Digital Twins: How the Emergent Technology Disrupts Supply Chain Management in 2022

A digital twin is a novel take on the familiar idea of virtual modeling that is expected to transform every aspect of logistics management software operations. 

However, as with any forward-thinking technology, the shift will probably not happen overnight.

Despite the considerable potential, digital twinning relies on a number of existing processes and technologies, so a successful deployment takes careful consideration to produce meaningful improvement.

TheWebAppMarket will walk you through the detailed aspect of the benefits of Digital Twin, in terms of operational efficiency, diagnostics of issues, and development of a solution.

Digital Twin: A Brief Introduction

Broadly speaking, a digital twin is a virtual model of a real-world object or phenomenon. Depending on the area of application, this might be anything from a model of a piece of equipment or a building to a representation of a system or a business process.

The idea of digital twins is not new. In fact, they are a logical extension of the CAD software meant to represent physical objects in a convenient format. However, the technology has outgrown its initial narrow scope and can now be found in many domains:

• Engineering
• Manufacturing
• Operations
• Design
• Logistics

In addition to improvements in modeling and production planning, a digital twin can be useful to forecast demand, find bottlenecks, and optimize inventory management.

In other words, it serves as an advanced simulation model that analyzes the interactions between the elements of the system that takes advantage of the recent advancements in digital solutions.

Digital Twins in Logistics Management Software

In the case of supply chain management, a digital twin can be compared to prescriptive analytics solutions used throughout the industry. Simply put, it obtains the data from real-world operations and uses it to depict potential outcomes. The key difference from other types of analytics is seamless data input.

For instance, the company’s fleet may be outfitted with sensors that track the location of vehicles. Once this data is integrated with the virtual twin, it becomes possible to compare the performance with predictions, detect bottlenecks, and test optimization scenarios.

To make the data truly relevant, the twin should have access to as many inputs from the real supply chain as possible. It includes everything from the number and timing of individual orders placed by customers to the route of supply vehicles to the state of the production line.

Modern digital twins rely on the IoT devices that automate the process to avoid errors in such a massive volume of inputs. Not only does it eliminate the human factor, making the entire system more reliable, it also allows for timely corrective actions.

Digital Twin vs Traditional Logistics ERP Software

Benefits of Software for Transport Company

Depending on the area of application of logistics and supply chain management software, it can create value in different ways. In the broadest terms, the benefits of using digital twins can be grouped into four categories.

1. Diagnostic: Digital twinning can be used to determine the cause of issues based on algorithms developed in-house or external analytics platforms powered by machine learning.
2. Predictive: In addition to analyzing the current state of the system, a digital twin allows to forecast future outcomes based on suggested inputs. Some solutions can also provide recommendations on avoiding potential issues and improving the predicted results.
3. Analytical: On a micro level, IoT-powered digital models can detect issues with individual elements of the system, such as malfunction of individual units in the fleet, making the overall results more reliable.
4. Descriptive: With supply chain software, the suggested schedule can be visualized in a convenient format, which may help reveal shortcomings or help human operators track the progress.

On top of that, all of the data provided by digital twins can be used remotely and adapted to the needs of specific stakeholders. That makes it a convenient reference point for establishing communication between different departments as well as other stakeholders.

Use Cases: Logistics Software Singapore Example

Recognizing the potential of this novel technology, several organizations have already integrated digital twins with their logistics and supply chain software. One of the more prominent examples is DHL – one of the major players in the industry. The company has launched a digital twin of a warehouse in Singapore.

The warehouse in question, one of the biggest ones in the Asia-Pacific region, consistently sends data to its virtual counterpart.According to the CEO of DHL Supply Chain Singapore, this solution “enables agile, cost-effective, and scalable supply chain operations.”

This move is in line with DHL’s long-standing reputation of exceeding customer expectations and has already had a positive

Logistics Management Software: Critical Considerations

Considering all of the above, digital twinning might seem like a miraculous solution. In reality, its success depends on several critical factors. Here are the main ones you need to establish before deploying the technology:

• Data Collection Capabilities: The transport company has to have an established channel for gathering data and arranging it in a homogeneous and interoperable format.
• Interoperability: Preferably, the data should be compatible with industry standards and open to all authorized stakeholders.
• IoT Solutions: Digital twins benefit from the capabilities of IoT devices, so they are essential for continuous and reliable operation.
• Simulation and Visualization Capabilities: The company is expected to have experience with designing scenarios that can then be visualized and tested via a digital twin.

Wrapping Up

Digital twinning offers numerous advantages to supply chain companies in terms of operational efficiency, diagnostics of issues, and development of solutions.

On top of that, it paves the way for the emergence of an ecosystem that spans across organizations and entire industries.

Ambitious long-term goals aside, it offers real tangible benefits that are already embraced by major players in the field of logistics, which both confirms its feasibility and broadens the scope of applications in the future.