Experiential learning opportunities are rapidly increasing in popularity as a highly effective way for professionals to gain real-world experience – but without the usual risk. This is especially suitable to professionals in the supply chain that need to get the right products/services to the right places at the right time and cost. “This is hands-on learning without the risk of making expensive mistakes, giving people the chance to learn in a short space of time what would ordinarily take years for them to learn,” says SAPICS director David Goldschmidt, Supply Chain Development Manager of Optimum Learning Technologies. Experiential learning brings the reality of the supply chain closer to home, enabling people to learn in a simulated environment – a bit like training pilots on flight simulators. “In just a few days, you can learn from all the errors you might have made in ten years in the workplace.”

According to Goldschmidt, experiential learning opportunities are of great benefit to a wide range of supply chain professionals, from Directors to Planners, and from Finance to Supply Chain and Sales. “All the participants who have been exposed to experiential learning simulations on our programs have confirmed that learning in this way provides an ideal development opportunity for cross-functional teams, S&OP leadership groups, development programmes, and all those involved in optimising the value chain and increasing business performance.”

“As the simulation environment is dynamic, decisions made closely reflect reality, and if they are incorrect or non-aligned, impact the business negatively,” says Goldschmidt. “Taking part in such a simulation re-enforces the need for a solid and well-communicated supply chain strategy, as well as tactical skills and knowledge that result in operational effectiveness – and ultimately, market success.” It also illustrates the importance of collaboration and trade-offs that are encountered in everyday decision-making. “A key component of the learning process is the team dynamics, group discussions and technical analysis that go into forming and achieving the overall supply chain strategy.” “Simulations are designed to be relevant to most supply chain and operations environments,” concludes Goldschmidt. “This is as close to the real thing as it gets.”

One example of such experiential learning, according to Liezl Smith, also a director at SAPICS, is the Littlefield Technologies simulation game, a factory simulator that allows students to compete with each other over the web while developing operations management skills.  It has been successfully used at the graduate and undergraduate level by thousands of students at more than a dozen universities. In a typical setting, students are divided into teams, and compete to maximize their cash position through various decisions. “Time spent away from the office on training and further education is many times seen as too costly,” concludes Smith. “With experiential learning in a simulation setting, the time spent on traditional training can be shortened significantly, getting your team back to work quicker and better than ever.”