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The impact of additive manufacturing on supply chains

The impact of additive manufacturing on supply chains PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to offer empirical insights on emerging additive manufacturing (AM) processes, barriers to their adoption and a timeline of expected impacts on the supply chain in the manufacturing industry.Design/methodology/approachA multi-stage survey study was conducted with a panel of 16 experts from industry and academia.FindingsOnly five out of today’s seven AM processes are of future importance, as are two emerging key processes. In total, 15 barriers to their adoption are identified, all of which are expected to be gone within ten years. Eight propositions are derived postulating as to whether and when supply chain impacts can be expected in terms of changes to supply chain structure, customer centricity, logistics and supply chain capability.Research limitations/implications“Soft” barriers are new to the literature, which has traditionally focused on “technical” barriers. Often-discussed barriers such as production speed and costs do not reflect the true concerns of the research panel. Furthermore, some of the supply chain implications discussed in both the academic literature and the media are found to be unlikely to materialize.Practical implicationsThe study summarizes AM processes, technologies, barriers and supply chain implications solicited from experts in the field.Originality/valueThis is one of the first studies to make empirical contributions to a vastly conceptual discussion. It is also the first study to give insights on a timeline for barriers and supply chain implications. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management Emerald Publishing

The impact of additive manufacturing on supply chains

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References (45)

Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © Emerald Group Publishing Limited
ISSN
0960-0035
DOI
10.1108/IJPDLM-11-2016-0332
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to offer empirical insights on emerging additive manufacturing (AM) processes, barriers to their adoption and a timeline of expected impacts on the supply chain in the manufacturing industry.Design/methodology/approachA multi-stage survey study was conducted with a panel of 16 experts from industry and academia.FindingsOnly five out of today’s seven AM processes are of future importance, as are two emerging key processes. In total, 15 barriers to their adoption are identified, all of which are expected to be gone within ten years. Eight propositions are derived postulating as to whether and when supply chain impacts can be expected in terms of changes to supply chain structure, customer centricity, logistics and supply chain capability.Research limitations/implications“Soft” barriers are new to the literature, which has traditionally focused on “technical” barriers. Often-discussed barriers such as production speed and costs do not reflect the true concerns of the research panel. Furthermore, some of the supply chain implications discussed in both the academic literature and the media are found to be unlikely to materialize.Practical implicationsThe study summarizes AM processes, technologies, barriers and supply chain implications solicited from experts in the field.Originality/valueThis is one of the first studies to make empirical contributions to a vastly conceptual discussion. It is also the first study to give insights on a timeline for barriers and supply chain implications.

Journal

International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management – Emerald Publishing

Published: Nov 6, 2017

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