Face to face / Online closed & onsite training. Restaurant lunch included at STL venues.
The Beer Game is a dynamic and interactive simulation originally developed by MIT to illustrate the complexities of supply chain management, making it highly relevant for professionals in logistics, operations, and management roles.
In this activity, participants assume one of four key positions within a supply chain - Retailer, Wholesaler, Distributor, or Factory - each tasked with managing fluctuating customer demand while keeping costs low.
Throughout the game, participants manage inventory and place orders based on limited communication and delayed information, which mirrors real-world supply chain challenges.
A core learning point of the game is the 'bullwhip effect,' where small changes in consumer demand at the retail level cause increasingly larger fluctuations in inventory and orders as they move up the chain.
The simulation provides a practical, hands-on experience to understand how individual decisions can affect the efficiency and performance of the entire supply chain.
Introduction and Objectives
Welcome and course overview.
Explanation of the Beer Game and its relevance to supply chain management.
Beer Game Simulation Round 1 Setup
Explanation of game rules and roles: retailer, wholesaler, distributor, factory.
Roles assigned to participants.
Overview of game mechanics: placing orders, managing inventory, and dealing with delays.
Debrief and Analysis
Discussion of results and common challenges encountered.
Review of the bullwhip effect as seen in the game.
Analyse decision-making processes and communication gaps within the team.
Beer Game Simulation Round 2 Setup
Explanation of new game rules and roles.
Second Debrief and Analysis
Discussion of results, challenges and successes.
Engineering/Construction Game Simulation Round 3Setup
Explanation of new scenario game rules and roles.
Key Learnings and Applications
How the Beer Game principles apply to real-world business scenarios.
Strategies for improving supply chain efficiency, reducing costs, and enhancing collaboration.
Q&A session and discussion of practical takeaways for participants’ organisations.
Conclusion and Next Steps
Summary of key lessons learned.
Recommendations for applying insights in participants' businesses.
Feedback and closing remarks.
Arguably, the most experienced and highest motivated trainers.
Training is held in our modern, comfortable, air-conditioned suites.
A hot lunch is provided at local restaurants near our venues:
Courses start at 9:30am.
Please aim to be with us for 9:15am.
Browse the sample menus and view joining information (how to get to our venues).
Available throughout the day:
Regular breaks throughout the day.
Contains unit objectives, exercises and space to write notes
Your questions answered on our support forum.
It is ideal for professionals in operations, logistics, procurement and management who want hands-on supply chain management training. Teams sharpen their systems thinking, build practical inventory management instincts, and see first-hand how collaboration and communication across the retailer, wholesaler, distributor and factory roles shape overall performance.
Each participant takes a role in a four-stage chain and places orders under delayed information and limited visibility. As customer demand shifts, players experience the bullwhip effect - where small changes downstream create ever-larger swings in stock upstream - through genuine experiential learning rather than theory alone.
We can run the classic beer distribution version, a management-focused variant, and even a root beer game format suitable for mixed or younger audiences. Sessions work as a fast single round or a fuller two-round experience, delivered through an engaging online platform so every delegate stays fully hands-on.
Scenarios range from a stable-demand opener to sudden demand spikes, with adjustable lead times and order batching. A first round is typically run without visibility, then repeated with open information sharing so teams can compare results and see how transparency, lean and continuous improvement reduce order fluctuations. An engineering or construction context can also be layered in for added realism.
Absolutely. We offer on-site delivery across the UK and interactive live online sessions for remote teams, plus premium venues in Central London (Bloomsbury and Limehouse) with restaurant lunch included. Both formats keep the team building energy and networking that make the day memorable.
Yes. For tailored and bespoke programmes we can reflect your sector, adjust the scenario settings, and build in your own context so the supply chain management training maps directly to your workflows and KPIs - making the lessons immediately applicable back at work.
Our courses are never cancelled, are led by expert trainers with real-world experience, and are backed by 24 months of post-course support. Delegates leave with practical inventory management techniques and a lasting systems thinking mindset they can apply the very next day.
It was created at the MIT Sloan School of Management around 1960 by Jay Forrester as part of his pioneering work in system dynamics - and, despite the name, there is no actual beer involved. Decades on it remains one of the world's most widely used management simulations for illustrating demand variability and the ripple effects of everyday decisions.
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Excellent
Duracell UK
Graham L
Presentation Skills
"Extremely helpful course. Well paced, never felt bored. No topic felt redundant. Andrew was extremely friendly and engaging. Good level of interaction between presenter and us. I definitely feel more confident after today. Would recommend it to anyone."
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