UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Five students from the Penn State Smeal College of Business placed first in the annual Dell Case Competition, sponsored by Dell Technologies, and hosted by the Center for Supply Chain Research.
The Dell Case Competition is a learning opportunity offered to Penn State University Park's first- and second-year students interested in the supply chain and information systems or management information systems majors. The competition provides students with the opportunity to gain experience with case competitions and build their analytical and presentation skills.
The case topic was released in March and presented a problem scenario focused on increasing Dell’s business share and decreasing lead time in delivery of product throughout the Canadian market. Students were provided with information about Dell’s competition in Canada and the current state of the company’s logistics network. Participating teams were asked to provide a data-backed recommendation for where Dell should place an inventory hub in Canada and address potential risks and mitigations that might impact their recommendation.
First-year business majors Ethan McCarthy, Harshini Mallipedhi, Nicolas Castrillon Gonzalez and Rohan Gupta, along with their teammate Naeema Salau, a first-year engineering major, presented their case on April 17 to a panel of judges made up of Dell executives. The five students were selected as the winning team and received $1,000 in cash awards which was divided equally among the team members.
“We appreciate Dell’s continued support of this event, its commitment to Penn State’s supply chain program and its passion for driving excellence in next gen leadership,” said Sue Purdum, associate teaching professor in supply chain management.
“The case competition attracted students from the Schreyer Honors College, Smeal Sapphire Leadership Program, Nittany Lion Consulting Group and the College of Engineering. We especially appreciate Dell’s desire to target first- and second-year students as there are limited opportunities for students early in their college career to engage with industry in this fashion — on podium and under pressure.”