What question did this study set out to answer?

The aim is to define the digital thread using a system model with four interacting subsystems.

June 1, 2026Procedia CIRP0 citationsOpen Access

Digital thread complexity and key requirements for circularity

Key Points

The aim is to define the digital thread using a system model with four interacting subsystems.
Developed a system model consisting of integration, ontology, storage, and access subsystems.
Identified five essential requirements through the system model.
Reviewed contemporary solutions and assessed their limitations.
Identified requirements include standardized semantics, lifecycle integration, and end-to-end traceability.
Contemporary solutions lack in areas like federated identity and cross-organizational policy enforcement.
The study provides clarity on trade-offs between centralized usability and decentralized trust.

Abstract

This paper aims to define the digital thread through a system model consisting of four interacting subsystems: integration, ontology, storage, and access. These are embedded in lifecycle, marketplace, and regulatory contexts. From this model, five essential requirements are derived: standardized semantics, lifecycle integration, end-to-end traceability, secure and usable access, and scalable infrastructure. This system-level framing offers greater clarity than prior lifecycle or policy-driven views, highlighting the tradeoffs between centralized usability and decentralized trust. A review of contemporary solutions shows that while cloud platforms, APIs, and role-based access are widely implemented, they fall short in areas such as federated identity, cross-organizational policy enforcement and operational usability. The contribution of this work lies in synthesizing requirements from a coherent system definition, thereby guiding the design of resilient digital thread solutions.

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