CBA to host the world’s top supply chain competition's state final

Supply chain students from colleges throughout California will attempt to revive a virtual juice company from imminent bankruptcy in pursuit of more than 20,000 EURO when the biggest competition of its kind heads to Pomona.

Four-member teams will scour through data searching for ways to improve the company’s efficiency  during the 2018 Global Student Challenge powered by: The Fresh Connection. The Western Region Finals scheduled to take place Jan. 27, 2018 at Cal Poly Pomona's College of Business Administration.

“Cal Poly Pomona’s team advancing to the Global Final week in The Netherlands this year personalized the Global Student Challenge’s life-changing effects,” said Technology and Operations Management department chair Yuanjie (Ed) He, Ph.D. “The format fits perfectly with the college’s Learn by Doing philosophy.”

During the Global Student Challenge, four-member teams scour through the data of a struggling juice manufacturer looking for ways to improve the company’s efficiency. The Fresh Connection business simulation truly represents the complexities of managing a supply chain, even more so because it introduces product perishability as a factor in the decision-making.

The Fresh Connection is an innovative web-based business simulation and a globally-recognized learning tool within the supply chain and operations management industry and schools alike. Product perishibaility is only one of countless variables students will face in the incredibly realistic interface featuring tailorable difficulty levels to match the user's ability.

“We’ve made executives of major companies sweat during the simulation,” Inchainge business development manager Jacky Emerencia said. “We always strive to keep the simulation in line with trending topics and actual occurrences in the market place. For example, at the height of the Somali pirate crisis, we set it up so a supply ship could be hijacked – we always keep the competition interesting.”

The 2018 Global Student Challenge powered by: The Fresh Connection Western Region Finals is open to all college students. To be eligible for the Jan. 27 Regional Final at Cal Poly Pomona, students must register at www.tfcstudentchallenge.org and qualify by playing four qualification rounds online with their team by January 16. Students having The Fresh Connection in their curriculum are automatically enrolled in the Qualification Phase and receive information in the simulation.

The winning team and teacher travel to The Netherlands for an action-packed week of supply chain activities. Major companies will be present and scouting for talent at all levels of the competition, so this is also an incredible opportunity to kick start an international career. Students and teachers present at the Regional Final receive an exclusive personalized certificate.

“As much as we’d love consecutive wins, there’s no margin for error during regionals, especially in ours” he says. “Southern California’s economy is a global player by itself and a handful of universities with nationally-recognized operations management programs are a short drive from us. Any team emerging out of this division is going to be a factor -- if not the favorite -- come The Netherlands.”