Supplying A Winning Solution

Take a common problem for procurement officials across the U.S., such as how to broaden and diversify their pool of suppliers. Give the challenge to teams of college students … to tackle over 24 frenzied hours.

What happens?

At a recent supply chain case competition at NC State, the result was a first-place finish by the Poole College team — and a national panel of state procurement officials as judges who were very impressed by the students.

Poole’s team, sponsored by the college’s supply chain club, beat eight other contenders at the National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO) competition this month.

“It was an intense process … We didn’t stop,” Poole senior Sahithya Vederea says of her team’s frantic hours researching, developing and presenting a plan for a supplier diversity program. 

“We referred to a lot of Poole classes and our internship experiences to come up with our presentation,” says Vederea, a business administration major with a supply chain management concentration.

Those classes include Poole’s purchasing and supply management course. Supply chain club adviser and Poole lecturer Brad Ashbaugh notes that Poole is among few business schools with such a course. 

“We referred to a lot of Poole classes and our internship experiences to come up with our presentation.”

Teams weren’t given details about the case until Friday morning and had to be ready for presentations the following morning. In that time, they couldn’t confer with anyone else at Poole. 

Poole’s students focused on how to use their respective talents, although they hadn’t even met each other before the competition. The team quickly decided who would speak at their presentation and who would take charge of technical aspects and other parts of the project.

“It was definitely a roller coaster of an experience,” senior business administration and supply chain management student Jacob Lawrence says. “But we were able to leverage our different areas of expertise to put together a really solid final piece.”  

To get to the final piece, the team researched ways to make small businesses more competitive in the procurement process.

“We wanted to empower them and give them opportunity. If smaller businesses don’t have the capabilities, most agencies go to a bigger supplier and award them the contract,” Vederea says. 

A Winning Solution

The team’s solution involved policy changes, including requiring that any contract under $50,000 be awarded automatically to a small business. They also proposed dividing contracts between big and small suppliers and providing low-interest loans to smaller companies as startup capital to be more competitive.

“NASPO said our technical competence won it for us. The students did a good numerical analysis of small and medium-size businesses and the contracts they produce,” Ashbaugh says. “They were very confident in the way they parsed the data and found ways for these businesses to compete.” 

Poole received $5,000 to divide among team members, who included Jack Alspaugh and Skanda Vasuki.

But there was a more valuable prize for Vederea — the feedback from one of the judges. “She loved how we came up with creative ideas to make policy changes. She was inspired by our solutions,” Vederea says. “Hearing those words from someone so experienced in the field was even better for me than winning.”

For Lawrence, the best part was “being able to prove that the resources and support Poole’s supply chain program provides go a long way and that the supply chain concentration, and that whole department, is one of the top programs in the country,” he says.

Lined Up For Future Success

As a high-profile program, a case competition is just one way Poole prepares students to excel in their careers. Lawrence and Vederea note that they strengthened their teamwork and presentation skills at the competition. And they had internships that led to full-time positions they’ll start after graduating.     

“Recruiters tell us our students are able to contribute on day one in new jobs. They don’t typically need additional training before they can start helping a company,” Ashbaugh says. 

Lawrence is ready to start as an associate procurement analyst at consumer products manufacturer Altria beginning next year in Richmond, Virginia.

And Vederea is prepared to contribute at BSH Home Appliances in New Bern, North Carolina, where she’ll work as a buyer after she finishes in December. She interned there and plans a procurement career.

“You need supply chain everywhere, from small grocery stores to big retail stores to governments,” Vederea says. “It’s all over the world. There are no boundaries.”