Blood Bank

Case Study Prompt

Our client is a blood bank that has operations spanning four states.  They operate many sites from which their staff go out to different locations (e.g., schools and offices) in order to collect blood samples.  

Next, the blood is transported to centralized processing centers for testing, treatment, etc. (there is one processing center per state).  Finally, the blood is transported from the testing centers to the hospitals that ultimately use the blood.  

The blood bank faces competition from other blood collection organizations.  Only 80% of hospital demand for blood is currently being met.  As a result, hospitals often have to share blood by transporting it between different hospitals, which is costly.  

There are no substitutes for human blood (synthetic substances or animal blood).

Their profitability has been slowly declining for some time and they are worried because new regulations are coming out that will require them to invest in an expensive new technology.  

The CEO wants to investigate potential areas to review in order to improve profitability and wants to know how to prioritize among them.

In what areas is there room to improve profitability?  What tools can be used to do this? 

Case Study Overview

Your client is a multi-state blood bank that is facing declining profitability in addition to new regulations that will raise costs significantly. In this Bain case study, it’s your job to delve into the problem to help your client identify areas for improvement and how to get their profitability climbing again.

Preparing for a second round Bain interview? We recommend using the Profitability Framework to solve this case study, but the best candidates blend set frameworks and their own business experience to create a framework specific to the situation.

There are no math exhibits in this case. This is a mid-level case interview you would likely run into in a second round at Bain.

Bain Interview Tips

What does Bain look for in its candidates? Practicality.

A helpful way to build a structure is to imagine yourself as a Project Manager having to assign out work-streams to a team of analysts.

In this case, focus on finding 1 thing you can grow in and timing yourself. Shoot for 2min for structure, 5min for math, 2min for brainstorming, 2min for conclusion.

For out-loud practice with an expert, book an hour with an ex-MBB coach.