The following is an article written by Alan Amling, Vice
President of UPS Corporate Strategy.
Of all the ways 3D printing will change the world, the
democratization of manufacturing is perhaps the most important.
Think of it as the Uberization of manufacturing, where supply can
be accessed anywhere in the world to produce goods at the click of
button.
This is a once-in-a-generation logistics opportunity, as
so-called additive manufacturing will optimize the time and cost of
making and delivering goods. Mass customization will be the new
normal. So what does this mean for the future of logistics?
Modern delivery and manufacturing
We’ll see more direct-to-person manufacturing as well as
delivery. Physical stores will be reserved for generic goods, not
items customized to the individual. Hybrid customization has
enormous potential for logisticians.
Imagine thousands of products from cell phones to blenders, each
made with a common core but customizable covering. Third-party
logistics providers are uniquely suited to move these items.
Logistics companies like UPS would simply store the common core
in their warehouse, print the custom piece and finish final
assembly near the point of consumption.
This would also disrupt service parts logistics. Right now,
companies make and store hundreds of thousands of critical parts
around the world at tremendous expense just on the off-chance that
they’ll be needed for an emergency repair.
In the future, these slow-moving parts will be stored virtually
and printed on demand. As a result, import and export costs –
especially important to small businesses – will plummet
dramatically.
As companies begin to take advantage of designing parts for 3D
printing, the manufacturing industry will re-invent itself.
Machines designed to construct a specific product will give way to
3D printers capable of making many different items.
This will be the sparkplug for efficiency across supply chains.
It will revolutionize how we get items to your doorstep. And it
will forever alter how you search for and purchase goods every
day.
Even though 3D printing is a 30-year-old technology, we’re just
scratching the surface of where additive manufacturing will take
us. These printers are no longer reserved solely for prototyping
and product design.
We’ve moved beyond trinkets and souvenirs to items like hearing
aids and aircraft parts, proving this is no fad.The global 3D
printing market will exceed $21 billion by 2020, according to
Wohlers Associates.
3D printing demands
In addition, the demand for 3D printers, materials and services
will surpass $10 billion by 2018, the consulting firm found. Such
promise is why UPS recently partnered with software company SAP to
expedite the manufacturing and delivery of 3D-printed parts.
Customers can go online and place an order through the Fast
Radius website and these items will be printed either at a UPS
Store location or printing facility connected to our air hub in
Louisville, Kentucky – in as little as a day.
This effectively creates end-to-end industrial manufacturing.
And we expect these efforts to go global in the near future.
Moving beyond logistics, however, 3D printing will change the
way we think. It will change how future generations learn and see
the world.
This technology can now keep pace with anything we imagine.
We’re no longer forced to innovate in a world shackled to existing
infrastructure. If you can think it, you can do it.
Alan Amling is Vice President of corporate strategy at UPS.
This article is part of UPS Longitudes’ Routes to the
Future series, which explores the business and technology
trends that will shape our world in the next 10 years.
Reprinted with permission of Longitudes, the UPS
blog devoted to the trends shaping the global economy.
We welcome the re-use, republication, and distribution
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