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S+B BLOGS Published:October 6, 2016

RECENT RESEARCH

WhatDoestheRiseof3DPrinting
MeanforGlobalCompanies?
Matt Palmquist

BottomLine:Withmanufacturingputintothehandsofsmall
firmsandevenconsumers,traditionalvaluechainsmaynolonger
beasadvantageous.
Itslongbeenalamentofastronauts:Ifonlytherewerepizzain
space.Soacoupleofyearsago,NASAawardedaUS$125,000grant
toamechanicalengineertosolvetheproblem.Heproduceda

Matt Palmquist is a freelance

business journalist based in
Oakland, Calif.

prototype3Dprinterthatprintslayersoffoodoutofpowdered

EMAIL

thebottomoftheprinter)thensometomatopowder,water,andoil

cartridges.Firstcomesalayerofdough(cookedviaaheatplateat
forasaucealltoppedbyamouthwateringproteinlayer.A3D
printedpizzahastobeatleastbetterthanfreezedried.

Full Pizza Print

If3Dprintingcandeliverpizzatoouterspace,whatcanitdobackhome?Thatsbecoming
lessandlessofanidlequestionasthe3Dprintercontinuestomoveawayfromitsoriginsas
abulky,ultraexpensiveplaythingforhobbyistsandearlyadopters.
Thankstodramaticreductionsinpriceandrapidadvancesinopensourcedevelopment,3D
printershavegainedgroundatbothmainstreammanufacturingplantsandboutiquedesign
shops.Evenmodelspricedbelow$1,000canprinteverfaster,bigger,andatahigherquality,
meaningthathouseholdsmaysoonchoosetoinvestinaprinterandmake,ratherthanbuy,
moreoftheproductstheyuse.Someresearchers,andtheEconomist,havearguedthatthe
technologycouldlaunchthenextindustrialrevolution,inwhichlargescaleindustrial
processesarereplacedbypeoplefabricatingtheirownthings.

Photograph by enmyo / Alamy

Indeed,advocatessay3Dprintersthreatentounderminesomeofthebasictenetsofthe
internationaleconomy:namely,thatmultinationalcompanies(MNCs)enjoyanadvantage
becauseoftheirsprawlingglobalvaluechains.Operatingonaworldwidescaleallowsthese
firmstoexploitcheaplaborpoolsanddistributionmethods,favorableimport/export
regulations,andrapidlyadvancingcommunicationscapabilities.IfsomeoneintheU.S.can
3DprintagadgetintheirhomethatusedtohavetobemadeinChinaandshippedoverseas,
itsnothardtoseehowthebusinesslandscapecouldshiftformanufacturers,middlemen,
andretailersalike.

Basedonacomprehensivereviewofthelatestresearch,mediareports,andexpertanalysis
on3Dprinting,theauthorsofanewstudyhavedeterminedwhichindustrieshavethemost
atstake.Theyhavealsopinpointedseveralsectorspecificfactorsthatwilllikelydetermine
howdisruptivethetechnologywillbetoanindustrysglobalvaluechain.
Companiesthatmakeproductsoutofsolidwood,leather,naturaltextiles,orpaperprobably
wontbeaffected,theauthorssuggest,becausenaturalmaterialsarentsuitableasthe
filamentusedfor3Dprinting.Neitherwillfirmsinthebusinessofproducingrawmaterials
suchaspetroleumproductsoutofcrudeoilorbasicmetalsoutofironore.Instead,itis
thesmallest,simplestproductsthataretheeasiesttoreplicatewith3Dprinting,whichis
whythetechnologyisalreadyhavinganimpactoncompaniesinindustriesasdiverseas
jewelry,medicalandmusicalinstruments,sportinggoods,andtoys.
Andaccordingtotheauthors,someotherindustriesyoumightnotexpectareripeforthe
adoptionofthetechnology.Althoughrightnowaboutthemostyoucanhopeforfromthe3D
printingofedibleproductsisanelaboratelyshapedchocolatecandy,thespacepizza
underscoreshow3Dprinterscancreatecomplexgoodswithouttheinputofahighlyskilled
worker,andthefoodandrestaurantindustryshouldtakenote.Similarly,the3Dprintingof
appareliscurrentlylimitedtoplasticitems,butasitexpandstoincludemoresynthetic
materials,suchasnylon,theclothingindustrycouldbedrawnto3Dprintingespecially
becausepatentsandcopyrightsarentprevalentinthefashionworld.
TheauthorspointoutthatthenumberofGoogleScholarpapersabout3Dprintingusing
metalshasincreasedmarkedly,from686in2011to2,530in2013.Asimilaruptickcanbe
seeninstudiesabout3Dprintingwithceramicsclearsignsthatindustriestemptedto
dismiss3Dprintingasaplasticsonlyenterpriseareshortsighted.

If 3D printing can
deliver pizza to outer
space, what can it do
back home?

Overall,3Dprintingseemsmoreapplicableto
companiesthatvaluecustomizationand
responsivenesstoconsumersfastchanging
preferences,orthoseinwhichsmallbatchesof
specializedproductstakeprecedenceover
massproducedcommoditiesthatexploit
economiesofscale.Industriesthatarealready
highlyautomatedandrevolvearoundlarge
productionrunsprobablywontmuchbenefit

from,orbechallengedby,theflexibility3Dprintingprovides.Butwhenevenashortdelay

canprovecostly,3Dprintingcanbeespeciallyhandywhichiswhyshippingcompanies
havebeguntoinstallthedevicesontheircargoshipssospareorreplacementpartsfortheir
vesselscanbequicklyproducedatsea.
SowhatdoesthisallmeanfortheglobalvaluechainsthathavebuoyedMNCsoverthepast
severaldecades?Theauthorssuggestthatthediffusionof3Dprintinginanindustrypoints
toshorter,morelocalizedvaluechainsinthehandsoffarmoreplayerswhere
manufacturingtakesplaceclosertotheenduser.Withsmallerfirms,andevenhouseholds,
abletomanufacturecertainproducts,therequirementoflargenumbersoflowpaidworkers,
longadriverofMNCstrategy,significantlydiminishes.Sodoestheneedforfirmsthat
produceintermediateproducts,whichcouldfindthemselvesleapfroggedbecauseof3D
printersabilitytoturnrawmaterials,whicharelessexpensivetoimportandexport,into
finishedgoods.

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Attheextremeupstreamofthevaluechain,companiesthatareinvolvedintheextraction
andsupplyingofrawmaterialsprobablyhavethemosttogainfromtheriseof3Dprinting.
Notallrawresourcescanbesourcedlocally,ofcourse,orbytheaveragehouseholdorniche
printingbusiness.Soif3Dprintingdoestakehold,theauthorsposit,theneedtodeliver
smallbatchesofrawmaterialstomanymoreplayersmeansthatMNCswithcontrolofthe
requisiteresourceswillgainamuchmoreimportantrole.
Source:GlobalValueChainsFroma3DPrintingPerspective,byAndrO.Laplume
(MichiganTechnologicalUniversity),BentPetersen(CopenhagenBusinessSchool),and
JoshuaM.Pearce(MichiganTechnologicalUniversity),JournalofInternationalBusiness
Studies,June2016,vol.,47,no.5

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