Global Supply Chain Management Simulation

Background

The Global Supply Chain Management Simulation (GSCMS) is designed to teach intermediate to advanced concepts in supply chain design, demand forecasting, resource allocation, and production planning. The simulation gives students an opportunity to design and manage the supply chain of a global cell phone manufacturer. During the simulation experience, students design the cell phone product line, forecast demand, choose a set of suppliers with different costs, lead-times and capacities, and allocate production among their chosen suppliers. After completing the product and supply chain design phases, students observe actual monthly demand being revealed dynamically, and have opportunities to respond to demand shifts and unexpected events. To manage the mobile phone lines successfully, students must balance competing priorities and create a supply chain that is flexible enough to react quickly to fluctuating demand.

The simulation is repeated over a four-year period, allowing students an opportunity to refine their decision processes each year after learning from the feedback they receive about the previous year’s results.

Getting Registered

  1. As you will complete the simulation in pairs, only one student per pair needs to register.
  2. Turn off all pop-up blockers
  3. Register at
  4. Click on "Sign up here" under New Users
  5. Fill out the required information, including Organization ID 00053552, to be properly associated with your course.
  6. Click "Find" to see what's available in your Learning Catalog.
  7. Select "Register"
  8. Click "Confirm." You will then be prompted for payment
  9. Proceed with payment and click "Complete Registration." Your registration is now complete and your course should appear on your enrollments.
  10. Post the username and e-mail address that you used to register on the course blog, as well as the names of the two group members. This step is important, as this information will be used to track your performance in the simulation.

Player Manual

A copy of the player manual can be obtained from the following location:

GSCMS Player Manual

Running the Simulation from Home

To run the simulation, you will be operating as part of a two-person team. You and your teammate should find a time and location when you can take between 2 and 4 hours to run the simulation.

1.Use Internet Explorer to run the simulation.

2.To log in to the simulation:

a.Follow the link provided to you in a separate e-mail (or handout) to register your username using the sponsor code provided to you.

Note: Your username is case sensitive.

Note: if your computer does not have Macromedia’s Flash Player version 7 or above, the program will automatically take you to a site where you can download the application.

  1. Read the introduction on the middle panel; make sure to click on the two links “The Problems Facing Supply Chain Managers” and “How to Play the Game” for background information on the simulation.
  2. When you and your teammate first run the simulation, you must run through the entire 4-year period. This set of team results will be tabulated and shown in class. You must complete all four years in order to have your data recorded. You are done with the simulation after you have answered all of the feedback questions on the simulation at the end of year 4.
  3. As you and your teammate run the simulation, please input the decisions you make and the rationale behind those decisions on the word document "GSCM Simulation Record Sheet."You should fill out the record sheet as you play the simulation, not after. After completing the simulation, submit the GSCMS record sheet to your instructor. Make sure to also bring a copy to the debrief session in class!
  4. At any point in the simulation, you may use the game buttons to click back to previous decisions you have made in the same or previous years. However, you may not change decisions that have been previously submitted; changes will not be recorded in the data sent to the instructor.
  5. If you restart or refresh Internet Explorer you will lose your data from the current year. The simulation data is being recorded on the server at the end of each year, so if for some reason you do lose your internet connection or have to restart the simulation, you will be played back to the beginning of the current year. No data from completed years will be lost or overwritten.