Making Products Without Really Making Them: The Role of Simulation
Whether by default or design, the consumer goods industry has innovated its way into a continuous cycle of better, faster, more. With demand in their palms (thanks to the consumer electronics vertical), unlimited choice and expectation of brand intimacy, consumers generate an ultra-competitive business environment for manufacturers.
Warp speed is required to deliver — often to the door in one day — high-quality, smart products in a personalized way at reasonable prices. Globalization adds further complexity to all parts of the supply chain, impacting product lifecycles as well. Only the companies that can most effectively deal with the layers of intricacy will survive.
With so little margin for error — and smaller margins in general — CG companies are looking at new ways to improve their products and processes. To provide the best service levels and experiences, while keeping costs low to accommodate shifts in consumer purchasing patterns, many are turning toward more flexible manufacturing — a combination of manufacturing simulation, execution and automation that results in truly agile operations.
The most forward-thinking companies are using the power of digitalization and digital twins — the integration and information sharing among multiple digital technologies — to transform their businesses and better connect to consumers to drive innovation.
Will the Real Digital Twins Please Stand Up
Gartner defines digital twin as “a digital representation of a real-world entity or system. The implementation of a digital twin is an encapsulated software object or model that mirrors a unique physical object, process, organization, person or other abstraction.”
For many, however, the idea conjures images of 3D renderings or a static, exact copy of a physical object. This isn’t quite accurate. And, in fact, we’re not just talking about twins, but multiples. Read on to find out why, and discover the roadmap to learn how to get started.