BCG-波士顿咨询公司面试知识讲解.doc

Good is good, but better carries it.精益求精，善益求善。BCG-波士顿咨询公司面试-BCG-波士顿咨询公司面试实例在管理咨询公司的面试中,通常有一种被称为“商务问题”的面试方法，考官提供一种场景，然后要求提出解决问题的建议。需要做的就是像一个顾问一样，向考官问一些关键问题，通过这些关键问题反映思维逻辑，同时通过这些问题发现解决方案。如后是BCG面试的实例：（请注意：同样的一个场景，基于分析问题的逻辑将有无数种进展方式，所以没有绝对统一的答案或提问。）场景YourclientisthelargestdiscountretailerinCanada,with500storesspreadthroughoutthecountry.Letscallit“CanadaCo.”Forseveralyearsrunning,CanadaCohassurpassedthesecondlargestCanadianretailer(300stores)inbothrelativemarketshareandprofitability.CanadaCo是加拿大最大的折扣零售集团，拥有遍及全国的500家连锁店。经过几年的运营，它在市场占有率及盈利方面都已远远超过了拥有300家连锁店的第二大零售公司。它是本公司的客户之一。ThelargestdiscountretailerintheUnitedStates,"USCo,"however,hasjustboughtoutCanadaCo'scompetitionandisplanningtoconvertall300storestoUSCostores.TheCEOofCanadaCoisquiteperturbedbythisturnofevents,andasksyouthefollowingquestions:"ShouldIbeworried?HowshouldIreact?"HowwouldyouadvisetheCEO?USCo是美国最大的折扣零售集团。它收购了第二大的零售公司，准备将其拥有的300家店全部改造成USCo连锁店的形式。CanadaCo集团的CEO对此深感忧虑，他向你这样问到：“我应该对事态的发展担忧吗？应该如何应对呢”你怎样向这位CEO提出你的建议呢？（应聘者）：Well,beforeIcanadvisetheCEOIneedsomemoreinformationaboutthesituation.Firstofall,I'mnotsureIunderstandwhata"discountretailer"is!（考官）：Adiscountretailersellsalargevarietyofconsumergoodsatdiscountedprices,generallycarryingeverythingfromhousewaresandappliancestoclothing.Kmart,Woolworth,andWal-MartareprimeexamplesintheU.S.（应聘者）：在我向他提出建议之前，我必须对情况作进一步的了解。首先，我不太明白什么是“折扣零售店”。（考官）：“折扣零售店”以折扣价格销售各种各样的商品，包括家庭用具、服装等等，象美国的沃尔玛超市就是这样的例子。：Oh,Isee.ThenIthinkitmakessensetostructuretheproblemthisway:First,let'sunderstandthecompetitionintheCanadianmarketandhowCanadaCohasbecomethemarketleader.Thenlet'slookattheU.S.tounderstandhowUSCohasachieveditsposition.Attheend,wecanmergethetwodiscussionstounderstandwhetherUSCo'sstrengthintheU.S.istransferabletotheCanadianmarket.：Thatsoundsfine.Let'sstart,then,withtheCanadiandiscountretailmarket.Whatwouldyouliketoknow?Q：我知道了。我认为问题接下来应该这样分析：首先，我们应了解加拿大市场的竞争情况，以及CanadaCo是如何成为这个市场的领先者的；其次，分析美国市场及USCo的情况；最后，我们将二者结合起来分析，看USCo在美国成功的经验及其优势是否能移植到加拿大市场来。A：对加拿大折扣零售市场，你希望了解一些什么情况呢？Q：AreCanadaCo's500storesclosetothecompetition's300stores,ordotheyservedifferentgeographicareas?：Thestoresarelocatedinsimilargeographicregions.Infact,youmightevenseeaCanadaCostoreononecorner,andthecompetitionontheverynextcorner.Q：CanadaCo的500家连锁店与其竞争对手的300家店是位于不同的地区还是相距很近呢？：两个集团的零售店基本上位于相同的地区，甚至你在某个角落里看见CanadaCo的商店，就会在不远处发现其竞争对手的零售店。：DoCanadaCoandthecompetitionsellasimilarproductmix?：Yes.CanadaCo'sstorestendtohaveawidervarietyofbrandnames,butbyandlarge,theproductmixissimilar.：AreCanadaCo'spricessignificantlylowerthanthecompetition's?：No.ForcertainitemsCanadaCoislessexpensive,andforothersthecompetitionislessexpensive,buttheaveragepricelevelissimilar.：CanadaCo与其竞争对手销售同样的商品组合吗？：是的。CanadaCo销售的部分商品含有更多的品牌，但总体上，两家公司销售的商品组合是相同的。：CanadaCo销售商品的价格比起竞争对手低很多吗？：不。有的商品价格便宜一些，有的也高一些。在总体价格水平上同竞争对手是相当的。：IsCanadaComoreprofitablejustbecauseithasmorestores,ordoesithavehigherprofitsperstore?：Itactuallyhashigherprofitsthanthecompetitiononaper-storebasis.：Well,higherprofitscouldbetheresultoflowercostsorhigherrevenues.Arethehigherper-storeprofitsduetolowercoststhanthecompetition'sortheresultofhigherper-storesales?：CanadaCo'scoststructureisn'tanylowerthanthecompetition's.Itshigherper-storeprofitsareduetohigherper-storesales.：CanadaCo的盈利超过对手，仅仅是因为它拥有更多的连锁店呢还是因为每家店的利润都更高？：实际是因为它每家店的盈利能力都比对手强。：较高的利润里意味着较低的成本或较高的收益。那我们是在哪方面优于竞争对手呢？：CanadaCo的成本结构并不占优势。每家零售店的高利润来自于较大的销售量。：Isthatbecauseithasbiggerstores?：No.CanadaCo'saveragestoresizeisapproximatelythesameasthatofthecompetition.：Ifthey'resellingsimilarproductsatsimilarpricesinsimilar-sizedstoresinsimilarlocations,whyareCanadaCo'sper-storesaleshigherthanthecompetition's?：It'syourjobtofigurethatout!：那适应为它的店面更大吗？：不是，CanadaCo零售店的平均规模与其竞争对手不相上下。：那它们在相同的地点、以同样的价格出售相同的商品，为什么CanadaCo的销售量更大呢？：这正是你的任务呐！：IsCanadaCobettermanagedthanthecompetition?：Idon'tknowthatCanadaCoasacompanyisnecessarilybettermanaged,butIcantellyouthatitsmanagementmodelforindividualstoresissignificantlydifferent.：Howso?：Thecompetitor'sstoresarecentrallyownedbythecompany,whileCanadaCousesafranchisemodelinwhicheachindividualstoreisownedandmanagedbyafranchiseewhohasinvestedinthestoreandretainspartoftheprofit.：是CanadaCo管理得更好吗？：我不知道作为一个集团，CanadaCo的管理是否更好，但它对零售店的管理模式是与竞争对手完全不同的。与竞争对其连锁店的集中管理不同，CanadaCo采取的是特许经营的方式，谁投资谁经营，谁享有利润分享权。：Inthatcase,IwouldguessthattheCanadaCostoresareprobablybettermanaged,sincetheindividualstoreownershaveagreaterincentivetomaximizeprofit.：Youareexactlyright.ItturnsoutthatCanadaCo'shighersalesaredueprimarilytoasignificantlyhigherlevelofcustomerservice.Thestoresarecleaner,moreattractive,betterstocked,andsoon.Thecompanydiscoveredthisthroughaseriesofcustomersurveysitadministeredlastyear.Ithinkyou'vesufficientlycoveredtheCanadianmarketlet'smovenowtoadiscussionoftheU.S.market.：那我认为CanadaCo的零售店应该管理得更好，因为每个店主都会拥有更强烈的利润最大化的动机。：正是如此。CanadaCo连锁店更大的销售量主要来源于优质的顾客服务水平，它们店面整洁，商品排列有序。这些结论都是通过去年进行的一系列顾客调查获得的。我想你对加拿大市场已经获得了足够的了解，让我们可以转到美国市场吧。：HowmanystoresdoesUSCoownintheU.S.,andhowmanydoesthesecondlargestdiscountretailerown?：USCoowns4,000storesandthesecondlargestcompetitorownsapproximately1,000stores.：AreUSCostoresbiggerthanthoseofthetypicaldiscountretailerintheU.S.?：Yes.USCostoresaverage200,000squarefeet,whereasthetypicaldiscountretailstoreisapproximately100,000squarefeet.：USCo在美国拥有多少家连锁店？第二大的集团呢？：USCo有4000家零售店，位于第二位的它的最大的竞争者有1000家商店。：USCo的零售店比一般的折扣零售店更大吗？：是的。它们的零售店平均有200000平米，而一般的只有100000平米大小。.：ThosenumberssuggestthatUSCoshouldbesellingroughlyeighttimesthevolumeofthenearestU.S.competitor!：Close.USCo'ssalesareapproximately$5billion,whereasthenearestcompetitorsellsabout$1billionworthofmerchandise：IwouldthinkthatsalesofthatsizegiveUSCosignificantcloutwithsuppliers.Doesithavealowercostofgoodsthanthecompetition?：Infact,itscostofgoodsisapproximately15percentlessthanthatofthecompetition.：这些数据是否意味着USCo的销售量使其最大的竞争对手的8倍！：差不多。USCo的销售额为50亿美元，而其最大的竞争对手为10亿。：我想如此大的规模使USCo在于其供应商的关系中处于非常有利的地位。它的金或成本是不是比起竞争对手低呢？：低15%。：Soitprobablyhaslowerprices.：Rightagain.Itspricesareonaverageabouttenpercentlowerthanthoseofthecompetition.&&&&：SoitseemsthatUSCohasbeensosuccessfulprimarilybecauseithaslowerpricesthanitscompetitors.：That'spartlyright.Itssuccessprobablyalsohassomethingtodowithalargerselectionofproducts,giventhelargeraveragestoresize.：那么它出售的商品价格就较低。：对，价格低10%左右。：那就是说USCo的成功主要在于它提供的较低的价格。：这是一部分原因。还有就是它的店面更大，商品的种类也更多。：HowdidUSCogetsomuchbiggerthanthecompetition?A：Itstartedbybuildingsuperstoresinruralmarketsservedmainlybymom-and-popstoresandsmalldiscountretailers.USCobetthatpeoplewouldbewillingtobuyfromit,anditwasright.Asitgrewanddevelopedmorecloutwithsuppliers,itbegantobuyoutotherdiscountretailersandconverttheirstorestotheUSCoformat.：SowheneverUSCobuysoutacompetingstore,italsophysicallyexpandsit?：Notnecessarily.Sometimesitdoes,butwhenIsaiditconvertedittotheUSCoformat,Imeantthatitcarriesthesamebrandsatpricesthatareonaveragetenpercentlowerthanthecompetition's.：USCo的规模为什么能这么大？A：它最早是在乡村地区开办超市，之前这些地区只有一些小的零售点和家庭小卖部。USCo认为这些地区的人会愿意从超市购买商品，后来证明这一判断是正确的。USCo开始扩张，与供应商建立联盟，逐渐购并了其它的一些零售商，将它们归入USCo旗下。：是不是每次USCo收购了一家竞争者的商店，都会将它扩充？A：并不是每次都需要这样。对于收购过来的有些商店，它只需要以低于竞争对手10%的价格出售商品，并贯上自己的品牌就可以了。：WhatcriteriadoesUSCouseindecidingwhetheritshouldphysicallyexpandastoreit'sjustboughtout?：Itdependsonalotoffactors,suchasthesizeoftheexistingstore,localmarketcompetition,localrealestatecosts,andsoon,butIdon'tthinkweneedtogointothathere.：Well,Ithoughtitmightberelevantintermsofpredictingwhatitwilldowiththe300storesthatitboughtinCanada.：Let'sjustassumethatitdoesn'tplantoexpandtheCanadianstoresbeyondtheircurrentsize.：那它在决定哪些商店需要扩充、哪些只是收购过来的时候，有什么标准呢？：这取决于很多种因素，比如商店已有的规模、当地市场的竞争情况、地产的价格等等。我认为这些对我们的问题不重要。：我是觉得这些有助于我们预测它将会对收购的这300家商店做怎样的安排。：我们就假定它不会扩充这些商店的规模。：OK.IthinkI'velearnedenoughaboutUSCo.I'dliketoaskafewquestionsaboutUSCo'sabilitytosucceedintheCanadianmarket.DoesUSCohaveastrongbrandnameinCanada?：No.AlthoughmembersoftheCanadianbusinesscommunityarecertainlyfamiliarwiththecompanybecauseofitsU.S.success,theCanadianconsumerisbasicallyunawareofUSCo'sexistence.：那我已经对USCo有了足够的了解了。我想在为几个关于USCo是否具有在加拿大市场成功的能力的问题。USCo在加拿大拥有很强的品牌吗？：不。虽然加拿大一些商业企业知道它在美国市场成功，但加拿大的消费者并不知道这个公司。：DoesUSCocarryproductssimilartoUSCo's,ordoestheCanadianconsumerexpectdifferentproductsandbrandsthantheU.S.discountretailconsumer?：Thetwocompaniescarrysimilarproducts,althoughtheCanadaCostoresleanmoreheavilytowardCanadiansuppliers.：HowmuchvolumedoesCanadaCoactuallysell?：About$750millionworthofgoodsannually.：USCo出售商品的品牌和USCo一样吗？或者加拿大的消费者喜欢一些与美国的小给这不同的产品和品牌？：虽然CanadaCo更倾向于选择加拿大的供应商，但两个公司卖同样品牌的商品。：CanadaCo的销售量是多少？：每年75亿美元左右。：IsthereanyreasontothinkthatthecostsofdoingbusinessforUSCowillbehigherintheCanadianmarket?：Canyoubemorespecific?：Imean,forexample,arelabororleasingcostshigherinCanadathanintheU.S.?：Canadadoeshavesignificantlyhigherlaborcosts,andI'mnotsureaboutthecostsofleasingspace.Butwhatareyoudrivingat?：有没有什么原因会使USCo在加拿大营业的成本会更高呢？：能具体一点吗？：比如劳动力成本及租金等会比在美国高？：加拿大的劳动力成本要高得多，租金则不一定。问这些是要得出什么结论呢？：Iwasthinkingthatifthere'sahighercostofdoingbusinessinCanada,perhapsUSCowillhavetochargehigherpricesthanitdoesintheU.S.tocoveritscosts.：That'sprobablytrue,butremember,CanadaComustalsocopewiththesamehighlaborcosts.CanyouthinkofadditionalcostsincurredbyUSCo'sCanadaoperationsthatwouldnotbeincurredbyCanadaCo?：我想如果USCo在加拿大的运营成本较高的话，它对商品的定价也会比在美国高一些。：也许。但CanadaCo也需要承受这些更高的运营成本呐。你能不能想到USCo在有些成本方面会比CanadaCo高一些呢？：USComightincurhigherdistributioncoststhanCanadaCobecauseitwillhavetoshipproductfromitsU.S.warehousesuptoCanada.：Youarepartiallyright.CanadaCoisadvantagedindistributioncosts,sinceitsnetworkspanslessgeographicareaanditgetsmoreproductfromCanadiansuppliers.However,sinceCanadaCocontinuestogetagooddealofproductfromtheU.S.,theactualadvantagetoCanadaCoisnotgreatonlyabouttwopercentofoverallcosts.：USCo在运输成本上可能会比CanadaCo高，因为它需要从位于美国的仓库运货来加拿大。：你只对了一半。CanadaCo在运输成本方面会有一些优势，因为它销售网络的地域跨越性较小，它也较多的从加拿大的供应商处进货。但是，CanadaCo也有很多商品来自美国。因此，她的总成本只有2%的优势。：AllthissuggeststhatUSCowillbeabletoretainasignificantpriceadvantageoverCanadaCo'sstores:ifnottenpercent,thenatleastseventoeightpercent.：Iwouldagreewiththatconclusion.：这意味着USCo会比CanadaCo的零售店拥有价格上的优势，即使达不到10%，也大概会有7-8%。：我同意你的结论。：ThenIwouldtelltheCEOthefollowing:Inthenearterm,youmightbesafe.YourstoreshaveamuchstrongerbrandnameinCanadathanUSCos,andtheyseemtobewellmanaged.However,asconsumersgetusedtoseeingpricesthatareconsistentlyseventoeightpercentlessatUSCo,theywillrealizethatshoppingatUSComeanssignificantsavingsoverthecourseoftheyear.Althoughsomeconsumerswillremainloyaloutofhabitorbecauseofyourhighlevelofservice,itisreasonabletoexpectthe"discount"shoppertoshopwherepricesarelowest.Moreover,overtimeyourbrand-nameadvantagewillerodeasUSCobecomesmorefamiliartoCanadianconsumers.YoucertainlyhavetoworryaboutlosingsignificantsharetoUSCostoresinthelongterm.Youshouldprobablydosomethingaboutitnow,beforeit'stoolate.：我会这样建议这位CEO：公司在短期不会有什么问题。在加拿大它拥有比USCo更好的品牌，而且它的运营情况也不错。但是，一旦消费者看到USCo的商品总是更低（7-8%），他们会知道在USCo购物会在长期内省很多钱。虽然一部分会消费者会由于你们提供的高质量的服务而对公司保持忠诚，但这些购买打折商品的消费者会更注重价格的高低。随着人们对USCo的逐渐熟悉，你们的品牌效应也会削弱。你却是应为公司的市场占有率被USCo夺走而担忧，并及时采取适当的行动扭转这种趋势。：CanyousuggestpossiblestrategiesforCanadaCo?：Maybeitcanfindwaystocutcostsandmaketheorganizationmoreefficient,soitcankeeppriceslowevenifitscostofgoodsishigher.：Anythingelse?：Itmightconsiderinstitutingsomethinglikea"frequentshopper"program,whereconsumersaccumulatepointsthatentitlethemtofuturediscountsonmerchandise.：你能给出一些战略上的建议吗？：可以通过削减成本、精简机构来降低出售商品的价格。还可以采取类似“贵宾卡”等活动来使那些经常光顾的人获得累计的积分，从而的带更多的折扣。：Whatmightbeapotentialproblemwiththat?：Well,itmightnotbethatcost-effective,sinceitwouldberewardingasignificantnumberofshopperswhowouldhavecontinuedtoshopwithitanyway.：Anyothersuggestions?：Itmightwanttoprepareamarketingoradvertisingcampaignthathighlightsitshighlevelofservice.Itmighteveninstitutea"CanadaCoServiceGuarantee"thatsurpassesanyguaranteesofferedbyUSCo.：Assumingtheonlywaytokeepcustomersisthroughcompetitivepricing,isthereanythingCanadaCocandotoappearcompetitivetotheconsumer?：这会有什么潜在的问题吗？：这可能不利于降低成本，因为它给与较大一部分顾客更低的折扣。：还有什么建议吗？：还应该伴随一些宣传其优质服务的促销及广告活动，甚至还应建立“CanadaCo服务保证”，提供超过USCo所有承诺的服务。：Itmightwanttoconsiderofferingfewerproductlines,sothatitcanconsolidateitsbuyingpowerandnegotiatepriceswithsuppliersthatarecompetitivewithUSCo's.ItmightlosesomecustomerswhowantthevarietyofproductthatUSCohas,butitmaybeabletoretainthecustomerwhoisbuyingalimitedarrayofitemsandisjustlookingforthebestprice.：Allofyoursuggestionsareinteresting,andyouwouldwanttoanalyzetheadvantagesanddisadvantagesofeachinmoredetailbeforemakinganyrecommendationstotheCEO.：它还可以减少商品的种类，这样可以巩固其购买力及其与供货商的谈判能力，以此获得竞争优势。这样会使其失去一些追求多样化的顾客，但会保留一些只购买少量品种商品、并且寻找最低价格的顾客。A：你的建议都很有意思。在向CEO提出建议之前，你需要进一步对每种方案的优势及劣势进行深入的分析。-