Kelley School to Host Manufacturing Case Competition

Mark Frohlich is the director of the Center for Excellence in Manufacturing.

The Indiana University Kelley School Center for Excellence in Manufacturing will Saturday host its inaugural Gregg M. Sherrill Case Competition in Indianapolis. The university says the event will give students interested in manufacturing a "dose of reality" as they work to solve a critical issue facing manufacturing managers throughout the Midwest.

The event will involve students from Butler University, Ball State University and IUPUI. Their case will focus on how to modernize manufacturing facilities and where to locate, according to the Kelley School.

"What we’re trying to do in this case competition is develop the next generation of managers that these manufacturing firms will need," said Mark Frohlich, director of the Center for Excellence in Manufacturing. "The case challenges students to think about the whole package: The factory, financing, accounting, marketing and international competition. We also want students to think about current events, so they must analyze the case considering the trade policy the U.S. is currently proposing. What happens if that policy is enacted? What if it isn’t? These are questions all manufacturers are having to ask right now."

The Kelley School says the student teams received the case to work on ahead of time. Each team will present their solutions to a panel of judges that includes managers of manufacturing firms in central Indiana.

The teams will be scored on their analysis of the case, their knowledge of current trade policy, and their professionalism in presenting and answering questions from the judges.