Wende Huehn-Brown is Professor of Supply Chain Management at St. Petersburg College in Florida. She continues her review of our five OM simulations.
Here is my review of the 5th and the last of the Heizer/Render/Munson MyOMLab simulations, Supply Chain Management (SCM). These 3 words are often misunderstood and a passionate topic for me! This simulation puts the student in the role of the supply chain analyst thinking about order and inventory needs, offering a hands-on and visual learning opportunity. SCM is an area that few of my students have experienced, other than as a customer. Thinking about the details that enable fulfillment of their own orders is rather eye opening.
As in real businesses, SCM decisions shape competitive abilities in a challenging manner. My students have really enjoyed practicing this simulation. One student reflected that she valued the learning– and even felt stress as days ticked by and shipments were delayed! Some students found this simulation challenging and needed to carefully read Chapter 11 in the textbook. Most said the simulation was a great way to understand how SCM works.
This simulation is relatively fast, requiring students to pay attention to their budget, as well as customer morale. Selecting and monitoring suppliers, responding to messages and delays, evaluating fees, etc. while meeting contract requirements on-time requires foresight. Also, evaluating multiple suppliers with different contracts to mitigate risks means paying attention to stay with the budget. (What a timely topic given the volatility of Chinese supply chains during the caronavirus). Students quickly learn that going cheap is not always the way to go! Also, having a plan for the consistent arrival of inventory to manage demand was less predictable than they anticipated. Key concepts for real businesses too!
Through the simulation, students can better learn SCM and see opportunities to improve performance. Students often found themselves reacting to unexpected situations when they did not have a clear plan to balance ordering enough inventory without going over budget while fulfilling customer orders.