A team from the University of Wisconsin-Superior secured second place in the sixth Wisconsin Undergraduate Supply Chain Cup Case Competition, sponsored by Kohler, held on February 21 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The competition brought together top undergraduate supply chain management programs, featuring teams from Marquette University, UW-Eau Claire, UW-Madison, UW-Oshkosh, UW-Superior and UW-Whitewater.

The UW-Superior team included Tamami Igeta (Chiba, Japan), Rilie Kupka (Eagan, Minnesota), Minkyu Kwak (Daejeon, South Korea), and Bradley Lellis (Pinole, California). Mei Cao, director of the Transportation & Logistics Research Center and professor of transportation and supply chain management, served as the team’s coach.

A week before the competition, each team received a case study on New Belgium Brewing. The challenge was to research relevant materials and develop strategies to help the company reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. Students were tasked with assessing the company’s progress, conducting a cost-benefit analysis of various technologies, prioritizing efforts, expanding carbon neutrality, and providing recommendations.

On the day of the competition, each team had 20 minutes to present their proposed solutions to a panel of judges, followed by a 10-minute Q&A session. At the conclusion of the event, the judges awarded third place to Marquette University, second place to UW-Superior and first place to UW-Madison.

“This case competition offered a valuable opportunity for our students to apply their classroom learning to real-world supply chain challenges,” said Cao. “It also helped them refine their communication and collaboration skills.”

“Our team worked exceptionally well together, dedicating countless hours during the week leading up to the submission of our solution and on the day of the presentation to the judges,” said Lellis, a transportation and logistics management major.

“The judges were impressed by our team’s innovative ideas backed by solid analysis. They praised the team’s thoughtful, well-structured presentation and noted how clearly and confidently they spoke,” said Cao, who accompanied the team to the competition. “I am so proud of our students for their hard work and dedication as a team. They demonstrated excellence in representing UW-Superior throughout the competition.”

“I gained invaluable insight into how industry experts evaluate strategic decisions. This experience has certainly expanded my understanding of supply chain management and sustainability,” said Igeta, a triple major in supply chain management, business analytics and marketing.

“Finishing second was a proud achievement, and I look forward to applying the skills and insights gained from this competition to my future academic and professional pursuits,” said Kupka, a double major in transportation and logistics management and supply chain management.

The students would like to thank the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) and the Transportation and Logistics Research Center for making the trip to the competition possible.

As the second-place team, UW-Superior was awarded $1,000 from Kohler, which will be distributed among the student team members. This marks the fourth time a team from UW-Superior has participated in the competition. In 2018, the UW-Superior team took first place, and in 2020, they earned second place.