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Kurzfassung In den Jahren vor der Finanzkrise herrschte in vielen Hochländern ein ausgeprägter Offshoring-Boom. Produktionsbereiche wurden in Schwellenländer mit günstigen Lohnkosten verlagert. Mittlerweile häufen sich die Meldungen, dass Unternehmen ausgelagerte Produktionen wieder zurück ins Ursprungsland holen und damit Reshoring betreiben. Dieser Beitrag klärt die gängigen Begriffe und gibt einen Überblick der Gründe, die zum Umdenken geführt haben. Mit Hilfe einer einfachen Entscheidungsmatrix werden dem Leser die Faktoren dargelegt, die für ein Re- bzw. Offshoring sprechen. Der Beitrag richtet sich an Fach- und Führungskräfte aus KMU im Produktionsgewerbe, die überwiegend im Heimmarkt tätig sind.

The internet of things, digital twins of smart connected products, and thereby enabled smart services are topics of great interest and have been gaining traction for many years. However, many questions concerning the application-oriented usage of digital twins still need to be scrutinized. Therefore, this paper examines the question of an application-oriented framework for value creation with digital twins using design science research approaches. A conceptual reference framework is presented based on earlier research and iteratively developed within workshops with three companies. The framework incorporates primary dimensions of external and internal value creation and data resources. Further, it discusses the product life cycle, the real-world counterpart, value creation in the ecosystem, and the generational aspect of the digital twins. Furthermore, applying the framework to a use case with an industrial research partner helps to show the contributions to the industrial sector. The framework provides utility to practitioners as a means of creating a common sense in interdisciplinary teams, communicating digital twin projects to internal and external stakeholders, and as a toolbox for specific challenges concerning digital twins. In addition, the framework distinguishes itself from existing approaches by including the service ecosystem and its actors while considering the principles of product life cycle management. Therefore, using the framework in other use cases will test the approach on different industries and products. Furthermore, there is a need to develop approaches for implementing and developing an existing case.

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Value generation with digital twins along the phases of the product lifecycle affects different processes from a company's internal perspective. The present study investigated in which phases of the product lifecycle and processes swiss companies seek to generate what value contribution. The results of the survey of 103 companies show that only 47% of the companies surveyed are applying or planning to apply digital twins. The motivation primarily lies in increasing efficiency (79%) or in building competitive advantage (63%). These companies clearly recognize the potential of digital twins to create value in theBeginning-of-Life-phase (79%) and in the Middle-of-Life-phase (60%). In contrest, the use in the End-of-Life-phase (15%) is subordinate. The companies seek to generate value with digital twins by offering qualitatively better products and services in a shorter time or with higher availability. Cost savings seem secondary and overestimated by companies before they apply digital twins.