European Teams Dominate Graduate Logistics Case Competition

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Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden) is awarded first place. Shown left to right are students Saamet Ekici, Emma Grönlund, Hanna Ålgårdh, Vlad Månsson, Carolina Stålberg and Sixten Sidfelt with Loray Mosher and Jim Crowell of the Supply Chain Management Research Center.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Supply Chain Management Research Center in the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas held its seventh annual International Graduate Logistics Case Competition on March 14-16. The competition included teams from 12 universities in the United States and Europe and 19 sponsors from research center member companies.

Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden took first place in the competition, and the Technical University of Darmstadt in Germany was second. The returning champions from Pennsylvania State University took third. The three finalists were awarded $3,000, $2,000 and $1,000, respectively, at the awards banquet held Saturday night in Rogers.

Representing the University of Arkansas at the competition were students Matthew Lyon, Saif Mir, Zack Hall, Bin Liu, Matthew Johnson and David Hendren, who were led by faculty adviser Adriana Hofer, an assistant professor in the Walton College’s department of supply chain management. These five Walton students will speak at the research center’s conference, Supply Chains 2020: Collaborating to Win in an Omni-Channel World, on Thursday, April 11, at the Donald W. Reynolds Center for Enterprise Development on the Fayetteville campus. 

This year’s case, The Provident Case, was written by Matthew A. Waller, chair of the department of supply chain management in Walton College, and Michael Galbreth, assistant professor at the University of South Carolina. The case focused on the supply chain challenges of bottled water from the time the water is bottled until it reaches the consumer.

The case was timely as health-conscious Americans consume increasing amounts of bottled water per capita, while soft drink sales decline. Bottled water is at the center of sustainability debates and is a major issue in the supply chain. Lee Scott, former chairman of Walmart, indicated in a Wall Street Journal article on March 24, 2008, “If the customer wants bottled water, we are going to sell bottled water. But even if you’re going to sell bottled water, you can sell it and have less of a negative impact.” The participating M.B.A. students, acting as consulting teams, were challenged to perfect the bottled water supply chain.

On Thursday, students toured a Walmart store and distribution center where they observed the logistics of bottled water. The day included a visit to the Nestlé corporate office in Rogers, where they were given an overview of the beverage and bottled water industries. Students spent Friday developing solutions they presented to a panel of industry judges Saturday at the Sam’s Club home office in Bentonville.

More information about the Supply Chain Management Research Center and its upcoming conference can be found at the center’s website.