Bonus - Cooperative strategies

16.04.2015

Cooperative strategies were especially great developed in championships with free participation. Free participation allows to register unlimited number of teams (within reason) and apply cooperative strategy with maximum efficiency. GMC simulator is designed in such way, that competitors decision in the group make impact on market share of your company. So, essence of cooperation is to provide benefits to teams that plays together, over other rivals in the group.

 

  1. Value transfer
    1. Withdrawal from market - strategy about specific distribution backlog between teams in the group. In situation when team can not sell enough products to satisfy demand, part of orders goes to competitors. At right moment one team withdrawal from market, and another team makes changes in demand forecast to compensate demand increasing and generate more profit. Competitors do not expect demand increasing an can not fulfill orders, get backlog, reduction of goodwill and investment perfomance. Withdraw from market can be in several ways:
      1. Flush - set prices 0, production plan 0. No products - no shipment - no sales, company gets backlog. It is not recommended because can causes too many questions from competitors and can be appealed.
      2. Agents and distributors dismissal - better decision than previous. Before period when you withdrawal from market, you dismiss agents and distributors. Idea is that in period (1 period) when you dismiss AD, agents and distributors continue to operate as usual, but in the next period (2 period) they will be dismissed and you will withdrawal from market. This trick is difficult to appeale, as it affects 2 periods and you can always refer to a typo in desicion form.
      3. Clotting - similar to withdrawal from market, but without backlog. In decision form set prices 999, due to the prices elasticity you immideatly reduce your market share to a minimum and leave free space for expansion of other teams that are aware of your step (increase advertising or lower prices) and take your market share.
      4. Step by step clotting - choose products and markets, where main team has maximum market share. Using this advantage team get addition market share just in right place and right moment.
      5. Agents and distributors commission 0% - may refer to a typo in decision form. At 0% commission agent does not sell anything that is equivalent to clotting. As a result you will again free market for other teams.
      6. Plan 9999 - typo in production plan is the most elegant option. For example, instead of production plan 956, specify 9956. Possible production time will be divided between products in proportion to the established plan, ie almost fully switch to the specified product (9956). Effect is like flush, but it is very difficult to appeale.
    2. Market information exchange - get "free" market information, ie save money relative to competitors.
    3. Assembly workers transition - same thing as "withdrawal from market," but market of assembly workers. Suppose market has enough unemployed workers and you save money on personnel. There is a risk of workers strikes. In the critical period do working conditions in bot team even more unbearable than yours, and set ourselves more hiring. Risks seriously declined - profit, quickly and quietly.
    4. Forced corporate avertising - misuse feature corporate advertising to develop the whole market. It is clear that competitors get about the same microscopic growth that we are. Therefore, use this strategy only in the case unreasonably large purchases of machines in order to minimize losses.
    5. Squeezing competitors - in 1 period slightly increase costs in demand above optimal, push competitors. In 5 period transfer potential energy into kinetic - return demand investment into a "high price segment." Subtle strategy, which requires good knowledge of demand factors.

 

  1. Deterioration competitors
    1. Flush - competitor backlog is a goal. Strategy is used most often in 5 period with competitors who operates at the limit of its productive capacity. Effect is enhanced by increasing number of flushing teams. When use this strategy, you can also make great profit with main team. Can be monitored by: several teams working on prices close to dumping, that is clearly inefficient. In this case, one company accumulates stores and workers, produce on overcapacity. Want to protect yourself - do the same - procuring future use. And so, when market will shake, then contact organizers. Certainly with provings that flushing was under opponets team command, and not under yours.
    2. Labor market shock - does not always work. The goal - to provoke strikes, strategy requires high skills. Optimally applies in 3 period or later. Usually in 3 period teams have already hired sufficient number of assembly workers and produce goods 5-day working week. At this point, two or more teams employ 99 assemby workers with parallel increasing wage rate. Workers in competitors teams begin to retire and move to work in these companies. When number of retired workers is 5.5% of overall workers in the company, then comes a strike. Not to get strike itself - hedging, do little hiring workers (5-10) and produce goods 5-6 day working week. With a little luck you can break competitors production process - reduces number of workers in itself, plus possible working time is reduced due to the strike.
    3. Overstocking - is used with high cost of production or limited capacity. The goal - implementing of competitors R&D. Obvious application of strategy - 2 or more teams in the key period of planned MAJOR development, dumping together, stocking opponents warehouses with expensive but become obsolete products. Main thing is to ensure that competitor has decided to sell products warehouses, holding an expensive implementation. Decision of implementation is unknown to us, we can only indirectly assess probability of stock, according to the balance sheet; just in case for very large volumes of stock, repeat procedure again - enemy problem must be replaced by despair, as needed. Themselves at this point redistribute production to other 2 products. Noticeably, unprovable, punishable almost unavoidable.

 

  1. Threat - as in modern world, just fact possession of nuclear weapons is already a deterrent against encroachments of the competitors. Obvious presence in the group of teams that play hard and not "optimal" (on GMC concepts), competitor makes reinsured and spend resources on arresting potential trouble. Other things being equal, in this situation, you can not spend their own strength and quietly go to victory.
    1. Excess production - always dangerous, it is unclear and makes competitor to insure against possible discharges market, flushing, clotting, etc. The initiative is yours. Can be performed in the following ways:
      1. High shifts
      2. Over-purchase machines
      3. Over-purchase raw materials
      4. Over-purchase subcontracting
      5. Over-recruit assembly workers
      6. High stocks
    2. Ally demonstration - sometimes useful not to use cooperative strategy, but simply to prevent its use by opponent. Better than strategy of "Surround yourself with allies" did not invent. If allies are few, just in case you can tell opponent that you have them. For example, report that in certain period, such company will set exact price for the 1 product in Nafta. Notice preparations for destructive actions - use preventive strategies.

 

  1. Market management
    1. Cooperative dumping/margin - see opponents orientation on margins - reduce prices by all teams. Opponent plays at low prices? Play at a high by all teams. Enemy will be nothing left, joining ineffective for themselves, but most stable market strategy. Intentional cooperation unobtrusive, easy to defend - to follow the market. What you want.
    2. Middle formation - very common, operating features of the demand market formation in simulator. Teams that fall within average values (advertising, prices), get few more orders than any other. The more commands under control - the better. Effect is already noticeable at 3 controlled teams. Noticeably, yes, but at a certain price variability opponent will have to try to prove the cartel. Opponent can try to join middle values, but whole trick is to predict the following middle that is impossible.
    3. Advertising budgets race - can be used against advanced teams wizards who like to rise goodwill in 5 period. Raise on the whole market advertising budgets, reduce potential for margin undermine basis for goodwill. Use if you are able to earn great profit.
    4. Clutter market - an alternating on offer bot and demand factors. Task - to achieve large-amplitude fluctuations in demand, the more - the better. First, private clutter with you and bot teams, and then have tendency is picked up by non-cooperative teams. Must shake the entire market, none should forecost demand, but main team. According to the results of later periods must be either large warehouses or large backlog.

 

  1. Test
    1. Test resources - is used more often than other strategies in this category in case of previously unknown scenario. Check basic resources: R&D, website development, ratings, AD. Forced budgets and understanding functions (you will need to use test results with 1 period delay). Perfectly will work in tandem "international semifinal - international final."
    2. Test goodwill - rare option, but also for the World Cup.
    3. Test demand - suicidal option for test teams, but if you have two puppet, you can take a chance and try them.

 

  1. Sabotage
    1. Flush imitation - what to do if your opponent has a better chance of victory in the group? Arrange a loud "withdrawal from market". Kill two birds with one stone - your chances grow themselves, and if does not make it, then run to the organizers complaining of "flush".

 

  1. Obsolete
    1. Destroy opponents market - unique strategy that could theoretically be present at time when there was no international final. There was a five-year period. 9 teams were divided into two groups and competed for the highest share price on two independent markets. All that was required of the team attacker - to arrange a race of advertising budgets and price wars in the group. All are guaranteed half of the competitors went the distance.