Western’s 'Lean SMEs' Win 2016 Boeing Northwest Case Competition

Western Washington University’s College of Business and Economics student team, “Lean Subject Matter Experts” (Lean SMEs), made up of four Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management (MSCM) students along with an Accounting student, won first place at the Boeing Northwest Case Competition at the Museum of Flight in Seattle on Nov. 4.

Lean SMEs included Lara Masri (Gig Harbor), Preston Paulson (Amery, Wisconsin), Zane Hashmi (Lahore, Pakistan), Nathan Hill (Issaquah), and Swann Davis (Bundang, Korea).

There were two rounds of competition; the first was internal, requiring Western’s teams to present their business recommendations to five Boeing managers. Eight teams from Western entered the competition and were given one week to analyze the Boeing case and prepare their presentation for the first round. The top team from each University visited Boeing’s Museum of Flight in South Seattle for the final round, which was judged by a panel of Boeing executives. The business case is a real-world business scenario produced by The Boeing Company, and focused on the development and introduction of a new mid-sized commercial aircraft.

“Lean SMEs” won the first round and had the opportunity to refine their presentation to compete against other top-performing student teams from the University of Washington, Central Washington University, and Portland State University.

The team also received support from MSCM professor Peter Haug, Accounting professor Audrey Taylor, International Business professor Tom Roehl, and MCSM professor Gerald Campbell.

 “Beyond what we learned about the aerospace industry, we learned about teamwork. We learned what comprises a successful team – passion, humility, and knowledge. Our fervor for the case problem gave us the impetus we needed to spend countless hours together,” said Hashmi.

After announcing the winning team, several judges mentioned how impressed they were with the comprehensive coverage of Lean SMEs team’s analysis and recommendations, as well as the depth of knowledge displayed in their presentation and while answering questions.

MCSM professor Peter Haug encouraged Western students to participate in competitions like this to achieve experience in working with leading companies in the region to ensure graduates have the tools to be successful.

For more information, contact Peter Haug, Western Washington University professor of Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management, at (360) 650-4807 or Peter.Haug@wwu.edu, or Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management professor Gerard Campbell at (360) 540-4496 or Gerard.Campbell@wwu.edu.