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Faculty of mechanical engineering
blassgrau © LFO​/​ TU Dortmund

The FlexTools Project at CIRP CMS 2026: The Role of Digital Twins in Financial Flows in Supply Chain Management

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  • 2026
  • Forschungsnews
  • Forschungsprojekte
  • FlexTools
  • Lehrstuhlnews
Tobias Schrage hält einen Vortrag auf der CIRP CMS in Austin, Texas, 2026 © LFO​/​ TU Dortmund
Tobias Schrage hält einen Vortrag auf der CIRP CMS in Austin, Texas, 2026
How can digital twins not only map operational processes but also support business decisions in the supply chain? The project team from the Chair of Business Logistics (LFO) explored this question in May at the CIRP CMS Conference in Austin, Texas.

As part of the “FlexTools” research project, Tobias Schrage represented the LFO in May at the international CIRP CMS conference “Manufacturing Systems 2026” in Austin. As the sole representative on site, he presented the recent paper “Digital Twins in Supply Chain Management: A Systematic Literature Review with a Focus on the Integration of Financial Flows” on behalf of the entire team of authors (Patrick Keitzl, Michael Henke, and Tobias Schrage) to an international audience of experts.

The presentation and subsequent discussions centered on the highly topical question of how digital twins can be effectively used in supply chain management to support economic and financial decision-making processes.

The systematic literature review conducted by the LFO makes it clear: While digital twins are becoming increasingly important in logistics, financial flows have so far been integrated only to a very limited extent. Existing approaches typically focus on isolated indicators such as costs, working capital, financing terms, or investment-related metrics. A holistic integration of material, information, and financial flows is currently still in the early stages of research.

The true potential of digital twins lies not only in visualization, simulation, or the creation of real-time transparency, but above all in the intelligent linking of operational data with economic information relevant to decision-making.

The research results presented were specifically developed as part of the “FlexTools” project. They provide important building blocks for the economic evaluation of digital and automated logistics systems.

In addition to the successful presentation, the conference provided an excellent platform for international knowledge transfer with researchers from the fields of digital twins, manufacturing systems, simulation, and data-driven decision support.

The project team would like to extend special thanks to the conference organizers, particularly Dragan Djurdjanovic (University of Texas at Austin), session chair Katri Salminen, and all participants—including Ricardo Caballero—for the inspiring discussions and valuable insights that Tobias Schrage was able to bring back to Dortmund from Texas.

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