Digital Twins & Quantexa: A think piece

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This is an innovation think piece that lives solely in Q Labs. Q Labs is a space for innovation products and experimental thinking, as such they are for awareness and co-innovation interest only. 

Q Labs Status: Ideation

Background 

Digital Twins are a major buzzword in the technical world, especially in the innovation space. At its core, a Digital Twin (DT) is a digital or virtual representation of a real-world system, process, or entity, fully mapped into the virtual space.  

A great way of visualizing this is by looking at the laptop or computer in front of you. It is real and exists in the physical space. Now, think about all the data it holds, its connections to its power supply, the internet, its internal fans, batteries and wires. Consider its current temperature, any damage it has received, its diagnostics, version and size. Imagine accessing all this information in a single virtual view. What if you could combine all this data to provide suggestions on how to maximize its outputs? Going a step further, you could use this information to simulate how it would react in a new environment, would it break, what are its limits? This is where the power of a Digital Twin comes into play. It offers a perfect virtual copy with the structure to easily access information you need and the power to simulate situations.   

The market for digital twins is still emerging, but expanding rapidly. Gartner projects that by 2034, global revenue for simulation digital twins will reach $379 billion. Major technology players are already investing heavily in digital twins—and for good reason. While the concept is new, much of the required technology is already available. However, building a near real-time, high-fidelity digital replica of a system capable of automating tasks, delivering large-scale analytics, and informing strategy is no small feat. Quantexa, however, has the unique capabilities and expertise to take on parts of this challenge. I have highlighted a few key sections below that we are focusing on.  

Supply Chain Focus:  

A Supply Chain Digital Twin is a virtual representation of a company’s entire supply chain, enabling organizations to simulate, analyze, and optimize operations in real time. Unlike DTs of physical objects, such as wind turbines, modeling an "invisible" system like a supply chain is significantly more complex. A supply chain DT integrates data from factories, warehouses, transportation networks, retailers, and even customer interactions to predict how various market conditions and supply chain parameters will influence outcomes. By mirroring real-world supply chain dynamics, businesses can stress-test scenarios, improve forecasting accuracy, and mitigate risks. 

The benefits of an effective supply chain DT are substantial. By optimizing inventory levels, organizations can reduce costs while maintaining higher service levels, leading to increased revenue and improved profit margins. Enhanced forecasting also boosts the success rate of new products and services, giving companies a competitive edge. Despite these advantages, many systems are inaccurately labeled as digital twins, often due to a lack of understanding of what a true DT entails. A well-designed supply chain DT should not only provide real-time insights but also deliver actionable intelligence, allowing businesses to make data-driven decisions with confidence. 

Simulations: 

Simulations are a fundamental component of Digital Twins, enabling organizations to test scenarios, optimize processes, and minimize risks when making data-driven decisions. By creating a virtual environment that mirrors real-world conditions, simulations allow businesses to explore "what-if" scenarios. Following the Supply Chain Focus, we can use these to simulate how a supply chain would be affected by demand fluctuations, equipment failure or disruptions. Giving the ability to get predictive data on these scenarios without impacting actual operations. This capability allows companies to identify vulnerabilities, improve efficiency, and test strategies before implementing them in the real world.  

Beyond risk mitigation, simulations can be a driving force for improvement and future innovation. Businesses can experiment with emerging technologies in a controlled digital space. They can try out new processes, or test and fine-tune operations, providing validation for changes that would otherwise be theoretical. Whether optimizing inventory levels, evaluating the impact of sustainability initiatives, or stress-testing logistics networks, simulations empower organizations to stay ahead in an ever-changing market. This is an area the innovation team have already started to prototype. If you would like to learn more, please see our dedicated blog and demo Simulation Lab.

News Intelligence:  

In our connected world it is rare for any system to exist in a vacuum. As such having a DT without having outside sources connected to it, is like building a wind turbine before checking the average wind speed in that location. Integrating a Digital Twin with external data sources and news articles unlocks an extra layer of potential.  

News intelligence enhances Digital Twins by continuously analyzing global news data to extract insights relevant to supply chains. This integration enables organizations to identify emerging risks, predict disruptions, and assess market sentiment in real time. By incorporating geopolitical events, natural disasters, supplier issues, and economic shifts into their models, businesses gain a dynamic, adaptive view of their operations. This real-time awareness improves resilience, allowing companies to proactively mitigate risks, optimize logistics, and maintain operational stability in an increasingly unpredictable world.  

This is an area the innovation team have already started to prototype. If you would like to learn more, please see our dedicated blog and demo Q News Intelligence for Supply Chain Monitoring.  

Its Future 

As you can probably tell there is a lot of work and exploration still to be done in this space. Digital Twins are not only a huge investment but are still an uncertain one. Splitting this huge idea into bite sized chunks helps create achievable and value driven results on a continuous scale. The future in this space is expansive and having decision intelligence at Quantexa’s core places us in a prime position to lead the way in this growing market. We do, however, know that these great achievements don’t happen in a vacuum and as such would love to hear from yourselves about Digital Twins, potential use cases within your company and reactions to this popularized buzz-word.  

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