REPLY Running beer game in 1.5 hours (SD6661)

[SDMAIL Justin Longsworth Jagger]

Posted by  "Justin Longsworth Jagger" <jaggerju at msu.edu>

Ralf

I initiated an online beergame for students in a laboratory environment (up 
to 14 students at a time).  I first introduced them to the supply chain 
entities and their constraints:  2 week order and shipping delays; 2 sources 
of cost (ICC and backorder); I then gave them their goals:  to keep costs to 
a minimum and attempt to satisfy all demand.

We then talked through the website and how it functioned; we ran a short demo 
session (about 3 weeks) prior to playing "for real" just so the students could 
"acclimate themselves".  At the beginning of the first game, I told students 
that they could not know how long we were playing for ("less than 20 weeks") 
AND that they cannot talk to their neighbors ("make the decision based on the 
screen in front of you").  Given this, I found that 15-20 weeks should be long 
enough to see a significant bullwhip.

The first game, 95% of the time, should illustrate what happens with extended 
lead times and no communication.  I ran, at a minimum, 2 games at a time so 
that we could also compare the results of one game to another; results were 
graphically represented.

In games 2 and 3, I allowed communication between supply chain partners and 
then shortened the 2 week delays down to 1 week respectively.

At the end we discussed the difficulty of transferring the ideals utilized in 
the session into real world policies (different companies/industries; different 
scenarios; lack of trust; etc)

The initial feedback I've recieved from students has been very positive.
GOOD LUCK!
Justin L. Jagger

Academic Specialist
Michigan State University
Posted by  "Justin Longsworth Jagger" <jaggerju at msu.edu>
posting date  Tue, 27 Nov 2007 11:26:35 -0500