WebSim
Click your left mouse button to progress through the demo
When MikesBikes-Intro
(MB-I) starts you will be
able to see the Change
Firm Name screen.
This is your opportunity to
change the name of your
firm.
Pushing the right
arrow takes you to
the next page.
The second decision tree item is the
Year Ahead.
The first page of the report is a news
update on the scenario, explaining
what it is that you should be trying
to achieve in MB-I.
The Strategic Company
Planning report gives you a
reminder of the key steps
involved in constructing a
strategic company plan.
Check your textbook for a
more detailed discussion of
strategic planning.
The Scenario Information reports
(Market research tree item) give you
a reminder of the market information
that you need to consider when
making your decisions in MB-I.
Read the manual for a more detailed
discussion.
The Firm Marketing Scenario
Information screen gives
details on market segment
characteristics in different
distribution channels.
Information on stores
stocking your bikes is also
available.
See help
Or your manual for further
information
Other Scenario Information screen
gives details about Capacity
planning, and Finance.
See Help
Or your manual for more
information.
The Industry Reports give you
reports on the MB-I industry.
The first page of this report is a
summary of the key results and an
explanation of the other reports.
The Industry Benchmark Report
provides you with an in-depth
look at your Key Performance
Indicators.
Shareholder Value (SHV) is the
most important figure, as this is
how teams are ranked.
Market share of your
industry can be easily
viewed in the Market Share
report.
Firm Results gives you reports
detailing the financial
performance of your firm.
The first page of this report is a
summary of the key results
and an explanation of what the
other reports are.
Here you can see
that your firm is
failing to meet its
profit forecasts.
Financial Management
gives you reports detailing
the likely cash position of
your firm.
The first page of this report
is a summary of the key
results and an explanation
of the other reports.
Here you can see
that your firm
has enough cash
to implement its
current decisions
Product Marketing gives
you reports detailing the
performance of your
products.
The first page of this report
is a summary of the key
results and an explanation
of the other reports.
The Market Summary (All Product
Details) report is on the second page
of the Product Marketing tree item.
It gives you key market research
about all of the products in the MB-I
market.
You start the simulation with a
Mountain Bike product. In year 4 you
are able to launch bikes into one of
the empty market segments (Youth
or Road), or redevelop your
Mountain Bike to lower production
costs and/or improve specifications.
On the Pricing tab you can
set your product’s retail
price and sales forecast.
In this example we have
decreased the price to $540
and increased the sales
forecast to 21,000 units
On the Advertising tab you can
set your product’s TV, Internet and
Magazine advertising budgets.
On the Public Relations
tab you can set your
product’s TV, Internet and
Magazine PR budgets.
The Firm Marketing tree item gives you
reports detailing the performance of your
distribution and branding strategies.
The first page of this report is a summary
of the key results and an explanation of
the other reports.
The Operations Management tree
item gives you reports detailing the
performance of your capacity and
inventory strategies.
The first page of this report is a
summary of the key results and an
explanation of the other reports.
Here you must decide how
many bikes to produce of
each of your products, any
existing inventory is
automatically added to your
units for sale.
We have changed this figure
to 21,000 as we planned to
sell this amount in the
Pricing and Promotion tab
earlier.
Clicking on the
Production Planner
opens this decision
screen.
The Forecast Results
tree item gives you
reports detailing the
forecast financial
performance of your
firm for next year based
on the decisions that
you have entered.
The first page of this
report is a summary of
the key results and an
explanation of what the
other reports are.
We are expecting a
22% increase in net
income from last
year.
The Pro Forma Gross Margin
Report outlines forecasted sales,
Forecasted revenue, and Cost of
Goods Sold. This gives a final
Forecasted Gross Margin figure,
as can be seen at the bottom of
the page.
After a Rollover, you should always
check the Year Ahead tab. This screen
gives you important information about
new decision options and other
company information.
The Adviser box gives you a
brief summary of your Firms
Key Performance Indicators.
Clicking on the indicators will
open a help file explaining
each.
You need to check your Market
Research tab every rollover. Market
sizes and media viewing habits can
change from year to year. You will need
to know this in order to adjust your
strategy accordingly.
The Industry Reports tab is useful to
get a picture of where your company
stands against its competitors. We
can see here on the Overview of
Industry Reports that our firm has
made around $209,000 more profit
than its competitors. Shareholder
Value can also be seen at the bottom
of the screen.
The Industry Benchmark Report gives
you an in depth view of the financial
health of all competing firms. We can
see here that our Share Price is leading
the market at $10.18
On the Firm Results tab we can see
how accurate our forecasts were.
Our net income was $36,398 (or 3%)
higher than predicted this year
In year 2, the Distribution and
Branding decision screen
becomes available. Here you
can make decisions about
extra support budgets and
retailer margins.
On the Branding tab you
can set your corporate
branding budget.
Having a strong
corporate brand makes
your product advertising
more effective.
In year 3, The Year Ahead tab
advises us that we can now
adjust our capacity
requirements. It also advises
us on developing a Capacity
Management System.
In year 3, you are able to
adjust your plant’s
capacity. Clicking the
Capacity Planner tab
opens this decision
screen
The Efficiency tab in
Capacity Planner allows
you to adjust your
expenditure on plant
efficiency. The graph
shows you the required
investment for certain
levels of efficiency.
The Quality tab opens the Quality
Expenditure decision screen.
Here we can adjust our spending
in quality assurance. The graph
indicates the required investment
for certain levels of quality.
Here you can choose which
segment you wish to launch a
new product into. Remember to
set your pricing, planned
production, and advertising
decisions once the new
product has launched. See your
manual for more information.
Now that you have full control
over the company, you are
able to develop new products.
Clicking on the empty Product
Slot will bring you to this
decision screen.
Now try logging into the MikesBikes-Intro WebSim for
yourself. Take 15 to 30 minutes to go through all of the
screens and reports. We also recommend that you read
through the Players Manual.
Your team will then be able to make decisions for the first
year, ensure your final set of decisions are entered before
each rollover date. Remember to review reports after a
rollover to see which areas you have done well in, and where
improvements are necessary.
Good Luck!