Learning from online beer distribution simulation game

With an online beer distribution simulation game (BDSG), we attempt to answer the following three questions: (1) How does students’ learning on the game affect the BDSG performance? (2) Can we reproduce and practice meaningful conceptual knowledge in SCM with the BDSG? (3) How to improve the performance of the game using any operations management tool? To answer the first two questions, the linear regression-based total cost adjustment approach (LRTCAA) is designed to evaluate the effects of learning experience, demand pattern and communication level, and is applied to the online BDSG experiments conducted by students. The results revealed that students obtained significant knowledge and learning when the game was repeated, suggesting that the online BDSG be a good learning tool. It also turned out that the communication level was a significant factor, whereas the demand pattern was not. Regarding the third question, an Excel spreadsheet model with a chase strategy and an Excel solver formulation is proposed as a guidance to improve the performance of the game. We observed that the solutions from the Excel spreadsheet model outperformed all previous results. Thus, we believe that the LRTCAA framework and the Excel model presented would provide a useful insight to many educators.