LATROBE, PA – Seventeen students from Saint Vincent College’s Alex G. McKenna School of Business, Economics and Government recently completed an intensive three-day case study as the capstone project for their training on the SAP Business One business management software.

The three-day project, completed Dec. 16-18, was the culmination of six months of training received by the students on SAP Business One, an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system which is used by businesses worldwide for automating functions in financials, operations and human resources.

Under the guidance of Robert Markley, Carpenter Technology-Latrobe Specialty Metals Sponsored Lecturer in business administration, the Saint Vincent contingent configured an ERP system for Oregon Wood Labs LLC, a fictitious wood products company in Oregon that employs 35 full-time employees and is recognized nationally for turning waste wood into usable commodities. The company manufactures a variety of fire logs, fuel pellets and other fire starters. Joining the group to assist in training was 2017 Saint Vincent graduate Derek Hile, who currently works for All-Covered in Phoenix, Arizona, and Markley’s student assistants, senior accounting major Eric Stundon, senior international business major Sam Hungerford and senior management major Kaitlyn Hinds.

Divided into five teams, the students were given an overview of the company, including a list of employees, financials and banking operations, inventory, bill of materials, customer, vendor and business partner details and product pricing information. They were then tasked with successfully configuring a complete ERP system using SAP Business One and running test transactions through the system.

Beginning with a kickoff meeting in late June, the Saint Vincent students were trained on SAP Business One throughout the summer and the fall 2019 semester. The group progressed through a number of training modules developed by SAP, culminating with the Oregon Wood Labs project.

With training complete, the students will now work with the Saint Vincent Career and Professional Development Center to prep for interviews and apply for internships with SAP partners and customers from across the country during January and February.

SAP Business One has been incorporated into the McKenna School’s curriculum since 2008. Saint Vincent College was one of the first college’s in North America – and just fourth worldwide - to teach the ERP system. Now, SVC is one of approximately 3,500 schools from across 113 countries that are members of the SAP University Alliance.

Saint Vincent College’s SAP Business One program has served as a model for other colleges and universities, garnering worldwide recognition in Jan. 2018 with the release of a video produced by SAP promoting its success that was distributed to both colleges and business around the globe. Since the program’s introduction at SVC, more than 1,200 students have been exposed to SAP Business One.

“Saint Vincent College is very proud of our SAP Business One program,” Markley said. “Because of this program, more than 110 students have attended professional conferences, more than 80 have landed paid summer internships and 54 graduates currently work in the SAP ecosystem.”

“Saint Vincent College is SAP Business One’s number one academic site in the U.S. for good reason,” said Dr. Gary Quinlivan, dean of the McKenna School. “We have such great students, and professor Robert Markley is outstanding!”

Students who completed the Oregon Wood Labs SAP Business One project included:

Sarah Alesentrino, a junior management major from Davidsville.
Claire Crater, a junior finance major from Perry, New York.
Alexa DeFrank, a senior management major from Greensburg.
Paul Dick, a junior marketing major from York.
Allison Gerstel, a junior international business major from Greensburg.
Joshua Henn, a junior management major from Cranberry Township.
Andrew Johnson, a junior management major from Frederick, Maryland.
Luke Mulloy, a graduate student in the Management: Operational Excellence master’s program from Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Frank O’Shea, a junior accounting major from West Mifflin.
Saagar Patel, a junior economics major from Bel Air, Maryland.
Emily Potts, a junior finance major from McDonald.
Brian Reams, a senior management major from Oakland, Maryland.
Joel Robinson, a junior management major from Sunrise, Florida.
Camden Sarver, a junior finance major from Gibsonia.
Christina Sible, a junior accounting major from Coraopolis.
Lucille Volna, a junior management major from Meadville.
Lauren Zalich, a junior marketing major from Latrobe.

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PHOTO 1: The Saint Vincent College students who took part in the SAP Business One Oregon Wood Labs capstone project. Front (from left to right): Paul Dick, Camden Sarver, Frank O’Shea, Eric Stundon; Middle (from left to right): Lauren Zalich, Allison Gerstel, Sarah Alesantrino, Lucille Volna, Claire Crater, Christina Sible and Emily Potts. Back (from left to right): Derek Hile C’17, Joshua Henn, Robert Markley, Luke Mulloy, Kaitlyn Hinds, Saagar Patel, Brian Reams, Joel Robinson, Andrew Johnson and Sam Hungerford. (Not pictured – Alexa DeFrank)

PHOTO 2: Robert Markley provides guidance to students Luke Mulloy (left) and Joel Robinson.

PHOTO 3: Robert Markley instructs his students on the SAP Business One software.

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