The profit lever at the cable factory is called: Digital Twin

Industry 5.0 complements the automation logic of Industry 4.0 with a focus on people, resilience, and sustainability. The digital twin acts as an operating system that brings together as designed, as planned, and as built in real time. ADVARIS already supplies this twin today for the cable and wire industry – from PDM/design to APS/detailed planning and MES/shop floor to length and coil tracking, metal billing, and seamless traceability. The results are reliable delivery dates, less scrap and setup losses, and higher OEE.

Your bottleneck isn't on the machine - it's between your systems

Many factories are investing in new equipment, sensor technology, and dashboards. Nevertheless, adherence to deadlines, scrap rates, and setup times remain critical issues. The real bottleneck is the disconnect between product definition (PDM), planning (APS), and manufacturing (MES). Industry 5.0 calls for these silos to be connected in a human-centered way - with a digital twin that supports decisions where they arise: in sales, in work preparation, and on the shop floor.

Insights from the real world of production

Not more data, but more context: isolated machine data does not explain delivery delays. Only the systematic comparison of as planned and as built reveals deviations – down to the last piece, length, and coil.

Planning is only as good as the product data: if the bill of materials, process parameters, start lengths, and test orders do not come from the design, any detailed planning remains an estimate – and comes under stress in the event of variance, rush orders, or simple color changes.

“One size fits all” fails in cable & wire: Variant diversity, metal price volatility, single length logic, and frequent setup changes require industry-specific twins instead of generic MES building blocks.

What Industry 5.0 really means – and the role of the digital twin

While Industry 4.0 primarily focuses on networking, Industry 5.0 shifts the focus to people, resilience, and sustainability. The digital twin combines four perspectives: The product twin contains specifications, geometry, MBOM, parameters, and test plans - including costs and work instructions. The Process/Factory Twin connects sequences, restrictions, and setup logic with real-time actual values, thus creating the basis for reliable deadlines and well-founded decisions. The Asset Twin describes machines and tools throughout their life cycle and enables condition-based maintenance. This is supplemented by the Logistics/Material Twin, which brings together individual lengths, coils, storage locations, and metal billing logic.

The real added value comes from the digital thread: the continuous data chain from quotation to planning to delivery. It makes deviations immediately visible, allows precise “what if” simulations, and reduces manual transfers and media breaks.

ADVARIS as the backbone of your digital twin

Product Twin – PDM/Cable Design: ADVARIS maps the complete product and manufacturing specification – from geometry and parts lists to work plans and process-relevant parameters such as speeds, setup times, and start lengths. Inspection plans are consistently maintained, variants can be derived in a structured manner using a generator, and work instructions and PLC parameters are provided as part of the specification. This results in consistent master data that reliably feeds into planning and production.

Process/Factory Twin – APS & MES: In detailed planning, ADVARIS sequences stages and capacities precisely, maps restrictions, and provides reliable delivery dates – always with the option of testing scenarios as “what if” scenarios before approval. On the shop floor, the MES records lengths, speeds, quality values, and downtimes in real time; Factory Monitor and Historian support root cause analysis, while role-based user interfaces facilitate collaboration across shifts.

Asset Twin – Maintenance & Tools: Machine and tool master data is supplemented with status and measurement data. This results in maintenance-relevant life cycles and schedule- and status-oriented maintenance planning that combines quality and availability.

Logistics/Material Twin – Lengths, coils, metal: Inventories are managed by coil and length, cut/rewind processes are integrated, and barcodes/RFID ensure transparency right down to the workplace. The metal billing functionality with LME parameters accompanies the order flow from quotation to invoice, while traceability down to individual lengths enables audit-proof documentation.

Architecture-fit: Open interfaces to legacy ERP, EDI, OPC, and REST API ensure integration into existing IT landscapes - including proven SAP integration and paperless processes.

The pain points of the industry – and how the digital twin solves them

Variety of variants drives up master data maintenance in many plants and promotes errors in inspection plans. A variant generator that automatically derives MBOMs, work plans, and QC plans stabilizes the database and significantly reduces maintenance effort.

Uncertain delivery dates arise when delivery promises are made “on sight” and rescheduling is part of daily business. Scenario-capable APS functions with reservations and transparent bottleneck logic enable reliable ETAs and reduce firefighting.

Setup losses are the result of frequent color and tool changes without a clear sequence strategy. Setup and sequence-optimized planning avoids change cascades - and “what if” checks before release make side effects visible before they hit the shop floor.

High quality costs often result from late error detection. In-process measurements, continuous plan/actual comparisons, and meaningful histories direct attention to where it counts: to the causes rather than the symptoms.

Metal price volatility has a direct impact on margins when surcharges and discounts remain opaque. Consistent, rule-based metal billing makes calculation and billing transparent - from quotation to

Lengths and coil chaos cost time and material. Precise length tracking, integrated coil management, and mobile data collection create transparency down to the individual length and reduce the rework rate.

High quality costs often result from late error detection. In-process measurements, continuous comparison of planned and actual values, and meaningful histories direct attention to where it counts: to the causes rather than the symptoms.

Metal price volatility has a direct impact on margins when surcharges and discounts remain opaque. Consistent, rule-based metal billing makes calculation and billing transparent - from quotation to invoice.

Paperwork and audit pressure are symptoms of a lack of consistency. The digital thread provides audit-proof evidence and puts an end to isolated solutions and manual duplication of work.

High quality costs often result from late error detection. In-process measurements, continuous plan/actual comparisons, and meaningful histories direct attention to where it counts: to the causes rather than the symptoms.

Metal price volatility has a direct impact on margins when surcharges and discounts remain opaque. Consistent, rule-based metal billing makes calculation and billing transparent - from quotation to.

In practice: From quotation to delivery - a continuous flow

From the very first quote, the sales department pulls the exact product specifications, including data sheets, calculations, and metal weights, directly from the system. Planning converts this data into a feasible scenario that takes into account capacities, setup logic, and start lengths and suggests a reliable delivery date. On the shop floor, the MES provides the appropriate work instructions and parameters and records actual lengths and quality values in real time; deviations become immediately visible and can be decided during the shift. In logistics, coil overviews, cut/rewind processes, and labels ensure transparency, with traceability extending to individual lengths and raw material batches. Finally, metal billing and certificates run without Excel shadow processes. Administrative effort is reduced and verification becomes easier.

The tangible benefits for your business

Adherence to deadlines and predictability increase because realistic ETAs set the pace instead of ad hoc interventions. Waste and overconsumption are reduced through parameter- and length-based control, while smart sequencing reduces setup minutes and changeover cascades. At the same time, true OEE transparency is created because causes become visible, not just symptoms. Spool and length-accurate inventory management reduces tied-up working capital, and digital, seamless documentation shortens audits.

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