What are Digital Twins in Warehousing?
A warehouse digital twin is a digital replica of a warehouse's environment, designed to mirror its real-world counterpart accurately. The key feature of digital twin technology is its ability to exchange data back and forth between the warehouse and its digital model.
The Purpose of Digital Twin Technology
Digital Twin technology in warehousing provides a risk-free playground to explore what-if scenarios. Digital twins come in as the core of analysis when it comes to capturing complex systems like warehouse operations. They enable detailed system analysis, optimization, and testing, offering decision-makers better information to ensure confidence before solution deployment.
As data and software solutions become more complex to interpret, digital twin technology is essential for planning and validating solutions in terms of usability, effectiveness, and return on investment (ROI).
The Value of Digital Twins in Warehousing
The value of digital twins in warehousing lies in their ability to combine visualization and diagnostic capabilities with software, allowing warehouse managers to understand the impact of change to warehouse configurations – whether it’s moving a rack for slotting optimization or adjusting the layout to accommodate new inventory - before implementing them in the real world.
Digital twins coupled with AI-powered WMS/OMS add-ons can also assist warehouse managers in analyzing how employee behavior affects facility efficiency. By looking at the data, managers can optimize SKU or rack placement, reducing the walking distance covered by pickers.
Benefits of Warehouse Digital Twins
Risk-Free Experimentation
Digital twins provide a virtual environment to test "what-if" scenarios without disrupting actual operations, reducing the risk of implementing ineffective solutions.
Warehouse Operation Scenario Testing
By testing different layouts and workflows, warehouses can find the most efficient designs and see the impact of the changes without disruption to actual operations. Some of the benefits of scenario testing can be a reduction in travel distances made by order pickers leading to higher productivity warehouses, and lower congestion.
Inventory Management
Better tracking of what items are in stock and where they are helps prevent overstocking & stockouts, leading to more accurate inventory management overall.
Agility and Adaptability
Digital twins help warehouses respond faster to changes in demand and operational challenges, making the supply chain more agile and responsive.
Use Cases of Digital Twin Technology in Warehousing
We're seeing more companies adopting digital twin technology as a platform to enhance business capabilities and achieve benefits on their bottom lines.
In Picking Optimization
Most WMS, such as SAP EWM, Manhattan, and Blue Yonder, manage picking through basic rules or algorithms that group multiple orders for simultaneous picking. However, these systems often overlook nuanced factors that enhance efficiency, such as order clustering or batching & optimizing pick paths to minimize walking distance. This is because these systems lack warehouse digital twins to fully leverage their data potential.
Optioryx makes use of digital twins to optimize picking operations and help companies make informed decisions when it comes to these parts of warehouse operations by adding intelligent algorithms on top of existing WMS/OMS to reduce distances covered by pickers by 25-40% through a 2-step approach:
- Order Clustering: Strategically grouping orders while considering various factors can reduce pick distances by 15-30%. This step ensures that orders are clustered in a way that minimizes travel time for pickers.
- Picking Path Optimization: Generating the shortest pick path within the optimized clusters avoids the typical snake pattern picking path, further reducing walking distances by an additional 10-20%.
In Slotting
In slotting, the digital twin allows warehouses to simulate different slotting strategies and analyze their impact on efficiency.
A Digital Twin can help warehouses visualize potential bottlenecks & identify opportunities such as areas of high SKU velocity or walking activity, making it easier to configure facilities and deploy solutions, removing the need for external consultants and engineers.1
By running simulations, managers can identify optimal storage locations for fast-moving items closer or further from picking stations, thereby reducing travel time and improving overall order preparation times
In Inventory Management
In inventory management, a digital twin helps visualize product locations and quantities. It can complement slotting and picking operations by identifying hot spots where inventory moves quickly and optimal locations for specific products in the warehouse.
Digital Twins can also identify potential problems before they arise such as inventory shortages during peak periods by analyzing historical data. This enables warehouse managers to adjust reorder points or expedite procurement to avoid stockouts. By simulating different scenarios, such as demand fluctuations or operational changes, managers can make proactive decisions to prevent stockouts or overstock situations, improving inventory accuracy and operational efficiency.
In Workforce Management
In workforce management, digital twins help companies simulate and improve staffing levels, schedules, and workflows. Organizations can predict staffing needs and adjust schedules proactively by analyzing historical data and current demand trends. This ensures the right number of employees are deployed at the right times to handle workload efficiently
In a scenario, where a warehouse is dealing with lower picking performance, digital twin technology with an appropriate software solution helps warehouses to address these issues faster & pinpoint the reasons behind this. This could be due to additional employee training needs or workflow inefficiencies.
Can a Warehouse Digital Twin Work for You?
The reality is that most warehouses already possess the necessary data in their WMS, it’s just a matter of making this information actionable.
Creating a digital twin doesn't need to be dauntingly complex. It involves replicating the warehouse environment digitally, down to the floor layout, racks, inventory, and any obstacles present. This process begins by mapping out the physical space and configuring the digital model to mirror these elements accurately.
By integrating data from warehouse operations, such as inventory levels & aisle directional movement, the digital twin can simulate various scenarios to optimize picking routes, storage locations, and overall workflow efficiency.
Need assistance with creating a digital twin of your warehouse? Get in touch.