Utilising Supply Chain Visibility for creating more resilient Supply Chains: How Internet of Things, Digital Twins and Cloud Computing can enhance visibility and create more resilient supply chains.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a disruption to occur in supply chains. The pandemic proved that supply chains were vulnerable to disasters and that they were not as resilient as believed. A major problem during the pandemic was insufficient Supply Chain Visibility, which hindered practitioners ability to operate supply chains during the disruption. It became apparent that practitioners lacked visibility in critical areas such as where goods and transports are, possible supply and demand fluctuations, and on the status of suppliers and customers involved in the supply chain. Problematic was also the fact that the question of what Supply Chain Visibility exactly implies is not universally agreed upon. The ambiguity of the concept has led to researchers and practitioners defining and assessing Supply Chain Visibility in different ways. Nevertheless, the importance of Supply Chain Visibility was highlighted, and practitioners started looking for ways to increase their visibility in supply chains. One solution for increasing visibility is the utilisation of Industry 4.0-technology. Technologies often associated with the fourth industrial revolution, such as Internet of Things, Digital Twins and Cloud Computing show immense potential in acquiring and storing information, forecasting and in decision-making. They can also provide unprecedented transparency and traceability to supply chains. This thesis investigates the impact of Internet of Things, Digital Twins and Cloud Computing on internal and external visibility through the antecedents of Supply Chain Resilience. A literature review of 30 studies was conducted for this purpose. The results showed that although Internet of Things, Digital Twins and Cloud Computing have unique capabilities in improving internal and external visibility. However, although the three technologies positively enhanced visibility, many of their capabilities are similar and the differences between them is not always apparent. The results also showed that by enhancing visibility, Internet of Things, Digital Twins and Cloud Computing contribute to creating more resilient supply chains by strengthening antecedents of Supply Chain Resilience, although the role of Supply Chain Visibility is theoretically unclear. The findings of the literature review were summarised using CIMO-Logic, and this summary provides practitioners with a practical guide for surviving specific disruption contexts. This thesis highlights different implications of the fact that the visibility-effects of the three technologies are similar. Due to this fact, it is suggested that practitioners should carefully consider which technology to adapt and invest in. Furthermore, it is important for practitioners to consider whether a supply chain driven by Digital Twins or Cloud Computing is more suitable for them. This thesis contributes to the current research and understanding on Supply Chain Visibility and Resilience and contributes to the research on the use of Industry 4.0-technology in Supply Chains. It can also act as a practical guide for practitioners seeking to increase visibility using Internet of Things, Digital Twins and Cloud Computing during future supply chain disruptions.