Using ERPsim in class
Central Michigan University has been using ERPsim since 2008, and Stephen Tracy has been teaching integrated
business experience classes for undergraduate and graduate programs. He has also been using ERPsim in a graduate
program for an introduction to SAP class.
According to him, ERPsim has been an effective tool as it gives his students a hands-on experience in a live
environment, where they can see why all the classes they are taught before matter. It brings together the theory
the professors are trying to teach, and the exercises they are trying to do. It also adds a live-integrated
component where the professor can talk about and demonstrate concepts to the students and enable them to play
and experience them in the simulation.
The main challenge he found was to motivate participants to be engaged in the first place, as learning an
enterprise resource system is not always something they are interested in. Nonetheless, once he gets them on
board, the competition is enough to keep them motivated.
[ERPsim] is a really effective tool to be able to give [students] a hands-on experience in a live environment
where they can see why all the classes that they were required to take while getting their degree in business
mattered. Why did they take accounting, why did they take marketing, why did they take operations management,
etc. [...] [ERPsim allows them to] see all of that fit together in an integrated environment on a real-time
basis.
Stephen Tracy has been teaching online, in the classroom, and organizing events online and offline. From his
experience using ERPsim online, he advises other faculty to plan these kinds of classes much more in detail. He
recommends using the first day to make students understand how the course will be structured and what platforms
will be used. How to login into the SAP system and do the basic transactions before even talking about the game
as they will need to understand the mechanics first. Starting with the basics makes playing the game in an
online environment much easier.
DO
Be prepared before playing the game in class. Even if you know the game, it doesn’t mean that you can teach
the game and understand all its intricacies.
Find a mentor, someone with experience that can help them as quickly as possible, and have someone to get
answers when you are stuck.
For the newly trained, try to have someone with experience in the classroom to help you fix upcoming issues.
Start easy, take it step-by-step. Start with the logistics game, then go through the different manufacturing
games. By starting easy, you can build on your success.
The ERPsim event has provided so many really cool stories about how we've been able to use [it] to have an
incredible impact not only on our students but also on our mentors and the companies that recruit here. We
always hold the ERPsim event a day before our big career fair [...] [which means that mentors] will be able to
see the students the next day. [...] As students come through that career fair the next day, one of the
questions most of the mentors end up asking is 'Did you participate in the event yesterday?' because they had
such a great experience with the students that they don't understand why students don't participate in that
event.
We generally have between 180 and 240 students that participate in our live ERPsim event with 35 to 40 companies
that come in and bring mentors. In our last live event, we had over 200 students and over 70 mentors from 35
companies that participated in the day's event.
Central Michigan University uses ERPsim in two huge in-person events: a Highschool ERPsim game and an annual
ERPsim competition. CMU uses the High School ERPsim game as a recruiting tool for high school students. Once a
year, they invite students from all over the state and region to participate and entice them to join CMU or join
a minor in computer science. The event is incredibly engaging and fun for the attendees.
They engage their students by enlisting them as mentors for the high school students as it gives them a great
experience of what it is like to help someone in a business-like environment. It is beneficial for everyone
there. Because the high school students are usually sent by their parents, they are often not motivated at
first. But once the first round is over, they all are 100% engaged and want to win the event.
The biggest ERPsim event at CMU is the annual ERPsim competition, where between 190 and 240 students
participate and 35 to 40 companies bring their mentors who tutor the students from the start. Because the event
is one day before the big career fair, the mentors do not have to make extra trips and can already see the
students one day ahead. The companies are actively recruiting during the competition, and some of them even make
job offers on the floor.
However, this also works the other way around, as the students who do not react well have the opportunity to
see their mistakes and make improvements. The event is significant for the University as it demonstrates what
they are capable of and how qualified their students are. It is also a good way for the students to create
relationships with companies as they already start engaging in October with their mentors, and the event is in
February.
