The Business Management Competition for Retail and Sales Professionals for Retail and Sales Professionals PROSPER 2013 Virtual Management Simulations

Introduction People are the key asset of any business, and their personal and professional development is essential to the success of the business. In house and external training programmes provide a means to equip people with the technical skills needed to undertake their own jobs, but how often do they have the opportunity to acquire an understanding of the challenges and decisions that face their corporate management on a daily basis ? The PROSPER 2013 Competition provides management and leadership training that is relevant and appropriate for people working at any level in a retail or sales-orientated environment, particularly for those in the early stages of their careers. Using a sophisticated computer simulation, competing teams are given the task of managing a fledgling UK-based retail business in a realistic economic climate relevant to the UK economy as it is today, and the success or failure of their 'virtual' business depends entirely on the decisions they make in a number of key business areas. PROSPER 2013 pits participating teams against their colleagues and peers in a unique business management experience.

The Challenge A fledgling retail business has been trading for just one year. The company sells a particular product from outlets, either owned or rented, in a number of regional locations throughout the UK. The new management team need to form an effective strategy to grow the business, and satisfy the high demands of the company's shareholders, who are keen to see a quick return on their investment. Growing the business will be challenging, as there is competition from rival companies for both customers, and for the acquisition of outlets from which to sell their product. The environment the company is operating in reflects the current state of the economic climate in the UK today, and changes as time progresses to provide a realistic and dynamic challenge for the new management team. The decisions to be made, and fate of the company, rests in the hands of the new management team.

Deciding Who Wins Each team starts the competition with the same company, and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are used to measure their progress at the end of each round. Each team’s progress against the other competing teams is based upon the total of their individual KPIs at the end of each round, displayed upon the on-line PROSPER 2013 League Table. Only the total KPI score is shown on the League Table, since the individual KPI breakdown (shown below) is sensitive to each team. Although omitted in the example shown, the sponsors of each team are always shown on the League Table to promote the sponsoring companies.

Target Audience PROSPER 2013 is open to anyone, of any age, working in a retail or sales-related environment, particularly those in the early stages of their careers on graduate/management development programmes.

Key Features PROSPER 2013 exposes participants to the key aspects of business management.

Why Take Part ? PROSPER 2013 provides many benefits for both participants and sponsors.

Schedule The Competition 8 weekly rounds to be played during October and November. Learning How To Play Registered teams will be able to start trialling from Monday September 2nd, when the Prosper 2013 software will be available for download from the Participants' Area of the website. Registration Closes on Monday September 30th.

Further Information Further detailed information can be obtained from the website at: or by or by contacting in the first instance Mike Fletcher Tel/Fax No: +44 (0)