Lessons From TISS Mumbai, Flipkart WiRED 6.0 Runner-Up (HR Track)

Flipkart WiRED 6.0- The Power of One, was the sixth edition of a top B-School case study competition by e-commerce giant Flipkart. The competition called out to PAN India B-School students to participate in any of the four tracks- HR, Business, Product, and Supply Chain. It garnered 35,806 registrations and 51,44,310 impressions with exciting cash prizes and PPI for job opportunities with Flipkart up for grabs. The competition was a flourishing success, with Team Expecto Patronum from TISS Mumbai walking away with the runner-up title in the HR track. Let’s see what they have to say about their takeaways from this amazing experience. 

Flipkart WiRED is one of the most prestigious case competitions that holds immense repute amongst B-School students. We were pleased to hear about the launch of the competition and quickly registered for it on Unstop (formerly Dare2Compete). We believe that the three of us- Ananya Shukla, Ananyo Bhattacharyya, and Paramita Das, were the perfect fit to form a team and we called ourselves Team Expecto Patronum. 

Fortunately for us (and unlike the pandemic years) the finale of Flipkart WiRED 6.0 took place in Bangalore at the Flipkart Headquarters. It was a great opportunity for all of us to meet the leadership team, take a tour around the beautiful office, and present our case on the stage of grandeur. And winning the runner-up title was like the icing on the cake.

Competition Structure

Flipkart started the competition with a virtual kick-off round where we also had to participate in an online quiz. Every one of us had to take part in the quiz individually. Thankfully our average score made us eligible for round two. Here is a snapshot of all the rounds that were a part of the competition:

• Round 1 (Qualifier): Online Quiz
• Round 2: Case Study Challenge
• Virtual Semi-Finale (Detailed PPT Submission)
• Round 3: Virtual Semi-Finale (Presentation)
• Round 4: Down to the WiRED

The case we got in round 2 was quite challenging and required us to do in-depth research. The structure of the competition was well thought out, where every stage acted as the qualifier for the consequent round with the top teams being selected to continue in the competition. The best part about the competition was that each team who made it to the nationals had an exclusive mentor to help them prepare better for D-day.

Out Tripartite Strategy

The strategy we employed for this competition can be summarized in three simple words, PROCESS-ANALYZE-IMPLEMENT. But what does this mean? 

• Well, the Process phase was all about embracing the problem and making it our own to delve deeper into the problem at hand. And facilitate the process of understanding the 'Flipkart context' to give well-aligned solutions.
• The Analysis phase was about getting the perspective from the horse’s mouth, that is, reaching out to multiple stakeholders across the three distinctive categories. These were- GenZ, millennials, and People Managers.
• And finally, the Implementation phase revolved around ensuring that our solutions were-
  a) feasible,
  b) scalable, and
  c) in alignment with the core Flipkart values maximizing the experience for the Flipsters!

The Challenges We Faced

Challenges will always be there, what matters is that you persist and overcome them. We also faced a set of challenges in this competition, they were:

• Deconstructing the technological aspect of the case in a seamless manner and coming up with creative ideas that were not only feasible but also scalable. 
• Secondly, we had been apprehensive about the business buy-in of the solutions we were proposing. We overcame this challenge by running the ideas by the major stakeholders in our case. 
• Lastly, one major challenge had been staying motivated amidst other academic and curricular commitments. 

But as we said we kept going despite these challenges and were ultimately successful in navigating the rough waters. And emerged as one of the top two teams in the competition!

Also read: Challenge Yourself With These B-school Competitions

Learning From Our Competitors

We believe that such competitions are all about learning from everybody that is a part of the journey, be it the organizers, team members, jury, stakeholders, or even other teams. And although all teams in the competition were equally strong and had something unique in their solution, one team that stood out for us in terms of providing a complete and holistic solution, was the one from SIBM Pune.

SIBM Pune developed distinct and creative avatars for each persona signifying employees across levels in the organization. It proved to be beneficial in analyzing the different needs and expectations of the employees and how they can differ from one another. The team had also done an in-depth financial analysis of their recommendations and charted a cost-benefit analysis. It was great to be a part of this competition with such a brilliant talent pool from different parts of the nation. 

Wisdom Gained From the Competition

The competition journey was full of enlightening lessons. Some of the key things we learned during the competition are:

• We as a team learned that a lot of times businesses face similar problems and through benchmarking you also get to understand how other businesses solved the problem. 
• The solution proposed is worthwhile only if it aligns with your company's mission, vision, and values. Aligning our recommendations to Flipkart's context and values was our utmost priority and it helped us to make our solution stand out.
• We also learned how crucial it is to conduct extensive primary research and comprehend the employee journey in order to propose the best solutions. 
• Things on ground are generally quite different from what is normally perceived, hence understanding the stakeholder's plight in their own words gives the best view of the problem at hand.

As soon as our team finished the presentation for the national semi finale round, we anticipated a lot of questions from the jury. To our surprise, our team wasn’t asked a single question. We thought something was wrong and didn’t even have an iota of hope that our team would make it to the national finale. In fact, we had low-key given up on the competition. But the announcement that ours was one of the top 4 teams that made it to the national finale, took us to cloud nine. This gave us a confidence boost and we pledged to give our best in the nationals. We were also very excited to go to Bangalore and give our first offline presentation as a team. The experience was everything we had hoped for and more!

It's All About Teamwork

Ours was not a team, but a family. And being a part of this family, we experienced a lot of highs along with our fair share of lows. We often had conflicts, where we argued and deliberated for hours and hours on the case solutions. We are a passionate bunch who go the extra mile to make our mark. This is what we believe ultimately made our end solution holistic in nature. Also, these conflicts didn't deter the fabric which united the 3 of us, as we trusted each other and were driven by a united cause to devise the best solution. It won't be wrong to admit that these intellectual conflicts have been a major contributor to our success.

Our team name - ‘Expecto Patronum’ literally translates into a state, wherein we expect/or await a guardian angel. To cast this spell, one needs to conjure happy memories in their mind. For each one of us, this team as a whole was the guiding light or guardian angel. We can say - we have truly lived upto the notion of ‘Expecto’ and had an amazing time with Flipkart WiRED 6.0. 

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