ANN ARBOR, Mich.  — Tauber Institute for Global Operations is pleased to announce the winners of the Spotlight! Team Project Showcase Scholarship Competition! The 35 teams, composed of 89 students and supported by 54 faculty advisors at 26 sponsoring companies with locations around the world, worked in sectors including manufacturing and supply chain, health care, energy, retail, technology, and logistics to uncover solutions to operations-related challenges. The average savings was $12.8 million per project savings over 3 years. The total savings projected was $450 million.

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Read the 2014 Spotlight! book here

In first place is the Cummins Inc. team of Ankur Agarwal (MSCM '14), Joshua (Shijun) Ma (EGL BSE/MSE Industrial and Operations Engineering '15), and Nikhil Vajandar (MSCM '14). The team was tasked to reevaluate Cummins existing China remanufacturing strategy - from not only an operational perspective, but also a marketing/commercial viewpoint. The team successfully delivered a robust business strategy. This included market opportunity identification, product portfolio enhancement, strategic location recommendations and organizational redesign. Their recommendations result in an estimated NPV of $22 million over ten years. The Cummins' team Faculty Advisors were Ravi Anupindi from the Ross School of Business and Prakash Sathe from the College of Engineering. Each student received a scholarship award of $5,000 and the team was presented with a "check" by Joel D. Tauber, benefactor of the Tauber Institute at the conclusion of the Spotlight! event.

Tied for second place was the Amazon.com Inc.'s team of Michael Cooper (MBA '15) and Nikki Haven (EGL BSE/MSE Industrial and Operations Engineering '15) who were given the goal to reduce the amount of free replacements given to customers when an item is damaged, missing, or a wrong item is sent to the customer from the North American sortable Fulfillment Centers. The Amazon team undertook a multi pronged approach to understand and analyze the free replacement process, identify the root causes, develop recommendations and implement improvements. In addition to the quantitative analysis of free replacement, the team interviewed hundreds of employees, spent time with customer service, studied the process flow in the fulfillment center, and met with various corporate project teams. Two key areas identified for improvement were product packaging and protection, and associate awareness of free replacement. The project resulted in a 6.87% reduction in all Chattanooga, Tennessee Fulfillment Center free replacements, corresponding to $77k reduction in free replacement costs.The Amazon's team Faculty Advisors were Yan Huang from the Ross School of Business and Vijay Nair from the College of Engineering. Each student received a scholarship award of $4,000.

Also tied for second place is the Mac Arthur Corporation's team of John Scrudato (MBA '16 and Juris Doctor '16) and Satish Subramanian (MSE Industrial and Operations Engineering '14). They were enlisted to evaluate the printed electronics technologies, markets, and supply chain, identify profitable opportunities, and develop the best business plan and go-to-market strategy that will position Mac Arthur for long-term success in the emerging technology space. The potential impact of the team's recommendations is tremendous; the team expects Mac Arthur Corporation to double its revenue and realize double-digit profit margin growth within 10 years and position the company for reinvention as a leader in an emerging high tech space.The Mac Arthur Corporation's team Faculty Advisors were Kira Barton from the College of Engineering and Jeffrey Sinclair of the Ross School of Business. Each student received a scholarship award of $4,000.

Third place is General Motors' Global Purchasing and Supply Chain team of Sufen Fong (MBA '15) and Samuel Ji (MSCM '14 and MSE Industrial and Operations Engineering '15). The team project goal was to assess root causes of events leading to schedule instability at two assembly facilities and create a solution that would minimize total enterprise cost and impact on parts schedules and suppliers for future events. The team formulated their recommendations, saving GM approximately $19.4M annually at both facilities, and approximately $85.9M annually if extended to other facilities within the US. The General Motors' Faculty Advisors were Damian Beil, Ross School of Business and David Chesney, College of Engineering. Each student received a scholarship award of $3,000.

Receiving the Alumni Scholarship Award of $2000 was Joseph Menzia (EGL BSE/MSE Industrial and Operations Engineering '15).

Spotlight! Background

Each two- to three-person Tauber project team is made up of graduate engineering, MBA, and/or MSCM students. Along with receiving high-level corporate support from the company, each team is advised by a College of Engineering and a Ross School of Business faculty member and overseen by a Tauber Institute Co-Director. The projects begin on-site in May and continue for 14 weeks.

Convening back in Ann Arbor, students present the results of their projects and compete for over $40,000 in scholarship monies at the Tauber Institute's annual Spotlight! event, held each September in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

At Spotlight!, students showcase their project results and compete for academic scholarships. Spotlight! is a growing event that presents outstanding opportunities for students and corporate partners to establish relationships while expanding the university’s presence and uncovering new ideas and innovations in operations and manufacturing.

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]