BCG Consultant Interview Questions, Process, and Tips

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: Case: The client is a company that manufactures an interactive educational tool. It is basically something as big as a blackboard fitted in the classroom and has touch screen interactivity. What do you think is the scope of this product and what are the other things that the company can do in the field of education to increase its revenues (to 1000 Cr)?
Analysis: I first tried to understand the product properly.
Q. Does the company make any other products?
Ans. No
Q. What is this particular product used for majorly? To teach what?
Ans: English language
I was trying to build a structure at this point when he interrupted me by asking me if I had understood the question. I felt he was trying to put a bit of stress. He then asked me to explore what all are the options that an educational tech company in India could explore.
Q. Are we looking at only classroom services or online as well?
Ans: Up to you what you want to look at
I built a structure which split into Classroom learning and online learning. Then further split classroom learning into providing education material and products (like the one the client makes). In online I split it into videos and material.
He was happy with this basic structure. He then asked me that the client was focusing on language needs of people. So he asked me to estimate the demand of the English language learners. He then asked me to estimate how many such are those who already have a source to learn and how many are wanting to but do not have a source and what should I target?
I started with the metro population in India. Roughly 14mX4 = 56m. Then divided it by the age group. I dint plug in any figures. I just made the initial tree. I told him that I would plug in the figures later. Age group of 16 and less who are going to schools.
He then asked me why I have not considered adults who want to learn English. Then I considered that as well.
He then asked me why I have not taken into consideration those who do not know that they want to learn English. I didn't understand what he meant, so I asked him to explain. He told me that a domestic maid is latent demand because she doesn't know that she want to learn English (got kind of philosophical at this point).
So he asked me to factor that in as well. He asked me how we can make them use an online medium when they do not have basic education in the first place.
Summary:
He helped me a lot with the case. In fact he gave me the 2 most important points of adult demand and latent demand. Overall I found the case to be very tough and ambiguous. He kept on asking me if I understood the question which made me lose confidence many times.
Tips: Please make sure of what you say in the initial HR questions. I had mentioned that I liked teaching. That was the reason why picked out this case for me. So please make sure you can show the passion for a particular interest that you have mentioned.
Be calm during the case.

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: Case: A financial services company (NBFC) that has entered India few years ago wants to know whether it should continue in India or not?
Analysis:
Q. I asked him the relative position of the business visa-viz its peers.
Ans: It is not very high. Somewhere around 6th.
Q. What are the different businesses?
Ans: Mutual funds – debt and equity, Asset
management, etc. Equity fund is not performing as well as its competitors. Debt is on par.
Q. What is its target market?
Ans: HNIs with income of INR 5Cr +
I had made a brief structure earlier in which I had said that I would like to explore 3 things. The historical performance of the fund, Its competition, and the third thing was future growth in India.
He gave me some details on the historic performance and all.
He also told me about the competition.
I was then asked to make a decision of whether to continue in India.
I told him based on the future growth story they should remain in India. He wanted me to ask the growth rate of HNIs in India. He then gave me those figures.
Q: He then asked me what all problems they could face.
Ans: Very volatile equity markets, major source of HNI money is black so we can‟t capture the entire growth in HNI. Competition could outdo us. If interest rates fall, investors would want to invest abroad. I gave a few more options that I can‟t recall right now.
Summary:
The case was very straight forward. Basic questions needed to be asked. I had expressed an interest in finance so I was given this case.



Tips: Prepare HR answers really well.

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: was given two cases for this round.
case 1: A taxi driver (black and yellow taxi) asked me if he should move to a radio cab in Delhi.
Analysis: It was a simple case of cost-benefit. Split into revenues and cost. Cost split into fixed (maintenance and insurance) and variable (fuel). I asked him the km each car run in a day, the mileage, the cost per liter of diesel. Charge/km. Made the comparison and gave him the answer. He asked me what else I should consider. I told him that
the taxi driver had more freedom owning his own cab. But in the radio cab he won‟t have to worry about depreciation of the vehicle. I also told him that owning his taxi may be a matter of prestige for the driver.
Case 2:Should a PE fund buyout Infosys?
Analysis:
Q. I asked him what the private equity fund was looking at: Stake purchase or complete buyout.
Ans. Complete buyout.
He asked me how a PE can gain out of buying Infosys. I told him that the PE would have board members and would provide guidance and expertise along with the funding support.
Q. How long is the PE looking to invest in Infy?
Ans. 5 years
Q. what is rate of return that infy will give in 5 years ?
Ans: 20%
At this point he asked me will the PE be able to increase the profits of infy?
I told him that we could better management and expertise from the PE end. He said that the PE would not be able to manage Infosys better that what it already was.
Q. Will the PE be able to bring in new outside business?
Ans: no
Q. Will the PE be able to generate more than the expected 20% revenue for Infy?
Ans. No
At this point he told me think of it from an IB
perspective. He told me that if infy can be bought for say Rs 100 and would be worth Rs 120 after 5 years, it‟s not a big deal. The PE would not be interested in something like this. So why would a PE look to invest?
I luckily had some prior knowledge of Infy (0 debt on its balance sheet and a hell lot of cash) So I told him that the entire source of funds was only equity. So the PE could buy the equity and then pay off dividends to it (since INFY was cash rich) or else raise debt for leverage.
Q. Will the growth remain 20% even if I raise debt?
Ans: yes
So I told him that if INFY raises debt of Rs 100, Firm value would be roughly Rs 200 and growth would be 20% -> Rs 240. Therefore the PE would make 40 on its initial Rs 100 -> 40%. He was looking for a solution like: Buy it for Rs 100. Replace Rs 50 of equity by raising debt. And then sell it for Rs120 5 years later. So effective gain would be Rs 20 on Rs 50 which is still 40%
Q. What is this mechanism called?
Ans. Leveraging

He spoke a bit about LBOs then.

Tips: Be confident and be persistent. Keep on going at the case even if you are stuck.

General Tips: Be persistent in case analysis.
Be cool and focused while answering questions.
Prepare well for HR questions.
Skills:
College Name: IIM Lucknow

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: Basic clarification: How are environment friendly building different from normal construction. Basically all the raw materials used to construct will have lesser footprint. These raw materials are readily available at slightly higher price and hence there is no issue with them.What are the objectives of the client from this project? He said what do you think? I mentioned the impacts of such projects are both financial as well as from strategic. I took some time and laid down the following structure Financial: Compared the NPV of this project with the regular project Laid down the entire cash flow statement from boththe projects. Strategic Measure: Impact on brand of the client, impact on the customer base that the client will attract, extension of this environment friendly project to other parts of client’s business, kind of government support that client can gather. Risk associated with this project Once I discussed this structure with Sachin, he started giving me some numbers to calculate the NPV of both the projects (Sorry I do not remember numbers but cash flows from environment friendly building were coming better). I calculated the cash flow for both the projects. Then I told Sachin that cost of capital for both these projects would be different. He mentioned it is true and then we had a long discussion on why environmental building will be more risky. He said right now we might not be able to estimate the risks, so in absence of risk how can we find if we can take the project or not. During our discussion on the risk involved with the project, we found various components of risk. I mentioned we can take base case of normal projects for all those components (basically calculate sensitivity of cash flows on project specific risk) and we did that and found that still environmental project was better. Then we had discussion on the strategic implication of these projects, primarily the one which I had already listed on my initial structure.

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: This interview had some graphs, I might not be able to reproduce them. But will try my best to give inferences of those graphs. Felix started with showing me the value chain of entire automobile industry. And told in which part of the value chain our client operates: R&D, Manufacturing, After sales.. Client was not in Dealers, insurance and car financing. He asked me to calculate the potential car financing market. I told him we will first calculate the total cars that are needed by US markets and then find out average price of cars sold in US and then see what percentage of people take car financing and also up to what percentage of total car price. He was happy that I mentioned percentage part as most of the times customers make certain payments from their savings. We followed standard method of calculating number of cars, started with number of households and then dissected it across income group which can afford cars. He told me that approximately 90% household in US can afford cars and on average there are 2 cars per households. We came up with some number, but I told him that this number is the stock of car in US. Annual sale of new cars would be dependent on average life of the car and percentage of old car market in US. He asked me to ignore old car market, and told average age of a car is 12 years. He gave me some numbers of the price of the car and % upfront payment. I mentioned that this is the total size of the car financing market, but actual profit that our client will make from this business is dependent on clients market share and the spread of the loans (mainly his cost of borrowing and his rate of borrowing). This was the point where he mentioned I am doing extremely well with numbers, now lets move on to the strategy part. He showed me few graphs which compared the spread of our clients car financing and spread of other loans available in market ( house loans and others.. I am currently forgetting rest). But the spread of car financing was about 0.2% and total profit that the client will make per by using car financing was somewhere around 38$ per car. I mentioned to Felix that this on the face of this looks very small profit, but car financing business can help us in acquiring new customers and the client can make money through that. Then based on the graphs and the discussion till now, he asked me to make 3 recommendations. I told him a) Client can get into joint venture with some banks and decrease its cost of borrowing as banks balance sheet might be stronger than our client. b) Cross sell various other loans like house loans c) I am forgetting third one. Then Felix clicked next on his power point presentation and showed these were the exact recommendations he made to his client. Then we again chatted for sometime about his experience with India and then he mentioned to me that I have cracked the case, he just need to check with my previous interviewer.
Tips: Make sure interview flow like a logical discussion, and try to interact with the partners when they come to campus. Familiarity with the interviewer helps a lot.

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

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: T he interview started with a discussion on tintin, herge, literary quizzing and went on to about yourself.
Case:Client is a life insurance agency in Sri Lanka facing declining market share ,
Analysis:Market leader, no.2 and no. 3 growing in dominance, Market growing, they didn't release a particular policy, don‟t give enough incentives to their agents which other firms are capitalizing on.
Structure:
Broke it down into their business structure, understood how they operate, tried to find loopholes in each step.
Summary:
Was asked to stop after explaining the approach and asking two or three questions, BCG vs McKinsey took over, spirited discussion regarding pros, cons and discussion I had with Gautam Kumra at McK, after debates and stressing the people point, we called it a day.
Tips: Take hints, explain approach

Round: Case Study Interview
Experience: This interview again started with a 'tell me about yourself' question and my experiences till now.they gave me an outlin that we'll start with a case and then move on to any doubts I have about BCG.
Case: Leading cement manufacturer is facing declining profits; prices have halved in the last few months and facing decreasing prices further as well. Suggest emergency measures for next few weeks.
Analysis:Spoke about the business, market, the competition and how everyone else was coping. Talked about how the business worked; distribution and sales network, retailers and incentives and breakup in terms of branded, unbranded cement. Twist in the case, BCG says increase prices; profits fall by 12% more and take a hit. Now what?
Structure:
Value chain + market scenario, focused on issues like rising costs, raw material sourcing, manufacturing difficulties, expansion possibilities but were discounted. Went on to retailers and distribution and his eyes lit up, literally. Focused on region wise distribution, why there were discrepancies in individual dealers selling different quantities given same consumption patterns, focused on price prediction patterns and inventory holding practices by different retailers.
Summary:
Was stopped after this, talked about BCG, consulting as a career and how the partner found his calling, how BCG contributes in making real change in the world.

Tips: Be clear, calm and logical on the day and not let anything bog you down, least of all, the pressure and reputation.


General Tips: Be comfortable and at ease while giving the interview.
Skills:
College Name: IIM Lucknow