Business on the Move arrives in Enfield

Marks and Spencer is proud to update on the latest development in our ongoing collaboration with the Logistics & Supply Chain social enterprise Business on the Move.

As part of Marks and Spencer’s sponsorship of Business on the Move, the Supply Chain & Logistics team helped hand-out a number of board games to schools in the Enfield area, local to the recently-opened Enfield Foods Regional Distribution Centre. The board games, created by Business on the Move, are designed to give young people from ages 9-19 an interactive, practical & fun introduction to the Logistics & Supply Chain industry.

Teachers from various Enfield schools attended a workshop collaboratively arranged between Marks and Spencer and Enfield’s School Improvement Service, held at George Spicer Primary School. The teachers, who will now share a number of complimentary games from Marks and Spencer with their respective schools, were impressed with the game’s potential as an interactive classroom resource.

The aim of the game is for players to move different products from China to their UK customers by land, sea and air, as quickly, as profitably and as responsibly as they can. In so doing, they are faced with taking decisions similar to those made regularly by many businesses, such as: “How do I meet the delivery deadline?”, “Will I make a profit?”, “How can I improve my supply chain?” and “How can I cut my carbon footprint?”

There are seven levels that Business on the Move can be played at, from a basic order & delivery model to negotiating shared pallet deliveries – which means that the sophistication of the game can be fine-tuned to suit differing ages and ability levels. Furthermore, the breadth of curriculum it relates to offers exciting possibilities in a wide variety of subjects including Numeracy, Literacy and Enterprise in primary schools and English, Maths, Geography, Careers Education and PSHE in addition to Business Studies in the secondary and tertiary phases.

Furthermore, the schools involved will now be able to access Business on the Move’s library of follow-up classroom activities after playing the game. Sponsors have created a diverse portfolio of resources that enable learners to link the reality of the business to the game board. All the activities are matched to the curriculum, and vary from sequencing photos of the supply chain of carrots to working out the most appropriate response to customer complaints!

Mark Bailey, a Foods Supply Chain Development Manager at Marks & Spencer, remarked, “it’s heartening to see the enthusiasm teachers have already for how they can use the board game as a classroom resource. Hopefully, through the game, Business on the Move can help spark young people’s interest in the Logistics & Supply Chain industry”. One of the teachers present at the launch agreed, remarking that it was a “brilliant, interactive, cross-curricular game with many possibilities”.>

Business on the Move seeks to change the face of logistics sector recruitment by building interest in the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of supply chains from an early age, encouraging and supporting gender diversity, and challenging preconceptions of an industry that operates under too many people’s radar. By arousing curiosity at a young age, the game aims to improve the understanding of the logistics sector and develop a talent pipeline that will reduce future recruitment costs. “Despite being such a vital sector in our economy and one offering so many diverse career pathways for boys and girls alike,” explained Patricia Smedley, the co-developer of the game, “logistics and supply chains operate invisibly to most people, especially the young who, understandably, may take ‘click and collect’ for granted without giving a moment’s thought to how their purchase actually gets to them. Our game seeks to open up that global world to pupils of all ages from 9 upwards.”

You can see the game in action and read the comments of teachers, young people and logistics professionals by visiting the game’s website at www.businessonthemove.org

Two thirds of the games produced are being donated to schools and colleges by 50 business sponsors such as Marks and Spencer. Complimentary copies are provided to teachers attending workshops such as the one in Enfield.

The remaining games are for sale through the online Shop at www.businessonthemove.org

Even though the Americas do not appear on the game board and the currency used is GB £s, orders have been received from countries such as Brazil, Canada, Mexico and the United States. Indeed customers come from as far afield as Turkey, Malaysia and South Africa.

Consequently a brand new Global edition of Business on the Move is now being planned, twice the size of our first one and featuring businesses across the world.