When a group of undergraduate students from New Mexico State University (NMSU) earned second place at the General Motors/Wayne State University Global Supply Chain Case Competition held in Detroit, it became the best record in the history of the competition for the University. Behind the team’s success was Peace Aludogbu, a PhD scholar from Nigeria, who, in addition to mentoring the team, was instrumental to their success through guided supervision.
Peace Aludogbu is a PhD candidate in the College of Business, where she focuses on supply chain and operations management, specifically on digital transformation, sustainability, and resilience in the agri-food supply chains of emerging economies. During the six months, she spent time with the student team to aid in interpreting intricate business cases and formulating comprehensive, analytics-driven solutions.
“My aim was to assist them in integrating analytical discretion and strategic decision making,” Aludogbu stated. “We designed supply chain models with a focus on the technical communication of the core ideas. It was immensely satisfying to witness each student’s confidence grow.”
Other leading supply-chain programs from all over the world attend the international competition, where participants solve real-time problems in the automotive industry. NMSU students, Valeria Gomez, Mia Martinez, Alex Thorson, and Jorge E. Ramirez, won the respect of all 20 teams in their competitions because of the recommendations they presented with clarity. Faculty members like Dr Victor Pimemtel, who is also the Director of the Center for Supply Chain Entrepreneurship at NMSU, praise the students’ professional presentation, which is a reflection of Aludogbu’s disciplined coaching.
Dr. Victor Pimentel credited Aludogbu’s guidance as important to the team’s success. “Peace brought structure, analytics, and vision to their preparation,” he said. Peace’s blend of digital technologies with operational decision-making created the competitive advantage that the students had and the judges recognised.
Mentorship, to Aludogbu, is an extension of her scholarly work. Aludogbus scholarship focuses on the application of technologies such as AI, blockchain to improve resilience, sustainability in emerging economies and global food systems. To further strengthen the dynamics and complexity of the Agri-food supply chain, especially for small farm communities.
