Case Analysis Essentials For CUHKSZ 20201112 Vstudent

Case Competition Essentials
- Your first step to success

By Philip Chan
Prepared for: CUHK, Shenzhen
12 November 2020 (C) All rights reserved - Not for distribution

Agenda for today’s training
Analyzing a case Presenting your story
How to utilise the prep time wisely What to present on stage

– Case cracking and slides making – Essential building blocks of case analysis

International case competition?
• Teams from different universities gather for a week or a few days
• Networking and recreational activities to mingle with each other
• One or multiple rounds of competitions
• Time period (3/5/24/50 hrs) for teams to prepare for presentation in an isolated environment
Assigned to read case material
Discuss on the case company’s problem and propose solutions
Prepare for presentation slides and rehearse for presentation
Present your story on stage!

International case competition?
New gather
• Teams from different universities normal
for in case competitions
a week
• Networking activities to mingle with each other
• One or multiple rounds of competitions Virtual case competition
• A period (3/5/24/50 hours) for team to prepare for the presentation in an isolated environment
Much less and virtual networking opportunities

Assigned to read a case material
Etiquette in online conference call

Discuss on the case company problem and think on solutions
Prepare for presentation slides and rehearseNew

for ”presentation”
presentation normal
Present your story on stage!

Team composition
Situation Analysis Recommendation Financials
(+ Opening) X 2? (+ Risks and mitigations)

(+ Executive summary) (+ Implementation timeline)
(+ Closing)

Step 0: Formulating your preparation (before competition takes place!)
• Design a customised game plan for your team and for the competition
• Start with a draft and constantly review upon practices
• Team should strictly follow the timeline whenever possible
1 2 3
Individual preparation Team discussion Individual crafting
Checkpoint Presentation

Step 0: Formulating your preparation (Cont’d)
Example of a 3-hour timeline Example of a 24-hour timeline
Time Task Time Task
20 mins Read case individually 30 mins Read case individually

50 mins Individual research
20 mins Individual research
30 mins Discuss case key issues and situation analysis
15 mins Discuss case key issues and situation analysis
30 mins Confirm on problem statement
10 mins Confirm on problem statement 30 mins Lunch
40 mins Ideate strategy 180 mins Ideate strategy fokus disini

240 mins Individuals to prepare his/her part in details
60 mins Individuals to prepare his/her part in details including slides fokus disini
including slides
(Financials person might start first when initial 50 mins Dinner and break
strategy has been come up) ~ mins Team to regroup and review whole deck
10 mins Compile slide ~ mins Prepare Q&A
10 mins Team to review whole deck ~ mins Prepare and rehearse own part
~ mins Team rehearsal
5 hours Sleep
mungkin bisa diskip 2 hours Team rehearsal after breakfast

Step 1: Case reading
Identify key tasks and read through entire material
Identify case company’s business and its core

competencies
Jot down key problems, evidences, stats and your

thoughts
Initial thoughts on the problem statement and

recommendation

Case company: XYZ Book Store
Problem:
 Running out of cash, cannot pay back suppliers [Page 2]
(1) Dropping revenue

- People no longer read books [Page 3]
- New competitor ABC [Page 6]
(2) Increasing cost

- Regulatory minimum wage [Page 10]
- Import cost rose for 12% [Page 11]
Problem statement: How to increase XYZ’s immediate cash

inflow in coming 2 years?
Recommendation:
(1) Viral marketing campaign at xmas
Offline: Book store? Mall?
Online: Own website? E-commerce sites?
Use case: Xmas presents/Readings during lockdown

Step 2: Team re-grouping
So after you have done your own reading and initial research…
Summarise key facts and issues
Come up with situation analysis
Define key problem statement

If it feels
illogical…
Ideate on recommendations
Storylining and storyboarding

Step 3: Deepening your thoughts
Does this strategy align with the

Does this strategy really solve
case company’s core
the key issues?
competencies?
Is the strategy feasible in terms Is the strategy company-

of resources? Timeline? specific? If not how to
Regulatory requirement? customise it to adopt?
Any cool elements to add on?
How to present it in a cool way?

Step 3: Deepening your thoughts
Does this strategy align with the

Does this strategy really solve
case company’s core
the key issues?
competencies
Viability – Does it help?
Is the strategy feasible in terms Is the strategy company-
of resources? Timeline? specific? If not how to
Regulatory requirement? customise it to adopt?
Feasibility – How does it work?

Any cool elements to fit into it?
Desirability – How to make everyone like it?

How to present it in a cool way?

Concept check
Example 1: Zoo Example 3: High-end oat milk

To achieve greater revenue and
To increase sales in family
educate about conservation
customers
New program to engage visitor
Vending machine at Price cut against
primary school mass diary products
Improve mobile app
Example 2: Zoo Example 4: Soft drinks

Diversified sponsorship To increase teen consumption per capita
by 30%
On-site naming
Social media ads campaign
Brands are specified next to
product placed Launch of zero sugar versions
=> Build awareness
sponsorship = get more revenue from sponsor. Actually this is advertisement, but the wording just makes it different

Step 4: Slides making
Example from a final team in CBS Case Competition 2019
Tagline (key message)
Key points
Visuals (icons, photos)

Flows and illustrations

Step 4: Slides making (Cont’d)
Example from winning team in CBS Case Competition 2020
Tagline
Visualising
recommendation
Impact

Step 5: Team re-group and Q&A preparation
Walk through the deck together:

• Key messages aligned?
• Key theme obvious and clear throughout all parts?
• Any conflicting or overlapping contents? E.g. situation vs recommendation; Reco 1 vs Reco 2; Reco vs.
financials
• Any typos?
• Any last minute changes to make slides look/read better?
Challenge each other’s or your own part:

• Come up with some hypothetical questions
• Think about a precise and wise answer
• Go back to revise the slides or add appendix slides if the question is too obvious/important and the
content should be added back to presentation

So, after the intensive period of preparation,
are you ready to go onto the stage?

Presentation is telling your own story

The theme
If you are asked to design a strategy to grow Roastery’s

businesses in coming 3 years…
Problem statement
Starbucks Roastery – Top-notch coffee tastes for the top-notch you

Starbucks Roastery
The roasteries, usually tens of
thousands of square feet, are often Starbucks Roastery – Innovation showcase for the new coffee era
described as a theme park experience,
including coffee bars with tastings,
cocktail bars, areas to observe the
roasting and brewing processes, areas
Starbucks Roastery – Coffee for community, taste for individuals
to purchase food, and local artwork
throughout. The facilities also roast,
package, and ship coffee to stores in
their regions.

Presentation framework for case competitions
Cover page Must-have; 1 page
Executive summary Must-have; 1 page
Situation Analysis Must-have; Multiple pages
Problem statement Must-have; 1 page
Strategic overview Optional; 1 page
Recommendation Must-have; Multiple pages
Risk and mitigation Optional; 1 page
Implementation timeline Optional; 1 page
Financials Must-have; Multiple pages
Closing slide Must-have; 1 page
Appendix Optional; Multiple pages

Sometimes you are asked to make a “super-slide”…
3-slide summary
1-pager placemat!
Implementation
Implementation
Risk and mitigations
timeline
Financials

0. Cover page
1 Intro by emotional appeal Example from a final team in CBS Case Competition 2018
2 Intro by introducing company
3 Intro by thematic metaphor
4 Intro by classical companies

1. Executive summary
A quick overview of the presentation – What should the audience be expecting?
Objectives Key issues
Challenges Challenges
OR
Reco Reco
Impact Impact

2. Situation analysis
To lay down foundation of your presentation To highlight trends and painpoints to be addressed
To SERVE for later parts of the presentation
Internal factors External factors
• Vision and values • Market competition
• Core competencies • Product alternatives
• Efficiency and productivity • Demand-side factors
• Product lines/portfolio • Supply-side factors
• Organisational culture
• Political issues
• Financial performance
• Operational issue • Stakeholder analysis
What are the implications for the case company?

2. Situation analysis (Cont’d)

3. Problem statement
Summarise the situation analysis and extend into today’s recommendation…
How can XXX build an online sales channel and achieve sales of $8m by 2022?
How can YYY break into the Asian non-alcoholic beverage market by 2021?
How can ZZZ build an innovation system and implement 5 projects by 2022?
How can AAA fulfill its social responsibility in promoting eco-tourism?

4. Strategy
Core of the presentation: What’s the recommendation that addresses the problem statement
WHY WHAT HOW IMPACT FUTURE

• Internal: Core • Objectives • Business model • Win-win
STATE
competencies, • Business model walk-through • Synergy • Next step
assets • Resources • Customer journey • Value/core strategy/tactics
• External: • Target customer • Case study competencies fit (medium/long
Customer profile, • Value proposition, • Mockups • How to address term)
market trend, i.e. The • Examples of the core issue
industry ”message” business partners
delivered to
customer

So, you are proposing me to setup an online platform…
WHY Why should I do teaching online?
Where should I go? My own website? Tiktok? App?

Value proposition? Is it educational…funny…scary or formal?
WHAT
How long should each session be?
What content should I present? Case cracking skills or good food in HK?
My viewers: Where do they know my platform and how can I earn from it?
How Should I promote my channel on other platforms?
Maybe CUHK-SZ would sponsor my channel…?
I am getting famous! ☺
Impact
And my case cracking skills can be shared to the young minds out there

4. Strategy (Cont’d)
Example from a final team in ICC@M 2019

5. Risks and mitigations
Highlight the potential risks of implementing the strategies and mitigation tactics
- Only pick the risks that have a simple solutions!
Common risks that your

case may include:
- Risk of being copied by
competitors
- Risk of long payback period
- Risk of regulation
- Risk of mismatched
customer appetite

6. Implementation timeline
Breakdown strategy Example from a final team in CBS Case Competition 2019
into tasks and lay out
the time needed
• How the entire
strategy scheme
can fit into the
target timeline
• Be sensible about
the timeline - don’t
be too aggressive
or conservative

7. Financials
Prove to the judges that your solutions are financially viable

- Be sure about the assumptions and projections
- Prepare to explain the breakdowns when asked
Operational metrics Financial metrics
• Forecast in demand, market size, • Forecast in financials

market share, and other related • Revenue
• Cost
metrics related to the case/company • Cost structure
• Margin
• EBITDA
• ROI
• CAPEX
• NPV/IRR/payback period
• Sensitivity analysis

7. Financials (Cont’d)

8. Ending
1 Show the Executive Summary again and go through quickly
2 Next steps: Immediate actions to proceed with the recommendations
3 A conclusion with key recommendation, objectives and company visions
Bring hope to the audience!

9. Appendix
• Must-have for long case (>5 hours)
• Optional, and technically challenging for short case (<=5 hours)
• Hard evidence to supplement your answers in the Q&A session
To prepare, try to supplement a piece or two information for each slide/point in the main deck
• Hire talent: channel? Criteria?

• Partnership: Example? Evaluation criteria? Case studies?
• Holding conference: Sample rundown? Speaker?
• Concept store: Case studies? Details of experience corner? Floor plan?

Sample rundown of a 15-min presentation
# of slides Section Speaker Time spent

1 Cover page 1 25 secs
2 Executive summary 1 25 secs
15 Situation Analysis & problem statement 1 4 mins
8 Recommendation 1 2 6 mins
10 Recommendation 2 3 6 mins
1 Implementation timeline 4 30 secs
1 Risks and mitigations 4 30 secs
4 Financials and KPI 4 1min 30 secs
1 Closing 4 45 secs

Some practical tips
• Shake hands with judges when first walking in and before walking out
• Be confident and smile ☺
• Do no block judges’ views towards the screen or your teammates
• Use of gesture
• Do not stare at the screen
• Be precise – You’d never speak too briefly on one point
If it’s virtual:
- Practice to use Zoom well, especially sharing
screen to your Powerpoint
- Make sure whole team stands well on screen with
speaker in front
- Look at the cam not your screen (or worse
extended monitor)

THANK YOU!

Disclaimer
This set of materials serves for educational purpose only and is customised for specific recipient. Usage is
uncontrolled upon being downloaded or forwarded. The references quoted in this materials are for
discussion only and do not serve as example of effective or ineffective presentation. Copyright reserved by
writer or party referenced.

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Case Competition Essentials

- Your first step to success

Prepared for: CUHK, Shenzhen

12 November 2020 (C) All rights reserved - Not for distribution

Analyzing a case Presenting your story

How to utilise the prep time wisely What to present on stage

12 November 2020 (C) All rights reserved - Not for distribution

Assigned to read case material

Discuss on the case company’s problem and propose solutions

Prepare for presentation slides and rehearse for presentation

Present your story on stage!

12 November 2020 (C) All rights reserved - Not for distribution

Much less and virtual networking opportunities

Etiquette in online conference call

Prepare for presentation slides and rehearseNew

Present your story on stage!

12 November 2020 (C) All rights reserved - Not for distribution

Situation Analysis Recommendation Financials

(+ Opening) X 2? (+ Risks and mitigations)

12 November 2020 (C) All rights reserved - Not for distribution

Individual preparation Team discussion Individual crafting

12 November 2020 (C) All rights reserved - Not for distribution

Example of a 3-hour timeline Example of a 24-hour timeline

Time Task Time Task

20 mins Read case individually 30 mins Read case individually

40 mins Ideate strategy 180 mins Ideate strategy fokus disini

12 November 2020 (C) All rights reserved - Not for distribution

Identify key tasks and read through entire material

Identify case company’s business and its core

Jot down key problems, evidences, stats and your

Initial thoughts on the problem statement and

12 November 2020 (C) All rights reserved - Not for distribution

(1) Dropping revenue

(2) Increasing cost

Problem statement: How to increase XYZ’s immediate cash

12 November 2020 (C) All rights reserved - Not for distribution

Summarise key facts and issues

Come up with situation analysis

Define key problem statement

Storylining and storyboarding

12 November 2020 (C) All rights reserved - Not for distribution

Does this strategy align with the

Is the strategy feasible in terms Is the strategy company-

Any cool elements to add on?

How to present it in a cool way?

12 November 2020 (C) All rights reserved - Not for distribution

Does this strategy align with the

Feasibility – How does it work?

Desirability – How to make everyone like it?

12 November 2020 (C) All rights reserved - Not for distribution

Example 1: Zoo Example 3: High-end oat milk

Example 2: Zoo Example 4: Soft drinks

12 November 2020 (C) All rights reserved - Not for distribution

Tagline (key message)

Visuals (icons, photos)

12 November 2020 (C) All rights reserved - Not for distribution

12 November 2020 (C) All rights reserved - Not for distribution

Walk through the deck together:

Challenge each other’s or your own part:

12 November 2020 (C) All rights reserved - Not for distribution

12 November 2020 (C) All rights reserved - Not for distribution

12 November 2020 (C) All rights reserved - Not for distribution