Wake Forest University Team Places Second in the Howard University MBA Exclusive Case Competition

A team of Wake Forest MBA students represented the Schools of Business at the fifth annual Minority MBA Exclusive (MBAE) Supply Chain Management Case Competition, hosted by the Howard University School of Business. Competing against twelve schools from across the nation, team members Jasmine Smith, Ahkesha Murray and Joy Fuller earned second place honors.

“The Howard Case Competition offered an amazing opportunity to showcase the talent of minority MBA students,” said Joy Fuller (MBA ’11). “I was honored to represent Wake Forest.”

This is the third consecutive year in which Wake Forest has placed in the Howard Case Competition, which pits top MBA candidates from across the country in a contest that challenges their analytic and communications skills using a practical problem.

“I’ve been the coach three years now, and we’ve placed first, third, and second, respectively,” said Derrick Boone, Associate Professor of Marketing. “I’m extremely proud of this year’s team. They faced off against teams from some really great schools, held their own, and made Wake Forest proud.”

Other participants included MIT, Sloan School of Management (first place); University of Rochester, Simon Graduate School of Business (third place); Howard University, Graduate School of Business; The University of North Carolina, Kenan-Flagler Business School; Drexel University, LeBow College of Business; Yale University, School of Management; University of Pittsburgh, Katz Graduate School of Business; Baylor University, Hankamer School of Business; Clark Atlanta University, Graduate School of Business; Syracuse University, Whitman School of Management; and American University, Kogod School of Business.

Logistics Management Institute Government Consulting (LMI) provided a case, based on real government issues, to which the student teams applied their skills. This year’s case was an examination of Amtrak’s logistics processes to improve the effectiveness of a new enterprise resource planning system. Past cases have involved emergency response activities, call center consolidation, implementation of complex enterprise software, and decreasing the costs of providing materiel to warfighters in Iraq.

Each competition team consists of three or four members, at least 50 percent of whom are from an ethnic minority group. One faculty or staff member serves as an advisor to each team and attends the competition. Fifteen research staff members from LMI acted as judges this year, and LMI Senior Vice President Jeff Bennett, a long-time supporter of the Howard University MBA program, spoke at the event’s closing reception.

The competition was part of Howard University’s 14th Annual MBAE, which took place at the Hilton Washington Embassy Row hotel November 5–6. This conference included workshops, a career fair, and the case competition and featured professional development, networking, and leadership components. MBAE 2009 offered companies access to a pool of MBA students and an opportunity to foster relationships with Howard University students, faculty, staff, and administrators.