SAP Digital Twin


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.

8 results

  1. Bayer Corporate Real Estate & Hexagon

    Reading time: 1 mins

    Corporate Real Estate (CRE) is Bayer AG’s real estate services provider. CRE provides support, organization and advice for all issues regarding corporate real estate management at Bayer locations in Germany and oversees international projects of the Bayer divisions and companies. CRE has been using the Planon IWMS solution to manage Bayer AG’s real estate portfolio…

  2. Solar Plant – Digital Twin

    Celebal Tech’s – Digital Twin Predictive maintenance one stop solution for Enterprises who are moving towards Sustainability and Green Energy solutions and want to have best out of it.  

  3. Digital Twin Stack

    Building the Digital Twin Stack

    Reading time: 3 mins

    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…

  4. Digital Twins

    Building Intelligent Enterprise with AI, ML and IoT

    Reading time: 6 mins

    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…

  5. Ecommerce image

    Digital Twins are on the Rise to Mitigate Risk

    Reading time: 5 mins

    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…

  6. Smart_Manufacturing_Sustanability

    Leveraging Smart Manufacturing to Meet Sustainability Goals

    Reading time: 5 mins

    by Kumar Singh, Research Director, SAPinsider Building Sustainable Digital Twins While supply chain leaders across industries and geographies grapple with managing the ever-increasing supply chain complexities and risks, there is an additional demand on the companies to be more resourceful and conscientious of environmental and social needs. There is no doubt that the collective awareness...…

  7. Three Pillars of Digital Twin Solutions

    Reading time: 2 mins

    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…

  8. Serialization in the Supply Chain for a Deeper Analysis to Identify Bottlenecks and Issues

    Reading time: 3 mins

    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…