3-D Printing in the Spare Parts Supply Chain: An Explorative Study in the Automotive Industry
Additive manufacturing represents a disruptive technology in comparison to traditional manufacturing. 3-D printing technology discloses companies’ inner potential, enabling them to reconsider their strategic positioning, organization, production and distr
- PDF / 383,021 Bytes
- 18 Pages / 439.37 x 666.142 pts Page_size
- 49 Downloads / 207 Views
Abstract Additive manufacturing represents a disruptive technology in comparison to traditional manufacturing. 3-D printing technology discloses companies’ inner potential, enabling them to reconsider their strategic positioning, organization, production and distribution processes, offering the potential for new supply chain configurations. Tooling and design processes are greatly simplified, while new materials, shapes, more functional products and applications constantly emerge. More efficient processing methods are able to reduce manufacturing and logistics time and costs in such a way that significant economic and financial benefits can be spread along the entire value chain. The purpose of this research is to shed lights on the state of art of this technique, with a focus on the potential impact on the companies’ strategy for the management of spare parts. We considered different scenarios and supply chain configurations related to the Automotive sector, applying the AM to the production of discontinued car parts and evaluating its main benefits.
Keywords Additive manufacturing 3-D printing Rapid prototyping Supply chain management Spare parts Automotive industry On-demand production Customization Co-creation CAD
M. Savastano (&) C. Amendola F. D′Ascenzo E. Massaroni Management Department, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy e-mail: [email protected] C. Amendola e-mail: [email protected] F. D′Ascenzo e-mail: [email protected] E. Massaroni e-mail: [email protected] © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 L. Caporarello et al. (eds.), Digitally Supported Innovation, Lecture Notes in Information Systems and Organisation 18, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-40265-9_11
153
154
M. Savastano et al.
1 Introduction The possibility to digitalize and produce on a as-needed basis after-sales, in particular spare parts sales, is both a strategic opportunity and a threat for many manufacturers, as the focus of the competition increasingly shifts away from the price and quality of the offerings toward the delivery of value to customers. The accessibility of proper parts and skills whenever a demand occurs, in order to satisfy the needs of customers and reduce downtime and lead time costs, represents the groundwork of maintenance, repair and operations (MRO). Another important challenge is that companies need to support the previous generation of their products as well as their new products. This obligation amplifies the number of stock keeping units in after-sales inventories and relevant costs [1]. In order to shorten the time of immobilization of a system or a vehicle which has to be repaired, it is essential to have in any place and at any time the availability of the part needed to be replaced. For instance, it is made possible when there is on the shelf an exhaustive and comprehensive stock of spare parts. This solution results in higher inventory levels in different locations obviously connected to high costs, and is not always technically achievable
Data Loading...
