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2025 Sustainable Supply Chain
Case ChallengeThe Sustainable Supply Chain Case Challenge offers graduate students from across Canada the opportunity to apply their knowledge and skills to address a real-world business case relevant to the future sustainability of supply chains.
The 2nd annual competition will take place in February 2025 at the Schulich School of Business, York University. The challenge is organized by the George Weston Ltd. Centre for Sustainable Supply Chains in collaboration with Schulich’s Supply Chain and Operations Management Club (SCOMC).
The competition is made possible through the generous support of Lead Sponsor, Loblaw Companies Limited, and Partner Sponsor, CITT.
During the case challenge, graduate student teams of up to four students will compete through two rounds of competition to analyze a real-world business case while competing for top cash prizes.
Note: Registration is on a first-come, first-serve basis and spots are limited.
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Challenge Overview:
The case challenge consists of two rounds of competition. During the first round, teams of up to four students will be tasked with analyzing a supply chain case. Teams will submit their solutions electronically by the Round 1 deadline for internal judging. Finalists will be chosen, and the top three teams will progress to Round 2 to present their solutions to a panel of industry judges during a live, finals event. See our FAQs below for more details.
Theme: This year’s challenge will focus on the theme of Food Waste Reduction (FWR) and will address how organizations can adopt supply chain strategies to achieve the goal of zero food waste.
Eligibility: The challenge is open to all graduate students from the Schulich School of Business, as well as partner schools from across Canada by invitation.
Prizes: Winning teams will be announced live at the in-person finals event, with top teams receiving generous cash prizes:
- 1st Place – $1500 CAD
- Runner Up – $750 CAD
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Benefits of Participating:
- Enhance your knowledge and skills in supply chain management by analyzing and solving a complex business problem
- Gain valuable industry insights and exposure to real-world supply chain challenges
- Expand your professional network by connecting with like-minded students, industry professionals, and potential mentors
- Compete for the chance to win cash prizes
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Timeline:
| Date: | Event: |
| January 10, 2025 | Registration Opens (8 a.m. EST) |
| January 30, 2025 | Deadline for Team Registration (11.59 p.m. EST) |
| January 31, 2025 | Kick-off Webinar for Team Leaders (5 p.m. EST), Case is Released (8 p.m. EST) |
| February 7, 2025 | Round 1 Submission Deadline (11:59 p.m. EST) |
| February 12, 2025 | Internal Judging Completed. Top Three Finalists Announced |
| February 13, 2025 | Final Presentation Event at the Schulich School of Business (5:30 – 7:30 p.m. EST) |
| February 19, 2025 | Post-Challenge Feedback Shared with All Teams |
** Dates subject to change.
Lead Sponsor:
Partner Sponsors:
Competition Judges (Round 1):
Markus Biehl
Professor of Operations Management & Information Systems, Schulich School of Business
Faculty Profile
David A. Johnston
Research Chair and Director, George Weston Ltd. Centre for Sustainable Supply Chains, Schulich School of Business
Faculty Profile
Gaurav Kakkar
Pina Melchionna
President & CEO, CITT
Carolina Pimentel
Sr. Manager, Category Strategy (Tim Hortons), Restaurant Brands International
Vidisha Sharma
Senior Procurement Manager - Americas, Dr. Oetker Canada Ltd
Jose Urdaneta
National Manager Demand & Supply Planning, Martin-Brower of Canada
Competition Judges (Round 2):
Frank Massa
Sr. Director, Fresh Replenishment, Loblaw Companies Ltd.
Rhea Panjabi
Director, Supply Chain, Loblaw Companies Ltd.
Gary Newbury
Strategic Advisor and Founder, RetailAID Inc.
FAQs:
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The challenge is open to all graduate students from the Schulich School of Business, including from MBA and 1-year masters programs, as well as graduate students from partner schools on an invitation only basis. Unfortunately, this case competition is not open to undergraduate students.
The competition has a total registration limit of 30 teams, with multiple teams from each institution encouraged to register. To ensure diverse representation, each invited institution is guaranteed one reserved spot using the promo codes provided below. Additional spots will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Any unfilled spots reserved for invited institutions by January 26 at 11:59 PM (EST). will be released to teams on the waiting list.
To access the one reserved spot per institution, please use the following promo codes:
Concordia2025; HECMontreal2025; Laurier2025; McGill2025; McMaster2025; TMU2025; UBC2025; UManitoba2025; UofAlberta2025; UofOttawa2025; UofT2025; Western2025. Have questions? Contact gwlscc@schulich.yorku.ca
The cost to register for the challenge is $35 + HST CAD per team. Entrance fees will be paid at the time of registration.
The case challenge consists of two rounds of competition. In the first round, teams of up to four students will analyze a supply chain case. Teams must submit their solutions electronically by the Round 1 deadline for internal judging. Submissions should be in the form of a PowerPoint (.ppt) file with voiceover audio.
All submissions will be entered into the general judging pool, with teams randomly divided into divisions, culminating in the top three teams being selected to advance to Round 2. During Round 2, finalist teams will present solutions live to a panel of industry judges during the finals event at the Schulich School of Business. Teams will not be able to make material changes to their presentations ahead of the finals. Teams located outside the Greater Toronto Area will have the option to present virtually.
Teams must have a minimum of two and a maximum of four members. Students may not be a member of more than one team. Members must be actively registered in a graduate program at a business school in Canada to be eligible.
If you do not have a team, please email gwlscc@schulich.yorku.ca. While we cannot guarantee that we can find you a team, we will try our best to connect you with other students.
The prize money will be divided among the members of the winning teams and awarded via cheque to each member following the competition.
For questions about the competition, please contact the George Weston Ltd. Centre for Sustainable Supply Chains at gwlscc@schulich.yorku.ca.
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