2009-2010 PROJECTS

In order to accomodate the late addition projects the application deadline has been pushed back to Tuesday, September 29, 2009 for FT PHL MBA students and Thursday, October 1, 2009 for Executive SFO/PHL MBA Students.

Important Update

Israel Vinyl Project was just added on 9/29/09 at 8:00pm (EST).  

For any teams/individuals who have already applied, please express interest in the Israel Vinyl project by sending an e-mail to wgcp@wharton.upenn.edu.  In the subject line include:  ISRAEL VINYL PROJECT PREFERENCES.

You do NOT need to send an updated Cover Letter or to fill out another application.

Below you find the final project line-up.

Last updated on 9/29/09

CHILE

(Confirmed 9/24/09 2 projects total)

Chile EcuaHealth

Chile EcuaHealth is an Ecuadorian company the produces and markets functional health food snacks.  This is a very exciting consumer products learning opportunity. This project will be a UAI - Wharton team working with the Ecuadorian client.

Students will develop expertise in the following:

Although the scope and vision of this engagement will be further reviewed and refined by the team based on discussions with the client, the following areas may need to be addressed:

The client would like to develop a marketing and sales plan.

Chile VinoLux

Chile VinoLux is a Chilean wine holding company with over $140 million in world wide sales. They are looking to build a luxury brand wine that will give the client’s wine portfolio cache and will drive sales for the rest of their wine portfolio.

Students will develop expertise in the following:

 Although the scope and vision of this engagement will be further reviewed and refined by the team based on discussions with the client, the following areas may need to be addressed:

The client would like to develop a plan to increase the sales of one of its most expensive wines focused at the luxury market. 

CHINA

(Confirmed 0/25/09 0 projects)

FRANCE

(Confirmed 9/24/09 1 project total)

Africa Funding Initative

**IMPORTANT NOTE: Winter travel will be to Tunisia.

The Wharton students will be working with a group of HEC Paris students.

Given the nature of the project it would be helpful for at least one team member to have World Bank or IMF experience and at least one team member with prior consulting experience.

Africa Funding Initiative is a working group, headquartered in Tunisia, of multilateral development banks and bi-lateral Development Finance Institutions whose aim is to finance large scale private sector projects primarily in infrastructure and industries in Africa.  Conceptualized in early 2008, it currently consists of eight international partners in Africa, France, Holland, and Germany.  The current model is a collaboration with one institution being the lead funder with the others providing support.  AFI's longer term goal is the establishment of a special purpose vehicle to house a pool of funds coming from external institutions such as pension funds, sovereign wealth funds etc. These resources will be used to scale up the volume of financing for worthy projects. 

The team will address issues including:

Team members will be engaged in learning about and advising an international banking collaboration between European and African banks as well as world institutions. It will also entail gaining an understanding of infrastructure and industrial development funding in Africa.  The team will work on:

INDIA

(Confirmed 9/24/09 Israel Nature project only)

See Israel Nature.

ISRAEL

(Confirmed 9/29/09 4 projects total)

Israel Edison

Israel Edison is a publicly traded holding company whose daughter companies are engaging in diverse activities in the electricity industry – from manufacturing of industrial equipment for electrical utilities, to distribution of home appliances brands. Israel Edison is looking into a long term strategy of penetrating the US market, mainly through acquisitions.

Students will develop expertise in the following:

Although the scope and vision of this engagement will be further reviewed and refined by the team based on discussions with the client, the following areas may need to be addressed:

Israel ElectroWaste

Global warming and environment preservation are hot issues in the last 10 years. USA is increasing its involvement and focus on the issues and part of President Obama's stimulus package initiative is directed towards this subject. Waste management is one of the key methods discussed. The client is a multi-billion dollar global electronic equipment manufacturer and system integrator. It has been involved in onboard weighing systems for the waste management market for 20 years.

Students will develop expertise in the following:

The project would be most appealing to students with an environmental orientation, and/or understanding of public utilities.

Although the scope and vision of this engagement will be further reviewed and refined by the team based on discussions with the client, the following areas may need to be addressed:

The company is interested in developing and implementing a US entry strategy.

Israel Nature

**IMPORTANT NOTE: This is a unique 3-person, 3-way team project.

Three Wharton students will work with 3 Interdisciplinary Center (IDC, Herzliya, Israel) and 3 Indian School of Business (ISB, Hyderabad, India) students.

Winter travel will be to Israel and May Colloquium participation will likely be "virtual" via videoconferencing with India.

At least two of the three Wharton students should have a healthcare background and at least one team member with prior consulting experience.

The application for this unique project will be separate so that you can still apply as a five person team to one/more projects AND be considered for this three person "specialized" team project!

Israel Nature is one of the world’s largest generic pharmaceutical companies with global operations, and a number of leading innovative products. As part of their expansion efforts in Asia, Israel Nature is interested in entering the Indian market, organically or through a series of acquisitions. The company is already operating manufacturing facilities in India for raw materials but no market presence. The client is looking for a bold move, and aggressive penetration targets - revenue of nearly $1 billion in a 5 year time frame.

Students will develop expertise in the following:

Although the scope and vision of this engagement will be further reviewed and refined by the team based on discussions with the client, the following areas may need to be addressed:

It should be noted that this project is competing for management’s attention with other mega projects in other geographies and product lines. Accordingly, the case you present to the top management of the company should be very compelling, both as a stand-alone market, but also in terms of its strategic importance to the company.

Israel Vinyl

The Israel Vinyl client is a large, global provider of raw materials for the plastic industry. They are not currently operating in North America, and have recently bought a big Canadian manufacturing facility to serve as their spearhead into North America. The company is looking for advice on penetrating the US market with its products and recommend a penetration strategy.

SPAIN

(Confirmed 9/24/09 3 projects total)

Spain GlobalTech

Spain GlobalTech is one of Spain’s leading technological companies working in ten countries across the following three major areas: information technologies, electronics defense, and business process outsourcing.  The company’s major clients can be found in the telecommunications, energy, insurance, finance and defense sectors. In 2008, Spain GlobalTech extended its operations to a number of countries, including the US.

Due to this very recent internationalization plan, Spain GlobalTech would like the GCP to analyze its current business activities in the US, and advise on possible consolidation opportunities for its operations in the US.

Spain Virtual Animations

Spain Virtual Animations produces and manages entertainment brands internationally. It was founded in 2001, and recently went public on the Spanish stock exchange in July of this year. It focuses on cartoon animations as well as interactive content for video games and virtual communities. They are headquartered in Madrid and are represented in over 100 countries. Among their brands, they have an award winning children’s cartoon series which has a series of merchandising agreements.

Students will develop expertise in the following:

Although the scope and vision of this engagement will be further reviewed and refined by the team based on discussions with the client, the following areas may need to be addressed:

Spain Wind & Rail

Spain Wind & Rail is a civil engineering company whose main line of business lies in the infrastructure, environmental and energy sectors. Their primary business is focused on the integral management of projects through all their phases: design, contracting, construction, supervision and start-up in the aforementioned sectors. However, depending on the project and its needs, Spain Wind & Rail work can also be specified to a particular phase. They have developed such projects internationally, but currently are not in the US market.

Students will develop expertise in the following:

Although the scope and vision of this engagement will be further reviewed and refined by the team based on discussions with the client, Spain Wind & Rail is looking enter the American market through the opportunities that the new plans for improving and creating infrastructures in the country will bring. More concretely, they wish to focus on business opportunities in infrastructure through high speed trains, as well as exploring opportunities in the area of wind power.

TAIWAN

(Confirmed 9/24/09 1 project total)

Taiwan Digital Treasures

Taiwan Digital Treasures is a government supported program whose main objective is "to establish diverse digital content that showcases Taiwan’s cultural, social and biological diversity, and to provide basic digitized output to other projects for value-adding and application (including education, business and academic research) or international exchange."

Students will develop expertise in the following:

Although the scope and vision of this engagement will be further reviewed and refined by the team based on discussions with the client, the following areas may need to be addressed:

Taiwan Digital Treasures would like the team to detail a comprehensive business strategy to export these national assets to the U.S. and international market.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

(Confirmed 9/25/09 1 project total)

Emirates Aerospace Park

Emirates Aerospace Park is backed by a major regional investment group. The goal is to develop world class aviation and aerospace operations that will contribute to the growth of the UAE economy. The student group will work closely with management to develop this asset. This project will involve the preparation of business plans, strategic plans and implementation roadmaps for each component of the aerospace park.

Students will develop expertise in the following:

Although the scope and vision of this engagement will be further reviewed and refined by the team based on discussions with the client, the following areas may need to be addressed: