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Supply Chain Practium – a Great Preview for the Future

“Working with Lenovo is a great preview for the future,” said Sarah Piccini, a senior in NC State University’s Poole College of Management.

She and her teammates are working with Lenovo as part of their supply chain management practicum class, one of several such projects under way this spring. The practicum class is a capstone experience for seniors in the supply chain concentration for the college’s bachelor’s degree in business administration.

“We’re getting the experience of running a project and working as a team,” she said. “We can take what we learn from this and apply it almost anywhere.” Piccini is majoring in business administration and international studies. Her practicum team members are Loid Richard Atkinson IV, Spencer Cain, and Justin Segal.

Identifying Green Improvement Options

The team is analyzing and improving flow efficiency and space utilization in Lenovo’s cafeteria and cafes. They also are working to identifying ways that Lenovo can make ‘green’ improvements for its dining facilities, including reducing waste through reuse and recycle incentives, and composting.

“We are researching such things as motion sensors, composting solutions, paper versus polystyrene products, and LEED certification,” Atkinson said. All are contributing to the team’s knowledge and experience with energy efficiency, flow analysis, and environmental improvement.

Experience with Sustainability

“Sustainability efforts will continue to gain importance as we graduate and move into the work force, so we can one day offer our knowledge from the project to companies we work with in the future,” Segal said. With many businesses looking to become ‘green’ and lower their environmental impact, the team members said they felt the research they’re doing this spring will help them in any future ventures.

“Lenovo has already taken measures to improve their environmental impact, but they are always looking to improve and trying to discover new ways to be environmentally friendly,” Cain said. “I’m combining my classroom experience with my minor in environmental science to help our team succeed in making Lenovo much more efficient in their practices, while reducing waste and their environmental footprint. It’s a perfect way to apply my studies to a real-world issue.”

Photo:

Team members are, left to right, Justin Segal, Spencer Cain, Loid Atkinson, and Sarah Piccini.