Environmental Impact Of Additive Manufacturing On The Global Supply Chain

Abstract

Additive manufacturing or more commonly known as 3D printing, has recently gain attention and praises to become one of the most disruptive technology, that will greatly impact the global supply chain and logistics industry. In the era of increasing globalization, movement of goods across the globe continuously shows sign of increasing; it is worthy to take into account of environmental impact of the rising volume of goods transported. With the drastic improvement of the technology and rising accessibility of 3D printers, gradually, not only manufacturers but also their customer should considering integrating the technology in their supply chains to reduce their environmental footprint. As 3D printing has the capability to bring manufacturing back to the local market, on-shoring, this reduction in transportation of goods could help reduce the emission. The first part of the thesis will give an overview on the technology: how does it works, its implication on the global supply chain, and what does the future hold for 3D printing. The second part of this paper will focus in finding the link between 3D printing implications and its benefits on the supply chain and the environmental impact it could yield, specifically on the highly customizable products market and the spare parts sector. The research found out that 3D printing has a vast range of applications and each could have a positive impact on the environment. However, under the current level of maturity and adoption, 3D printing has the most positive environmental impact, specifically reducing emission and environmental cost on the spare parts supply chain.