KU Leuven Brussels in partnership with CommScope · Bachelor's thesis
My Bachelor's thesis at KU Leuven Brussels, carried out in partnership with CommScope. A first corporate experience, working on an interesting question: finding adjacent markets for a big corporation.
The question
CommScope is a company active worldwide, focused on developing fibre connectivity products for B2B markets. To assist in determining the further growth direction, we were asked to assess which adjacent EMEA markets can be considered viable enlargement options.
The framework
As a final result of our work, a multi-stage screening framework was designed. To evaluate the attractiveness of a specific country–industry adjacent market, we used a two-step filter structure, an alternative solution to my original three-step filter design.
It consists of two consequent steps: 1) determining, using macro-attractiveness criteria, the main regions of interest where CommScope operates, with specifically engineered factors that show the relevance and growth possibility of fibre in that region; and 2) evaluating each country from the most prominent regions, paired with each prospective adjacent industry of fibre connectivity products.
This model was fully implemented in Excel, covering fifteen countries and four industries, scored with weighted indicators on both levels.
My most prominent contributions, apart from suggesting the original three-step filter design, include determining half of the industry-specific indicators, active participation in the research phase, and frequently initiating conversations and questions with CommScope's representatives.
The main pitfall was the availability of good-quality, up-to-date data. Since the fibre market is changing rapidly, it was essential to feed only the most relevant data into the model. Long hours of research were spent ensuring the robustness of the output.
| Criterion | Weight | DACH | Nordics | UK & Ireland | Eastern Europe | MEDIT | ME | BeNeLux |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Criterion 1 | 0.40 | e.p | m.c | a.f | q.q | s.y | y.y | t.m |
| Criterion 2 | 0.25 | t.q | x.w | m.g | u.a | v.e | m.f | y.j |
| Criterion 3 | 0.20 | b.f | p.i | e.m | z.h | v.r | q.x | z.p |
| Criterion 4 | 0.15 | c.r | u.f | i.z | y.u | b.y | r.u | e.i |
| Weighted score | 1.00 | c.gs | b.qr | v.tz | y.fr | c.tg | y.aq | f.ju |
| Rank | m | u | b | p | g | v | a | |
| Filter → next stage | Proceed | Proceed | Proceed | Stop | Stop | Proceed | Proceed |
| Scenario (rank) | DACH | Nordics | UK & Ireland | Eastern Europe | MEDIT | ME | BeNeLux |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original weights | h | a | m | c | b | r | u |
| Case 1 · Criterion 1 weight +0.10 | r | d | a | y | r | v | i |
| Case 2 · Criterion 2 weight +0.10 | v | n | a | p | u | n | a |
| Case 3 · Criterion 3 weight +0.10 | j | n | i | i | i | y | a |
| Case A · missing → 0 | d | d | p | k | p | a | x |
| Case B · missing → 100 | r | d | z | j | r | n | e |
| Case C · region-average fill | n | g | k | u | h | y | k |
| Case D · min–max rescale | h | a | v | y | t | x | s |
| Average rank | k.p | k.z | y.c | b.x | k.g | v.x | z.q |
| Country | Region | Industry 1 | Industry 2 | Industry 3 | Enter market |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denmark | Nordics | w.w | t.v | p.t | — |
| Finland | Nordics | a.a | z.a | v.u | — |
| Iceland | Nordics | j.m | c.d | t.v | Yrned utli |
| Norway | Nordics | b.h | u.q | n.a | — |
| Sweden | Nordics | s.i | m.d | v.f | Qadre |
| Saudi Arabia | ME | z.z | h.k | d.a | Drove · qmli |
| UAE | ME | r.i | m.r | i.y | Drove |
| Belgium | BeNeLux | r.k | w.y | z.z | Qadre · drove |
| Netherlands | BeNeLux | a.s | y.i | y.u | Qadre · drove |
| Luxembourg | BeNeLux | p.q | a.r | j.a | — |
| Germany | DACH | i.x | d.u | a.n | Qadre · drove |
| Austria | DACH | u.q | x.v | f.u | — |
| Switzerland | DACH | i.j | i.j | i.x | Qadre |
| United Kingdom | UK & Ireland | q.d | h.h | r.g | Qadre · utli · drove |
| Ireland | UK & Ireland | t.k | c.f | r.e | — |
| Industry | Base leaders | Weight stress test | Missing-value test | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Industry 1 | Xrenvil · qadsof | Xrenvil · movrit | Xrenvil · qadsof | Robust |
| Industry 2 | Trelup · dovnsa | Trelup · brenk | Trelup · dovnsa | Robust |
| Industry 3 | Dovnsa · xrenvil | Dovnsa · qmliu | Dovnsa · xrenvil | Robust |
The outcome
After eight months the framework was presented to CommScope's representatives and well received. Beyond the result itself, this project taught me how actual projects are done inside a corporation, how to communicate with management and present my own ideas and solutions, and how to keep a small team moving — trying to take the lead without letting the team down.