March 13th, the Terillium’s annual case competition, was held in collaboration with the Center for Supply Chain Excellence at Miami University and the Miami University FSB Department of Accountancy.
Six teams were presented a business scenario and given just three weeks to analyze and research the issues before delivering 15-minute presentations to a panel of Terillium executives: David Woodworth, Molly Monson, Alyson Power, and Evan Crew. The business case focused on addressing changes for an office furniture manufacturer dealing with multiple issues, including raw material price surges and shortages, a global supply chain that lacks connectivity, lack of visibility in demand planning, issues with late shipments, aging IT systems and accounting processes, and more.
To say this was a close competition would be an understatement. The scores for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place were separated by mere hundredths and even thousandths of a decimal point, making this the closest competition we’ve ever seen!
The team analyzed the current state of “Woody’s Inc.,” identifying key issues before diving into solutions involving ERP implementation, accounting improvements, and strategic sourcing, ultimately delivering a strong, data-driven recommendation.
We also had the chance to speak with members of the winning team and asked what made their presentation so successful. One student shared, “Some of us knew each other, but most of us didn’t—and we all worked well together right from the start.”
Interestingly, the team’s presentation was originally much longer than the allotted time. Faced with this challenge, they quickly adapted by streamlining their content, making strategic decisions about which details were most important to highlight during the presentation and which analyses could be moved to supporting appendices. Despite the last-minute adjustments, they delivered a clear, focused presentation that successfully executed every project objective and demonstrated a deep understanding of the material.
After all the presentations concluded, we gathered for a celebratory dinner at The Marcum Hotel and Conference Center, featuring excellent food from Miami University Catering. The evening also included a fun halftime-style performance by Professor Yibo (James) Zhang, PhD, CPA, CMA, who played popular theme songs on his Irish whistle—something many of us learned is quite different from a traditional flute!
Congratulations and thank you to all of the students who participated and invested in their future. Your dedication, hard work, and willingness to challenge yourselves through this experience truly reflect the talent and drive within our programs.
