Smeal MBAs Win Supply Chain Case Competition
A team of four Smeal MBA students took first place at this year's Supply Chain Management Case Competition held at Rutgers Business School on Oct. 27.
Smeal MBAs Win Supply Chain Case Competition
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA (October 31, 2006) – A team of four Smeal College of Business MBA students took first place at this year's Supply Chain Management Case Competition held at Rutgers Business School on Oct. 27.
Brian Bonnell, Krishna Chovishya, Dan Madden, and Jeremy Vallimont beat out five teams of MBAs and engineering graduate students from Lehigh University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, New York University, and Rutgers.
This victory is just the latest case competition success for Smeal MBA students, who have won the International Graduate Logistics Case Competition three out of the last four years. Other recent victories include the Pac-10/Big Ten MBA Case Competition, dubbed the Rose Bowl of business education, which is considered to be one of the most prestigious MBA case competitions in the country.
At Rutgers, the case called for the teams to design a plan to implement radio frequency identification (RFID) to maximize the supply-chain benefits for METRO stores, Germany's largest retailer. The case required students to understand and analyze the supply-chain implications of RFID implementation as well as perform a detailed financial analysis.
The students presented their case to a panel of judges consisting of faculty experts and industry executives from companies such as AmerisourceBergen, AstraZeneca, Becton Dickinson, Johnson & Johnson, Park B. Smith, and PSEG.
The team credits much of their victory to their presentation skills and the diversity of expertise on their team.
"I think the main differentiator behind our victory, apart from the thorough analysis of all the business aspects, was the crisp and clear design of our presentation," said Chovishya. "I'm thankful for Smeal's emphasis on communication skills and for the yearlong course on the topic in the MBA program."
Bonnell added, "Each member brought his own strengths and personality to the table, and it was that diverse set of skills that allowed us to present a more thorough analysis than the other competitors."
This was the first time a Smeal team entered this case competition, which is hosted by Rutgers' Center for Supply Chain Management. As the winner, the Smeal team came home with a $1,000 check and a trophy. The competition also afforded the team members valuable networking opportunities with the corporate judges and other graduate students.
For more on the Smeal MBA Program, visit www.smeal.psu.edu/mba.
REPORTERS & EDITORS: For more information, please contact Wyatt DuBois in the Smeal College of Business Media Relations Office at 814-863-3798 or wed112@psu.edu.
Penn State's Smeal College of Business offers highly ranked undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, Ph.D., and executive education opportunities to more than 5,500 students at all levels. Featuring academic departments of accounting, finance, marketing, insurance and real estate, management, and supply chain and information systems, the college is also home to major research centers such as the Center for Supply Chain Research, the Institute for the Study of Business Markets, the Center for Digital Transformation, the Farrell Center for Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the Center for Global Business Studies, and the Center for the Management of Technological and Organizational Change.
