April 2024 insights
How digital twins revolutionize agility in pharma logistics: Q&A with Alvaro Suarez Mateos
Agility in business is not just a desirable trait, it is an absolute necessity. It becomes even more crucial when you are operating in the global specialty pharmaceutical logistics space, as World Courier does. To ensure that precious shipments reach patients in need, and respond swiftly to volatility, World Courier uses a suite of innovative technology including digital twins. In this interview, we sit down with Alvaro Suarez Mateos, Analyst, Analytic Effectiveness, and unpack how this all works, and what it means for the future of pharma logistics.
Q: In today's volatile business environment, agility is crucial. Can you tell us how World Courier has incorporated technology into its strategies and operations to stay agile?
World Courier utilizes multiple tools to bridge the gap between strategic, data-based insights and the changes we make operationally based on those insights. Digital twins sit at the top strategically, with control towers and our packaging hub being on an operational level. These, and other tools we employ give us a comprehensive view across our entire logistical chain. This 360-degree perspective allows us to make strategic decisions, monitor operational specifics, swiftly identify bottlenecks, and react promptly to disruptions.
"Digital supply chain twins are revolutionizing how we approach agility at World Courier, they enrich our strategic and operational teams with real-time visibility, predictive analytics, and scenario simulations.”
Q: Tell me more about digital twins.
At the top of the hierarchy of tools is our digital twin, which is essentially a virtual replica of a physical system — in our case, World Courier's global logistics network. It is designed to mirror the real-world processes and interactions within that system as closely as possible.
These digital counterparts offer a powerful tool for forecasting and strategic planning. By feeding different inputs into the digital twin, we can model various scenarios and by running thousands of simulations (such as Monte Carlo Simulations) predict the outcomes.
For example, at World Courier, we use our digital twin to answer critical questions related to our business operations. These questions might involve whether we have sufficient packaging assets for our depots or if there's a need to expand certain facilities due to space constraints.
Our digital twin provides valuable insights both for strategic decision making as well as daily operations depending on the inputs, assumptions, and time frames used in the models.?
Q: Do the systems make changes to a shipments journey on the fly, or is that down to people power?
The expertise and ingenuity of our people cannot be overstated. While our digital twins and control towers are instrumental in providing real-time data, insights and predictive analytics, they do not autonomously alter anything.
It is the expert individuals at World Courier who bring this data to life. All the available data is aggregated into dashboards for easy access and decision making for our teams. They interpret these insights, apply their deep experience, skill and understanding of logistics, and make changes to continuously improve.
On ground, it is the operational teams who use this information to fine-tune their routes and make any necessary modifications during a shipment's journey. These team members are truly masters of logistics — and navigate complex logistical landscapes with precision and agility.
In essence, while our innovative tools enhance visibility and forecasting abilities, it is the people power that not only drives tangible actions and outcomes in our business but also provides essential feedback. This feedback allows us to refine and enhance our models and technology, making them smarter and more useful in driving change.
Q: Scenario simulation is one of the features of digital twins. Could you elaborate on this, and how they help build resilience?
Scenario simulation is a powerful feature of digital twins that greatly enhances our strategic planning and decision-making processes. Utilizing this feature, we can create hypothetical situations or 'what if' scenarios to test diverse strategies.
For instance, we could simulate the impact of adjusting inventory levels under different conditions or explore how altering delivery timelines might affect our logistics flow considering unforeseen circumstances. The beauty of these simulations is that they allow us to assess the potential implications and outcomes of various strategies without taking real-world risks. In the real world this means our packaging is in the right place, and at the right time to meet demand, by ensuring sufficient stock levels.?
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The range of scenarios we can test is virtually limitless. We could simulate everything from extreme weather events disrupting deliveries, to political instability affecting our ability to ship in and out of a specific country.
Q: How do these tools help you build for a better future?
At World Courier we don’t just react to the present, but actively shape the future. The insights we get from things like our digital twin empower us to make insightful decisions and construct robust contingency plans for a myriad of potential scenarios. This positions us at the forefront of agility and resilience in supply chain management and makes us even more ready to navigate both predictable patterns and unforeseen challenges. We continuously improve every day to ensure we hit the highest number of on-time and in-range deliveries as possible.?
As we continue to innovate with digital twins, we are moving away from retrospective reporting and analysis to real-time insights and predictive analytics, which make us as proactive as possible. This minimizes the need for reactive or corrective actions after an event has happened, thereby providing additional peace of mind for our customers about the safe arrival of their shipments. World Courier is building a future where unpredictability simply doesn't equate to vulnerability.
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