Project Success Stories
Target Stores
“The presentation of your project in all three mediums, the written report, slideshow presentation, and verbal presentation was outstanding. In every aspect of your project, your understanding of Target’s business was evident. It was very obvious the amount of time you spent in the store and with store leadership gathering information. Thank you for the great amount of effort you put into this project.”
Sarah Funk, Group Campus Recruiter
CH2M Hill
“I was very impressed with the effort and quality of the team, and the general organization of your program. I believe their efforts will be directly applicable to our business pursuits. I particularly appreciated getting their fresh perspective on our concept of expanded business pursuits. They brought a unique energy and a lack of prejudice that simply is not possible in our existing corporate organization.
The team met all deliverables on-time and produced the agreed-upon work product. Their communication with me was concise and well-planned out, targeting specific issues to improve the final product or seek appropriate clarification on previous issues. They worked well together and seemed to balance the work-load among the team members.
I genuinely enjoyed the experience.”
Patrick O’Keefe, Senior Vice President
Crocs
A team of undergrads worked with the VP of Logistics and Manufacturing for Crocs on a project to find ways to use waste from their manufacturing process. At the time, the waste from their Quebec plant was being shipped to their warehouse in Niwot and was occupying valuable space in the warehouse. Our students looked at other programs such as Nike’s ReUse A SHOE program and identified a unique way to keep the waste out of the landfill. The students tested a process to grind up the waste and old shoes that customers were discarding. Ultimately, this ground up product was reprocessed into new shoes that are being donated to needy people all over the world as part of Crocs Soles United program. As with other companies, we are continuing to do other projects for Crocs.
Janus Capital Group
"As part of our on-going efforts to increase our interactions with local universities, the Janus Information Technology department participated in the Fall '07 Project Fair and had two of our projects selected by the students. The research and results from the students was not only business relevant for Janus but the opportunity to work with the students was highly rewarding. The Leeds School of Business is doing a wonderful job in partnering with companies to offer students real-world experience as they complete their studies. We look forward to continuing to strengthen our relationship with CU in the years to come."
Kristi Kuetemeier, Janus Capital Group
GMAC
A team of undergrads worked with a division of GMAC to design and build a prototype which managed employee access to their applications. Security, ease of use, and consistency with existing company standards were all important aspects of the project. At the end of the project, the CIO made job offers to two of our students (out of a team of eight). One of the positions required five years of web design and implementation experience. I checked in with GMAC six months later and learned that our Leeds graduate is a superstar and moving quickly up the ladder.
IBM Printing Systems Division
A team of undergrads and MBAs worked together with IBM to identify new products and services that could generate new revenue streams of at least $10 million per year. Our students did extensive research, spoke with many IBM competitors and customers and made several recommendations to IBM senior executives. I spoke with our client nine months after the project was completed and was told that the research provided is being used as part of customer briefings, at conferences, and most importantly as part of new investments IBM is making to design new products and services. In addition we have been asked to participate in several more projects with them.
Bloomin
A team of MBAs worked with the founder of Bloomin to identify and design a new line of greeting cards that could increase their business by at least 20%. Our students did the market research, held focus groups at Sterling-Rice and presented the design and business case for a line of wedding invitations. The client has completed the design and is presenting this new line at major shows around the country. The numbers are not yet in, but the line is generating a lot of interest. Check it out at www.bloomin.com.
Beaver Creek
A team of undergrads worked with the Director of Mountain Operations at Beaver Creek to create a campaign which would help differentiate them from their sibling and rival Vail in an annual safety competition. We were told that Beaver Creek had never won a safety award from NSAA. Our students designed a program that was fun and educational. They created a set of trading cards with pictures of the Beaver Creek rescue dogs illustrating each of the safety rules. Kids could collect different cards at various locations on the Beaver Creek trails. For instance, one of Beaver Creek’s safety rules states “People ahead of you have the right of way. It is your responsibility to avoid them”. This rule was rewritten as “Dixie says, dogs don’t ski on other dog’s tails” with a picture of Dixie and another dog on her tail. Beaver Creek subsequently won a safety award from NSAA the year our students worked with them.
Sunrise Medical
A team of undergrads worked with the controller to develop a model to determine days sales outstanding by customer. Our team analyzed data from a number of years across hundreds of customers to determine who pays the fastest and who pays as agreed among other criteria. This information was then used as input into a larger project to determine how to better manage these customer relationships, which customers to give more favorable or less favorable treatment to, etc. Of the three students on the team, one was offered a full-time accounting position. We continue to do other projects with Sunrise.
Molson Coors
Due to Wal-Mart’s requirement for its top 100 suppliers to implement RFID technology in their supply-chain, Coors needed help understanding the impact of this request on their business. Our students contacted more than a dozen other companies that were implementing RFID to understand their strategy and how it related to Coors. In addition the students met with a world leader in the use of RFID on metal containers filled with liquid, an especially harsh environment.As a result of this research, our students helped Coors identify an innovative approach to implementing RFID within their supply chain, which was cost effective while still meeting Wal-Mart’s requirements.
Northern Colorado BMW/Ducati Website
A website was designed and built for the BMW/Ducati dealer for Northern Colorado. The team of students reviewed web sites for motorcycle dealers, car dealers and other types of retailers for ideas before designing this site for BMW/Ducati. See the results of their work at the following URL: www.bmwducati.com.