Operations Management Class plays "The Beer Game", invented by MIT Boston

November 26, 2019


The Beer Game, invented by Massachusetts Institute of Technology, stimulated the supply chain and our operations Management class had the opportunity to play it during one of their classes. The students were divided from roles such as store owner, wholesaler, distributor and producer. Every part of the supply chain ordered goods and had them delivered to its customers. Other students recorded data regarding demand and inventory for every round that was played. The goal of the game is to create optimal inventory levels with high customer service ratings. The beer game's results illustrate how the Bullwhip effect in demand variations is created. This effect always appears due to the uncertainty of demand in supply chain. Our students had the great opportunity to better understand the importance of information sharing, supply chain management and collaboration throughout the supply chain process as well as what can happen when non-coordinated process where problems occur because of poor information sharing.