The paper explores how additive manufacturers should approach\norder fulfilment across the 3D printing industry, building on an existing case\nstudy from Panalpina and Shapeways. The authors propose a brand new\nmanufacturing mode \u2013 Build to Model (BTM) \u2013 which summarises all the\nmanufacturing and logistics information required to produce and deliver 3D\nprinted products to the end customer. This approach has the potential to be a quicker,\ncheaper and less environmentally damaging way to produce goods. BTM represents a\nbrand new B2B model with the potential to revolutionise supply chains and\ncompletely change how we approach 3D printing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What is \u201cBuild to Model\u201d?<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Thanks to the huge popularity of Lean Management and other\ncontinuous improvement programmes, many people are now familiar with Just in\nTime delivery or Make to Stock vs Make to Order; they have become almost\neveryday business concepts. When goods are \u2018Make to Order\u2019, for instance, a\nmanufacturer will have the right parts or materials to hand in order to produce\na final product on demand. The manufacturer assembles this bespoke product\ndirectly for the end customer; and its supply chain supports the process of\nproviding all necessary components.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With \u2018Build to Model,\u2019 the manufacturing process changes\ncompletely because 3D printing enables a delay in the choice of manufacturer\nuntil the day of production. Product design becomes the pivotal part of the\nprocess, instead of the supply chain. A product can be 3D printed anywhere in\nthe world at any time: designers can upload their data files to a preselected\nmanufacturer\u2019s website, and manufacturers can bid for the work in an electronic\nmarketplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Build to Model\u2019 means manufacturers can take on more work\nthan their in-house capacity allows: it\u2019s easy to outsource an order to an\nexternal 3D printer as it requires no customer-specific tooling, jigs, fixtures\nor fittings. 3D printing brings consistency of product and makes it possible to\nselect printers close to the end customer, saving a business time and money by\nsimplifying assembly operations and reducing handling and warehousing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In essence, the \u2018Build to Model\u2019 approach uses 3D printing\nto give manufacturers more flexibility. It cuts out the need for a \u2018timeline\u2019\napproach to manufacturing (ordering, supplying, warehousing, etc) and fully\nenables a \u201cMake-to-Order\u201d fulfilment strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Conventional\nFulfilment vs Build to Model<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Organisations are under increasing pressure to up their ante\nand \u201cget ready for Industry 4.0\u201d. But how many executives really know what this\nmeans? How many businesses are actually prepared for a digital, data-driven\nworld? Business model innovation has never been more critical for\norganisations, and entire industries, in order to update and adapt their\nprocesses and survive the switch to digital. 3D printing in itself allows a\nrapid overhaul of existing manufacturing and supply chain processes \u2013 the shape\nof the new remains to be defined, and this is why we need innovations such as a\n\u2018Build to Model\u2019 approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018Build to Model\u2019 operates in a virtual world, shifting the emphasis\nfrom materials and supply chains to printer capacity and digital modelling. Manufacturers\nno longer need to keep component parts in stock; instead of moving materials to\nreach the market, the 3D design file is simply sent by the customer to the manufacturer,\nwho sends it to the printer along with the material and machine specifications.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018Build to Model\u2019 leads the way to a simpler manufacturing\nworld, where a network of collaborative 3D printing companies can coexist,\nsharing product designs globally, to produce goods on demand at the touch of a\nbutton. Currently, it is particularly\nrelevant for the growing industry of additive manufacturers who produce\nproducts both for industry and for consumers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe partial\noutsourcing relationship between Shapeways and Panalpina demonstrates the\npotential for general purpose manufacturing technology to disrupt the\nconventional supply chain model.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Panalpina, one of the world\u2019s largest third party logistics\norganisations, introduced a 3D printing operation several years\u2019 ago at their\nfacility in Eindhoven, in the Netherlands. The purpose of the facility was to\nproduce 3D printed parts for Shapeways, a global leader in additive\nmanufacturing for the consumer market. Together, the two companies developed a\ncollaborative model of outsourced 3D printing, to expand 3D printing\ncapabilities, create leaner supply chains, lessen environmental impact and\nreduce costs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The partnership between Panalpina and Shapeways realised the\nfull potential of the \u2018Build to Model\u2019 approach. The partnership allowed the\ncompanies to outsource 3DP work to each other, successfully balancing demand\nand capacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cardiff University joined the collaboration through the\nPanalpina Centre for Manufacturing and Logistics Research (PARC). PARC is a\nresearch centre specialising in inventory forecasting, distributed\nmanufacturing and additive manufacturing. It is a unique endeavour between an\norganisation and academia; and it is through PARC that the \u2018Build to Model\u2019\napproach was developed. Researchers from PARC approached Panalpina and\nShapeways to investigate their 3D printing partnership and to develop new\nmodels of supply chain based on the possibilities of collaborative 3D printing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What\u2019s next for BtM?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe future role of 3D\nprinting in supply chains depends on developing new ways of operating to\nsimplify current supply chains and to create new types of supply structures.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The \u2018Build to Model\u2019 concept is still in its infancy; it\nrepresents an enormous shift in ways of doing business, and most established organisations\nwill be slow to adapt. But adapt they will; additive manufacturing is becoming\nmore and more prominent as the technology develops. 3D printing is well on the\nway to becoming a mainstream method of production, and those that do not take\nadvantage of the new possibilities enabled by 3D printing will be left behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Existing additive manufacturers will already see a major\nimpact of \u2018Build to Model\u2019 within their own operations. Old, traditional supply\nchains simply will not work effectively for these new types of business and\nthey will already have adapted their supply chains and production strategies to\nfit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Investigations such as the project carried out by Cardiff\nare absolutely critical for redefining best practices, allowing industry to\nmake the necessary changes to prepare for a digital world of 3D printing and\ndistributed manufacturing, on-demand, all over the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n About Panalpina:<\/strong> Panalpina\nis a global 3rd<\/sup> Party Logistics provider, offering air freight,\nocean freight and logistics services to tens of thousands of customers around\nthe world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n About Shapeways: <\/strong>Shapeways is redefining product creation. Shapeways enables businesses\nto bring their ideas from inception to post production and fulfilment with its\nend to end solution offerings in 3D printing manufacturing. Founded in 2007,\nShapeways is headquartered in New York City and has factories in Long Island\nCity, the Netherlands, and a network of innovative partners around the world.\nShapeways has a network of over 1 million businesses and has printed over 10\nmillion products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n About Cardiff\nUniversity: <\/strong>Cardiff University is\nrecognised in independent government assessments as one of Britain\u2019s leading\nteaching and research universities and is a member of the Russell Group of the\nUK\u2019s most research-intensive universities. The 2014 Research Excellence\nFramework ranked the University 5th in the UK for research excellence. Among\nits academic staff are two Nobel Laureates. Founded by Royal Charter in 1883,\ntoday the University combines impressive modern facilities and a dynamic\napproach to teaching and research. Cardiff\u2019s flagship Research Institutes are\noffering radical new approaches to pressing global problems. www.cardiff.ac.uk <\/p>\n\n\n\n Authors:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Katy Alice Huckle \u2013 Panalpina<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ryan Iwanski & Giovanni Colantonio \u2013 Shapeways<\/p>\n\n\n\n Heath Jeffries – Cardiff University <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BTM represents a brand new B2B model with the potential to revolutionise supply chains and completely change how we approach 3D printing.","protected":false},"author":1612,"featured_media":179,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-additive-manufacturing","category-insight"],"meta_box":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/logistics-manufacturing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/logistics-manufacturing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/logistics-manufacturing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/logistics-manufacturing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1612"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/logistics-manufacturing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=175"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/logistics-manufacturing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":180,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/logistics-manufacturing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175\/revisions\/180"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/logistics-manufacturing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/logistics-manufacturing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/logistics-manufacturing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/logistics-manufacturing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/logistics-manufacturing\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/566\/2019\/08\/Build-to-model-1024x528.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhy do we need BtM?<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
How did BtM come about?<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/logistics-manufacturing\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/566\/2019\/08\/3DP.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n