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Automotive industry · programme 05

Synchronise the supply chain

Get production, logistics and suppliers working together.

Why this programme

Just-in-time, sequencing, shortages: one missing part stops an entire line. Teams manage a simulated supply chain in which each department holds only part of the information. They quickly discover that performance comes from coordination, not from each department optimising on its own.

What your teams experience

  1. The flow game: pass orders between suppliers, logistics and assembly, and watch the bullwhip effect.
  2. The shortage: a part is missing and teams have ten minutes to save production.
  3. Sequencing: deliver the right parts to the line side, in the right order.
  4. The departments’ pact: each team makes a commitment to the next team in the chain.

Each activity opens and closes with a projected cinematic sequence, personalised for your teams. The facilitator sets the pace: nothing moves forward without them.

What the company gains

A better understanding of each department’s constraints, less tension between production and logistics, and practical ideas for securing flows.

Staging written for you

In your client area, a form specific to this programme collects your content: it is built into the challenges and cinematic sequences, exactly as you provide it. The look uses your logo and your colours. Teams are formed on the spot or based on your organisation chart.

Follow-up, up to D+30

Your follow-up dashboard stays with the programme, from the order to the final results.

  • After the session: the session report, with the gap between the opening and closing measures.
  • At D+7: a reminder asks a few key questions again, and the D+7 report shows what has been retained.
  • At D+30: a second reminder, and the D+30 report shows what holds over time.

Follow-up: before, during, after

The sources of this programme

The published research that this programme's games, measures and debriefs refer to. You can check every reference.

  1. Lee, H. L., Padmanabhan, V., & Whang, S. (1997). Information distortion in a supply chain: The bullwhip effect. Management Science, 43(4), 546-558. 10.1287/mnsc.43.4.546
  2. Cachon, G. P., Randall, T., & Schmidt, G. M. (2007). In search of the bullwhip effect. Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, 9(4), 457-479. 10.1287/msom.1060.0149
  3. Sterman, J. D. (1989). Modeling managerial behavior: Misperceptions of feedback in a dynamic decision making experiment. Management Science, 35(3), 321-339. 10.1287/mnsc.35.3.321
  4. Croson, R., & Donohue, K. (2006). Behavioral causes of the bullwhip effect and the observed value of inventory information. Management Science, 52(3), 323-336. 10.1287/mnsc.1050.0436
  5. Gittell, J. H. (2002). Coordinating mechanisms in care provider groups: Relational coordination as a mediator and input uncertainty as a moderator of performance effects. Management Science, 48(11), 1408-1426. 10.1287/mnsc.48.11.1408.268
  6. Stasser, G., & Titus, W. (1985). Pooling of unshared information in group decision making: Biased information sampling during discussion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 48(6), 1467-1478. 10.1037/0022-3514.48.6.1467
  7. Wagner, S. M., & Silveira-Camargos, V. (2011). Decision model for the application of just-in-sequence. International Journal of Production Research, 49(19), 5713-5736. 10.1080/00207543.2010.505216
  8. Gollwitzer, P. M., & Sheeran, P. (2006). Implementation intentions and goal achievement: A meta-analysis of effects and processes. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 69-119. 10.1016/S0065-2601(06)38002-1
  9. Howard, G. S. (1980). Response-shift bias: A problem in evaluating interventions with pre/post self-reports. Evaluation Review, 4(1), 93-106. 10.1177/0193841X8000400105
Further reading (1 reference)

Other research we drew on to design this programme.

  1. Lu, L., Yuan, Y. C., & McLeod, P. L. (2012). Twenty-five years of hidden profiles in group decision making: A meta-analysis. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 16(1), 54-75. 10.1177/1088868311417243
Shared foundations (8 references)

The mechanics of all our sessions (team play, the debrief, the before-and-after measure, spaced reminders) and the research that also underpins the other programmes in the same specialty or sector.

  1. Burke, M. J., Sarpy, S. A., Smith-Crowe, K., Chan-Serafin, S., Salvador, R. O., & Islam, G. (2006). Relative effectiveness of worker safety and health training methods. American Journal of Public Health, 96(2), 315-324. 10.2105/AJPH.2004.059840
  2. Tannenbaum, S. I., & Cerasoli, C. P. (2013). Do team and individual debriefs enhance performance? A meta-analysis. Human Factors, 55(1), 231-245. 10.1177/0018720812448394
  3. Roediger, H. L., & Karpicke, J. D. (2006). Test-enhanced learning. Psychological Science, 17(3), 249-255. 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01693.x
  4. Edmondson, A. C. (1999). Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2), 350-383. 10.2307/2666999
  5. Reason, J. (2000). Human error: Models and management. BMJ, 320(7237), 768-770. 10.1136/bmj.320.7237.768
  6. MacDuffie, J. P. (1995). Human resource bundles and manufacturing performance: Organizational logic and flexible production systems in the world auto industry. ILR Review, 48(2), 197-221. 10.1177/001979399504800201
  7. Shah, R., & Ward, P. T. (2003). Lean manufacturing: Context, practice bundles, and performance. Journal of Operations Management, 21(2), 129-149. 10.1016/S0272-6963(02)00108-0
  8. Deming, W. E. (1986). Out of the Crisis. MIT Center for Advanced Engineering Study (ouvrage).

Before you book

How is a Corporate Solutions experience different from team building?

It starts from a business objective, not an activity: onboarding new hires, preventing a risk, bringing your commitments to life. It is staged for your company, with your content, your figures and your brand. Your teams play in person, on their phones, while a big screen tells the story and a facilitator runs the room. And it is followed up: the session report, then the D+7 and D+30 reminders in your client area.

Do we need to install an app?

No. Participants scan a QR code and play in their phone's browser. No account, no password, no installation. It works on iPhone and Android.

Is there a limit on the number of participants?

No. The platform adapts to your headcount, from a small team to the whole company, in one or several rooms.

Demo

See “Synchronise the supply chain” in action.

Thirty minutes on your premises. You play a challenge and see the report at the end.

Request a demo