new manufacturing models
TRANSCRIPT
Sponsored by
© The Economist Intelligence Unit, 2016.
Part of the PRODUCERS OF TOMORROW series
Additivemanufacturing
FEWER UNITS MORE UNITS
Conventionalmanufacturing
HIG
HER
CO
STCo
st p
er u
nit m
anuf
actu
red
Units manufactured (volume)
Additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, and collaborative production have the potential to reinvent manufacturing supply chains. A tie-up between Shapeways, a 3D-printing company, and Panalpina, a logistics services provider, is a step in this direction. Shapeways enables customers to make, customise and even sell their products on its platform. Panalpina brings the potential to increase geographic reach and distribution capabilities. 3D printing may have only begun to transform build-to-order strategies.
New manufacturing models
LOW
ER C
OST
3D printing is no longer only used for prototyping. It is also involved in direct production. The technology can reduce unit manufacturing costs for small and medium-sized production runs. Eventually 3D printing's cost benefits may also apply to large-scale manufacturing.
Brea
keve
n Po
int
Source: Deloitte University Press, 3D opportunity: Additive manufacturing paths to performance, innovation, and growth, January 2014.