NOVEMBER 2025AUTO BUSINESS OUTLOOK 8Reynaldo GonzalezIN MY OPINIONTHE SMARTER WAY TO MODEL SUPPLY CHAINSBy Felipe Molino, Sr. Director of Engineering, NFIAcross the supply chain industry, there's no shortage of conversations about improving efficiency, cutting costs, and optimizing networks. As companies look for smarter ways to navigate today's challenges, many are exploring new tools, and AI is quickly becoming a top contender. But while AI holds real promise, it's not the only piece of the puzzle, and it may not even be the first tool you need.Digital Twins and AIIf you are asking yourself, "What does it take to unleash the full power of AI in my business," more often than not, the answer is a digital twin. A digital twin gives you the power to simulate your supply chain in a dynamic, living model, one that evolves with real-time data. It enables you to test assumptions, explore "what-if" scenarios, and understand the downstream impact of decisions before they happen. AI can enhance this process by identifying patterns, forecasting outcomes, and accelerating decision-making. But without the digital twin as the foundation, those insights remain disconnected from your actual operations. To truly unlock the value of AI, you need the sandbox the digital twin provides: the environment where strategy meets simulation.Digital Twin: Mitigating Risk with a Long-term Supply Chain StrategyCreating a digital twin isn't the only way to navigate today's market challenges, but for our customers, it's the most flexible and scalable solution.Faced with growing demand for supply chain analysis, we knew the traditional approach of hiring engineers and stacking software licenses to manually conduct ad hoc studies wasn't sustainable. Instead, we invested in top-tier technology and talent to build an automated digital twin solution that could scale alongside our customers' needs and set a new industry standard.But it didn't happen overnight, and it won't for most companies. Building a digital twin is a long-term commitment, not a plug-and-play tool. For many, it could take up to five years to fully develop an actionable model, requiring significant investment in infrastructure, talent, and systems. At NFI, we've dedicated years to research and development to do this, enabling us to onboard customers in weeks rather than years. Our expertise and advanced technology allow clients to quickly leverage digital twin capabilities, achieving faster insights and a more agile supply chain.An Example Scenario with Big ImpactWhen we onboard accounts on the digital twin, we provide a series of standard scenarios to our customers that we know to be the most common areas of opportunity. In my experience, one of those opportunities is the oversight of assignment and prioritization of LTL carriers, especially in larger companies where freight spend can exceed $10 million. These types of companies often move a significant portion of their volume through truckload, and as a result, the LTL side gets less attention. By reevaluating our approach to assigning route guides and preferred carriers for LTL shipments, we identified opportunities for significant cost savings. Adjusting this single parameter led to over $2 million in potential savings for our customers last year. When combined with other modeling parameters and scenarios offered by NFI, the cumulative ROI impact is even higher, demonstrating the transformative power of digital twin technology. Challenges with Supply Chain Modeling: The Relationship Between People and TechnologyOne of the most significant challenges in supply chain modeling is attracting professionals with the specialized expertise required for effective analytics and engineering. The demand for individuals with both skill sets is high, making them difficult to recruit and retain. Once onboard, integrating them into existing Felipe Molino, Sr. Director of Engineering at NFI, who leads the consulting division and serves as the product owner for digital twin technology, now also overseeing AI capabilities. His role involves collaborating with teams on consulting engagements, refining models, and solving challenges. He focuses on designing models, understanding customer needs, and adjusting strategies as needed. On the digital twin front, Felipe plays a key role in implementing new accounts and optimizing existing ones. Balancing multiple priorities, he ensures projects run smoothly and deliver results, driving innovation and operational success.
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