Arthur D. Little Business Analyst Interview Questions and Answers

Round: HR Interview
Experience: I had prepared a structured answer for each of the above questions. We had a very long discussion on internet services and mobile services. The interview lasted close to an hour and a half.

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: Asked for more information on the company like- Is it a manufacturing co., or an IT co.? What do you mean when you say Operations and Roadmap? Any financial restrictions? What is the final objective of the co.? She said the company was a mobile operator like Bharti and that I should concentrate on the co.’s IT department (I knew nothing of IT and thought everything was over. I told her upfront that I do not have an IT background but I would try my best.). She asked me to ask her relevant questions. When I asked her about what she meant by roadmap, she probably missed it. Twice she asked me the first question that I should be asking. I didn’t ask the meaning of roadmap again thinking it might work against me. Then she finally said that I should ask what she meant by ‘roadmap’. She said the company wants to move from point A to point B and asked me how the company should go ahead. She also said that the company wants to complete 100 projects to reach point B in 3 yrs. I then tried to structure the problem. “On one side, we have the current capabilities/resources of the company and on the other, capabilities/resources required to successfully execute the 100 projects. We basically have to fill in this gap to achieve our objective.” She was pretty happy with this simple structure. Then I listed the areas that we should look into like- Financial resources and Human Resources. Under fin. resources, I talked about the funding part and under HR, I talked about hiring, firing and training of employees. Then I talked about increasing the effectiveness of the execution- through performance-based pay and several reviews of the projects to modify the strategy if required. Then she told me that there are several departments in a co. like Bharti, such as IT, Marketing, Operations etc. She asked me to list 5 different profiles of employees in IT and marketing separately. These types had to be unique (specialist positions). For example, when I said CMO under the marketing department, she disagreed. Under IT, I came up with Software developer, Hardware ppl, IT maintenance, Architect, Analyst. I took some time to come up with ‘Architect’. Used 4 Ps for coming up with the types under Marketing (Product Manager, Pricing Manager, Segment manager, Advertising people, Market researcher). She seemed satisfied with the solution.
I was quick to figure out what she did not like in people (she hates it when people use words they do not know the meaning of). From then on, I started asking her everything I didn’t understand fully and she appreciated it. Though I did not have an IT/telecom background, I answered all her questions and could engage her in a conversation on her fields of interest (telecom/internet). I asked her a lot of questions that she said were good :).
Tips: Ask a lot of RELEVANT questions. The interviewers like it. Be confident.

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: I started by saying that we could measure success of the service by estimating the profits or the revenues. He asked me to go ahead with the revenues. I asked the population of Kuwait, mkt penetration, % handsets that are 3G enabled. I assumed the population and mkt penetration to be const. throughout the year. He was ok with the assumptions. From the above data, I calculated the number (say x) of potential users (of the new service) among the co. B customers. I asked him the current ARPU. I then asked what % of it was voice usage and what % was data related. I asked him the average minutes of usage/month/user. From the data, I could calculate the $ value of voice usage charge/minute. For the video calls, I said we can charge 50% premium over the voice usage charges. I divided the users into 2 segments- business and residential. I asked what % of ‘x’ were business users and what % were residential users. I also asked their minutes of usage per day or week. It was simple Math after that. He asked me about the assumptions that were made in the case. I listed 3 of them (like no switching of customers from A to B etc). He also discussed about how the pricing should be done. I gave him 2 answers- one as a CFO of the co. and the other as a CMO of the co. A CMO would use unmetered pricing to facilitate higher penetration of the new service whereas a CFO would use metered pricing to get back his investments.
Tips: Do not ignore PI. Have good reasons to work for the co.

Skills: Case Solving Ability, Case Analysis
College Name: Indian School Of Business (ISB)

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: Your client is the COO of a regional telecom player in the Middle East. The COO has asked you to prepare an operations roadmap for the next 2-3 years. These are the steps that I took:
• Clarify what is meant by operations roadmap: Was told it includes marketing, sales, retail stores operations, IT, Network and Customer Care
• Asked a few more questions and found out that the main problem was prioritization of projects that COO had in front of him with limited resources.
• Focused on how to setup a portfolio structure to allow the COO to staff and execute projects.
Couldn’t get the particular insights that the interviewer was looking for. She wanted me to use certain words! So even though I was saying the same thing, she wanted it to be said in a particular way. Got lost half-way through the case where I just kept fishing for words to meet her expectations.
Tips: Think simply and take a step back when stuck or ask for help from interviewer. You have to get used to the interviewer style very quickly in an interview.

Skills: Case Solving Ability, Case Analysis
College Name: Indian School Of Business (ISB)

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: I asked him about the product X? and how important it is for the telecom service providers? is it a big part of their costs ? – he said some arbit stuff – this was a hint that it was a bigger overall strategy case and not into details – so I defined the case as – the CEO wants to know, what to do to increase the profits both in short and long term – he said yes - I immediately moved to the standard profit loss framework and started looking at revenue first - he said OK – I said profit = Price* Quantity and went to pricing... he had said that the telecom service providers were not very sensitive to pricing in the business.. so I dint come to reducing the pricing... I asked about the competitive landscape – our client is 35% business... it went on and on an on ..... could not reach anywhere.. so we went to costs... discussed everything.. excess capacity.. joint ventures.. MnA,..still nothing..so he said.(the discussion was a very intelligent substance discussion.. not general profit loss cases.). – we had a great discussion on both prices and quantity,, why don’t u see decreasing the price – I said.. “ooooooo I thot of it, but then u said that the players are insensitive to price “ - he said “ they WERE, the whole industry as I told u is seeing some problems” – PICK UP THE HINTS... -- once he said this I went to the cost structure of the firm again – I said that our client can play price war only if a) his variable costs are lower than competitors variable costs and he is playing on high investment low variable cost model (reliance model) – he said YES it is exactly this way – I said OK , then let him price X above his variable cost but below the others variable costs and drive the competition away. – I also said, to speeden this up he should in fact price it lower than his variable costs also (extremely low and he can afford it because he has cash with him as he has been on 40% profits for the last 4 – 5 years.. so there should not be an issue on the working capital side – he sair “great” .. he wanted to stop and asked me to summarize the case.. – I summarized the case, and also gave some more ideas like .. seeing the cost and benefit of doing away with excess capacity rite now and adding again when the market is doing good, buying high fixed cost players in the sector.. etcc etc.. a lot more.. – he patiently listened to everything Then he asked me if I had anything to ask him? I asked similar question as I asked in Mck – “ has India become a net contributor to the knowledge base..- he told me about low cost Indian manufacturing.. I said cool... and he said super cool!
Tips: a) work on your resume b) Make the resume in such a way that irrespective of whatever – the you are able to guide the interviewer to THE thing you want to talk about – link all answers to that DO NOT OVERPREPARE – DON’T LOOSE YOUR NATURAL SELF

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: Upfront questions – where in the value chain? – ans.. they make towers and maintain them .. and into providing services too.—so I asked details on the portfolio of services and portfolio of work of tower etc. – he gave me everything including margins.. so margins in tower making etc were low – I asked him if he is sure that its not just an accounting issue.—he appreciated the point and said .. no, they do ABC and might be small accounting issues but not really one—I said ok.. and moved on to profitability framework .. revenue – costs --- so I said we will look at the tower making etc.. (pareto) – he said perfect.. – went to revenue... he hinted therez nothing there , I said great! Jumped to costs (didn’t waste time at all) - asked him costs heads .. he gave the following .. – a) Tower making, b) people c) administration (I don’t remember the terminology correctly but the remember the discussion) Discussion on tower making – I said “ so Navneet, what does it include” – he said making and servicing and maintaining and some back office work – so I said following can be wrong (BE CREATIVE, I started throwing solutions/ideas) (i) are the people skilled? Know how much material are they using (extra material = extra cost) (ii) is the quality of material too high (more than required quality increases the costs) (iii) is there rework happening? – are people good?(iv) What kind of designs are there – he said there are various different types of designs – I asked why? – he said no one knows – I said .. are they required? – he said , no – I said then standardize the design! He looked happy – so I started throwing more ! – he said no, lets move on to other ones Discussion on people – people cost = wage * numbera) are outsourced people expensive – yes they are – are they doing some specialized job? – not really, they can be replaced – then replace them b) can we multiskill people – yeah we can – then do that! c) Can we move our service centers to low cost destinations – yes we can d) Can we reallocate people to reduce number of people – yes we can – but can we fire them? – are they unionized? – yes they are and he appreciated the point that I touched upon the fact that the unions are tough to handle ( learning : know your industry, small things can make you win the case Discussion on administration a) planning happening ok? – no – so scheduling, audits have to be done again and again (I did not come up with this point alone. It was a result of a thorough discussion .

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: i said – its an opportunity (no structure , we were taking a walk after all) because it opens up a full market – he said ‘ what shud the competitors do” – I kept on saying a lot of things... - they should lobby with government to stop this .. bla bla bla bla – the discussion was round and round and round.. I was tired with my high heels—then suddenly I said – Arvind can you tell me if I am on the right track ? , am little tired – he smiled and said, ok I again ask you “ what can they do to stop the nano or get ready for the market” – this statement gave me clarity and I said “ ok we can stop nano from coming, or do some other stuff” – he said great , so lets discuss both one by one – (remember that once you asked for clarity then you have to crack the rest of the case, else you are dead) –so I picked up stopping nano to hit the market discussion on stopping Nano to hit the market –
(i) demand side hit – lobby with the activists and say that the infrastructure isn’t ready and hence nano should not be allowed ( he liked it)
(ii) demand side hit -Increase the advertisements on how “Indians have to be sensitive about infrastructure” ( he liked it)
(iii) supply side hit – can we buy out the suppliers? – can we promise them some other meat? – like get them under long term agreements etc
(iv) Supply side hit – can we buy out the low cost suppliers to tatas ( I told them, that my thinking was to stop providing necessary materil that gets into nana
(v) Supply side – can we buy their engineers
(vi) And some more discussion, I don’t quite remember .but ya on similar lines What else they can do till they develop their own low cost (i) can they give fire to second hand car market ( as this is the immediate competition to nano) (ii) he kept on probing me on public transport till I said – why cant they collaborate with the government and make the public transport so easy and good and safe that people don’t need nano! BINGO.. ( he loved it- tho he only got that in my head – amazing guide he is) he still looked dissatisfied and asked me there is something else that is missing.. – something that is a real threat to the competitors of tatas. – we kept on discussing, till I suddenly remembered the team that made the engine is of 30 years average age (READ THE CURRENT ISSUES, IT HELPS BUILD PERSPECTIVE) – so I said “ they have the engineering skills, which can be used to enter other segments (like they can make cheaper engines for indigo .. or come up with new car in ford Ikon category etc).. and this resource is just too good! – BINGO
Tips: a) Be genuine b) Be grounded c) Be yourself d) Be confident e) Be transparent f) Be blunt (but carry it ) g) Connect with the interviewer – genuinely h) Be aware of the current issues

Skills: Case Solving Ability, Case Analysis
College Name: Indian School Of Business (ISB)

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: After some general questions related to my profile, academic background, work-experience and interests they moved to cases.
1. Your client wants to establish a cement factory. How would you approach and what all factors would affect the location decision?
2.Your client has developed an eye solution, using which a customer can do without spectacles. However, one unit works only for one day. So, an user will have to consume fresh unit everyday for solving same problem. Assume that the cost of producing these units is negligible. The cost incurred so far is on Research and Development which is substantial amount. How should they market and price the products?
3. Estimate the market for second hand cars in India?
4. Moser bear has launched DVD range at affordable prices of Rs. 30-40. a MUSIC COMPANY, x has been in the market for last few years and has been selling DVD's for Rs. 250-300. How should they react to the situation of continuously falling demand?
5. Estimate the demand for cricket bats in India
6. Estimate the size of surat textile Industry?
Tips: Don't focus on getting the right solution as cases don't have just one solution. The interviewer is interested in seeing your approach not the result.

General Tips: Focus and pick up the cues from the interviewer.
Skills:
Duration: 2
College Name: IIM Lucknow

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: Case: A manufacturing Co. produces three products: A,B and c cost of production of each is Rs 20. The SP of A= Rs60, B=Rs 80 and C= Rs100. The company produces the same amount of all the three products. In order to earn more profits, the CEO of the company feels that the company should concentrate on producing C, while the CA says that they should go for product A. The CEO a friend of yours comes to you for consultation. Can you help him out?
Profit per unit is ficed; hence the number of units is the variable part.
Thus the important factor is the time required for the production of each unit of product A, B and c. In this case, the interviewer told me that the time of production for C is 1 hr while for A its 15 min and for B 30 min. Thus, the profit from A will be larger compared to B and c.
Other options explored :
- The market growth rate of the products
-The taxes on individual products, in case there are any(because of the CA factor)
-Competitors for the given products.
Tips: As with me, many people, or at least some, tend to give importance to a particular thing on which the interviewer would have stressed on. While this may be so, but its also possible that he's trying to mislead you or give you a broader option. I believe the appropriate approach would be to take a two way approach which in this case would have been an accounting approach and other an operational approach.

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: Case1: There is XYZ refrigerator manufacturing co. The company has only one factory in the centre of the country. From there, it distributes its products throughout the country and hence incurs some transportation costs. There is a competitor situated only about a km away. The management of the company comes to know that the transportation costs of the competitor are considerably less than theirs. In order to find out the reason they have hired you. so How will you go about it?

Analysis: The total transportation costs of the company will depend on three factors.
These include:
- distance travelled per trip
- costs per km of distance
-no. of trips

Since the competitor was also located in the same area, the distance traveled per trip and the cost of trip per Km would have been same. This gets us to the point of no.of trips. It might have been possible that the XYZ company might not be fully utilizing the capacity of the truck and hence required more number of trips to transport the same number of refrigerators as the competitors. Thus, they should be concentrating at maximum utilization of the capacity.

Case 2- Estimation
You are the head of ESPN-STAR. Formula 1 is coming to India and you aim at bidding for the television rights of the same. How would you go about doing it?

The estimation can be fairly carried out by structuring the population in 2 ways:
-one the basis of cities: Divide into urban cities, satellite towns and villages
-on the basis of age: Divide into 3 groups 0-15, 15-20 and above 50

For each city based on population divide it into the three age groups. Now in cities, people in the age group 15-50 are most likely to watch formula 1. let the number be 30% of them. For below and above this age group, let the number be 10%.
In case of satellite towns, the percentage of people in 15-50 age group can be assumed to be 15% and 2-3% for people above and below this age group.
while in villages it can be safely assumed that nobody watches F1. Thus estimation can be carried out in this way.


Tips: being a fresher and not being used to interacting with high profile people was at the back of my mind. Hence, I had a very cautious approach to my interview and probably hampered my natural thinking and flow. So for probable interviewees who feel the same , it is advisable to be as natural as possible.

General Tips: Be as natural as possible
Structure the case properly.
Aim for a good interaction by asking them questions.
Skills:
Duration: 3
College Name: IIM Lucknow

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: Case:A cement manufacturer based out of East India has been seeing his prices in east India dip heavily in the past few months. Despite being the market leader, he seems to be unable to arrest the fall in prices. The aim as a consultant lies to raise the prices by 10% and find a strategy to make sure the prices do not fall so easily again.
Case analysis:
This was a very complex case with multiple problems and solutions with each having a different set of pros and cons. He wanted me to see the case from a simple
demand and supply point of view.
Structure:
The supply was overshooting demand in the market as a result of the actions of competitors. So the issue was also to do with the distributors in the middle and how brand consciousness would come into the scene. The structure could be simplified to a 2*2 matrix with price elasticity of demand and brand consciousness on the axes. The issue could be then simplified on the basis of the quadrant in focus.
Summary:

Overall, the issue was embedded in being able to use game theory with the distributor and play prices up and down at regular intervals. Another strategy was to enter into forward contracts.



Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: The interviewer was very calm and reassuring and that helped me build the conversation.
Case: A local taxi driver in Delhi wants to explore the possibility of signing a contract with a radio taxi service. Help him with his dilemma.
Analysis: This was a case that really tested your ability to think far and wide because the math was simple but the underlying logic could have been missed very easily.
Structure:
Used a simple revenue-cost structure for the pre and post radio taxi phase. Then tried to see if any of the key variables could be modified to come up with a different result.
Summary:
The case had two parts- one was the initial decision and the decision after changing a key variable.

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: The interview took off with a general discussion on football and tennis and we spoke about our favorite stars from each of them. More than anything else, this was an amazing conversation where I could speak without any fears and inhibitions.
Case: A life insurance company in Sri Lanka is losing out on market share. Where does the problem lie?
Analysis:
The case was a test of structure to see if you could create one with all the levers enlisted.
Structure:
The market share could be seen as a function of number of policies sold and the revenue per policy. The discussion would then carry on the aspect of number of policies. The number of policies itself would be a function of a number of factors, out of which one of them was creating an issue.
Summary:
The toxic area was something to do with the insurance policy salesman and the entire structure had to be panned out so as to get to that

Tips: Be calm, logical and energetic. That is all you need to impress the interviewer.

General Tips: Be energetic.
Calmness and common sense are the key.
Skills:
College Name: IIM Lucknow

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: Case:The client is a financial services company. It has started a wealth management business five years earlier. The business is not performing nicely. Should the company keep on making on investments in this or exit.
Structure:
First asked about the industry. The industry was growing but the company was losing share. This meant that the problem was with the company. Structured to find about the revenue and cost structures of the industry and the firm in particular. Tried to gather as much background information on this as possible. Talked about training the employees, any new adverse regulations, competitor offerings, etc. In short covered a lot of different angles.
Finally he asked me to give 10 recommendations to solve the problem. This was difficult as we had barely discussed the case for 10 minutes. Took 5 minutes to write down my suggestions.
Structured my answer in three areas: Customers, employees and business improvement. Gave 3-4 suggestions in each bucket.

Tips: Idea generation requires a lot of practice. Make sure you do abstract cases which involve idea generation. Also have questions for the interviewer ready for at least 3 rounds of the process.

Skills:
College Name: IIM Lucknow

Round: Test
Experience: Offline test. Mostly concerned with data sufficiency, geometry and age relations and such apti questions. In verbal part there was sentence equivalence and completion questions. Small RC passages were as well.

Round: Technical Interview
Experience: I was mostly asked some problems and approaches of mathematics and I had been asked about an algorithm I implemented in one of my research project.

College Name: Jadavpur University, Kolkata