Aug 17, 2020|
JD Logistics Releases Digital Twin Supply Chain White Paper
by Yuchuan Wang
On August 14th, JD Logistics and China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing jointly released the “Digital Twin Supply Chain” white paper (in Chinese) at the “2020 Global Logistics Technology Conference” held in Shanghai.
One of the biggest benefits of digital twin technology is its ability to improve effectiveness of processes. “We hope the white paper could be a for reference for the industry,” said Wenming Zhe, chief architect and head of logistics R&D Architecture at JD Logistics. “The essence of supply chain and logistics is the optimization of resources, but the cost of trials in the physical world is often very high. Through digital twin supply chain, we hope to move the trials for optimization and simulation from the physical to digital world, which will ultimately assist the improvement of efficiency and cost in the physical supply chain.”
A digital twin is a virtual replica of a physical asset and/or process that relies on real-time data to mimic any changes that occur throughout its lifecycle. The development of digital twin technology is dependent upon the progress of innovative technologies such as 5G, cloud computing, IoT, AI, blockchain and robotics.
As digital twin technology is being applied in more and more industries such as smart city, the white paper, for the first time, introduces the concept of “digital twin supply chain”. The white paper introduces the definition of digital twin, fundamental technologies, applications in supply chain and suggestions for further development.
A digital twin supply chain integrates forecasting technologies and decision-making tools with digital twin technology, thus improving supply chain efficiency and lowering costs.
As early as 2019, JD Logistics created its own digital twin supply chain platform “LoMir”, which is short for Logistics Mirror. The platform was first applied in JD’s Beijing Asia No.1 logistics park, and now covers over 8,000 transportation routes in JD’s self-owned logistics and warehousing network and provides accurate capacity forecasting and alert for sales peaks such as 618 and Singles Day (November 11th).