‘Port Ekonomi’ Team Finishes Second in Türkiye

The ‘Port Ekonomi’ team, formed by students from the Department of Logistics Management at Izmir University of Economics (IUE) Faculty of Business, achieved second place in the UNI-LODER Supply Chain Game Competition, which featured ambitious teams from across Türkiye. Organized for the first time this year through the collaboration of the Logistics Association (LODER) and Slimstock Türkiye, the young logistics professionals earned the jury's praise with strategic decisions made in critical areas such as inventory management, demand planning, lead time management, and cost optimization. Congratulating the students, Head of the IUE Department of Logistics Management, Prof. Dr. Özgür Özpeynirci, said, “We make a difference with our educational methods centered on industry needs, our strong ties with the business world, and our experiential learning model.”

The ‘Port Ekonomi’ team, consisting of Izmir University of Economics Logistics Management students Berk Alver, Defne Hıçkıran, Ali Efe Zıh, and İbrahim Tunay, had the opportunity to experience supply chain processes through simulations based on real-world business scenarios in the online competition.

STRATEGIC THINKING SKILLS

In accordance with the competition's format, the Port Ekonomi team designed the entire operational process of a beverage company from production to supply. They stood out for their data-driven decision-making, crisis management, teamwork, and strategic thinking skills.

APPLICATION-ORIENTED LEARNING APPROACH

Prof. Dr. Özgür Özpeynirci stated that the team's success was a direct result of the high-quality education and application-oriented learning approach provided by the department. Emphasizing that their goal is to help students translate theoretical knowledge into analysis, planning, and decision-making processes, Prof. Dr. Özpeynirci said, “The successful application of what the Port Ekonomi team learned in areas such as inventory management, demand planning, crisis management, and cost optimization demonstrates just how powerful this approach is. I congratulate all students and all the faculty members who contributed to their success from the bottom of my heart.”

“WE EXPERIENCED MANAGING CRISES”

The students of the Port Ekonomi team highlighted that the competition gave them invaluable experience in managing real-life crisis situations. Stating that the contest reaffirmed the importance of time management and communication, the IUE students expressed: “Thanks to the strategies we developed, we completed the operational process at the lowest cost, becoming one of the two top-performing teams. The teams we competed against were very strong, but we believed we could secure a place on the podium. We are thrilled with the result. We owe this success to our strong communication, stress management, teamwork, and team spirit.”