Abstract
This paper introduces a pervasive digital technology called Business Digital Twin (BDT), developed over the last 25 years, as a software that digitally recreates all enterprise processes and allows for their efficient management in real-time and even simulation of future enterprise variant states. The paper also outlines the ontological foundation of BDT called Business Model Ontology (BMO) which represents the culmination of three engineering waves in the development of managerial knowledge initiated by Henry R. Towne.
In 2024, we commemorate 100 years since Henry R. Towne’s death, one of the most prominent figures in the fields of engineering and shop management and the 8th President of ASME. To honor his memory and understand the necessity for a Business Digital Twin, we would like to remind and bring attention to one of Henry R. Towne’s most notable and vital presentations — “The Engineer as an Economist.” In his work, Henry R. Towne states that it is challenging for machine-related manufacturing enterprises to be developed since their success depends on the “ability of the managers while receiving little benefit or aid from all that may have been done previously by others in precisely the same field of work.”
Henry R. Towne defined the difficulties and challenges related to the creation and management of manufacturing enterprises, due to the lack of systemic scientific knowledge about it. We define this systemic knowledge as Business Model Ontology. Towne states that “A vast amount of accumulated experience in the art of workshop management already exists, but there is no record of it available to the world in general...” Nearly 140 years since the publication of this statement by the American Society of Mechanical Engineering (ASME), a universally accepted and comprehensive Business Model Ontology has yet to be widely disseminated.
The methodology used to develop the Business Digital Twin as well as the Business Model Ontology is based on the laboratory approach to scientific research. All new developments were practically tested in industrial enterprises, as specifically created real-world R&D test ground environments.
Given the thorough and detailed nature of both the Business Model Ontology and the Business Digital Twin, we propose that a vast cognitive database could be constructed through the Business Digital Twin framework to encompass various types of manufacturing enterprises. The development of such a crucial open-source database would significantly aid in the establishment of new enterprises and the restructuring and optimization of old ones. This, among other potential impacts discussed in the paper, would facilitate the successful implementation of Industry 4.0 and 5.0 strategies, which aligns with the vision set out by Henry R. Towne in “The Engineer as an Economist.”
