Supply chain design for industrial additive manufacturing
International Journal of Operations & Production Management
ISSN: 0144-3577
Article publication date: 11 August 2022
Issue publication date: 4 October 2022
Abstract
Purpose
This study extends and refines the current knowledge on emerging supply chain designs (SCDs) for industrial additive manufacturing (AM) and manufacturing firms' rationales in selecting them.
Design/methodology/approach
Following an exploratory research design, a multiple-case study is conducted in the context of industrial AM. It focuses on two key dimensions of SCD, the geographic dispersion and governance structure. Four cohesive AM SCD configurations are characterized and form the basis for exploring the rationales for the SCD decision of manufacturing firms.
Findings
The findings indicate that manufacturing firms' SCD for industrial AM depends on the trade-off between economies of scale in a centralized setting and the market potential from customer proximity realized by decentral AM. Furthermore, the control of suppliers and the reevaluation of manufacturing firms' core competencies guide the governance choice. Many of the identified rationales currently drive manufacturing firms toward in-house AM at a centralized location or distributed AM in a secure, firm-owned network.
Practical implications
The arguments for the AM SCD choices are illustrated. They provide guidance for managers of manufacturing firms when implementing industrial AM.
Originality/value
The study reveals and enhances the understanding of why the extant academic expectation of decentralized and outsourced AM is not sufficiently reflected in current industry practice. Thereby, the study provides a basis for elaborative decision-support research on AM SCDs.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors thank the editorial team and the anonymous reviewers for their valuable support and guidance during the review process. Also, the authors thankfully acknowledge the financial support of the DB Schenker Lab – Technical University of Darmstadt Cooperation Institute.
Citation
Friedrich, A., Lange, A. and Elbert, R. (2022), "Supply chain design for industrial additive manufacturing", International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 42 No. 11, pp. 1678-1710. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOPM-12-2021-0802
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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