Digital twin-based warehouse management system: a theoretical toolbox for future research and applications

Abstract

Purpose

The digital warehouse management system is an emergence that forms a critical part of the transformation of economic structure in Industry 4.0. In the present business scenario, the warehouse management system encounters a messy layout, poor damage control, unsatisfactory order management, lack of visibility and lack of technological interventions. Digital twin (DT) based warehouse system shows the ontology and knowledge graphs for competitive advantage by consolidating and transferring goods directly from an inbound supplier to an outbound customer on short notice and with no or limited storage. There remains a lack of clarity on how the DT can be implemented successfully in warehouse management.

Design/methodology/approach

The current literature remains largely unstructured and scattered due to a lack of a systematic approach to integrating the research implications and analysis. This paper probes the conceptualization of the DT with the help of theoretical analysis using the systematic literature analysis method.

Findings

The study explores essential concepts such as interoperability and integrability in implementing DT. Further, it analyzes the role of a supply chain control tower (SCCT) in modern supply chain management. A research framework is proposed for practitioners and academicians by incorporating the opportunities and challenges associated with DT implementation. The research findings are mainly threefold: Conceptualization of DT, Featuring SCCT and Exploration of cross-computer platform interfaces, scalability and maintenance strategies.

Originality/value

This study is among the first to analyze and review DT applications in warehouse management. Moreover, the study proposes a theoretical toolbox for the practitioners to successfully implement the DT in warehouse DT-based warehouse management system: A theoretical toolbox for future research and applications.

Citation

Maheshwari, P., Kamble, S., Kumar, S., Belhadi, A. and Gupta, S. (2023), "Digital twin-based warehouse management system: a theoretical toolbox for future research and applications", The International Journal of Logistics Management, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLM-01-2023-0030