Coupa Supply Chain Optimization

A digital twin is a digitized or virtual replication of a physical supply chain. It combines different technologies like cloud computing, AI, advanced analytics, simulation visualization, and more to enable companies to understand the many complex internal and external parts of their supply chains. With the ability to recreate a real supply chain in a virtual world, companies can test scenarios, model different nodes, modes, flows, and policies to make informed decisions and create a plan to avoid disruptions in their network operations.

Any company with a physical supply chain can benefit from supply chain optimization software. Some of the most common industries that use the technology include food and beverage, retail, energy, manufacturing, and technology, among others.

Most importantly, a digital twin is crucial in building a more resilient supply chain in today’s unpredictable market. Until recently, most supply chain design and planning efforts used a certain set of assumptions around stability, rationality, and availability of supply. However, there are now many factors — like climate change, geo-political conflicts, and fast-changing consumer preferences — that make it crucial to routinely test varying scenarios in a supply chain. By doing so, companies can create contingency plans based on data, not assumptions. Supply chain optimization software helps shorten the time it takes for companies to go from question to answer in a rapidly changing world.