Digital twins: Applications, benefits, and future directions

Abstract

Digital twins are essential for any firm on its digital transformation journey. This article introduces the concept of digital twins to the readers of the Decision Sciences journal and provides a review of their benefits, foundational elements, and enabling technologies. We examine the literature on digital twin applications, including their use in manufacturing and supply chain management. The article concludes with a discussion of the challenges involved in implementing digital twins and identifies future research opportunities. We expect this article to inspire the Decision Sciences community to engage with and contribute to the growing body of research on digital twins and their applications.