Case studies Flashcards
CIP
The first five steps
- Summarise the question
- Verify the objective(s). Ask if there are any other goals or objectives
- Ask clarifying questions.
- Label the case and lay out your structure
- State your hypothesis
- Summarise the question
- Streamline the question
- Use percentages
- Verify the objectives
- State the assumed objective(s)
- Ask whether there are others
- Ask clarifying questions
- Ask if jargon or explanations are unclear
- Why does the company want to enter the market?
- Label the case and lay out your structure (3)
- 90 - 120 secs of silence allowed
- MECE
- Turn your notes to the interviewer
- State your hypothesis
- My hypothesis is that X has fallen because X has risen
Core company questions (7)
- Revenues and profits for the last three years
- Customer segmentations
- Product mix
- Production capabilities/capacity
- Brand? Market Leader?
- Distribution channels?
- WCS
Revenues and profits for the last three years? (4)
a. What are the major revenue streams?
b. What percentage of total revenue does each stream represent?
c. What are the major costs?
d. Do any seem out of line?
Customer segmentations (3)
a. Characteristics
b. Changing needs
c. Profitability by segment
Product mix (4)
a. Cost/margins?
b. Product differentiations?
c. Market share?
d. Cannibalisation between products
Production capabilities (3)
a. Does the company have the ability to expand?
b. Are they running at full capacity?
c. If not, why not?
Brand (2)
a. How strong is the brand?
b. Is it a market leader or has the brand faded?
Distribution channels (3)
a. How are the products and services currently distributed?
b. How can the company expand its channels?
c. How can it reach new markets?
What constitutes success?
a. Which metric to use?
b. What is success through the eyes of the company?
Core market questions (11)
- Market size, growth rates, and trends?
- Where is it in its lifecycle?
- Industry drivers?
- Customer segmentations?
- Margins?
- Industry changes?
- Distribution channels?
- Major players and market share?
- Product differentiation?
- Access to suppliers?
- Barriers to entry/exit?
Market size, growth rate and trends (2)
a. How is the industry doing overall?
b. How is the company growing compared with the industry?
Industry drivers (14)
- Brand
- Street cred
- Price
- Marketing
- Content
- Size
- Endorsements
- Fads/Culture
- Economics
- Technology
- Geopolitical events
- Bargaining power of buyers
- Bargaining power of suppliers
- Distribution channels
Customer segmentations (market, 5)
a. What segments are there?
b. How big are they?
c. Which is the company going after?
d. How profitable are they?
d. Which is the competition going after?
Margins (Market, 1)
a. What are the typical margins within the industry?
Distribution channels (Market, 1)
a. What are the major distribution channels within the industry?
Major players and market share (3)
a. Who are the competitors?
b. How much market share do they have?
c. Is the market fragmented or dominated by major competitors?
Product differentiation (Market, 1)
a. How do the competitors differentiate their products or services?
Access to suppliers (Market, 2)
a. How difficult will it be to gain access?
b. How many suppliers are there and who supplies them?
Barriers (market, 2)
- Barriers to entry
2. Barriers to exit
Barriers to entry (4)
a. Access to capital, distribution channels, raw materials, technical knowledge, or human talent
b. Government regulations
c. Sticky features
d. Market domination by one or two players
Barriers to exit (6)
a. Massive investments
b. Nontransferable fixed assets
c. contract requirements with suppliers
d. government requirements
e. costs of leaving is higher than incurred in the market
f. barriers of emotion
Review external factors (Retailer, 5)
a. Consumer confidence
b. Disposable income
c. Unemployment rates
d. Petrol prices
e. Environmental effects
Review external factors (manufacturer, 6)
a. How is the kroner doing against other currencies
b. interest rates
c. tariffs
d. petrol prices
e. commodities
f. environmental effects
