By G. Vishweshwaran

Six students from Brigham Young University's Marriott School of Management won the first place and $ 3,000 in the 12th annual FedEx Freight International Graduate Logistics Case competition held at the University of Arkansas.

The team was given a case involving a ready-to-eat cereal manufacturer with a small market share in the industry. The team was given 24 hours to come up with plausible solutions to the problems faced by the manufacturer.

"It was a good but grueling experience with a lot of preparation and no rest," said David Minaker, a second-year MBA student from Alberta, Canada. "It was like having 36 hours of work a day."

This is only the second year that BYU has participated in the competition but their performance has garnered some attention.

"We were placed second last year so we wanted to step it up and come first," Minaker said.

The competition is organized every fall semester and teams from the nation's leading supply chain management schools are invited to come and participate. This year 12 schools were invited to the event.

"As a group we are very strong. One of the things that differentiated us from the other teams is our people skill due to the missions that we have served," said Fernando Araujo, a first year MBA student from Curitiba, Brazil.

"I think team work and preparation is why we won."

The BYU team was selected in September by a panel of faculty members, based on presentation skills, dressing skills, knowledge, leadership skills and stage presence. The team prepared for over 6 weeks and was given several cases to present to the faculty for review.

"When you take good, bright, talented students with complementary skills and run them through a rigorous exercise, they will always do well," said Stan Fawcett, professor of supply chain management and the team's faculty advisor. "This was a special opportunity for our students to set an example."

Darmstadt University of Technology placed second and the University of Arkansas placed third, each receiving $2,000 and $1,000 respectively.

The BYU team consisted second-year students Minaker, Bryce LaPierre from Woburn, Mass.; Brandon Robinson from Provo; and A-Young Kim from Seoul, South Korea; and first-year MBA students Fernando Araujo and Stephen Jones from Portland, Ore.



Copyright Brigham Young University 7 Jan 2009