Cases, also known as case studies, are business problems that a candidate is presented with during a case interview at a management consultancy. The challenge is to solve it under pressure and in a structured way.
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MBB Unconventional Case: Coral Reefs
Your client is the Government of Indonesia, specifically a joint committee formed between a few key ministries including the Ministry of Marine Affairs & Fisheries, Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Environment & Forestry. Indonesia is one of the largest developing countries in the world, with a population of about 285M people and an average monthly income of only USD 500. Located in Southeast Asia, Indonesia is actually a vast archipelago comprised of 17,000 islands, giving it one of the longest and most complex coastlines in the world. It is also part of the Coral Triangle, an area demarcated by scientists as the global epicenter of marine diversity. Your client tells you that Indonesia's once pristine coral reefs have seen a rapid decline over the past decade. They have come to you for help and want to figure out what is causing the problem.
Stern Stewart Case: TexGroup – Breaking the crisis of a traditional textile company
TexGroup is a family-owned German heritage company, now in its third generation of leadership. Specializing in high-quality, Made-in-Germany textiles, the company operates across four distinct product segments: TexCasual, TexPremium, TexSport, and TexProfessional. TexGroup supplies its products to a diverse portfolio of fashion brands, with a strong focus on the European market.In recent years, TexGroup has faced increasing financial pressure, with steadily declining profit margins. The recently concluded 2024 fiscal year closed with a historically low EBIT margin of just 0.6%, raising serious concerns among management about a continued downward spiral that could push the company into financial losses.To stop this negative trend and secure long-term success, TexGroup is seeking an external consulting team to setup and implement a structured turnaround program. The primary target is to achieve 10% sustainable EBIT margin within two years. Note: During our assessment day, candidates could receive a laptop and an Excel file to analyze data and perform calculations. While this case can be solved without the Excel file, downloading it allows for a more pragmatic experience. Download the file here.
Roland Berger Case: Sensorio Hightech GmbH
Sensorio Hightech GmbH is a leading manufacturer of technically advanced consumer electronics sensors based in Germany with EUR 500 m in revenues. It is a successfully growing affiliate with technically advanced consumer electronics sensors as its main business. Sensorio Hightech GmbH is looking at the smart home market for further growth. In addition, the company is aiming to tap into new regional markets. You are a member of a consulting team mandated by Sensorio Hightech GmbH to:assess possible new target segments in the smart home market(optional – if there’s time left: recommend go-to-market measures)The company is looking for a recommendation answering the following questions, taking into account Sensorio’s capabilities and current situation in various regions, the overall market environment, and smart home ecosystem:Smart home market segmentation & attractiveness analysis (qualitative & quantitative)What are relevant market segments of the smart home market?What are potential factors that determine the market segment's attractiveness for Sensorio Hightech GmbH?Which market segment(s) is/are most attractive for Sensorio Hightech GmbH to enter, and why?(Optional: Entry strategy (qualitative))How does the strategy to successfully entering the target segment(s) look like?What are the crucial factors Sensorio Hightech GmbH needs to get right?What parts of the value chain does Sensorio Hightech GmbH want to cover?
Practice Cases with Peers That Are Currently Looking for Interview Partners.
Bain Case: BeautyCo – Where Did the Profits Go?
Our client BeautyCo is a large European perfumery company with 500 shops across Europe. However, BeautyCo has been struggling with a decrease in profitability for some time and would like to work with us to understand what the causes and possible actions could be. Therefore, as a first step the client wants us to identify the cause of the profitability issues.
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Simon-Kucher Case: GST Cruise Company
Cruise company German Sea Tours (GST) is a successful operator of international cruises. GST currently offers several cruise trips, lasting between 5 and 24 days. Additional services can be booked on board (e.g. excursions at each destination, onboard leisure activities). Customers tend to book their tickets several months in advance. GST has had a long history of revenue growth, but in the past five years, it showed lower growth rates. Board members are not sure whether the market, in general, saw lower growth or whether the problem is specific to GST. GST recognizes that winning new customers and stimulating existing customers to book their vacations with GST is crucial for future growth and therefore has always focused on keeping a close relationship with its (potential) cruise-trip bookers. GST’s chief commercial officer (CCO) Ms. Brown has hired Simon-Kucher & Partners to assess the market environment and competitive positioning for cruise ships and to conduct a subsequent evaluation of potential growth options.
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Roland Berger Case: Onlinestar
Onlinestar, an online retailer of furniture and garden products (core business), has grown significantly in recent years as a result of an expansion of its product portfolio. The company mainly imports goods from Chinese manufacturers but also operates its own production of cat lavatories (special business) in Eastern Europe. The company sells its goods via Amazon and eBay, and recently via an online shop on its website. Despite this development, the financial ratios have deteriorated in recent years. In particular, the gross profit margin decreased significantly. Combined with a significant increase in shipping costs, this led to a negative result for the first time in the recently ended fiscal year and a resulting strained financial situation. Against the background of expected stagnating sales for the current financial year, short-term action is required.The board of Onlinestar asks you for an analysis of the reasons for the negative result as well as a derived recommendation for action. As a consultant, you should bring in your knowledge in online trading and develop solutions. In addition, the management board would like to receive a sales and gross profit plan from you for the current financial year.
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Bain Case: Old Winery
You have inherited the “Old Winery” from your grandfather, a winery that has been family-owned for five generations and can be dated back to the 16th century.Half of the eleven hectares are used to grow white grapes, the other half to grow red grapes. They are grown in a conventional way, i.e. they are not organically farmed and certified. The vine stocks are in a good condition regarding age and care. Overall, the only ¼ of the harvest is made into wine by the winery itself; the rest is sold.Your grandfather never wanted to change the image of the winery and left the managerial and administrative task to a young and energetic wine-maker. Due to the not so well-known brand, the demand for the “Old Winery” wine is currently rather low.You do not intent to run the winery operatively, given your limited knowledge of winemaking, but find the idea of owning a winery exciting.
Most Solved Currently
EY-Parthenon Case: Virtual Marketplace
A leading online real estate marketplace in Germany – your-new-home.com – is struggling with stagnating sales after many years of high growth rates. In a preliminary project with EY-Parthenon, the market environment has already been examined in detail – competitors, new entrants, customer needs, etc.As a result, you are asked to identify growth areas and quantify the potential sales uplift for the management.
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.
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.
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BCG Round 1 Case: Telecommunication Troubles
Your client, Convo Telco, is a leading national telecommunications player in a developing country. They offer both mobile and fixed (e.g. broadband, internet) products across the country. Over the past few years, they have been facing declining profitability and have asked you to help them identify what is the problem
FastFood Chain Turnaround
Our client (FastFood Co) is a fast-food company that has > 20 restaurants in the city. Recently, the business has encountered significant challenges, with net profit drops to negative.The client wants us to help them turn around the business. How would you help them?
Chemical Merger Synergies
Two global chemical companies announced their intent to merge. Senior management of the two companies called your firm the day after the merger was announced. The client needs a more in-depth understanding of the benefits from the merger for its board and would like your firm to help out. In short, 2 questions to solve: (1) what are some of the financial benefits from the merger? (2) how much are these benefits worth?
Pets Medicine Profit Improvement
Your client is a global drug company producing and selling medicine (pills, powder, ointments, injections, etc.) for a variety of pets (dogs, cats, birds, fish etc.). In addition to organic growth, the company grew significantly over the past few years by acquiring several other pets medicine companies in different parts of the world. During this period, profitability of the company decreased significantly. The CEO is concerned with this decline and wants to put in place a plan to raise the profitability to at least 70%.
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.
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.
MBB First Round - FastFashion - Customer Loyalty
FastFashion is a national retail chain in Australia that sells a variety of different clothing brands for men, women, and children. They are one of four major clothing retail chains in the country.Five years ago, they introduced a loyalty program. The Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of FastFashion wants to assess how this program is doing and what FastFashion can do to improve it.
MBB First Round - StayPro - Consumer Growth Strategy
Your client is StayPro, a San Francisco based technology company that develops and sells wearable and mountable action cameras. StayPro’s CEO believes that the company’s growth has stagnated and has hired you to remedy that issue.
MBB Second Round - Fashion Market Expansion
Our client is Chic & Stitch. They make tailor-made clothes for modern women. They focus on quality and fit. Their work covers design, retail, and tailoring. Now, they want to expand to the Barcelona. They hired you to see if that’s a good idea.
Grocery Wholesaler
GroceryWholesaleCo is a leading international grocery wholesaler that sells, markets, and distributes food products, equipment, and supplies to restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, lodging establishments, and other customers who prepare meals away from home. Historically, the client was able to ensure sustainable growth; however, profits have plummeted over the last three years.As a result, GroceryWholesaleCo wants to discover the reasons for this decline in profitability and identify strategies to turn the situation around.
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Consulting interviews are among the most competitive and difficult job interviews that exist. Interviewers use cases as an indicator to test whether you have what it takes to become a successful consultant. In order to pass, you need to ace the case interview part. And in order to ace the case interview part, you need to be well-prepared. Thus, practicing cases is one of the most important aspects of interview preparation in consulting. During different rounds of interviews you will have to solve cases again and again to prove your structured and analytical thinking as well as your communication skills.
You can practice cases on your own and go through them to get a first feeling for the structure. Afterwards, you should go into a real interview environment and practice cases with other members on the platform. You will find more than 50 mock-interview requests on the Meeting Board every day, which you can easily accept. If there is nothing suitable on the Meeting Board, you can also use the Candidate Listing. Here you can find active members on the platform and send them a direct meeting request. If you want to take your case practice to the next level, we recommend you to schedule coaching sessions with our coaches who have many years of experience in helping candidates receive their dream job offer.
In an interviewer-led case interview, the interviewer leads through the conversation. This means that the interviewer asks specific questions and also controls the time you have to analyze and answer different questions and therefore the depth of your analysis. In contrast, the candidate-led style (which is more common) is about you taking the initiative as a candidate. The initial problem is given to you by your interviewer. Afterwards, you have the freedom to structure the case according to your ideas and to ask questions proactively in order to find a solution to the problem.
Real cases in the PrepLounge Case Library are cases that were submitted by management consultancies and have been treated as such within the company. They were made available from the real interview process. In this way, you can gain deep insights into the requirements of the case interview with the respective top consultancies (e.g. Bain & Company, Roland Berger, Deloitte, Oliver Wyman). We have marked these cases with the corresponding company logo.
Expert cases were created by our PrepLounge coaches and either contain real problems that the experts have already dealt with in their lives as consultants or cases from actual consulting interviews they took part in. They offer you an optimal preparation through the different subjects, levels of difficulty and styles. And the best thing is: If you have questions about the cases, you can ask them directly to the authors.
Video case solutions are cases in which we provide you with a solution that includes a YouTube video. With this we want to help you to understand case solutions even better.
Every member has the possibility to rate a case and leave feedback on the case. This gives you the opportunity to call up a ranking and solve the cases that are particularly popular in the community. It also gives us the opportunity to continuously improve our cases in order to provide you with the best possible practice material.
Which cases are most interesting for you depends on your personal preference and your level of knowledge. If you are just starting with the case interview preparation, beginner cases are probably the most interesting ones for you. You also have the possibility to filter by different categories, such as personal fit, market analysis or brain teaser and many more, in order to address exactly the topics that are most relevant for your application.
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Invite other candidates for a meeting to crack the case interactively or solve it on your own. If you like to check your case approach just have a look at the given sample solution.
A Vast Selection of Management Consulting Cases
Our selection of case studies mirror the wide variety in real case interviews. Thus, you can solve challenging problems around market sizing, market-entry, pricing, or operations strategy. Moreover, all provided cases are marked with a level of difficulty and the respective case style. This will allow you to filter for interviewer-led (as used by McKinsey) and candidate-led cases. In addition, some of our corporate partners granted some great original cases that have been used in real interviews. Check them out to get some authentic insights about the real application process of top firms like Bain, Roland Berger, and many more. These cases are clearly indicated by the firm's logo.