Information Package4th May 2015 - 8th May 2015

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Dean’s Message 03What is APEX Business-IT? 04What’s New in 2015? 05Competition Flow 06Case Example 07Event Schedule 08Registration 09Accommodation 12Past Partners 13Past Case Themes 14About Singapore Management University 15About School of Information Systems 16About Singapore 17Contact Us 18

dean’s message

Greetings and welcome to the APEX Business-IT Global Case Challenge 2015! This will be our 7th global competition. APEX Business-IT has grown tremendously into an established case competition with a strong reputation and participation base.

The competition provides several outstanding features that clearly define the APEX Business-IT experience. These include:

Steven MillerVice Provost (Research) and Dean, School of Information SystemsSingapore Management University

An Eye-Opening Experience

Professionally Network

Each year, our ‘live cases’ are based on the latest trends in the economy, and in the world of infocomm applications. This ensures that our case scenarios are original, interesting and relevant from business, social, and technology perspectives. In addition, there is always an element of surprise in our competition to simulate real world challenges.

We work closely with a strong and diverse network of professionals from a wide range of business and social organizations. These external professional people play a significant role in the development of APEX Business-IT. They are involved in many aspects of the competition, including writing the case, judging, conducting the Thematic Workshop, interacting with participants and giving feedback and advice.

Ennovative Business-IT Solutions

Xtraordinary Learning Journey

Our university is renowned for its strength in integrating IT and business. We incorporate this experience and know-how into the core of the competition. Through our freshly created APEX Business-IT cases, the related competition workshops, and the competition format itself, participants explore interesting opportunities and challenges in the Business-IT realm. Our Thematic Workshops also provide participants with early opportunities to interact with emerging infocomm applications and solutions.

The competition is specially designed to promote a collaborative learning experience for all participants. Every year, we seek more opportunities for participants to interact with one another. We also strive to help participants in their professional development through interactions with influential industry people.

We invite you to join us for the 2015 APEX Business-IT Global Case Challenge!

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The APEX Business-IT Global Case Challenge is an annual case competition that highlights the intertwined nature of business and IT. APEX Business-IT is hosted and supported by the School of Information Systems, Singapore Management University (SMU). The organising committee comprises of undergraduate students from the various schools across SMU, reflecting the highly interdisciplinary nature of the competition. Since its inception in 2009, APEX Business-IT has achieved its status as a premier global case competition with the holistic experience offered through the holistic experience offered by the 5-day event. In APEX Business-IT, we pride ourselves on giving you the opportunity to:

What is APEX Business-IT?

TRANSFORM BUSINESS VIA TRANSITIONS OVER TIME TO AN IMPROVED STATE OF PERFORMANCE

Teams are expected to propose a solution design and implementation strategy that is feasible, economical and compatible with the case company’s business and competitive needs. Teams are also required to analyse the risks of the solution they propose.

GET CONNECTED TO A STRONG AND DIVERSE NETWORK OF INDUSTRY LEADERS

Industry partners play vital roles in APEX Business-IT, including collaborating on the development of the case, serving as judges, being panelists for the Thematic Workshop, and interacting with participants.

DESIGN PERFORMANCE-ENHANCING, IT-ENABLED SOLUTIONS FOR STRATEGIC BUSINESS PROBLEMS

Every year, we craft an original case inspired by emerging trends in IT and business. The case challenges students to design a solution that enhances the organisation’s performance while taking into consideration its circumstances.

EXPLORE

INSPIRE

NETWORK

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what’s new in 2015?

INTRODUCTION OF LIGHTNING ROUND

OUR ‘LIVE’, ORIGINAL CASE

PLATE COMPETITION

To improve the competitiveness of our competition as well as to provide and alternative path for both Semifinalists and Wildcard Round winners, we are introducing the quickest competition round of APEX 2015 -- the Lightning Round.

In APEX Business-IT 2014, we introduces the Plate Competition to allow teams to showcase their creativity in selling one best idea from their solutions. In response to the positive feedback, we’re bringing back the Plate

Competition -- with a new twist!

In partnering with SMU’s Case Writing Initiative, our APEX Business-IT cases are written specifically for our competition -- tuned and designed intentionally to provide an intellectually stimulating experience for your team to mull over in the course of the lockdown!

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COMPETITION FLOW

LIGHTNING ROUND

semifinalround

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case example

Case Partner: Green Freight Asia

Green Freight Asia, a not-for-profit organisation made up of key industrial players, was seeking a collaboration to create an IT solution partnership that would support GFA’s programme for the adoption of green freight practices in the Asia Pacific region.

Notables:

1. Participating teams took part in a panelist discussion pertaining to sustainable supply chain practices. Issues discussed included the problems faced by firms in their attempts to curb emissions, as well as demonstrations of current IT projects that aid firms in the resolution of these problems.

2. In a unique twist to the competition, teams were not only provided with the Cases for their deliberation, they were also introduced to the Live Feed. This allowed for two way ‘live’ communication between the teams and the ‘case partner’, where teams can pose questions to the ‘case partner’ and receive their replies in a short time.

3. The competition was split into three phases. The first phase comprised of the preliminary round, where teams were expected to address the technology aspect of their proposed solutions. Winning teams from the first phase progressed onto the Semifinal Round; the other teams proceeded to the Wildcard Round – where participants had to present their business solutions through an A1 poster.

4. In the final phase, teams who did not make it to the Grand Finals took part in the Plate Competition, where participants were given less than 18 hours to highlight the most creative idea within their solution to a panel of judges. They were provided with a $20 budget to purchase any items that would form their presentation material. Even with the short preparation time, the participating teams gave a pleasant surprise to the judges with their creative presentations and unique styles of highlighting their best ideas. With the closure of the Plate Competition, the Grand Finalists then took the stage to present their business and IT solutions in a 12-minute presentation.

Thematic Workshop: The panel discussion included representatives from Green Freight Asia, DHL, UPS, Infineon and the Logistics Institute Asia Pacific.

How IT solutions can play a key role in enabling Sustainable Supply Chains

2014 Case:

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event schedule

DAY 1 RegistrationWelcome Dinner

DAY 2 Thematic WorkshopCompetition Briefing

DAY 3 Case Distribution24 Hour Lockdown Session

DAY 4Preliminary RoundSemifinal/Wildcard RoundLightning Round

DAY 5Plate CompetitionGrand FinalsGala Dinner

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Registration

ELIGIBILITY

A team of 3 undergraduate students in their 3rd or 4th year of study (It is recommended that at least 1 team member be pursuing a major in Information Systems Management or a related field)

•Each team must be accompanied by at least 1 team coach/observer •More than 1 coach/observer is allowed per team

•The team coach cannot be part of the team of 3 Each university can send a maximum of 1 team. The registration fee stated below includes meals and transportation for all official events during the competition period, including the Welcome Dinner and Gala Dinner. Please note that this sum does not include accommodation charges, which will be paid directly to the hotel at the end of your stay.

FEES & PAYMENTS

•Team fee: S$725 Nett per team of 3 students

•Coach/Observer fee: S$275 Nett per person

Payments will be processed through RegOnline

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O1

O2

O3

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REGISTER YOUR SCHOOL’S INTERESTREGISTER YOUR SCHOOL’S INTEREST

MAKE YOURPAYMENTMAKE YOUR PAYMENT

REGISTRATION ISCOMPLETE!REGISTRATION ISCOMPLETE!

AWAIT YOUR CONFIRMATION E-MAIL

AWAIT YOUR CONFIRMATION E-MAIL

PROVIDE US YOURTEAM DETAILS

PROVIDE US YOURTEAM DETAILSYOUR GUIDE TOGUIDE

FORREGISTERING

by fill ing up the form http://tinyurl.com/apex15.

Create an account in RegOnline and make payment by 1st February to confirm your registration place.

We will contact you within 48 hours upon registration with follow-up details.

through the RegOnline form by 15th March 2015.

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ADDITIONAL NOTES

Teams can pre-register at any time to indicate their interest in APEX Business-IT 2015; no commitment is required. To pre-register, please fill up the registration form at http://apex.smu.edu.sg/registration/. The University Relations department will follow up by email within 48 hours.

Please note the 1st February 2015 deadline for registration and full payment. Teams will receive a confirmation email after they complete the online registration process (via RegOnline) and payment is received.

Kindly note that a full refund will only be issued if a cancellation is made before 15th March 2015. There will be no refund after this date, unless the cancellation is triggered by the APEX Business-IT Organising Committee.

(If the event is over-subscribed, we may regrettably need to limit the number of teams. Past participation in APEX Business-IT and order of registration will be considered in the final selection process. Teams that are not selected will be notified by 1st March 2015 and will receive a full refund.)

We look forward to receiving your application!

CRITICAL DATES

Registration

10th November 2014Start of Pre-Registration

1st February 2015Deadline for Full Payment

15th March 2015Deadline for Cancellation & Full

Refund of Registration

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ACCOMmODATION

The Organising Committee is still working to secure the best rates for the event. The estimated range for the room rates per night is as follows:

• S$275 – 325 Nett (Single) • S$300 – 350 Nett (Double) • S$400 – 450 Nett (Triple)

Please note that accommodation at the official competition hotel is mandatory for all participants during the 5-day event, from 4th to 8th May 2015. In addition, team coaches are not allowed to share a room with any of the participants as communication between both parties during the 24-hour lockdown is strictly prohibited. We seek your kind understanding on this matter.

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PAST PARTNERS

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past case themes

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Singapore Management University (SMU) is a leading university in Asia and is recognised both locally and abroad for its world-class research and illustrious teaching. SMU is currently home to over 8,300 undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Established in 2000, SMU’s mission is to generate leading-edge research with global impact and produce broad-based, creative and entrepreneurial leaders for the knowledge-based economy. It is known for its interactive and technologically enabled pedagogy of seminar-style teaching in small class sizes.

Located in the heart of the city, SMU’s city campus is a state-of-the art facility that comprises six schools: School of Accountancy, Lee Kong Chian School of Business, School of Economics, School of Information Systems, School of Law and School of Social Sciences.

With an emphasis on generating rigorous, high-impact, multi-disciplinary research that addresses Asian issues of global relevance, SMU faculty members collaborate with leading international researchers and universities in the USA, Europe, China and India as well as with partners in the business community and public sector through its research institutes and centres.

Besides being renowned for its academia, SMU is also known for its vibrant student community. Co-curricular activities, which exist at both recreational and competitive levels, are supported mainly by student clubs, while customised excellence programmes in the arts and sports are pursued through the support of the Office of Student Life. Special interests like debating, animal welfare advocacy, and community service (e.g., serving the Red Cross) are also encouraged for students to broaden their interests and play a bigger role in society.

For more information about SMU, please visit www.smu.edu.sg.

About Singapore Management University

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The SMU School of Information Systems (SIS) was founded in 2003 to extend SMU’s research and education efforts into the areas of Information Systems Technology, Information Systems Management, and issues at the intersection of IS technology and management.

SIS possesses deep technology-based research and project capabilities in five strategically selected areas:

• Data Management & Analytics • Information Security & Trust • Intelligent Systems & Decision Analytics • Software Systems • Information Systems & Management

In the fifth area, Information Systems & Management, the school investigates a range of issues related to the managerial and business impacts of IT within firms, across industry networks and value chains, as well as across markets and industries. Since its inception, SIS has had a strategic partnership with Carnegie Mellon University, which has allowed for the collaborative launch of the Living Analytics Research Centre (larc.smu.edu.sg) between the two universities. Other significant research initiatives include the LiveLabs Urban Lifestyle Innovation Platform, the iCity Lab (with Tata Consulting Services), the Green Transformation Lab (with DHL), the Pinnacle Lab for Analytics (with Ping An Insurance Group), and the Urban Management & Analytics Lab.

For more information about SMU SIS, please visit sis.smu.edu.sg.

About the school ofinformation systems

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Located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, Singapore is an island country that is recognised as one of the leading business hubs in Asia. Though physically small, Singapore is an economic giant. It has been Southeast Asia’s most modern city for over a century and was ranked as the third wealthiest nation in the world. Because of its efficient and determined government, Singapore has become a flourishing country that excels in trade and tourism and is a model to developing nations.

Singapore is poised to be an information and technology hub which continues to attract multinational infocomm giants like Microsoft, Oracle, Google, IBM, in addition to international start-ups and exciting user organisations and also, to ultimately achieve productivity led growth. Standing at the forefront of maximising opportunities in IT to froster quality growth, Singapore’s effective use of IT has produced widespread economic and social benefits for its economy.

Singapore’s excellent infrastructure enables visitors to enjoy its many sites and attractions in a safe, clean and green environment. In the city, there is no need for a car. Public transportation is excellent and walking is a good way to explore the city. Popular tourist attractions in Singapore include Universal Studios Singapore, Gardens by the Bay, Marina Bay Sands, Sentosa, and not forgetting the icon of Singapore, the Merlion Park.

about singapore

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contact us

Enquires

If you wish to contact us, do drop us an email at apex@smu.edu.sg and we’ll reply to you witthin 48 hours! The APEX Business-IT Organising Committee would be happy to provide additional information or answer any questions you may have about the event.

APEX Business-IT Website

Visit our website at apex.smu.edu.sg or facebook.com/SMUAPEX for more details, photos and videos of our previous events.

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