Learn Winning Tricks From Team Brute Force- The Champions Of Wipro B-Pro 2.0!

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Wipro Limited, the Indian multinational company recently conducted the second season of its case study competition Wipro B-Pro 2.0. The competition was open for full-time MBA students (batch of 2023) from select institutions. It was a great opportunity to get insight into the workings of one of the leading technology services companies in India. And we- Vishesh Goel, Shashank Sharma, and Shreya Ishani- the Team Brute Force from NMIMS Mumbai, decided to take this opportunity and make the most of it.

Going into the competition we were hoping to test and build on our skillset, by learning from the top leaders of the industry. But we got much more than what we had initially hoped for. We not only reached the National-finale where the best of the best had come together in one forum. But also emerged as winners. Naturally, the experience was really special for us and beyond our wildest expectations. In this article, we will share some key insights from our memorable journey and an experience that will remain close to our hearts forever.

The Problem Statement

We were presented with two problem statements- one on exploring how to transform into a pioneer in modernizing digital banking, and the other on foraying into consulting industry and becoming one of the top 10 consulting companies in 5-10 years. 

The problem statement we selected was focused on how Wipro can become a digital transformation partner of choice in the banking sector and chalk out the strategic expansion roadmap, in terms of geography, competition, and capabilities.

A Well-Defined Strategy

We split our approach/ strategy into 3 clear phases:

1. The first phase, involved heavy secondary research in the banking sector, understanding the existing gaps in the legacy banks as well as the problems faced by their end customers due to lack of digitization. 
2. The second involved mapping the geographic expansion opportunity for Wipro, based on multiple criteria. 
3. The third focussed on the implementation plan for expansion backed by quantifying our strategy through market sizing and financial analysis.

Build a Diverse Team

We had a diverse team with members with varied, mixed yet complementary skills. And we used this diversity and skill pool by pushing everyone to work on every part of the problem statement. This gave us a clear view of the end objective and helped us avoid any confusion which happens when you follow a disjoint approach. 

Our team member Vishesh was strong with the research aspects, strategy formulation, and setting of the overall context. Shashank was skilled in making the idea and the plan coherent through effective story-telling from his strong presentation skills as well as formulating the financial viability and scalability of the idea. Shreya helped throughout the process by keeping us motivated and focused on the problem statement. Our combined efforts helped us win the competition in the end.

Also read: Challenge Yourself With These B-school Competitions

Solution Building is an Incremental Process

The journey to the problem solution was incremental and iterative. We had a week's time between the executive summary submission round and the detailed presentation submission round. During this week, we dedicatedly spent almost 3-4 hours daily researching and refining our approach. This phase was the most crucial in shaping our final proposition, and it helped a lot when we had to present our solution during the semi-finals. 

Starting from the process which involved the quiz round followed by the executive summary and the 10 slider submission. At each stage, the competition structure enabled us to build the solution incrementally. Even during the semi-final, the panelists took an in-depth dive into the solution and went a step ahead and questioned us on how our solution fits the current market trends, which made us think on our feet.

How to Sort Through the Issues

Working in a team means that there will certainly be some conflicts of opinions or views. Similarly, for us, teamwork was a bittersweet but extremely enriching experience. In times of conflicts on ideas, we followed a process of sound-logical reasoning to select/reject an idea or opinion. This helped us sort out most of the issues and reach a solid solution thus keeping us on the right track.

Multi-fold Learning Experience- Key Points

The entire 2 months of this competition were an enriching experience. We learned:

• How to build on the technical aspects involved in digital transformation
• Understood key banking trends, and the existing gaps in the market 
• How technology can be used to bridge the gaps
• The managerial aspects, how to formulate a long-term growth strategy and expansion plan for a mature company
• How a mix of organic and inorganic growth is vital to attain a sustainable competitive advantage

Lastly, the multiple avenues when we got to interact with the Wipro leadership, enabled us to see how they think and this was quite an interesting experience.

Learning from Your Competitors

There were 7 teams that made it to the National finals out of a total of 6300+ participants. But the one team that stood out for all of us was Team Assyrians from IIM Kozhikode. The research they did was quite detailed, and their implementation approach was also very innovative. We were impressed by how they touched all bases as required for the problem statement. Their holistic approach was definitely noteworthy.

More About the Competition and Judgment Process

The major challenge throughout the journey was to prioritize the multiple ideas and growth opportunities. There were multiple avenues where Wipro could expand and grow, but the key was to split these based on the priorities and the current market needs and implement all the capabilities in a phased manner.

The judgment quality was top-notch. The expectations were quite clear at any stage of the competition and this helped us maneuver our strategy accordingly. In the grand finale, the jury comprised esteemed Wipro leaders, who questioned various aspects of our solution from scalability and practical implementation perspective. This challenged us and pushed us to think beyond. The entire experience was exciting and filled with learning.

Also read: Top 50 Wipro Interview Questions With Answers (2022)

In conclusion, we’d like to say that all through the various stages of the competition, we trusted our solution and it kept taking us to the next level. Another important thing that all participants must remember is to keep each other motivated and dedicated because it is important to work as a unit in cracking any case competition. All in all, our team was dedicated, focused, and hungry to learn. This mantra helped us stay motivated and pass through each stage of the competition. Hope our journey will help inspire you to take on a challenge of your own and #BeUnstoppable. 

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