Chemicals, Inc.

Case Study Prompt

The CEO of Chemicals Inc., a leading chemicals company with a long history of innovative products and application technologies has contacted you for assistance.  

In the past couple of years, the company’s bottom-line profitability has slowly eroded to the point where EBITDA is hovering barely above 0, even though the company’s overall sales growth is outpacing industry averages.  

Magnifying these financial problems are the reports he is receiving from his business unit leaders which are that revenues and volumes are up and profitability has never been higher. 

The CEO looks at you across the table and asks, “What do I do?”

Case Study Overview

Your client is facing a mysterious profitability problem and has come to you looking for answers. In this business case interview practice, it’s your job to delve deep into the client’s operations, find the source of the problem and give them real-world solutions.

Are you preparing for a first round interview at Deloitte? You can use the Profitability Framework to solve this case study, but we recommend you don’t stop there. Build a custom framework for the case that blends your business acumen with the structure.

This case has one math diagram. The qualitative difficulty is 3 out of 4, making this an advanced level interview you can expect to see in a Deloitte final round.

Deloitte Interview Tips

What does Deloitte look for in its case interview candidates? Deloitte wants to see your upfront case structure and how well you would fit into their culture.

Make sure you are able to effectively create and clearly communicate your structure to an interviewer. Be sure to prepare for the fit portion of your interview!

In this case, focus on timing yourself as you go through the case: 4min to build and present your structure, 5min for math, 2min for brainstorming, 2min for final recommendation. Also, work on enhancing your communication and polish.

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