Download Guide: How to set up and run your PREP warehouse

6
CHAPTER
how to set up
and run your
prep warehouse
Here are some tips and tricks to setting up a successful PREP warehouse.
The Basics
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Ventures must buy resources to make their goods and services from the PREP warehouse.
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The warehouse staff must price and sell any resources that come from teachers’ cupboards.
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Pricing and the freedom to change prices according to supply and demand is a feature
of an efficient market-based society. Pricing resources is by trial and error. For instance,
warehouse staff will learn they have to lower prices on surplus stock that is priced higher
than customers will pay.
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Students will learn about the concept of scarcity as they discover that resources are
limited to stock that the PREP warehouse can supply.
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Warehouse staff will get to price a range of resources. This is an important feature of the
programme for all students because it attaches a cost to the use of a resource. If students
are willing to pay the price for a resource, it means that the resource is affordable
enough to be used to make a product or provide a service. If not, the students will look
for substitutes.
Student Staffing
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If you are planning a central warehouse to service all ventures, we suggest you have three
to four well-organised students manage this as there will not be enough work to keep a
larger group engaged.
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These warehouse workers might choose to run a small venture in their down time,
making products that are easily put down and picked up again. This allows them to serve
customers as needed. Craft products e.g. greeting cards are ideal.
PREP Teaching Guide
How to Set Up & Run Your PREP Warehouse
1
Unit of work
Game
Awards
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Download
Event time
Resources
Stocking TheAssessment
Warehouse
Year levels
Duration
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The people who buy resources to stock the PREP warehouse varies from school to school.
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For example:
Cost
Facilatation
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Option 1: Have a staff member or parent buy stock weekly or fortnightly. The adult
can take the warehouse workers with them. This is a valuable activity for the students
as they get
a complete
understanding
of warehouse processes.
Calendar
day (Anais
to add)
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Option 2: Teachers obtain goods that they need for their classes’ ventures. They
provide these
to (to
thebewarehouse
in labelled boxes. The warehouse then sells these
Training
used for
event)at the set price. Teachers are repaid the costs from the
resourcesteaching
back tosupported
the ventures
appropriate budget.
Phone
Competition
Email
Tip
Tip
Address
Donated resources help to keep your PREP resource costs to a minimum, which is to be
Note
encouraged. These resources must have a price attached. An import tax can be applied to these.
You can encourage students to bring in donations by keeping prices of donated resources below
full sale price. For example, one PREP school charged an import tax on all donated goods of half
RSS
the estimated value.
Sign up
Running the warehouse
We suggest you consider the following activities:
2
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Choose a name for your warehouse (Bits ’n’ Bobs Emporium, Wild West General Store).
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Set opening hours and procedures for students to buy and access resources. This could
cover order forms, receipts, delivery of resources and payment options.
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Develop systems to keep track of stock.
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Develop an accounting system to record and summarise daily sales.
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If the PREP warehouse is going to be housed in a physical space (classroom, small office),
consider security, how you’ll display resources, price lists, and queuing.
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Some schools stock PREP resources in classrooms (for example in a plastic box).
Warehouse workers supply a tracking mechanism for the resources used. For example, a
notebook managed by a student or teacher. Warehouse workers collect the notebooks
regularly and invoice ventures for resources they’ve used.
Date
Resource
Quantity
Cost
21/04/15
Coloured card
3 sheets
6 moolah
28/04/15
Pipe Cleaners
5 pipe cleaners
2 moolah
05/05/15
Hot glue gun hire
10 minutes
1 moolah
Signed
PREP Teaching Guide Exemplars & Templates
Chapter 6 PREP Warehouse
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Liaise with ventures about what resources they might need. The resources sourced in
the warehouse will be supply and demand driven. Supply comes from the availability
of resources from the community and demand from ventures’ suggestions. You could send
letters to caregivers or the wider community asking for donated items.
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Develop an agreed formula for the exchange rate (changing resource cost from NZD
to your school currency). One PREP school used this formula: goods that cost $5 at
a supermarket cost 15 moolah in the warehouse. Goods bought for $1 were priced at
3 moolah at the warehouse.
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Price all resources for sale and create a warehouse price list that tells ventures what
is available.
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Advertise and promote price lists, opening hours, purchasing systems, and available
resources for hire.
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Organise security of goods and money. Consider having a till. Deposit income daily
into the warehouse bank account.
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Practise sales techniques and customer service.
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Organise a float from the bank so that change can be given to customers.
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Towards the end of the programme consider whether to have a fire sale to clear stock
or store stock for future programmes.
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At the end of PREP, clean up and organise surplus stock.
PREP Teaching Guide
How to Set Up & Run Your PREP Warehouse
© Young Enterprise Trust 2015
Doc. ID: PREP-022-1
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