John Taylor, director of supply chain programs at Wayne State University, said the competition is designed to bring attention to careers in the auto industry supply chain.

On Friday, teams will be divided into five regional groups and participate in a competition presenting their ideas.

“The four regional winners are given a new competition twist Friday afternoon,” Taylor said. “Then the four teams will be given a new shorter case, and they will have 24 hours to work on it that night.”

MSU finished as a runner-up in the event last year, with University of Miami in Ohio taking the top place.

Assistant supply chain management professor John Macdonald said the selected students are chosen from a mix of faculty referrals and self interest. He said students send résumés, and faculty members then select a group of participants. The selection is dwindled down to who is willing to commit to the extra effort.

“I pick the team in late spring, early summer,” Macdonald said. “Once they come back, that’s when they do all the training and presentation preparation.”

To prepare for the competition, supply chain management senior Stephanie Bunn said her team had three weeks to determine which car battery would provide the best quality service based on total cost. The team’s decision looked at sourcing strategy, transportation cost and total cost.

“It’s been kind of busy because I work on top of it, so it’s kind of hard to balance school,” said Bunn, who’s one of four members on the team.

Supply chain management senior Andrew Tang, who competed in a similar case last year, said it’s a great way to compete professionally and meet other top students in MSU’s program.

“MSU supply chain has been ranked No. 1 again, and it’s going to be a really good opportunity for me to showcase what we’re capable of,” Tang said.