Start here: the current 2027 step is team formation and the December 4 interest form
The Institute for Supply Management says team submissions for the 2027 Global Case Competition are open. The interest-form round opened September 14, 2026, and all competing teams must form and submit an interest form by December 4, 2026.
| Item | Current published detail |
|---|---|
| Program type | University supply-management case competition; not an internship |
| Status | Interest-form round open |
| Interest form opened | September 14, 2026 |
| Team interest-form deadline | December 4, 2026 |
| Eligible students | Full-time undergraduate or graduate students in supply chain management, business, finance or a relevant field, with an interest in supply management |
| Team size | Maximum four students; undergraduate, graduate or mixed teams allowed |
| University limit | Up to two submissions accepted per university, though more may be submitted for consideration at the interest-form stage |
| Advisor | Faculty/professor advisor or mentor required |
| Geography | Domestic U.S. and international universities eligible |
| Final-round requirement | Team must be able to attend and register for ISM World 2027 |
| ISM World 2027 | May 16–18, 2027, Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, Washington, D.C. |
| First / second / third prize | $5,000 / $3,000 / $2,000 |
Do not treat December 4 as a published final-case deadline. The current public page identifies it as the interest-form deadline and does not publish the full later-round submission calendar. Use the exact stage ISM has announced rather than importing dates from a prior competition.
The competition asks students to work on an industry challenge in supply management, develop a solution, and potentially advance to the final round held onsite with the ISM World Annual Conference. It is not employment with ISM or with the companies represented by judges and conference attendees.
Eligibility is field-based and requires an advisor, but ISM does not publish a GPA floor
ISM lists full-time undergraduate or graduate students studying supply chain management, business, finance or a relevant field and interested in supply management. Teams can be all undergraduate, all graduate or mixed. Domestic U.S. and international universities can participate.
A team can have no more than four members and needs a faculty or professor advisor or mentor. ISM says it can accept up to two submissions per university, while allowing more than two teams to submit for consideration on the interest form.
The current page does not publish a minimum GPA, prior-internship requirement or minimum amount of supply-chain coursework. It does exclude students who are full-time or part-time teaching assistants or full-time, tenured or adjunct faculty at a participating university or another post-secondary institution.
Sources[1]
The competition tests supply-management reasoning, not generic slide polish
ISM says the case addresses an industry challenge in supply management and is designed to build analytical and reasoning skills in a professional setting. The current page does not publish the 2027 case topic in the reviewed material, so do not pre-build a recommendation around an old prompt.
A useful preparation process is to map the supply decision before choosing a tool: what is being bought or moved, which supplier or operating constraint matters, what cost and service trade-off exists, what risk could break the recommendation, and which evidence would make the decision defensible.
Keep a source log and an assumptions sheet once the 2027 case is released. If the team advances, the useful recruiting output is the analysis and recommendation you can defend, not a claim that participating created professional employment experience.
Sources[1]
Finalists need to plan for ISM World 2027, and the published support has a boundary
ISM requires teams to be able to attend and register for ISM World 2027. The conference is scheduled for May 16–18, 2027 at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Washington, D.C.
ISM says it will financially sponsor conference-registration fees for students selected for the onsite final round. The reviewed case-competition page does not state that finalist airfare, hotel or every local travel cost is covered. Do not convert registration support into a blanket travel reimbursement claim.
That distinction matters before team formation. If your team could not attend the final without additional support, identify the likely travel budget early and ask ISM or your university for written clarification before assuming reimbursement.
The durable signal is the judged supply-management work and the stage you actually reach
ISM lists team prizes of $5,000 for first place, $3,000 for second and $2,000 for third. The top team also receives a one-to-one executive coaching or mentorship session, and all three top teams receive complimentary access to the APSM digital learning system.
Prize money and learning benefits are competition outcomes, not wages. On a resume, name the ISM Global Case Competition and describe your supply-management analysis only after you have done it. Add finalist status, placement or a prize only after ISM makes that result official.
The current page does not promise an internship interview or job conversion. Judges and conference attendees may include industry professionals, but networking exposure is not the same as a recruiting guarantee.
Sources[1]
Form the team before December 4, then keep supply-chain recruiting moving in parallel
The immediate action is team formation. Confirm full-time student status, field fit, the maximum-four-person rule, a faculty advisor or mentor, the university submission cap and each member’s ability to attend ISM World if selected. Submit the interest form by December 4 rather than waiting for a case deadline that ISM has not yet published.
Use the waiting period to assign working roles and practice one small sourcing or supply-chain decision. A supplier comparison, inventory trade-off or procurement-risk memo can expose whether the team can combine quantitative evidence with an operational recommendation before the official case arrives.
Keep internship applications separate. The competition can become a strong work sample or award, but the reviewed sources do not make it an internship application or promise a job. Continue applying to supply-chain, procurement, sourcing, operations and finance roles while the competition advances.
Sources[1]