Digital Twin - an Exploratory Study on its Opportunities and Challenges from a Supply Chain Perspective
(2021) MTTM05 20202Engineering Logistics
Department of Industrial Management and Logistics
- Abstract
- At the forefront of the fourth industrial revolution, technologies such as digital twin seek to shift the way industrial companies operate. A digital twin is a virtual replica of a product, system or process. Historically, the focus has been on representing single objects but it is now shifting to interconnected processes, such as supply chains. Advanced versions of a supply chain digital twin can integrate physical and virtual spaces by, in real-time, replicating supply chains digitally. This allows companies to gain visibility of their supply chain and helps them make well informed decisions. However, there is a growing concern that digital twin might just be a buzzword, and that the hype will soon die down. As the technology is... (More)
- At the forefront of the fourth industrial revolution, technologies such as digital twin seek to shift the way industrial companies operate. A digital twin is a virtual replica of a product, system or process. Historically, the focus has been on representing single objects but it is now shifting to interconnected processes, such as supply chains. Advanced versions of a supply chain digital twin can integrate physical and virtual spaces by, in real-time, replicating supply chains digitally. This allows companies to gain visibility of their supply chain and helps them make well informed decisions. However, there is a growing concern that digital twin might just be a buzzword, and that the hype will soon die down. As the technology is relatively young, it is hard to understand its true value. This question was asked by Northvolt, a newly established battery manufacturer in Sweden. We were tasked with investigating this and providing Northvolt with a point of view on how digital twin could benefit their supply chain.
The research showed that there is value in digital twin for Northvolt as long as a clear business case can be identified, where no other solution can fulfil the purpose at a lower cost than digital twin. A digital twin could help Northvolt achieve cross-company planning and provide them with material flow visibility, two characteristics they want to realise when the supply chain is operational. In order to successfully implement a digital twin, it is crucial to secure of digital thread of data throughout all supply chain operations. In addition, this includes that the digital thread must be supported by a digital strategy that covers all supply chain entities. Interviews with Northvolt employees showed that Northvolt has very competent digitalisation and IT teams, with the ambition of making Northvolt a fully digitalised company. This entails that they have created a perfect growing ground for digital twin. Moreover, as Northvolt has a high level of vertical integration, it entails that they possess a lot of data in house. However, they must find a way to access the data from external parties in the digital thread if they want an end-to-end solution. Suppliers of raw materials in the battery industry have a varying degree of digital maturity as well as a varied willingness to share data. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9041669
- author
- Sandén, Emma LU and Falk, Johanna LU
- supervisor
-
- Jan Olhager LU
- organization
- course
- MTTM05 20202
- year
- 2021
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Digital Twin, Supply Chain, Battery Industry, Digitalisation Strategy
- report number
- 5938
- language
- English
- id
- 9041669
- date added to LUP
- 2021-03-16 13:12:39
- date last changed
- 2021-03-16 13:12:39
@misc{9041669,
abstract = {{At the forefront of the fourth industrial revolution, technologies such as digital twin seek to shift the way industrial companies operate. A digital twin is a virtual replica of a product, system or process. Historically, the focus has been on representing single objects but it is now shifting to interconnected processes, such as supply chains. Advanced versions of a supply chain digital twin can integrate physical and virtual spaces by, in real-time, replicating supply chains digitally. This allows companies to gain visibility of their supply chain and helps them make well informed decisions. However, there is a growing concern that digital twin might just be a buzzword, and that the hype will soon die down. As the technology is relatively young, it is hard to understand its true value. This question was asked by Northvolt, a newly established battery manufacturer in Sweden. We were tasked with investigating this and providing Northvolt with a point of view on how digital twin could benefit their supply chain.
The research showed that there is value in digital twin for Northvolt as long as a clear business case can be identified, where no other solution can fulfil the purpose at a lower cost than digital twin. A digital twin could help Northvolt achieve cross-company planning and provide them with material flow visibility, two characteristics they want to realise when the supply chain is operational. In order to successfully implement a digital twin, it is crucial to secure of digital thread of data throughout all supply chain operations. In addition, this includes that the digital thread must be supported by a digital strategy that covers all supply chain entities. Interviews with Northvolt employees showed that Northvolt has very competent digitalisation and IT teams, with the ambition of making Northvolt a fully digitalised company. This entails that they have created a perfect growing ground for digital twin. Moreover, as Northvolt has a high level of vertical integration, it entails that they possess a lot of data in house. However, they must find a way to access the data from external parties in the digital thread if they want an end-to-end solution. Suppliers of raw materials in the battery industry have a varying degree of digital maturity as well as a varied willingness to share data.}},
author = {{Sandén, Emma and Falk, Johanna}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Digital Twin - an Exploratory Study on its Opportunities and Challenges from a Supply Chain Perspective}},
year = {{2021}},
}