3D printing benefits on supply chain

Authors : Andrea Bacchetti, Massimo Zanardini

Keywords: supply chain, 3D printing , logistics, components, reducing

Purpose: Possibility of eliminating stocks and compensating for the impossibility of forecasting demand for low-moving products. Thanks to the convenience of making small batches, 3D printing for the production of on demand components could be an interesting opportunity for many companies which have low-range products in their range .

Methodology: In the centralized scenario, companies will equip themselves with a certain number of 3D printing machines and, with a request for spare parts directly from the customer, through an online portal dedicated to after-sales service, the company will use a portion of the own machine park for the printing of the desired piece.In the decentralized scenario, the production process is released from the producer and moves towards the suppliers

Value: In centralized scenario, within a few hours, the product will be ready to be delivered to the customer, without having added grease to the supply chain.In the decentralized scenario the processing time of the customer's order would compress considerably.

Conclusion : Whatever it will be the future scenario, the logistics chains will be forced to change their current configuration, albeit with different intensities. The lesser impact would be in the centralized scenario, in which the storage of low-moving products and spare parts would be less, compared to an on demand (flexible) production enabled by additive technologies at the manufacturer.

Link: https://arpi.unipi.it/retrieve/handle/11568/192118/17836/LineFormation3DP-Prime01.pdf