Leveraging Digital Twins for Integrated Capacity Planning in Remanufacturing Systems

The transition towards circular production challenges the assumptions of traditional production planning and control systems, which were designed for stable, linear supply chains. By contrast, remanufacturing is characterised by irregular product returns, uncertain quality conditions, and variable process routes. Such dynamics necessitate planning mechanisms that are adaptive and continuously updated. This paper presents a Digital Twin–enabled framework for capacity planning in remanufacturing production systems. By connecting tactical and operational planning horizons, the framework maintains synchronisation between planning and execution through information integration and event-triggered orchestration. The paper proposes a multi-time-frame digital twin architecture to transform classical horizon planning into a feedback-driven system that can adapt to stochastic disturbances in real time. This concept establishes the basis for data-driven, event-responsive capacity planning, thereby supporting the development of resilient, resource-efficient remanufacturing operations.