It’s 2-0 for the global supply chain program. Competing against some of the country’s top programs, a team of BYU MBA students clinched the first-place title at the MBA/MS Supply Chain Case Competition hosted by Texas Christian University. This win comes just two weeks after another team from the BYU program won Deloitte Consulting’s fourth annual Supply Chain Challenge.
“These wins are a credit to the MBA curriculum, instructors, and students,” says Tom Foster, marketing and global supply chain department chair. “Our MBA students are wonderful.”
Second-year students Josh Porter from Spokane, Washington; Leslie Ostler from Riverton, Utah; Rodrigo Ortigoza from Bogota, Colombia; and Ross Andrus from Houston, Texas, developed a plan to change a company’s supply chain for eggs—a surprisingly complex case involving the ethics of caged vs. cage-free chickens that ultimately affected every aspect of the supply chain.
“They gave us a case that let us play around a lot,” Andrus says. “This one was really open-ended and was a real issue for companies in the industry. It let us flex our muscles, find a creative solution we liked, and build a case around that.”
Each team member spearheaded different aspects of the case. Ostler tackled the bulk of the research, with Andrus diving deep into the data analytics to justify every decision the team made. Porter kept the team tactical, challenging each of the team’s claims to guarantee sound conclusions. Ortigoza masterminded the presentation and provided assistance to the others.
For their work, the students won $7,000 and four iPads, finishing ahead of teams from Michigan State University, Iowa State University, University of Pittsburgh, University of Maryland, and University of Arkansas.
“Competing in this case competition was the pinnacle of my MBA experience,” Ortigoza says. “The competition tested my skills to solve a complex, real-world problem against the brightest students in the country. Winning it was a testament to the world-class education of the BYU MBA program and the high caliber of my teammates.”
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Writer: Madeleine Lewis