E2B | Connecting Education to Business
E2B in the News
Graziadio School News Feature
September 26, 2010
George Vicente of Mesa Safe’s E2B Journey
George Vicente, president of Mesa Safe and securitybase.com, was at an entrepreneurial crossroads in 2005. Revenues at his California commercial-grade security product company were up to $1.5 million, with sales coming exclusively from its e-commerce website. There was promising opportunity to expand distribution through the retail channel, but that realization was also dawning on the company’s biggest competitors. Vicente needed to gain insight – fast – into how the retail channel could help his company grow sales with small businesses.
He turned to the consultants in the Graziadio School’s Education-to-Business (E2B) program at Pepperdine University.
His company was carefully selected from a score of program applicants and he and his executives were aligned with a faculty member and graduate marketing class. The faculty member and MBA students – all with rich marketing backgrounds and work experiences – collaborated over 14 weeks to craft strategies for the company to expand distribution and grow market share. More
U.S. News & World Report
April 26, 2010
10 College Courses That Will Pay Off at Work
U.S. News & World Report included Pepperdine's E2B program in its "10 College Courses That Will Pay Off at Work," a listing that cites programs that allow students to "shake hands and share ideas with real-world business leaders" to prepare them for the working world.
"Companies facing real-world business problems come to Pepperdine for consulting assistance. In each of the consulting classes, students are split into groups that work to solve the various problems facing the company. The arrangement is mutually beneficial. Rather than invest in an expensive consulting firm, businesses save money while gaining access to a team of budding consultants. The students, in turn, are asked not to solve theoretical problems, but offer solutions in real time that a company may implement to help improve its bottom line. In the past, students have worked with companies large and small, ranging from corporate giants like Coca-Cola and Cisco to local auto collision shops and software companies." More
BusinessWeek
May 8, 2009
Riding Out the Recession with Repairs
BusinessWeek today cited the contribution that Pepperdine MBAs made in an E2B (Education-to-Business) Live Case class for client Shelly Investments, which owns a pair of car dealerships and an auto repair service, Spectrum Collision, in Irvine, Calif. Students' consulting recommendations have helped the business make up for the drop in new car sales with a greater focus on the repair shop.
"Business owners have to be pro-active, not reactive [in this economy]" the article quotes Dr. Dave McMahon, associate professor of marketing at Pepperdine University.
"Don't react to what competitors may be doing," he says. "Carve your own niche." More
Graphic
November 3, 2006
Business Course Connects Students with Executives
Pepperdine has partnered with major companies in the past, including Starbucks Coffee Company, Warner Brothers, Facey Medical, The Coca-Cola Company and others.
This term, E2B students advising MGM Grand on how to increase casino revenues, the multi-national outsourcing agency PeopleSupport on organizational change and a smaller company Shelley Automotive Group on expansion in wholesale auctions. More
New York Times
October 12, 2006
It's Good Advice, and the Price Is Right
After hearing (the E2B class) presentations, Mr. Pachl decided to further study two of the suggested industries — oil services and the military — and eventually, to go after them. Now, according to Mr. Pachl, about 10 percent of the company's $7 million in revenue is from sales to those areas, and he expects that number to rise to 25 percent over the next two years. The experience was such a success, in fact, that, last spring, Mr. Pachl worked on another project with a Pepperdine class, this time analyzing the most effective ways to distribute a new line of apparel. "The program's cost savings have meant we can spend more on launching the product, and less on paying consultants," he said. More
Fortune Small Business
July/August 2006
Shifting a Business into Overdrive: Our consultants steer a small truck-repair company toward the $100 million mark
"Last summer, at Javier's urging, they enlisted MBA students from nearby Pepperdine University to plot a roadmap for expansion. That led to a commitment to executing the first step of their five-year plan: a 'bigger, better' Truck Town facility, to be built on land they've since purchased three miles up the road." More
CNBC
June 30, 2006
Milk Crate Thefts
Video clip from CNBC's feature on Alta Dena's milk crate theft problem and how E2B students provided assistance.
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Entrepreneur Startups
Summer 2006
MBA to the Rescue: Need Help Growing Your Business? Go Back to School
"MBA programs such as Pepperdine University's Education to Business (E2B) Applied Learning Program offers candidates the chance to act as consultants resolving business problems for participating companies for free...
...In 2005, George Vicente's Security Base, a security products company in Tustin, California, became an E2B project. Vicente, 56, had been selling his products via e-commerce but wanted to explore direct distribution through warehouse stores and other opportunities, so he needed help crafting a marketing plan ... "I was quite pleased," says Vicente. "I got five reports, each covering different market segments for me to explore." Through extensive research one team put together a sales package and the research and statistics the consulting teams provided him have bolstered Vicente's presentations for buyer meetings. Now, his products are sold at Sam's Club and he's in talks with Costco and Smart and Final. "I would not have known where to start. There are companies that charge thousands of dollars for this; this didn't cost us a dime," says a grateful Vicente, who expects 2006 sales of $3 million to $4 million." More
Los Angeles Times
May 10, 2006
Students, firms seek solutions
"It was the case of the missing milk crates that led Stephen Schaffer of Alta Dena Certified Dairy to the executive MBA classroom at Pepperdine University. He wasn't looking for the crates — or for a degree. He was looking for solutions.
Alta Dena loses a million of the heavy-duty plastic crates each year to theft or misplacement, said Schaffer, general manager of the City of Industry-based dairy......The students speculated that the crates were being stolen to be sold illegally to regrinding operations that could sell the plastic resin to manufacturers. It's a possibility the dairy itself has considered.
'The bottom line is there were some very, very useful suggestions, some of which we have already acted on,' Schaffer said." More
La Opinión
August 8, 2005
Hands of the Practical Students
"MBAs at the University of Pepperdine work with real companies on projects to improve business.
Using a team of almost 30 consultants who dedicate some 1,000 hours of investigation and analysis to the improvement of a business would cost a fortune. However, Javier Rodriguez, executive director of J&R Fleet Services, has received these services at no cost and expects to grow his business by 10 times." More
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