want? Identify keys needs What price is each segment willing to pay? Determine price points and price elasticity/sensitivity Customer Segments Size, Growth Rate and Trend Demographics Customer Wants and Need Need Wants Price Sensitivity/Elasticit Disposable incom Purchasing Powe Price Points What are your company's capabilities & expertis What is the company's brand & culture How is its financial situation? Capabilities and Expertis Technical Edg Distribution Channel Cost Structure Brand Valu Perceptio Loyalty Internal Culture and Organizational Structure Financial Situation Competitor Concentration & Structure Monopoly/Oligopoly/ Competitio Market Share Concentration Barriers to Entr Existing Marke Ease of entry for new entrants Competitor behaviors (Target customer segments, products, pricing strategy, distribution strategy, brand loyalty) Industry Regulation Typical Life-Cycle of Industry Competition Customer Product Company "3C & 1P" will assist you in understanding what qualitative concerns drive and impact a buisness. 122
- 138. 3C & 1P Framework (2/2) This framework is appropriate for a wide variety of client and company situations, including : New market entry or a new produc Starting a new business Company position assessmen Developing a growth strateg Divesting or making a turnaround When? Example: 3c1p framework for byju’s Successfully exploited the opportunity of growing smartphone population with majority market share and 66% growth of paid customers with their excellent freemium model. Khan academy offers the similar domain of study material free of cost. Vedantu is a regular competitor which has a similar target audience and niche. BYJU’s for one’s learning, experience using their ‘knowledge graph’ feature. Consumers get a free counseling session at the doorstep. Target consumers ranging from grade 1 to students appearing for NEET, JEE, UPSC etc. They have created students who are additive to learning, and therein lies the secret to their success. Customer Competition Product Company Why? "3C & 1P" will assist you in understanding what qualitative concerns that drive and impact a buisness. 123
- 139. Internal/External Analysis (1/2) The Internal-External (IE) Matrix is a portfolio management tool used for comparing divisions of an organization in terms of revenue and percentage of profit with respect to the Internal Factor Evaluation (IFE) matrix and External factor evaluation (EFE) matrix scores. It is a strategic management tool that is used to analyze the current position of the divisions and suggest strategies for the future. The IE Matrix is based on the analysis of internal and external business factors which are combined into one suggestive model applied when a business needs to gain an insight into working conditions and strategic positioning. to do a Portfolio analysis of a company. also helps to evaluate the balance of different departments and provides the background for making strategic decisions for departments in the context of the whole organization. used when a company needs to know about its market growth and market share can be used for developing a detailed corporate strategy comparing the company’s results with the IE matrix of competing companies. What is Internal / External factor analysis ? When to use Internal / External factor analysis? 124
- 140. Internal/External Analysis (2/2) This is a quick and easy method to segment information about a particular entity. The internal branch concerns the inside of the said entity, such as functions within a company; the external branch describes anything outside that entity. T o apply this framework, we initially propose a hypothesis that the main problem is caused by either External or Internal factors. We then gather information to identify whether our hypothesis is true. If true, keep drilling down to get the final cause of the problem and then give solutions to fix it. If not, go back up, state a new hypothesis and drill down again. Lays- A company specialized in making chips has found its profits going down badly for the past few years. They want you to find out what’s causing the problem. You split their profits into revenues and costs; Example: Lays Profits Cost Revenue Internal External Internal factors account for the company's own problems like management issues, underperforming production units, fraud etc. External factors account for industry wide problems like supply chain disruption or customer behavior change to another product etc. 125
- 141. Cost Benefit Analysis (1/1) Process of comparing the projected or estimated costs and benefits associated with a project decision to determine whether it makes sense from a business perspectiv If the projected benefits outweigh the costs, the decision is a good one to make. Whereas, if the costs outweigh the benefits, then a company may want to rethink the decision or project The project’s costs and benefits are measured in monetary terms after adjusting for the time value of money, thus providing a true picture of the costs and benefits. What is Cost Benefit Analysis and how is it helpful? Models to Assess CBA Why? When? A Data-Driven Approach CBA allows us to evaluate a decision or potential project free of biases. Evidence-based evaluation of options, helping business become more data-driven and logical Makes Decisions Simpler By reducing a decision to costs versus benefits, the cost-benefit analysis makes decision simple Uncovers Hidden Costs and Benefits CBA outlines every potential cost and benefit associated with a project, which can uncover less-than-obvious factors like indirect or intangible costs. The greater the value more than 1, greater are the benefits Choose the project with the greatest BCR. Developing benchmarks for comparing project Deciding whether to pursue a proposed projec Weighing investment opportunitie Measuring social benefit Evaluating new hire Assessing change initiative Appraising the desirability of suggested policie Quantifying effects on stakeholders and participants Formula: ∑ Present Value of Total Future Benefits ∑ Present Value of Total Future Costs ∑ Present Value of Total Future Benefits ∑ Present Value of Total Future Costs Net Present Value (NPV) Model Benefit-Cost Ratio (BCR) Model If NPV > 0, then the project has economic justification for going ahead Choose the project with the greatest NPV. Formula: 126
- 142. Qualitative & Quantitative Analysis (1/2) Qualitativ Machines struggle to conduct qualitative analysis as intangibles can’t be defined by numeric values. Understanding people and company cultures are central to qualitative analysis. Looking at a company through the eyes of a customer and understanding its competitive advantage assists with qualitative analysis. Quantitativ Evaluation of a financial instrument and predicting real-world events such as changes in GDP. Provides quantifiable statistics and metrics to assist investors in making profitable investment decisions. Unhindered by the emotion that is often associated with financial decisions. Cost-effective strategy. no need to hire large, expensive teams of analysts and portfolio manager Qualtitativ For evaluating figures such as sales revenue, profit margins, or return on assets (ROA). When dealing with larger samples in a structured and non-biased way Need of analytical methods arranged in tables, charts, figures, or other non-textual forms Testing and validating already constructed theories. Need more credible and valid information Why? When? Quantitativ For developing extensive consumer profiles For etermining the impact of customer and employee satisfaction For learning the importance of surveys and focus groups For determining the needs of the target market and audience For effective understanding of management systems and how it impacts operations Qualitative Analysis Quantitative Analysis Type of data How is data collected How is data analyzed Level of analysis Type of findings Words, text, descriptions, direct observations Numbers, figures, statistics Measuring and counting things Observations, interviews, and textual analysis Text analysis;grouping data into meaningful themes or categories Small groups, case studies, local phenomena; more subjective "Thickdescription", understanding the why or howabout phenomena Statistical analysis Large-scale, generalizable, fixed How much, how many, or how often; correlations or causation among variables 127
- 143. Qualitative & Quantitative Analysis (2/2) Example: Students were asked to submit the feedback to gauge their satisfaction level with their professors. We can compare and contrast the aspects of using qualitative and quantitative through this example Survey of 3000 students on metrics such as: Quality of teaching material and teaching methods Ability to effectively communicate in class and to clear doubts Fairness in allotment of grades and impartiality towards students. Quantitative Analysis Note: Both qualitative and quantitative analysis can be used in conjunction to analyse the results. Qualitative research gives you a general idea of the trends and emotions of the people, and quantitative analysis acts as a check to verify those findings and provide a detailed insights to them Reviews of 30 students were conducted and asked open-ended questions like: “How satisfied are you with your professors” “What is the positive teaching aspect of your professor?” “Do professors favour a particular set of students and are grades given fairly?” Based on the answers, follow-up questions to clarify things can be asked. Qualitative analysis Tracking occurrence, position and meaning of words or phrases Identifying the main themes and pattern Studying how communication works in social contexts Average scores The number of times a particular answer was given The correlation or causation between two or more variables The reliability and validity of the results Students were asked to respond to the questions on a scale of 1-10. What can be analyzed What can be analyzed 128
- 144. Mckinsey’s 7S Framework (1/2) The McKinsey 7S framework is an organizational tool that focuses on harmony and balance within the organization. It can be applied whether you’re going through change or to help identify weaknesses and opportunities in your organization. It includes seven equally important factors(3 hard, 4 soft) that need to be in balance for a healthy and competitive organization. Hard Elements: The elements which can be easily recognized and treated by the management in case of any issues are known as hard elements. Soft Elements: These elements are complex and dynamic. These factors, usually define the organizational culture. All the seven elements are interconnected and can be aligned together to achieve effectiveness in a business. The Framework is mainly used to trace performance problems in a business to subsequently change and/or improve these. The 7S model is kind of a thermometer to take the temperature of your organization. If one of the seven factors of the McKinsey 7S example is out of balance, that indicates your organization isn’t healthy. Something needs to change. The 7S Framework constitutes a good framework in which gaps between present and desired future situations can be traced and adjusted. SKILLS SHARED VALUES The McKinsey 7S framework can be used to: Understand the weaknesses of your organization Keep a change project on track Align departments during mergers or acquisitions Implement employee improvement strategies Determine how to become more competitive Uncover areas of opportunity. STRUCTURE Why? When? SYSTEMS STYLE STAFF STRATEGY 129
- 145. Example: 7S framework for Starbucks SHARED VALUES Management style within stores should be changed from Laissez Faire to inspirational management. Through this, a greater workforce can be effectively motivated for better performances with minimal resources STYLE Necessary training and development programs need to be organized ensuring that all members of the workforce are equipped with the skills necessary to achieve a high level of customer satisfaction SKILLS Only capable and promising candidates need to be employed by Starbucks and employees have to be provided with a lot of growth potential STAFF Rather than daily roles among customer assistants, a rotation system of duties needs to be introduced that will reduce the potential of conflicts among the workforce, also causing the work process to be more interesting SYSTEMS Starbucks has to ensure quality of products and offer excellent customer service at the same time. The main strategy for the company is to increase revenues by effectively positioning Starbucks as a ‘third place environment’ STRATEGY Flat management structure needs to be achieved through de-layering. Specifically, upon removal of the assistant manager position, there will only be three levels of management - store manager, shift manager, and customer assistants. STRUCTURE An effective set of values is being promoted by the senior management, however, more effective initiatives need to be devised to ensure that these values are disseminated and shared by the workforce 130 Mckinsey’s 7S Framework (2/2)
- 146. BCG Growth-Share Matrix (1/2) The BCG matrix is a corporate planning tool, which uses relative market share and industry growth rate factors to evaluate the potential of the business brand portfolio and suggest further investment strategies. It is classified into four categories based on combinations of market growth and market share relative to the largest competitor, hence the name “growth share”. This framework assumes that an increase in relative market share will result in an increase in the generation of cash. Basically, the BCG matrix is a tool used to assess the current value of a firm’s units or product lines. The Matrix expresses complex ideas with unmatched clarity. It uses graphical representations of a company’s products and services in an effort to help the company decide what it should keep, sell, or invest more in. The matrix helps companies identify new growth opportunities and decide how they should invest in the future. The BCG matrix would be suitable to see if The firm is a large manufacturer The firm has a diverse product range or if they have multiple business units(SBUs) The firm has reasonable levels of market shares in some markets The BCG matrix is helpful when you need to assess multiple product lines to determine which are profitable or otherwise. RELATIVE MARKET SHARE High Low Low High MARKET GROWTH $ $ High Growth, High Share. A significant amount of investment should be made in “Star” products. Low Growth, High Share. “Cash Cows” should be milked so products can be reinvested in “Stars” and “Question Mark” Low Growth, High Share. Businesses should liquidate divest, or reposition products in the “Dogs” category. High Growth, Less Share. Investment should be made in “Quesstion Mark” products depending on their chances of becoming stars. Why? When? 131
- 147. BCG Growth-Share Matrix (2/2) Example: BCG matrix of Samsung Note: The BCG matrix is a decision-making tool, and it does not necessarily take into account all the factors that a business ultimately must face. BCG matrix can help as general investment guidelines but should not change strategic thinking. The quadrants are simplified versions of reality and cannot be applied blindly Limitations: It does not include other external factors that may change the dynamics. Market share and industry growth rate are not the only factors for profitability. Also, a high market share does not necessarily mean high profits. Question Mark Dogs Cash Cows Stars Market Growth Market Share High High Low Low $ 132
- 148. Porter’s Five Forces Framework (1/2) Bargaining power of customer: New entrants threat: Threat of substitute products or services: Analyses power , control and potential to raise their prices. It considers supplier of raw material Examine consumers power and their effect on pricing and quality It consider no. Of consumers Analyse the hurdles for competitor while joining the market place. This include absolute cost advantages, access to inputs , economies of scale , strong brand identity. Studies consumer behaviour to switch for a competitor’s product or services. It consider no. Of competitors , their price, quality and their profit Why? To understand the main competitive forces at work in an industry To assess the attractiveness of an industry To pinpoint our areas of improvement To improve profitability Bargaining power of Buyers Thread of Substitute Products Bargaining Power of Suppliers Threat of New Entrants Rivalry Among Existing Competitors Bargaining power of Buyers When? While evaluating competitive forces influencing a variety of business sector. Can be used for understanding competitive position of a company While determining the profit potential of a business sector 133
- 149. Porter’s Five Forces Framework (2/2) Example: Airline industry Bargaining power of customer: New entrants threat: Threat of substitute products or services: In airline industry it can be considered very high since while looking at the major inputs we see that is depends on the fuel and aircrafts. The price of aviation fuel is subject to fluctuation in global market for oil which can change widely depending upon geopolitical factors. Customer are Able to check prices of different airline companies through online price comparison websites. This can be considered as low to medium New entrants need license, insurance, distribution channel and other qualifications that are not easy to obtain. The general need of customer is travelling So beside going by airplane there are many other alternatives for travelling depending upon the urgency and distance. This threat can be considered as medium to high Bargaining power of supplier: Highly competitive due to entry of low cost carriers Tight regulations of industry where safety become paramount leading to high fixed cost and barrier to exit. Stagnant in terms of growth Many players are of similar size leading to competition between those firms. Competitive rivalry Bargaining power of Buyers Thread of Substitute Products Bargaining Power of Suppliers Threat of New Entrants Rivalry Among Existing Competitors 134
- 150. It is a useful tool for strategic planning. It can be used to assess places, competitors, and businesses and even to do self- assessments. To differentiate between internal ( strength/ weaknesses ) and external ( opportunities/ threats ) factors to help decision making. When we need to capitalize on organisation’s strengths, mitigate risk regarding weaknesses plan for events that may adversely affect the company in the future. take advantage of a new business opportunity deal with changes to your competitors' operations. Why? When? ! SWOT Strengths Weaknesses Threats SWOT Analysis(1/2) The framework used to evaluate a company’s competitive position and to develop strategic planning. SWOT analysis assesses internal and external factors, which also describes it’s current and future potential. W hat is the USP of business? How are you better than com petitor? W h a t s o r t o f s k i l l s r e q u i r e t o w o r k o n ? W h a t a r e t h e r e q u i r e d r e s o u r c e s ? Are there any untouched potential m arket areas? W hat are our com petitors doing that w e are not? Are there any govt. regulations that can ham per our business? Opportunities 135
- 151. W S 1971 1987 1992 SWOTAnalysis(2/2) Example: STARBUCKS Strong brand Recognition Recognizable chain worldwide High quality unique Products Extensive International Supply chain. High prices Easy to imitate Products Product often don’t account for cultural diversity Recall of products. Diversify prooduct for Cultures. Expand in Asia and Africa Use technological advances as way to distribute Products Introducing New Products. Competition from low-cost coffe sellers. Other businesses can imitate their Product Competition with big outlets Change in customer behaviour. O T 2018 136
- 152. 5W1H FRAMEWORK(1/2) Gives us information about the description of task and map out the entire landscape of the given stakeholders Helps us gauge the timing related issues and map out whether it was a gradual shift or a sudden shift. It tells us about the location involved. Where was the issue found and where do its impacts lie Describes the motivation, or the objective or the justification or reason behind method of working. Why was this training chosen? Why was this a problem for us? Tells us about how to proceed, the steps and method employed. How is the department organised? How does this affect us? When did the trouble arise? How long did it take? When did the installation happen? How often does the problem arise? What W h e r e W h o W h y When H o w It tells us about the location involved. Where was the issue found and where do its impacts lie 5W1H (their roles and responsibilities), the duration of the project, etc. 3 2 4 5 6 1 Why? It can be utilised to understand the problem completely and helps us get a look and feel of the entire problem to arrive at the solution or to get a clear direction of how to approach. It helps in developing a preliminary strategy Can be used to obtain 360 degree view of the problem and increases the drill speed to reach the solution When? At the strategy level to design or improve a market entry strategy for instance At the management level to improve organisation and processes At the quality level as a problem resolving support tool At the innovation level to boost emergence of solution and ideas At the Product Manager level in general 137
- 153. 5W1H FRAMEWORK (2/2) Other diameter of the shaft is observed to be 250 micron oversized It was found on 24th feb Rohit found the problem Assembly stopped for around 2 hours It might result in a loss of business worth $4M. What W h e r e W h o W h y When H o w It was found on line no. 4 and machine no. 5 5W1H 3 2 4 5 6 1 Example: Problem: Shaft OD(Other diameter) is found 250 micron oversized 138 WHERE was this problem found? It was found on line no. 4 and machine no. 5 WHO found the problem? Rohit found the problem WHEN was the problem found? It was found on 24th feb WHY is this a problem? Assembly stopped for around 2 hours HOW big/severe is this problem for us? It might lose a business of $4M. Other diameter of the shaft is observed to be 250 micron oversized WHAT is the problem?
- 154. PESTEL Analysis (1/2) PESTEL, earlier called PEST analysis,stands for Political, Economical, Social, Technological and E and L( recent additions) stands for Ecological and Legal. All these are external factors These are driven by government actions and policies including Corporate Taxation, Financial Policies, Free trade disputes etc. An MNC can close several facilities in higher tax jurisdictions in order to relocate operations somewhere with lower tax rates/ greater state and grant funding. These are related to the broader economy. Includes interest rates, employment rates, inflation, etc. Many analysts tend to overweight economic factors in their analysis as they are most easily quantified in comparison to other factors influencing this frameworks. They refer to shifts in the way that stakeholders approach life and leisure, which in turn can impact commercial activity. These factors may include demographics, lifestyle trends, consumer beliefs. Companies reevaluate hiring, onboarding and training practices after an overwhelming number of employees indicate a preference for a hybrid, WFH model. In today's world technology is everywhere and is changing rapidly and a management head and analyst must understand how these factors may impact an organization. Tech factors are automation, cyber security etc. The speed and scale of technological disruption in the present business environment is unprecedented. For example, Uber upending the transportation industry or the rise of E-Commerce giants as we know it. This emerged as an addition to the original PEST framework as people started to understand the risk and opportunities associated with the physical environment. Things to take into account are carbon footprint, climate change impact. It accounts for ESG and CSR analysis. Companies keep internal record keeping and reporting for ESG Those factors that emerge from the changes to the regulatory environment, which may affect the broader economy, certain industries, or even any specific business. They include industry regulations, license and permits required, protection of IP, etc. Social media companies have to keep the inherent risk of IP theft while considering the growth aspects. Political Technological Economic Social Environmental Legal ANALYSIS PESTEL P E S T E L 139
- 155. PESTEL Analysis (2/2) Example: RELIANCE JIO PESTEL ANALYSIS Political Economical Social Technological Environmental Legal Make in indi PM’s plan of digital Indi Political Stability Price sensitive marke Growing Indian economy Large Youth populatio CSR activites through relianc Brand value associated with reliance Introduction of VoLTE technolog Advancement in 5 Wireless Technology Radiations emitted by tower Make in India Lack of rigid testing laws in India Starting a new business (provides the senior management team the info about direction where business is going, brand positioning and risks) Marketing planning Product development (it may help you to decide whether to enter or leave a market, whether the product still fulfills the marketplace needs or when to launch the new product) When? Identify opportunities and threats Technological factors Social Factors Environmental Factors Legal Factors Economic Factors Political Factors This is used as a broad fact finding activity. It helps an organisation to list down the external factors that affect the company and understanding these factors can help with maximising the opportunities and minimising the threats to the organisation. Conducting PESTEL analysis can mean scanning the external environment to detect and understand broad, long term trends. Why? 140
- 156. Value Chain Analysis (1/2) Value chain analysis will help you identify areas in your business that can be optimized for efficiency and profitability. By analyzing and evaluating product quality and the effectiveness of your services, along with reducing company costs, your business can find strategies to improve its value proposition and stand out in the marketplace. It can be used where we need: Cost reduction by making each activity in the value chain more efficient and, therefore, less expensive Product differentiation by investing more time and resources into activities like research and development, design, or marketing that can help your product stand out More likely used in Cost reduction cases Why? When? INFRASTRUCTURE Company overhead and management , including financing and planning. HUMANRESOURCEMANAGEMENT Recruitment, hiring , training , development, retention, and compensation of employees TECHNOLOGICALDEVELOPMENT Research and development, including product design, market research, and product development PROCUREMENT The sourcing of raw materials, components, equipment, and services INBOUND LOGISTICS OUTBOUND LOGISTICS MARKETING ANDSALES AFTER-SALES SERVICES Receiving, warehousing and inventory management Distribution, including packaging, sorting, and shipping Promotion, advertising and pricing stratergy Installation, training, quality assurance, repair, and customer service OPERATIONS Processes involved in turning raw materials and components into finished products PRIMARY ACTIVITIES MARGIN VALUE SECONDARY ACTIVITIES 141
- 157. Value Chain Analysis (2/2) Example of value chain analysis Given that sales has not declined, we need to evaluate cost structure and reduce the excess cost by evaluating Value Chain. On analyzing different cells of value chain,like RnD,transportation and storage, raw material, processing, distribution and sales , marketing A biscuit manufacturer has seen a decline in profits in a couple of months. Profits are controlled by: Sales Cost per Product Profits Transportation and Storage was having the problem, further specifically storage had the problem. Storage has sub parts as Storage rental, labour and Inventory losses. (Inventory losses: Spoilage , Pilferage ,Expiry) Expiry was the main issue, can be due to poor prediction of demand, or due to poor inventory management. They had poor Inventory management,they followed LIFO(Last In First Out) concept, leading to expiry of product. So, value chain analysis helped us break down the problem and reduce the cost. 142
- 158. Fin & Eco Overview
- 159. Finance & Economics (1/5) represent the potential benefits that an individual, investor, or business misses out on when choosing one alternative over another. Opportunity cost = FO – CO Where, FO = Return on best Forgone option CO = Return on Chosen Option The most fundamental TVM formula takes into account the following variables- FV = Future value of money PV = Present value of money i = interest rate n = number of compounding periods per year t = number of years Based on these variables, the formula for TVM is FV = PV x [ 1 + (i / n) ] (n x t) Time value of money means that a sum of money is worth more now than the same sum of money in the future. This is because money can grow only through investing. An investment delayed is an opportunity lost. The formula for computing the time value of money considers the amount of money, its future value, the amount it can earn, and the time frame. Opportunity cost is the forgone benefit that would have been derived from an option not chosen. Considering the value of opportunity costs can guide individuals and organizations to more profitable decision-making. Opportunity cost is a strictly internal cost used for strategic contemplation; it is not included in accounting profit and is excluded from external financial reporting. The time value of money is a basic financial concept that holds that money in the present is worth more than the same sum of money to be received in the future. Definition Formula Key takeaways 143 Opportunity costs
- 160. Finance & Economics(2/5) Definition Formula Key takeaways Net present value (NPV) is the difference between the present value of cash inflows and the present value of cash outflows over a period of time. If there’s one cash flow from a project that will be paid one year from now, then the calculation for the NPV is as - NPV = [cash flow/(1+i)^t] – initial investment Where, i=Required return or discount rate t=Number of time periods Net present value, or NPV, is used to calculate the current value of a future stream of payments from a company, project, or investment. The discount rate may reflect your cost of capital or the returns available on alternative investments of comparable risk. If the NPV of a project or investment is positive, it means its rate of return will be above the discount rate. The internal rate of return (IRR) is a metric used in financial analysis to estimate the profitability of potential investments. IRR is a discount rate that makes the net present value (NPV) of all cash flows equal to zero in a discounted cash flow analysis. Where- • Ct=Net cash inflow during the period t • C0=Total initial investment costs • IRR=The internal rate of return • t=The number of time periods The motive of IRR is to find a discount rate such that the total present value of annual nominal cash inflows equals the investment's initial net cash outflows. IRR is ideal for analyzing capital budget projects to understand and compare potential future annual returns. IRR helps investors determine the return on investment of various assets. 144
- 161. Finance & Economics (3/5) Definition Formula Key takeaways A PI greater than 1.0 is deemed as a good investment, with higher values corresponding to more attractive projects. Under capital constraints and mutually exclusive projects, only those with the highest PIs should be undertaken. The Profitability Index (PI), also known as the Investment Value Ratio (VIR) or Return on Investment Ratio (PIR), describes an index that represents the ratio between the costs and benefits of a proposed project. It is calculated as the ratio of the present value of expected future cash flows to the initial amount invested in the project The profitability index can be computed using the following ratio: Profitability Index = PV of future cashflows/ initial investment The payback period can be defined as the period of time required to recover its initial cost and expenses and cost of investment done for the project to reach a time where there is no loss no profit i.e. breakeven point. Shorter paybacks mean more attractive investments, while longer payback periods are less desirable. Account and fund managers use the payback period to determine whether to go through with an investment. One of the downsides of the payback period is that it disregards the time value of money. The fundamental formula for calculating the payback period is : Payback period = (Cost of Investment ÷ Average Annual Cash Flow) 145
- 162. ASSETS LIABILITIES Business assets are anything of value to a company that helps promote company productivity, efficiency and revenue. An asset is a resource with economic value that an individual, corporation, or country owns or controls with the expectation that it will provide a future benefit. A liability is a financial obligation of a company that results in the company’s future sacrifices of economic benefits to other entities or businesses. A liability can be an alternative to equity as a source of a company’s financing. Tangible assets are assets with a specified monetary value. A company’s leadership might buy or sell tangible assets to increase the company’s financial stability. Example - Cash reserves, Land, Inventory, Rental facilities Intangible assets are non-physical financial resources that can increase a company’s revenue. Example -Trademarked processes or product designs, Customer goodwill, Employee expertis Current or short-term assets are assets that a company can translate into revenue by the end of the current fiscal year or that provide a monetary benefit within that period. Examples - Cash, Debt owed by customers, Commercial inventory, Raw material Noncurrent assets, or long-term or fixed assets, are assets that a company might not turn into cash within the fiscal year, but that provide a long-term benefit to the company. Examples - Property, Production equipment, Patents Current Liabilities : Current liabilities are those liabilities that are due and need to be paid within an accounting period (which is usually a year or 12 months). Current liabilities are also known as short-term liabilities due to the relatively short turnaround time. Examples : Interest Payable, Accounts Payable, Short term loans, Accrued Expenses,Bank overdraft Non-Current Liabilities : Non-current liabilities, which are also known as long-term liabilities are financial obligations that are due in over a year’s time. These liabilities help businesses acquire capital assets by providing the required capital. Examples : Deferred tax liabilities, Bonds payable, Capital leases, Debentures Contingent liabilities : Contingent liabilities are a special type of liability that may occur during the course of a business, depending on the outcome of an event that may take place in the future. In accounting standards, contingent liabilities are recorded as potential or probable liabilities only if they have a 50% chance of occurring and when the amount of liability can be estimated properly. Examples : Product Warranties, Lawsuits Assets are reported on a company's balance sheet. They are bought or created to increase a firm's value or benefit the firm's operations. An asset is something that may generate cash flow, reduce expenses or improve sales, regardless of whether it's manufacturing equipment or a patent. Liability can also mean a legal or regulatory risk or obligation. In accounting, companies book liabilities in opposition to assets. Current liabilities are a company's short-term financial obligations that are due within one year or a normal operating cycle (e.g. accounts payable). KEY TAKEAWAYS KEY TAKEAWAYS CLASSIFICATION CLASSIFICATION Finance & Economics (4/5) 146
- 163. CASHFLOWS Cash Flow (CF) is the increase or decrease in the amount of money a business, institution, or individual has. In finance, the term is used to describe the amount of cash (currency) thatisgeneratedorconsumedinagiventimeperiod. Shareholder’s equity is the residual interest of the shareholders in the company and is calculated as the difference between Assets and Liabilities. Shareholders’ Equity Statement on the balance sheet shows the details of the change in the value of shareholder’s equity during a particularaccountingperiodfromitsbeginningtilltheend. Cashflowfromoperations(CFO) Cashflowfromfinancing(CFF) Cashflowfrominvesting(CFI) CashfromOperatingActivities–Cashthatisgeneratedbya company’scorebusinessactivities–doesnotincludeCF frominvesting.Thisisfoundonthecompany’sstatement of cashflows. FreeCashFlowtoEquity(FCFE)–FCFE represents the cash that’s available after reinvestment back into the business (capital expenditures) Free Cash Flow to the Firm (FCFF) – This is a measure that assumes a company has no leverage (debt). It is used in financial modelingandvaluation. NetChangeinCash– The change in the amount of cash flow from one accounting period to the next. This is found at the bottom of theCashFlowSystem. Cash received signifies inflows, and cash spent signifies outflows. The cash flow statement is a financial statement that reports on a company's sources and usage of cash over sometime. A company's cash flow is typically categorized as cash flowsfromoperations,investing,andfinancing. Positive shareholder equity means the company has enough assets to cover its liabilities, but the company's liabilitiesexceeditsassetsifitisnegative. Retained earnings is part of shareholder equity and is the percentage of net earnings not paid to shareholders as dividends. Shareholder equity gives analysts and investors a clear pictureofthefinancialhealthofacompany. KEYTAKEAWAYS CLASSIFICATION BASICACCOUNTING EQUATION Shareholders’Equity= TotalAssets–TotalLiabilities INVESTOR’SEQUATION Shareholders’ Equity = Share Capital + Retained Earnings – TreasuryStock COMPONENTS • Commonstock • Preferredstock • RetainedEarnings • Additionalpaid-upcapital • Treasuryshares Finance& Economics(5/5) SHAREHOLDER’SEQUITY KEYTAKEAWAYS 147
- 165. POPULATION AND SAMPLE Statistics is the area of applied math that deals with the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data. When considering what business statistics is, there are two major types of statistics used in business, which are descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics are used to describe a set of data points, while inferential statistics is used to analyze a set of data and use those as a basis to make predictions on how the data will change in the future. Consider, for example, a company that sells pizzas. The company gathers data such as the count of sales, average quantity purchased per transaction, and average sales per day of the week. All of this information is descriptive, as it tells a story of what actually happened in the past. In this case, it is not being used beyond being informational. Let's say the same company wants to roll out a new pizza. It gathers the same sales data above, but it crafts the information to make predictions about what the sales of the new pizza will be. The act of using descriptive statistics and applying characteristics to a different data set makes the data set inferential statistics. We are no longer simply summarizing data; we are using it to predict what will happen regarding an entirely different body of data (the new hot sauce product). In a nutshell, descriptive statistics focuses on describing the visible characteristics of a dataset (a population or sample). Meanwhile, inferential statistics focuses on making predictions or generalizations about a larger dataset based on a sample of those data. In the above paragraph, we spoke about sampling the population. Population is the entire group that you wish to draw data from. It can apply to any group from which you will collect information. A sample is a representative group of a larger population. Random sampling from representative groups allows us to draw broad conclusions about an overall population. Stats for Business (1/2) Sample Population 1 5 10 5 9 10 12 3 2 6 7 11 8 2 8 4 148
- 166. Dispersion, spread, and variability all refer to and denote the range and width of the distribution of values in a data set. Measures of dispersion describe how values are distributed or spread out. determine how far apart the data points appear to fall from the center. Common measures of variability include: VARIANCE:- It is the average of the squared difference from the mean. However, because of this squaring, the variance is no longer in the same unit of measurement as the original data. STANDARD DEVIATION:- It is the square root of the variance. It is the same as the original unit of measure and, therefore, much easy to measure. Standard deviation measures how much the data is dispersed about its mean. Low standard deviation implies that most values are close to the mean. High standard deviation suggests that the values are more broadly spread out. Stats for Business (2/5) VARIABLES A variable is any characteristic, number, or quantity that can be measured or counted. A variable may also be called a data item. Age, sex, business income and expenses, country of birth, capital expenditure, class grades, eye color, and vehicle type are examples of variables. Variables can be broadly categorized into numerical and categorical. Numerical variables are either a set of discrete or continuous numbers. Continuous numerical variables can take in an infinite number of values, whereas discrete can only take in a set of finite values. Categorical variables are of two types - ordinal and nominal. As the name suggests, ordinal categorical variables have some order or pattern. For example, our education levels follow a pattern - pre-school, high school, undergraduate, post-graduation, Ph.D. On the other hand, nominal categorical variables lack any order or levels. MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDENCY Central tendency refers to a dataset’s descriptive summary using a single value reflecting the center of the data distribution. Measures of central tendency do not just refer to the central value within an entire dataset (median). Instead, it is a general term used to describe a variety of central measurements.. The mean, median, and mode are the measures of central tendency. MEAN:- The mean, considered the most popular measure of central tendency, is the average or most common value in a data set. It is the sum of all observations divided by number of observations. The critical thing to remember about mean is that it’s sensitive to outliers. And the outliers may alter the mean in a significant way. MEDIAN:- It is The central or middle value in the dataset. In simple words, the median divides the distribution into two halves, i.e., half of the observations lie above the mean and half below it. Median signals “middle” of the distribution. The median is less affected by outliers and skewed data than the mean and is usually the preferred measure of central tendency when the distribution is not symmetrical. MODE:- The value that appears most often in the dataset. It is not a very relevant descriptive stat when the data is continuous, but it is the only measure of central tendency that could be used for categorical data. E.g., Gender, you can simply say whether the mode is female/male/other. MEASURES OF DISPERSION 149
- 167. presentation and visualization include bar charts, histograms, pie charts, and line charts. Distribution shows us the frequency of different outcomes (or data points) in a population or sample. We can show them as numbers in a list or table, or we can represent them graphically. Used for both quantitative and qualitative data. depicts the frequency or count of the different outcomes in a data set or sample. The frequency distribution is generally presented in a table or a graph. It allows for a more structured and organized way to present raw data. Common charts and graphs used in frequency distribution Stats for Business (3/5) Standard deviation and variance play an essential role in the risk analysis of stocks. The more the SD of a particular stock, the more the risk, i.e., the more the stock price fluctuates, the more the risk. One important thing to note is that for a normal distribution (data that is symmetrically distributed around the mean in a bell shape), 68.2% of data lie within one SD of the mean, 95.4% around 2 SD of the mean, and so on. FREQUENCYDISTRIBUTIONS HYPOTHESISTESTING Hypothesis testing in statistics is a way for you to test the results of a survey or experiment to see if you have meaningful results. You’re basically testing whether your results are valid by figuring out the odds that your results have happened by chance. Let us understand some basic terms before going into the details:- Hypothesis:- A hypothesis is an educated guess about something in the world around you. It should be testable, either by experiment or observation. Null hypothesis states that there is no significant difference between the original value and the one that comes from intuition. Alternative hypothesis states that the null hypothesis is not true and behavior diverges from the actual behavior. P-value:- A p-value measures the probability of obtaining the observed results, assuming that the null hypothesis is true. A p- value is a metric that expresses the likelihood that an observed difference could have occurred by chance. As the p-value decreases, the statistical significance of the observed difference increases. If the p-value is too low, you reject the null hypothesis. Level of significance:- It is the criterion for determining whether a test statistic is statistically significant or not. It is denoted by alpha(α). If the p-value comes out to be less than the significance level, we reject the null hypothesis. Otherwise, we can’t reject the null hypothesis. Alpha is generally taken as 0.05. StandardNormalDistribution Population Density 1 0 2 3 4 -2σ -3σ ±68.2% ±0.1% ±2.1% ±13.6% ±34.1% ±34.1% ±13.6% ±2.1% ±0.1% ±95.4% ±99.7% -1σ -2σ -3σ =0|σ=1 150
- 168. A critical value is a point on the scale of the test statistic beyond which we reject the null hypothesis. It is derived from the level of significance (α) of the test. The critical value for a two-tailed test is generally taken as 1.96, which is based on the fact that 95% of the area of a normal distribution is within 1.96 standard deviations ofthemean. We compare the critical values (based on α) and test statistics (like z test, t-test, chi-square test, etc.) to verify the hypothesis. The test statistic takes your data from an experiment or survey and compares your results to the results you would expect from thenullhypothesis.Threecommonteststatisticsare: AlternativeApproachusingcriticalvalues Since the p-value is less than the level of significance, we reject the null hypothesis. In case the p-value is greater than thelevelofsignificance,wefailtorejectthenullhypothesis. ResultInterpretation Our assumed data follows a binomial distribution, so the probability of 36 women being selected in the jury comes out be0.0013.Thisisthep-valueforourhypothesis. Levelofsignificanceis0.05 This states that if 36 or more women ending up on a jury have lessthana 0.05chance ofoccurring atrandom, then we willrejectournullhypothesis. This states that there is a bias and the jury number did not happenbychance. ThevariablePistheoddsofwomenbeingselected. Alternativehypothesis,Ha:P≠0.5 Nullhypothesis,Ho:P=0.5 This states that the jury number happened by chance, and thereisnothingwrongwiththeselectionofjurymembers. StatsforBusiness(4/5) Let us now understand the steps involved in hypothesis testing through an example. Suppose that in a town of 1000 people, 50% are male and 50% are female. However, women complain that they are being called to jury duty more than men. A jury consists of 50 members. In the next jury, it is noted that there were 36 women and 14 men. It may seem very confusing initially,butit’seasierthanyouthink.Allyouneedtodois: Stateyourhypothesisandlevelofsignificance, Determinep-value Comparep-valuetothelevelofsignificance Statingthehypothesisand levelofsignificance Determinep-value 151
- 169. If the value of the test statistic is lower than the critical value, we accept the null hypothesis or else reject the hypothesis. Stats for Business (5/5) 2. T-test It also assumes the distribution to be normal and is used to compare the mean of two samples. t = (x1 — x2) / (σ / √n1 + σ / √n2) x1 = mean of sample 1 x2 = mean of sample 2 n1 = size of sample 1 n2 = size of sample 2 3. Chi-square test It is used in the case of categorical variables. Null hypothesis is that the two variables are independent. Χ2 = Σ [ (Or,c — Er,c)2 / Er,c ] Or,c = observed frequency count at level r of Variable A & level c of Variable B Er,c = expected frequency count at level r of Variable A & level c of Variable B Sample is assumed to be normally distributed and calculated on basis of parameters like mean and standard deviation. Null hypothesis is that the mean of the sample is the same as the original dataset. z = (x — μ) / (σ / √n) x = sample mean μ = population mean σ / √n = population standard deviation Z-test 152
- 170. Product Primer
- 171. ProductManagement ProductManagement ProductManagementistheroleandfunctionwithinan organizationthatisresponsibleforaproduct'soverall success.ProductManagersworkwithgroupsinsideand outsideofthecompanytobuildandexecuteaplanto makesuretheproductbestmeetsitsfinancialand strategicgoals. Centrepointofcommunicatio WholeProduc DefineProductStrateg DefineGo-to-Marke GatheringRequirement GuidingEngineerin Guidesalesandmarketing Partners Customer Support Channel Legal Sales Team Analysis Operations Executive Marketing Finance “Agreatproductmanagerhasthebrainofanengineer,theheartofadesigner,andthespeechofadiplomat.” –DeepNishar,VicePresidentofProductatLinkedIn DifferentTypesofProductManagementCases ProductDesign DesignXYZ productforABC customer? Favoriteproduct? GTMStrategy Howwouldyou market/takeXYZ producttoABC market? MarketEntry ShouldXYZ companyenter ABCmarket? Pricing Howwouldyou priceXYZ productforABC customers? Metric Whatmetric wouldyoulook attoassessthe successof featureX? Tech Casing Howdoes internetwork? Howwouldyou design Instagram? MarketTrend Whatisthenext bigideathatwe shouldinvestin? RCA Analyzethe reasonfordipof DAU metricby X% overthepast 2 weeks Guesstimate Estimate marketsize ofXYZ services? WhatisProductManagementand whoareProductManagers? Product Managers 153
- 172. Product Cycle Introduction Growth Maturity Decline The Product Life Cycle (PLC) defines the stages that a product moves through in the marketplace as it enters, becomes established, and exits the marketplace. Four major phases of Product Cycle When a product first launches, sales will typically be low and grow slowly. In this stage, company profit is small (if any) as the product is new and untested. If the product continues to thrive and meet market needs, the product will enter the growth stage. Eventually, the market grows to capacity, and sales growth of the product declines. In this stage, price undercutting and increased promotional efforts are common as companies try to capture customers from competitors Introduction Growth Maturity Decline In the decline stage, sales of the product start to fall and profitability decreases. This is primarily due to the market entry of other innovative or substitute products that satisfy customer needs better than the current product. 154
- 173. Product Metrics Metrics have the potential to deliver incredibly valuable insights and information to organizations and teams. However, for metrics to be meaningful, they must be actionable (i.e., inform business decisions), accessible, and auditable.Meaningful metrics matter because It’s easier to win over stakeholder They lead to better product decision They provide an early warning signa They set the stage for success Importance of Metrics AARRR Pirate Metric Framework HEART Framework Product metrics, also known as key performance indicators, are measurable data points that a company monitors and evaluates to determine the success of a product. Conversion rate, churn rate, and monthly recurring revenue are a few examples. All of these metrics ought to be connected to the product strategy. What Are Product Metrics? Acquisition Activation Retention Revenue Referral How does the customer find you? How quickly do the customers sign-up? How long do the customers stay active? How do you increase revenue? How do customers let others know about the product? - # of users who did the Job-to-be- Done of the platform for the 1st time. - # of signup on the platform. - # of people registering to newsletters. - # of users filling their details. - # of people tagging their friends. - NPS: Net Promter Score - CSAT: Customer Satisfaction Score % of people who recommend to friends. - # of impressions on social media. - # of click on ads . - # of people visiting the website. - # of app downloads - # of people returning on the platform. - average amount of time spend on the platform. - DAU/MAU- It defines user stickiness. - # of people opening your emails. - # of people transacting on platform. - # clicks on the ads on the platform. - LTV- Lifetime value of the customer. - ARPU- Average Revenue per User - Other: ARR, MRR, GMV,AOV What is the question about? Product Metrics Approach This question tests if you understand what the process of defining metrics . Definewhatsuccessmeansfortheproduct: you need to identify what the business goals for the product are. Once you have set the objectives, think about which outcomes should happen at each stage of the customer journey to achieve these goals. Measurecustomeractions: For each phase of the customer journey such as awareness, acquisition, conversion, engagement, retention, and monetization, think of ways to measure customer actions that would indicate success or failure of the business goals. List each action as a metric WrapUp:Summarize what the business goals and most relevant metrics are. Happiness Engagement Adoption Retention Task success Benefits of the HEART Framework Improve the user experience (UX) of software. Valuable trends and business intelligence More strategic focu A more predictable ROI Software UX teams were the target audience for the HEART framework.. However, HEART can also be a helpful framework for product managers, particularly to assist them in comparing competing initiatives to ascertain which give the most strategic value. When their cross-functional team cannot complete all of the ideas or requests for features and enhancements within a specific timeframe, product teams can utilise the HEART framework to set priorities. Users of the HEART Framework? 155
- 174. Product Development Process and Tools Agile Product Management Lean Product Management 4 Agile Values Pros and Cons of being Agile Pros Cons Agile is a process for iterative product development. Teams work in short, incremental "sprints" and often reconvene to assess and modify their work. Frequent input is encouraged by the Agile methodology. In contrast to the more established, sequence-based waterfall methodology, it touts the capacity to change focus and priority fast. Teams divide long-term plans into several implementation phases. Individual and interaction O V E R Comprehensive Documents Working Software Contract negotiation Customer Collaboration Following a Plan Responding to Changes Alignment Yesterday’s News Unfulfilled promises Undated by Nature Resistance to long-term planning Explaining the ‘why’ Executive Visibility Transparency What is Lean Product Management? Lean product management is the application of Lean thinking to product strategy and development. It provides a framework for making product strategy decisions that align with company goals, KPIs, and customer needs. Lean isn’t just about building things, but building the right things at the right time. It helps in optimizing the process and eliminating waste.To put it in a better way, Lean Product Management focuses on delivering work that matters quickly. What do Lean Product Managers prioritize? Customer problems over internal requirement Data-driven experiments over assumption Customer problem roadmaps over feature roadmap Idea generation and collaboration over solution mandates 3 ImportantaspectsofLeanProductManagement Customer Problems and needs over Internal requirements Data Driven Experiments over pre- conceived solutions. Idea Generation and Collaboration over solution mandates The goal of a business is to maximize stakeholder value but for that, it is first important to maximize customer value ie understanding your customers. A Scientific approach is necessary for decision making and making a product roadmap.Validating ideas before committing more people is very crucial. Great products are built by highly communicative, collaborative and diverse Lean teams. Product manager’s success depends on the quality of insights they’re basing their decisions. 156
- 175. Product Development Scrum Product Management Kanban Product Management What is Scrum Framework? Scrum is a framework within which people can address complex adaptive problems, while productively and creatively delivering products of the highest possible value. It is used for managing software projects and product or application development and is a framework for developing and maintaining complex products through “view-and-tune”. It is a genre that follows the agile declaration and principles, integrating three roles, three artifacts, five events, five values, referred to as “3355“. 3 3 5 5 Roles Product Owners Product Backlogs Sprint Openness Courage Respect Focus Commitment Sprint Planning Meeting Daily Scrum Meeting Scrum Review Meeting Scrum Retrospective Meeting Sprint Backlogs Product Increment Development Teams Scrum Master Artifacts Events Values The Kanban method is an approach you can use to to design, manage, and improve flow systems for product development work Adopting Kanban involves starting with your existing workflow and driving change by visualizing workflow, limiting work in progress (WIP) and finishing in progress work before starting new work Kanban doesn’t require to adopt any new rules, you can use the roles you currently have on your team Kanban can be used for product development and several different knowledge work settings and is particularly applicable in situations where work arrives in an unpredictable fashion and/or when you want to discreetly deploy work as soon as it is ready It is often viewed as an alternative to the scrum framework Kanban was first incorporated in 2004, by David J. Anderson,who was inspired by the theory of constraints and the Toyota Product System, and used it in Microsoft’s IT department. What is Kanban Framework? While the Kanban values guide how your team behaves, the Kanban principles provide guidelines for managing change and approaching work as a collection of services. Kanban Principles: Understand and focus on your customers’ needs and expectation Evolve policies so that you can improve customer and business outcomes Pursue improvement through evolutionary change Encourage people to exhibit leadership regarding their position in the organization Service Delivery Principles Change Management Principles 157
- 176. Different Frameworks What is the question about? Product Design Approach Circle’s Method This interview question tests whether you understand the process of going from customer needs to product development. This process should involve defining who the customer is and what they want to accomplish; defining multiple use case scenarios in which the customer performs activities that are related to your product; and prioritizing what to build. Clarify the goal: Clarifying the goals of the problem statement with the interviewer helps to define further course of action in much clear and better sense State your approach: Laying down the structure of how you plan to approach findings of the solution can be beneficial. It helps interviewer to know your answer better and rationale behind each step Identify the pain points: Recognize the different problems being faced by different user groups Prioritise target user: Set out all the groups that faces the common major pain points, and that could potentially help to achieve your objectives Brainstorm solution/ features : Create a big ideas list and focus more upon solving the pain points of the addressed or prioritized user including Prioritise : Prioritise your solution based upon different parameters such as Impact vs Effort, RICE( Reach- Impact- Confidence and Effort) Later: features for MVP, metrics, risks, summarize: Finally summarize the case by providing the Metrics for the success measurement of the product or risks associated with it. One of the best way way of structuring the problem is using Circles method - C: Clarify. Ask clarifying questions to narrow the scope. I: Identify the users/customers as personas like food lovers, soccer moms, etc. R: Report on the user’s needs C: Cut through and prioritize the use cases L: List solutions E: Evaluate the tradeoffs of your solutions. S: Summarize your thought to give it a structure. 158
- 177. Some Terms in Product Management A minimum viable product, or MVP, is a product with enough features to attract early-adopter customers and validate a product idea early in the product development cycle. In industries such as software, the MVP can help the product team receive user feedback as quickly as possible to iterate and improve the product. Eric Ries, who introduced the concept of the minimum viable product as part of his Lean Startup methodology, describes the purpose of an MVP this way: It is the version of a new product that allows a team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning about customers with the least amount of effort. A company might choose to develop and release a minimum viable product because its product team wants to Release a product to the market as quickly as possibl Test an idea with real users before committing a large budget to the product’s full developmen Learn what resonates with the company’s target market and what doesn’t. What is MVP? What is GTM? What is A/B Testing ? An A/B test aims to compare the performance of two items or variations against one another. In product management, A/B tests are often used to identify the best-performing option. There are many benefits to using A/B tests, including Marketers (or product managers) can focus on very specific elements to tes The results are immediate and easy to analyz Unlike surveys, where users’ answers are theoretical, A/B tests measure real engagement with the asset A Go To Market (GTM) strategy is essentially your marketing plan for making sure your target market knows about your launch – be it for a feature for a whole new product. A GTM strategy applies whether you’re breaking into a new market, or trying to reach your current market. A great GTM strategy relies on user/buyer personas, market understanding, and an understanding of the long term business plan. That’s why it’s critical for Product Managers to work in collaboration with marketing on a GTM strategy. Product-led and sales-led are the 2 main types of GTM strategy. A product-led GTM strategy uses the product itself to acquire and retain users. In this approach, the product serves as a salesperson by providing so much value, the user can't help but upgrade their package. Calendly and Slack are great examples of product-led growth in action. On the other hand, a sales-led GTM strategy uses marketing to drum up interest for a product, capturing it in content and demo forms. Salespeople then reach out to those prospects, with the goal of converting them into customers. This is the approach that Cognism and countless other B2B SaaS companies use. 159
- 178. Roadmapping What is Roadmapping? Importance of Roadmap The strategic process of determining the actions, steps, and resources required to turn an idea into reality is called roadmapping. A roadmap is a high-level document that articulates the vision and strategic plan. When it comes to product roadmapping, a product manager and her team are involved in the process. Together, they decide on every prerequisite needed to turn the company's product idea into a finished, marketable product.This involves Pull together all the researc Lay out the product journey on a roadma Prioritize each item through ranking The 3 Major Components of the Roadmapping Process: A roadmap establishes a route from the vision of an initiative to its realisation. The ability to communicate that vision and a clear grasp of it should be the starting points of the process. Research, strategic planning, and organisation coordination will all be part of the procedure. Research Strategic Planning Coordinating with the Organization Collaborating with other teams to get everything ready for your go-to- market strategy These teams include sales, support, professional services, marketing, and others. Establish a hierarchy of priorities. To create a minimal viable product that is ready for the market, rank all important components Choose the key elements (themes, epics, features, etc.) to address user issues Putting together a development strategy and allocating the right resources. Learn about the challenges that the product's users and customers are experiencing and how the product can help them Examine the market and the competitive environment Find out what funding and resources the company can devote to this project. In conclusion, if this procedure is followed correctly, a product manager will be able to lay down a plan. This plan comprises a list of the appropriate resources to realise a product's vision as well as all necessary actions in the most strategically advantageous order. A roadmap is a useful metaphor in this regard.For instance, you can think of this strategic process as creating a map—a clear path to bring your product to market. It will assist you in staying on track even though you may make multiple stops along the road. 160
- 180. Upper Middle Clas Medium Clas Lower Middle Class 30% 30% 40% Upper Middle Clas Medium Clas Lower Middle Clas Below Poverty Line 10% 40% 30% 20% RURAL AREAS *Average household size is 5.2 in rural India. URBAN AREAS *Average household size is 4 in urban India. Datasheets (1/2) Total Populatio Growth Rat World Percentag Densit Land Are Median Ag (Population)Urban : Rura Average Household Siz Lok Sabha Constituenc Literacy Rat Sex Ratio(F:M Age Expectancy( M:F) 142 Cr 0.91% 18.18% 477/ km2 29,73,190 km2 28.7 1:2 4.8 543 77.1% 1020:1000 69 Years(67:73) Population(in %) 80% 14% 2.5% 1.5% 2% Religion Hindu Muslims Christianity Sikhs Others Religion wise Distribution Average saving rate in India ~ 30% of income. (Varies depending on income level) The average consumption rate of India is ~70% of income. (Varies depending on the income level) Foo Trave Trasportatio Educatio Healt Housin Discretionary spending 35% 10% 10% 5% 5% 10% 25% Segment Share of income 12 Million 10 Million 8.5 Million 7 Million 6 Million 4.5 Million 4.5 Million 4.5 Million 3 Million 2.8 Million Mumbai Delhi Bengaluru Hyderabad Ahemdabad Chennai Kolkata Surat Pune Kanpur Name Population Population Distribution by City Agriculture Industries Services 18% 29% 53% 45% 25% 30% SECTOR Contribution GDP Distributionof workforce Sector Spread of population 0-14 yrs 15-24 yrs 25-34 yrs 35-44 yrs 45-54 yrs 55+ 25% 22.5% 17.5% 10% 10% 10% Age Spread Population India’s Income based population split Indian Population Statistics 161
- 181. Datasheets (2/2) IIT BHU and Varanasi Statistics Are Metropoli Forest Cove Very Dense Fores Moderately Dense Fores Heavily Dense Fores No of Ghat Length of Gang National Highway No of Railway Station WaterBodie Builtup Area Area Distribution of Varanasi Population Statistics of Varanasi Populatio Male Femal Rural Urba Population Densit Literac No. of Ward No. of Tehsi No. of Bloc No. of Nyay Panchayat No. of Gram Panchayat Nagar Niga Nagar Palika Parisha Nagar Panchaya %of Working Population Number of Ghats Sex Ratio 3,676,841 1,921,857 1,754,984 2,079,790 1,597,051 2395/Sq. Km 75.6% 90 3 8 108 760 1 1 1 29.42% 88 913 Parliamentary Constituencies Assembly Constituencies Polling Center No of Voter No of Male Voter No of Female Voter Polling Booths 3(2 Partial) 8 1245 17,96,930 9,95,367 8,01,563 3361 Political Statistics Total No. of Student Student-Teacher Rati Student-Staff Rati Area of Campu Sex Rati Number of Canteen Number of Recreational Center Number of Hostels(Girls Number of Hostels (Boys Avg Hostel Capacity(Boys/Girls Number of Departments 6030 23:1 16:1 1300 Acres 1:5 17 2 4 15 1903 Double seated 549 triple seated 233 single seated 18 Departments IIT BHU Statistics 1535 Sq. Km 82 Sq. Km 262.48 (17.10%) 0 1.00%(15.35 Sq.km) 16.10%(247.13 sq. Km) 88 7 km 5 27 1.28 Sq. Km 62.43 Sq. Km 162
- 182. Contributors
- 183. CONTRIBUTORS Aakriti Verma Aaryan Kumar Aayushi Mahajan Abhishek Kumar Abhishek Singh Aditya Kulkarni Aditya Kumar Afreen Siddiqua Aishwarya Mishra Amritansh Singh Chauhan Anesh Srivastav Anjali Autade Anshuman Chaurasia Anshveer Singh Bhatia Archit Gupta Ayush Beniwal Ayush Gupta Baibhav Mohanty 163
- 184. CONTRIBUTORS Chirayu Mittal Divyansh Thakre Dnyanada Deshpande Gunika Tangri Harsh Ashrawala K Abhishek Kumar Manish Rai Leetesh Pathak Lakshya Palawat Khushi Jain Kashish Chawla Kajal Nayak Mugdha Shelke Naman Joshi Naman Lakhotia Naveen Pallav Agarwal Parth Gupta 164
- 185. CONTRIBUTORS Piyush Palwe Pratik Mishra Prerona Bhattacharyya Priyaansh Pandey Ritik Chourasiya Riya Singh Shivam Shukla Sanskar Baheti Sanchit Gupta Sahil Agrawal Rupesh Zagade Rohan Sinha Shivangi Tyagi Shreyas Kartikey Siddanth Shetty Sumit Jena Sushant Maheshwari Suyash Tripathi 165
- 186. CONTRIBUTORS Swapnil Chandwalker Vaibhav Tripathi Vanshika Gupta Swasti Sargam Tamanna Tanisha Tulsyan Utkarsh Vanshita Bagal Vedant Bhoruka Yash Gupta Aryaman Sinha Yashvardhan Suthar 166
- 187. Happy case solving andAllthe bestfor the upcoming placements! We’d love to hear any and all feedbackviathisform To connect with us- Mail us at businessclub.iitbhu@gmail.com To connect with us- Mail us at businessclub.iitbhu@gmail.com OR connect with us on Instagram Linkedin