new competencies and
innovations in logistics

Realgame was developed at Turku School of Economics and Business Administration and it was used for teaching students in several universities. Furthermore, the game has been used in company training sessions, mostly at Edutech (Centre for Continuing Education, Tampere University of Technology) since the beginning of 2001.

Turku School of Economics and Business Administration took the initiative of the business game, because they needed an education tool, which could give the students a holistic view of the business processes. Other traditional business games used in training have been batch-processed, and have a simplified view of the organisational functioning and relationships between decisions and outcomes. The objective of the Realgame is to provide a realistic and complex model of business functions, so the game also can be used for further training and not only as an introduction to a theoretical element.

Realgame is a business process-learning tool for educational and business organisations. The core purpose of the training is to enhance participant business process understanding in both understanding production processes and understanding the position of logistics in the whole production set-up. Understanding processes is becoming more and more important in business organisations that have adopted new ways of organisation and/or decentralised their decision-making. Open forms of organisation and increased employee responsibility think that to achieve purposeful results the decision-makers have to become aware of the mechanisms taking place in organisations. Potential game training participants are middle managers, foremen, businessmen and scientific experts. Realgame's configurability and the possibility to adjust the game clock speed during the training make it possible to use the game for very different kinds of target groups.

Realgame is a business game, which differs from the vast majority of business games by the way it represents the ongoing business to the game participants. The game represents business processes on a transactional level (opposed to traditional business games, which represent aggregate level information of business). The basic idea of the use of the game is to give the game participants a holistic process based view of the functioning of a manufacturing company, which also includes the logistics operations. This is accomplished by representing a continuous flow of business operations.

In the gaming process the participant learning is based on individual experience, teamwork and exchange of ideas. The game represents the functioning of a manufacturing company in the form of materials, monetary and information processes. In the extreme, the game is tailored to represent the environment of the case organisation utilising the game.

Realgame differs from other business games in the sense that it is real-time processed. In general, business games have been batch-processed. This means that the participants have created budgets during the gaming, the budgets have been given to the simulation model, and then the simulation has given the results as output to the participants. What is missing here is the interaction between the participants and the model during the simulation. As Realgame is real-time processed, it means that the participants are part of the business processes and the game company functions are transparent. Everything happening inside the game company and also the external business transactions can be seen on the screens of the participants' computers. This game transparency was the main motivation in developing the game. In this respect the game resembles board games like Monopoly, but it also includes very realistic information and monetary flows.

The purpose of a Realgame training is to set the participants in a position where they have to steer a manufacturing company. During the game the participants make different kinds of decisions within the company functions. This means that they manage the material flows, follow the game reports, try to react to competitor market actions as soon as possible, and so on. For example, decisions are made on terms of delivery, sales prices, terms of payment, marketing investments, and product development. In order to keep the game demanding enough the participants also have to manage the materials process (purchasing, steering the production process, deliveries) and the monetary process. There can be up to eight companies competing against each other and the optimum amount of personnel in each company is three persons.

The course of gaming is as follows:

1. Participants are made acquainted with the game user interface. At this phase the game time proceeds so that one game hour takes place in 30 real world seconds.
2. After some 1,5 to 2 hours the game speed will be increased so that one game hour will pass in 15 real world seconds.
3. Again, after some 2 hours the game becomes faster and one game hour will pass in 1-2 real world seconds.
4. During and after the game, the participants will analyse their performance, both internally and compared to their competitors. During these exercises the game clock will be halted.

In other words, the participants are constantly competing against the other companies and everything they decide will effect the performance of their own company and also the performance of their competitors.

The Realgame is a combination of a business game and an interactive training system that can be customised to the in-house company training.

The use of Realgame gives the user following competences:

• A realistic view of the processes within the company. This view will give the participants a better understanding of the relationship between the different business areas. E.g. logistics, sales, purchasing, production planning and accounting.
• The possibility to simulate different strategic set-ups. This simulation can set a focus on e.g. the investment strategy, distribution strategy or production mix. The different possibilities of set-up of the game make it possible to create a "virtual world", which reacts like the real world.
• A better understanding of the need for different points of view to optimise the flow. During the playing time, the participants will have to make different solutions, and will also have the possibility to discuss these with the rest of the game team. Therefore many company relevant problems are discussed, and arguments for alternative solutions are made.

The benefit of Realgame depends on the functions the participants fulfil in the company. The primary benefit is related to the daily functions, but during the game also other aspects and relations within the company will be clarified. Therefore the game is especially valuable for people who have cross-functional positions, e.g. logistics analysts, because the game will show both working procedures internally in the primary function area, and also show how related function areas work and react. Using these results, it is easier to optimise internal working procedures because the reaction model is known.

Using a business game as a training programme a close connection with the real world is required. Without this connection the permanent results of the training may be minimal. Therefore it is important to have the possibility to customise the business game to the specific company or learning situation.

The participants of the game often say that they have gained much more new knowledge, but typically it is difficult to point out which exact new knowledge they gained. Therefore it is difficult to point out exactly which (new) qualifications result from the business game.

The business game is a tool for training and improvement of the employees. The interactive use of business games in combination with discussion within the game group opens up the mind for new solutions, which can be used in the daily work.

Realgame is analysed to point out the user reactions and to improve the game and the game process. Some of the conclusions are:

• The continuous processing element of Realgame helps the participants to see how different business processes, emerge, are elaborated and are linked with each other.
• The game participants clearly regard the gaming experiences as useful, but they have difficulty in expressing what the concrete benefit from the session was. Realgame helped the participants to construct a holistic view of the functioning of a manufacturing company and to see the interdependencies between different business operations.

The use of Realgame gives the participants a better knowledge of the supply chain and the different elements that influence the supply chain. By using a business game it is possible to simulate different business set-ups, and have a direct response to changing conditions. Therefore business games have the possibility to add new points of view in all theoretical and practical company trainings, in which the game has the ability to adjust to the actual training situation.

Transferable elements:

• Business game as simulator. The business game gives the participants the possibility to simulate different set-ups. This will give the possibility to reflect on the daily handling and input for future strategy.
• Business game as training system. The use of the game will train the participants to both analyse the actual situation and to discuss which possibilities they have to influence the situation. This requires the business game to be customised, so the training situation is similar to the real work.

For further information about Realgame see also www.tukkk.fi/~tlainema/Realgame.htm