IIM Lucknow Sweeps GEP Gameplan Season 12 Runner-up Trophy

GEP is an industry leader and provider of procurement consulting, outsourcing services, and software. It has a local presence on a global scale through its offices and operations in North and South America, Europe, and Asia. The company was once again back with its case study competition titled- GEP Gameplan Season 12. GEP Gameplan is considered to be one of the most challenging competitions across top B-Schools in the nation. Naturally, it requires a considerable amount of dedication, domain knowledge & great teamwork to perform well in this competition.

With amazing cash prizes and PPI opportunities up for grabs countless full-time PGDM/MBA programs numerous students registered for the challenge. We- Chahat Nanda, Ankit Gami, and Pranshul Gupta, students of IIM Lucknow, were also super excited to be a part of this year’s challenge. Our team name was Team Phoenix and we are elated to have won the runner-up title.

GEP Gameplan Season 12 Structure

The latest season of GEP Gameplan was spread across 3 rounds conducted in a time span of 1-2 months. The rounds were as follows:

• Round 1: Campus Qualifier
  Here each team was required to prepare a PowerPoint presentation with 1-2 slides
• Round 2: Campus Finale
  Here the teams had to work on the updated case deliverables and were required to present the detailed solution in 5-6 slides.
• Round 3: Mentorship Round and National Finale
  Each qualifying team was assigned a seasoned GEP Manager as a mentor for further refinement of their solution. The teams were then required to update their solution and present it to the GEP Leadership Team.

The problem statement was designed in a manner that kept us engaged throughout the competition. An in-depth understanding of the problem statement helped us in connecting the dots, and the solution flowed from thereon out. Every round brought something new to the fore and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. One of our team members, Chahat was on cloud nine when we cleared the first round since this was her first case study competition at a National level.

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Our GEP Gameplan Strategy

As a part of our winning strategy, we decided to not only focus on bringing out the best possible solution through research but to also look at every other aspect which was indirectly related to our problem statement. 

• In simple words, we wanted to scratch our thinking hats over and beyond.
• We delved deep into the problem statement to identify the best recommendations considering relevant industry trends and best practices as per today’s environment which is extremely dynamic.
• We also focused on presenting our solution comprehensively. We tried to propose suggestions in form of actual measures adopted by existing companies in diverse domains.

The main challenge that we faced was to extract the case understanding from the points of view of all the stakeholders involved. But with the combined team effort and sheer determination, we were able to build a brilliant solution.

Mentor & Jury

The judgment quality for GEP Gameplan Season 12 was extremely fair. We figured that the management did not only look at the final solution but also considered the justification of each parameter on which the solutions were judged. A big support from the GEP team came in form of the mentor they assigned to us. Our mentor was always available to resolve our queries and provide incremental inputs to our solution; hence making it more holistic.

We were amazed when the jury in the National round appreciated our presentation skills and did not ask us any questions because they felt that we had already touched upon every aspect. This cemented our belief in the credibility of our findings and the feasibility of our solution. Reaching the final solution would not have been possible without constructive feedback from the mentor and jury themselves.

Choosing the Right Team

After talking to our seniors we realized that participating in this competition would not only require us to possess ample knowledge but also share a level of comfort with our team members. Since the three of us have been friends for quite some time, we decided to participate together. Another thing that was important in selecting the right team for us, was diversity. One of our team members is from an engineering background and they handled the operations and data aspect of the case, one is from consulting background who ensured proper strategy formulation, and one is from an E-commerce background who put the technology and marketing aspects into perspective. In short, we all had diverse skill sets that also complement each other, and this was integral to our success as a team.

Key Takeaways

GEP Gameplan Season 12 was no less than an internship experience in itself, for all three of us. Here are the key takeaways from the same:

• To begin with, Gameplan helped enhance our knowledge about the industry and its functioning.
• The case provided us with an opportunity to put our theoretical learnings from our MBA to practical use. 
• It also helped us to a great extent in gaining newer industry insights and building an understanding of the upcoming trends in the domain. 
• While working on the solution we were able to learn about the different aspects of the operations section of the supply chain. And also how digital transformation is shaping the supply chain for a better tomorrow.
• The competition also drew our attention to the fact that sustainability is the new oxygen for industries to survive in the long run.

Everything that we learned and the experiences we gathered during our GEP Gameplan Season 12 journey are priceless and we will cherish them for a long time to come.

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