1 min read

Unlock Supply Chain: Louis Vuitton’s hackathon with Anaplan

Leila Boutaleb-Brousse

Senior Marketing Manager

The mission: Develop a world-class supply chain application for the globally renowned luxury brand Louis Vuitton. This challenge was accepted by 50 students who were selected to participate in a hackathon organized by Louis Vuitton with Anaplan and Bemyapp, that took place at Ecole 42, a famous Parisian Information Technology school.

Ten teams composed of students from diverse educational backgrounds participated in the weekend-long hackathon. Each team had a dedicated coach from Louis Vuitton, as well as implementation support by Anaplan.

The teams had two days to develop a supply chain solution for Louis Vuitton while keeping in mind the following criteria:

  • Use the principle of the DDMRP method (demand-driven material requirement planning), an end-to-end supply chain methodology that allows companies to manage the supply chain based on customer demand.

  • [gap height:5]

  • Rely on Anaplan, the Smart Business Platform™ to create their models.

Motivated by their thirst for adventure and fueled by liters of energy drinks, the students tackled complex topics such as supply, distribution, and production. They also managed unexpected situations inspired by real-life events, including monetary fluctuations, factory production impacted by a flu epidemic, and a spike in orders following the tweet of a Chinese blogger.

After 48 hours of brainstorming and modeling the data supplied by Louis Vuitton—sales, forecast, production capabilities, bill of materials, and supply delays—the teams each had five minutes to present their respective projects and to convince the world-class jury that their solution was the best. The jury was tough—composed of Louis Vuitton’s IT and supply chain experts, Anaplan representatives, and experts of the DDMRP method. After 30 minutes of deliberation, four teams stood out.

The PLAN!T team won first place, and their efforts were rewarded with a trip to Los Angeles, along with Louis Vuitton luggage. The Make It Easy team came in second—also winning Louis Vuitton luggage. In third place, the Supply the Future team won Louis Vuitton wallets. And last but not least, the Maru’s Angels team earned special recognition for the most elegantly designed Anaplan model, and received high-end audio headsets as a reward.

For all of those that were participants, “Unlock Supply Chain” was a unique and rewarding experience, rich in lasting memories. We look forward to meeting you at the next hackathon!