Additive manufacturing (AM) is regarded as a technology that has transformative and disruptive potential in nearly all industries. However, AM is not only about new production equipment and processes. Given the decreasing degree of vertical integration in many companies, suppliers add significant value to the finished product. AM might lead to the redesign of production networks, including a scenario in which the buyer uses AM to produce parts with data provided by suppliers. Overall, AM could have a major impact on the ways in which buyers and suppliers collaborate in the future. Nevertheless, research on AM in the field of industrial procurement remains scarce. This is surprising, given that AM is not only changing traditional procurement categories and creating new ones (comprising printers, powder raw materials, data and the associated engineering services) but AM’s widely discussed potential for decentralisation might also restructure the logistical aspects (transport, stocks) of supply chains. In addition, AM may resurrect the old procurement question of ‘make or buy’. Current research focuses on the logistical aspects of AM and concerns such issues of decentralisation (such as the diminishing need for transportation and the design of transport networks). In contrast, this research addresses the question of whether AM demands new answers to strategic sourcing questions. For this purpose, academic journal literature concerning procurement and AM search strings is reviewed. Selected articles are analysed using a fine-grained analytical framework of procurement strategies. The findings show that existing research lacks theoretical approaches and a systematic view of the topic. Specifically, the analysis reveals a number of distinct knowledge gaps, which present several potential directions for future research.

No abstract

No abstract

Purpose The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had severe effects on economies worldwide and, in particular, on public institutions that must keep their operations running while supply chains are interrupted. The purpose of this study is to examine how public institutions act during a pandemic to ensure the security of supply. Design/methodology/approach The distinct focus is if, why and how public institutions have adopted additive manufacturing (AM) – a production technology colloquially known as three-dimensional printing in which a product is created by joining raw material layer by layer based on a digital model (computer-aided design [CAD] file) of the product – in reaction to supply disruptions caused by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. For this purpose, four cases within the context of the pandemic supply disruption are used as the units of analysis. Findings The findings are twofold: public institutions reacted, on the one hand, with a behavioral solution approach, trying to solve the supply disruption with new or changed forms of cooperation and collaboration. On the other hand, public institutions used a technical solution approach (TSA) as a supply disruption response and intensified their use of AM. Research limitations/implications This research derives an implications model that focuses on the TSA. Considering the ex ante and ex post phases of the disruption, several effects of AM on resilience are identified. The most relevant is the long-term learning effect (i.e. AM data created during this disruption might also help in a new disruption). Practical implications Practitioners who act under extreme pressure and uncertainty are informed by cases that have managed to close bottleneck situations with either a behavioral or TSA. Specific strategies are given for how public buyers could use AM within a pandemic situation to mitigate supply bottlenecks, such as increasing their robustness by localizing sourcing and increasing agility by combining traditional and additive supply sources. Additionally, insights are provided into how public organizations can increase their level of preparedness by including disruption paragraphs, establishing CAD databases, in contract clauses and keeping reserve contracts with AM service providers. Originality/value This research contrasts behavioral and technical solution concepts for a pandemic in the public sector. Thus, it provides insights into the relative benefits of AM and causes and effect with regard to how AM affects supply robustness and agility.

No abstract