“When you can make a digital twin of a factory or of a process, everybody involved can study it and try things out before actually commissioning it,” said Wharton management professor John Paul MacDuffie. He cited automaker BMW’s partnership with NVIDIA to build digital twins of a future factory, adding that it could potentially extend to cover all of BMW’s existing and future plants. He noted that while digital twins have been around for a while, the metaverse offers enhancements. “Anytime the physical engagement of more of the senses is valuable, there's a very clear business function for it.” MacDuffie is also director of Wharton’s Program on Vehicle and Mobility Innovation and one of the faculty experts designing Wharton’s planned metaverse course. Using Engagement to Fix Retailing Pain Points