Defining a methodology for digital supply chain twin in the ceramic industry

Abstract

The current industrial environment requires companies to develop innovative solutions to adapt production processes and procurement strategies to the challenges of global supply chains. The Italian ceramic industry, characterized by high resource consumption and a complex supply chain, demonstrates vulnerabilities in ensuring the continuity of its operations. To address these challenges and mitigate supply chain risks, the circular economy paradigm has been adopted, tailored to the specific context, and implemented with an innovative perspective. In this context, this paper proposes a transdisciplinary methodological approach, integrating knowledge from supply chain management, digitalization, and sustainability science, and leveraging digital technologies in a real-world setting. The research focuses on defining a methodology finally aimed at developing a Digital Supply Chain Twin (DSCT): A dynamic virtual representation of a real supply chain that predicts its behaviour. Achieving this goal requires building a robust benchmark of data and objective functions to represent supply chain components, performance metrics, and flows. Indeed, only a validated and reliable DSCT can enable accelerated and automated 'what-if' analyses related to sustainability performance. Procurement decision-making will thus benefit from an intuitive, fast, and automated tool to evaluate supply chain performance and potential modifications, integrating economic, environmental, and social sustainability perspectives.