Food Chain

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Demonstrate the dependencies, bottlenecks, and communication barriers across a multi-tier customer-supplier chain.

Use it when: Use when examining operational handoffs, supplier relationships, or friction points between internal teams and external customers.

Skip it when: Skip when the group cannot move around comfortably or when participants need to analyze actual technical workflows rather than a fast-paced market simulation.

Group arrangement: Three roughly equal subgroups arranged spatially into Suppliers (Group 1), Processors (Group 2), and Buyers (Group 3). Extra participants join Group 2 to smooth the flow.

Timing: Source specifies 15 to 30 minutes with a strict 5-minute live trading round; UWT standardizes on a 20-minute schedule.

Materials and tools

• Index cards cut in half (approximately 50 halves per Group 1 participant)
• Play money in $1 bills (prepare $5 per Group 2 participant and $200 per Group 3 participant)
• Pens or markers (one per participant in Group 1 and Group 2)
• Printed Instruction Sheets (one per person corresponding to their group assignment)
• Chime, whistle, or acoustic timer for the facilitator

Before participants arrive

1. Cut index cards in half and bundle them into stacks of 50.
2. Count play money into individual packets ($5 for each Group 2 participant; $200 for each Group 3 participant).
3. Arrange the room into three distinct zones: place Group 1 at one end, Group 3 at the opposite end, and Group 2 in the middle.
4. Print instruction sheets for Groups 1, 2, and 3.

Say this to open

Welcome. In this simulation, we will experience how work and value move across an end-to-end delivery pipeline. You are divided into three groups across the room: Group 1 on the left, Group 2 in the middle, and Group 3 on the right. Members of Group 1 and Group 3 cannot speak or trade directly with each other. Everything must pass through Group 2. Read your instruction sheet carefully, protect your strategy, and prepare to begin when the signal sounds.

How to run it

1. Divide into groups and distribute roles 4 minutes

   Divide participants into three roughly equal groups. Direct Group 1 to one side of the room, Group 2 to the center, and Group 3 to the opposite side. Hand each Group 1 member 50 card halves, a pen, and the Group 1 instruction sheet. Hand each Group 2 member $5, a pen, and the Group 2 instruction sheet. Hand each Group 3 member $200 and the Group 3 instruction sheet. Give everyone two minutes to read their private rules. Visit each group to clarify questions quietly.

2. Run trading round 5 minutes

   Sound the whistle to begin trading. Group 1 participants sign cards and sell up to 5 at a time to Group 2 for $1 each, rotating buyers. Group 2 participants sign underneath and sell one card at a time to Group 3 for $2 each, rotating buyers. Group 3 buys valid double-signed cards, collecting at most two cards with the exact same pair of signatures. Ensure Group 1 and Group 3 never trade directly. Stop the game immediately when the 5-minute timer sounds.

3. Tally results and declare winners 3 minutes

   Have participants halt all transactions on the signal. Direct Group 1 and Group 2 members to count their remaining money. Direct Group 3 members to count their validly acquired cards. Identify the person with the highest total in each group and acknowledge their score.

4. Debrief the supply chain dynamics 8 minutes

   Bring the entire room together into a circle or plenary seating. Facilitate a structured review using the debrief questions. Collect 2 to 3 observations per question to examine bottlenecks, cash flow pressures, and the experience of serving intermediate versus end users.

Debrief questions

• What bottlenecks or frustrations occurred during the handoffs between groups?
• How did the rule restricting Group 1 and Group 3 from direct contact affect product flow and pricing?
• Where do you observe similar middle-tier pressure or disconnects in our actual organization?

Finished output: A shared list of operational bottlenecks and handoff breakdowns observed during the simulation, mapped to real workplace workflows.

Remote

This live physical simulation relies on spatial separation and rapid physical paper-and-cash trading. Running it online requires a completely different digital inventory system. To explore the same concept remotely, run a structured handoff simulation using a shared spreadsheet with three sequential tabs (Supplier, Processor, Customer) where participants pass row tokens using private chat approvals.

Hybrid

Hybrid delivery is not recommended because physical trading and spatial buffering between tables are core to the activity. If necessary, place all in-person members into Group 2 (processing) while remote participants operate as Group 1 and Group 3 using digital breakout rooms and shared visual boards.

Access and participation choices

• Participants with limited physical mobility can remain stationary at their table while other traders approach them.
• Any participant may opt out of active trading and serve as an auditor or timekeeper without disclosure.

If the session gets stuck

Group 2 runs out of starting cash before they can make enough sales to Group 3.

Remind Group 2 that they can negotiate prices with Group 1, buy single cards, or complete an immediate sale to Group 3 to replenish their working capital.

Members of Group 1 try to approach Group 3 directly across the room.

Enforce the spatial rule immediately: direct Group 1 back to their zone and remind them that all goods must route through Group 2.

Terms used here

• Two different signatures: A valid card must show the signature of the original Group 1 producer and the signature of the Group 2 intermediary below it.