Digital twins and AI: Reimagining supply chains in South Africa

This is where the phrase “a logistical nightmare” applies: A critical shipment is suddenly delayed — stuck at a port, disrupted by a power outage or held up by a rail stoppage inland. Production is at risk, customers’ orders are waiting and you don’t have hours to investigate and fix what went wrong. In South Africa, all these scenarios can happen at once, creating a perfect storm that keeps supply chain managers up at night.

What you need in a situation like this is a real-time alternative. Manual processes simply won’t find solutions fast enough. You need to know what’s happening right now, what could go wrong next and what your best options are.

Enter digital twins. They help you make sense of the problems as they happen, give you a clear understanding of what actions to take and even uncover issues you might not have spotted yet.

What is a digital twin?

A good place to start is with what a digital twin isn’t. Many people confuse digital twins with the older supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) or other digital visualization systems. They’re not the same thing. A digital twin is far more dynamic. It’s a live, virtual version of your supply chain, continuously updated with operational data and even external information such as news events and regional instability to simulate real-world scenarios.

These digital twins are essential in supply chain management because they can handle the kind of real-time information that humans can’t process fast enough. They see everything across your entire supply chain at once, 24x7.

Why this matters locally

A big practical advantage of digital twins is how they help you plan ahead. Because they connect continuous streams of data, you have the information at your fingertips to model different scenarios upfront. For example, if a shipment is delayed, a digital twin will show you the knock-on effects and how you can plan around them.

For manufacturers in South Africa and around the world who operate on a knife edge, this is crucial. Planning becomes responsive and informed, and decisions can be made at lightning speed.

AI: The digital twin’s wise sibling

AI adds a layer of intelligence to a digital twin. While the twin shows what’s happening across the supply chain, AI interprets it. By analyzing patterns, learning from past behavior and identifying risks before they become issues, AI turns the digital twin’s data into actionable insights. It also plays an important role in scenario modeling and risk management.

Orchestrating the supply chain

Digital twins and AI also help break down silos within supply chains. Planning, logistics and operations often run on their own systems, with teams relying on manual cross-checks to understand how one affects the other. But once these systems talk to each other, information starts to flow. The supply chain manager knows immediately when something changes and can respond in a more coordinated way.

Smarter decisions on the shopfloor

Digital twins and AI also play a key role on the shopfloor. They use sensor data to detect signs of wear, triggering maintenance alerts that avoid costly breakdowns. They also highlight anomalies that may affect quality. For manufacturers balancing tight production windows with limited room for error, these early warnings help teams intervene before small issues become bottlenecks.

Building resilience

This brings a level of resilience to the supply chain that was difficult to achieve before. Instead of rebuilding plans every time something changes, you have a system flexible enough to adapt as needed. Disruptions will happen — that’s the nature of the industry — but the combination of AI and a digital twin make these disruptions easier to address.

Not all AI is created equal

AI covers a wide range of technologies, and not all of them play a meaningful role in supply chain planning. GenAI and agentic AI models are starting to show potential, especially for summarizing information and exploring options. But according to IDC research, machine learning is the one doing most of the heavy lifting right now — analyzing historical data, finding the patterns and creating projections of disruptions.

• ALSO READ → 5 ways manufacturers are building agile supply chains in the AI era

Understanding your supply chain footprint

Sustainability has become an integral part of supply chain management. To report properly, you must understand your organization’s emissions across Scope 1 (your direct emissions), Scope 2 (the energy you buy) and most, importantly, the most difficult to manage, Scope 3 (everything in your value chain).

Digital twins and AI make this far easier by pulling together data that would traditionally sit in different systems or across different partners. Sensors monitor energy in real time, digital twins can model how materials and products move through the chain, and AI can interpret these flows to show where the biggest impact is being created.

Instead of calculating emissions retrospectively, you now have a live view of your entire footprint and how sourcing, routing or production can affect your emissions.

Integrating the technology

Digital twins don’t operate in isolation. They rely on the systems that already run your business. For many organizations, that means SAP for planning and Microsoft tools for analytics. When digital twins connect to these platforms, information moves freely and you get a clearer, more accurate picture of what’s happening across your supply chain.

A big part of this is the convergence of IT and OT. Data from machine sensors and production systems feeds directly into planning and logistics environments. Instead of relying on manual updates, teams see what’s happening in real time.

This type of integration isn’t always straightforward. But with the help of NTT DATA’s global and local expertise and our long-standing relationships with SAP and Microsoft, we can connect these systems in a way that works for you.

No more weak links in the chain

Supply chains will always face disruption — it’s par for the course. Ports will slow down, energy will fluctuate and global events will intervene. But with digital twins and AI, you’re no longer in the dark. You have full visibility, actionable insights and a lot more control. Add in the right technology foundations, and these insights become even more usable.

This is your opportunity to make your supply chain far less vulnerable to the kind of logistical nightmares that once stopped you in your tracks.

• ALSO READ → Factory floor 2.0: How AI-ready networks are reshaping manufacturing