Digital Value Chain as a Circular Control Architecture

Maksym Karakai; Daniel Bobko; Lucia Knapčíková

doi:10.55845/joce-2026-41302

Authors

Maksym Karakai Technical University of Košice, Faculty of Manufacturing Technologies Author https://orcid.org/0009-0007-3209-7205
Daniel Bobko Technical University of Košice, Faculty of Manufacturing Technologies Author https://orcid.org/0009-0004-4803-2260
Lucia Knapčíková Technical University of Košice, Faculty of Manufacturing Technologies Author https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1925-4038

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55845/joce-2026-41302

Keywords:

Digital Value Chain, Short-Loop Circularity, Circular Control Architecture, Digital Manufacturing, Industry 4.0

Abstract

The transition from linear production models to circular manufacturing systems requires more than technological recovery capability; it demands lifecycle-wide governance of information and decision-making. Despite extensive research on Digital Twins and Industry 4.0 technologies, the practical implementation of short-loop circularity – maintenance, repair, and remanufacturing – remains constrained by fragmented lifecycle data and recovery uncertainty. Existing literature largely treats digital technologies as isolated enablers rather than as components of an integrated circular control system.

This paper conceptualises the Digital Value Chain (DVC) as a lifecycle-spanning circular control architecture that regulates the transformation of product data into structured circular interventions. Using a conceptual research design based on structured synthesis and abstraction, the study develops a multi-layered framework comprising data acquisition, state estimation, circular intervention, and feedback-to-design layers. Building upon this architecture, hierarchical levels of digital circular enablement – informational, analytical, and decision – are formalised to explain how lifecycle transparency evolves into circular governance.

The framework further introduces an operational decision logic structured around feasibility gates that govern maintenance, repair, and remanufacturing pathways. By reframing short-loop circularity as an information-dependent control problem, this research advances digital manufacturing and circular economy theory beyond technology adoption narratives toward systemic lifecycle regulation. The proposed model provides a conceptual foundation for assessing digital-circular maturity in manufacturing systems and offers a structured basis for future empirical validation and simulation-based modelling.

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Digital Value Chain as a Circular Control Architecture

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