UCF researchers have developed a new resource that shares how future-focused technology can drive innovation for the logistical backbone of all businesses: supply chains.
Optimizing Supply Chains Through Digital Twins, co-authored by Ghaith Rabadi, director of the School of Modeling and Simulation (SMST), and Bulent Soykan, an associate research scientist at the Institute for Simulation and Training, is a new book on implementing digital twin technology in supply chain processes. The book serves as a “go-to” resource for industry professionals and academics alike, and is part of the International Series in Operations Research & Management Science published by Springer Nature.
“Supply chain networks cut across many businesses and operations, and information latency in one stage can cause major disruption and turbulence in other stages of the supply chain,” Rabadi says. “Digital twins can reduce this impact by providing bidirectional real-time information, which can reduce cost, improve productivity and enhance decision-making.”
Soykan says digital twins have not been universally implemented in supply chains, and that the hesitation stems from integration complexities, required investments in infrastructure, and a skills gap in the workforce. However, he says the technology is quickly becoming a strategic imperative in many sectors, such as manufacturing, aerospace, automotive and logistics.
“The conversation in boardrooms is no longer if they should adopt digital twin technology, but how and when,” he says. “The current market shows a clear trend toward leveraging digital twins for a significant competitive advantage, and we expect its prevalence to grow exponentially in the coming years.”
Unlike other books available on supply chain processes that focus on a single topic, such as manufacturing, their work is an extensive guide with insights collected from international experts in academia and industry. It covers the complete supply chain process from end-to-end, offering everything from foundational knowledge on digital twins to the technology and framework necessary for real-world applications.
“This book will empower supply chain managers and executives to implement digital twin technologies into their processes,” Rabadi says. “They will come away understanding the value digital twins will bring to their companies, ready to develop an actionable strategy for their organizations.”
The authors say that the book also serves as a guide for data scientists and IT specialists, who will take the lead on implementing the technology. They will benefit from the tools and guidelines provided to build and sustain a digital twin system, including the technical architecture, data integration challenges, and technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, cloud computing and the Internet of Things.
They add that those in academia will appreciate that the work synthesizes existing literature on the subject, allowing researchers to identify knowledge gaps and plan for future areas of study.
“Our primary hope is that readers see digital twins not as a futuristic buzzword, but as a practical and powerful set of tools that can be implemented today to solve real-world problems,” Soykan says.
Rabadi and Soykan collaborated with fellow UCF researchers to publish the work, including contributors Gulsah Hancerliogullari Koksalmis, a lecturer at the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Systems, and two SMST assistant professors, Soheil Sabri and Sean Mondesire.
Published just over a month ago, the book has been positively reviewed by the authors’ many colleagues, who highlighted the timeliness and comprehensiveness of the book.
“Many have described it as a ‘much-needed resource’ that finally brings together the key facets of a very complex and important topic into a single, accessible volume,” Soykan says. “We are thrilled that it is already being seen as a valuable contribution to the field.”
- Written by Bel Huston