The role of digital twins in lean supply chain management: review and research directions

Digital twins in Industry 4.0 enhance lean supply chains by optimizing efficiency, reducing costs, and ensuring responsiveness to consumers. However, their relationship with lean supply chains remains understudied. We address this gap through a systematic literature review, analyzing 33 selected papers from 759 articles. Utilizing the supply-chain operations reference (SCOR) framework, we assess digital twins’ impact on supply chain processes and performances. Our findings indicate that digital twins are primarily used in plan, make, and delivery processes, with limited exploration in source and return processes. They enhance lean practices by improving information flow, eliminating waste, optimizing logistics, and enabling just-in-time production. However, top management commitment, supplier relationship management, and customer relationship management are understudied areas. We also recognize two additional areas where digital twins contribute: enhancing supply chain coordination, and bolstering supply chain resilience, particularly against disruptions such as COVID-19 and geopolitical events. Additionally, we propose a framework for digital twin-driven smart lean supply chain management and highlight the importance of future research in areas such as supply chain digital twins (SCDT) mapping, convergence, interaction, cognition and service. This study pioneers exploring the motivations, applications, and contributions of digital twins in lean supply chain management.