Team Concept Crew From IIM Ahmedabad - Mahindra War Room - Season 11

The most exciting thing for a b-schooler is to work on real-world problems of one of India's top federations. And what better way than to do it with case study competitions? Mahindra War Room is a unique opportunity for business school students. In this series of Mahindra Warriors, we feature the 20 teams - the finalists. The ones who have made it to the last leg of the competition. The series comprises of the Warriors' journey. Meet the Mahindra Warriors in this series and tell us who do you think has what it takes to win this year's Mahindra War Room. Let us know in the comments below! 1. Introduce each member of your team! We tried to make a team which would bring on the table very different perspectives. Archit, an engineer by education, is someone interested in human psychology and sociology. Having worked in the data analytics sector and interned in the technology consulting space, he brings to the table a unique perspective about how to solve issues through data-driven technological solutions. When he is not at work, he likes to read, run, watch movies and travel. Priya graduated from IIT Kanpur and has worked for a year at Credit Suisse in Market Risk Management. She has diverse insights gained through internships in management consulting at Bain & Company and JSW Steel Ltd. A passionate writer, she has worked as a freelance writer for various digital magazines and loves to play badminton during her leisure. Pranjul is an engineering graduate from IIT Kanpur and worked for 2 years in Snapdeal in the buyer front division. Later, he did his internship in Amazon as a program manager. In his free time, he likes to solve puzzles, read fantasy fiction, watch Sci-Fi movies and play cricket. Shikha is a commerce graduate from SRCC and has worked as a global financial analyst at Barclays Bank, where her role involved analyzing hefty numbers. She has done two levels of Chartered Accountancy and two years of articleship which have bolstered her understanding of finance. Passionate about adventure sports and teaching, she defines herself to be on a relentless journey without any cul-de-sacs.

2. What made you participate in Mahindra Warroom Season 11?
For us, Mahindra War Room stands for an exciting battle room where the most brilliant minds of India clash to provide groundbreaking solutions in crafting the growth story of India’s leading business house. This competition is unique in providing an opportunity to interact with the top leadership in the firm as we aspire to grow in our quest for knowledge and experience. Each day in the B-School and with our peers, we strive to pursue kaizen (continuous improvement) in every walk of life and that's what unites us with the vision of Mahindra to RISE.

3. After getting to know the group better through the competition, what does Mahindra Group stand for, in your mind?
As the thumping grew louder in the campus launch of Mahindra War Room, our hearts began to beat faster as the clock started to tick for Mahindra’s mega event. This was followed by rigorous brainstorming in the corridors of IIMA as we constantly arrived at solutions, debated rigorously, got dissatisfied with them in the search for something better each hour, each day. Each member of our Concept Crew comes with a unique set of experiences that have been assorted in making the thread of innovation in our solutions. As the group burnt the midnight oil together, we have bonded over everything possible from a coffee table conversation to white board debates to late night hunger pangs.

4. How did you go about picking your case and solving it? Tell us a few team anecdotes.
After we returned from our internship in PGP1, a bunch of us decided to go on a weekend trip to Rajasthan and explore its natural beauty. However, the car that we rented for the trip broke down in the middle of nowhere and the search of a repair shop made us realize the extent to which the vehicle aftermarket sector is unorganized in India. The Mahindra group is synonymous with vehicles in the minds of the public and therefore, when Mahindra War Room was launched in our campus, we realized that the vehicle aftermarket industry is a crucial pillar in Mahindra’s market leadership. Thus, we decided to pursue this case and ideate solutions which would help each car rider of India drive with pride and satisfaction.

5. How are you preparing for the finale?
After getting over the unexpected excitement of making it into the finals, we started to chalk out a strategy that would further stress test our ideas in terms of the possible challenges it could face. Our focus is to make the idea quickly implementable for the Mahindra group. Moreover, to be better prepared we are reaching out to our alumni who reached the grand stage of Mahindra War Room finale last year.

6. What is the one question you would like to ask Mr Anand Mahindra when you meet him in person?
Some of the vanguards trying to revolutionize the transportation industry put special emphasis on interoperability and automation. We see the highest level of interoperability and automation as a situation when the traveller would just select the destination and they would be transported seamlessly across the different modes without having to step out of the vehicle transporting him. Do you think this is the transport zenith? If not, what is? If yes, do you think that India in terms of the infrastructure and industry is moving in a direction to realize this level?

7. What's your plan with the prize money?
As most of our MBA counterparts would testify, the most fun that MBA students on Exchange Programme have is by rubbing it in the faces of those not on Exchange that they’re not on Exchange. We would probably use this money to take that joy away from them by planning a short trip to some nice destination such as Greece.