Four students compete in Denver transportation case study
by Sheila Yancy
Four School of Business Administration students recently competed in the 2011 Operation Stimulus Case Study hosted by the Denver Transportation Club in Colorado. Sixteen universities across the U.S. and Canada attended the three-day event January 27-29 to learn about transportation, logistics and the supply chain.
John Taylor, associate professor and director of supply chain management programs, with Timothy Butler, associate professor of supply chain management, selected four undergraduate students to participate in the competition. They are Cecil St. Pierre and Rebecca Findlay, both junior global supply chain management majors; Nicole Markowsky, a senior global supply chain management and accounting major; and Garrett Thierry, a senior global supply chain management and information systems management major.
“It was by chance that we all became a part of the team, said Findlay, team captain. “I had not really known any of the other team members prior to being chosen, and now I feel that we are all friends.”
Operation Stimulus is an educational program established in 1982 to provide meaningful information to the transportation industry and to develop an income source to fund a scholarship program, which helps to develop the next generation of logistic professionals. The official student competition was added to the program in the late 1990s.
Acting as members of the logistics management team in a fictional technology company called FoxRouter Electronics, the students were tasked to choose the most suitable global supplier for a new product. The students used data about transportation, IT tracking, storage methods and cost findings to make their decision. The team had two weeks to prepare a 35-minute presentation before leaving for Denver January 26, where they attempted to convince a panel of judges, acting as members of the executive department of FoxRouter, that their team’s new market location was the most ideal choice of three options.
While the team did not win the competition – Colorado State University won – “they represented Wayne State and Detroit supremely,” said Butler.
“We presented content that was at the same level, if not higher, than all of the universities that had been part of this program for several years,” said Findlay, adding that this was the first year Wayne State participated in the competition. “We were very proud of our work.”
