Additive Manufacturing in After-Sales Service Supply Chains

Additive Manufacturing (AM, also known as 3D printing) is developing into a powerful complement to more conventional manufacturing (CM) methods. In comparison to CM methods such as milling, drilling, casting and forging, AM technologies build complete parts by adding materials layer upon layer without using any dedicated tooling. The resulting ability to produce complex structures without lengthy and expensive setup procedures could turn out particularly valuable for the low-volume spare parts business. Short AM lead times are likely to significantly improve the balance between spare parts inventory investment and system downtime. Generic AM processes could relax the dependence on suppliers and therefore decrease risks and costs associated with supply disruptions. Ultimately, AM could even enable the implementation of a decentralized production concept that holds the promise of increased supply chain responsiveness at low costs. However, it is necessary to deconstruct these concepts and to separate the hype from reality to leverage the potentials of AM technology in after-sales service supply chains. In this dissertation, we aim to contribute to this undertaking by offering a scientific perspective on how and to what extent after-sales service supply chains can benefit from AM technology. To that end, we develop and apply techniques from the field of Operations Research to learn from the various case studies that were conducted at different organizations throughout this research

Zijm Consortium: Engineering a Sustainable Supply Chain System

In this paper we address one of the current major research areas of the Zijm consortium; engineering sustainable supply chain systems by transforming traditionally linear practices to circular systems. We illustrate this field of research with a case consisting of a network of three firms Willem (W), Hendrik (H), and Maria (M)} and show how the practice of application-oriented state of the art technology transformed their linear relation to the circular Zijm consortium. The work shows that through inspiration and knowledge transfer in the versatile picturesque Twente Region, a group of future generation researchers are shaped

Additive manufacturing and supply chains–a systematic review

In most supply chains, the application of additive manufacturing (AM) is still far from common. However, various industries ranging from aerospace to consumer goods are investigating its potential to enable the digital value chain. Considering these developments, the research community has supported the adoption of AM in supply chains in many ways. This article contributes to the scientific discourse by systematically reviewing relevant literature depending on industry sector, purpose and supply chain area following the SCOR framework to allow fast access to essential information. The review encompasses 1004 articles, where 141 were subjected to a full-text analysis with argument-specific coding. Findings revealed the predominant AM trends for supply chains, perceived benefits and challenges, and possible applications. Managerial implications based on an overview of (envisioned) applications of AM in different industries are outlined. Additionally, based on a qualitative analysis, gaps in the literature and future lines of research were identified

Impact of Failure Rate Uncertainties on the Implementation of Additive Manufacturing in Spare Parts Supply Chains

The world of spare parts may be revolutionized by the advent of additive manufacturing (AM). Thanks to the possibility to manufacture spare parts on-demand, AM has attracted great attention in the last years as a substitute of conventional manufacturing techniques (CM). However, both researchers and practitioners point out two main limitations that might hinder the transition from CM to AM for the manufacturing of spare parts: AM parts’ high production costs and uncertain failure rate. While the former limitation will most likely be overcome in the near future, the latter remains an open issue, so far uninvestigated. We therefore aim to investigate the effect of uncertain failure rate estimates on the optimal inventory level and on the total costs of spare parts management. To do so, we adapt a periodic inventory management policy available in the literature to include failure rate uncertainties and perform a parametrical analysis to investigate their impact varying the mean values of the failure rate, the lead times, and the unitary backorder and production costs. From the results it emerged that the effects of the failure rate uncertainties on the optimal inventory level and on the total costs of spare parts management increases exponentially, leading to a divergence up to 250% for both