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Doughnut Truck Simulation
Doughnut Truck
The Doughnut Truck simulation brings to life the challenges of demand forecasting and supply management for perishable goods. Ideal for both graduate students and executive education programs.
Demand forecasting meets perishable inventory
Created with a sleek design and simple interface, it guarantees participants are fully immersed in understanding the newsvendor model. This dynamic simulation is ideal for both graduate students and executive education programs, focusing on the intricacies of managing perishable inventory under uncertain demand.
"How many doughnuts should you order today to maximize tomorrow's profits?"
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1Grasp the essential concepts of demand forecasting for perishable goods and the underlying principles of the newsvendor model.
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2Develop decision-making skills to optimally manage inventory levels while accounting for the costs of stockouts and overstocks.
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3Enhance collaboration and communication capabilities in a simulated business environment.
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4Benefit from swift debriefing sessions that solidify understanding and highlight areas for operational improvements.
Three pillars of the Doughnut Truck experience
Newsvendor model simulation
Innovative simulation through a simple interface guarantees complete focus on the problem at hand.
Quick and efficient learning points
Introduction of key concepts of demand forecasting and supply management for perishable goods.
Easy debriefing session
Instructor gets comparable results of the session for faster and more efficient debriefing.
Who benefits from Doughnut Truck?
Graduate students
MBA and business school students looking to understand inventory management and newsvendor concepts through experiential learning.
Executive education
Professionals and executives who need to quickly grasp perishable goods supply chain dynamics in a focused, high-impact session.
Instructors
Educators benefit from comparable results across sessions, making debriefing efficient, structured, and insightful.
The dynamics of the simulation
Participants manage the inventory of a doughnut truck, making daily decisions on how many doughnuts to stock based on forecasted demand.
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Daily order decision — Each day, participants decide how many doughnuts to produce for the following day, without knowing the exact demand.
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Demand uncertainty — Demand varies each day. Overstocking results in wasted perishable inventory; understocking means missed sales opportunities.
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Profit maximization — Participants are tasked with finding the optimal order quantity to maximize cumulative profits over the simulation period.
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Instructor debrief — After the simulation, instructors access a unified results view with comparable metrics across all participants.
What makes this simulation unique
Newsvendor model
Provides a realistic environment for understanding perishable goods supply management through direct experience.
Simple interface
Elegant design ensures participants focus entirely on mastering the newsvendor problem, not the platform.
Comparable results
Instructors can benchmark participants across sessions, enabling efficient feedback and review cycles.
Experiential learning
Participants gain hands-on understanding of demand forecasting, stockout costs, and overstock penalties.
Common questions answered
What is the newsvendor problem?
The newsvendor problem is a fundamental inventory management challenge: how many units of a perishable item should you order to maximize profit when demand is uncertain? Too few means lost sales; too many means wasted inventory.
How long does a session take?
A typical session lasts between 60 and 120 minutes, including the introduction, gameplay, and debriefing phases.
How many participants can play simultaneously?
The simulation supports any number of participants. Each plays individually, and instructors can monitor all sessions in real time from the instructor panel.
Is it suitable for executive education?
Yes. The simulation is designed for both graduate students and executive education programs. Its simple interface ensures participants focus on the core concepts, regardless of their technical background.
How does the debriefing work?
After the simulation, instructors access a unified results view with comparable metrics across all participants, making the debriefing session faster and more insightful.
Let's talk about your implementation
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Integrate Doughnut Truck into your academic programme
Request a demo and we'll show you how the simulation fits your course objectives.