Porsche Procurement Case Challenge 2026: Student Teams Tackle Sustainability, Risk, and Innovation

Preparing students for real supply chain decisions means exposing them to real managerial problems. The Porsche Procurement Case Challenge, which is integrated into our course OPM 692 Sourcing, is designed precisely around this idea.

This year's edition brought together student teams from the University of Mannheim and Hochschule Pforzheim to work throughout the semester on challenges developed and supervised by managers from Porsche AG's procurement organization. The four challenge areas, sustainability, supply chain risk, supply chain regulation, and innovation management, reflect key issues currently shaping the procurement profession. Rather than working on textbook exercises, students engaged with questions that Porsche's procurement team faces in practice.

The final presentations took place in Mannheim. While the setting was certainly special, the main value of the format lies in the depth of engagement it requires. Students must develop well-grounded positions on complex and ambiguous problems, translate their analyses into actionable recommendations, and defend their conclusions in front of a combined audience of academics and industry practitioners.

We congratulate all participating teams on their work throughout the semester, and especially the two winning teams on their outstanding presentations.

A format like this does not sustain itself. It rests on a functioning partnership between institutions and on individuals who are willing to invest time and attention despite demanding schedules. We are especially grateful to our partners at Porsche AG, Dr. Robin Pade, Kristin Kiefer, Florian Kistler, Mirco Mense, Martin Tomczak, Niclas Trautwein, and Markus Wagner, for the care and commitment they bring to this collaboration each year.

We look forward to continuing this collaboration in 2027.