CompXM Round 4 Strategy Guide
Hello, and welcome back to our Capsim CompXM strategy series. In this video, we’ll cover Round 4 – the final round of the CompXM simulation. This is where you consolidate your lead, maximize profitability, and finish strong. I’ll walk you through the strategy we used to win, and how you can adapt this to your own exam to achieve top results of 900–995/1000.
Let’s begin with an overview of the situation.
1. Overview of Round 4 Situation
By Round 4, our company had added four new products—one in each of the four main segments: Traditional (Trip), Low-End (Core), High-End (Nano), and Performance/Elite (Elite). Each segment now has two products under our brand, offering us better coverage of the market. These product variants are designed to be slightly different but closely aligned with customer expectations.
At this stage, we are leading the market in:
- Total market share
- Net profits
- Sales volume and contribution margin
This leadership is not by chance—it results from consistent execution in product development, pricing, capacity planning, and financial discipline.
2. R&D Decisions (R&D / InD)
Let’s start with R&D (InD module). For each product, we refer to the previous round’s reports to check whether the current size and performance specs are still meeting customer expectations.
- For Nano and Elite, performance and size are critical. We make sure the specifications are as close as possible to the ideal position to stay competitive.
- For Trip and Core, those specs are less critical—but we still aim to stay above the customer threshold to ensure good appeal while minimizing unnecessary R&D cost.
We also check the specs of top-selling competitors to make sure our products are aligned or positioned slightly better—especially for Nano and Elite. This keeps us both competitive and cost-effective.
3. Marketing Decisions (Price, Promo, Sales Budget)
In marketing, our strategy in Round 4 was to slightly lower the price by $0.50 across all segments. This was done:
- To stay attractive compared to top competitors
- While still maintaining a higher price point for stronger margin per unit
We accepted that we may sell slightly fewer units than the cheapest competitor, but our margin per unit is significantly higher, which drives better profitability.
We kept our promotion and sales budget at competitive levels to retain awareness and accessibility. Our company consistently ranked in the top 4 best-selling products across all segments.
4. Production Decisions
In production, we did not invest in new capacity, because this is the final round. There’s no benefit in expanding capacity for a simulation that ends immediately after.
Instead, we focused on:
- Producing at full capacity
- Avoiding stockouts (especially for Nano, which experienced shortages in Round 3)
To determine production quantities, we:
- Took the previous year’s sales and inventory data
- Calculated the potential market demand using growth rates and market share projections
- Entered those figures into our production planning spreadsheet to avoid mistakes
Tip: Be sure to double-check formulas and projected share across all 8 products. Accuracy is critical here.
5. HR Decisions (Human Resources)
For Human Resources, we continued with the maximum settings:
- Recruiting Spend: $5,000
- Training Hours: 80
This ensures the most productive workforce possible, especially helpful in maintaining low labor costs and increasing throughput.
6. Finance Decisions
With our profits soaring in Round 4, we made some final adjustments to optimize shareholder value:
- Paid dividends at $8 per share
- Retired long-term debt to strengthen our balance sheet
- Repurchased stock (max amount) to increase EPS and stock price
These decisions enhanced both Return on Equity (ROE) and Stock Price, two of the most weighted metrics in the final score.
7. Final Results Overview
Here’s what the final round delivered:
- Sales revenue increased from $279M in Round 3 to $335M in Round 4
- Contribution Margin rose to 48%
- Net Profit reached $62M, and combined with retained earnings, total equity surpassed $100M
Our company’s stock price soared to $163, far above the next competitor, Chester, at $127. That’s a major indicator of success in CompXM.
8. Key Lessons
Our performance in Round 4 wasn’t just luck—it was the result of:
- Planning from Round 1
- Launching new products in each segment early
- Balancing pricing strategy with market position
- Carefully managing production and avoiding waste
- Using finance tools like dividends and stock buybacks for scoring
Even though our Round 1 and 2 strategy wasn’t perfect, we recovered by making strong decisions in Rounds 3 and 4. The takeaway here is: even if you make small mistakes early, smart decisions later can still push you to the top.
9. Final Tips for You
Here’s how you can apply this in your own CompXM:
- Use Excel to plan and verify each decision
- Focus on net profit, contribution margin, ROE, and stock price — they matter most
- Avoid emergency loans at all costs
- Match your product specs to segment drift and ideal spots
- Don’t add capacity in Round 4 — it’s too late to benefit
10. Need Help?
If you want FREE support for CompXM Rounds 1 and 2,
or need a second opinion on your strategy, feel free to contact us:
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Email: mbahelp2002@gmail.com
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Blog with tips and spreadsheet templates: https://compxmguide2022.blogspot.com
Thank you for watching. I wish you all the best in your CompXM simulation. Plan smart, stay focused, and you’ll be on your way to a score above 950 or even 999/1000.
Good luck, and see you in the next strategy video!
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