DHL has published a new trend report looking at the impact of digital twins on every part of the value chain, their potential to improve the performance and efficiency of logistics processes, and the new demands that digital twin enabled businesses will place on supply chains and logistics activities.
The report, which is available to read online here, outlines how developments in the internet of things (IoT), big data, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and digital reality technologies is fueling the growth of digital twins, where the physical and digital worlds can be managed as one and users can interact with the digital counterpart of physical things much like they would the things themselves.
“Led by the engineering, manufacturing, automotive and energy industries in particular, digital twins are already creating new value,” the report states. “They are helping companies to design, visualize, monitor, manage and maintain their assets more effectively. And they are unlocking new business opportunities such as the provision of advanced services and the generation of valuable insight from operational data.”
The report examines how the logistics sector can embrace digital twins to improve its own processes, and aims to answer three key questions:
• What is a digital twin and what does it mean for my organization?
• What best-practice examples from other industries can be applied to logistics?
• How will my supply chain change because of digital twins?
According to DHL, the adoption of digital twins across industries will drive better decision-making in the physical world, which will in turn will drive significant changes in the operation of supply chains and logistics processes. “In the logistics industry itself, digital twins will extend the benefits of IoT already being applied today. They will bring deeper insight into the planning, design, operation and optimization of supply chains, from individual assets and shipments to entire global supply networks,” the report states.
Read the report here.