A multi-player strategy simulation game which provides you with the experience of managing a private company as you take decisions on Marketing and Supply Chain Strategy while managing company's plant operations and production.

1. © 2013 Wise Cells Learning Solutions LLP. All Rights Reserved
A Multiplayer Team Based Strategy Simulation

2. © 2013 Wise Cells Learning Solutions LLP. All Rights Reserved
• As part of the challenge, you have been assigned the responsibility as a
member of the executive team of your company.
• Your company is a private telecommunications device manufacturer
with sales and marketing presence in 3 countries namely China,
Australia and U.K.
• The company has manufacturing plants in China and Australia and
these plants service the demand for all markets.
• There are competitors in the market beginning with equal market shares
in all three regions and identical manufacturing capacities in the same
locations
• The same executive team would be in charge for 5 years of operations
and the board has set forth two parameters for performance i.e.
Market Share and Net Profit

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The company has presence in the following markets :
Segment Presence U.K. Australia China
Tech Enthusiasts 9,477,266 4,593,878 135,404,115
Business Users 28,431,799 5,742,348 338,509,885
Fashion Fanatics 12,636,355 4,593,878 203,106,322
Budget Users 12,636,355 8,039,287 677,019,662
Total 63,181,775 22,969,392 1,354,039,964
Production U.K. Australia China
Plant Presence No Yes Yes
Installed Machines NIL 10 60
FY12-13 Production NIL 630,000 4,080,000

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Mid Range Smart Phone
The company currently has 2 products in the market as shown below
Entry Level Phone
Technology Rating 3
Design Rating 2
Features Rating 4
Price Rating 9
Technology Rating 3
Design Rating 2
Features Rating 4
Price Rating 9
Raw Material Cost $25
Assembly Cost $15
Packaging Cost $10
Total Variable Cost $50
Raw Material Cost $125
Assembly Cost $50
Packaging Cost $25
Total Variable Cost $200

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Market Research studies have identified that there are 4 distinct segments
of users in the market. These segments are as follows :
Technology
Enthusiasts
Technology enthusiasts seek the best in technology that is available in the market.
They are the least price sensitive and will do anything to get their hands on the
latest devices. This segment forms the early adopters of consumer technologies.
Business
Users
Business Users devices which will help them stay in touch with colleagues and easily
send out mails from their devices. They are value seekers and are interested in
devices which offer maximum features in their budgets.
Fashion
Fanatics
The fashion fanatics are on the lookout for latest designs to accessorize themselves
with the appropriate handsets. Features don’t mean as much as looks do and an
attractive shape is appreciated more than a dual core processor.
Budget
Users
The budget users are typically looking out for devices at the least costs. They are
highly price sensitive and will look out for options that suffice their basic purpose of
making calls to their near and dear ones. Features are not a priority on their list.

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Technology Enthusiasts Business Users Fashion Fanatics Budget Users
-
0.50
1.00
1.50
2.00
2.50
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
-
0.50
1.00
1.50
2.00
2.50
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
-
0.50
1.00
1.50
2.00
2.50
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
-
0.50
1.00
1.50
2.00
2.50
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
The graphs below indicate a segment’s propensity to buy a product based on its score.
Overall Score = (Tech Score + Design Score + Feature Score) X Price Score
NOTE :As an example, consider the price score which indicates that even with the lowest price score of 1,
technology users have a propensity to buy if the other scores are good. On the other had, the Budget user would
not buy at all unless the price score is at least 4 since Price is multiplicative. However since all other scores are
additive, even if one of them is zero, there would still be a certain propensity to buy based on the other scores.
Affinity
Score
Affinity
Score
Affinity
Score
Affinity
Score
Technology Score
Features Score
Design Score
Price Score

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Technology Enthusiasts
Business Users
Fashion Fanatics
Budget Users
Score TV Print Radio Digital
High (8X) 3.00 2.50 2.00 5.00
Medium (4X) 2.50 2.00 1.75 3.50
Low (2X) 1.75 1.50 1.50 2.00
Very Low (X) 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00
Score TV Print Radio Digital
High (8X) 2.00 5.00 1.75 2.50
Medium (4X) 1.75 3.50 1.50 2.00
Low (2X) 1.50 2.00 1.25 1.50
Very Low (X) 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00
Score TV Print Radio Digital
High (8X) 5.00 4.00 2.00 2.00
Medium (4X) 3.50 3.00 1.75 1.75
Low (2X) 2.00 2.00 1.50 1.50
Very Low (X) 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00
Score TV Print Radio Digital
High (8X) 2.00 4.00 5.00 1.50
Medium (4X) 1.75 3.00 3.75 1.35
Low (2X) 1.50 2.00 2.50 1.20
Very Low (X) 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00
The scores indicate relative affinity to advertising. A score of 1 indicating lowest and any other score indicating a multiple of the
lowest score of 1. Hence for fashion fanatics, low investment in print is twice as effective as very low investment in print.

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Technology Enthusiasts
Business Users
Fashion Fanatics
Budget Users
Distribution Medium Relative Score
Small Shops 0.50
Exclusive Outlets 5.00
Distributors 2.00
Shopping Malls 3.00
Distribution Medium Relative Score
Small Shops 1.50
Exclusive Outlets 4.00
Distributors 3.00
Shopping Malls 3.00
Distribution Medium Relative Score
Small Shops 0.50
Exclusive Outlets 4.00
Distributors 0.50
Shopping Malls 5.00
Distribution Medium Relative Score
Small Shops 5.00
Exclusive Outlets 0.50
Distributors 4.00
Shopping Malls 1.00
The scores indicate relative affinity to distribution medium similar to the way it is represented for advertising media. Hence for
fashion fanatics, product placement in shopping malls is ten times as effective as placement in small shops.

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As members of the executive team, you would have to take the following
decisions:
1. Production Capacity – Deciding the count of machines that need to be added /
decommissioned from any plant to meet the market demand
2. Supply Chain Strategy – Defining the source of product supply for the three
markets in order to minimize supply chain costs
3. Product Pricing – Deciding the price for the products taking into account the
expected price elasticity. Prices would be uniform over all markets
4. Advertising – Allocating the advertising investments in TV, Print, Radio and
Digital media in every region to create market demand
5. Distribution Presence – Selecting the appropriate methods of sales and
distribution in order to meet the demand created through advertising

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The company would come across three strategic decisions :
Since the game would be simulated for 5 years, each of these decisions
would have substantial impact on the company’s performance.
Year 1 : New Product Launch
Year 2 : Technology Investment
Year 3 : Licensing
Decide which of the new product concepts have to be moved into production and
plan the associated activities related to the launch of a new product
Choose from amongst the available technology options which can either reduce
assembly and packaging costs or help increase product sales
Bid for a technology license which can provide a unique advantage by enhancing your
product portfolio’s technology and features

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New Product Launch
(Decision in which the team has aligned individual and team objectives)
• Teams would be given the option to launch 2 products which have been
researched by the R&D Team.
• Each product would require an initial investment amount referred to as
the Launch Cost which needs to be incurred to put the R&D effort into
production.
• The teams can choose to launch multiple products or even drop the idea
of launching a new product
• All associated decisions on Pricing, Distribution, Advertising and Capacity
Management would have to be taken accordingly

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The company would be offered 2 options for product launch in year 1
Technology Rating 5
Design Rating 6
Features Rating 8
Price Rating 7
Technology Rating 10
Design Rating 9
Features Rating 9
Price Rating 3
Raw Material Cost $90
Assembly Cost $40
Packaging Cost $20
Total Variable Cost $150
Raw Material Cost $175
Assembly Cost $75
Packaging Cost $50
Total Variable Cost $300
Launch Cost = $7,500,000
(Research suggests that a contribution margin of
30% – 50% is appropriate for this product)
Launch Cost = $10,000,000
(Research suggests that a contribution margin of
50% – 75% is appropriate for this product)
Slider Phone with Keypad Next Generation Smart Phone

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Technology Investment
(Decision where a particular department would have vested interests which conflict
with the overall objectives)
• Teams would be presented with technologies which can reduce product
operating costs, increase manufacturing efficiency or enhance product
sales
• Each technology would require an initial investment amount referred to
as the Launch Cost which would be required to reap its benefits
• The teams can choose to invest in multiple technologies or can proceed
without investing in any technology
• Each Technology Investment would have an associated time to launch
during which the company would not get any benefits of the technology

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The company would be offered 2 investment options in year 2
Reduction in Assembly Costs by 25%
Reduction in Packaging Costs by 40%
Design Score Improvement +1
Feature Score Improvement +1
Launch Cost = $45,000,000 Launch Cost = $35,000,000
Robotic Production Line Design and Interface Upgrade
Reduce your operating
costs by deploying
assembly and packaging
robots designed with
precision engineering tools
and programmable
movements.
With a better physical
design and an Interface
upgrade with voice and
touch assisted inputs to
empower your device, the
devices would surely catch
more eyeballs

15. © 2013 Wise Cells Learning Solutions LLP. All Rights Reserved
Licensing
(Decision in which the inter-team discussions would be required in which the teams
would either opt for collaborative strategies or competing strategies)
• Teams would be get an option to bid for two licenses one referring to a
reduction in raw material costs and the second referring to a product
upgrade
• The bidding process would be such that the teams would have to select
from among the given bid prices. In the event of a tie, all teams would
get a shared license at the bid price.
• However, even if one of the teams opt to submit a different bid, the
highest bidder would win the license and can exclusively enjoy the
benefits of the license

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The company would be allowed to place a bid for licensing in year 3
Technology Score Improvement +1
Feature Score Improvement +1
Additional annual average revenue
per new user added subsequently
$15
Place Bid
Multimedia Rights Mega App store
Switch on to unlimited
entertainment on the go!
Get access to a whole new
range of movies and
unlimited music content
and give more to your
customers.
Millions of apps for
smartphone for your
customers. This license is
exclusively for smart
phones
$10MN $16 MN $22MN
$6MN $12 MN $18MN
$8MN $14 MN $20MN
Place Bid
$28MN$16 MN $22MN
$24MN$12 MN $18MN
$26MN$14 MN $20MN

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The winner would be decided on the following parameters:
1. Company’s Net Profits
2. Company’s Market Share
Each of these parameter would carry weights and would give an
overall score to each team which would determine the winner. In
the event of a tie in the overall score, the priority would be in the
order of the parameters mentioned above

18. © 2013 Wise Cells Learning Solutions LLP. All Rights Reserved
Inder Raj Singh Virdi
Phone : +91-97 02 05 01 73
Email : inderraj.virdi@wisecells.com
For any queries / issues pertaining to the Business Strategy Simulation Game,
please feel free to get in touch…