Put student teams in control of a live global supply network. They manage sourcing, inventory, freight, resilience, and sustainability under real-world disruptions — while you watch scores update on a live leaderboard.
Each turn is a compressed business quarter. Here is the exact sequence.
The tutor opens the turn. An AI-generated supply chain event hits every team's screen simultaneously — drawn from real news. Example: 'Typhoon Haikui disrupts Taiwanese semiconductor shipments — sea freight lead times +3 weeks.'
Each team's Company HQ shows their current KPI gauges (service level, cost, sustainability, resilience), last turn's scores, remaining budget, and the event context. A countdown timer runs in the corner.
Before the timer expires, each team privately submits: order quantity, safety stock, supplier split, freight mode, sustainability investment, and disruption response. Autosave prevents lost work.
The platform calculates all teams' KPIs instantly. KPI gauges update — some teams see their resilience score rise, others watch their service level drop. The leaderboard appears. Debrief begins.
Six decision domains. Each one maps to a KPI. Students see the trade-off in real time.
Single vs. dual-source, nearshoring, local supplier investment
“Go single-source from a low-cost Asian supplier, or split 70/30 with a regional backup? Cost drops 18% but resilience score falls — until a port disruption event hits.”
Safety stock levels, reorder points, demand forecasting
“Hold 2 weeks or 6 weeks of safety stock? The Bullwhip Effect means upstream teams are already over-ordering. Set your level without knowing what's coming next turn.”
Air vs. sea vs. road trade-offs on cost and lead time
“An AI event announces congestion at Rotterdam port — sea freight lead times just doubled. Switch to air freight (3× cost) or absorb the service-level hit?”
Renewables, ethical sourcing, carbon offsetting
“Invest £50k in renewable energy this turn to improve your Sustainability KPI — or hold cash for a resilience buffer? Both affect your overall rank.”
Visibility tools, AI forecasting, ERP investment
“Buy a demand-visibility tool (one-off cost) that reduces your forecast error by 30% from next turn onward. Teams that invest early compound the advantage.”
Buffer inventory, alternative routes, contingency contracts
“A supplier failure event fires. Teams with contingency contracts pre-activated absorb it. Teams that skipped the investment take a 20-point service-level penalty.”
After every scored turn, animated KPI gauges update on each team's dashboard. They see exactly which decision moved which score.
Service Level
Fill rate and on-time delivery. Drops when stock runs out or disruptions hit unprepared teams.
Cost of Ownership
Total landed cost per unit across sourcing, freight, and inventory holding. Optimise cost without sacrificing resilience.
Sustainability
Carbon footprint, renewable energy %, ethical sourcing ratio. Rises with investment, falls with cheap high-carbon choices.
Resilience Score
How well your supply chain absorbs shocks. Built up by dual sourcing, safety stock, and digital tools over multiple turns.
Overall Score
Blended score driving the live leaderboard rank. Tutors can weight each KPI to match their learning objectives.
The same supply chain module runs from a single lecture to a full semester. You control the pace.
90-min lecture
3 turns
Teams join, play 3 turns with a 15-min timer each, debrief on leaderboard. Works in any lecture theatre.
3-week course
6–9 turns
2–3 turns per week. Same teams carry forward, KPIs compound. Weekly debrief builds on previous session.
6-week programme
12+ turns
Deeper strategy emerges. Teams see long-run consequences of turn-1 sourcing decisions by week 4.
12-week semester
24 turns
Full arc with peer assessment, rubric grading, certificates. Assessment evidence maps to CIPS/CILT frameworks.
Every turn includes AI-generated disruption events drawn from real news — port congestion, supplier failures, geopolitical shocks. Teams that invest in resilience (diversification, safety stock, digital visibility) absorb shocks better. Teams that optimise only for cost learn why that strategy fails.
The supply chain module tracks five KPIs: Service Level (fill rate, on-time delivery), Cost of Ownership (total supply chain cost), Sustainability (carbon footprint, renewable sourcing), Resilience (diversification, safety stock, digital investment), and an Overall Score that blends all four.
Yes. A 3-turn live workshop format works in 90 minutes. Students join with a team code and PIN — no registration or downloads. The tutor opens and closes each turn from the control panel, and results appear on a live leaderboard.
Yes. Decision areas in the Supply Chain and Procurement modules map to CIPS and CILT competency frameworks. Tutors can attach specific framework criteria to rubric grading criteria and generate assessment evidence.
Works in a 90-minute lecture or across a full semester programme. No IT department needed.
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