1. Copyright © 2012 by Harvard Business School Publishing.
HOW TO PLAY
Copyright © 2012 by Harvard Business School Publishing.
Copyright © 2011 by Harvard Business School Publishing.

2. Introduction
You will play one of four roles in a root beer supply chain
Product orders move from right to left, product shipments move from left to right
Copyright © 2011 by Harvard Business School Publishing.

3. Game Play
Each week you will:
Place an order with the player upstream from you in the supply chain
Receive an order from the player downstream from you in the supply chain
Delays:
When you place an order, it takes 1-2 weeks for the order to be received
When you ship an order, it takes 1-2 weeks for the order to arrive
If you are unable to fill an order, it will be added to your backlog
Both inventory and backlogs have associated weekly costs
Your objective is to achieve the lowest total cumulative cost for your entire chain

4. Prepare: Your Role 1 2 3 4 Start the game in the Prepare section
Your Role gives a brief summary of your role in the supply chain
A brief summary of ‘How to Play’ is available in the right panel.
More details are available in the ‘How to Play’ video available in the lower left of the screen 4

5. Prepare: Simulation Summary2 1
Simulation Summary contains important information about how your specific supply chain works
When you have read through the Prepare materials, navigate to the Dashboard Overview.

6. Dashboard Overview 2
Click ‘Place New Order’ to enter your order for the week
The simulation will advance to the next week when all users in the supply chain have submitted their orders (or when the timer runs out, starting in Week 6)
When the simulation advances, the order and shipment flow will be animated. Control the animation using the controls on the right. If you no longer want to view the animation between rounds, slide the ‘Chain Animation’ bar to OFF.
Your weekly orders and costs are tracked in the table below 3 1 4

7. Other Analyze Screens 1
Other screens are available for additional analysis during the game, including:
1. Orders and Backlog
Tracks your incoming orders and resulting backlog over time.
2. Inventory and Shipments
Tracks your incoming and outgoing shipments over time.
3. Cumulative Cost Detail
Tracks your Inventory and Backlog costs over time 2 3

8. Remember:
Your objective is to obtain the lowest total cumulative cost for your entire chain
Both Inventory and Backlogs incur weekly costs
Future demand is unknown, but you have 3 weeks of historical data to analyze
Shipments and Orders take 1-2 weeks to reach the next player on the chain
The timer will begin in Week 6
Good luck!