Role of Simulation Modeling in Digital Twins for Enhanced Supply Chain Management: A Review

Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies are leading the digital transformation by integration of advanced technologies in Supply Chain Management (SCM). The concept of Digital Twins (DT) is one such technological paradigm that offers resilience and adaptability in SCM. Researchers also have given prominence to simulation modeling as an essential aspect of DT integration for forecasting, production planning and optimization and logistics management. In-fact, simulation technologies perform a prominent role in exploration of complex systems for development and planning. This paper provides a critical review of 18 research papers that focuses on the role and contribution of simulation modeling in DT for improving SCM performance. The review reveals main challenges, key aspects and applications of simulation in integrated DTs. In addition, this review discusses the importance of data-drive SCM performance measurement system. The results highlighted the significance of simulation as one of the leading pillars of I4.0 in DT integrated SCM systems. Based on the findings, this review also provides future research directions in context of simulation and I4.0 for enhanced SCM.