ISB, IIM A Win Top Honors at IIM B’s Sammantran

Hosted by the students of IIM B’s One Year MBA (Executive Post Graduate Program – EPGP), ‘Sammantran 2014’ atttracted top talent from India’s B-Schools

Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) successfully hosted ‘Sammantran’, an inter B-school case challenge competition and conclave, organized for the very first time by the students of the Executive Post Graduate Programme (EPGP), on October 18. 

The Case Challenge event had finalists from IIM Ahmedabad (PGPX), IIM Bangalore (EPGP), IIM Calcutta (PGPEX), IIM Lucknow (IPMX) and ISB who competed to provide solutions to the challenges faced by Sant Singaji Institute of Science and Management (SSISM) in the final round.

The jury comprised Pranjal Dubey, case protagonist and principal-founder of SSISM, Debolina Dutta, case writer and Head of HR, VF Corporation, India, and Professor D Krishna Sundar, Chairperson for the Centre for Enterprise Resource Planning, IIM Bangalore. Future business leaders and the jury enjoyed the meticulously drafted case analysis presented by the finalists that reflected the breadth and depth of the ideas from social, financial and organizational perspectives.

L. R. Natarajan, Former COO and CEO of Jewellery Division, Titan, addresses the inaugural session of ‘Sammantaran

After an intense day of competition, discussions and networking between business students and industry leaders, Team Small Council, comprising Chayan Dhir, Kshiteesh Phansalkar and Siddharth Bajpai, from the Indian School of Business (ISB) won the Case Challenge and a cash prize of Rs. 70,000. The team from IIM Ahmedabad emerged as the runners-up and won a cash prize of Rs. 30,000.

Cover Image: Winners of the EPGP Sammantran Case Challenge Team Small Council from the Indian School of Business. (L-R) Kshiteesh Phansalkar, Siddharth Bajpai, Chayan Dhir and Pranjal Dubey, Founder, Sant Singaji Institute of Science and Management, Sandalpur

At the award ceremony, the winning team from ISB said, “This case competition was a very different experience. Not only were the protagonist and case writer present in the judges’ panel, but we also attempted to propose on-the-ground business solutions to address a subject close to our hearts and our environment as the newest generation of entrepreneurial Indians. Our deep gratitude to the ‘Sammantran’ team for organizing this event flawlessly… they have set the benchmark high right from the first year of the competition.”

Judges at The Case Challenge at Sammantaran Debolina Dutta, Head HR, VF Corporation, Professor D. Krishna Sundar, IIM Bangalore, and Pranjal Dubey, Founder, Sant Singaji Institute of Science and Management (SSISM), Sandalpur

Earlier in the day, L.R Natarajan, Principal Consultant, Goldratt Consulting, & former COO, Titan Industries, provided insights into the importance of innovation in the Indian corporate sector. “Although 90% of the companies describe innovation as one of their top priorities, 95% of them don’t have a systematic process for innovation,” he said. He emphasized the need for innovation and change in corporate business strategies due to the rapid 
obsolescence of products as well as future market demands and advised firms to embed innovation into their strategies.

Leaders from the management consulting industry representing KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Zinnov Consulting, and Frost & Sullivan, participated in a discussion on the theme, ‘Reinventing Consulting’. Moderated by Professor J Ramachandran of IIM Bangalore, the panelists discussed sustainable consulting practices that can be built in a rapidly evolving business climate. Commenting on the theme, Vidya S Nath from Frost & Sullivan said, “We consultants also have to change the way we approach clients. From being reactive, we have become proactive, driving clients to rethink their business strategies over the long term, and avoid their ‘Kodak’ moment.” The panelists agreed that consulting had changed from a strategy-heavy business to an operations-heavy business. “Managing operations demands knowledge of domain, competitors and industry,” they explained.