CHEP, the world’s leading provider of pallet and container pooling solutions, announced today that it is one of the leading Platinum level sponsors of a new educational board game to be launched in primary and secondary schools and amongst training providers during 2014. 
The game – Business on the Move – aims to inspire, excite and educate young people from the age of 9 to 19, and beyond, about the importance of today’s supply chain in global commerce. 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 have set up a not-for-profit social enterprise company to develop and market the game as a unique educational resource. 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.
“CHEP is a key player in the global supply chain and we are delighted they are one of our eight Platinum sponsors,” said Pat Smedley. “We’ve designed Business on the Move to be a fun way for students to develop their enterprise and employability skills, as well as learning about the many different facets of today’s modern supply chain. To succeed, they must demonstrate a variety of abilities – such as communication, numeracy, balancing conflicting priorities, problem solving and negotiation. The game really brings the worlds of business and logistics to life.”
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 that it is also fun to play. Initially, nearly 3,000 games will be delivered later this year which will be made available to schools and training organisations from early 2014. In addition, it is planned that the Business on the Move website (www.businessonthemove.org) will become a learning platform with activities linked to individual sponsors.
CHEP UK & Ireland Managing Director, Howard Wigham, said: “The game’s inventors are forecasting a potential 100,000 players over the next five years and we believe it will prove a valuable way of increasing awareness of the vital role logistics plays in enabling national and international trade. Our aim at CHEP is to build better supply chains together by helping our customers to store, move and protect their goods through the supply chain. Our distinctive blue pallets are featured prominently in the game as players seek to move their goods from manufacturer to consumer.”
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