From linear supply chains to circular and intelligent value chains

An industrial research and experimental development project to transform the ceramic industry supply chain through digital technologies, circular economy, and a new generation of materials.

FUNDING

Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy – Agreements for Innovation (Ministerial Decree of December 31, 2021)

PROJECT CODE

F/310122/01-05/X56

DURATION

January 2024 — December 2026 (ongoing)

THE CONTEXT

A fragile system in an unstable world

The Italian ceramic industry is among the most advanced in the world, but its supply chain shows structural vulnerabilities. Dependence on raw materials imported from geopolitically unstable areas, just-in-time logistics taken to the extreme, and the relocation of production phases: all this has made the system fragile in the face of sudden shocks.

First the pandemic and then international tensions have highlighted this fragility. Supply disruptions, soaring energy costs, and logistical instability have put a strain on the competitiveness of companies, but they have also revealed something deeper: the need to rethink the supply model itself.

It is not just a matter of finding alternative suppliers or increasing stocks. A paradigm shift is needed: moving from a sequential chain, where value is lost at every step, to an intelligent network capable of creating, capturing, and maintaining value throughout the entire supply chain.

This is where the circular economy meets digital transformation. Not as a slogan, but as an operational tool for building more resilient, sustainable, and competitive supply chains.

Dependence on foreign raw materials and complex supply chains

Fragmentation of data along the supply chain

Lack of KPIs on risk and sustainability

Reactivity in procurement decisions

THE PROJECT

Circular and Intelligent Supply Chain

VOLT was created to design, implement, and validate an integrated system of solutions that will transform the ceramic industry's supply chain. At the heart of the project is an ambitious goal: to build a digital twin that extends across the entire supply chain, capable not only of monitoring, but also of simulating, predicting, and optimizing.

The Digital Supply Chain Twin is a virtual replica of the real supply network. It integrates data from every node in the supply chain, applies artificial intelligence algorithms to identify risks and opportunities, and simulates alternative scenarios to support strategic decisions.

To function, the project needs three key ingredients.

01

Knowledge of resources

Mapping the georesources available in Italy and Europe, characterizing raw materials, and developing traceability indicators.

02

Innovative materials

Formulating new ceramic mixtures and chemical additives that allow local resources to be used without compromising product quality.

03

Ability to measure

Build models to assess environmental impact, circularity, and risk along the entire supply chain.

The project works on all these fronts simultaneously, with a transdisciplinary approach that integrates geology, chemistry, industrial engineering, economics, and sustainability sciences.

THE PROCESS

An evolving project

VOLT is being developed over a three-year period structured in phases that feed into each other. At the 18-month mark, the project has reached its mid-term review with all planned objectives achieved on schedule.

PHASE 1
Completed ✓

Building the foundations

The first phase laid the foundations for the system. A georeferenced database of Italian and European raw material deposits was created, which can be used to evaluate reshoring strategies. Conceptual models were developed to assess the carbon footprint of the supply chain, circularity, and supply risk. The characterization of new raw materials was completed, and studies for new-generation chemical formulations were initiated.

PHASE 2
In progress

Development and integration

The current phase is translating the research results into operational tools. The Digital Supply Chain Twin is in an advanced stage of development: the metrics have been defined, the data flows identified, and the integration architecture between the physical and virtual worlds completed. The decision-making models for reshoring have been implemented and tested. The formulation of new chemical additives for ceramic mixtures is proceeding according to plan.

PHASE 3
Next developments

Validation and testing

The final phase will bring the system into a pre-industrial operating environment. The Digital Supply Chain Twin will be tested on real supply scenarios. The new ceramic mixtures will be tested on production lines. The adaptation of storage and preparation facilities will allow the new supply chain configuration to be validated.

THE RESULTS

First concrete results

The project is producing tangible results which, although still at an intermediate stage, already constitute operational tools for the transformation of the ceramic supply chain.

Structured

mapping of supply chain risk

Measurement

of Scope 3 Carbon Footprint

Integration

of data into a Digital Twin

Predictability

in multi-objective decisions

Database of Italian and European georesources

A georeferenced catalog has been created that collects information on active and potential deposits of ceramic raw materials: kaolin, clays, feldspars, silica sands, and bentonite. The database, built on the PostgreSQL platform with PostGIS spatial extension, allows advanced queries and cartographic visualizations. Various raw materials have already been characterized with chemical-physical, mineralogical, and rheological data. This is the information base for concretely evaluating alternative procurement strategies to traditional ones.

Supply Chain Carbon Footprint (CF-SC)

An innovative model has been developed for the integrated reporting of greenhouse gas emissions along the entire supply chain. Unlike traditional approaches, which are limited to the boundaries of a single company, the CF-SC model integrates direct and indirect Scope 3 emissions throughout the entire supply chain, eliminating double counting through algorithms based on financial relevance matrices. It is a tool for making procurement choices measurable that until now have only been evaluated qualitatively.

Supply chain risk assessment system

A systemic approach to risk management along the supply chain has been developed, integrating geopolitical, climatic, regulatory, IT, and financial factors. The model produces an aggregate score for each supplier and node in the network, highlighting specific and systemic vulnerabilities. It includes tools for estimating ESG compliance, cyber vulnerability, and economic and financial fragility. This is the first step towards predictive supply risk management.

Operational circularity indicators

Four indicators have been developed and implemented to measure the circularity of the supply chain: Retained Environmental Value (REV), Retained Economic Value (REcV), Retained Social Value (RSV), and Retained Technological Value (RTV). The Power BI dashboards already in place allow real-time monitoring of these indicators, transforming the abstract concept of the circular economy into concrete metrics for procurement decisions.

Digital Supply Chain Twin Architecture

The interface between the physical and virtual worlds is now fully operational. Data from the factory and supply network flows into an integrated database that feeds the digital twin, ensuring faster and more reliable access to information. The quality of data collection has been significantly improved, substantially reducing errors. This infrastructure forms the technological basis for enabling automated scenario analysis.

Benchmarking of new raw materials

The characterization of 21 raw materials identified as potential alternatives for the reshoring of ceramic mixtures has been completed. For each material, rheological parameters, pH, conductivity, ion content, and variations over 24 hours were measured. The resulting database forms the basis for the development of new chemical additives and the reformulation of mixtures.

Procedures for the development of smart chemicals

Operating procedures for the formulation of new chemical additives have been developed and validated. The methods allow the industrial grinding conditions to be faithfully reproduced in the laboratory and the performance of the materials to be measured. The search for the optimal fluidizer for the new mixtures is ongoing, with the aim of increasing the density of the slip while maintaining standard rheological properties.

Impact under construction

These interim results are already generating value, but their full potential will emerge with the completion of the project. The Digital Supply Chain Twin will enable scenario simulations to assess the impact of different combinations of suppliers and raw materials before making irreversible decisions. Once validated in an industrial environment, the new ceramic mixtures will reduce dependence on critical raw materials from outside Europe. Risk and circularity assessment models will provide companies with tools to translate sustainability goals into concrete operational choices.

Replicability is an integral part of the project vision. The tools and methods developed for the ceramic industry can be adapted to other resource-intensive manufacturing sectors facing similar challenges in managing their supply chains.

THE PARTNERSHIP

An ecosystem of expertise

VOLT brings together industrial companies and universities in a partnership that integrates manufacturing, chemical, geological, engineering, and economic expertise. It is an ecosystem where basic research meets industrial application and where different disciplines collaborate on a common goal.

Gruppo Ceramiche Gresmalt

One of Italy's leading manufacturers of porcelain stoneware, it coordinates the project and provides what only an industry can offer: real plants, historical data, and in-depth knowledge of processes. Its factories in Emilia-Romagna are where the solutions developed are put to the test. It leads the circular eco-design activities of the supply system and the operational validation of the Circular and Intelligent Supply Chain.

SACMI

A world leader in technologies for the ceramic industry, it brings to the project the ability to translate research into industrial solutions. It develops the Digital Supply Chain Twin, defining metrics, classes, and benchmarks for supply chain modeling. It designs the discrete event simulation architecture that will enable multi-scenario analysis and support procurement decision-making processes.

Zschimmer & Schwarz Ceramco

A specialist in chemistry for the ceramic industry, it develops new additives that will make it possible to use local raw materials. It conducts the rheological characterization of new raw materials and formulates tailor-made chemicals for mixes, glazes, and engobes: fluidizers, tougheners, and agents for reducing black heart. It is the bridge between available geological resources and quality ceramic products.

University of Pavia

It builds the knowledge base for the project. It creates the georeferenced database of Italian and European georesources, develops raw material traceability protocols, and studies the reactivity of materials in sintering processes. It also conducts strategic analysis of the economic, social, and environmental sustainability of value chains and develops new circular business models.

University of Brescia

Develops tools to measure what matters. It builds the supply chain Carbon Footprint model that integrates emissions along the entire supply chain, the Circular Assessment framework, and the supply risk assessment system. Once integrated into the Digital Twin, these models will enable real-time simulations and analyses to support sustainability decisions.

THE IMPACT

Completing the transformation

The next eighteen months will see the completion of the system. The Digital Supply Chain Twin will be tested with multi-scenario analyses on real supply cases. The new chemical formulations will be validated in a pre-industrial environment. Production lines will be adapted to handle the new ceramic mixtures.

VOLT, however, looks beyond the duration of the project itself. The Circular and Intelligent Supply Chain that is taking shape represents a replicable model: a new way of managing procurement that integrates sustainability, digitalization, and resilience into a coherent system.

The vision is of a ceramic industry capable of leveraging local resources without compromising the quality that makes it competitive worldwide; of supply chains that not only withstand external shocks but learn from them; of companies that have the tools to translate circular economy goals into concrete operational decisions.

The project is ongoing. The results achieved so far show that the transition to a circular and intelligent supply chain is not a theoretical aspiration: it is a concrete path that is already under construction.

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