The University of Michigan’s Tauber Institute for Global Operations is proud to announce its 2019 team project sponsors. The 21 projects sponsored by 16 top global firms were launched at Tauber’s annual Team Project Kickoff Dinner. Business and engineering student teams met with their faculty co-advisors from the Michigan Ross School of Business and the College of Engineering and brainstormed innovative approaches to the challenges posed by their sponsoring companies.

Tauber’s 2019 team project sponsors are leaders in a wide range of industries, including aerospace, internet commerce, high tech, automotive, energy, and retail. The institute is pleased to strengthen relationships with numerous returning sponsors - AIP Canam Group, Amazon, Boeing, Dell, Dow, DTE Energy, Ford, General Electric, General Motors, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Pfizer, Stanley Black & Decker, Stoneridge, and Target - and excited to begin a new partnership with Brose. With 62 locations in 23 countries, Brose develops and produces a wide range of mechatronic systems for the global automotive marketplace. Every other new vehicle worldwide is equipped with at least one Brose product.

A signature initiative of the Tauber Institute, team projects pair exceptional students with top companies for a 14-week multidisciplinary, collaborative project with the potential for significant impact.  Each 2-3 person project team is comprised of graduate students in Business and Engineering.  Along with executive direction from the sponsoring firm, each team receives support from both a College of Engineering and a Ross School of Business faculty advisor, with project oversight by a Tauber Institute Co-Director. The Tauber Alumni Network provides additional mentorship and networking opportunities for students at their team project locations.

Tauber student teams work on-site at their sponsoring company from May through August to find solutions for substantive operations challenges. Solutions may include lean process design and implementation, manufacturing site strategic assessment, sourcing plans, inventory management, logistics, and new product development. Tauber team projects provide a significant return on a sponsor’s investment – often uncovering millions of dollars of savings – as well as improvements in areas such as energy consumption, waste reduction, throughput time, and supply chain risk.

Tauber students will be working throughout the United States and travelling globally for their 2019 team projects.  Keep up-to-date on this year’s projects by following @umtauber on Twitter and Facebook.

Contact: Theresa Ceccarelli, Marketing Manager / [email protected] / 734-647-0308

The Tauber Institute for Global Operations is a joint venture between the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business and the College of Engineering, working together with industry partners to facilitate cross-disciplinary education in global operations management. The Tauber Institute is an inaugural recipient of the UPS George D. Smith Prize for effective and innovative preparation of students to be good practitioners of operations research, management science, or analytics. For more information visit www.tauber.umich.edu.