Air Products Case Competition

Air Products is sponsoring an exciting real-world learning opportunity for Penn State University Park's students interested in the Supply Chain and Information Systems (SCIS) or Management Information Systems (MIS) majors.

Selected teams participating in the Air Products Case Competition will gain important insight into sustainability solutions and challenges and will have the opportunity to interact with Air Products professionals and Supply Chain and Information Systems faculty. You will gain the confidence to compete in future case competitions, build your analytical and presentation skill sets, and have the chance to win prize money totaling $3,500!

Register early and complete all required application information. The competition is limited to the first 30 complete registrations. For more details and registration, carefully review eligibility and registration guidelines, and resource information below.

It is the responsibility of participants to stay informed of the Air Products Competition guidelines, resources, important dates, and deadlines. Individuals or teams that do not meet all the requirements outlined below or submit incomplete registrations will be disqualified.

Eligibility

Penn State University Park second and third-year students in Smeal or intended for Smeal, especially those with an interest in the Supply Chain and Information Systems (SCIS) or Management Information Systems (MIS) majors, are encouraged to compete in the case competition. First-year students are encouraged to register if intending on either major.

Registration

  • Penn State University Park first, second, and third-year students in Smeal or intended for Smeal, especially those with an interest in the SCIS or MIS majors, are eligible.
  • You can register as a team (up to five team members) or as an individual to be assigned to a team by the application deadline of Wednesday, September 24, 2025, by 5 pm ET. 
  • Air Products requires teams of five members and reserves the right to add individuals to teams of fewer members. Please note that teams will be limited to two first year students per team.
  • It is important to submit all your application information and materials early, as participation will be limited to the first 30 complete submissions.
  • All registered teams and individuals will be notified if they have qualified to participate in the case competition before the Air Products Case Competition Kickoff on Wednesday, October 8, 2025.  

Register Now

Guidelines

  • Participating teams must attend the Air Products Case Competition Kickoff on Wednesday, October 8, 2025, from 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM, in 102 Business Building. Air Products representatives will present the competitions supply chain business case.
  • Participating teams must participate in the Air Products Case Competition final team presentations on Wednesday, October 22, 2025, in 603 Innovation Hub at 5:30 PM for a panel of Air Products judges. The presentations will be formatted in PowerPoint and will be 10 minutes, followed by a 10-minute Q&A.
  • The first-place team will receive $2,000! Second-place will receive $1,000, and third-place will receive $500.

Judges

The judges include Rosa Fernandes, Jade Glose, Heather Lukas, and Rhett Smith. 

Case Competition Resources

Air Products has provided the following information for you and your team: an introduction to the company, an overview of Air Products supply chain, and tips and tricks for the case competition and presentation. 

Air Products Supply Chain

Air Products operates with a variety of supply modes to best fit a customer’s product specification and volume requirements. While a large percentage of Air Products customer volume portfolio is serviced via pipeline supply or on-site gas generation, the heart of the supply chain is bulk delivery and storage solutions. The customer’s volume, desired pressure, purity level, flow rate, and operating pattern are taken into consideration to right size a system that meets current and future needs.

Operating from a network of production facilities with terminal locations across North America, Air Products provides a 99.95% on-time delivery record with one of the largest privately-owned trucking fleets in the industry. Customer tank levels are remotely monitored to manage inventory according to usage and optimize the timing of deliveries. Product is delivered via a specialized cryogenic trailer in either gaseous or liquid form and is offloaded by a driver who is highly trained in safely handling cryogenic materials to the customer tank. Often, if a customer does not require a “full-load” or the entire trailer of product, deliveries are optimized by adding multiple stops at different customer locations to offload all the product from a trailer before returning to the dispatch terminal. Alternatively, a high usage customer could require multiple deliveries per day, or if viable, could be supplied via railcar. For atmospheric products (oxygen, nitrogen, and argon), customers are typically within short mileage ranges of the dispatch terminal. For other product lines such as helium and hydrogen, customers may be located far distances from the terminal and team drivers are utilized to allow continuous driving time.

Tips and Tricks for the Air Products Case Competition

  • Simplify the problem statement and don’t get “stuck in the weeds.” A case could ask for several deliverables that may seem daunting at first. To avoid getting too bogged down, break one large problem into several smaller problems.
  • Don’t be afraid to make assumptions. Like the real world, you will never have perfect data that will lead you to one exact right answer. There will be times you will have to make assumptions to develop a recommendation. Document your assumptions, be able to talk through them, and use them to drive your decision!
  • Don’t be afraid to do outside research. Understanding the topic and what’s happening in the real world can offer you a unique perspective.

Tips and Tricks for Your Final Presentation

You and your team will present your final recommendations to a panel of Air Products judges. Below are some tips for building an effective presentation.

  • Your presentation should tell a story. The most engaging presentations build context and are relatable to the audience.
  • Format your presentation so that you provide recommendations first. Often, recommendations are outlined at the beginning of the presentation and then a walkthrough is provided supporting the recommendations. This helps keep the audience engaged throughout the presentation while giving leadership an answer upfront.
  • Slides should be an aid for your presentation. Good presenters do not read straight from their slides - they use slides only as a reference.
  • Be thoughtful about what is included in your slides. Again, slides should be an aid to the presentation, not word-for-word what you are planning on saying. Everything on your slides should serve a purpose to the story you are telling. Don’t put data on a slide just for the sake of providing data; make sure it relates to what you are presenting.
  • Focus your presentation on the audience. Take some time to think about your audience and what they care about. Be thoughtful of their priorities and what they are going to want to see in your presentation and any questions they might ask.

Contacts

General questions can be emailed to the Center for Supply Chain Research Team.