Business Reality™ 201

Business Reality 201® is a comprehensive board-based simulation that looks at the delicate relationship between distributors and manufacturers. The ultimate goal is to allow both sides to gain a better understanding of how the other’s business operates and how dependent each one is on the other.

In this program, there are multiple linked pairs of distributors and manufacturers. Each linked pair (company) competes against the other pairs. Each company consists of three to four players. So in the above picture, there are two companies, with six to eight people sitting around the table.

Each company needs to put its own strategy together as well as create an integrated strategy on areas of the business, such as:

• Supply-Chain Management
• Competitive Pricing
• Margin
• Market Share
• Product Mix and Market Leadership
• Rebates and Much More

There are four roles in this simulation:

• Sales and Marketing
• Business Strategy
• Finance
• Operations

Each of the two companies that make up the paired team has these managerial roles. The real-world distribution and manufacturing participants are mixed so that everyone gets to walk in each other’s shoes. Both companies, though paired, are responsible for driving their own profits first. One of the realizations that come from this program is that both sides learn just how much their success is based on the trust that is built by being strategically aligned with their business partner.