Supply chain reconfiguration opportunities arising from additive manufacturing technologies in the digital era

Abstract

The aim of this study is to explore the impact of additive manufacturing (AM) technologies on the configuration opportunities of supply chains (SCs) within the digital manufacturing era. To this effect, we first conduct a critical taxonomy of existing research efforts and then propose an integrated decision-making process for the design and management of SCs defined by digital manufacturing technologies. Following, we provide an integrated framework for future SC reconfiguration opportunities arising from the adoption of AM on a supply network setting. Our analysis demonstrates the significant ramifications of AM techniques on SC configuration and sustainability performance as opposed to conventional value networks; however, existing research is evidently limited due to scope related challenges and the inherent complexity at the manufacturing echelon of the respective supply networks.

Keywords:

• Additive manufacturing
• critical taxonomy
• digital manufacturing
• hierarchical decision-making process
• supply chain reconfiguration framework

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Konstantinos Tziantopoulos

Konstantinos Tziantopoulos received a Diploma in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the Democritus University of Thrace, Greece, in 2012. Currently, he is closely collaborating with companies in the freight transport industry and he is a Ph.D. Candidate in AM and SCs at the Laboratory of Advanced Supply Chain Management (LASCM) of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh), Greece. His academic research field is mainly focused on Additive Manufacturing, Supply Chain Management, Spare Parts and Policy Making.

Naoum Tsolakis

Dr. Naoum Tsolakis is a Research Associate at the Centre for International Manufacturing, Institute for Manufacturing, University of Cambridge, where he focuses on industrial systems and network analysis issues across a range of industrial applications and with an inter-disciplinary outlook. More specifically, his main research and practice interests are in the areas of circular supply chains’ design, analysis and management emphasizing on the exploitation of renewable chemical feedstocks for the pharmaceuticals industry.

Dimitrios Vlachos

Dimitrios Vlachos is Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. He conducts research in the fields of supply chain management, logistics, applied operational research, transport systems management, business reengineering, and strategy development. He has participated in more than 60 research projects. He has authored or co-authored more than 160 articles in scientific journals, conference proceedings and book chapters. He has participated as a consultant or expert in numerous projects funded by public and private organizations.

Loukas Tsironis

Dr. Loukas K. Tsironis is an Assistant Professor of Operations Management and a member of the Business Excellence Laboratory (BEL) at the Department of Business Administration of the University of Macedonia. He received his B.Sc. from Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki, Department of Forestry & Natural Environment (1993). His M.Sc. (1995) and Ph.D. (2001) from Technical University of Crete, Department of Production Engineering & Management. His research interests extended in the Operations and Supply Chain Management, Total Quality Management, Business Process Modelling and Management, on which he recently published several articles in journals and referred conferences.