[应用文书]面试BCG心得.doc

面试面试 BCG 心得：猜谜的过程更重要心得：猜谜的过程更重要 如果说，Intel 公司理想的软件工程师是硬朗、实在，带点学术气息的，那么 BCG 需要的助理咨询顾问就 是成熟、理性、有商业头脑的人。他至少要具备三项素质：极强的分析能力、出色的商业敏感性及良好的 职业气质。 在众多的大型咨询公司中，BCG 的案例面试颇具代表性。面试共分 3 轮，全部用英文进行。第一轮 称为 Pretalk，一般为 510 分钟左右，面试官会跟你随便聊聊，包括自我介绍等，目的是考察应聘者的 英文能力、沟通能力，以及给人的整体印象；第二、三轮均为案例面试，每一轮的时间为 45 分钟左右， 分别会有一位面试官提出一个商业案例，要求应聘者加以分析，给出解决问题的方案。 应聘心得 案例面试是咨询公司在招聘时经常采用的形式。假如把分析案例、得出结论的过程比作猜谜语，那么 寻找谜底的方法、思路远比谜底本身更重要。面试官提出一个案例之后，你首先要做的是有秩序、有逻辑 地向对方提问，通过提问获取更多信息，再进行一步步的逻辑推理，使自己逐渐接近“谜底”。提问的原则 可以归结为“自顶向下”，即先了解最重要、最全局的信息，然后将粗线条的信息不断深入、细化。在这个 过程中，除了充分运用逻辑推理能力外，尤其要不断与面试官沟通，并注意察言观色。有时候，从面试官 的反应、表情变化中也能揣摩出自己的分析是否偏离了正确的方向。 案例面试的压力比较大，建议之前多做几次模拟面试，熟悉面试流程。假如未能在规定的时间里得出 结论，也不必过于紧张，关键要在分析的过程中注重逻辑性，切忌思维混乱。 还有一点需要引起注意：参加 BCG 的每一轮面试前，你都会拿到一张小卡片，上面写着这一轮面试 官的个人信息。这些内容一定要仔细看，倘若在面试中能不失时机地提到面试官的一些值得骄傲的经历， 说不定能为给自己加分不少哦！（薛亚芳） 案例面世真题案例面世真题 7: 进入进入 BCG 的的 2 轮面试轮面试 首先感谢 jialiang，为我们提供了真题，也恭喜他拿到了 bcg 的 offer。 下面就是具体的面试经过： BCG 案例面试（第一轮） 时间：2004.11.20 9:00-10:30 AM 地点：中区广场 21 楼 第一个案例，Franklyn。 Q: 我们有一个客户是国内的 TV 厂商，近年的销售额出现下滑，请你分析一下原因。 A: 我想确认一下，是 TV 制造商吗？ Q: 对。 A: 请问他们的 Revenue 构成是怎么样的？有哪些 product line？ Q: 分为四部分：传统(80%)，液晶(10%)，背投 5%，数字电视 5% A: 哪些 product line 在下降？ Q: 传统 A: 看来问题主要出在这个产品线上。请问市场的总销售额有什么变化吗？ Q: 总销售额基本不变。但价格降低，容量增加。 A: 那么公司的市场份额是不是就在下降？ Q: 是的。 A: 请问我们的竞争者状况如何？比如是否有新的进入者？或者主要竞争者的市场份额在上升？ Q: 新进入者不多，主要竞争者市场份额的确上升了。 A: 我想从 product，marketing，channel，customer service 等几个方面做一下分析。并同我们的 竞争者做一些比较。 .（略去中间大段无谓的问题） Q: 其实，这些方面都没太大变化。 A: 请问竞争对手的价格有什么变化吗？ Q: 竞争对手价格下降了 30%。 A: 那我们的价格呢？ Q: 基本没变。 A: SOGA（时间已经没有了） 第二个案例，Rachel Lee Q: 我们的客户是一家美国的黄页提供商。最近他们的国内业务增速减缓，他们考虑是否需要进 入中国市场，请你给一些建议。 A: 好。我能否先了解一下这个行业的特点吗？比如他们的商业模式是怎样的？如何赚钱？ Q: 问的好。你觉得他们应该是怎样赚钱的呢？ A: 我好像从来没有买过黄页，ms 都是赠阅的。因此我想销售收入不会占主要部分。更多的 应该是靠广告和列出费用(listing fee)。 Q: 没错。 A: 那么我想问一下这三者所占 Revenue 的比例是多少？ Q: 你指中国还是美国？ A: Both。 Q: 在中国，广告 20%, listing fee 70%, 销售 10%；在美国，广告 80%，listing fee 10%，销售 10% A: 看来中美两国的差异真大啊 Q: （汗 ing） A: 我对这个行业不太熟悉。请问在美国，这个行业的关键成功因素是什么？ Q: 你认为呢？ A: （汗。）我觉得首先是 database，即数据量的大小。还有 sales/marketing，corperation/cost, brand 等等。 Q: 说的对。 A: 好，那么让我们系统地分析一下吧。我打算从市场，竞争者情况，以及我们的 client 与竞争 者的对比上分析是否应该进入中国市场。首先我想问一下市场的总量和增长率。 Q: 中国市场的总量是 100M USD，年增长率是 60%。美国市场总量 1000M USD，年增长率 5%。 A: 那么中国市场的增长绝对值是 60M，美国是 50M。从绝对值上讲也差别不大么。 Q: （这都给你看出来了。） A: 中国市场目前有哪些竞争者？ Q: 一共有 4 家，最大的一家有 60%的市场份额，其余三家各有 10%20%的份额。最大的那家 主要是在中国的南方市场。 A: 对于 customer，他们有哪些需求呢？ Q: 你认为 customer 会有哪些？ A: 个人经验来看，主要应该是 service company。因为其他的公司可以通过其他媒介来投放广告， 而黄页一般都在需要寻找特定信息的时候才会用。 Q: 你的分析很有道理。那么你觉得他们在决定是否投放广告时会看中哪些方面呢？ A: 如果我说的话，首先看发行量喽。这点上我们肯定吃亏的。 Q: 那如何克服？ A: 刚开始我们可以免费发放，扩张我们的网络。把发行量搞上去。 Q: 嗯。不错的建议。对于中美两国的差异，你认为是什么原因造成的？ A: （分析了半天没分析出来。我怎么知道美国人到底怎么想的？） BCG final 时间：2004.11.26 下午 4:30-6:00 地点：中区广场 路上堵车，到了公司居然正好四点半，晕倒。其余三个和我同一时间的面试者已经早早等在那 里了。Joanna 还是这么客气，笑容满面地迎接我的到来，然后笑眯眯地告诉我今天我运气特别 好，有一个 partner 给我面试。我赶紧说是因为我人品好。 第一个案例，Jim Jim: 我们的客户是一家美国非常成功的 MRO Distributor。MRO 是指 Maintenance, Repair, Operation。他们主要给工厂提供各种辅助工具，如电灯啦，安全帽啦，手套啦，反正除了大型 机器以外，工厂里的常用设施都卖。他们从供货商那里买入产品，然后再送货给工厂。我们的 客户向咨询一下，他们是不是应该进入中国市场？如何进入？你可以先想一下。 Me: （装作若有所思状沉默了 2 分钟）我想先澄清一下问题（重复了一遍问题，拖延 时间） 对于第一个问题，我会考虑以下几点：先看一下 Market Attractiveness，然后分析一下竞争状况， 再对比一下中国和美国的市场差异，然后看看 sourcing 和 distribution 的可行性，最后分析一下 cost。至于第二个问题，我会想办法寻找一个合适在中国使用的 business model。 首先，我想问一下客户在美国的商业模式。他们是从供货商那里拿到产品，再运给工厂对么？ 那么工厂为什么不直接从供货商那里购买呢？ J: 你说为什么？ M: （晕，又来了）我觉得首先是因为我们客户的 bargain power 比较大，从供货商那里能拿到 更低的价钱，然后是他们的 distribution cost 比较低，因为可以 consolidate 各类商品。 J: 其实，另外还有一个很重要的原因就是信息比较全。他们有非常多的 catalog，都放在网上可 以让工厂采购员随意挑选。 M: 有道理。好，那让我们再来看看市场的大小吧。中国市场有多大呢？ J: 制造业的产值共有 700 billion USD，MRO distributor 一般占其中的 1%2%。 M: 那么就是 714 billion USD。那么它的年增长率是多少？ J: 你说呢？ M: 中国的 GDP 增长保持在 8% 10%左右，但由于结构性不平衡，制造业的增长率应该远高 于这个水平。因此这是一个快速增长的行业。 J: 对。 M: 再来看看市场的竞争状况。这个市场的竞争是否激烈呢？ J: 你说呢？ M: 我不太熟悉。如果是一个真实的案例的话，我会去年鉴中查找相关的数据。不过我感觉 由于中国市场的不成熟，也许这是一个刚刚起步的市场 J: 事实上，中国上已经有数以万计的公司在竞争这个市场，而且大多是非常小的公司。因为需 要的资本不是很高，进入门槛非常低。 M: 嗯这说明两点：1。行业的利润率 margin 很低 2。行业很分散，具有潜在的机遇。 对于这种情况来说，我们的客户如果要进入这个市场，要想办法提高 margin。 提高 margin 的方法有两种，一是提高 revenue，二是降低 cost。提高 revenue 可以通过差异化竞 争来实现。考虑到竞争者主要都是小规模公司，我们可以发挥大规模的优势。如提供更加全面 的产品种类，提高服务质量，采用电子商务等等这些在美国已经成熟的运作模式。降低成本则 是靠 consolidate purchasing 和 consolidate distribution 来实现。通过集成的采购增加与供货商的 谈判力，压低价格；通过集成的运输降低单位的运输成本。 J: 很好。那么进入中国的商业模式应该采用什么呢？ M: 您指的是什么样的模式？ J: 比如，应该独立进入，还是应该寻找合资或者并购本地公司？ M: 显然应该合资或者并购本地公司。因为这样可以利用本地公司已有的供应商关系与客户资 源，同时利用他们已有的运输网络和人力，还避免了去争取新客户而需要付出的大量成本。 J: 嗯。假设现在你在电梯上遇见客户公司的总裁，你能告诉他需要采取哪些措施来进入中国市 场吗？ M: 第一步是要寻找目标市场地区，特别是那些大客户比较集中的地区。然后是寻找本地合作 者，要看他们的经营状况，市场份额等等，还要考虑合资的比例。最后是要整合他们的资源， 比如建立一个统一的平台把他们原有的供货商、客户、运输网络等集中到一起，这样才能发挥 刚才提到的规模优势。 J: 好，这个案例就分析到这儿吧。 第二个案例，Vincent Vincent: 我们来做一个非常小的案例。我们的客户是国内一家移动运营商。他们现在有这样的 促销方式：签订一个 2 年的服务协议，消费者就能用非常低的价格获得一款手机。但在决定让 利的幅度方面，他们左右为难：如果价格定的太高，消费者必然会跑到竞争对手那里购买；如 果价格定得太低，在补贴手机商的成本方面又投入很大，风险很高。因此，你觉得合理的定价 应该考虑哪些因素？ Me: 我会从外部和内部两方面考虑。首先从外部讲，考虑 consumer 和 competitor。定的价格要 符合 consumer 的心理预期，让他们愿意购买。同时，由于该领域消费者的忠诚度较低，如果我 们的定价模式和竞争者没有本质的区别，而区别仅仅在于价格的话，我们的定价如果比竞争者 高，必然会丧失顾客，因此要参考竞争者定价。其次从内部讲，要考虑 cost 和 risk。成本就是 补贴给手机厂商的开销，而 risk 就是消费者不履行合同的风险。 V: 假设我们现在对消费者做了一项调查，一款原价 5000 元的手机，如果卖 4000 元，签两年协 议，则会有 2 万人购买；同样情况下，卖 3000 元，会有 10 万人；卖 2000 元，会有 20 万人。 请你比较一下这三种定价方式，哪个更好？ M: 请问 2 年的服务费有多少？ V: 每人 2 年的服务费总共 4000 元。 M: （计算了一下）后两个方案的利润是一样的。 V: 那么你选择哪种？ M: 如果是从市场份额上来说，最后一种方案的市场份额最大。 V: 市场份额有什么用？ M: 对于运营商来说有用。如果有更多的人加入自己的网络，考虑到互联互通的问题，现有消 费者的朋友也许会更偏向加入同一个网络。同时有了一个比较大的客户群体的话，在提供一些 增值服务时，如移动的“动感地带”等，会带给公司更多的收益。 V: 那如果公司的 CFO 看了这两个方案，你认为他会同意哪个？ M: 那也许是第二个。因为这个方案需要的现金较少，对 cash flow 有好处。避免了资金的巨额 周转。因为我们需要帖付给手机厂商一大笔钱。 V: 那如果签协议的时候让消费者预先垫付呢？ M: 那样的话消费者就不愿意买我们的手机了，人数就会减少。而且即使不考虑到现金的周转 的话，第二种方案相对来说回报率更高一些，因为投入较少。 V: 嗯，好，你的意思我明白了。 StepStep 1:1: ActivelyActively listenlisten toto thethe casecase Your client is the sugar cereal division of Foods Inc., a U.S.-based distributor and manufacturer of packaged foods. According to the division president, Foods Inc.s traditional strength has been with grocery stores, which in total still account for the majority of its $1.1 billion in sugar cereal sales. However, a discount chain, Big M Mart, has been growing at a very healthy rate of almost 15 percent per year and has now become their leading customer. Your client is not sure how to react to this event and asked BCG for assistance with the companys distribution strategy. StepStep 2:2: EstablishEstablish understandingunderstanding ofof thethe casecase First, let me make sure I understand the problem. Our client specializes in sugar cereals, and has traditionally distributed through grocery stores. Sales to Big M Mart, a discount chain, have been growing at 15 percent per year and they have recently become the largest distributor of their product nationwide. We are here to help her evaluate her distribution strategy in light of Big M Marts growth. That is correct. Could you explain to me how grocery stores differ from discount stores? Sure. Grocery stores generally specialize in food items, as well as some household goods and over-the-counter pharmaceuticals. Discount stores, on the other hand, offer food items alongside a wide variety of merchandise, including clothing, home electronics, and housewares. Does Big M Mart market its food products differently than do grocery stores? Discount stores advertise lower prices across a wide variety of foods, particularly staple, non- perishable foods. Could I please take a moment to write a few notes to myself? Please feel free. StepStep 3:3: SetSet upup thethe frameworkframework Before making recommendations, I think we would first need to evaluate whether sales growth at Big M Mart is good or bad for Foods, Inc. In order to do that, I would first look at their sugar cereals performance at Big M Mart versus other distribution channels. Second, I would look at their performance versus their competitors at Big M Mart. Next, I would determine the drivers of customer purchases. Finally, I would want to understand the supply chain. That certainly sounds like a reasonable approach. Lets proceed. StepStep 4:4: EvaluateEvaluate thethe casecase usingusing thethe frameworkframework First, I would like to get a better sense of where Big M Mart stands relative to our clients other distribution channels by examining the clients sales data and margins, by distributor. The marketing department does not have margins by channel, but tracks the sales and volume for its top five distributors. Sales ($MM)1997199920015-Yr CAGR Big M Mar7% R.J.s 1571852006.2% Bozo Mart 1431751897.3% Ace Grocery 10110915311.0% Shoppers Mart 5762674.0% Total Top 5 600693 856 9.3% Total All Distributors 1,0001,0791,1503.6% Volume (000s boxes)1997199920015-Yr CAGR Big M Mart657411314.7% R.J.s7281854.2% Bozo Mart6577805.2% Ace Grocery4647648.8% Shoppers Mart 2627282.0% Total Top 52743073707.8% Total All Distributors4504684872.0% What does this imply about Big M Mart as a distribution outlet? It looks as if the top distributors were all growing more important, but particularly Big M Mart, which is growing faster than all the others. This is particularly true when we look at volume, where Big M Marts growth is much higher than that of the other four channels. And how could you interpret what this data says about margins? While the clients sales through other distribution channels are growing faster than volume, Big M Mart volume and sales growth are the same, so the average price paid by Big M Mart has remained constant. That implies that sales growth at Big M Mart could have negative implications for our margins. Next, I would like to look at how our client is doing relative to the competition within Big M Mart. Have they been gaining or losing market share? How might you find that out? I would try to interview Big M Marts purchasing personnel, since they would probably track that data for their own purposes. Why would they want to talk to you? How might you approach such an interview? I would approach the purchasing personnel and suggest that our client and Big M Mart work together to identify best practices to reduce costs and increase sales of sugar cereals at Big M Mart. Lets say in a perfect world you could get a breakdown of Big M Mart sales for the four largest competitors (see market shares below). What can we interpret about our clients competitors within this channel? Who should they be worried about? It looks like our client is losing market share, as is Tasty Breakfast, while Cereal Co. and private label are gaining share. However, private label looks to be growing from a very small base. I would like to explore why our client is losing market share to Cereal Co. at Big M Marts. Are their prices better than those of our client? After a period of price wars six to seven years ago that lowered industry margins, the cereal companies have refrained from price competition within the same channel. If prices are not driving the difference, I would look at other factors such as brand selection, percentage of shelf space, product placement, and in-store promotions. Visits to Big M Marts indicate that each name brand company holds 30 percent of the shelf space, while private label has ten percent. However, Cereal Co. brands tend to be placed lower on the shelf than your clients products. That placement could be especially important to children who are looking at the different types of cereals. Are there any other promotions? Some Cereal Co. brands have sales promotion tags, and the team notes that store flyers advertise specials on Cereal Co. brands for “Big M Mart Customer Cardholders.“ So, even if all the companies are maintaining product prices, maybe Cereal Co. is strategically discounting prices in order to gain market share. It seems like there is evidence of cooperation between Cereal Co. and Big M Mart. Do we know anything about the relationship between Big M Mart and Cereal Co.? During earlier discussions with Big M Mart, you discovered that your clients competitors have 50 sales representatives dedicated to the Big M Mart account. Your client has seven. Cereal Co. appears to be dedicating more resources to its relationship with Big M Mart than is our client. I think I have a good sense of distribution and competition. I would like to look at the customers and why they choose to select the products that they do. What do you think might motivate them? There are lots of factors, such as the games in the boxes, the price of the cereal itself, how it tastes. To better understand consumer behavior, we should conduct market research, possibly through focus groups, customer observation, and price sensitivity studies. BCG teams often do such research. You note that most buyers tend to fall into two categories. Approximately 60 percent go straight to one cereal and grab it. In about 25 percent of cases, they look at all the different cereals for one that interests them. For the “brand loyal“ shopper, the priority would be product availability, while product placement would be important for consumers who like to shop around. Are consumers price sensitive? In general, BCG research indicates that consumers are not price sensitive. However, when the original choice of cereal is unavailable, the customers purchase discounted cereals approximately 35 percent of the time. From that data, it appears that price is not a major driver of purchases unless the store is out of stock. How often does the client make no purchase when the target cereal is unavailable? In approximately 25 percent of cases, the customer walks away without purchasing any cereal at all. It seems like product availability could be a major driver of total cereal volume for Big M Mart. I think I have a pretty good understanding of customer motivation. Lets move on to supply chain. I would want to talk to our clients distribution personnel to understand the distribution process. Cereals are distributed from the factory to the distributors warehouse twice monthly. The retailer then stocks the shelves themselves. Do we have any knowledge about when the individual stores are out of stock? No, we do not, since our client only delivers to the warehouses and has no direct access to in-store inventory information. Since we identified product availability as a key success factor earlier on, I would want to make sure that the stores were stocking the product correctly. Lets say that in your earlier in-store investigations, you found out that Big M Mart stores averaged 15 percent of sugar cereal brands out-of-stock, across all brands. Stock-outs would be a major problem for us, since 60 percent of customers look for a specific brand of cereal and 35 percent of them might buy Cereal Co.s promotional products. Big M Mart would also have an incentive to reduce out-of-stock incidents, since 25 percent of the time, a brand loyal customer will walk away without buying anything. StepStep 5:5: SummarizeSummarize andand makemake recommendationsrecommendations At this point, I would like to summarize what I know. Big M Mart is consolidating the distribution market. Although sales to Big M Mart are increasing on an absolute basis, our clients margins there are lower than in its other channels and their competitive position is eroding in that channel. At Big M Mart, our client faces competition from both private label and Cereal Co., although the latter appears to be the greater threat. There appears to be a relationship between Big M Mart and Cereal Co. as evidenced by their joint promotions, the superior placement of the Cereal Co. product, and the substantial resources that Cereal Co. has dedicated to the Big M Mart account. Approximately half of customers are brand-loyal, implying product availability would be most important. However, 25 percent like to try different kinds of cereal, indicating product placement would also be important. Only a small percentage of purchasers appear to be price conscious, unless the type of cereal they are looking for is out of stock, in which case there is a stronger tendency to purchase based on price promotions. In terms of distribution, our client is making deliveries twice per month to Big M Marts warehouses, which, in turn, is responsible for stocking the shelves. We currently have no direct knowledge of when our items are out of stock at the individual stores, but there is evidence that this does happen with some frequency. That is a good summary of the major issues. What would you recommend our client do? The sales through Big M Mart appear to have a negative impact on the bottom line, as they have lower margins. The client could work with grocery stores to ensure that they are able to compete effectively in the sugar cereal market. Perhaps they should also investigate whether Foods Inc. should leverage its other divisions to help the grocery store channel compete. To defend its current position, the client should move toward a partnership with Big M Mart and dedicate more resources to the relationship. The customer and competitor data indicate that our first priority should be to improve distribution to ensure product availability. Additionally, we should push for equal, if not better, product placement versus our competitors. Why would Big M Mart be willing to enter into a partnership with you? We could offer to share our information about customer behavior. First, by eliminating stock-outs, Big M Mart could increase its sales by more than 2 percent1 from customers who would not purchase anything, not including those who would be more likely to purchase higher-margin product instead of reaching for discounted brands. Also, sharing price sensitivity data could help reduce the attractiveness of price promotions and possibly allow for higher price points (increasing revenue for our client). Additionally, if Big M Mart were willing to share information regarding product availability in their stores, we could work with them to improve the current distribution system to allow for more economical deliveries, while at the same time ensuring our products availability in the store. Those sound like solid recommendations, but you should further investigate the cost of implementation and the impact