Our series: Supply Chain Simulation / Part 1

What is a digital twin of a supply chain?

The 3-pillar model describes the basic structure of a digital twin in order to be able to use it for the operation and improvement of a supply chain.

The first pillar, supply chain monitoring, comprises tools and databases that provide information about the current state of the supply chain. The second pillar anchors predictive techniques, which include network optimization and dynamic simulation.

Data from the first pillar is used to inform network optimization and simulation. Network optimization can be used to make location decisions. Simulation provides information on the dynamic behavior of the supply chain, including the processes implemented.

The third pillar includes the measures that must be used to optimally manage a supply chain. These measures can be examined for their effectiveness using the methods of the second pillar. Dynamic simulation is an effective tool for this, as it can be used to easily investigate what-if scenarios, for example.