One of the key strengths of the Kelley School of Business Evening MBA program is the opportunity to participate in enterprise experiences that allow for course work projects to be done as partnerships with real world companies. For example, I was able to complete such an activity through the gSCIE (Global Supply Chain Enterprise) program in conjunction with Pepsico's Gatorade production facility. During this endeavor, my three person team conducted a Six Sigma style project to reduce certain costs as requested by the client company. It was tremendously rewarding throughout the entire life cycle: from first meeting with the professor mentor (Mohan Tatikonda) and corporate managers to identify the scope of the work; to next gathering data, investigating the site, and interviewing staff followed by analyzing the factors, formulating solutions and providing a set of recommendations via a detailed presentation. Overall, the experience was memorable for the:
- Application of classroom topics
- Utilization of business tools
- Coordination of stakeholders
- Organization of information
- Completion of final recommendations
Based on my enterprise experience, I would sincerely urge others to explore these type of supply chain management educational opportunities, especially as they are embodied in these unique projects that blend academics, consulting, and corporate performance improvements. Once again, the Kelley School of Business illustrates top notch techniques to elevate Evening MBA student professionals.