Can AI and Digital Twins Reduce US Supply Chain Problems?

Supply chain problems in the United States can cause everything from delayed deliveries to widespread and long-term product shortages. There’s no universal solution for addressing these matters. However, increasing evidence suggests artificial intelligence (AI) and digital twins could mitigate some of the challenges.

AI-Powered Digital Twins Aid Climate Change Preparedness

Ongoing research suggests failing to make supply chains more resilient against climate change could cause numerous preventable issues. For example, Kevin Dooley is a chief scientist at The Sustainability Consortium and a faculty member at Arizona State University.

He co-authored a report about how supply chain professionals can and should prepare for climate change. We all see the myriad of supply chain disruptions occurring during the current coronavirus pandemic. Unfortunately, this prefaces the types of challenges that supply chains will face in the future from increasing climate change. Now is the time to create more supply chain resilience.”

NVIDIA offers an example of what’s possible. Industry leaders at Lockheed Martin, Ericsson, and others have used enterprise versions of NVIDIA’s digital twin technology. Now, a project in progress involves creating a digital twin that uses AI and other advanced innovations to predict the effects of climate change decades before they occur.

Using such an AI supply chain tool could help users focus their efforts on the outcomes that are most likely to cause the most disruption. Then, it‘s easier to get executive buy-in and convince people there’s no time to waste in taking action.

AI-Driven Digital Twins Steer Decision-Making

It’s one thing to learn that a lack of a particular component could cause a smartphone or video game console shortage next year. It’s quite another situation if the person who receives that information can also get tailored guidance about preventing such scenarios.

Building digital twins with AI functionality can provide it. Artificial intelligence should not replace human-led judgment calls. However, the technology excels at identifying patterns in data that people would otherwise miss. Rather than only telling a user that supply chain issues will happen, the AI component of a digital twin could recommend proactive solutions for avoiding them.

Some AI solutions can predict consumer demand and show the trends across different geographic areas. Then, industry leaders can make choices about their supply chains accordingly to reduce overstock and sell-out instances.

The COVID-19 pandemic quickly caused supply chain strains. However, one study conducted during the health crisis found a 50% reduction in the products affected by extreme demand planning errors when people used AI to help. Moreover, artificial intelligence cut forecasting mistakes by more than a third.

Bringing that information to a digital twin might involve exploring which factories within a supply chain should produce specific in-demand items so that those products do not travel as far to reach their destinations. A shorter overall distance from factory to retailer reduces the chances of supply chain problems causing significant disruptions.

Digital Twins With AI Features Can Confirm Event Relevancy

Creating a digital twin of a supply chain does not automatically ensure its data will become valuable insights for users. However, building it to include AI in its functionality is a practical way to ensure the tool only warns users about genuinely relevant issues that could eventually cause supply chain problems if left unaddressed.

For example, Spain is one of the world’s top exporters of citrus fruits. However, a digital twin notifying a user of a likely produce shortage next year is useless if a brand does not need to get those items from Spain or does not ever buy them for its operational needs.

The same could also be true if the data indicates harsher-than-usual winter weather in a particular region. Perhaps the person using the digital twin runs a local shop with a modest supply chain that does not extend to the area likely to get the severe conditions.

One study indicated that enterprises making at least $10 billion per year and operating with well-functioning supply chains could increase sales by $150 million annually and receive up to 2% more in earnings by using AI-enabled digital twins that listen for the appropriate signals.

That happens when an AI supply chain tool includes a so-called planning agent that receives information about possible supply chain impacts.

It learns through training what constitutes a problematic event that could slow down deliveries, make it more difficult to obtain supplies, or cause other unwanted issues. The industry leaders who choose to use such products can prevent alert fatigue by only receiving notifications of the supply chain problems warranting immediate action.

Smart Digital Twins Promote Safer, Healthier Workforces

Combining AI with digital twin technology can also enhance supply chains by keeping employees throughout the supply chain in top condition and able to give the maximum contributions to their workplaces.

For example, industry professionals commonly make digital twins representing critical pieces of equipment and all the associated components. Doing that can inform them when to perform maintenance. When machines don’t get the appropriate upkeep, they could emit hazardous smoke or fumes, have gas leaks, or otherwise put lives at risk. However, digital twins make such outcomes less likely by providing greater visibility.

People have also found creative ways to utilize digital twins when establishing COVID-19 workplace protocols. For example, one internet of things provider offers a digital twin that shows specifics such as the space between workstations and whether a person standing or sitting at one of them is a fully vaccinated employee.

Incorporating AI into such solutions helps people assess how to keep workplaces safe as they change, too. What alterations must occur to keep a factory safe when hiring 24 new employees for a certain shift, for example? Which areas of the facility are the most likely to have bottlenecks that could make it difficult to practice social distancing during a day’s busiest periods?

Using digital twins and AI to reduce workforce complications causes direct and positive impacts on the supply chain. If poorly maintained equipment causes a factory fire that injures workers and destroys infrastructure, it could take the affected parties months to recover. Similarly, COVID-19 outbreaks could result in large numbers of team members taking time off work at once, hindering productivity. Relying on intelligent digital twins for planning makes such outcomes less likely.

Explore Digital Twin and AI Supply Chain Solutions Today

There’s no quick fix to most of today’s supply chain problems. However, this overview shows why many industry professionals realize it’s worth finding out more about how digital twins and AI could solve some of their current and future challenges.