Happy Holidays and a Wonderful New Year 2010!

We at BTS Tournaments would like to wish everyone Happy Holidays and hope you will have the time to fully enjoy this magical season.

This year was a very important one for us. After a successful launch of an upgraded user interface, the new business simulation was very well received by our participants. Many teams from over 30 countries made the BTS Tournaments quite a global event. Congratulations again to the winners of our World Final 2009!

We genuinely look forward to continue improving participants' business acumen, strategic thinking and financial understanding. There are many success stories and it is to our satisfaction that we can see substantial results in their learning curves. Business simulations are proven to be the best way of learning by doing, in a risk-free and motivating environment.

What is more, we are proud to partner with our clients to add value to their business results and assist them to build on their talents to drive into a better future.

Let the next year be as much of a straight road towards successful results. Wishing you lots of sunshine and happiness for the upcoming Holidays and a prosperous New Year!

BTS Tournaments Team

BTS - Catalysts for Profitability and Growth

Latvia wins SEB business simulation competition

A team from SEB Latvia won this year’s SEB Championship, an online business simulation competition, and will now move on to the BTS Tournaments semi-finals, where they will meet teams from other companies.

The competition is arranged by BTS Interactive, a consultancy company. It is designed for individuals to gain a holistic view on the complexities of running a multinational company, to improve business acumen and financial skills, strategic thinking and learn the importance of team work. Each team has three to five members.

This year one team from SEB Latvia, one from SEB Norway and two from SEB Poland participated in the competition which stretches over ten weeks and consist of five rounds.

“The simulation presented interesting intellectual challenges, some ambiguity and serious number crunching,” says Mārtiņš Krūtainis who leads the Latvian team in the competition.

BTS Interactive arranges similar competitions for other companies and industries around the world and in total 900 teams competed this year. SEB Latvia’s team will now face other winners from the initial rounds in the semi-finals.

Later, the best teams proceed to the BTS World Final, where top three teams are invited to the BTS Awards, held in Cannes on the French Riviera. SEB has participated the competition since 2001 and two teams from the bank have made it to the finals over the years.


About the SEB Championships
The idea with the SEB Championships is to form teams of 3-5 people and have the team run an online simulated company in direct competition with other participating SEB teams for market shares, profits and revenue whereby the best team wins by gaining the most shareholder value. It’s like a flight simulator, only in business!

Simulations are one of the most effective learning methods and BTS Tournaments, developed by BTS Interactive, are a growing trend in the area of corporate management training. You learn by doing through experience, and without real-life risks! BTS Tournament is the leading business simulation tournament in the world.

For further information contact:
James Baker-Duly
BTS, BTS Interactive
James.Bakerduly[#]bts.com
http://www.btstournaments.com/

BTS World Final 2009 - Announcing the Results!

The winners of the BTS Global Semi-finals proceeded to the BTS World Final. All directly involved will agree: this year's Final was extremely exciting!

The Final was held on 5 November 2009, with the best teams from the 2009 Tournament competing for highest shareholder value. All the simulated companies performed at their peak, closing their fourth financial year with stunningly close results. This was the closest it has ever been with 4th and 5th place missing out on their spot in the top three by less than 1% difference!

We at BTS Tournaments are proud to announce the Ranking of the BTS World Final 2009:

1. NOKIA / Finland - Team Uision
2. VIPNET / Croatia - Team Red Devils
3. SYNGENTA / Switzerland - Team Aspire
4. ENDESA / Spain - Team APTC
5. SEB KORT / Norway - Team PLASTIXXX
6. NOKIA SIEMENS NETWORKS / Finland - Team Pohjatyö
7. ANDRITZ / Finland - Team Eagles

From the almost 600 teams participating in the 2009 BTS Business Tournament, these amazing seven teams reached the World Final. So once again, a big round of applause to ALL competing Teams. They held under pressure to prove their business acumen. But unfortunately only the three best teams receive the honours of being invited to the famous BTS Awards. They will traditionally be held in Cannes on the French Riviera, in the Spring.

Thank you everyone involved for another great BTS Tournament Year!

- BTS Tournaments Team

RESULTS of Global BTS Semi-finals 2009!

The Global BTS Semi-Finals took place over two sessions - on 10.09 and 17.09. It was a fierce fight for highest shareholder value of a virtual company.

There were 48 Teams lined up to compete in the annual Global Semi-Finals! As many as 20 countries were present and 28 companies represented, such as: ABB, Accenture, AstraZeneca, British Telecom, CP Kelco, Ericsson, LG, Maersk Line, PwC, Stora Enso and many more.

Congratulations to ALL competing Teams. They did a tremendous job in such a short time given to make decisions. Only the best Teams get the opportunity to proceed to the BTS World Final 2009 (will be held early November 2009). And to remind you, top three teams in the world are invited to the Luxurious BTS Awards, traditionally held in Cannes on the French Riviera.

Special congratulations go to the winning teams, our finalists, who were the best in their divisions:

SEB Kort / NORWAY - Team PLASTIXXX
Endesa / SPAIN - Team APTC
Syngenta / SWITZERLAND - Team Aspire
Andritz / FINLAND - Team Eagles
Vipnet / CROATIA - Team Red Devils
Nokia / FINLAND - Team Uision
Nokia Siemens Networks / FINLAND - Team Pohjatyö

We wish them all the best in the World Final 2009!
BTS Tournaments Team

Global BTS Semi-finals 2009!

Here at BTS Tournaments, we are very excited to announce that there are 48 Teams lined up and ready to fiercely compete in the annual Global Semi-Finals! As many as 20 countries are present and 28 companies represented: ABB, Accenture, AstraZeneca, Ericsson, Maersk Line, Nokia, NSN, PwC, Stora Enso, Syngenta and many more.

The Semi-Final heats are held 8-17 September. Watch this space for the results!

Only the best Teams get the opportunity to proceed to the BTS World Final 2009. And to remind you, top three teams in the world are invited to the Luxurious BTS Awards, traditionally held in Cannes on the French Riviera.

Fortunately, everything is not just up to lucky charms. Teams will exercise their developed business acumen skills and strategic knowledge, among others, to create the highest Shareholder Value of their simulated companies.

We wish all participating Teams all the best!

BTS Tournaments Team

Statoilhydro Business Development off to Semi-Finals

The BTS Tournament certainly triggered our competitive instincts, and our goal was of course to win! In the first round we planned fairly safe. We made our decisions based on analyses without taking much risk, which resulted in reasonably good results. There was another team that did exceptionally well and obtained a huge lead, which made us realise the importance of our competitors. Therefore we worked even harder towards the next deliveries to understand our environment and lay out a strategy for how to catch up with the leading team.

We believe we got paid for spending the necessary time to investigate the details. We were also courageous, coupled with a good portion of common sense; You have to stick to your strategy as well as adapt to the changing environment. This has made us more aware of how to treat uncertainty in decision-making.

The Kon-Tiki team members are of three different nationalities based in four locations on two continents. As a result, the work was conducted switching from one language to the other via phone, video conferences and not necessarily during regular office hours. Meetings were also held from airports, taxis and even from the delivery room (one of the team members became a dad the day before the 3rd round).. We clearly see the potential of the telecom business!

Best regards,

(on photo above, from left to right)
Ragnhild Ulvik: Senior Analyst (Team Leader)
Martin Debaig: Business Developer
Gudmund Hartveit: Business Developer
Nidia Alvarez Crogh: Project Leader
Lene Landøy: Business Developer


For further information:
Please contact James Baker-Duly at BTS Interactive: +46 735 109397

NOKIA TEAM: There can be only one…

Reflections of Team Primrose from the BTS Global Tournament

In addition to referring to a catchphrase of a movie starred by Christopher Lambert, this wisecrack vividly depicts the grim realities of the BTS Global Tournament. In the simulation we found ourselves struggling with the challenges imposed by the management of a company operating in a number of interraled fields of business. What is more, we quickly realized that we are not alone, but pinned into a heated struggle with five other teams all with the same goal of winning the divisional victory.

The tournament was a great learning opportunity. It did not, however, let you learn by the easy way. Throughout the competition, we had to rethink and revise our strategies and keep a close eye on the other teams trying to anticipate what they had in mind. But this is the core of the experience – competing against teams of professionals from around the world with knowledge that only one team will prevail. This is the occasion when one learns fastest and most efficiently – the baptism by fire.

Team Primrose wants to thank all the other teams in the BTS Global Tournament Division 26 for a tough challenge. The battle for market share and profitability taught us all important lessons, but unfortunately – there can be only one winner. As Conner MacLeod finds out in the above mentioned movie – the business competition is not an easy one but worth the struggle as the reward is a place among the immortals.

Team Primrose consisted of four persons from Nokia located in both Salo and Espoo in Finland:

Matti Torkkeli, Senior Manager DSN Design (Team Leader)
Kaj Lindfors, Senior Manager, Supply Logistics
Antti Rissanen, Manager Mid Term Supply Planning
Sami Sarpola, Manager Supply Capability Management

StatoilHydro: Our BTS Tournament experience: so far so good

We were all excited to be BTS Tournament participants and StatoilHydro Oil Trading and Supply’s representatives in the Tournament. The Oilers team consists of members with different backgrounds, both when it comes to education, work experience and nationality. This proved to be very beneficial in the competition.

The test round was very useful in that it gave us a chance to "feel the simulation" and try out different correlations. We were very curious about our competitors – who they were and how they would position themselves.

We decided to start out fairly safe in the first rounds. We planned to be more aggressive and take on more risk in the final rounds – but why change a strategy that seemed to work? As the Tournament continued, we got smarter and were able to get more profit out of our strategy. We also got better at analysing the market and reading our competitors. We were not the only ones getting smarter though - the race got really close at the end – luckily we pulled the longest straw.

This Tournament has been a great learning opportunity for us. We now have a better understanding of what it is like to run a business. Having to work as a team, agreeing on strategy and dividing tasks is always an important lesson. Last but not least, this was an excellent opportunity to get to know other young professionals in our company.


Best regards,

Linn Strømsvåg – Business Analyst Crude and Condensate (Team Leader)
Thomas Eltervåg – Contract Handler
Igor Volner – Contracts Coordinator
Jon Berntsen – Business Analyst Risk Monitoring
Natalia Vennikova – Sr. Business Analyst Risk Monitoring

For further information:

Please contact James Baker-Duly at BTS Interactive: +46 735 109397

Nordea Latvia: We’re in the semi-final!

From the left: Rolands Abele - Head of Product Development, Aiga Babre - Deputy Head of CSU, Girts Strazds - Local risk manager, Anna Meilere - Sales Manager, Rihards Petkevics - Credit Analyst.

Rihards Petkevics, Captain of Nordea team “K 15”, Credit Analyst:
“We’re glad that we have proceeded to the semi-final despite the tough competition. The main driving force that helped to win the competitors was the team spirit. Each of us acted in the interest of the team and was motivated to achieve the best result. No doubt that professional experience of the team members in various fields was important. Deep knowledge of company financial analysis, project / team management and decision skills helped to win the tournament. Team’s daily work was organized to make the best of each meeting by analyzing the market situation, forecasts and previous year results.”

Our team was in charge of a mobile telecommunication services provider and adopted strategic decisions regarding promotion of products in the market, prices and amount of investments. Our core strategy was similar to Nordea operation strategy as we chose “in the Middle of the road tactic” meaning not to exaggerate with product prices or volumes but be somewhere in the middle between our competitors’ offer. From the beginning of the tournament, we tried to calculate the most efficient way of capital management and the possible amount of investments. As years of the simulation passed by and as competitors changed decisions significantly, the important factor was flexibility of our decisions and proper reaction to current market situation. Consent of all team members in decision making process was important and in discussion process the best solutions were chosen.

The breaking point in the simulation was the third year as this was the year when we set and fulfilled ambitious sales targets. In the third year, our market share of five products out of six was with the highest market share. The third year was, to a large extent, crucial for the course of the tournament in our division. In the fourth year, our task was to keep the leading position which we gained in the third year.

During the training, we gained confidence in our capabilities, we improved team management skills and understand the decision making process better and gained trust in each other. Also the possibility to develop analytical skills and better knowledge of operations of a mobile operator services provider can be mentioned as benefit.

We would like to gratefully thank the organisers of the BTS Business Tournament and competitors for the good time that we had and the possibility to have time off from our routine work.

Nordea Latvia

FORTUM Distribution: Virtual Team enters the Global BTS Semi-Finals!

From left to right:
Lene Løkkeberg – Responsible Business Customers and Tariffs
The team’s leader: Staffan Andersson – Settlement Engineer
Petri Juhala – Technical Customer Advisor
Maarit Laiho – Process Manager

The team’s name: FORTUNE.

Team structure
Our team consists of team members from Sweden, Norway and Finland with different experiences and starting points. The only thing common for us (except working within same company) was that none of us had much of economical experiences. But in the end, this might have been one of our success factors.

In the beginning our team was not the strongest possible: participants missing, no leader and scattered in 3 countries. But once the roles were clear it started to come together. Our bearing force was the core of the team: leader Staffan and meeting facilitator Lene. The team warmed up till the end and we became stronger and stronger round by round.

The beginning and the end
The beginning almost slipped from our hands: just in time before the BTS Tournament started we were able to have our first introduction meeting: it all started to come together. Still we were missing parts of our team: but we started to learn what the whole thing was all about.

After first round we were at third position: far away from the leader team. Second round was a disaster for us: we tried to do our best, but dropped to 4th place. Even though we were just behind the third place it still felt pretty heavy. We were a little confused: at the time our main goal was to understand how the simulation works. How our decision affected our position, what did other teams do and how should we prepare ourselves to upcoming rounds.

Third round was the turning point for us: we started to gain to leader team and our previous decisions started to pay-off. We finally found the balance and managed to do the right adjustments.

The fourth and last round we polished our adjustments and tried not to be distracted by the other teams. We focused on making solid investments and not making hasty decisions just to get market shares.

After a rocky start what were our strengths? How were we able to make it through?

Learning by doing
One of our main goals was to understand how our decisions affected our position. We tried different things and after results we always analyzed how decisions affected the outcome. People whose background isn't in economics require a lot of work to understand numbers and economical terms all at once, but we were able to make it happen. It was interesting to see importance of investments.

Efficiency in meetings
We didn't have a single meeting face-to-face. All of our meetings were held with communicator and via phone: no travelling, clear facilitation, fast decision making and common agreement of decisions. Our longest meeting took 2 hours.

Intuition or simply luck?
The common sentence from us was: let's go with this and see what happens. After two first rounds we didn't fully understand what was happening. Once we got the understanding it was pure curiosity to see how our decisions affected results. It was very exciting to see the results.

Patrick Ekman, Manager CS Relations/Business Development, FORTUM DISTRIBUTION AB