Improving Additive Manufacturing Enabled Operations – A Forward Looking Empirical Study

Taking a forward-looking empirical approach, this dissertation pinpoints improvement areas and formulates solutions for additive manufacturing (AM) operations in situations where AM is used for the production of functional parts. Specifically, this work investigates AM-enabled operations management solutions for spare parts supply chain management, new product launch, and kitting of parts for simplified production materials handling. The contribution of this dissertation is directed to the field of operations management by answering the question of how the specific AM-enabled production and operations can be improved when AM is used for functional parts production. The specific AM-enabled production and operations involve several areas, namely the decentralized production of spare parts, the hybrid production for new product launch, and the digital kitting for production materials handling. The results achieved three objectives, which are (a) to specify the conditions for the decentralized production of spare parts with AM and the expected improved performance outcomes in specific conditions; (b) to present a heuristic for new product launch to determine the switch-over point between AM and conventional manufacturing when hybrid manufacturing is used; and (c) to demonstrate experimentally specific circumstances where model-based digital kitting is feasible and can improve supply chain performance.