Track: Manufacturing  

Abstract

Manufacturing industry is moving towards 3D printing and additive manufacturing (AM). People realized several benefits of AM in terms of customization and material saving. It is affecting the whole manufacturing cycle as well as associated activities. One of them is supply chain that has great impact of AM. With AM technology, a design file can transform directly to a product, skipping many traditional production steps. Hence, this new application can affect all logistics and supply chain activities positively. The research problem of this paper is to search and evaluate supply chain changes associated with AM technology adoption to identify its potential impacts. The results of case studies that have been conducted by several researchers revealed the concrete benefits such as lead-time and increase in number of customers.