Impacts of Simulation and Digital Tools on Supply Chain in Industry 4.0

With the current challenge of difficulty in product flow forecasting and unreliable predictions for customer needs, supply chain decision makers have found the need for achieving new data sets for forecast models, and to continue to refine their results for high-level accuracy. The objective of this study is to describe the importance that industry 4.0 simulation tools have for supply chain optimization. It targets the overall benefits and implementation of simulation tools as a powerful tool that helps companies optimize their operations and achieve better business outcomes. Simulation with the incorporation of digital tools such as Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) gives companies greater insights as to how to overcome supply chain problems. Various case studies were analyzed with reference to the digital tools under consideration. The outcome reveals that the supply chains improved in efficiency, logistics, production and overall management. The concept of the study can help supply chain managers and key players evaluate large scale systems and make intelligent strategic, tactical and operational decisions.