Whitman supply chain management students take part in annual competitions

Whitman supply chain management students take part in annual competitionsApril 10, 2009Amy Schmitzaemehrin@syr.edu

From New Jersey to Michigan, undergraduate and graduate students in the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University put their knowledge of supply chain management to the test by competing against other university teams in national supply chain management competitions.

Four M.B.A. students in the Whitman School participated in the April 3 student case competition hosted by the Center for Supply Chain Management in the Rutgers Business School, Rutgers University. The student team, composed of seniors Qazi Kabir, Alvaro Fernandez-Gonzalez, Yang Lin and Madhuri Karpe, competed against teams from Lehigh University, Rutgers: The State University of New Jersey, and New Jersey Science and Technology University. Scott Webster, the Becker Professor of Supply Chain Management at Whitman, acted as faculty representative for the team, which won $200 in the competition.

A group of undergraduate students was among 14 teams that competed in a recent capstone simulation at Michigan State University. Whitman students senior Holly Tassi, junior Sonali Teli and senior Matt Raia, and junior SU School of Information Studies student Tim Blonski received three hours of training before competing for another 3.5 hours. The simulation was a multi-national supply chain with multiple suppliers, factories, raw materials and modes of transportation. Gary LaPoint, assistant professor of supply chain management practice, advised the team.

“Both Whitman teams worked very hard in these competitions, going head-to-head with students from some of the best supply chain management programs in the nation,” says Webster. “Whitman is very proud of their participation and is confident of continued successes in years to come.”

For more information, contact Amy Schmitz, Whitman School director of communications, at (315) 443-3834 or aemehrin@syr.edu.