El Taller

A year running a small independent car-repair workshop in Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico (fictional): five technicians, four lifts, one delivery fleet and a tight cash position.

Decision 1 (January, quoting): the price of the labour hour (the street price, a price costed from the shop costs and the hours it actually bills, or a dealership premium); how jobs are quoted (a verbal estimate, a written quote with the customer authorising any extra, or quoting low and adding extras at delivery); the diagnosis (free, skipped by changing parts until the fault goes, or paid and credited to the repair).

Decision 2 (April, bays and technicians): how cars come in (first come first served, every car promised the same day, or appointments built from standard times with cars waiting for parts moved off the lifts); who does what (whoever is free, assignment by skill, or every hard job to the best technician); what happens before delivery (the technician signs off, hand over untested to keep the promise, or a road test and checklist by a second technician).

Decision 3 (July, parts and the fleet): the parts shelf (a large promotional pack, no stock with every part ordered per job, or only the fast movers with minimum and maximum levels); which parts are fitted (the cheapest, known-brand new parts with warranty, or used parts billed as new); a delivery fleet asking for a discount and 60 days of credit (accept, refuse, or a written contract with 30 days, a credit limit and booked slots).

Decision 4 (October, before the year-end season): season prices (a discount campaign, keep prices, or a fixed-price menu from standard times); capacity (Saturday overtime, a fifth lift, or an apprentice from a dual-training programme); the used oil (drums in the yard, sold to an informal collector, or an authorised collector with manifests).

The model is deterministic and monthly: technician hours are the constraint, hours per job come from standard times, comebacks consume unbilled capacity, on-time delivery falls with load, reputation moves demand, and the parts shelf and fleet receivables take cash out of the bank.

The score combines the quality of each decision with the year profit, the lowest month-end cash, on-time delivery, comebacks and compliance, and is capped when a decision breaks the rules (unauthorised charges, used parts billed as new, used oil to an informal collector). Spanish (primary, Mexico) and English.

An intermediate simulation for participants who already know the core concepts of the subject, designed for master's and MBA programmes.