Why We Need to Rethink the Procurement of Complex Technologies
Anyone procuring a new production facility, packaging line, or automation solution today faces a challenge that goes far beyond the traditional comparison of bids. Investment decisions influence a company’s productivity, flexibility, energy consumption, and ultimately its competitiveness for many years to come. Nevertheless, many procurement processes still follow a familiar pattern: a set of specifications is drawn up, potential suppliers submit their proposals, presentations are evaluated, and reference facilities are visited.
This approach has been established for decades. However, as technological complexity increases, so does uncertainty, since modern production systems consist of a multitude of interconnected components whose behavior is only fully revealed when they interact. The question is therefore no longer simply whether a supplier meets the requirements, but how well its solution actually performs under real-world conditions.
The Dilemma of Comparability
The biggest problem with many investment projects is not a lack of information, but rather the difficulty in comparing it. Different suppliers often pursue different strategies for the same task. While one machine manufacturer focuses on maximum flexibility and enables quick product changeovers, another consistently optimizes for maximum output. Yet another supplier prioritizes energy efficiency, sustainability, or low operating costs.
All of these concepts can be technically sound and offer compelling arguments. Nevertheless, one crucial question often remains unanswered: Which solution actually delivers the greatest benefit for the company?
While documents, calculations, and presentations provide important information, they can only ever reflect assumptions about future operations. They cannot show how different concepts will perform under identical conditions. This is precisely where the traditional procurement process reaches its limits.
From Product Comparison to Technology-Neutral Decision-Making
Technology procurement in the future will therefore look different. The focus will no longer be on selecting a well-known product or evaluating individual proposals. Instead, the focus will shift to determining which technology best achieves the defined goals.
In the future, companies must be able to objectively evaluate different solution approaches, regardless of which provider they come from or what technology they are based on. The decision-making process is thus shifting from the mere evaluation of proposals to an assessment of realistic outcomes.
To make this possible, a common basis for comparison is needed. This is exactly where the digital twin comes into play.
The Digital Twin as a Shared Evaluation Platform
Let’s imagine the following scenario: Several machine builders each submit a concept for the same production task. Instead of merely comparing technical documentation and presentations, each provider submits a digital twin of their solution directly, in addition to the standard documentation.
These virtual models are then simulated under identical conditions. Production volumes, product changes, material flows, and peak loads can be tested equally across all models. This reveals how the various concepts actually perform.
This would create an objective basis for comparison, allowing companies to determine which solution achieves the highest output, which has the lowest energy consumption, or which offers the greatest flexibility in the long term. As a result, the discussion shifts from mere assumptions to actually measurable results.
When investment decisions are simulated
The true value of digital twins lies not only in visualizing a future facility, but also in the ability to simulate future scenarios even before making an investment.
This allows companies to assess early on how a facility will perform under changing production volumes, what impact new regulatory requirements will have, or how flexibly a design can adapt to new product variants. Questions regarding energy efficiency, sustainability, or life-cycle costs can also be answered with far greater precision than with traditional calculations.
As a result, the digital twin evolves from a purely engineering tool into a strategic decision-making instrument. Opportunities and risks become apparent before investments are made and before the corresponding resources are committed.
More Than Just Virtual Commissioning
Today, the digital twin is often equated with virtual commissioning. In fact, virtual commissioning is an important step in the engineering process, during which the control software and system logic can be tested and adjusted even before the physical machine is built.
However, the potential of a digital twin extends far beyond that. When the digital twin is used in the early stages of a project, it supports not only technical implementation but also strategic and long-term decision-making. This makes it possible to compare different solution approaches in a transparent and traceable manner long before a specific investment decision is made.
As a result, its benefits shift from ensuring the success of individual projects to optimizing entire investment processes.
The Role of Artificial Intelligence
Alongside the development of the digital twin, artificial intelligence is also becoming increasingly important. While the digital twin provides the necessary data and simulation models, AI can help make meaningful sense of the resulting volumes of information.
It identifies correlations, highlights risks early on, and systematically compares different scenarios. This creates significant added value, particularly when it comes to complex investment decisions involving numerous influencing factors.
The decision itself remains a human responsibility, as AI cannot replace experience or expert knowledge. However, it significantly improves the quality of the information on which decisions are based.
Purchasing Becomes a Technology Facilitator
This development is also changing the role of procurement. While prices, delivery times, and contract terms are often the primary focus today, technological and strategic aspects will become increasingly important in the future.
Procurement is increasingly becoming the interface between engineering, production, management, and technology providers. Its role will no longer be limited to comparing quotes, but will involve facilitating complex decision-making processes and bringing together different perspectives.
To this end, skills such as data literacy, risk assessment, and market transparency are becoming increasingly important. Strategic procurement is thus evolving into a key player in innovation and investment decisions.
In the future, results will be compared instead of offers
The procurement of complex technologies is undergoing a transformation. The greater the technical diversity and the higher the investment amounts, the more important it becomes to have an objective basis for decision-making.
For the first time, the digital twin makes it possible to evaluate different technologies under identical conditions and to visualize their effects even before the investment is made. Companies can reduce risks, create transparency, and make decisions based on verifiable results.
In the future, therefore, the central question will no longer be: “Which provider has the best offer?”
But rather:
“Which solution delivers the best result in the digital twin?”
Want to know more? Request our trend paper now!
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