The Poker Chip Game: A Multi-product, Multi-customer, Multi-echelon, Stochastic Supply Chain Network Useful for Teaching the Impacts of Pull versus Push Inventory Policies on Link and Chain Performance

Abstract

Supply chain management is a topic that many practitioners and students generally find difficult to understand (Boudette [Boudette, N. 2005. Chrysler offers bonuses to dealers: Move to reduce inventory aims to close year strong, but the reaction is mixed. The Wall Street Journal (December 13)]). The authors present a supply chain game that they have found to be an effective tool to increase student interest in and comprehension of supply chain management. The supply chain game literature is briefly reviewed. The poker chip game is discussed with respect to the well-known Beer Game. The poker chip game is a multi-product, multi-customer, multi-echelon, stochastic supply chain game used to teach the problems of traditional push models (economic order quantity/reorder point and Min-Max inventory models) and the elements of the new pull models (Just inTime and Theory of Constraints).