Would you like some wine? Introducing variants to the beer game

The beer game is a well-known simulation game in industry to demonstrate the bullwhip effect. With slight modifications, it is possible to also model and teach additional effects of supply chains, as for example the different countermeasures like pull, but also to an extent, better communication and reduced replenishment time. It can also model the increased fluctuations due to the introduction of additional variants besides beer and its impact on the necessary inventories. Last but not least, it can serve to demonstrate an often-overlooked point in levelling where the supply chain needs to retain at least a minimum of flexibility for levelling. We developed an extended beer game that consists of nine different games and can be performed as a two-day workshop.