Short answer

Designers should leverage simulation tools like digital twins to proactively identify and address conflicting stakeholder requirements early in the design process for supply chain solutions.

Field: Modelling
Source: Food and Bioproducts Processing (2025)
Method: Simulation and modelling
Evidence: Strong effect

Physics-based digital twins can simulate complex hygrothermal and physiological fruit behaviors to reveal and quantify conflicting stakeholder incentives in trans-continental citrus supply chains. This modelling research insight is drawn from a 2025 study published in Food and Bioproducts Processing. Using Simulation and modelling, researchers explored how this design variable affects real-world outcomes. The key design takeaway: Designers should leverage simulation tools like digital twins to proactively identify and address conflicting stakeholder requirements early in the design process for supply chain solutions.

Study

ModellingNew This WeekStrong effect

Digital Twins Optimize Citrus Cold Chains by Quantifying Stakeholder Trade-offs

Physics-based digital twins can simulate complex hygrothermal and physiological fruit behaviors to reveal and quantify conflicting stakeholder incentives in trans-continental citrus supply chains.

Food and Bioproducts Processing · 2025

Key Findings

01Digital twins can effectively model the complex interplay of factors affecting fruit quality and shelf-life during refrigerated transport.
02Stakeholder desirability functions reveal distinct and often conflicting priorities regarding fruit attributes and shipping conditions.
03Specific shipping scenarios can be evaluated to determine their impact on each stakeholder's objectives.

Application

Design takeaway

Designers should leverage simulation tools like digital twins to proactively identify and address conflicting stakeholder requirements early in the design process for supply chain solutions.

How to apply

Use simulation software to create digital twins of products or systems, inputting real-world data to model performance and evaluate outcomes against defined stakeholder objectives.

Project actions

01When designing a product that involves multiple users or stakeholders, consider how to model their different needs and priorities.
02Explore simulation software to create virtual prototypes that can test various design scenarios before physical prototyping.

Method & Evidence

AimTo identify and quantify the trade-offs between fruit quality, postharvest life, food loss, and energy consumption in trans-continental citrus supply chains by simulating stakeholder incentives using digital twins.

MethodSimulation and modelling

ProcedureDeveloped physics-based digital twins of citrus fruit within a refrigerated container, using measured delivery air temperature as input. Employed mechanistic simulations to model hygrothermal and physiological fruit behavior in-silico. Translated actionable metrics from the digital twin into desirability functions to assess how well different shipping scenarios meet the goals of key stakeholders (exporters, regulators, distributors, retailers, consumers).

ContextTrans-continental citrus supply chains, refrigerated transportation

Variables

IVShipping scenarios (e.g., temperature profiles, duration)

DVStakeholder desirability scores, fruit quality metrics (e.g., respiration, moisture loss, chilling injury, pest mortality)

CVFruit type (citrus), container type, input air temperature

Strengths & Limitations

Strengths

+Utilizes a novel physics-based digital twin approach.
+Quantifies complex, multi-stakeholder trade-offs.
+Provides actionable insights for supply chain optimization.

Limitations

The complexity of creating accurate digital twins can be a significant barrier. Simplifying the model might lead to less precise results.

Reliability & validity

Reliability would be assessed by running the simulations multiple times with identical inputs. Validity would be enhanced by comparing simulation outputs to real-world data from actual shipments.

Think critically

How might the 'desirability functions' be biased, and what steps could be taken to ensure they accurately reflect the true incentives of each stakeholder?

Design Principles

"Quantify stakeholder trade-offs using simulation to optimize complex system design."

Understanding these trade-offs is crucial for designing more efficient and equitable supply chains. By quantifying how different shipping scenarios impact various stakeholders, designers can identify optimal solutions that balance competing priorities, such as fruit quality, food loss reduction, and energy consumption.

What This Means for Your Design

Imagine creating a virtual copy of a fruit that acts exactly like the real one in a cold truck. This virtual copy helps us see how different shipping choices make different people (like farmers or shop owners) happy or unhappy.

How to use in your project

1.Reference this study when discussing the importance of considering multiple user perspectives in your design project.
2.Use the concept of digital twins as inspiration for how you might simulate or model aspects of your design's performance or user interaction.

Add to My Project

Quick Cite

Paragraph starter

This research highlights the power of digital modelling in understanding complex systems. By creating physics-based digital twins of citrus fruit, the study quantified conflicting stakeholder incentives within trans-continental supply chains, demonstrating how simulation can reveal trade-offs between fruit quality, loss, and energy consumption. This approach offers a valuable methodology for designers to anticipate and address diverse user needs in system design.

Source

Food and Bioproducts Processing

Identifying trade-offs in trans-continental citrus supply chains and the resulting conflicting stakeholder's incentives via physics-based, digital fruit twins

journal · 2025

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Questions About This Research

What does the research say about digital twins optimize citrus cold chains by quantifying stakeholder trade-offs?: Designers should leverage simulation tools like digital twins to proactively identify and address conflicting stakeholder requirements early in the design process for supply chain solutions. Evidence: Food and Bioproducts Processing (2025).
Why does "Digital Twins Optimize Citrus Cold Chains by Quantifying Stakeholder Trade-offs" matter for design?: Understanding these trade-offs is crucial for designing more efficient and equitable supply chains. By quantifying how different shipping scenarios impact various stakeholders, designers can identify optimal solutions that balance competing priorities, such as fruit quality, food loss reduction, and energy consumption.
How can designers apply this research?: Designers should leverage simulation tools like digital twins to proactively identify and address conflicting stakeholder requirements early in the design process for supply chain solutions.
What were the main findings?: Digital twins can effectively model the complex interplay of factors affecting fruit quality and shelf-life during refrigerated transport.. Stakeholder desirability functions reveal distinct and often conflicting priorities regarding fruit attributes and shipping conditions.. Specific shipping scenarios can be evaluated to determine their impact on each stakeholder's objectives.
What research method was used?: Simulation and modelling.
How strong is the evidence?: Evidence strength is rated Strong effect, based on a 2025 journal from Food and Bioproducts Processing.
What should I do differently in my next project?: Use simulation software to create digital twins of products or systems, inputting real-world data to model performance and evaluate outcomes against defined stakeholder objectives.
What are the limitations?: The accuracy of the digital twin is dependent on the quality of input data and the fidelity of the physics-based models. Generalizability to other fruits or supply chain contexts may vary.