Resilient supply chain for military swiftness
We engaged with senior defense supply chain experts globally to investigate effective strategies for enhancing resilience in defense supply chains.
Our research findings indicate that integrating digital twins into the organization’s digital core is critical for transforming the defense supply chain.
Furthermore, our discussions identified four specific barriers that hinder the implementation of digital twins in defense supply chains, which must be addressed to reach a new level of performance.
Twin reactions: Acknowledgement and hesitations
Disruption has significantly impacted defense supply chains. With ongoing volatility anticipated, the current era of global geopolitical uncertainty necessitates enhanced military readiness. Achieving this level of preparedness requires resilient, battlefield-ready supply chains across the defense enterprise.
In this context, digital twins emerge as a vital tool. They can effectively manage supply chain risks, expedite transformation, and foster resilience by merging human ingenuity with technologies that provide end-to-end visibility and AI-driven scenario modeling. To fully leverage digital twins, organizations must adopt a deliberate and continuous strategy aimed at establishing a new performance frontier—Total Enterprise Reinvention.
Our research shows that the defense community acknowledges the potential applications of digital twins. With appropriate strategies and resource allocation, we believe they can make significant progress in the near term—potentially within just a few months. However, alongside this recognition, there is also reluctance regarding digital twins, driven by common misconceptions and tangible barriers.
The war and ongoing supply chain challenges have become a catalyst for change. Rather than being viewed as a supplementary initiative—a "nice-to-have" or a futuristic concept like a digital twin in the factory—this transformation has evolved into a critical necessity.
Major hurdles to overcome
While digital twins have existed within the technology landscape for years, their impact has significantly increased today due to advancements in technology.
Four Barriers to Success:
The Knowledge Deficit: The lack of skills and organization-wide awareness can hinder the adoption of digital twins.
The Data Dilemma: There is a perception that digital twins introduce considerable complexity in data management.
The Security Paradox: Concerns about data security associated with digital twins can ironically lead to reduced overall security.
The Supplier Gap: Many small suppliers need support to effectively engage with digital twin platforms.
Barrier 1: The Knowledge Deficit
There is a common misconception that advanced technologies such as digital twins rely little on human intervention. In reality, the true value of digital twins lies in the synergy between machine learning and human ingenuity, which enhances decision-making capabilities. However, the defense community is experiencing significant awareness gaps, even at the leadership level.
Actions for Continuous Reinvention
Educate Senior Leaders on Digital Twins: Ensure that senior leaders understand the transformative potential of digital twins for supply chains, emphasizing that their support and investment are crucial for successful adoption, rather than delegating responsibility solely to the IT department.
Acquire Key Skills Through Strategic Partnerships: Consider partnering with academic institutions and research organizations, as well as technology vendors, to acquire essential skills such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and cloud enablement network connectivity.
Create an Attractive Environment for Talent: Take practical steps to cultivate an environment that attracts the right skills, offering options such as remote work and flexible contracts to support on-demand talent models.
Barrier 2: The Data Dilemma
Real-time data serves as the essential foundation for digital twins. However, some interviewees express concerns about the quality, volume, and complexity of the data required, as well as the associated time and costs for managing it. Although certain digital twins necessitate substantial data input, defense agencies can initiate the creation of digital twins using the data currently at their disposal and progressively enhance these models as additional data becomes available.
Actions for Continuous Reinvention
Develop a Common User Platform: Establish a shared information services platform that offers an intuitive user experience at the point of data collection. This will encourage accurate inputs and reduce the likelihood of errors.
Assess the Supply Chain for Data Aggregation: Conduct a thorough evaluation of the supply chain to identify areas suitable for a data aggregation approach that supports digital twins. This includes pinpointing risks, system and sensor gaps, as well as third-party data deficiencies, and determining how to address them.
Invest in Analytics and Business Intelligence Platforms: Allocate resources to develop analytics and business intelligence tools that integrate data into a decision support system, ensuring that decision-makers are equipped with useful insights rather than being overwhelmed by irrelevant information.
Barrier 3: The Security Paradox
Digital twins provide greater value to the military ecosystem when they extend beyond individual organizations and integrate across the entire supply chain. However, security concerns can hinder this integration. Due to the nascent stage of digital twin applications in defense supply chains, governance has not kept pace. Ironically, this governance gap exacerbates fears surrounding security and compliance, creating what is known as the security paradox.
Actions for Continuous Reinvention
Revise Defense Policies and Agreements: Update existing policies and agreements related to data security and data sharing to facilitate improved sharing across the end-to-end supply chain.
Enhance Security Accreditation Standards: Refine the standards for environmental, application, and data security accreditation to clearly outline how defense entities and suppliers can demonstrate compliance with sharing regulations.
Emphasize Cloud Adoption: Prioritize the adoption of cloud technologies to overcome the security paradox, fostering trust in the cloud to connect data and experiences, thereby accelerating progress with digital twins.
Barrier 4: The Supplier Gap
Defense agencies and prime contractors typically select suppliers based on their compliance with contracting requirements, skills and capabilities, and operational performance. As the momentum for digital twins increases, defense organizations will need to establish additional criteria focused on digitalization and data literacy, as well as modernized contracting protocols, to identify the right-fit suppliers.
Actions for Continuous Reinvention
Establish Data Ownership and Sharing Agreements: Facilitate end-to-end visibility for armed forces while allowing suppliers to safeguard their intellectual property and maintain competitive market positioning.
Empower Suppliers for Digital Reinvention: Support suppliers in creating the conditions necessary for successful digital transformation. Essential components include strong business leadership, a clear vision and strategy with defined outcomes, and a comprehensive business case.
Enhance Data Literacy Through Partnerships: Collaborate to improve data literacy among suppliers through coaching, innovative approaches to incentivizing data literacy, and, when necessary, the adoption of new technologies and tools.
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