Your APICS Mid-Atlantic District (MAD) is delighted to invite multiple 4-person teams to participate in its seventh annual Student Case Competition!

This will be the second year in which we offer an online supply chain management simulation game entitled The Fresh Connection (TFC). This is a rigorous, fast-paced simulation that rewards collaborative decision making based on the results of the juice company’s Return on Investment. TFC will be used at the TFC/APICS Global Student Challenge being held in San Antonio, Texas October 15-17, 2017.

The MAD competitionwill consists of a “mulligan” round for familiarization with the simulation then 3 Preliminary rounds. To capture the enthusiasm of first-semester students before the holidays (but after midterms), we’ve scheduled these online rounds as shown below:

  • Thursday, Oct 27, 2016 at 8:00 pm - “Mulligan” round opens for one week. Score will be worth 0% of the overall score for the preliminary rounds.
  • Thursday, Nov. 3, 2016 at 8:00 pm - Round 1 will open for one week. Score will be worth 20% of the overall score for the preliminary rounds.
  • Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016 at 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm - Round 2 will open for 3 hrs. Score will be worth 30% of the overall score for the preliminary rounds.
  • Thursday, Nov. 17, 2016 at 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm - Round 3 will open for 3 hrs. Score will be worth 50% of the overall score for the preliminary rounds.

Teams with the top 5 scores from the PreliminaryRounds will advance to the District Finals.The Preliminary Round Scores will be thrown out and these teams will play a new set of 3 rounds of 2 hours each scheduled in February 2017. The schedule for these rounds will be determined later with consideration given to input from the advancing teams. The finals will culminate with the written and oral presentations on February 24-25, 2017 at the Embassy Suites in Coraopolis (Pittsburgh), PA.

District semifinal teams will attend the Pittsburgh meeting on February 24-25, 2017. Each team will receive a travel stipend of $200 plus $25 per person (max 6). Dinner is provided Friday night, along with breakfast and lunch Saturday. MAD’s winning team is determined by aweighted point score comprised from the20/30/50 weighedTFC 3 round ROI plus points earned from a 3-page Written report and a 10-minute Oral Presentation. The first place team from the District Finals advances to TFC/APICS Global Student Challenge in October, 2017 in San Antonio, Texas

With December and May graduation dates approaching, most teams recruit Alternates to take the place of seniors who will no longer be available to compete at either the District or World levels of competition. Only 4 team members can play TFC at a time. However, if Alternates learn the game rules and participate in decisions made during the Preliminary and Semifinal rounds of play, this planning strongly enhances your team’s continuity and bench strength.

Here are two good introductory YouTube clips if you are not familiar with TFC.

  • Intro Movie: The Fresh Connection, 2:45 mins,
  • TFC Briefing by the Strategy Director, 6:53 mins,

Please recruit your teams and register by submitting the attached Application form plus a nonrefundable registration fee of $100. These fees are a significant source of funding for our prize money. Please follow the instructions on the Application for remitting payments. We do not have separate categories for Undergrad and Graduate teams.We are asking Faculty (or Chapter) advisers to submit applications no later than Midnight on Monday, October 24, 2016, PLEASE submit as soon as possible.

If you have any questions I'll be happy to answer those via email at or you can also contact Brad who is assisting with the event at . MAD's Student Case Competitions are always one of our most exciting, highest-attended events of the year. We're very much looking forward to working with you and your amazing students from October to this coming February!

Cordially yours,

James Masotti, Director of Student Affairs

APICS Mid Atlantic District Team