How do you plan to celebrate Labor Day? Beer? Games? How bout The Beer Game?

Origins of The Beer Game

In the early 1960s, MIT professors developed The Beer Game to simulate supply chain management lessons, specifically the bullwhip effect.

Today, it can be played either as a classroom board game or online.

"Chaos": How one MIT professor described The Beer Game

"Chaos reigns in my classroom," wrote Professor John D. Sterman in 1992. "Eighty students are shouting, gesturing, and laughing while counting poker chips and turning over cards. A thick roll of $1 bills awaits the winners. A field trip to Las Vegas? No, it's the 'Beer Game', a role-playing simulation designed to teach principles of management science." 

Where to Play The Beer Game

• The Beer Game [Rules]: Free online game for 1-4 players. Game time: 30-60 minutes.
• The Root Beer Game: Free online demo. Game time: 1-3 hours.
• The Beer Game: Classroom board game. See tips from Arizona State University.

Did you know? The first supply chain program in the United States opened nearly a century ago! Check out the supply chain timeline below for other logistics highlights from the past century.

Source: SCM-Operations.com

Teaching life skills to the undead: Logistical considerations

What's the best way to attract zombies' attention? It's a question you may not have ever asked aloud. Luckily, we can all learn from Brainy's bravery during the Memphis Zombie Massacre 2011. Norfolk Southern's safety spokesbrain demonstrated the message "Look, Listen and Live."

Follow this harebrained guide when helping the undead to safely navigate traffic. Without these tips, you may find yourself feeling frustrated, even brainless. Watch and learn survival techniques for a world of fast-moving trains and slow-moving zombies:

Step 1: Look.

• Some accidents occur once the first train has passed and a second train comes through on a parallel track.
• Modern trains are quieter than ever, often with no "clackety-clack."
• Trains can move in either direction at any time.

Brainy thrilled zombies with the message: Train Your Brain. More...