Abstract:

Current wave of innovation is identified as a massive shift from the functioning of disparate firms to the emergence of a unified network of large and small companies connected by electronic communications on the Internet. Digital transformation of the society is related to the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the concept of Industry 4.0, and has led to new approaches to digital economy and digital manufacturing. In this regard, the promising industrial enterprise («digital enterprise») development should ensure not only the automating and integrating management and manufacturing processes, but also the effective enterprise functioning in the digital economy.

The article discusses prospects for creating electronic versions, simulating real enterprises for solving problems of control processes optimizing. The main method used is mathematical simulations of control activities and implementing formal assessment of their impact based on the theory of transaction costs. Use of transaction costs theory terminology when considering management systems allows defining the quality of management as a measure of the transaction costs reduction associated with accepted management decisions - impacts.

The idea of creating an enterprise digital double used for the proposed simulation approach is based primarily on the assumption that the enterprise actively uses an information system built on the basis of a set of modern software solutions. In general, information collected from the functioning information systems of the enterprise ensures high adequacy of the whole enterprise model, as the enterprise plans and details its activities in a way that most closely matches its purposes and is provided with resources available.

In the focus of attention there are prospects for applying virtual enterprises in research work and education, stimulating both advanced training and real enterprises technological self-development. Moreover there are presented outcomes of developing the virtual enterprise environment and implementing collaborative multi-level learning system for bachelors, masters and postgraduates (including students from other universities) in various educational programs.

Applying the modern information technologies allows, in this case, in-time obtaining of all the necessary quantitative characteristics of the innovations proposed for implementation, allowing gathering, in the shortest time, optimal organizational and technological solutions for each individual enterprise. At the same time collaborative learning groups can be formed in conformity with the general project objectives and well-matched educational tasks for every student.

Keywords:

Simulation, process, management, virtual enterprise, digital manufacturing, education, collaboration.