CREDIT: PROVIDED BY ANGELA REID-REGIER
Two teams of students from logistics and supply chain management programs will be attending a regional case competition in Chicago on Feb. 15 to 16.

Two teams of students from the logistics and supply chain graduate certificate program and the business - logistics and supply chain diploma program will be attending the regional round of the American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS) case competition.

The students will be heading to the competition in Chicago on Feb. 15 to 16. If one of the teams wins this round they will be selected to attend the final competition in Oct. 2019 in Las Vegas.

According to Angela Reid-Regier, co-ordinator and professor of logistics and supply chain programs and faculty advisor for the competition, a number of student teams participated in a college round of competitions. From there, a judging panel recommended two presentations to enter the virtual round and both teams were chosen as one of eight teams from universities and colleges in Canada to proceed to the regional round.

“The competition provides student teams with an opportunity to enhance and test their supply chain knowledge by working on end-toend supply chain challenges drawn from company experiences,” Reid- Regier said.

Reid-Regier said the student teams will benefit in a number of ways including engaging with the leading professional association for supply chain management, real- world case problem solving skills and robust opportunities for mentorship, internships and networking.

“A strength that both teams have is time management. They committed to a time frame of completing the case and stuck to it and finished it,” Reid-Regier said “Another strength they had was understanding what their weaknesses are and realizing that by participating in the case competition would help to improve on these weaknesses.”

Olivia Jans, a student in the business - logistics and supply chain diploma program, is one of the students attending the regional competition.

“I was first introduced to the competition in my first year at Fanshawe when our professors spoke about the certifications I could get through this organization called APICS,” Jans said. “I decided to join in my second year after learning more about it was.”

According to Jans, a competition like this shows employers that a student is a team player and dedicated to school involvement.

“Being involved in an organization like APICS gives students the opportunity to get real world experience and meet with industry professionals,” Jans said. “It's such a great feeling to be chosen out of so many participants and I am fortunate to be apart of a great team and to be given an opportunity to travel.”

Julia Gilroy, one of the students on the team with Jans and President of the APICS student chapter at Fanshawe, said that this is the second case competition she has participated in at Fanshawe.

“I believe it has given me an advantage academically as many of our large projects are case studies,” Gilroy said. “By practicing more and more and familiarizing myself with the format and different scenarios, I've definitely gotten better at being able to pick out important information and summarize data.”

Gilroy also said that participating in this competition has allowed her to get to know other students and teachers outside of the classroom setting.

“People underestimate the importance of networking and making professional relationships while in school which can help with job opportunities post-graduation,” Gilroy said. “This is my first case competition with APICS so I was unsure what to expect and I was so happy and surprised to be selected and we hope we can do well and make Fanshawe proud.”