Digital Twins for Supply Chains: Current Outlook and Future Challenges

Abstract

The growing complexity of worldwide supply chain networks, together with the increased occurrence of disruptive events stress the need for a focused introduction of digital support tools. Digital twins have encountered an increased interest from both industry and research for their capability to provide useful services in the short term. The number of contributions on digital twin-based methodologies for system design and production planning and control experienced a significant increase, while applications to supply chain management remain scarce. However, the recent investments in digitization and the concrete need for short-term planning capabilities mean digital twins can effectively aid enterprises in the management of their value chains. This paper provides an overview of the existing contributions regarding digital twins for supply chains, and gathers useful insights on both the current level of development and the future research challenges.