How Our Students “Think and Do”
Each semester, teams of undergraduate and MBA students work on client projects for our corporate partners.
Using client data and the knowledge they’ve acquired in the classroom and through their own personal experiences, these teams regularly produce tools, insights and recommendations with tangible returns for these companies.
On this page we invite you to explore several of our most notable projects from the last five years and see how our students put their education into action.
Transportation Spend Analysis (Altria)
With numerous carriers and deliveries being made each year, Altria needed a way to visually and accurately monitor its transportation spending volume.
Fortunately, a team of MBA students was up to the challenge.
CEFS – Dairy Farms Transitioning From Conventional Dairy
In recent years, large-scale operations have encroached on the profitability of small dairy farms and forced them to reconsider their business models.
Some farmers have adapted by turning their farms into fully-operational producers of bottled milk for direct-to-consumer sales.
In 2015, a team of MBA students developed a tool to help farmers who are considering this transition, and then used the tool to help a small dairy farm here in North Carolina assess their ability to make the change on their farm.
Cell Phone Policy Benchmarking (American Red Cross)
As part of an effort to cut significant spending from its operating budget by 2022, the American Red Cross tasked a team of MBA students with performing a benchmark analysis that would evaluate the company’s cell phone policy and compare it to that of other organizations and industry standards.
Supplier Dashboard Project (Altria)
For this spring 2019 project, a team of MBA students created a dashboard that would allow Altria’s procurement team to more efficiently monitor its relationship with its suppliers following the company’s expansion into several new consumer goods categories.
Commercial Mower Cost Tool (John Deere)
This student team developed a tool to help John Deere\u2019s marketing and sales teams show customers a data-based comparison of different lawn-mower models, thus improving customer decision-making and satisfaction.
Valve Standardization and Change Management (Duke Energy)
In 2017, Duke Energy had recently been a part of multiple mergers and acquisitions that caused the number of products they were purchasing to increase significantly. As part of its response, the company turned to a team of undergraduate students to identify standardization opportunities in two product categories and research strategies for effectively implementing the standardization changes.
Market Intelligence Tool (John Deere)
A business’ ability to monitor the market is essential for making informed decisions on purchasing and positioning. That’s why in 2017 this student team created a tool for John Deere’s Tractor Platform to help the company store, manage and evaluate key market and supplier information.
Staffing Analysis (Altria)
To help Altria improve its ability to forecast unplanned employee absences (a typically unpredictable human behavior), a team of MBA students built a tool that could potentially help the company reduce labor costs and negative impacts on production caused by staffing inefficiencies.
Questions?
To learn more about how your company can submit a project proposal, click here.
For clients interested in showcasing historical projects or for other questions, please contact us.
