Conventional vs Additive Manufacturing Supply Chain

Conventional Supply Chain vs. Additive Manufacturing Supply Chain

Conventional Supply Chain

Supply is a crucial part of production and a delay in any one of the tributaries of a supply chain has a ripple effect across the production value chain.
* Logistics management is key to functionality. Large amounts of money and time are invested to ensure seamless flow of logistics to and from the production sites.

• Large-scale warehousing is crucial to ensure effective storage of raw material inventory, inflow of material from suppliers, and storage of finished goods before shipping.
• Complex systems and processes are required to handle parts from suppliers to maximize production efficiencies.
• Customisation of products is almost impossible as this requires significant adjustment in the standard supply chain paths followed.
• Lead time is very high compared to additive manufacturing.

Additive Manufacturing Supply Chain
The existing conventional supply chain will see a complete overhaul to meet additive manufacturing requirements.

• The Number of supplier and vendors is poised to reduce.
• Logistics cost will be reduced as most of the material is supplied in powder form and the finished product is distributed locally or within the unit itself.
• The need for warehouses will reduce exponentially as most products are made-to-order, eliminating the need to store finished goods.
• Operations, with respect to tooling and maintenance of multiple machines, are completely ruled out.
• Short lead and cycle times; logistics cost to be reduced by more then 80%.

This is why it is important to note the game-changing transformation TTT can bring to the operations of the big players along the verticals on a global scale.