Bringing Supply Chains to Life with a 3D Digital Twin
Modern manufacturing supply chains are complex ecosystems where factories, suppliers, logistics providers, and materials interact continuously. Understanding how these elements work together—and how changes in one part affect the whole—can be challenging. To address this, the CIRCULOOS project has developed a 3D Supply Chain Digital Twin (SCDT): an interactive platform that visualises and simulates manufacturing operations across entire supply chains.
The Supply Chain Digital Twin transforms real and simulated factory data into a dynamic 3D representation of industrial processes, allowing users to explore how materials flow through production systems, how factories interact, and how operational scenarios impact performance. Instead of analysing supply chains only through spreadsheets or static dashboards, stakeholders can observe processes visually, track resource usage, and experiment with alternative production scenarios in a virtual environment.
At its core, the platform models factories using a simple but powerful structure: inputs, processes, and outputs. Raw materials enter the system, processes transform them into products or intermediate components, and outputs move either to the next stage of production or to other factories within the supply chain. By linking these digital representations together, the system can simulate the behaviour of entire manufacturing networks rather than individual facilities.
The digital twin operates as a bridge between data platforms and visualisation technologies. Using technologies such as ROS, Gazebo, and Orion-LD, it converts factory data into interactive simulations that can be accessed remotely through a web browser. Each simulation can represent a single factory, a full supply chain, or multiple interconnected supply chains, enabling users to analyse operations at different scales.
Beyond visualisation, the platform supports both scenario-based simulations and real-time monitoring. In simulation mode, factories can be tested under different operational configurations, helping stakeholders explore production strategies, resource availability, or supply chain disruptions. When real-time data is available, the digital twin can also mirror actual factory activity, providing a live view of process status, material flows, and key performance indicators such as emissions or energy consumption.
Another key capability is the modelling of logistics interactions between factories. By introducing specialised logistics processes, the digital twin can simulate how materials move between suppliers, manufacturers, and downstream partners. This enables the study of circular manufacturing networks, in which waste streams, by-products, and secondary materials can become valuable inputs for other facilities.
By combining data integration, simulation, and immersive visualisation, the Supply Chain Digital Twin provides a powerful tool for understanding and optimising industrial ecosystems. It allows manufacturers, researchers, and decision-makers to explore supply chain dynamics, evaluate operational scenarios, and ultimately support the transition toward more efficient, resilient, and circular manufacturing systems.