ABERDEEN, S.D. –  Two Northern State University students teamed up to create a business model that outperformed more than 580 teams over the course of a 10-week, worldwide simulation called GLO-BUS. Carly Handcock and Kaylie Haughey were ranked first in the world for two consecutive weeks and were consistently in the top ten throughout the competition.

GLO-BUS, or Global Business Strategy Simulation Game, has competitors from more than 230 campuses across 21 counties, including students from internationally renowned business programs. The competition is stiff and earning a top ranking is quite an achievement said Sal Villegas, assistant professor of management.

“The success that our students have shown in this simulation exemplifies the type of practical business education that we provide here at Northern,” said Villegas.

This is the first time since 2016 that a Northern team has been first in the world rankings, Villegas said. The simulation has been used in Northern’s business classes since the early 1990s, when it was a manual process.

“We present our students with the opportunities to use what they learned in the classroom,” Villegas said, “and they are the ones that turn this into real-world application.”

Now, the simulation is fully online and is used in Northern’s classes on campus and online.

Handcock and Haughey competed over the summer as part of their business policy and strategy class, which is the capstone class for business majors. Haughey had never used or heard about GLO-BUS before this. She said the simulation was intimidating at first.

“It was a lot of information in one place, but once you learned what the general idea was supposed to be, it became a lot easier to do and more fun,” she said.

In the simulation, all the companies are selling drones and wearable cameras. Handcock and Haughey created a company called SNAPZ. Their strategy centered around creating affordable technology that was also good quality.

“Marketing is also something that our company invested in a lot,” said Haughey, “which definitely helped us ranks consistently in the top 10 each week.”

GLO-BUS requires teams to plan for all aspects of their business. The simulation focuses on production design, marketing, assembly, labor, discount bids, corporate citizenship, financing, and cash flow, Villegas said.

“The dedication that Carly & Kaylie demonstrated in this simulation is a true testament to their work ethic and dedication to high achievement,” Villegas said.

Teams are assessed on five criteria: earnings per share, credit rating, stock price, return on equity, and image rating. They are then ranked in four categories: overall game-to-date score, earnings pers share, return on average equity, and stock price.

SNAPZ was ranked first globally in overall game-to-date scores for two consecutive weeks and completed the entire simulation atop the global rankings.

“I worked with a great partner, and we delegated tasks between each other to utilize our strengths and weaknesses,” Haughey said.