M.S. in Supply Chain Management Students Finish Top 5 at National Competition
03/04/2020
Chaifetz School graduate students were invited to participate in Texas Christian University’s Supply Chain Case Competition, an annual event that challenges students from the top business schools in the country to work on supply chain cases for well-known companies.
On Feb. 21, Texas Christian University’s Neeley School of Business held its fourth annual Graduate Supply Chain Case Competition. TCU welcomed 18 teams from the country’s top business schools to participate in the competition, and sponsors of the event included prominent companies like Esri, Chick-fil-A, PepsiCo and Frito-Lay.
The competition challenged students from top business schools around the country to work on a supply chain case for a well-known company and present their work to a panel of supply chain industry leaders. The challenge was intense: students had only 24 hours to prepare their assigned cases, and many teams worked through the night.
“Using location intelligence technology as the cornerstone, all 18 teams worked hard to understand and analyze a complex challenge,” said Cindy Elliott, Esri head of global commercial industry strategy. “These are some of the brightest graduate students in the country. The industry needs innovators like these, and it is inspiring to watch them define, develop and present solutions that will shape supply chain technology in the years to come.”
The 2020 competition marked the first year Saint Louis University has been invited to the competition. SLU’s team competed alongside students from Columbia University, Georgia Tech and Arizona State University, among other top schools for business in the country.
SLU’s graduate team, comprised of M.S. in Supply Chain Management students Alex Tran, Akhmyed Soltan, Tianzou Wang and Tianyou Wang, placed fifth overall in the competition. The students’ impressive finish should come as no surprise: SLU’s Chaifetz School is ranked 13th in the country for graduate study in supply chain management by U.S. News & World Report.
Professor Justin Goodson, Ph.D., who accompanied SLU’s graduate team, was proud of the students’ work.
“I was really impressed with the analysis they put together,” said Goodson. “On very little sleep they digested a complex problem and made sophisticated recommendations to a panel of industry experts. Several business leaders took time to sit down with the team and give them constructive feedback on their work.”
According to Goodson, the team was “ecstatic” to advance to the finals, especially because it was their first time participating in the competition.
“It was a top-notch experience for everyone involved,” said Goodson.