Practice With Operations Strategy Cases
Popular Case Categories
Oliver Wyman Case: Full Electrons Ahead
Your client, large automotive OEM WyCar, has developed its first fully electric vehicle (EV) and introduced it as a pilot on the Austrian market last year. However, sales have been far below the expected numbers. The management has engaged you to support them in understanding the reasons and advise them on how to adjust the product offering.
Most Solved Currently
BCG Platinion Case: ERP strategy & S/4HANA migration for “DekoKonzept”
Our client is the company “DekoKonzept”, which primarily sells home accessories and small furniture. DekoKonzept generates approximately €700M in revenue and operates mainly in Germany, with some presence in other European countries. The company is particularly represented through physical stores in major German cities and downtown areas but is also expanding its online shop significantly.A variety of outdated and often self-developed IT systems are currently used for core processes such as procurement, warehousing, and point-of-sale operations.DekoKonzept is also facing the challenge that its ERP system (SAP ECC 6.0) will soon no longer be officially supported by SAP. Therefore, they aim to migrate to the successor system SAP S/4HANA as soon as possible. This migration presents an opportunity to review, standardize, and harmonize many of the existing processes and systems. The next step is to further assess and evaluate the impact on costs, budget, and scope. Note: This case is interviewer-led. The cases in our interviews are more candidate-led. In this case, you take the lead and manage the entire case from start to finish. So be prepared for this when you apply to us.
BCG Platinion Case: Digital transformation of an entire corporation
The CIO of a major insurance company needs your support to renew the company's IT landscape as a starting point for their digital transformation.The IT landscape of the client is highly fragmented and integrated. Most IT applications are "legacy" monolithic custom developments (running on Mainframe) and are hosted on-premise.There are issues with stability and scalability of applications plus IT costs are ever increasing "Time-to-market" to release new functionalities is too high, due to constraints of current architecture.You are asked to quickly assess the status quo, identify main areas of intervention and measures to address the pain points and renew the IT landscape. Note: This case is interviewer-led. The cases in our interviews are more candidate-led. In this case, you take the lead and manage the entire case from start to finish. So be prepared for this when you apply to us.
Practice Cases with Peers That Are Currently Looking for Interview Partners.
Oliver Wyman Case: On the Right Track
TrainCo is a manufacturer of rolling stock, or trains, with production sites in three European countries. The company has seen declining profitability over the past years; however, they are currently in a very good position to bid for and win a big contract for regional trains for a Swiss national rail company. They have asked you advise to them on whether they should place a bid for the contract.
Paper Product Overseas Growth
The client is an Indonesian producer of paper boards which can be further processed into paper boxes, shopping bags, etc. They sell in both their domestic market i.e. Indonesia, and in the export market i.e. the US. Revenue last year was $5 billion, with 80% from Indonesia and 20% from the US. Overall they have been growing at 3% annually. The client wants to achieve a 5% growth rate. With the resource constraint they have, they want to focus on one of the two markets. They want to know which market they should go after to achieve that increase in growth rate, and how.
ClaimSmart: AI for Next-Gen Health Insurance
Our client is a mid-sized health insurance provider called SureHealth with annual revenues of $2.4 billion. The company has experienced a steady rise in administrative claims processing costs and has seen a recent uptick in fraudulent claims. Senior leadership believes that leveraging AI in the claims assessment process could have significant benefits.They have allocated a budget of $10 million over the next three years to implement AI solutions, but they are uncertain how to prioritize to reduce fraudulent claims and administrative processing costs.
MBB Second Round - TitanTrail - "Made in the USA" Operations Outsourcing
TitanTrail is a backpack maker that prides itself on quality and a “Made in the USA” promise. But the landscape is shifting. New competitors are entering the market, and labor costs are climbing.To stay competitive, TitanTrail is exploring a big move: outsourcing production to Cambodia. This decision isn’t simple. It raises critical questions.
Business Strategy: Home Delivery Solution for Retailer Chain
Kadara, a privately-held US retailer active in the Midwest with annual sales of approximately USD 3 bn, is trying to figure out a solution to last-mile home delivery. The company currently operates out of 100 brick-and-mortar stores selling primarily groceries and home essentials (e.g. paper towels, diapers, blenders). They also sell all non-perishable products offered in their stores through their website. Currently, all sales from their website are delivered via 3rd parties (e.g. FedEx, USPS), picking up products from regional distribution centers, and their minimum delivery time is next day. Kadara does not have out-of-store delivery options but they know that services such as Instacart and Postmates are being used by customers to arrange home delivery of groceries. Kadara's management believes that they are, at best, leaving money on the table due to their limited home delivery options and, at worst, at risk of being de-selected by customers as they move towards delivery options. Kadara’s future CEO, the granddaughter of the founder, has jumped on the chance to move the company into the future. To that end, she has developed a recommendation to Kadara's board to buy Dallas Drone Technologies (DDT). DDT designs, manufactures and operates small-to-midsize flying drones. Their initial models focused on aerial photography but they added goods movement capabilities about two years ago. The future CEO believes that drone delivery is key and that Kadara should buy DDT for USD 100 m to become a leader in the space. Kadara's current CEO would like your help specifically in evaluating the option to buy DDT and generally in how to think about home delivery and the future of their business.
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?
Would you like to access all our cases?
Sign up now to prepare for your interview with real cases from top firms.
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.
Bain Final Round: Pharmacy Delivery Entry
Our client is a pharmacy in Dubai - called NewWave Pharmacy. This pharmacy wants to start a new & unique delivery service and want to understand if it is a good idea or not? If yes, then how should they price it? And how should they start it?
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
Based on Bain 1st Round Case (2023): Last Mile Delivery
A startup company specializing in last mile delivery with drones is determined to reach $20M in revenue while also becoming profitable. The company's innovation lies in leveraging drone technology to revolutionize the logistics sector, specifically focusing on last-mile delivery, which accounts for a significant portion of shipping costs. However, the firm has to overcome numerous challenges including technological, regulatory, and logistical issues associated with both urban and rural environments.As the next strategic step, the company is considering pilot launches in two different environments - city and suburb - and is uncertain about which option to choose. You have been engaged to evaluate these options, considering the profitability, revenue potential, and strategic implications of each, and provide a recommendation to the company's leadership team.
McKinsey Digital / BCG Platinion: Oil & Gas Upstream Technology
[PLEASE NOTE: This is a technically difficult case and should only be completed by those coming in as a Technology specialist, i.e. recruiting for McKinsey Digital, BCG Platinion, etc.]Our client is a multinational oil and gas company. While they are vertically integrated and have upstream, midstream, and downstream divisions, they have recently been experiencing competitivity issues in the upstream gas division, which brings in $1B in profits annually.Our client’s upstream division has offices in Australia and Indonesia. Their work is highly dependent on their IT systems, as they have to constantly monitor wells and pipes (pressure, hydrocarbon count, fluid makeup, etc.)The upstream division has two large legacies of IT systems that are primarily used for downstream operations but have been modified for upstream purposes.These systems are managed by a central team in the US which is responsible for all IT issues across the business. They triage issues/enhancements and then manage development teams in India and Finland who complete the work.
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 - US Supply Chain Crisis
Prompt The United States is currently facing a major supply chain crisis due to long ship queues and wait times at its West Coast ports, particularly at the Port of Los Angeles. Docks are at maximum capacity, and the system is at a breaking point. The government has reached out to you to help find solutions to resolve the supply chain crisis and avoid further economic losses.Clarifying Information The client’s objective is to resolve the supply chain crisis and ensure the smooth operation of the supply chain to avoid further economic lossesThe client’s focus is on the West Coast ports, particularly the Port of Los AngelesThe client is open to exploring various options to resolve the supply chain crisis.
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?
Would You Like To Discover More Cases?
Difficulty Levels
More Topics