What is the business case for Digital Twins?

/ Project management Research

The product-life-cycle of a Coffee Capsule; mapping End-to-End supply chains

What is the business case for Digital Twins? This blog post describes a business case for applying the Digital Twin Breakthrough Strategy in a supply chain. An everyday recognizable   product is used as an example. It demonstrates what can be done using a digital twin supply chain strategy in the pre-use phase and after product use; End-to-End. Its very likely that my  ‘product of research and company’ already (partially) applied a Digital Twin Strategy in its End-to-End supply chain.

Most people appreciate a good cup of coffee!

People drink coffee in coffeeshop, bars, restaurants or at home. Maybe you have a coffee machine with coffee capsules? The coffee home culture is a trending lifestyle,  an experience, with expensive, high quality, machines, which make you feel like a barrista. I like the marketing and branding campagnes providing a “feel good”, “simple to use”, “lifestyle” and “sustainable” experience.

The supply chain, Pre-, and Post-use of a coffee capsule and machine

Pre-use. Your customer journey starts with marketing and sales of the Company X. Next, you buy the machine online or at a Boutique store, you choose your coffee-capsules with the taste of your personal like and your set.  A fast responsive supply chain for re-ordering, loyalty programs, invoice and billing is at your convenience. And sometimes also a Post-use program, which I value as an absolute plus.

 

Mapping Supply Chains Pre Use

 

Post-use. After consumption the end-user puts the used capsule into the waste bag (either provided by the reseller of your machine and coffee capsules, or ordered at the web shop). Your full bag is picked up by the carrier or dropped at the local drop-off point.  The carrier collects bags in their distribution centre to ship them frequently to the recycling centre (RC). At the RC trucks unload into the bunker from where bags are processed in the Separation Installation (SI), with shredders, separtion techniques (magnets, shakers, heaters, moisture-evaporation, gravity), connected by conveyor belts. Here life ends, closing the loop of your coffee-capsule into a one off the mono streams (aluminium, plastics, biomass and some residual. Indeed the customer life cycle experience is “feel good” and “sustainable” experience.

 

Business Case Post Use of Coffee Capsules

Costs of Pre-use and Post-use. What is the business case for Digital Twins? The coffee capsule of your choice from Company X costs about €0,20 – 0,85, depending on country of living, a post-use program, branding perceived by the customer, competition of brands available (Lavazza, Douwe Egberts, Nespresso, Illy, Starbucks, Sega Fredo), quality of coffee, and quality of materials used for the capsule (Plastics vs Aluminium). Besides the capsule, ofte you have to pay separately for delivery; costs differences again result from country and regional differences, cost of carriers, order quantity et cetera. However the costs of recycling, “feel good, easy, simple, sustainability”, are not transparant and pricing of waste disposal of the coffee capsule is included in the capsule.

Mapping End-to-End Supply Chains

What is the business case for Digital Twins? We need to understand the supply chain. So let’s break-down (Business Process Management – high level) what has to done and paid for, by the End-to-End Customer when spending €0,20 – 0,90. Without the intention of being complete I created a long list  in Pre-Use (29 steps) and Post-Use (12 steps).

Coffee Capsule Pre-Use

  1. Farm establishment & upkeep. Payments: land lease/taxes, seedlings, shade trees, tools, irrigation, certifications (e.g., Rainforest/Organic), agronomy services.
  2. Cultivation (growing the coffee cherries). Payments: farm labour (planting, pruning, weeding), fertilizers/compost, pest & disease control, water, PPE, farm management software.
  3. Harvesting. Payments: pickers’ wages (often piece-rate), collection bags, on-farm sorting tables (risk of poor season, poor harvest). Primary processing – wet or dry. Payments: pulpers/hulling machines, water & energy, fermentation tanks, drying patios/beds/mech. dryers, parchment bags, labour, maintenance.
  4. On-farm QA & pre-grading. Payments: moisture meters, cupping kits, training, loss/shrink allowance.
  5. Local aggregation/co-op services. Payments: membership/co-op fees, storage, additional sorting, bulking, finance/advances to farmers.
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Coffee Capsule Post Use

The Post-use starts the reversed logistics loop. As coffee capsules are one-time-use, it follows the Material 4th Life-cycle and transfers the capsule and its content into monostreams to be re-use in a 1-st life-cycle.

  1. Collection bag & label. Payments: cost of return bags, prepaid return label/answer-number postage, customer support.
  2. Reverse logistics pickup/drop-off. Payments: courier pickup/line-haul, retailer service point handling, consolidation to recycling hub.
  3. Reception & pre-treatment at recycling hub. Payments: unloading, inspection, contamination removal, batch tracking.

 

Business Case for reversed logistics
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Coffee Machine Prepare for Use and Post Use

With only coffee capsules there is no fun. We need the coffee machine. Lets map the Supply Chain and Operations of the Coffee Machine itself. The whole life cycle of this precious asset, from mining the materials until you scrap it. For the purpose of this Blog it’s not useful, still want to figure it out? Use AI generator.

“ Coffee Capsules require coffee machines. So lets break down what has to be paid End-to-End by the Customer / End User when spending €0,20 – 0,90 on a capsule. We start with the raw materials to make a coffee machine, from the origin of the materials (Mining) until the machine is scrapped and materials end op either in incineration or as monostream (materials for new purposes). List all the steps in a sequention order.”

Any idea upfront of what it takes to create a simple coffee machine for daily use?

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Supply Chain Digital Twins Strategy

What is the business case for Digital Twins?

We did some research on  the End-to-End supply chains of Drinking Coffee, mapping Coffee Machines and Coffee Capsules  in Pre-Use and Post-Use. Both supply chains can be considered as complex, integrated supply chain. On every continent, in every country, through warehouses, logistics, products find their way to the customer, ending their life-cycle in mono streams. Providing customers satisfaction with global corporate responsibilities after consumption.

A real-life business case of a complex

A real-life business case of a complex, integrated supply chain, with many, many interactions, data points, decision making. How to determine the carbon footprint? How to determine Efficiency in the supply chain? What are the costs drivers in the supply chain, global, local, risk, resilience, flexibility. What are the bottlenecks in the supply chain? Where to expand? How to make growth possible in the supply chain. How to integrate supply chains in Post Use?

 

In previous blogposts I explained considerations before starting up a project.

  • Blogpost (October 20, 2025) Data Driven Supply Chains, Digital Twin Supply Chain; elements of a Modern Supply Chain provides an introduction of Digital Twins in Supply Chain and prerequisites to start a successful implementation.
  • Blogpost (October 27, 2025) Supply Chain Digital Twin Strategy (SCDTS) provides an integrated approach using AI, IoT and data analytics.
  • Blogpost (November 3, 2025) Supply Chain Digital Twin Breakthrough Strategy provides a roadmap for starting up a project. Waarde Propositie en Baten.
  • Blogpost (November 6, 2025) Supply Chain Digital Twin Breakthrough Strategy provides a roadmap for starting up a project – Organisatie-omvang, sectoren en investeringsomvang.

 

What are we actually talking about?

What is the business case for Digital Twins? Exactly, Humans (intelligence) have an idea and know how to shape and implement ideas using Artificial Intelligence (AI), by asking questions, giving assignments defining prompts, execution of commands and AI-agents finding opportunities. But AI is way more faster to execute repeatedly and learning from new Human Intelligent inputs.

Digital Twin Supply Chains is the next development (emerging) of data-driven operations. DTSC integrates real-time monitoring, analysis, and simulation to create adaptive, resilient, and efficient supply chains. In my opionion, supply chains with limited capacity (bunkers, warehouses) with frequent deliveries, aligned with production capacity (Inbound & Operations Planning & Control = Control Tower) can benefit from DTSC.

Organizations should start by developing a clear BPM foundation, invest in a standardized data infrastructure, and gradually integrate AI-driven optimization models. Starting pilot projects ensures scalability and organizational learning, paving the way for full implementation of digital twins.

 

Get in touch. Interested in innovations and integrated field projects for your organization? We explore, plan and implement together.

Food4TheBrAIn, Act2Vision

info@act2vision.com | +31 (0) 686 698 026

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