Authors: Nhan Nguyen and Alex Parker
Five teams from top ranking universities in Maryland and Pennsylvania participated in the 7th Annual Weinman Cup Regional Supply Chain Case Competition hosted virtually by Towson University on April 15, 2021. Students from Towson University, Kutztown University, Shippensburg University, Morgan State University and Stevenson University had the opportunity to present to a panel of judges from three major supply chains – Shapiro, McCormick, and Cava.
The judges had a difficult time determining the top three teams because all their performances were excellent and insightful. After much deliberation, the Towson University team took the first prize, Kutztown won second place, and Morgan State won third. TU‘s team members Lauren Hege, Danielle Cornelius, Allison Rybalnik, and Matthew Taylor, advised by Professor Dong-Qing Yao, were praised by the judges for their impressive data analytics skills and actionable recommendations.
The business case was developed by Dr. Chaodong Han, Chair of the Business Analytics and Technology Management department, and Professor Cindy Buschman from the Supply Chain Program at TU. It reflected a real business problem in procurement and sourcing in which contestants were asked to propose and compare options for shipping new products from suppliers in China and Mexico, or contract with a local supplier in Baltimore. Students were also asked to evaluate the tradeoffs for each option.
The case was distributed to each team one month prior to competition finale. It required students to apply data analysis skills and challenged students to use creative ideas and business mindset to resolve the case.
“I feel I gained meaningful connections and an educational experience that I can build off of in my future career” said TU team member Danielle Cornelius.
Sh’ton Pickering from Morgan State University’s team added, “I learned about what it truly takes working in the Supply Chain field. I learned about calculating and estimating costs as precisely as one can. I also learned about managing and mitigating risks when dealing with long distance suppliers.”
Congratulations to all of the student participants! Their leadership and devotion to excellence continues to make this annual competition truly meaningful and successful.