LINKS Sign-Up Form:
LINKS Multi-Channel Management
Simulation
This LINKS Sign-Up Form provides essential information to permit LINKS Simulations staff to
manage LINKS on your behalf.
This LINKS Sign-Up Form is for one industry or for multiple industries with identical game-run
schedules. Use separate LINKS Sign-Up Forms for industries with different game-run schedules.
LINKS Simulations Variant
Multi-Channel Management Simulation
Instructor’s Name
Instructor’s College/University
Instructor’s Phone Number(s)
Instructor’s E-Mail Address
Course Number/Title/Section
Number of Firms (between 2 and 8)
For multiple industries with identical game-run schedules, identify the number of firms for each industry in
the “Number of Firms” line above. For example, “Two Industries: A (4 firms) and B (5 firms).”
Payment Method
If students are paying for LINKS with personal credit cards via the “Pay For LINKS” link on the LINKS
website, Payment Method is “Students Pay With Personal Credit Cards.” If the instructor’s institution is
paying for LINKS via institutional invoice attached to an e-mail message sent to the instructor (for forwarding
to the relevant within-institution person), Payment Method is “Institutional Invoice.”
LINKS staff execute scheduled game runs daily at 900am, 100pm, 500pm, and 900pm U.S.
Eastern Time. Please choose one of these four times for each round in your LINKS event.
If other game run times are desired (e.g., with multiple game runs per day or in
corporate/ExecEd events with LINKS), please contact us (LINKS@LINKS-simulations.com)
well ahead of time to ensure that our staff can meet your specific game run scheduling needs.
LINKS Schedule
Date
Time
(your local time)
Special Instructions and
Instructor-Optional Switches
Initialization (and
advancement to Q#3 and
passcode e-mailing to you
and your students)
Q#4
Q#5
Q#6
Q#7
Q#8
Q#9
Q#10
[round 1]
[round 2]
[round 3]
[round 4]
[round 5]
[round 6]
[round 7]
In academic degree-granting programs, the LINKS Multi-Channel Management Simulation costs
$38 per student for a six-round event (after initialization and advancement to quarter #3, the
normal starting position when students assume managerial control of their LINKS firm). Extra
rounds beyond six cost an additional $4 per student per extra round.
Here’s a sample LINKS schedule for a LINKS Multi-Channel Management Simulation event.
For information about other instructor-optional switches, access the LINKS sign-up webpage
(http://www.LINKS-simulations.com/sign-up.php) or the “Customizing LINKS” link on the LINKS
Simulations website. To discuss the design of your LINKS event and the use of instructoroptional switches, please contact Randy Chapman (LINKS@LINKS-simulations.com).
LINKS Schedule
Initialization (and
Time
Date
(your local
time)
February 22
Anytime
March 1
March 8
13:00
13:00
Special Instructions and InstructorOptional Switches
Initialize with products 3 and 4 inactive.
advancement to Q#3 and
passcode e-mailing to you
and your students)
Q#4
Q#5
[round 1]
[round 2]
Activate products 3 and 4 for Q#6
inputs.
[round 3]
Q#6
March 15
13:00
[round 4]
Q#7
March 29
17:00
[round
5]
Q#8
April 5
17:00
[round 6]
Q#9
April 12
21:00
Last LINKS round is a double-run.
[round
7]
Q#10
Notes: This sample schedule shows regular weekly decision inputs on the same week days.
Such “regularity” is not a requirement, but it’s a typical scheduling pattern in academic degreegranting programs to help LINKS students in their time management and work-life scheduling.
Please send the completed “LINKS
Sign-Up Form” as an e-mail
attachment to LINKS Simulations
(LINKS@LINKS-simulations.com).
Please communicate any necessary
scheduling changes after your LINKS event
begins via e-mail to LINKS Simulations
(LINKS@LINKS-simulations.com).
About the LINKS Multi-Channel Management Simulation
The LINKS Multi-Channel Management Simulation is a sophisticated, team-based, competitive
marketing management simulation. LINKS firms are manufacturers in the simulated set-top box
industry. Product-line portfolio management through indirect and direct channels (retail,
direct/e-commerce, and major accounts) is emphasized with branded and private-label products
in multiple categories and market regions.
The LINKS Multi-Channel Management Simulation is targeted at channels management, channels of
distribution, and category management courses where multi-channel management is a major focus.
Starting Conditions
 Two products actively marketed in most channels in three regions. Two private-label
products, products 3 (a Hyperware product) and product 4 (a Metaware product), are or are
not available initially (at the instructor’s discretion) but they are not actively distributed in any
channels/regions at initialization.
 As of Q#3, average per-firm profitability is approximately $2,500,000 on revenues of about
$77,000,000.
 Average per-firm Q#3 demand (i.e., sales volume in units):
Region 1
Region 2
Region 3
(“U.S.A.”)
(“Europe”) (“Pacific”)
Hyperware
Metaware

45,000
35,000
25,000
17,000
43,000
18,000
Status of product configurations (estimated product quality perceptions, a perceptual rating
scale which ranges from 0% to 100%):
Initial
Region 1
Region 2
Region 3
Configuration
(“U.S.A.”)
(“Europe”) (“Pacific”)
Product 1 (Hyperware)
Product 2 (Metaware)
Product 3 (Hyperware)
Product 4 (Metaware)
H55221
M55542
H11101
M11101
3%
8%
Inactive
Inactive
4%
14%
Inactive
Inactive
4%
36%
Inactive
Inactive
Some Initial Firm Decisions (For Q#4 and Beyond)
 Since the firms have been on “auto-pilot” for the initial three quarters, forecasts must be
updated immediately, presumably with reference to the sales history provided in the
Forecasting Accuracy Report (included near the end of each firm’s standard financial and
operating reports).
 With updated forecasts, finished goods inventory levels must be examined carefully. Firms
have been on “auto-pilot” for three quarters and over- or under-inventory situations might
exist.
 No research studies are provided with the initial Q#3 results, so initial firm decisions must
include consideration of which research studies would be useful in the future. This
point/recommendation must be made quite forcefully by the LINKS instructor, to get the
students’ attention in the “blitz” of the overwhelming initial activity set in LINKS as students
assume managerial control of their firms.
 Since all channels aren’t fully populated with the existing products when students assume
managerial control of their LINKS firms after Q#3, there is an apparent immediate growth
opportunity … to launch inactive products into unpopulated channels. Of course, there’s

always the associated provocative question: is there sufficient channel-specific volume
potential present to yield a profitable business opportunity in the (currently) unpopulated
channels?
Products 3 and 4, private-label products, are also available to firms in the LINKS MultiChannel Management Simulation. A major issue is whether a private-label product is
profitable to include in a firms’ product portfolio in the set-top box industry. Just because a
private-label product is an option, that doesn’t automatically mean that a private-label
product should be launched. It still remains to be determined whether the active marketing
of a private-label product is a wise business decision or not.
Advanced Options
1. Activate additional market regions (to a maximum of six).
2. Activate zero-interest credit financing as an additional channel- and region-specific
generate-demand decision variable for each product.
3. Activate the recycling/recovery generate demand decision variable.
4. Change costs in material ways (e.g., increase Alpha and Beta raw materials costs by 25%).
5. In a longer event (i.e., more than six rounds), service management insourcing might be
activated to provide additional management challenge. This would presumably be done
about Q#6, for use by the LINKS students in their Q#7 inputs and beyond.