Tag: case competitions



Ankita Bhalla, BSBA

Lauren Dumas, BSBA ’19, contributed this post on behalf of her second-place winning team at the Wharton Undergraduate Case Conference.

A dynamic business landscape experiencing incredible disruption, in combination with the rise and influence of the Millennial consumer, impacts every industry—including grocery retail.

This was the situation presented to participants at the Wharton Undergraduate Case Conference, where the Arch Consulting team was challenged with curating a strategy addressing people, process, and technology related to a fictional chain of grocery retailers.

The team of four representing WashU included Lauren Dumas, BSBA ’19; Alec Johnson, BSBA ’20; Ankita Bhalla, BSBA ’20; and Nathaniel Ryan, Art/Sci ’20. Arch Consulting was able to secure a second-place finish after presenting their recommended strategy to two rounds of judging panels.

The case was distributed to teams approximately three weeks in advance of the actual competition and was sponsored by Deloitte. The case focused on developing a comprehensive strategy for a fictional grocery retailer looking to position itself competitively in the dynamic grocery retail industry, specifically appealing to the Millennial consumer.

After researching industry trends, the profile of the Millennial consumer, and general information regarding recent technological development, the case team recommended the following strategy:

  • Generate brand loyalty and engagement among both Millennials and pre-existing customers through the convergence of digital, physical, and experiential shopping components.
  • Implement new blockchain and multi-echelon supply chain tactics, in combination with superior data aggregation and analysis, to drive organizational impact.
  • Increase managerial-level Millennial hires by restructuring recruiting, promoting an enhanced corporate culture, and increasing retention.

The team had the opportunity to compete against 18 other schools from across the United States and Canada. The first round pooled teams into four groups and the top team in each group was selected to compete in the final round. Then, the four finalists presented to a panel of three judges and an audience that included the rest of the competition participants.

Arch Consulting had an incredible time participating in this competition and its team members are grateful to have had the opportunity to represent WashU in this capacity. The organization looks forward to participating in the remaining competitions this semester, and continuing to represent WashU in semesters to come.

Thank you to the BSBA office and all advisors, faculty, and staff who have offered unwavering support and encouragement throughout the process!

Pictured above: Ankita Bhalla, BSBA ’20; Alec Johnson, BSBA ’20; Lauren Dumas, BSBA ’19; and Nathaniel Ryan, Art/Sci ’20 at the Wharton Undergraduate Case Competition 2018.




The Boeing Center for Supply Chain Innovation (BCSCI), in collaboration with Monsanto, has once again produced a challenging case in global supply chain and technology management for the return of the Monsanto Olin Case Competition on February 8, 2018.

Seven teams have been selected as finalists, representing institutions from across the U.S. and Canada, including:

  • Arizona State University
  • University of Cincinnati
  • Ivey Business School
  • Johns Hopkins University
  • MIT
  • Texas Christian University
  • Washington University in St. Louis

We are proud to announce that Lin Kang (Team Captain), Himanshu Aggarwal, Tyler Daniel, and Jamie Yue, all MBA 2018, will represent Olin in the case competition.

Tyler Daniel, Himanshu Aggarwal, Jamie Yue, and Lin Kang

For the final round held at WashU’s campus in February, the seven teams will each make 15-minute presentations and have a ten-minute question and answer period responding to a case on product rollover strategies, production and inventory planning challenges in seed corn supply chains.

The five judges—all from Monsanto and Olin—will be looking for depth of analysis and originality of thought. As a “warm-up,” the student teams will tour Monsanto’s campus the day before the case competition and be treated to a Monsanto panel and a reception to meet, learn more, and network.

Olin is looking forward to a great experience for the participants and wish all the teams good luck! The winners will receive $10,000 for first prize, $5,000 for second prize, and $2,500 for third prize.




What happens when the sustainable agriculture company Monsanto and Washington University’s Olin Business School partner to create an exceptional developmental experience for graduate business students?

You get the Monsanto Olin Case Competition (MOCC), an opportunity for ten teams from across the country to come together for the third annual competition on Feb. 8, 2018. Through an affiliation with Olin’s Boeing Center for Supply Chain Innovation (BCSCI), this year’s case will challenge participating teams to present thoughtful and strategic solutions to a global supply chain and technology management problem. The student leadership from Olin’s Supply Chain & Operations Association (SCOPA) has already proven invaluable.

Participation in the case competition will include a tour of Monsanto’s Chesterfield campus, a panel, and a reception on Tuesday, February 7—a great precursor to the next day’s competition. Prize money will be $10,000 for first place, $5,000 for second place; and $2,500 for third place.

Teams have until December 11, 2017, to register and submit Round 1 materials. For more information, go to www.olin.wustl.edu/mocc. For questions, contact MOCC@wustl.edu.


Organized by:


Washington University’s Olin Business School was proud to host the second annual Monsanto Olin Supply Chain Case Competition on Friday, February 3. Teams from top business schools across the country competed for bragging rights and the $10,000 grand prize. Participating universities included Michigan State University, the University of Washington, Johns Hopkins University, the University of Maryland, the University of Minnesota, the University of Missouri, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Washington University in St. Louis, and last year’s champs, Texas Christian University. After much deliberation, the judges decided that UNC had delivered the top overall presentation, with second place going to WashU, and third place to Mizzou.

The competition was designed to give graduate students an opportunity to provide innovative business solutions to a case study written about Monsanto’s seed corn supply chain. Monsanto’s motivation for holding the competition was to foster and attract more supply chain management talent to work on food supply chain solutions for an ever-growing world. Monsanto’s Global Customer Care team, led by Mario Morhy and Marcelle Pires, was very pleased with all presentations and impressed by the level of talent and insight displayed by the teams.

1st Place $10,000:  University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill
2nd Place $5000:  Washington University, Team Olin :Tom Siepman, Serena Chen, Ravi Balu and Samantha Feng
3rd Place $2500:  University of Missouri- Columbia

The case study used for the competition, titled “Monsanto Company: Production & Inventory Planning Challenges in Seed Corn Supply Chains,” was written by WashU’s Panos Kouvelis, Emerson Distinguished Professor of Operations and Manufacturing Management and director of The Boeing Center for Supply Chain Innovation. The competition was administered by Olin Business School’s graduate programs office, with Associate Dean Joe Fox acting as the master of ceremonies and his team, including Sarah Miller and Laura Fogarty, providing strong logistical support.

On behalf of the Olin community, The Boeing Center congratulates the UNC team on their victory and thanks all those who helped make this year’s case competition a great success!

For more supply chain digital content and cutting-edge research, check us out on the socials [@theboeingcenter] and our website [olin.wustl.edu/bcsci]

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A Boeing Center digital production

The Boeing Center for Supply Chain Innovation

Supply Chain // Operational Excellence  //  Risk Management

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MBA team at Tulane 2016 Case Competition

For the second straight year Olin went south to New Orleans and returned as the conquering heroes.  The team of Zhongxing Zhang, Jonathan Hum, Dylan Faust, and Tom Siepman (all Olin MBA Class of 2017) took first place in the Rolanette and Berdon Lawrence Case Competition at Tulane University.  It is now clear to all: Olin rules in New Orleans.

The 20th annual Tulane case competition challenges student teams with analyzing a real-world finance case and then presenting their recommendations to a panel of finance professionals charged with selecting the top presentations.

The sponsors and founders are Rolanette and Berdon Lawrence.  Berdon founded a tank barge company, Hollywood Marine, which eventually merged with Kirby Corporation, where he later served as Chairman of the Board before retiring in 2010.

The judges were Casey Herman, a partner at PWC; Joe Agular, a partner at Johnson Rice & Co., an energy investment firm; and Chris Conoscenti, a Managing Director at Credit Suisse’s Oil & Gas investment banking group.

The runner up was Tulane and third place was University of South Carolina. Other teams competing included UNC, Vanderbilt, UT Dallas, and SMU.

Next year will be a chance for the coveted “three-peat”.