What it’s like to work on a Bain case team
What it’s like to work on a Bain case team
A consultant from our Dusseldorf office reflects on teaming, client impact, and lessons learned on a Bain project
When people first hear about “case work” at Bain, it can sound abstract. In reality, a “case” is simply what we call a client project, where Bain consultants work closely with clients to tackle their most important challenges.
To give a closer look, we asked Marlene, a consultant in our Dusseldorf office, to share her experience working on a recent case with a healthcare client. In this Q&A, she shares what a typical day looked like, how her team collaborated, and the lessons she took away.
"Even as a junior consultant, I was trusted to manage more than 10 client counterparts day-to-day, which really pushed me to take ownership from the very start"
Marlene
Consultant
Who was the client, and what was your role on the team?
I worked on a project with one of Germany’s largest healthcare providers, which was under significant pressure in a very competitive market. Our Bain team supported them on several projects, including identifying process efficiencies and using AI to enable more data-driven decision making across the organization.
Within this larger program, I was part of a team of three consultants, supported by several associate consultants and associate consultant interns, with each of us leading multiple workstreams. My role was to develop and drive initiatives in close partnership with the client.
What did a typical day on this case look like? Were there any standout moments?
A typical day started with a quick check-in with my team to align on priorities and make sure everyone was clear on deliverables for the day. From morning through early afternoon, my schedule was usually full of client interactions: from strategic updates on our progress to creative workshops where we designed new ideas from scratch to hands-on problem-solving sessions with data scientists and software developers.
Later in the day, I’d often dive deeper into specific initiatives where the client relied on Bain for extra support. That could mean working through large datasets in Excel or preparing workshops or pilots to bring AI solutions to life.
A highlight for me was implementing our first AI initiative alongside the client: an AI-based tool enabling employees to access internal knowledge quickly and improve efficiency in their day-to-day work. Experiencing the client’s excitement as the solution came to life made all the preparation feel worthwhile.
During the case, Marlene enjoyed team dinners that brought everyone together outside of work
Marlene kicking off the day with a jog alongside her team
What made this work unique compared to other projects you’ve worked on?
What set this case apart was the strong collaboration, not only within our Bain team but also with the client. Even as a junior consultant, I was trusted to manage more than 10 client counterparts day-to-day, which really pushed me to take ownership from the very start. Over the eight months we worked together, I built strong client relationships that made the collaboration not only effective but also one of the most rewarding parts of the project.
How did your team collaborate and support one another?
One of the things I appreciated most about this case was the way our team supported each other across workstreams. Even though each of us was responsible for very different topics, we made it a point to connect regularly, whether to exchange best practices on complex business cases or to share approaches for building strong client relationships under pressure.
What did you personally learn from this project that might surprise or inspire others?
What I took away most from this experience is how much the diversity of a team can make a difference. On this project I worked side by side with colleagues who had backgrounds in medicine, business, natural sciences, and IT, including data scientists. Bringing those perspectives together helped us find better solutions and made the collaboration with the client very powerful.
