The third-annual Business Analytics Case Competition attracted 88 undergraduate students by offering the unique opportunity to solve a real-world business problem.

With no requirement on major, a diverse set of students formed 32 teams to showcase their analytical skills as they competed for a portion of the $10,000 prize.

Pei Xu, a George Philips Privett Associate Professor of Business Analytics, was an integral part of the event’s organization.

“I think you all should be so proud of yourself,” said Xu as she addressed participants at the awards ceremony. “[This was] analyzing 3 million rows of data and uncovering meaningful patterns and relationships. That's a great achievement.”

The teams were given The Home Depot data on restocking times that they analyzed, identifying insights and offering recommendations for a solution.

Students had one month to submit their first-round report. Unlike previous years where six teams advanced to the final round, seven teams moved forward due to a tie. The teams had two weeks to refine their submissions before presenting their solutions to a panel of judges on Nov. 14.

This year’s case competition brought an increase in the number of awards, expanding from three to eight prizes.

“This change aims to encourage even more high-quality submissions and to recognize a broader range of exceptional work,” said Xu.

The first-place prize of $3,600 went to Team Kings of Capital, consisting of Joseph McElroy, Ethan Flynn and Ainsley Neil.

Through data modeling such as regression analysis, the team predicted restocking times and offered recommendations to become more efficient, subsequently reducing costs.

Their mutual involvement in a student program, Auburn Financial Management Association, brought their team together, said McElroy.

“It was an opportunity for us to demonstrate some of the skill sets that we develop here across campus,” said Flynn, junior in journalism and finance.

McElroy, junior in computer engineering, was able to utilize skills learned through his major.

“Being able to do some of that stuff on the coding side, analytics, building models – I really enjoyed the process,” McElroy said.

At the end of the team’s presentation, Neil, senior in business analytics and finance, emphasized to the judges how her coursework in the business analytics program gave her the tools to tackle real-world issues, such as The Home Depot case.

The second-place prize of $2,400 went to Team Ctrl Alt Defeat, consisting of Abby Hart and Kathryn Ingalsbe.

According to Hart, senior in business analytics and marketing, she joined the case competition to gain experience using classroom skills in a real-world setting.

Hart is president of Women in Technology, a student organization aimed at developing business students into professionals for business and technical spaces. This organization provides technical workshops in platforms such as Microsoft Excel and PowerBI and opportunities to network with industry professionals.

“I encourage everyone with an interest in data to do as many hands-on experiences as possible, because it is only going to make you better,” said Hart. “We have access to so much information for free on the internet, so even if you are early in the major, I recommend participating in competitions like this one.”

Regions Bank was the corporate sponsor, providing financial support, and The Home Depot was the case sponsor, providing the case materials and data.

Michael Carpenter, director of operations and decision analytics at The Home Depot, was one of the final-round judges. He announced the first, second and third place winners.

“I was thoroughly impressed with every single one of you all,” said Carpenter, addressing the participants. The depth of research from each team ensured that they had a contextual understanding of the data, he said.

According to Carpenter, all final-round teams acknowledged using AI tools to varying degrees throughout the competition, noting that this resource is a growing and innovative resource in business problem-solving. 

Congratulations to the 2024 Business Analytics Case Competition winners:

1st Place: $3,600	Kings of Capital	Joseph McElroy, Ethan Flynn and Ainsley Neil
2nd Place: $2,400	Ctrl Alt Defeat	Abby Hart and Kathryn Ingalsbe
3rd Place: $1,800	Optimal Insights	Owen Strength and Jacob Simmons
Honorable Mentions: $600 to each team	- Graphical Wizards -Nochill V2 -SKs Innovation	- Julia Richards and Anna Reese Knighton - Henry Stuart and Ayan Merchant - Sumin Kang and Seungtae Kim
Outstanding Submissions: $200 to each team	-Team Algorithmics - Team LEGO	- Jathan Underwood and David Foweather -Olivia Stanley, Laurenzia Rouw, Garret Cato and Emely Nguyen

Keven Yost, Harbert College of Business associate dean of academic affairs, also spoke at the award ceremony.

“This is a great event, bringing together faculty, students and our corporate partners, so let me first congratulate and thank the students that participated again, not just those in the room,” said Yost. “The impact of this event is across campus, to all those students that participated.”

Uzma Raja, the Chair of the Department of Business Analytics and Information Systems, noted the hard work of the following individuals in making the case competition a success:

Faculty judges:

Associate Professor of Information System, Yen-Yao Wang

Assistant Professor of Business Analytics, Junyoung Park 

Lecturer of Business Analytics, Regina Gramling

Lecturer of Business Analytics, Chen Yan

 

Logistic support:

TES Program Support, Tiffany Blodget

Program Champion, Bradlee Colburn

Administrative Support Associate II, Susan Lines

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