Kearney Case Interview 2026: Candidate-Led Ops Cases, Written Case, Test

Kearney cases reward implementation specificity. "Optimise procurement" fails. A named sourcing lever passes.

Kearney is an independent, partner-owned firm (management buyout from EDS in 2006; rebrand from A.T. Kearney in January 2020). Wikipedia-style firm profiles used on CoachNed's Kearney consulting overview put 5,300+ employees across 60+ offices in 40+ countries and roughly $2.0 billion of 2025 revenue (about $1.6 billion in 2022). Another CoachNed ranking table lists ~5,700 people and ~$1.7 billion. Those sources disagree; do not treat either as a census. The reputation that matters for the case is operations and procurement, including the Purchasing Chessboard. Titles: US undergrad hire is Business Analyst; Associate is the typical MBA entry. That is the reverse of everyday language and the same word as McKinsey's MBA title. Read the posting, not the word. Pay: Levels.fyi and offer trackers disagree at Associate (realised packages near $194K versus signed bands to $267K). Use the Kearney salary page. CoachNed is independent and not affiliated with Kearney.

What Kearney actually runs

The Kearney behavioral process table is the best internal map: application, optional HR screen, a recruitment test in many offices (40 questions in 60 minutes, GMAT-style, no calculator), first round of two 45-minute interviews (one case, one separate fit), finals of three 45-minute interviews (two cases, one fit). Some offices add a written case (about an hour of analysis, 20-minute presentation, 10-minute Q&A) or a short Excel test. Fit is a graded slot, not a warmup; coaches put personal experience near half the assessment. Kearney tells candidates to use STAR. Cases are candidate-led.

Many offices ban calculators, phones, and AI in the live case. Train mental math that way.

How Kearney differs from McKinsey interviewer-led and BCG candidate-led

Format is BCG-like, not McKinsey-like. You drive the tree and request the plant-level cost split. McKinsey would hand you the next exhibit. The content is not BCG consumer strategy. Kearney cases lean cost structure, process, supply chain, and sourcing. Interviewers reward a recommendation that could run on a shop floor. BCG might accept "improve procurement." Kearney wants which of the Chessboard-style levers (consolidate, re-specify, demand management) and what the savings mechanism is.

The title trap is the other difference. A McKinsey Associate is post-MBA. A Kearney Associate is also typically post-MBA in the US, but the undergrad title is Business Analyst, and some regions say Consultant for pre-MBA. Mixing those with McKinsey's BA/Associate ladder is how candidates misread both the case seniority and the salary table.

Worked snippet: strategic sourcing (Kearney flavour)

Prompt. A manufacturer spends $240 million a year on machined components across 86 suppliers. Gross margin is 18%. The COO wants 200 basis points of margin in 12 months without starving plants of parts. Where do you start?

Clarify. 200 bps on revenue or on cost? Assume $1.2 billion revenue so 200 bps = $24 million. Service level is a constraint.

Structure. (1) Demand (specs, over-ordering), (2) price (fragmented supply), (3) make-versus-buy, (4) implementation and dual-source risk. Test fragmentation first because 86 suppliers on $240 million is the tell.

Math. Average spend per supplier = $240 million / 86 ≈ $2.8 million. If the long tail of 50 suppliers is $40 million of spend, consolidating that tail into 10 contracts at a 12% price reduction is $4.8 million, not $24 million. The $24 million needs the head of the spend: suppose top 12 suppliers are $160 million. A 8% should-cost reduction on that block is $12.8 million. Specification freeze on the next $40 million at 15% (stop custom alloys) is $6 million. Demand discipline (15% excess safety stock on $80 million of inventory, 25% carrying cost) is $3 million. Together ≈ $21.8 million, close to the $24 million if you also cut expedite freight ($2 million).

Recommendation. Do not run a blanket RFP on 86 names. Freeze specs on the tail, should-cost the top 12, dual-source the two single-plant-critical parts before you cut. Risk: a preferred supplier walks and a line stops. Next step: 13-week SKU-level shortage log and the top-20 part should-cost models.

That is Kearney-shaped: a cost number, a sequencing constraint, and an action a plant manager would recognise.

How to prepare this week

1. Drill no-calculator percentages. If the test is on your invite, that is the first filter.
2. Run an operations or cost case on CoachNed.
3. Prepare Why Kearney tied to operations or implementation, then STAR stories that end in adoption. See the behavioral guide.
4. Read Associate versus Business Analyst pay so you do not mix levels: Kearney salary.

Sources

• Kearney careers; Purchasing Chessboard
• Wikipedia / Umbrex firm profile figures as cited on Kearney consulting (headcount and revenue; note disagreement with other tables)
• CoachNed Kearney behavioral process (40/60 test; separate fit slot; written case)
• Levels.fyi and CaseStar as compiled on Kearney salary