Production targets in the Smart Factory should be supported by digital control loops. This article will present a concept, which describes the structure of operational information flows as elements of a control loop. The term digital control loop encompasses technical control systems and business processes as well as integrating vertically and horizontally information from business applications. The common alignment of different aspects is adjusted to operational targets along the value added chain. The idea of using the digital control loop as an approach for this, is evaluated in a case study.