Textile Technology Students Win APICS Triangle Chapter Student Case Competition

By Michelle Kerstein, Fashion and Textile Management student

Three Textile Technology students won the Fourth Annual APICS Triangle Chapter Student Case Competition along with another finalist team from Duke University. NC State’s team was composed of Wilson College of Textiles students Amor Camatcho, Kenneth Bradbury and Aidan Special. Students were asked to analyze a supply chain situation for John Deere and write a 10-page report detailing their suggestions on how to mutually benefit John Deere and its customers through supply chain technologies and business strategies. They presented their case study at the APICS professional development meeting in February. Camatcho discussed their strategy,

“Our team proposed a mixed production planning strategy, suggested the idea that inventory entering the system was not equal to that of inventory exiting the system; recommended using blockchain cloud technology John Deere has already created to better identify product lifecycle patterns; and utilized Sentiment Analysis to see what consumers are saying,” Camatcho explained.

Dr. George Hodge, Textile Technology program director, served as a mentor and attributes the win to their knowledge of supply chain principles, manufacturing logistics and the newest technologies from their backgrounds in textile technology: “With a concentration in Textile Technology – Supply Chain Management, they had exposure to all the quantitative tools for analyzing a problem.”

APICS, the Association for Operations Management, is a non-profit professional supply chain organization dedicated to supporting the growth and knowledge of supply chain professionals. The Triangle Chapter Student Case Competition is just one opportunity for supply chain management students to holistically apply everything they have learned in class. Participation in APICS events can also open doors; The APICS Student Chapter at NC State offers excellent networking opportunities that can lead to jobs and internships. To join, interested students should reach out to Hodge.