As one of the world’s largest and most respected healthcare products and services companies, Johnson & Johnson knows just how important it is to embrace new technology and stay on the cutting edge. So when the company began leveraging business analytics to enhance decision-making and centralize their supply chain, they called the Tauber Institute for reinforcements.

“Many companies are investing in software, hardware, and training to beef up their ability to use data effectively,” says Gerald Peterson, a Ross School of Business advisor. “The good news with Tauber folks is that they’re all pretty great at that stuff.”

Two of those Tauber folks are MBA students Nikhil Gupta and Nicole Slezak. With Gupta’s background in general management and technology consulting and Slezak’s in supply chain management, the two were perfectly poised to join this year’s Johnson & Johnson’s team project. In April they moved to New Brunswick, New Jersey and spent the next fourteen weeks planning analytics deployment while working toe to toe with some of Johnson & Johnson’s key leaders.

 “They brought us in to accomplish three things,” says Gupta. “The first was to develop an analytics maturity model.”

A maturity model is a tool that assesses the ability of a client in certain key areas. By developing a maturity model, Gupta and Slezak could better determine Johnson & Johnson’s state of readiness for the new analytics system.

“The second was to understand what will happen after the analytics system goes live, and the third was to find out the road blocks to deployment.”

To accomplish these two tasks, Gupta and Slezak interviewed over seventy senior level stakeholders for their perspectives on the issues. They then translated these insights into strategies for better business planning.

“We developed recommendations focused on how people, processes, and technology can enable implementing analytics projects more quickly and efficiently in the future,” says Slezak.

Considering the scope of the project and their limited timeframe, Gupta and Slezak certainly had their work cut out for them. But Tauber’s team projects have been successful for over twenty years for good reason: With an impressive pool of talent to choose from, the right students are always matched with the right sponsors.

 “The companies are very interested in the problem the students are working on, and the students are interested in doing well in the eyes of the company, as well as getting the experience,” says Peterson, who has been advising business students for thirteen years and has seen time and time again how students and sponsors can mutually benefit from one another. “These are very meaningful projects that students are engaged in for top companies. That’s certainly going to be an impressive part of their background for employers.”

Gupta and Slezak agree that participating in a Tauber team project is an excellent avenue for ambitious students looking to obtain real world experience in strategy, tech, and consulting, while also gaining exposure to high-level senior leadership and complex business challenges.

“It’s been a big learning curve for me,” says Gupta, reflecting on what he took away from his time at Johnson & Johnson. “Get feedback, try to understand if you’re on the right track … As long as you understand why something needs to be done, you can then recommend changes and improvements.”

Gupta and Slezak now know firsthand what it takes to succeed in a high stakes global supply chain environment, and Johnson & Johnson is continuing its record of innovation and success. This symbiotic relationship is what makes a Tauber team project such a unique opportunity. Because sponsors like Johnson & Johnson have a sincere interest in recruiting students to deliver actionable solutions and improve business performance, they can stay on the cutting edge while students like Gupta and Slezak can gain invaluable experience and advance their careers.

“What we’ve done has been highly appreciated,” Gupta says.  

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Written by: Joshua Kraus

About Tauber Institute for Global Operations
The Tauber Institute for Global Operations is a joint venture between the University of Michigan’s Stephen M. Ross School of Business and the College of Engineering, and 30 industry partners to facilitate cross-disciplinary education in global operations management. In addition to broad array of core and elective courses, the innovative LeadershipAdvantageSM Program provides students with the tools to ascend to major operations leadership roles. Well-designed and managed team projects form the cornerstone of the Tauber Institute experience and allow students to apply their knowledge to real world settings. http://www.tauber.umich.edu

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