ASCM presents case study prize to South Carolina students

The Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM) has awarded first place in its 2021 ASCM Case Competition to a  team of students from the University of South Carolina. 

The University of South Carolina team members are Michael DeLadesmo, Olivia Lynch, Cameron Butler and Michael Neddo. The case they worked on involved a fictional wholesale milk distributor in the U.S. dealing with a demand shock for milk due to consumer behavior shifts from Covid-19, which in turn has also increased pressure from retailers.

Milk producers are experiencing worker shortages at the plants so they are unable to keep up with the increasing demand, ultimately leading to margin erosion for the for the company. Investors are asking for accurate demand forecasting as well as meeting consumer expectations, all while considering additional inventory holding cost complications.  

The global case competition gives student teams an opportunity to expand and test their supply chain knowledge by working on end-to-end supply chain challenges drawn from actual company scenarios. Throughout the past year, competing teams have participated in real-world case problem solving, incorporating technical knowledge as well as soft skills.

First place, runner-up and second runner-up student team winners will receive US$2,500, $1,500 and $1,000 and industry recognition for their accomplishments. The schools will be awarded, $1,250, $750 and $500. There were 331 teams that entered the 2021 competition. 

UBC runners-up

The University of British Columbia earned second place in this year’s competition, with team members Dorothy Fu, Amanda Ma, Tony Lin and Jochen Hsia. Third place was awarded to Jenny Peng, Ankit Pandey and Anaur Jorge representing the ESADE Business School in Spain. 

“Entry-level supply chain professionals will need to hit the ground running at their first job and this collaboration with Deloitte on the case competition provides a great opportunity for students to get first-hand experience before they graduate,” said ASCM CEO, Abe Eshkenazi.

“I’m confident that these teams of exceptional students will be strong leaders at the companies in which they land.” 

“With the changes in demand and supply companies have experienced over the last two years, supply chain professionals need to think creatively about solutions,” said Ken Olsen, managing director, Deloitte Consulting LLP.

“The ASCM Case Study provides students with these opportunities helping them as they become professionals.  It has been great working ASCM and seeing the talented supply chain students.”