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Opportunity Assessment: Alternative Revenue Streams for a Salt Mine
Salty Boy Inc. is an underground salt mine in Texas whose new leadership are supporters of the circular economy. Circular economy provides a pathway towards more sustainable production and consumption patterns – CE introduces circularity to many areas of production cycles and encourages using renewable, regenerative inputs (e.g., energy) and minimizing systematic leakage (e.g., waste).After decades of extracting salt form the earth, Salty Boy’s new leadership find themselves in possession of a network of empty, temperature and moisture stable tunnels located conveniently near major fiberglass waste sources and logistics networks. As a result, Salty Boy sees the potential for an alternative revenue stream. Their rationale is that they have ample and well-located storage capacities in their tunnels that they could use to position themselves well for an emerging recycling trend that could turn fiberglass waste into an eco-friendly and valuable raw material. Salty Boy is looking for your help to assess this potential opportunity.
Bain Final Round Case - Streaming Services [NEW]
Our client is a large American music company with a 40% market share and $20 billion in revenue. During the last holiday season, the client released fewer new tracks onto music streaming services compared to the year before. We would like you to figure out what could be causing this and possible solutions to the problem.
Bain 1st Round Case – AirService [NEW]
Our client today is AirService – a service provider for a number of airlines and airports. Their management recently realized a decrease in profits that is linked to increasing costs.Accordingly, they have engaged our firm to help address this issue. How would you approach this problem?
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MBB Case - Sierra Springs
Our client is Sierra Springs, a top 3 spring water producer in the U.S. The company owns the entire bottled-water production supply chain, including water sourcing, production of water-based products, bottling and packaging and distribution to retail outlets. Sierra Springs also leads its own brand design, marketing and sales efforts.Sierra Springs has several brands across still and sparkling water drinks, 3 large bottling plants throughout the country and distribution agreements with most major retailers. Sierra Springs is evaluating the launch of a new product, a flavored sparkling bottled water called Berry Fizz. The company’s Chief Marketing Office has asked us to help analyze the major factors surrounding the launch of Berry Fizz and its own internal capabilities to support the effort.
Car Convenience (McKinsey 1st & 2nd round)
CLIENT OBJECTIVEOur client is Convenio, a US based company that operates a number of micro convenience stores and vending machines throughout the country. Convenio is considering the launch of a new product to enable convenience in passenger transportation and is seeking McKinsey’s help to determine whether or not that’s a good idea to grow their convenience business.BACKGROUND INFORMATIONConvenio’s new value proposition is a mobile convenience store that is installed in the middle console of taxis, or private cars for ridesharing, called 'Moove'. It's a transparent box that is typically stocked with small snack items, such as chewing gums, chocolate bars, cooled drinks, but also non-food items such as personal hygiene products or phone chargers. The customer purchases an item by scanning a QR code, selecting the item, and completing the transaction via the Moove platform online. The driver then receives a confirmation and hands the article to the rider, earning a commission with each sale. Drivers will carry limited stock of products in their trunk and re-stock in selected locations through Convenio’s existing supply chain network. The CEO of the company is seeking McKinsey’s help in determining the attractiveness to pursue this business in the US.
Market Sizing WITH SOLUTION - Coffee Shop Revenue
Estimate the daily revenue of your nearest coffee shop.Clarifying information:You can pick any coffee shop of your choiceWe would like a “typical” day (i.e. weekday)All revenue (all purchases)
Winter Wall Revival: Advising Knight’s Watch Municipality on Public Sector Strategy
Your client is the Knight’s Watch Municipality. Their governor, John Snow, has engaged you, explaining that an evil army composed of White Walkers plans to destroy all of Westeros. He tells you that the Northern Kingdom is the only fortress capable of stopping this force. However, the wall is severely damaged from previous battles. Governor Snow needs our help determining what steps to take in repairing the wall before the White Walkers arrive.
Pedal Pals' Financial Fitness Challenge: Cost Optimization Consultancy
Pedal Pals is an interactive fitness platform with millions of members, offering connected, technology-enabled fitness classes that utilize its proprietary hardware, the Pedal Pal stationary bicycle. Pedal Pals generates strong recurring revenue from its members, who pay subscription fees to access Pedal Pal's Connected Fitness products. Additionally, they have strong sales of the hardware product. Pedal Pals has an admired brand for high quality and sustainability. Recently the company has been challenged by a large, activist investor. The activist investor is citing the plummeting stock price impacting shareholder returns. The activist has attributed the issue directly to poor cost control throughout Pedal Pals. Pedal Pals CEO has hired your organization to determine how to manage its cost issue.
ProfitWizardry: Maximizing Hogwarts University's Magical Margins
Your client is Hogwarts University. Their President, Dr. Albus Dumbledore, is concerned with the university’s profitability and needs your help in determining the best course of action.
MBB - Climate Change Operations - Part 2
Note: If you have not already done so, first work through the 1st part of this case: https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/candidate-led-usual-style/intermediate/mbb-climate-change-operations-285This case is designed to show you how a case can evolve/change based on new information. The first half of this case is the same, but diverges once data and $s are provided.PromptA mid-sized manufacturing company is concerned about the potential impacts of climate change on its operations. The company has a number of factories located in coastal regions that are vulnerable to flooding and other weather-related events, and it is concerned about the potential financial and reputational risks associated with these events. The company's leadership team has asked your consulting firm to help them understand the risks they face and develop a plan to mitigate those risks.Clarifying InformationOur client’s objective is to maintain long-term profitabilityOur client’s factories are located throughout the US
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BCG + Bain - Vets2U - Healthcare Based Case WITH VIDEO SOLUTION
Our client, Vets2U, a well-established organization that runs ten Mobile Veterinary Clinics (MVC) in the US, has witnessed a concerning trend of stagnant revenues of $100M over the past few years. In light of this issue, the CEO of Vets2U has brought us in with the goal of increasing revenues by 25%.
Element Mobile expands into refurbished phones (MBB 2nd round)
Our client, Element Mobile (EM), is the largest German telecommunications provider, with an impressive supply chain comprised of dozens of suppliers, six distribution centres, and hundreds of stores. EM offers a variety of products to its 20 million customers, including sim cards, broadband, phones, and accessories, through its two sales channels, e-commerce and brick-and-mortar stores. Recently, Element Mobile noticed a decline in the sale of their device bundles. These bundles include a SIM and a phone, which are paid for in 24 equal monthly instalments. Since SIM plans are typically purchased as part of a device bundle, and accessories and broadband packages are usually sold as add-ons, the decline in device bundles has a significant impact on our entire business.The CEO of Element Mobile believes that this decline is due to a combination of market and consumer preferences, including the reduced discretionary income of consumers and a longer device ownership trend for environmental reasons. The CEO believes that one potential solution to their declining demand is to invest in a phone refurbishing facility that would allow them to offer affordable used devices as part of their phone packages. Such recycling programmes involve the collection, refurbishment, technical inspection, and repackaging of devices.
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MBB Second Round - CodeWave employee turnover challenge
Assume our client is CodeWave, a large software development firm headquartered in Silicon Valley. The company has a solid reputation in the tech industry and has been in operation for over 15 years. Codewave currently employs approximately 3,000 people and has rapidly expanded in recent years. Recently, the company has had difficulty retaining software engineers. Over the last year, the turnover rate for software engineers has risen dramatically, with CodeWave having to fill approximately 200 vacant positions. Simultaneously, the HR department has noticed a significant increase in the average time to fill roles, which now stands at 80 days (the time it takes from when the position becomes available to when a new person is employed and begins working). The CEO of CodeWave requested that we assist the Head of HR in determining the root causes of this trend and identifying ways to reverse it.
BCG Final Round: Stadium Naming Rights
Our client is NeuBank, a neobank in the US. A soccer stadium in Ohio is offering exclusive naming rights, and NeuBank is considering bidding for them. The client wants to understand the following:If this is a good idea?How much they should bid?How to make the deal a win-win?NOTE that this case is very long and is meant for learning casing skills. If you intend to use it for mock practice then focus on very specific segments to complete it in time.Also check out the video solution at the bottom of this page for a step-by-step work-along and detailed explanantion
Bain + BCG - Hot Wheels WITH VIDEO SOLUTION
Problem definition: Our client is Korean Car Parts (KCP), a multi-national original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of car parts based in Korea. They've recently seen a decline in profits and have brought us in to understand how to address this falling profitability.========================================================To get a deep-dive explanation of the case leadership behind this case, please read this article: Candidate-Led Cases: What to Expect With Example CasesThis case is part one of a series. The goal of this series is to demonstrate how an identical case prompt (and corresponding framework) could lead to multiple different outcomes. The goal is to train you to adjust to case information in an agile and adaptable way.The 2nd part of the series can be found here:Case - BCG Hot Wheels Part 2 With Video Solution
BCG - YodaPhone
Our client is Yoda's Phones, a national telecommunications company. They have embarked on a three-year, multi-million dollar digitization program. Unfortunately, two years into the program, they realize they are significantly behind schedule and over budget.You have been brought in to right the ship and ensure the digitization program is delivered as planned.=====================================================Framework can be found here: YodaPhone Optimal Framework Solutions (https://drive.google.com/file/d/10ENFb2z3gB4Uyc5_-iC4s8ssA-BBQyE3/view)
MBB - Sky China
Sky China, a government-backed Chinese airline, has recently seen profits plummet due to COVID-19. Profits are down 80% in the months of February and March, but are showing early signs of a rebound in April. They've brought you in to first investigate what can be done immediatedly to prevent hemorrhaging cash and surive in the short-term. They are also looking to see how the current situation can be viewed as an opportunity, and what can be done to prepare for the future.
BCG Platinion/McK Digital/Monitor - Experienced Hire Tech Practice - Roma Solutions
Let’s say we’re working with a large Tech company (i.e. FB, Apple, Microsoft etc.). They are interested in getting into the low-code iBPMS space. This is a space where pseudo-code is used to deploy large-scale process-based IT applications rapidly (in months, not years).In particular, they’re looking at a company called Roma, which is one of the leaders in the space.What are your thoughts here?You can clarify the following (if asked)iBPMS - Intelligent business process management suites. Think SAP for example. They are IT systems that take users through business processes.The business model of these Tech firms is primarily to find ways to integrate diverse offerings/capabilities to build better products and ecosystems. Therefore, technical synergies are important here.The market is fairly competitive with about a dozen players.Roma is a market leader in this space, vying for 1st against 2 competitors. The top 3 dominate the market.
MBB - Taxis in Manhattan
An entrepreneur has come to you looking to disrupt the taxi industry in NYC. They are interested in determining the number of taxis in Manhattan, in order to understand how large their fleet would need to be to compete. How would you go about determining how many taxis exist in Manhattan?If the candidate asks, you may clarify the following:This is pre ride-hailing technologyThat we are looking for total taxis NOT taxis at any given time. We would like an estimate of the size of the fleetManhattan is 1 of 5 boroughs in NYC
McKinsey - Pharma Pipeline
Your client is a leading pharmaceutical company that is facing challenges with increasing pipeline costs and longer development timelines for their drug candidates. The company has multiple drug candidates in various stages of development and are looking for innovative strategies to streamline their processes and reduce costs without compromising the quality and safety of their products. How would you approach identifying the main drivers of these increased costs and extended timelines?
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