New research developed within the CIRCULOOS project introduces a Supply Chain Digital Twin (SCDT) that enables manufacturers to monitor operations, simulate alternative production scenarios and explore how resource sharing and recycling can improve supply chain performance.
Modern manufacturing increasingly depends on interconnected factories, suppliers and logistics networks. However, managing these complex relationships while reducing waste and improving resource efficiency remains a significant challenge.
A research paper entitled Towards a Supply Chain Digital Twin presents an innovative digital solution designed to address these challenges. Developed by researchers from the Cyprus University of Technology within the framework of CIRCULOOS, the Supply Chain Digital Twin (SCDT) combines near real-time monitoring, simulation and interactive 3D visualisation to support more informed manufacturing decisions.
Connecting factories through digital twins
Digital twins are virtual representations of physical systems that allow organisations to monitor operations and explore potential improvements before implementing changes in the real world.
The proposed SCDT extends this concept beyond individual factories to entire supply chains, enabling users to visualise how materials, products and by-products move between interconnected manufacturing facilities.
The tool supports different levels of detail, from individual production processes to networks of factories, and allows users to test hypothetical scenarios involving production, logistics and material recycling.
Through its interactive 3D environment, manufacturers can identify potential bottlenecks, understand resource dependencies and assess opportunities for more efficient material use.
Key research findings
The researchers demonstrated the capabilities of the SCDT through a simulated supply chain involving three interconnected factories. Two scenarios were compared: one without recycling and another where a manufacturing by-product was recovered and reused by another factory.
The results highlighted several important benefits:
32% higher production: The recycling scenario generated 1,055 units compared with 800 units without recycling over approximately 3,250 simulated production hours.
Improved operational continuity: Reusing manufacturing by-products helped reduce material shortages and increased the operating time of the final factory’s production process from 640 to 840 hours in the analysed simulation interval.
Better identification of bottlenecks: The digital twin visualised material shortages and interrupted processes, helping users understand how disruptions affect interconnected factories.
Near real-time monitoring and simulation: The system can represent current factory operations and explore alternative production, logistics and recycling strategies.
Scalable and interactive visualisation: Its flexible architecture supports different factory configurations and levels of complexity, from individual manufacturing units to interconnected supply chains.
These findings demonstrate how digital twins can support better decision-making and reveal opportunities to improve resource circulation across industrial networks.
Advancing circular manufacturing through digital innovation
One of the most relevant contributions of this research is its ability to demonstrate the operational benefits of industrial symbiosis, where materials or by-products from one factory can become valuable inputs for another.
The case study illustrates how introducing a recycling connection between factories can improve production continuity across an entire supply chain.
This approach closely aligns with the objectives of the CIRCULOOS project, which promotes more sustainable, flexible and circular manufacturing through digital technologies and collaboration between industrial actors.
By combining digital twins, production monitoring and scenario-based simulation, manufacturers can better understand material flows and explore opportunities to reduce waste, improve resource utilisation and strengthen supply chain resilience.