Louwman Logistics recently joined forces with 21CC Education to create an app that lays out the topography of their industrial area and the location of their three warehouses within that area.

Louwman Logistics, part of the Louwman Group, is one of the largest automotive distributors in Europe. The family-owned Dutch company was founded in 1923 and consists today of import companies for the automotive brands Toyota, Lexus, Morgan and Suzuki. The organisation is also active in retail, leasing and finance, parts supply, logistics, and the distribution of mobility aids for the elderly and the physically challenged.

The app created for Louwman Logistics is designed to make new employees aware about the layout of the warehouses they would work in and to educate them about the different processes that take place within the warehouses. It is also aimed at making the non-logistics employees of the Louwman Group aware about the role of Louwman Logistics and what they have to offer to their customers in terms of potential solutions.

Game-based learning is a growing trend around the world and has proven to effectively show learners the right way to do things through practice and experimentation in virtual settings that allow the learners the freedom to make mistakes. The main idea behind game-based learning is learning through repetition and the accomplishment of goals. To that end, the 21CC app for Louwman Logistics features several games and a leaderboard to inspire a healthy spirit of competition between the employees.

One of the games included in the app is a labeling game related to transportation of Dangerous Goods, like batteries. The purpose of the game is to playfully make present and new employees aware of this important part of the outbound process and prevent them from putting the wrong labels when sending out the goods by road or ship.

Another game—under development currently—will teach the employees about safety. Using 3D illustrations of warehouse layouts, the game will make them aware of such things as the emergency exits, location of fire extinguishers and AEDs, and escape routes in case of fire emergency.

As learners will be motivated to play the games multiple times, they will go over the knowledge again and again till it is embedded in their brains. The audio-visual and tactile aspects of the game will help the learners form a multi-sensory connection with the concepts and skills and help them retain the knowledge they acquire while playing the games.

An added bonus of the app would be to help the existing employees refresh their knowledge through e-learning modules that complement what they would have learned in classrooms or in training. The employees can learn and refresh their knowledge, all while having fun playing games!