Track: Graduate Student Paper Competition

Abstract

Additive manufacturing (AM) or 3D printing (3DP) has been considered as revolutionary in terms of manufacturing and its impact on supply chain configurations This paper attempts to investigate the economic and environmental benefits of using 3D Printing (3DP) technology through constructing two scenarios for the location of 3DPs, namely a centralized and a discrete decentralized 3DP locations, taking into consideration different number of printers at different number of warehouses and/or different number of stores. The paper studies these scenarios from the perspective of a spare parts retailer, using the hazard button with relevant empirical data, as a real-life case study. A linear programming model has been developed, with an objective function setup to minimize total costs, that is broken down into transportation, inventory, overhead, labour and production costs, as well as the quantity of 3DPs deployed across different locations. The model thus, functions as a decision-making tool for stakeholders in determining the optimal placement of 3DP resources within the supply chain. The study concludes by demonstrating tipping points where 3DP deployment decisions shift between different configurations. Notably, labour costs significantly influence decision-making, particularly in high-wage countries like Germany.