Bullwhip effect 101
Reading for week 5
Midterm: Study Guide & Sample Test
Click here for a copy of the midterm study guide
Click here for a copy of the sample midterm
Root Beer Game Deliverables: due March 10
MIS 3537
Internet & Supply Chains
Due Date: March 10
We will complete the Root Beer Game as per the following schedule:
1. Practice session in class (completed) – February 4
2. Completion of round 1 – in class February 11
3. Team decision (via e-mail to professor) on change to make in Round 2 – February 18
4. Game reset and ready to start round 2 – February 20
3. Completion of round 2 and submission of deliverables – by March 10
Group members are not supposed to coordinate with each other during the practice session and round 1. They can coordinate for round 2.
In round 2, each team can make one of the following changes:
- Point of sale (POS) information visible to all roles (not just the retailer).
- Shipping Delay reduced to 1 week from 2
- Information Delay (orders) reduced to 1 week from 2
Note that the demand pattern may change between the different rounds. The intent of playing multiple rounds is to demonstrate how manipulating certain aspects of the game can influence the performance of the supply chain.
Here are the deliverables of the beer game (one submission per group):
1. Complete the performance spreadsheet of your group (click here)
2. Prepare a short writeup on how you played the beer game, what strategies you employed, and how your strategies changed when you played the beer game for the second time compared to the first time (you can use the questions below to prepare your talking points).
- What was your strategy in the game with respect to order placing and holding inventory?
- How was the communication and cooperation between various players in the group?
- When you played the game for the second time, how did your strategy change in terms of – ordering and inventory strategy? cooperation with team members?
- What lessons from the beer game would you give to supply chain managers?
Due Date: March 10
Class Video Capture
The Fox school makes it relatively easy for professors to capture the video of the classes. It’s another way for you to participate if you cannot attend class or to review certain sections of a class lecture of discussion.
As best I can, I’ll capture all the classes and post the links here. Unfortunately, I have a habit of pausing the video capture during breaks and not turning on.
This link has all the video’s for the class. In addition the individual classes are here:
Week 2 January 21 Crocs Case and I/T in Supply Chains
Week 3 January 28 Zappos Case and Electronic Markets
Week 4 February 4 WWT/ClearOrbit Case & Beer Game Intro
Week 5 February 11 Beer Game and Bullwhip Effect
Week 6 February 18 RFID
Week 7 February 25 Metro Case and Delivery of Info Goods
Week 8 March 10 Hulu Case & Procurement and Sourcing
Week 9 March 17 Xbox Case & eFulfillment & Distribution
Week 10 March 24 Amazon Europe Case & Ethics and Green Supply Chains
Week 11 March 31 Starbucks Case & SC IT Standards
Week 12 April 7 RosettaNet / ebXML Case & Guest Lecture
Week 13 April 14 Global SC Simulation Intro
Week 14 April 21 Global SC Simulation Debrief, Final Lecture
100 second reflection for week 4
Think for 100 seconds, and summarize the key things that you learned in the class in week 4 – Beer Game, WWT / ClearOrbit case, …
Reading for week 4
Article on B2B Markets Link
Q & A: WWT ClearOrbit Case
1. When WWT diversified by offering higher-end supply chain outsourcing solutions, in 2000, what two services did it focus on in particular?
2. What company, also WWT’s ERP supplier, developed a supplier collaboration tool by the name of iSupplier?
3. What “lessons learned” for future collaborations did Frank indicate, following the success of the purchasing collaboration program?
Reading for week 3
This article describes how the internet has changed the supply chains: Link
Case Team: Schedule
Below and in the link in Assignment Documents is the schedule for each team – when you’re scheduled to present the case in class and the week you’re responsible for capturing the ‘answers’ in class and posting.
Case | Date | Presentation Team | Answer Post Team |
Crocs | January 21 | 5 | 4 |
Zappos.com | January 28 | 6 | 2 |
WWT / Clear Orbit | February 04 | 3 | |
RFID at Metro | February 25 | 7 | 1 |
Hulu Case | March 10 | 4 | |
Xbox Supply Chain | March 17 | 3 | 6 |
Amazon Europe | March 24 | 2 | 7 |
Starbucks | March 31 | 1 | 5 |
RosettaNet | April 07 |