Impact of Additive Manufacturing on Supply Chains

Technologies are evolving over time and some innovations can result in disruptive changes which lead to transformations in companies and their supply chains. Three-dimensional printing (3DP) has high disruptive potential as it is becoming increasingly relevant as a production technology. Hence, it is of significant importance to investigate the current and future impacts of 3DP on supply chains. The state of the art provides an overview of supply chain management as well as the production aspects of additive manufacturing. Moreover, impact factors of 3DP on supply chains have been identified. To further investigate the current and future impacts of 3DP on supply chains, five interviews with technical experts have been conducted. The analysis of the interviews shows that the companies have sensed changes in their supply chains. However, most of these changes regard prototyping and there have not been drastic changes in the production of end products. Current impacts have been identified in mass customization, resource efficiency, rationalization of inventory and logistics as well as prototyping and product design. Future impact is seen overwhelmingly in all impact areas. Moreover, AM will ultimately increase the sustainability of supply chains. Finally, a recommendation for action can be given for companies to implement the technology in small batch sizes and to consider it as a complementary technology.