Smith Undergrads Compete in Deloitte Consulting LLP Case Competition

Only one team could take away top honors at the Deloitte Consulting LLP Case Competition, hosted at the Smith School of Business on Friday, March 6, 2009. Over 65 Maryland undergraduates (including 45 of Smith's own students) participated in the competition, which asked students to advise Vibe Corporation, a server, workstation, and PC provider.

Teams were tasked with the responsibility of guiding the product introduction process for Techrev, a low-end laptop. The competition was designed to provide a realistic and meaningful experience in management consulting and demonstrate the type of analytical thinking that is necessary in the role. Cases were distributed in written format and described the issue at hand, required deliverables, and judging criteria. Teams were able to call into a question and answer session before their presentations.

Each team had 10 minutes to present in front of a panel of judges, including Deloitte consulting managers Michael Schaffer and Mike Hernandez, and Dr. Joseph Bailey, Dr. Hassan Ibrahim, Dr. Charles Olson, and Dr. Rhonda Reger of the Smith School. Members of the winning team each received a $50 American Express gift card.

The top three teams were:

• First place: Tae Jin An (junior, international business and finance), Cindy Kim (junior, finance and accounting), Jansen Sheng (senior, finance and electrical engineering), Frederick Tang (junior, finance and economics), and Yichen Xing (senior, finance)
• Second place: Jeremy Erdman, Matthew Mendoza, Robert Ptrini, and Mahesh Vellanki
• Third place: Dan Latinsky, John McGahagan, Estefi Medina, Vidya Sathyamoorthy and Aaron Wertman

To prepare for the case, the winning team’s members said they applied concepts heavily covered in a variety of classes, including Porter’s Five Forces and just-in-time inventory. The team also reviewed the case materials several times and met multiple times to brainstorm ideas.

Of their experience, team member Tang said:

“We learned that often times, we won't have complete information. In these situations, we may have to just fill the gaps with assumptions and continue working.”