Welcome.
The aim of this portal is to demonstrate the idea and usage of the so-called beer distribution game (or beergame) in University teaching and management education.
The beergame is a role-play simulation game that lets students experience typical coordination problems of (traditional) supply chains, in which information sharing and collaboration does not exist. In more general terms, this supply chain represents any non-coordinated system in which problems arise due to lack of systemic thinking.
As a way of facilitating the beergame in a class room, training or workshop situation, we have developed an innovative beergame facilitation software, which allows not only replicating the classic beergame, but also to manipulate various parameters of the game, thus providing participants with ways to experience the differences between uncoordinated supply chains and those with information sharing and coordination.
More specifically, with this portal I want to demonstrate how the beergame can be used to provide students with a more profound understanding of the reasons why information technologies are used in contemporary supply chains.
To this end, I introduce the beergame, demonstrate its use in a classroom setting, and show how the game can be embedded in a typical B2B eCommerce syllabus.
Moreover, I provide some useful resources: 1) materials for facilitating the classic table
version of the game, 2) links to other beergame
resources on the web, and 3) last but not least our beergame facilitation software can be used free of
charge in educational contexts! Feel free contact me!
Now, please enjoy,