Capsim business simulations · Add-ins
Case modules. A new problem, mid-game.
A case module drops into a running simulation, usually in the later rounds, and introduces a strategic threat or opportunity that forces teams to re-examine a strategy that was working. New decisions and reports appear in the interface; the model changes underneath them.
On this pageThe nine modulesFor corporate programsFAQ
How they work
What a module does to a running game.
What a module does
Each module is a set of initiatives a team can fund, with a cap per initiative and a launch round. Funding them moves the model: demand, awareness, accessibility, material and labor cost, administrative cost, R&D cycle time. Effects accumulate over rounds and are permanent, and once an initiative reaches its maximum, more spending buys nothing.
Banks won't lend against most of these initiatives, so teams fund them from operating cash, reserves, or stock. The constraint is deliberate. A good idea the company can't finance isn't a strategy yet.
How instructors use them
Start with the base scenario. Once teams have fixed their starting problems and committed to a strategy, add modules one per round, typically from Round 3 on, leaving two to four rounds after the last module for the investments to pay back. Which modules are available depends on the simulation and its configuration; setup only offers the ones that fit.
Average teams ask whether a module pays back. Strong teams ask what happens if they fund it and the other teams don't. That question is the same in every module, and it's the one the debrief should land on.
The nine modules
What each one introduces, when it launches, and what it moves.
Maximum impacts are the cumulative ceiling after full funding across the module's active rounds. Figures are the model's parameters, published so instructors can plan debriefs around them.
Community Involvement Initiatives
Examines the costs and benefits of local engagement. Companies invest up to $500,000 in each of six initiatives (up to $3M a year): local health, local consumption, local media, scholarships, infrastructure, and an underserved-community employment program.
What it moves
- Demand up to +4.5%
- Awareness up to +3%
- Accessibility up to +15%
- Labor cost down to −2.4%
- Admin cost up to +12%
- R&D cycle time down to −6%
- Material cost up to +0.9%
- Short-term interest down to −1.5%
Teaching point
Businesses sit inside their communities in a feedback loop. Most teams treat the module as a payback calculation, but the better question is what happens if they fund it and the other teams don't: a permanent cost and demand advantage that competitors have to spend to match. Banks won't lend against it, so it has to come from cash flow, reserves, or stock.
Technology Licensing
A single R&D decision: acquire, license, and leverage outside technology platforms, up to $2M a year. Customers don't see it except through price.
What it moves
- R&D cycle time down to −15%
- Material cost down to −5%
- Admin cost up to +5%
Teaching point
Margins improve but demand doesn't move, so the advantage is real but easy to miss. Faster R&D only pays if the team follows through with higher automation on its high-tech products.
Management Consulting
Buy outside expertise across four initiatives, up to $10M a round: synergies (acquisitions that improve efficiency), licensing your technology out, digital marketing, and patent enforcement.
What it moves
- R&D cycle time down to −24%
- Productivity index up to +30%
- Inventory carrying cost down to −30%
- Demand up to +18%
- Awareness up to +24%
- Admin cost up to +50%
Teaching point
Companies do best when they focus on core competencies and rent the rest. The trade is explicit: administrative costs can climb by half while productivity, cycle time, and demand improve. Inventory savings only matter if there is excess inventory to carry.
Internet of Things
Sensors gain the ability to connect to a cloud platform. Three initiatives, up to $1M each a year: internet connectivity, customer education, and internal training.
What it moves
- Demand up to +6%
- Awareness up to +15%
- Accessibility up to +15%
- Material cost +3% / −1.5%
- Labor cost +6% / −9%
- R&D cycle time +6% / −3%
- Admin cost up to +60%
Teaching point
When technologies converge it isn't obvious to customers whether the combined product is worth more. Producers eat the cost of new features and hold price, hoping demand and differentiation follow. Costs go up overall; the demand potential is real only for teams with capacity to serve it.
Global Initiative
Moves the company from reactive exporter (filling foreign orders that arrive) to active exporter. Three initiatives, up to $1M each: recruit international distributors, foreign advertising, and product customization for high-volume international customers.
What it moves
- Demand up to +12%
- Awareness up to +30%
- Accessibility up to +30%
- Material cost up to +6%
Teaching point
The module doesn't grow the market; it makes the company easier for a foreign customer to buy from. Instead of a discount, the company absorbs the buyer's costs, which shows up as higher material cost against higher demand. Getting the benefit takes careful execution, and sometimes a marginal module like Technology Licensing tips the economics.
Local Suppliers
The trade-off between distant and local supply chains. Three initiatives, up to $1.5M each: a local supplier development program, sustainable supply-chain integration, and brand authenticity marketing.
What it moves
- Demand up to +21%
- Awareness up to +30%
- Admin cost down to −21%
- Labor cost down to −6%
- Employee turnover down to −3%
- Material cost up to +12%
- R&D cycle time up to +6%
Teaching point
Distant suppliers are cheaper and offer more, but long chains break. Local suppliers are reliable and good for the brand, but they cost more. Material cost is typically 30%+ of sales, so a 12% increase comes straight out of profit, while the demand and awareness gains are large. Arriving in Round 6, the module tests teams that have already automated to the edge of what their R&D cycle allows.
Basic & Applied R&D
Fundamental advances rather than product development: what's on the shelf to begin with. Three initiatives, up to $3.5M each: university partnerships, 3D printing and prototyping, and improved development kits for customers.
What it moves
- Material cost down to −22.5%
- R&D cycle time −13% / +30% / −6.6% by initiative
- Demand up to +45%
- Admin cost up to +30%
Teaching point
History is full of companies that a technology surprise ended. In the real world a leapfrog is high risk; the module guarantees the outcomes, which makes it a do-or-die round. Material-cost reductions fall straight to profit; the admin-cost increase looks large but is small in dollars.
Total Quality Management
A new department with ten initiatives, up to $1M each. Six process-management initiatives (continuous process improvement, vendor/JIT, quality training, channel support, concurrent engineering, a UNEP green program) and four TQM initiatives (benchmarking, quality function deployment, six-sigma training, GEMI TQEM sustainability).
What it moves
- R&D cycle time down to −26.6% / −16.6%
- Admin cost down to −40% / −26.4%
- Labor cost down to −8.7%
- Material cost down to −6%
- Demand up to +9.3%
Teaching point
Every department has initiatives it could pursue; the company can't fund all of them. Ten choices and limited cash force teams to decide where an investment actually improves the bottom line, and to notice diminishing returns when they arrive.
Human Resources
A new department with three initiatives, up to $2M each: training manufacturing staff into assembly teams, recruiting and retaining scientists, and sales-force compensation. While the module is active, negative conditions hit performance each round; investing counters them.
What it moves
- R&D cycle time down to −68% over 8 rounds
- Productivity index up to +32%
- Accessibility up to +30%
- Turnover down sharply (assembly teams, sales compensation)
- Demand up to +10%
- Production after adjustment up to +8%
Teaching point
Ignoring the people side shows up as productivity bottlenecks. Early investment is a competitive advantage; scientists move product releases and perceived quality, assembly teams move output and retention, and sales compensation moves accessibility.
For corporate programs
This is also how a program gets tailored to your strategy.
The same mechanism that adds a supply-chain dilemma to a strategy course can add your dilemma to a leadership cohort: a market shift or a sourcing decision drawn from the business the participants actually run. The module lands mid-simulation, the cohort has to re-decide with the company it already built, and the debrief connects the two.
Custom module development is a paid service, scoped with your subject-matter experts and typically measured in weeks. It's one of the reasons companies choose Capsim: the customization that matters, without paying for a bespoke simulation.
The Leadership Accelerator →Questions instructors ask
Frequently asked
Which simulations support case modules?
Capstone, CapsimCore, CapsimGlobal, and CapsimOps all support add-in modules; the set available depends on the simulation and how it is configured, and the setup screens only offer modules that fit. HR and TQM are configured in course settings; the seven case modules have fixed launch rounds.
How many modules should a course run?
Most instructors add one module per round from about Round 3, and stop early enough to leave two to four rounds for the investments to pay back. Two or three modules is typical for a term; a two-day seminar usually adds HR and TQM.
Do modules change the scoring?
No. Scoring stays on the measures you chose (stars, Success Measures, Balanced Scorecard). Modules change the conditions teams are scored under, which is the point.
Can we build a module around our own company's situation?
Yes. Custom module development is a paid service scoped with your subject-matter experts. It is the usual way a corporate Leadership Accelerator cohort gets a scenario drawn from its own business.
See a module land in a live simulation.
A 30-minute demo: the base scenario, a module arriving mid-game, and the debrief that follows.