Quantifying the Benefits of Digital Supply Chain Twins—A Simulation Study in Organic Food Supply Chains

Abstract

Background: Digital supply chain twins (DSCT) are gaining increased attention in academia and practice and their positive impact on logistics and supply chain management (LSCM) performance is often highlighted. Still, LSCM executives are hesitant regarding DSCT implementation. One reason is the difficulty of making a reasonable cost–benefit comparison, because the benefits of using a DSCT are rarely quantified. Moreover, there seems to be no method of quantifying these benefits as of today. Methods: This article builds upon an extensive simulation study of a constructed organic food supply chain (FSC), containing as many as 40 simulation experiments. In this simulation study, three volatility scenarios in the FSC were simulated and their effects on LSCM performance were measured. Subsequently, dynamic simulation experiments were run to emulate DSCT use. The benefits of using a DSCT were then quantified using a newly developed approach. Results: A conclusive method for quantifying the benefits of using a DSCT is presented and validated. Moreover, the performance evaluation of using a DSCT for the multi-echelon inventory management of an organic FSC is given. Conclusions: The study leads towards a method for quantifying the use of DSCTs that is of importance for research and practice alike. For managers, it additionally provides an exemplary application of said method in the context of organic FSCs.

Design, Modeling and Implementation of Digital Twins

“…In a system of system-level DTs, there are cross-system interconnections, interoperability and collaborative optimizations between the system-level DTs. For instance, a system of system-level DT may focus on enterprise or cross-enterprise integration to provide commerce, supply chain and manufacturing cooperation [ 96 ]. It can also integrate various stages of the product life cycle, such as design, production or remote maintenance.…”

Digital supply chain: literature review of seven related technologies

“…Sharma et al [94] created DT for robotic work cells which utilize a robotic drive system and robot simulation software tools, for food retail supply chain during the epidemic. Binsfeld and Gerlach [95] developed a quantitative technique to evaluate the benefits of DTs and assess the impact of DT on supply chain management and logistics performance in multi-echelon inventory management of an organic food SC.…”

Optimizing Last-Mile Delivery: A Multi-Criteria Approach with Automated Smart Lockers, Capillary Distribution and Crowdshipping

“…These lockers serve as convenient hubs for recipients to collect their items at their preferred time, reducing the need for multiple individual deliveries to dispersed locations [62]. Additionally, drones can complement traditional delivery methods by swiftly transporting lightweight packages to designated lockers or points, further optimizing delivery efficiency [63]. By integrating these technologies and coordinating efforts horizontally, the last-mile supply chain becomes more agile and responsive to urban demands [64].…”