Launch of New Board Game Seeks to Transform Supply Chain Learning

The developers of the game, former Business Studies teachers – Pat Smedley and Andy Page

London – Three years after its inception, today sees the official  launch of an innovative new board game designed to teach young people of all ages about  the importance of today’s supply chain in global commerce.

The game – Business on the Move – aims to inspire, excite and educate young people from
the age of 9 to 19, and beyond. The aim of the game is for players to move different
products from China to their UK customers by land, sea and air, as quickly, as profitably and
as responsibly as they can. In so doing, they are faced with taking decisions similar to those
made regularly by many businesses, such as: “How do I meet the delivery deadline?”; “Will I
make a profit?”; “How can I improve my supply chain?”; and “How can I cut my carbon
footprint?”

The game has been devised by two former Business Studies teachers – Andy Page and Pat
Smedley – who set up their Very Enterprising Community Interest Company*, a social
enterprise, in 2011 to create a versatile supply chain game that could be used by teachers
across age groups, school subjects and ability levels. Business on the Move has already
won an award under the Royal Bank of Scotland’s Inspiring Enterprise initiative and from the
UnLtd charity which supports social entrepreneurs.

Extensive trials of the game in more than 30 schools as well as businesses have proved
both its relevance to today’s commercial world and the classroom, as Pat explained:
“Research shows that active learning improves students’ understanding and retention of
information and can be very effective in developing higher order cognitive skills such as
problem solving and critical thinking.”

To date, nearly 600 young people, teachers and supply chain professionals have played
Business on the Move, with another 15, 000 young people projected to play over the next 12
months. Andy and Pat’s vision is that by 2020 over 100, 000 people will have played the
game.

To make the game a reality the initiative has the backing of 50 sponsors from across the
business spectrum, including banks, major retailers, logistics service providers and others.
The backing from these Partners will enable over 1, 800 of the 2, 800 games produced to be
distributed free-of-charge and with training to some 500 schools across the UK. Maureen
Barwell, HR Director, from one of the Platinum-level sponsors CHEP UK & Ireland,
commented: “CHEP is impressed by the way Business on the Move manages to combine
the sophistication of the supply chain with the simplicity and fun any game needs to work.”