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What is SAP Digital Twin?
A digital twin is a virtual model of a physical product, process, or service whereby sensors utilizing Industry 4.0 technologies (artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, and big data) provide real-time conditions, diagnostics, and predictions through data analysis. As many put it, it’s the linkage between the physical and digital worlds.
According to Richard Howells, SAP Supply Chain, Digital Economy, and IoT Thought Leader, “the common theme is that the virtual representation combines three types of information: business data, contextual data, and sensor data.”
Key capabilities of a digital twin include:
- Cost reduction
- Predictive maintenance
- Improved efficiencies
- Faster innovation
Key Considerations for SAPinsiders
What is SAP Digital Twin?
A digital twin is a virtual model of a physical product, process, or service whereby sensors utilizing Industry 4.0 technologies (artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, and big data) provide real-time conditions, diagnostics, and predictions through data analysis. As many put it, it’s the linkage between the physical and digital worlds.
According to Richard Howells, SAP Supply Chain, Digital Economy, and IoT Thought Leader, “the common theme is that the virtual representation combines three types of information: business data, contextual data, and sensor data.”
Key capabilities of a digital twin include:
- Cost reduction
- Predictive maintenance
- Improved efficiencies
- Faster innovation
Key Considerations for SAPinsiders
- Establish a digital twin as the next evolution of a manufacturing execution system. A manufacturing execution system (MES) is an ideal foundational starting point for a manufacturer to develop a digital twin, according to Kumar Singh, Research Director for SAPinsider. A digital twin can be considered the next step or evolution of an MES in order for a manufacturer to adapt to the changing technological capabilities of the world around them. “You can envision an MES as being an orchestrator in the digital twin architecture, enabling the ‘create’ and ‘communicate’ aspects. … It is just one of the components but is a critical component in the overall digital twin architecture,” Singh writes. Read the full article to learn more about MES and digital twin technologies.
- Achieve visibility and improvement in logistical networks.Today’s supply chains are already utilizing a vast network of sensors to provide transparency across various segments. Within logistics, there are myriad areas where a digital twin can optimize products and processes. According to Howells, by tracking fleets of connected vehicles, public transportation, and private vehicles, you can gain visibility over all vehiclesin use. “Add to this a spatial dimension by leveraging geo-fencing, track and trace, and other unstructured data, such as weather and road conditions, and you have a 360-degree view of traffic patterns, flow, and disruptions to improve route planning, shipments, and deliveries,” he says.
7 results
LESER Deploys SAP BNAC Digital Twins to Boost Safety, Compliance, and EfficiencyDec 12, 2025 — LESER GmbH & Co. KG has implemented SAP Business Network Asset Collaboration and digital twin technology to digitize asset documentation and collaboration, improving data quality, compliance, operational efficiency, and customer collaboration.
3 minute read
Building the Digital Twin StackOct 18, 2022 — As supply chain challenges increase due to increasing supply chain complexities, organizations are increasingly looking at leveraging data and analytics tools and technologies to help them address their supply chain challenges. Manufacturing plays a crucial role in supply chain networks, and recent events have emphasized its importance in building supply chain resiliency and agility. This has been emphasized in our recent supply chain research reports, Supply Chain Planning in The Cloud and Process Automation in Supply Chain. SAPinsiders are increasingly evaluating their portfolio of manufacturing systems and technologies and looking to upgrade to align with the requirements of modern manufacturing. SAPinsder's April 2022 report, Manufacturing Management and Planning Benchmark Report, will explore the pain points SAPinsiders are experiencing with their current systems, the key drivers they are experiencing that are bringing those pain points to the forefront, and their technology roadmap to address those pain points. Digital twins capability has been consistently highlighted by SAPinsiders as key to building resilient, agile, and optimized manufacturing capability. In this article, we will share a high-level overview of how a digital twin stack can be built in SAP technology ecosystems.
3 minute read
Building Intelligent Enterprise with AI, ML and IoTSep 16, 2022 — According to one market research company, it’s predicted that by 2025 there will be 55.7 billion connected devices worldwide, with 75% connected to an Internet of Things (IoT) platform. How much data does that equal? The company estimates that within that timeframe, 73.1 zettabytes of data will be generated from IoT devices, with a significant portion deriving from industrial IoT applications. This poses both an opportunity and a challenge to companies as they pursue integrations of IoT, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML) digital technologies in their enterprise. SAPinsider recently sat down with Alan Clarke, SAP Alliance Director for EMEA North for SUSE, and Gerren Mayne, SAP Practice Director for Fujitsu in the UK, to discuss the impact of AI, ML, and IoT on the evolving enterprise and how these digital technologies are enabling a future-proof ecosystem for companies.
6 minute read
Digital Twins are on the Rise to Mitigate RiskMay 4, 2022 — Digital twin technology is on the rise as operational risks increase and companies search for greater efficiencies. Enterprises are discovering more uses for the data digital twins can generate from a variety of business scenarios. Companies are struggling to make their supply chains resilient. With recent port congestion, freight delays, labor shortages, material shortages, and […]
5 minute read
Three Pillars of Digital Twin SolutionsJul 5, 2021 — Digital twin solutions are generally associated with leveraging data generated by sensors on machinery to manage the health of the equipment in manufacturing environments. This capability of leveraging the data captured from the floor or equipments to replicate asset conditions and processes ,drives manufacturing digital twin offerings like SAP IoT, based on the SAP BTP platform. Hyperscalers like Microsoft and AWS also have their offerings, branded as Azure Digital Twins and AWS IoT TwinMaker. With the introduction of their supply chain platforms, these solutions can now be integrated in supply chain platforms. Developing robust digital twin solutions that actually deliver value are less about technology and more about designing optimal process around it, and making sure people roles are defined prudently. In this article, we summarize the aspects of the three key pillars, people, processes and technology for building optimal digital twin capability.
2 minute read
Serialization in the Supply Chain for a Deeper Analysis to Identify Bottlenecks and IssuesOct 10, 2019 — We recently interviewed leadership at ACSIS about its serialization capabilities in its Intelligent Product and Asset Traceability solutions. Serialization essentially means separating out the data from each individual product. Here, we share some of our thoughts on serialization with IoT and analytics technologies and how it builds on SAP ERP functionality to contribute to digital […]
3 minute read