By Sachin Nigam
Logistics for MSMEs: Digital transformation has been one of the key highlights of this century, especially after the global pandemic, which accelerated tech adoption across sectors. Even as an increasing number of sectors embraced digitalization, the logistics and supply chain sector particularly went through disruptive growth, with the sector now pegged for reaching a $210 billion mark by 2026. From leveraging big data for optimizing supply chains to using predictive analysis to find the best routes, inventory management and live tracking, the sector is using technology across production, shipping, storage, and packaging stages, among others.
The next step is supply chain automation and digital twin networks – technology that leverages advanced analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence (AI) to contribute to automation and give insights that boost productivity by enabling real-time route adjustments to speed up product delivery. According to research by Growth Market Reports, the global market for digital twins was estimated to be worth $3.1 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow to $113.3 billion by 2030. Furthermore, between 2021 and 2030, it is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 42.7 per cent. This transformation enhances customer experience while boosting efficiency and revenue. Below mentioned are some of the ways digital twins is transforming supply chains:
Enhanced Planning and Designing
A digital twin may evaluate how shifting demand and supply influence the physical locations and auxiliary infrastructure of the supply chain as it transports goods and renders services to final consumers. With technology playing a major part in the digital twin, a business can more effectively allocate transportation resources, which use real-time data. Digital twins assist in identifying possible flaws in all facets of delivery by gathering data using machine learning and effective reasoning for decision-making.
Handle inventory better
Predictive analysis has proven to be very effective in inventory management and is already a part of several large warehouse automation processes, including those for temperature-controlled warehouse solutions. When aligned with the virtual supply chain through the digital twin integration, data from demand forecasting algorithms can help handle both the “multi-echelon” difficulty as well as the “single-echelon” challenge, which can help optimize inventory management across the entire network.
Improves the overall operational efficiency
Through result prediction, digital twin models in the supply chain mitigate business continuity and transformation risks before they materialize. With the use of effective technology, the model makes it possible to calculate benefits, savings, and potential ROI. Through the help of IoT and data analytics, it enables supply chain firms to experiment with various scenarios in a virtual setting in order to evaluate and choose the best course of action for emergencies, greatly enhancing organizational stability.
Forecast the effectiveness of packing materials
The digital twin can assist businesses to conceptualize the materials used in various types of product packaging and in projecting how well new materials will function in packaging applications. Through its advanced technologies, it can help keep an eye on how it responds to various conditions, including vibrations, shocks, loading and unloading items, and varying temperatures. It also helps in designing a stronger, lighter, and more environmentally friendly material with the use of the digital twin which also improves the packaging of the items.
While the sector is waking up to the immense benefits of digital twin technology, it is still comparatively new. An expert technology consultant can help customize and ensure that the business leverages the optimum benefits of the digital twin to ultimately improve the effectiveness, efficiency, agility, and resilience of your physical supply chains. By partnering with an expert in this field can help the business turn its supply chain vision into reality. Continuous supply chain design puts businesses on the path to increasing supply chain resilience and maturity.
Sachin Nigam is the CTO and Co-Founder of Goavega Software. Views expressed are the author’s own.
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