Software tool for decision making in supply chains

New and innovative aspects

The tool extends the Beer Game in a way that allows the configuration of different levels of uncertainty and the working philosophy of the supply chain (collaborative and non-collaborative). Through simulation, different alternatives can be experienced beyond those offered, facilitating decision-making.

Main advantages of its use

- It allows the identification of current issues and potential improvements within a specific supply chain.

- Fosters a paradigm shift from a non-collaborative approach to a collaborative approach.

- Facilitates experimentation before implementing decision-making in real supply chains.

Specifications

In broad terms, the Beer Game Extended simulator is a tool that enables experimentation with the well-known Beer Game production and distribution system. In addition to the two classic sources of uncertainty considered in the Beer Game—consumer demand and distortion caused by fixed waiting times (production and shipments)—to offer greater realism and similarity to a real supply chain, the Beer Game Extended has been expanded with different sources of noise: defective product rate, production capacity constraints, transportation capacity constraints, production costs, shipping costs, and storage costs. In this way, the Beer Game Extended provides an appropriate framework for analyzing managers' behavior and the impact of their decisions on the supply chain's dynamics. To implement this Beer Game Extended, hybrid modeling and simulation techniques have been employed. On one hand, discrete-event simulation has been used to implement a list of future events, which is necessary to advance the simulation clock and manage the sequence of discrete events that unfold actions. On the other hand, agent-based simulation has been used, as this decentralized approach is considered very suitable for analyzing the complex behavior of supply chains. Thus, the supply chain has been modeled as a multi-agent system, where individual agents interact within an environment and cooperate to achieve collective objectives. Feel free to get in touch with the University of Burgos to learn more about the technical features of this software.

Applications

The software assists managers in understanding the underlying effects when making decisions in all sectors that involve a supply chain.

Intellectual property status

Protected by software

Current development status

Device already developed and validated for industrialization.

Desired business relationship

Commercial Agreement, License Agreement, Technical Cooperation: further development; Technical Cooperation: testing new applications; Technical Cooperation: adaptation to specific needs.