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Medium Cost Reduction Operations Merger & Acquisition

Money Bank Call Center

#Legal & Professional Services #Financial Services
ProHub Comment

This case tests cost reduction and operational optimization in a post-M&A context. Candidates must balance quantitative cost analysis (comparing three geographic locations) with qualitative factors (labor regulations, service quality, reputational risk) to develop a recommendation. The case emphasizes that pure cost minimization is insufficient—implementation feasibility and strategic risks must be thoroughly evaluated.

Estimated Time 26 minutes
Difficulty Medium
Source Kellogg
10 / 100
Our client is a large financial services firm with multiple locations around the world. Part of their service offering includes a 24-hour helpline. The client has their call centers in New York and Paris. The client has recently acquired a small firm (Firm B) in order to expand its reach in a particular geography. Firm B provides a subset of the services and has its call center located in the Philippines. The client has asked us to determine its strategy going forward for handling customer calls. In particular they want us to look into the call center operations.

Clarifying Information

  1. Provides full range of financial services for individuals and small organizations
  2. Acquired firm was started 5 years ago and is still run by the original founders
  3. New employees are college graduates with basic knowledge of financial services and products
  4. Fluency and English and several European languages required
  5. Very difficult to lay off employees in the Paris location & significant costs will be incurred
  6. Philippines government encourages investment in the country & significant tax advantage possible
Mock Interview
Interviewer

Our client is a large financial services firm with multiple locations around the world. Part of their service offering includes a 24-hour helpline. The client has their call centers in New York and Paris. The client has recently acquired a small firm (Firm B) in order to expand its reach in a particular geography. Firm B provides a subset of the services and has its call center located in the Philippines. The client has asked us to determine its strategy going forward for handling customer calls. In particular they want us to look into the call center operations.

You

Thanks. Before analyzing, I'd like to clarify a few key questions...

Interviewer

Good question. Let me provide some background information...

You

Based on this, I suggest analyzing from these dimensions...

AI Score
Structure Analysis Communication Business Sense Quantitative
Practicing...
Score coming soon
Practice this case with AI Mock Interview

A financial services firm seeks to optimize its call center operations across three locations (New York, Paris, Philippines) following an acquisition. Candidates must analyze efficiency metrics, evaluate consolidation options, and develop a recommendation that accounts for regulatory constraints, cultural integration, and service quality implications.

Key Insights:

  1. Efficiency varies significantly by location: Philippines operates at 50% of New York’s productivity per employee, requiring analysis of root causes and improvement potential
  2. Cost-benefit analysis must include one-time integration costs ($5M) alongside ongoing operational savings to determine true payback period
  3. Qualitative factors (labor law constraints in Paris, regulatory environment in Philippines, acquired firm culture) significantly constrain optimization options and must inform final recommendation
  4. Improving operational efficiency through best practice transfer may be preferable to pure headcount reduction due to risk mitigation
  5. M&A integration considerations include knowledge transfer, talent acquisition timelines, customer satisfaction impact, and stakeholder management