ItвЂ™s called the Near Beer Game because, although itвЂ™s not identical to the original beer game, it teaches many of the same lessons. You can try a version of the beer game called the Near Beer Game. Many blame their teammates for their problems occasionally heated arguments break out.вЂќ The Near Beer Game Simulation Many players report feelings of frustration and helplessness. John Sterman, Director of MITвЂ™s System Dynamics Group writes, вЂњDuring the game emotions run high. As the backlog for orders increase, players order too much inventory, forcing their teammates into severe backlogs further down the supply chain. The simulation is run as a board game in teams playing the roles of retailers, wholesalers, distributors, and brewers of beer. Thousands have felt the frustration of supply chain management in a simulation developed at MITвЂ™s Sloan School of Management called the beer game. ThatвЂ™s because while customers are asking for increased orders, backlogs are building, and it is oh-so-easy to confuse backlogged orders with increases in demand. Even in supply chains where communication is perfect, manufacturing and procurement delays can wreak havoc. So they ask for 120 to get 100.вЂќ Delays Wreak HavocД«ut coordination isnвЂ™t just about communication.

Procurement needs 100 of a part, but they know if they ask for 100, theyвЂ™ll get 80. Salespeople donвЂ™t want to be caught without supply, so they make sure they have supply by forecasting more sales than they expect. Quoting a supplier to Cisco interviewed in CIO Magazine, вЂњPeople see a shortage and intuitively they forecast higher. Only a few months before the write-down, Cisco wasnвЂ™t able to get its products to customers quickly enough. Production, unaware of the promotion, saw the increase in sales and ramped up production of green cars.Д¬isco faced a similar problem last year that resulted in a $2.2 billion inventory write-down. To get them off the dealersвЂ™ lots, VolvoвЂ™s sales department offered special deals, so demand for green cars increased. Lee tells about how Volvo found itself with extra inventories of green cars. The bullwhip effect is illustrated by a story Prof. Decisions made by groups along the supply actually worsen shortages and overstocks. This lack of coordination coupled with the ability to influence while being influenced by others leads to what StanfordвЂ™s Hau Lee refers to as the Bullwhip Effect.

Further, each group is influenced by decisions that others are making. Each group has control over only a part of the supply chain, but each group can influence the entire chain by ordering too much or too little. Suppliers, manufacturers, sales people, and customers have their own, often incomplete, understanding of what real demand is. The problem turns out to be one of coordination. So why is it that, in a recent article, the Economist claimed that, вЂњManaging a supply chain is becoming a bit like rocket scienceвЂќ? The basic concept behind supply chain management is simple: customers order products from you you keep track of what youвЂ™re selling, and you order enough raw materials from your suppliers to meet your customersвЂ™ demand.

What happened to the supple game