Digital twins are a cutting-edge tool for monitoring, predicting, and streamlining industry processes, however, they are complex to build and not trivial to operate. The field of Digital twins has been around since the early 2000s but the buzz around it has increased a lot in recent years. Due to its implementational complexity, in combination with scarce amount of broader implementational and operational guidelines, there is a current need for building upon existing digital twin literature. This study aims to identify challenges regarding Digital Twin implementation and operation while highlighting the necessary capabilities needed to avoid them. Conclusively we aim to provide a roadmap for digital twin implementation and operation.The work was conducted through case studies where industry projects of Digital Twin implementation were examined by interviewing project participants. These interviews were conducted with Virtual Manufacturing, their partners, and benchmarking companies, all with current or prior involvement in different Digital Twin projects.

The findings indicate that a lot of companies do not have the technical capabilities in place before starting their DT implementation resulting in complex implementation and integration projects. Further, the operation of the digital twin became problematic due to insufficient communication, standards,and workforce knowledge regarding the new way of operating that follows such a digitalization project.The findings of the study were compiled into a roadmap, highlighting identified challenges and capabilities, that will assist in managerial decisions regarding implementation and operation of Digital Twins. It also gives an indication of what functions should be developed in-house given a company’s existing resources, or if they should acquire these resources from a third-party provider. The report was concluded by illuminating the potential for future developments in the field.