Ford uses digital twins and VR to transform material flow planning for vehicle launches
Ford is rolling out digital twin technology and immersive virtual reality across its European manufacturing network to improve material flow planning, reduce costly launch rework and enable global collaboration. Stuart Clarke explains how the programme is reshaping engineering, logistics and future vehicle launches.
Digital twins are rapidly moving from experimental technology to essential engineering tools across automotive manufacturing. At Automotive Logistics & Supply Chain UK 2026, Stuart Clarke, manager of material flow and packaging engineering at Ford, explained how the company is using immersive virtual reality to validate plant layouts, improve collaboration and reduce expensive rework during new model launches.
In this Red Sofa interview, Clarke discusses Ford's seven-year digital transformation journey, the importance of organisational change alongside technology, and why digital twins are becoming a foundation for future manufacturing and logistics planning.
In this interview, Clarke discusses:
• How digital twins reduce costly production rework
• Using immersive VR to validate plant layouts
• Improving supplier collaboration through virtual environments
• Scaling digital engineering across Ford's European plants
• Digital transformation in manufacturing and logistics
• Future applications including HGV movement simulation and spatial awareness modelling
Watch the full interview to discover how Ford is combining technology, engineering expertise and process improvement to create more efficient, collaborative and resilient manufacturing operations.
