MS&E 108: Project Descriptions
Ground Rules:
After your four-person group has been formed, you may select one of these projects for consideration at a time. You'll have four business days to evaluate the project and then decide yes/no. Send Professor Shachter at shachter@stanford.edu an email when you're ready to consider one of these projects, and he will email you contact information. Groups should not try contacting these organizations directly, but rather must request the contact information from Prof. Shachter. This practice guarantees that we do not overwhelm our sponsors with requests for additional information by more than one group at a time, and provides a fair and orderly mechanism for providing groups with project leads.Project Descriptions
Project Matched to Team
1. Intel: What's Next After RoHS?
Intel Project: What's the next likely trend/initiative in the near future after RoHS (removal of Hazardous substances) and Halogen-Free requirements? What's the next thing?Group Name: Channel Supply Demand Operations Planning
Project Scope: New initiatives like RoHS/Halogen-Free forced compliance on companies to manufacture products that met these more stringent guidelines. What are the upcoming trends that would force similar compliance measures? This could have a potentially huge impact on both suppliers and manufacturers across many companies. If there is time, the student team could also perform an initial high-level analysis of the economic impact of each of the new trends identified.
Project Matched to Team
2. Intuit: In-Product Marketing
The project goal would be to optimize the in-product marketing channel for cross-sell purposes while maintaining positive customer experience.
As part of the project, the team might investigate the following questions:
- What makes the in-product channel different from the other channels: Web, retail, direct marketing?
- What's the current practice in the market with respect to in-product marketing?
- Given Intuit's line-up of cross-sell offerings for QuickBooks, how might Intuit make best use of in-product marketing?
3. Haas Center: Evaluating student-selected organizations in foreign countries
Essential questions:- Is the organization truly dedicated to public service or attempting to acquire free summer labor, or worse yet, attempting to misappropriate funds earmarked for public service projects?
- Will the student be subjected to unsafe environmental conditions due to stereotype, bias, prejudice or racism? It is important to note that we fund both American nationals and international students. For example, a foreign national from Pakistan participating in a fellowships experience in India could create a complex problem.
- Can we effectively communicate potential hazards with a tiered
indicator? For example, how would we determine:
Green = safe country and organization
Yellow = safe organization, unpredictable country
Red = unpredictable organization and country
Project Matched to Team
4. Luna Vineyards: Order Processing and Inventory Management
Study Luna's order processing and inventory management systems. This involves reviewing two software alternatives (and locations for storing inventory), manual order processing, and analyzing how the two different systems track sales to comply with the myriad of state regulations. We are currently using one system, with a related warehouse and software system and have the option to use another utilizing our in-house POS and inventory management software. We have most of the data for both alternatives and the project would encompass determining which one gives us the most efficient logistics and lowest cost.