Container transport game puts logistics theory into practice

In a globalised world, cooperation in logistics is crucial. In order to avoid emissions and reduce costs, transport companies ensure that the available container capacity on ships is utilised as fully as possible. Students on the Transport/Logistics degree programme have now been able to test how companies have to work together and negotiate cost sharing to achieve this. They slipped into the role of shipowners in a container transport game. The game was developed and implemented by Dr Layla Martin, assistant professor at TU Eindhoven, in cooperation with bremenports GmbH & Co. KG as part of the Interreg North Sea project InnoWaTr. 

The collaborative logistics game simulates five transport companies transporting containers from Antwerp to Rotterdam. The aim is to reduce costs by sharing resources. The players have to decide who they want to work with, how much information they want to share with the competition and how they want to organise cost sharing. "The game provides insights into the complexity of modern logistics, the impact of information sharing, the methods of cost sharing, the perception of fairness and the challenges of negotiating," says Dr Layla Martin. 

"Ultimately, it's all about the aspect of cooperation, which is also the focus of the InnoWaTr project," emphasises Sabrina Wilms, Senior Project Manager in the "International Projects" department at bremenports.

During the game, the students realised that price negotiations can be particularly difficult under time pressure: There was one person in each group who used their negotiating skills to gain an advantage. The high level of practical relevance not only impressed the budding logistics experts, but also their professor Dr Oliver Norkus: "Dealing with analytical decision-making processes is essential for students nowadays. The interactive simulation game enables students to actively engage with planning variables and processes and to evaluate complex scenarios in a realistic environment. A good preparation for later professional life."

The application phase for the winter semester 2024/25 is currently underway at Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences. Prospective students have until 15 August to apply for the open-admission degree programmes - including Transport/Logistics - via the university's own application portal ecampus.hs-bremerhaven.de. Applications for the admission-restricted Bachelor's degree programmes in Digital Media Production, Physician Assistant and Social Work can only be submitted via the portal www.hochschulstart.de by 15 July.