CMU students test logistics skills with new industry software

CMU students will have a new tool to help them work through this year’s Logistics Undergraduate Case Competition—and a new challenge to put it to use.

The Nov. 6 event will introduce PC*Miler, commercial routing and mileage software from Trimble Maps, into the case competition. Students will receive training before using the software to analyze transportation decisions and develop recommendations they will present to industry professionals.

For logistics faculty member Jim Taelman, the addition creates an opportunity to take students deeper into the work they could encounter in their careers.

“Because we’ve got this technology, it actually allowed us to build a case at the operational level for this year’s competition,” Taelman said. “Students have to make these different routing decisions at the structural level.”

Taelman and fellow logistics faculty member Evelyn Smith designed LUCC to give more CMU students access to the experience of working through a business problem as a team. Rather than sending only a small group to an intercollegiate competition, they built an event on campus where students with different levels of preparation could participate.

Since its launch in 2021, the competition has challenged students to address problems ranging from pandemic medical treatment distribution and international shipping delays to computer chip shortages, transportation procurement, and final-mile delivery.

“Every year we create a unique logistics case,” Taelman said in an earlier interview. “This is a process that takes about six to eight months from start to finish. We theme these cases around real-world problems facing industry, and we often involve our corporate partners directly in the development process to integrate real data and processes into the baseline.”

This year, that collaboration includes Trimble Maps. Taelman reached out in the spring to ask whether the company would provide free software licenses for students. The response was an immediate yes. Over the summer, faculty worked with the company on incorporating the software into the case. Students will learn how to use it before applying it to the competition’s routing decisions. 

The distinction matters because planning a route for a truck involves more than finding the shortest distance between two points. Vehicle size, bridge clearances, and roads that restrict truck traffic can affect which routes are suitable.

“What PC*Miler does is it actually uses truck-friendly routes,” Taelman said. “Because think about trucks, they can’t go on every single road.”

The software also helps students work through calculations that would take much longer by hand, making a more detailed case possible.

“This tool is going to make several parts of it almost instantaneous,” Taelman said. “And I think that’s really one of the things we wanted to show them.”

A Trimble Maps representative will also speak at the event about technology in logistics, connecting the students’ experience with its use in the field.

LUCC offers two experiences based on students’ coursework and preparation. Participants building their foundation run a company in a live SAP environment through the ERP simulation track. More experienced students analyze the logistics case, develop a solution, and explain their recommendations to industry professionals.

Both experiences give students practice making decisions with a team. In the case competition, they also have to show how they reached their conclusions and respond to questions about their approach. That interaction gives professionals a chance to see students’ abilities in action—and gives students experience communicating their ideas beyond the classroom.

“They’re getting a preview of students they wouldn’t normally get to see—how they present, how they solve problems, and how they work as a team,” Smith said in an earlier interview.

The cases and tools change, but the purpose remains the same: giving students a place to practice, ask questions, and build confidence before entering the workforce.

“LUCC is about preparing students for the problems they’ll face the day they graduate,” Smith said. “The cases change every year, but the goal remains the same—helping students build the skills and confidence they need for their careers.”

Interested in participating? You can still sign up for the ERPsim portion of the competition. The deadline has been extended to October 8.