2. In the "Branded Production" screen you will want to make TQM/sigma six have a value of 2.50 because it helps you achieve a higher SQ rating and set Best Practices at 5000 because it will save you money per pair of shoes produced. Keep these values the same from the start of the game and until the end because they also have an accumulative effect.
3. Take out loans early on in the game because you have a better credit score starting out. I recommend the maximum amount for the first few years. Use the money from the loans to build more plant capacity in existing plants as well as possibly a new plant in another geographic region such as Latin America. Once your company starts making more and more revenue every year, you can repay your loans early, buy back stock, and pay dividends.
4. After the game is run, I would recommend buying excess capacity that all of the other teams sell. The number of excess capacity will be shown on the "Corporate Lobby" screen, and to buy it you just go to the “Plant Capacity” screen and click purchase capacity. The excess capacity should be purchased as soon as the amounts are listed before someone else does. Buying excess capacity that others are selling will cost you 20% less than if you had built plant capacity on your own.
5. During the beginning of the game, it is important that you win bids in the "Private Label" screen. Your company is able to produce private label shoes at a fraction of the cost. In addition, if you are able to secure these markets you force your competitors out of the private label competition. My advice is to produce at the lowest S/Q rating for private label competition and make your bid price low so that it beats out everyone else (but so that you make a profit of at least $1.00 per pair of shoes). A winning strategy would be to produce enough pairs to supply 50% - 100% of the private label market for the geographic regions in which you are bidding.
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http://businessstrategygame.org/
