The bullwhip effect
in the supply chains

Wine Game is a virtual simulation.
Similar to the game beer game, developed by
Professor Jay Forrester from MIT in 1960
to illustrate the dynamics of supply chains.

Recommended for operations and logistics disciplines, especially for the subjects of:
• Supply Chain Management,
• Operations Strategy,
• Inventory management,
• Marketing Channels,
• Product distribution,
• Supply and demand,
• Economic forecasting

The game has applications for both manufacturing and service companies. The goal of the simulator is to visualize the bullwhip effect.

In case of any failure, if a student does not write a command, the computer will answer for him, (according to what the teacher configures: with zero, the same as the previous week or according to a prediction model). Allowing the rhythm of the game to be maintained.

It shows that the "bullwhip effect" of demand distortion occurs when there is no communication between the different parts of the chain, with the consequent deterioration of the level of service and erratic behavior of inventories with moments of excess and shortages.

At the end of the simulation, the debrifing, will be displayed, which provides an instant evaluation for both teachers and students of the performance results of each player. In it you can visualize the results of stock/backorder, costs and orders in different roles and in all groups/strings.
The teacher can download part of the debriefing to work with the data later.

You will also have access to the platform's evaluative tests hat will allow you to complement the student's evaluation with theoretical questions, such as true to false, multiple choice, etc.
We have created a perfect quiz to use after the live session. You can create your own. Just let us know the questions you would like to ask.

Sodapop Game

We recommend you to try SodaPop Game, the most used interactive simulator to teach operations, inventory management and more in an entertaining way.

They will be able to simulate a supply chain, understanding the bullwhip effect.

They will discover the effect of variability, where small variations in end-consumer orders can have large repercussions in the chain.
Generating a changing and uncertain demand.

They will learn how to manage lead times
and consider them in their supply chains, where the more delays in the system the more delays there are in the system, the greater the variability and delay in and information delay, resulting in distorted and delayed material flows.

They will be aware of the long paths your order must travel before being fulfilled, where because of the structure of the system, each delivery to the consumer is the result of a demand order sent weeks in advance.

Each group, composed of four participants, will represent the supply chain. One student will be the retailer, one the wholesaler, one the distributor and one the factory.

They will aim to obtain the lowest possible cost, ordering the right amount of wine to satisfy their demand, managing inventory, lead time, transport lot information, warehouse, order and transport costs.

Each week, the retailer orders wine from the wholesaler. So does the wholesaler with the distributor, and the distributor with the manufacturer. Whatever your role, you must avoid running out of stock, while keeping inventory costs down and balancing the supply chain as quickly as possible.

It will be possible to play with as many groups as desired simultaneously. Teams will compete indirectly, as they will all face the same game conditions but there will be no interference between them.

The game conditions that students will face can be customized by teachers by defining different parameters for each simulation which will lead to different levels of complexity.

For example, you can play a first (introductory) scenario with zero visibility of chain information, with constant demand with no variability and with lead times for request of one week and delivery of 2 weeks, with no cost, no transport lot restrictions.
Then, incorporating some of these characteristics in other sessions and in the debriefing of each one, you will be able to show how all this influenced the bullwhip effect.

What will you find?

First you will see a ranking with the results of the chains in each group. You will be able to choose whether to sort them by fill rate, by accumulated costs or by costs per fill rate points.

You will be able to show teams the bullwhip effect on their chains, displaying orders, stock and costs for each one over time. You will also see by chain and compare the information between teams. Facilitating the process of learning the effect that small variations in demand have on a supply chain.

You will select a group from the lowest cumulative cost ranking and their cumulative costs and end-consumer demand will be plotted.

You will also be able to compare the results of stock/backorder, cost and order information of a role, retailer for example, across all groups.

What is a scenario in the game?

They are configurations of the game, each with different characteristics, designed to put into practice the principles of the supply chain and the bullwhip effect. You will be able to choose which one to use when creating a live session.

Changes in the scenario

If you want to analyze the effect of other variables in the game we propose to change the scenario by changing: the variability in demand, lead times in orders and orders, you will also be able to add transportation costs and batches. We recommend: to occupy other scenarios with full visibility of the chain.