Course Overview

Within this unique and innovative course, we will be using the ‘SimFirm’ simulation software by Cesim to replicate real-life scenarios faced by managers within the Supply Chain function.

The software integrates with all necessary departments such as logistics, production and distribution and allows you to recreate real-life situations and test out your decision-making capabilities with much lower stakes.

By incorporating the macro factors such as competitors, industry changes and financial constraints, this simulation provides a unique opportunity to investigate and understand the varied approaches to supply chain management.

Are you responsible for effective decision making relating to Supply Chain Management within your organisation? Do you want the opportunity to explore options for improving your process and understanding the real-world implications of any changes that you make?

This Zoe training course is a modern way to address an age-old problem and will allow you to develop ideas, consider strategies and implement changes at a grand scale that you would not feasibly be able to test in your company in real life. This unique insight is a powerful tool and one that will be of great benefit to your future growth.

Course Objectives 

Upon successful completion of this Simulation in Supply Chain Management course, you should be able to –

• Create and develop a solid Supply Chain Management strategy for your organization that is a much lower risk since considering all the variables within the simulation
• Inspire and motivate others within your supply chain to make changes based on your findings that would otherwise have been uncertain risks
• Develop your forecasting and budgeting skills and use real-world examples to test out the efficacy of your decision making
• Analyse the impact of different factors such as customer behaviour, market conditions, and even global crises and market crashes
• Understand much better how your organization fits into the wider industry and supply chain environment
• Prepare strategies for an ever-changing marketplace and ensure that you remain ahead of the curve, and one step ahead of your competitors

Training Methodology 

This Simulation in Supply Chain Management course relies heavily on the use of the simulation software but will also include –

• Interaction with other course attendees through the use of teams within the software
• Guided demonstrations through several different scenarios
• One on one personal advice and coaching on your decision making
• Tutorials, lectures and case studies based around each topic

Organisational Benefits

By encouraging your employees to participate in this course you will be impacting your organization in the following positive ways –

• Being able to project into the future is a fantastic tool to inspire and motivate your employees
• A greater understanding of the implications of their roles on the wider supply chain and how they fit into the larger ecosystem
• Increased speed of decision making due to awareness of potential outcomes
• Aligned workforce focusing on a common goal and understanding better how to achieve that

Personal Benefits 

By taking part in this Simulation in Supply Chain Management course, you will personally experience the following benefits –

• Increased ownership and autonomy over your day to day responsibilities
• Greater awareness of the consequences of certain decisions, therefore allowing for a healthy approach to supply chain risks and reduced stress from larger decisions
• The chance to interact and learn from other course attendees and observe their strategies and results
• Being able to keep much more up to date with a rapidly changing industry and feel ahead of the curve on a lot of the upcoming changes
• A structured approach to implementing changes and the chance to test out cost efficiencies and improve the process overall, making your job more streamlined
• Improvement in personal skills such as critical thinking, sales and decision making

Who Should Attend?

While this Simulation in Supply Chain Management course is very much centred around Supply Chain Management, it is useful and interesting for a whole range of professionals –

• Supply Chain Managers 
• Senior employees working within the supply chain function
• Business support managers
• Anyone involved in the decision-making process that affects the supply chain
• Department Heads responsible for strategy
• Senior Executives who want to learn more about potential innovations in Supply Chain logistics
• Anyone with an interest in pursuing a career within this field

Course Outline 

Module One – Introduction to Simulation Software

• A basic introduction to the software
• Familiarising yourself with the platform
• Outlining the objectives for the course and learning the basics
• Understanding better how the simulation model can impact your business
• Chance to learn from previous teams and identify your goals for the course

Module Two – Entering the Simulation

• Starting to use the software and identify learning outcomes
• Learning from previous case studies and looking in greater detail at your proposed strategies and use of software
• Considering the impact and fundamentals of decision making and how it relates
• Considering the impact of finance, production, distribution and marketing areas
• Developing and commencing with the roadmap for your organisation

Module Three – External and Internal Factors 

• Looking at the factors most likely to impact your decision making and eventual outcomes
• Assessing the operational flow and understanding the importance of each stage of the supply chain and how it relates to other internal variables
• Considering macro and external factors and how these would impact financial, marketing or sales decisions
• Identifying priorities within production, distribution and product life cycle

Module Four – Strategy and Vision

• Developing your larger vision and long-term strategy
• Utilising Porter’s Five Forces and considering the impact and opportunities of the competitive environment
• Creating a winning roadmap
• Learning how to engage your team and coordinate for success
• Building towards a common vision and delivering results through efficient strategic planning

Module Five – Sales and Marketing 

• Using the simulation to look at a variety of options in terms of the impact of sales and marketing
• Understanding the impact of this particularly as it relates to the cost and time efficiencies that you intend to build into your Supply Chain
• Considering the impact of the wider organisation on your strategy

Module Six – The Product Life Cycle 

• Analysing in greater detail the full product life cycle
• Using the simulation to identify and establish opportunities and efficiencies at various stages
• Profitability and costing tools to help you make a much better decision
• Simulating the entire life cycle and testing out hypotheses against a wider matrix of external and macro factors
• Focus on economic variables such as supply and demand and how this impacts the price elasticity

Module Seven – Decision Making 

• How to use what you have learned to understand the implications and the consequences of your decisions going forward
• Using the simulation to analyse a variety of outcomes and discussing how to then apply these to your organisational roadmap for change
• Final chance to test out some further scenarios with the simulation and time allowed for teamwork and interaction with other course members to discuss outcomes

Module Eight – The Real World 

• How to use everything that you have learned within the simulation to make the necessary changes within your department
• Learning how to roll out these changes effectively and impact change within your organisation
• Guidelines for using the simulation mentality to make decisions in real life and helpful tools to remind you of the benefits and possibilities of employing this type of strategy for decision making and forecasting