Electrolux Asia Pacific Explores 3D Printing as Potential Long Tail Solution
Electrolux Asia Pacific Explores 3D Printing as Potential Long Tail Solution
Multinational home appliance manufacturer, Electrolux is considering harnessing 3D printing to manufacture spare parts on-demand.
The Swedish company’s Asia Pacific sector partnered with Spare Parts 3D, a Singapore-based start-up, to explore the potential strategy through a feasibility study.
Since most big manufacturers manufacture and store spare parts, even long after production of the corresponding appliances have stopped, the company is faced with high inventory costs, as wells as labour, production, and maintenance costs. Electrolux has identified 3D printing as a potential solution for these problems. Additionally, the company suspects it may be able to reduce lead times, and increase customer satisfaction. It would enable Electrolux to only manufacture parts as and when they are required through a network of 3D printing service providers, such as Spare Parts 3D.
Electrolux has been inspired by a recent report produced by PricewaterhouseCoopers, a professional services network company, which projected that within five years more than 85% of spare parts suppliers will incorporate 3D printing into their business model.
3D printed spare parts
3D printed spare parts
The feasibility study, in which both companies will participate, consists of five steps. A catalogue section defines the right criteria for 3D printing and selects the best business case for Electrolux Asia Pacific to maximise savings without any extra investment. Here, the two critical dimensions concern the printability of a spare part, some won’t be possible, and the profitability of implementing the strategy on a case by case basis. The second step looks at industrialisation – to optimise economic benefits, Spare Parts 3D conducts industrial engineering to identify which materials are most suitable for the part, and find the most efficient production parameters. Thirdly, and highlighting another potential benefit of the strategy, digitalisation is looked at: A digital inventory would replace a warehouse full of parts. Qualification is explored in the fourth step: parts will need to undergo quality tests before distribution. And finally, probability analysis will be carried out on the whole strategy: it involves a direct comparison between the 3D printing strategy and the traditional strategy.
Once the feasibility test is complete, Electrolux’s Asia Pacific sector will make a decision on whether to pursue 3D printing as a method for manufacturing spare parts on-demand.
