A case study on international development
The case study was the final oral exam of the International Trade & Logistics programme. It focused on the international development of key companies from the sector in a number of foreign markets such as Australia, Argentina, Angola, Egypt, etc.
22 students of 14 different nationalities worked on Life Garden company (fictive for confidentiality reasons), selling irrigation equipment.
Their analysis focused on several issues:
- transport planning from and within Europe;
- finding the right location for a distribution warehouse;
- management of incoming and outgoing traffic, with due regard to customs, payment and general risk constraints.
Then, as business advisors, they had to present their work to a jury of 4/5 professionals from the partner companies: Daher, Kuehne & Nagel, DNV, UMF, Quadrimex, Pernod Ricard, Airbus, Vectorys, Seafoodia, EDF, Bolloré, etc.:
- a business plan;
- a cost estimate of the suggested solutions.
This oral defence is the final and mandatory milestone in the graduation process.
An assessment of student's ability to use newly acquired skills
Feedbacks from students and professional jury were both very positive. They consider this exam format to be a good way to demonstrate the ability to use and apply the skills they gained during the year.
In short, the final case study is the accumulation of the knowledge acquired during the school year. The whole system of international transport, trade and logistics is covered to allow the student to demonstrate in a qualitative and quantitative way their logical reasoning on an international system.
The final case study is an individual presentation in front of a professional jury. They assess the student's performance according to the information quality, reasoning and their personal approach (suggestions and innovations).
The final case study is the most important event (exam) of the academic year. It has an important influence on the diploma validation.
A successful final case study brings the student to the fore. It is followed by offers of internships and jobs from the jury members, who are professionals and company executives.
As a member of the jury for the final case study of the International Trade & Logistics programme, I was extremely interested in this exam. We realise that the students are under a lot of stress, regardless of their work. I was impressed by the high standard of the presented findings. I think required a lot of preparatory work as well as active support of the programme professors.
DISCOVER THE INTERNATIONAL TRADE & LOGISTICS PROGRAMME
With 62 years of expertise in logistics and commercial optimisation, KEDGE Business School's International Trade & Logistics programme relies on its powerful network, its history and its high standard of education.
The international dimension is at the heart of this programme. The main objective is to enable students to master the commercial and strategic issues related to logistics (transport, supply chain management, storage, customs, information systems, etc.).
It offers a global vision for the development of key skills in three complementary areas for globally positioned companies: International Trade / International Transport / Logistics.
