Supply Chain Management via 3D Printing

Supply chain management is a constant juggling act. It must balance overall inventory, local availability, and variations in demand. If managing these factors is already a challenge for new products, then spare parts represent the ‘perfect storm’.

Maintenance programs and quantities may be designed into a product life cycle. However, they are not always followed. And who knows when and where breakdowns will occur? And what the need for parts will be from one day to the next?

Faced with these unknowns, suppliers may have few valid options. They can bulk up on spare part stocks, but inventory costs money. It costs even more when suppliers multiply stocks to maintain them locally for specific customers. If people’s wellbeing or business continuity are in the balance, distributed stocks of spares may be mandatory. The cost then often finds its way onto the invoices for the customers. Otherwise, suppliers may try to duck the issue by holding a smaller quantity of parts centrally or only making them on demand. Costs may go down, but so too does customer satisfaction as delivery times stretch out.

Forecasting and inventory for spare parts are indeed thorny problems. But finding solutions is not the only option. In some cases, you can also simply cancel out the problems. The magic wand for making them disappear is 3D printing. This is a form of supply that takes traditional warehousing and demand planning out of the equation.

3P Printing in the Supply Chain

Additive manufacturing (3D printing) is has fundamentally changed how we approach production and distribution in the supply chain.

In traditional manufacturing, we’d need to maintain large warehouses of spare parts and finished goods. With 3D printing, companies are now printing components on-demand, which is dramatically reducing inventory costs and storage requirements.

The biggest impact we’re seeing is in distributed manufacturing. Instead of centralised production facilities shipping products worldwide, companies are setting up local 3D printing hubs closer to customers.

For example, Siemens has implemented this model for their gas turbine parts, cutting delivery times from months to weeks. Key benefits we’re seeing in the industry:

1. Lead time reduction: Parts that used to take 6-8 weeks to arrive can now be produced in 24-48 hours
2. Inventory optimisation: Companies are cutting carrying costs by 15-20% by moving to print-on-demand
3. Transportation savings: Local production is reducing freight costs by up to 50% on applicable parts

The technology is particularly transformative in these areas:

• Spare Parts Management: Companies like Deutsche Bahn now 3D print over 80 different train components on-demand, eliminating the need to store rarely-used parts.
• Customization: We’re seeing manufacturers like Nike and Adidas use 3D printing for customized footwear production, enabling mass customization without traditional tooling costs.
• Emergency Supply: During supply chain disruptions, 3D printing serves as a backup production method. We saw this in action during COVID-19 when companies rapidly produced medical equipment locally.

However, there are real challenges to consider. Quality consistency, material costs, and production speed still limit widespread adoption. Currently, 3D printing makes up less than 5% of global manufacturing output, but that number is growing by about 20% annually.

Conclusion

3D printing for spares and products can make spare parts logistics more efficient with faster delivery. 3D printing has become a competitive weapon in supply chains. That said, some suppliers will continue with traditional parts and products manufacturing and delivery. This may be because some parts are still better made using conventional methods.

It may also be because there is a strong service component that lessens the impact of 3D printing. Note also that 3D-printed parts are not automatically greener than their conventional counterparts. Only an assessment of the overall effect on a supply chain and customer use will show if they are better for the planet.

In studying the feasibility of 3D printing, organisations should consider other factors too, like laws and regulations. In summary, 3D printing with all the aspects described above merits a thorough evaluation and clear thinking for your business. Only then can you be sure that using that extra dimension will bring benefit and not disorder.

Best Regards,
Rob O’Byrne
Contact Us or +61 417 417 307