Fresh Connection holds critical learnings for supply chain strategists – Appletiser
Deadline for entries to the web-based strategy game is looming, and last year’s SA champs believe
it’s not about whether you play, but how many teams you enter…
Internationally, it’s considered the ultimate supply chain strategy game. Designed to help key
decision-makers improve their supply chain knowledge and increase efficiencies to boost business
performance, The Fresh Connection Challenge is all about outcomes:
•
Building effective, dynamic teams and enhancing cross-functional insight
•
Developing advanced decisioning skills and learning how to effectively manage trade-offs
•
Aligning strategy and translating it into action in logistics and supply chains
•
Driving corporate profitability, and optimising the balance sheet
The South African champions from last year’s competition, Appletiser SA, went on to come second in
the global finals in Barcelona.
Two of the Appletiser team leaders, Supply Chain Manager Duncan Mutch and Procurement
Manager Nico Olivier, believe the game has big lessons for supply chain professionals – so much so,
that they’re both making themselves available to anyone interested in learning more about the
challenge (see their contact details below).
“The Fresh Connection Challenge is more than just a training opportunity,” says Olivier. “The
sensitivity and complexity built into the game makes it really exciting – not just for relative novices
but for the most experienced experts in supply chain theory.”
The game is all about making the best strategic and tactical supply chain calls to save the fictitious
company, The Fresh Connection, from financial ruin. Organizations can enter as many teams as they
like (which can also make for healthy internal competition) but each team must comprise four
players, representing Purchasing, Operations, Sales and the Supply Chain.
“Going into the challenge last year,” says Mutch, “the growth of the business had already forced us
to recognize the increasing complexity of the supply chain. We knew we had to change the way we
were doing things – the sustainability of the business demanded it.”
“Playing The Fresh Connection gave us a lot of insight. Perhaps the biggest learning we took from it
was to set your business strategy and to ensure that the supply chain decisions were aligned “
“When you go into the game, all four of you on the team need to decide what you’re trying to
achieve in the market place, and then align your whole supply chain to meet that ultimate goal.
When your tactics don’t support the overall strategy, you get punished. That’s why the game is such
a true reflection of reality.”
The brilliance of the game is its inbuilt sensitivity to any strategic misalignment in the decisions you
take.
“The temptation to step out of your strategy to take advantage of other opportunities is always
there. But when you succumb to that temptation you are caught out and penalized straight away,”
says Mutch.
“In real life, the impact of your decisions might only be realized six months down the road. The game
enables you to learn the quality of your decisioning at a much faster pace.”
“It’s amazing how counter-intuitive some of your decisions are when you’re forced to align with the
strategy, and yet they get the right results at the end of the day.”
“It’s possible that this happens when you’re so in the moment that you lose sight of the overall
objectives. What feels right in your gut given the immediate context isn’t right when you have your
eye on the big picture. Paying more for your raw materials, but making sure you have the flexibility
and reliability of the supplier, is a good example. Low-cost product doesn’t help you if the delivery
isn’t there when you need it.”
“In a way the game also challenges you to relook what kind of information dashboard you need to
help monitor your strategy,” says Olivier. “Supply chain professionals often make the mistake of not
studying the income statement and balance sheet as part of their analysis.”
The Game vs Reality
After the finals, the senior players from the Appletiser team sat down and agreed on what they had
learned from the game and how they were going to apply those insights to the company strategy
going forward.
“Obviously it’s a lot harder to get the strategy aligned throughout the organization than it is in the
game,” says Olivier. “You still have to contend with silos and individuals who don’t see how their
objectives fit in with the strategy you’re trying to implement. It’s a real challenge to get all the
various departments pulling in the same direction.”
Olivier says that one of the great benefits of the game is that it forces you to ask questions and
challenge every decision you make. “The game ultimately enabled us to develop a new culture
within the organization – a culture of openness, of questioning and challenging each other to find
the better solution.”
“In real life you often find yourself contending with a mixture of urgent and important decisions to
make. It’s easy to go into damage control mode which often clashes with your long-term objectives.
The game taught us important lessons about this.”
“In the finals in Barcelona, for instance, we had three rounds to play with very tight deadlines. You
can’t analyze all the information you have at hand ad infinitum – maybe you don’t even have all the
information available – and yet you are forced to make a decision. We made a tactical decision
which went against our supply chain strategy and it came back to bite us.”
Play the game
The Qualification Stage takes place between March and April. The Global Challenge, which will see
the overall SA champions fly to Turkey, takes place between 29 April and 7 June. The best-
performing SA teams per industry sector will be honoured at Logistics News’ annual Achiever
Awards.
Industry sectors include: Agriculture, Automotive, Chemicals, Engineering & Manufacturing, Life
Sciences & Pharmaceuticals, Mining, Oil & Gas, Renewable Energy, Retail, Consumables, Fashion &
Apparel, Supply Chain Services and Technology.
Register now
The cost for entry per team of four is R7,500.
To enter one or more teams register by 1 March at www.thefreshconnection.org.za
For more information contact Emma Engelbrecht on 021 935 6600 or Emma.Engelbrecht@dhl.com
For more insight on the game from a player’s perspective, contact Duncan Mutch
(duncanm@appletiser.net) or Nico Olivier (nicoo@appletiser.net)