Can you make the big picture become the real picture too?

The initial and ongoing rationale behind the educational board game, Business on the Move, was and is to excite and inspire the next generation of logisticians through its use in schools and colleges across the UK.

The game captures the essence of managing the wide variety of factors impacting on moving goods from suppliers on one side of the world to customers on the other. Deciding what transport to invest in, the best way to reach a customer, how to minimise your carbon footprint and the most appropriate response to inevitable disruptions of your best laid plans are a part of every game.

Such is the game’s success at reflecting the ‘big picture’ of global supply chains ~ fewer than 200 games now remain in stock from the first production run ~ Business on the Move can now be found in 80 universities across the world and is increasingly featuring within supply chain training programmes.

Indeed CEVA Logistics, the Logistics Learning Alliance and John Lewis have all gone a step further and provided examples of how a few ‘tweaks’ to some ‘Air & Sea’ and ‘Rail & Road’ cards in the game could make that ‘big picture’ become an even more ‘real picture’ too.

This notion of adding more sophisticated cards to the game to reflect business reality has been further developed by HFW (Holman Fenwick & Willan LLP), CILT International and NOVUS Trust to the extent that publication is planned for Multimodal Show, May 1-3, 2018, at the NEC of supplementary advanced packs of ‘Air & Sea’ and ‘Rail & Road’ cards. These cards can either add to or replace existing cards according to a trainer’s wishes and will:-

• enhance the game’s ability to reflect your own business context.
• incorporate more challenging concepts from compliance to certification and from new technology to national holiday patterns.
• highlight issues relevant to your business

Jon Harris, CILT International Professional Development Coordinator, suggests: “Development of these additional cards will help students at all levels think about the ‘real life’ issues that happen in the world of logistics. For those already employed in the transport and logistics sectors, they will be able to relate to real challenges and choices that they have to make in their professional roles. Definitely an excellent addition to the Business on the Move Game.”

Examples follow below and it’s not too late for your ‘good idea’ to feature as a new card. We have 3 games and supplementary packs to give to the 3 persons who come up with what we judge to be the best 2 suggestions.

Just observe our three rules:-

1. Maintain a 50-50 balance between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ cards ~ for every card with a ‘positive’ consequence, there should be an offsetting ‘negative’ one. Suggest one ‘positive’ and one ‘negative’ card only.
2. Concentrate on your novel idea at the start of the card ~ we can always adjust the ‘consequences’ element.
3. Email us your suggestion(s) by 12 noon on Thursday, April 12, and you could win a free game and a free supplementary pack featuring your very own card!

Suggestions are to be sent to: info@businessonthemove.org

Find out more about our educational game at www.businessonthemove.org