A new board game aims to get young people around the world interested in supply chain. The UK version of Business on the Move emerged in late 2014, with support from nearly 50 sponsors throughout the logistics, retail and education sectors.
A number of milestones within the supply chain board game include delivering goods to the customer on time and gaining more profit than your fellow players. The makers of the game say that this will help educate the future supply chain workforce.
Real businesses are featured in the game, which was the source of the early funding and also adds an element of realism to the experience. For example, delivery companies such as DHL and the Stobart Group can be used by players for simulated deliveries into major supermarkets.
The makers of the game now need a second wave of funding to support development of a global version of the game.
The initial success of the product in the UK has come from its distribution into many schools and higher education institutions, as the educational benefits of learning about the world of logistics become clear. Whilst students learn about freight and inventory, the brands that are supporting the enterprise get to improve their reputations in the community.
A brand such as Unipart Logistics would be otherwise unheard of outside of the industry, but the workforce of the future can now engage with these supply chain brands and have a real insight into the journeys our everyday consumer goods embark on.
As well as the big brands, schemes such as this can only help the logistics industry as a whole, because it builds awareness of the massive network of haulage, retail and warehousing companies throughout the UK.