Ohio State wins sixth annual General Motors/Wayne State Supply Chain Case Competition
The student supply chain team from the Ohio State University was named champion of the sixth annual General Motors/Wayne State University Supply Chain Case Competition, held October 6-8, 2016, at the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center.
This year’s 20-school competition, featuring the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV, brought 17 teams from universities across the U.S. and three international teams from Brazil, Mexico and Poland to Detroit for an in-depth look at the supply chain systems that support the automotive industry and its high-tech vehicles.
John C. Taylor, chair of the Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management in Wayne State’s Mike Ilitch School of Business, said this year’s case was one of the most comprehensive to date, involving a variety of supplier quality and cost issues that students had to sort through.
The teams were divided into five groups and participated in an initial round of competition. The winning first round teams received a case twist and prepared a second presentation for the competition’s final round.
The Ohio State University earned top honors after impressing the judges with their comprehensive analysis of the quantitative factors, determining the right approach based on those factors and addressing the more qualitative variables in the case while presenting the content professionally.
Teams from Weber State University, Bowling Green State University, Centro Universitário da FEI São Bernardo do Campo Campus (Brazil) and the University of Northern Iowa rounded out the field of finalists. The finalist teams were recognized by Todd Scott, executive director of supply chain at General Motors, at the awards dinner aboard the Detroit Princess riverboat.
The naming sponsor of the event is General Motors, along with the Mike Ilitch School of Business. Other major sponsors included Ryder, Lear, DENSO, Whirlpool and the Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG).
All students who participate in the competition have the opportunity to interview for internships and permanent positions with event sponsors and partners. More than 450 students have participated since the first competition in 2011.
PHOTO: Todd Scott, executive director of supply chain at General Motors (left), and Professor John C. Taylor of the Mike Ilitch School of Business (right) with the winning Ohio State University team.
Additional photos from the event are available on the Mike Ilitch School of Business Flickr page.
