Simulation -- Reflection Write Up

Global Supply Chain Management V2 Simulation

How to Play Guide

Updated: March 31, 2017

Copyright © 2016 President and Fellows of Harvard College. This publication may not be digitized, photocopied, or otherwise reproduced, posted, or transmitted, without the

permission of Harvard Business Publishing. 1

Challenge When companies provide extensive product options, it makes predicting

and fulfilling customer demand highly complex.

This simulation illustrates how a few key decisions can improve the ability of a company to accurately predict and fulfill demand.

You have just been hired as the Supply Chain Manager responsible for production of two new lines of mobile phones. You will be able to make key decisions and see the impact of your decisions on the performance

of your company over the span of 4 years.

Updated: March 31, 2017

Copyright © 2016 President and Fellows of Harvard College. This publication may not be digitized, photocopied, or otherwise reproduced, posted, or transmitted, without the

permission of Harvard Business Publishing. 2

Your Objectives • You are in charge of releasing two models of mobile phones:

• Model A, a base model • Model B, a high end model

• Decide which features to include and with whom to outsource the work.

Important Info: • Sales season is May through December—there is no demand before May or after December

• Demand is anticipated to be consistent over these months

You will be judged on the following criteria:

Gross Margin

Number of Votes of Confidence by Board Members

Updated: March 31, 2017

Copyright © 2016 President and Fellows of Harvard College. This publication may not be digitized, photocopied, or otherwise reproduced, posted, or transmitted, without the

permission of Harvard Business Publishing. 3

Design Room • Add up to four options to the base model

• *Pay attention to the estimated change in demand created by each option, its impact on

profit per unit, and other variables

Updated: March 31, 2017

Copyright © 2016 President and Fellows of Harvard College. This publication may not be digitized, photocopied, or otherwise reproduced, posted, or transmitted, without the

permission of Harvard Business Publishing. 4

Forecasting Room

• Predict the demand of the two phone models for each year

• *Remember, demand is spread out evenly across all months from May to

December.

Updated: March 31, 2017

Copyright © 2016 President and Fellows of Harvard College. This publication may not be digitized, photocopied, or otherwise reproduced, posted, or transmitted, without the

permission of Harvard Business Publishing. 5

Production Room • After choosing suppliers you will advance month by month and observe the accuracy of

your forecasts

• You will be able to change your production schedule, but this will require a significant

payment to your suppliers

Updated: March 31, 2017

Copyright © 2016 President and Fellows of Harvard College. This publication may not be digitized, photocopied, or otherwise reproduced, posted, or transmitted, without the

permission of Harvard Business Publishing. 6

Board Room • Review your financial

performance

• See how well your strategic choices have played out over the

year based on Board Member feedback.

Updated: March 31, 2017

Copyright © 2016 President and Fellows of Harvard College. This publication may not be digitized, photocopied, or otherwise reproduced, posted, or transmitted, without the

permission of Harvard Business Publishing. 7

• When the board meeting ends, return to the Design Room to start the next year

• You will repeat the cycle of design, forecasting, production, and board evaluation for four years

• Remember that you can track your progress using the scorecard on the left-hand side of the screen

• You can refer to previous decisions you made by clicking on the Decision History section.

Updated: March 31, 2017

Copyright © 2016 President and Fellows of Harvard College. This publication may not be digitized, photocopied, or otherwise reproduced, posted, or transmitted, without the

permission of Harvard Business Publishing. 8

Good Luck!