This report will be looking into how groups playing the Fresh Connection game could improve their efficiency and profitability by following a few simple strategic supply chain rules. When discussing any supply chain, and the strategic decisions involved in improving an organisations efficiency and financial performance there will always be certain processes which have been perfected by industry professionals that cannot be overlooked and if followed correctly will result in the desired effect.
Some of which will be discussed throughout this report along with how these specific processes helped my group, Fresco Smoothies, improve performance in the annual University of Huddersfield Fresh Connection game. Other aspects of the supply chain that will be discussed through this report will include how vulnerable certain processes can be to disruption, either through natural disasters or man made errors. Along with this, explanations will be given in relation to how these disruptions can be effectively managed.
Finally, this report will be looking into the specific performance levels of my team in the ‘Fresh Connection’ game, what has been learnt and how we may do things differently if we was to play the game again.
CONTENTS PAGE
Introduction
Throughout January and February 2015 all undergraduates studying final year logistics at the University of Huddersfield were invited to take part in a simulation game specific to a supply chain management teams environment. This allowed teams of 4 to 5 students to set up a fruit juice production company and experience the problems and more specifically, the supply chain strategies which are used within the logistics industry as a way of fundamentally making a company more efficient, reliable and profitable.
In order to achieve the objective of making each of our production companies successful, each department ‘employee’ had to input their strategic decision each week. The 4 available roles were divided into the following:
Managing (Supply Chain) Director
Purchasing Director
Sales Director
Operations Director
Throughout this report the techniques implemented will be examined and explained along with a review of how I believe we performed and what we may do different in the future.
Main Body (Analysis & Findings)
The Fresh Connection game allows the users, or players to effectively forecast future demand. However with this being said the information available to the players could be seen as irrelevant or vague due to the fact that any supply chain is vulnerable, to a certain extent to disruption. Allowances which can be made within the game include additional stock availability along with upgrading suppliers however we found it hard to protect ourselves against natural disruptions which came into effect through the second and third weeks hence the Fresco Smoothie group receiving consecutive weeks of negative growth. Strategic processes within a logistical supply chain carry through the whole chain from initial planning to the implementation of a plan and monitoring of how successful it is. Brown, S. (1996).
Managing current and forecasted demand of the juice product was one of my top priorities as Managing Director due to the main aim which was to make a profit. One of the methods which could have been used if this had been a real life test would be CPRF which is short for Collaborative Planning & Forecasting Replenishment. Based on a 2008 book by Langley et al on how to manage supply chains. This method is said to allow manufacturers a unique way of seeing how much product to produce depending on the demand levels. Langley et al. (2008) Using this method of forecast planning would be a way of improving the financial side of the business and will also reduce stock loss & waste.
