Supply chain students compete

From left, Laura Kulis, Emily Chauvin, John Taylor, Kyle Koenigksknecht, and Michael Gornowicz

Four students in Grand Valley State University's Seidman College of Business took second place in Michigan State University's Supply Chain Management Challenge, beating out a number of universities with top supply chain programs.

"We played an elaborate game with 14 weeks of input and many, many reports requiring analysis and use of outside spreadsheets for planning," said John Taylor.

Grand Valley took second place to the University of Kentucky and placed higher than 12 other schools in the competition — including Michigan State University, Central Michigan University and Western Michigan University.

The students competing were Mike Gornowicz, Kyle Koenigksknecht, Emily Chauvin and Laura Kulis.

"As a group we went into the competition not knowing what to expect," Kulis said. "We used our knowledge of operations and logistics to complete the simulation.  It was a great chance to see all of the things you learn in school in a real-world situation.

Gornowicz added that the event taught teamwork. "Every decision that was made had to benefit the supply chain as a whole," Gornowicz said. "It made me realize the pressure executives in the real world must face."

Chauvin said: "The competition provided us with not only an opportunity to test our knowledge about supply chain systems and critical thinking skills, but it was a great networking experience that connected us with students from around the country."