Why this game

Distribution networks juggle daily with erratic demand, long and fluctuating lead times, and inventory dilemmas across multiple nodes. The result is familiar: bestsellers are sold out, money is tied up in slow-moving items, and the operation relies on expeditions and "a rush here, a rush there."

Our penguins help your network run synchronously. Think of a colony moving in formation across the ice. Each penguin station knows exactly when to move, when to wait, and when to supply. The effect is immediate calm, higher delivery reliability, and less costly panic.

What you are going to do

Live, instructor-led online simulation, in teams that together form a supply chain. You play in rounds and work with real planning dilemmas and clear performance indicators.

Round 1: The reality of today

• You work with standard rules like many organisations use.
• You experience oscillation in stock and orders, gaps in service and ad-hoc dispatch.
• You keep live KPIs: service level, inventory days, backorders, shipping costs, and lead time.

Learning how it can be better

• Concise, sharp explanation of Demand Driven principles: strategic decoupling, buffer profiles, visual signals, and replenishment based on actual consumption.
• Your team translates this directly into game rules that fit your chain.

Round 2: The Demand Driven Restart

• You run exactly the same scenario and data again, now with Demand Driven rules.
• Will the flow stabilise, service increase and expedition decrease?
• You compare the results one-to-one with round 1 and discuss what you will do differently tomorrow.

Analysis and feedback

• Joint debrief with scoreboard and lessons learned.
• Concrete improvement actions and a short start checklist for your organisation.

Game mechanics in brief

• Roles: purchasing, planning, inventory management, transport, customer order management.
• Network: multiple echelons with different lead times and demand patterns.
• Signals: consumption and actual demand drive decisions, not just a forecast.
• Buffers: strategically placed to decouple variability and protect flow.
• KPI scoreboard: service level, lead time, WIP, inventory value, expedition incidents, and bullwhip index.

What you learn

• Decoupling variability with strategic buffer positions so that peaks and troughs do not ripple through the entire network.
• Aligning replenishment with real signals instead of guessing and noise.
• Reducing expedition and stabilising service through clear visual rules and priorities.
• Create a common language between sales, purchasing, planning, and logistics, so that the blame game stops and decisions are made faster and better.

For whom

Buyers, planners, logistics, supply chain managers, operations leaders, and commercial stakeholders who influence inventory and service. Teams who want to understand the "why" and "how" behind Demand Driven together.

Form and time

• Live online, very interactive with breakout teams and an experienced facilitator.
• Duration: 4 hours.
• Group size: ideal 6 to 18 players.

Results

• Shared understanding of why the current system oscillates and where the real bottlenecks are.
• Clear insight into how Demand Driven rules change behaviour and decisions.
• Practical steps that you can apply immediately, including a compact start checklist and the KPI comparison between round 1 and 2.

Ready to turn chaos into flow?

Sign up for a live session and let your stock waddle neatly instead of sliding.

Registration can be done by clicking on sign up on this page!

For larger groups of 6 or more people, is it possible to have your own game? Contact us to schedule a date!