The Electronic Beergame

eBeer is an online variation on the classic "Beer Game" developed at MIT. Students experience the bullwhip effect by playing different positions in a supply chain. One game typically takes about half an hour. After the game is completed, students and instructors can review plots of inventory and orders.

eBeer also has advanced features beyond the classic Beer Game. A second game is available where students see data from elsewhere in the supply chain. The second game, which also takes about 30 minutes, can be used to show the impact of global information on the bullwhip effect. The instructor can create other variations on the game by changing order and shipping delays, as well as the information available to the students in the supply chain.

eBeer was developed with Professors Evan Porteus and Jeffrey Moore while they were on the faculty of the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

Click on the links below for more information:

How to order trial accounts, instructor packets, and course accounts

Pricing

“...great fun and it was a huge success.”

– Penn State professor teaching a multi-section required undergrad MIS course

logo for eBeer game Team members place one order each simulated week based on their backlog,
on-hand inventory, and the new orders received.

“I particularly like the data at the end; the charts make it easy to filter data and explain the effects of decisions the team members were making.”

– Portland State professor teaching an OM course

Interactive plots of historic orders and inventory levels clearly and dramatically show the bullwhip effect experienced by each team.

As games are completed, teams’ scores immediately appear on a scoreboard.

“Most teams got high scores (1990,1402, 4421....) on the first game, and scored much lower in second game (...220, 240, and 190). Students did feel that information sharing is very important in the chain.”

– Western Connecticut State professor teaching an SCM course