Abstract
Sectorization problems, also known as districting or territory design, deal with grouping a set of previously defined basic units, such as points or small geographical areas, into a fixed number of sectors or responsibility areas. Usually, there are multiple criteria to be satisfied regarding the geographic characteristics of the territory or the planning purposes. This work addresses a case study of parcel delivery services in the region of Porto, Portugal. Using knowledge about the daily demand in each basic unit (7-digit postal code), the authors analysed data and used it to simulate dynamically new daily demands according to the relative frequency of service in each basic unit and the statistical distribution of the number of parcels to be delivered in each basic unit. The sectorization of the postal codes is solved independently considering two objectives (equilibrium and compactness) using Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm-II (NSGA-II) implemented in Python.

Abstract
The manufacturing industry faces a new revolution, grounded on the intense digitalization of assets and industrial processes and the increasing computation capabilities imposed by the new data-driven digital architectures. This reality has been promoting the Digital Twin concept and its importance in the industrial companies' business models. However, with these new opportunities, also new threads may rise, mainly related to industrial data protection and sovereignty. Therefore, this research paper will demonstrate the International Data Spaces reference model's application to overcome these limitations. Following a pilot study with a Portuguese machine producer/maintainer enterprise, this paper will demonstrate the development of a cutting and bending machine Digital Twin, leveraged on an International Data Spaces infrastructure for interoperability, for the plastic and metal industry and its importance to introduce this machine manufacturing company in a new business-to-business marketplace from the EU project Market 4.0.

Abstract
With the introduction of Industry 4.0 technological concepts, suppliers and manufacturers envision new or improved products and services, cost reductions, and productivity gains. In this context, data exchanges between companies in the same or different activity sectors are necessary, while assuring data security and sovereignty. Thus, it is crucial to select and implement adequate standards which enable the interconnection requirements between companies and also feature security by design. The International Data Spaces (IDS) is a current standard that provides data sharing through data spaces mainly composed of homogeneous rules, certified data providers/consumers, and reliability between partners. Implementing IDS in sectors such as textile and clothing is expected to open new opportunities and challenges. This paper proposes a prototype for the IDS Security Components in the Textile and Clothing Industry context. This prototype assures data sovereignty and enables the interactions required by all participants in this supply chain industry using secure communications. The adoption of IDS as a base model in this activity sector fosters productive collaboration, lowers entry barriers for business partnerships, and enables an innovation environment. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

Abstract
Budgets are important management tools recognized for their help in planning, communication, monitoring the expense performance, and even motivating collaborators. However, recently there has been criticism of the traditional Budgeting Process due to its cumbersomeness, long duration, and eventual diversion of the focus from the day-to-day activities. Thus, improving the Budgeting Process by incorporating Expense component uncertainties is of uttermost importance to accelerate its approval. This paper presents a methodology for companies to assess their budget risk based on their historical Expense data by applying Monte Carlo Simulation and Time Series Bootstrapping Techniques. Besides, some state-of-the-art sensitivity Importance Measures are also implemented to help evaluate the relative importance of the Expense components. The methodology proposed, based on a real case study with data from a major Portuguese retailer, has the advantage of being objective and supported by data, thus not being subject to bias from the management. © 2023, Universidade do Porto - Faculdade de Engenharia. All rights reserved.

Abstract
Recently, we have been observing a significant evolution in products, machines, and manufacturing processes, towards a more digital and interoperable reality. In this sense, the power transformers sector has also been evolving to develop smart transformers for the future, capable of providing the digital capabilities to leverage new services and features that follow its entire life cycle, from the design and manufacturing to the use and dismantling/recycling. In this sense, this paper aims to present and demonstrate how an innovative digital twin platform can be used in a secure and trustable way for the enhancement of the power transformers’ performance and potential lifespan, enabling, at the same time, the promotion of new business models. A real use case is also presented to demonstrate the applicability of Asset Administration Shells (AAS) for power transformer life cycle management, as well as the use of the International Data Spaces (IDS) for the secure and trustable horizontal interoperability along with the different actors of the value chain, from the manufacturers to the power network and maintenance services companies.

Abstract
This paper aims to thoroughly discuss the use of Digital Twin technology in complex operations environments, highlighting its potential applications and the research challenges that need to be addressed. This is necessitated by the fact that currently there is no comprehensive literature review and framework for implementing Digital Twin technology in complex operations environments. Furthermore, existing interpretations of DT implementation are inadequately detailed and not very informative in this area. This may be a consequence of the difficulties of collecting and extracting useful information from data in real-time. Another drawback worth mentioning is that Digital twins at the moment center on an individual or isolated part instead of integrating the whole system and no current work talks about this holistic approach. This paper will focus on Digital Twins in complex operations environments and their applications. A review of scientific literature on the use of Digital Twins in complex operations environments is performed and the articles are categorized by the problems and challenges that they address requiring DT as a solution. A selection of papers that focus on this topic and represent the current situation of research will be emphasized. In conclusion, this work will be utilized as a baseline study to propose a Digital Twin reference framework, which eventually leads to implementing and evaluating a comprehensive Digital Twin methodology in complex systems. © 2023 IEEE.