The culminating event in Michael Hasler's undergraduate Procurement and Supplier Management class was a challenge supported by a $4,000 grant from Target. Students were asked to create solutions for a case study based on Target’s goal of “no stockouts” for their customers. Ten teams presented their work, with the top two splitting the prize, $2,500 for the winning team and $1,500 for the runner up.

“We were very excited to be able to use Target's distribution and supply chain organization as a framework for applying the principles we learned this semester," Hasler said. "I was quite proud of the level of analysis, creativity, and professionalism that these students showed in putting together their recommendations for Target, and there’s a good chance that some of these ideas will be used in the Target supply chain.”