There are two kinds of games:
- Entertainment games — games for having fun
- Serious games — games for learning real-world skills
Entertainment games and serious games differ in significant ways. In entertainment games simulations are created for entertainment, so modeling the real world is not of primary importance. In serious games the use of realistic data and accurate simulations enables skills developed in playing the game to be directly transferable for use in the real world (otherwise games become nearly pointless as an educational or training exercise).
SCM Globe is a serious supply chain game. It uses real world data, accurate simulations, and a map of the world as the game board. The screenshot below shows results from a simulation and identifies a problem that has occurred in your supply chain – you have run out of product at one of the stores. How will you respond? Use this multiplayer game not to merely entertain, but to engage students, and teach real supply chain strategies and skills.
Power of Realism and Accuracy in the Simulations
The power of this game lies in its realism and the accuracy of the simulations. Playing this game enables you to learn what works and what does not work without learning the hard way by making expensive mistakes in the real world. Imagine you manage this supply chain shown below. This supply chain supports the operations and growth of a company called “Cincinnati Seasonings” based in Cincinnati, Ohio USA.
You login to SCM Globe and load the model of the Cincinnati Seasonings supply chain. You zoom in on the map to see more detail about the supply chain as shown in the screenshots below.
YOUR GOAL: Keep stores supplied with products while also reducing inventory and operating costs. There are many ways to do it, just as there are in the real world:
- change production rates
- try different vehicles, schedules, and delivery routes
- move facility locations… some ideas work better than others
Edit your supply chain model to reflect these different ideas and see where they lead. Simulations play out on the map and produce onscreen displays to show what is happening (as shown on screenshot below).
Simulations produce onscreen data displays as they run. And you can download the simulation data to create monthly Income and Expense Reports plus key performance indicators. This provides an objective way to compare different supply chain designs. Players who play the game develop both an intuitive “street-smart” feel for how supply chains work, and analytical skills to evaluate different options and find the ones that work best. Players whose supply chain models produce the best simulation results are the winners.
Don’t Just Take Our Word for It
“SCM Globe simulations are critical to integrating the various content elements of my “Managing Business Operations” class and is very popular as a learning tool for the students. Semester after semester, class evaluations cite the popularity and practicality of the simulations. They have become a recruitment tool for the course.”
Samuel Sacco
Lecturer, Program Coordinator
Salve Regina University, Newport, RI
The combination of realistic supply chain modeling and accurate simulations makes this game a powerful learning experience (also explained in a previous article “Four Reasons to Use Simulations for Supply Chain Learning“). Students design their supply chains, run simulations, and get immediate feedback on how their supply chains work and where performance problems occur. They make improvements right away and try again.
This process of learning by doling is critical for developing skills in any field. This is why the use of realistic data and accurate simulations (AKA serious games) is so important. This is what enables skills developed in those simulations to be directly transferable for use in the real world.
See more about how this game works in our blog post “A Multiplayer Supply Chain Game – Overview”
[ Request an evaluation account — Get Your Free Trial Demo.There is a complete Instruction Manual if you are interested in using this multiplayer competition in your class – send email to: info@scmglobe.com ]
Copyright © 2018 by SCM Globe Corp.