MIS 3537:  Internet & Supply Chains

Due Date: March 20

We will complete the Root Beer Game as per the following schedule:

1. Practice session in class (completed) – February 13

2. Completion of round 1 – in class February 20

3. Team decision (via e-mail to professor) on change to make in Round 2 – Saturday, February 25

4. Game reset and ready to start round 2 – February 27 (I will post a note on the blog)

3. Completion of round 2 and submission of deliverables – by March 20

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 Beer game group or per person if playing single player):

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).

1. What was your strategy in the game with respect to order placing and holding inventory?
2. How was the communication and cooperation between various players in the group?
3. 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?
4. What lessons from the beer game would you give to supply chain managers?

Due Date: March 20