3D Printing Technology: A Business Expansion Strategy for ICT Companies in Australia

COIT20249
PROFESSIONAL SKILLS IN
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
ASSESSMENT 3
Report
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Executive Summary
According to the website by Science Direct, (n.d.), different types of solid objects can be
designed using digital data which can be used for manufacturing three-dimensional objects.
These types of objects have high-value in the market and are sold at a very expensive rate.
Additive processes are used to create 3D objects which not an easy work to accomplish. 3D
printing makes use of computer design to develop the solid objects required by the customers.
In the field of manufacturing, 3D printing is trending these days. Most of the manufacturing
organizations have started incorporating this technology into their business. 3D printing is not an
easy process, one object is created by arranging two to three layers sequentially within the two-
dimensional range as mentioned in the website of Britannica (2017).
Purpose of this report is to research about the effectiveness of 3D printing technology across
Australia that could be used b the expansion in the company’s business.
As per the investigation made, it has been found out that Amaero Engineering is one of 3D
printing objects manufacturing company in Australia that designs large products. These are sold
out to different cities of Australia as well as in the international market. The company has a
collaboration with Monash University to share the additive manufacturing process for their
business. These are the global shareholders who have many different branches across Australia
and also to the overseas.
According to the findings, it can be recommended that the ICT company has to focus on
providing best quality products to their customers. On the contrary, the company has to ensure
that the environment will not be affected by the harmful emissions produced by 3D printing by
using the proper ventilation.
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary.........................................................................................................................1
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Overview..........................................................................................................................................2
Problem Statement.......................................................................................................................3
Research Methodology................................................................................................................3
Aims and Objectives....................................................................................................................3
Key issues of the company...........................................................................................................4
Issues from global perspective.....................................................................................................5
Advantages of 3D printing technology........................................................................................6
Disadvantages of 3D printing technology....................................................................................7
Limitations of 3D printing technology.........................................................................................7
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................7
Recommendations............................................................................................................................8
References........................................................................................................................................8
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Introduction
This report is based on providing information regarding the 3D printing technology and the
scope that my company will have by using this technology as our business concept. Me, as the
head of ICT, is going to research about the effectiveness of this technology for our business. My
company wants to expand their business across the globe for which research is mandatory. I will
take an example of Amaro Engineering which is the leading manufacturing company in 3D
printing. Our company was started around 10 years ago and has a good market share. Now, our
management team has decided to expand our business to different cities across the globe.
However, it was difficult for the company to keep pace with the current business processes and
our committee decided to use a different business strategy. It has been assumed that the company
has used enterprise resource planning systems for managing their daily business operations. The
company wants to deal with different clients in the field of 3D printing technology as it is the
most famous field of manufacturing. Problem is that the company has noticed a decrease in the
performance of the company so they have decided to construct a new business strategy to
increase their overall number of sales. The objective of this report is to highlight the importance
of 3D printing technology to provide a competitive advantage to the company. I have
investigated the issues of my company by conducting a qualitative methodology. This has
provided me with the in-depth knowledge about the 3D printing technology.
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Overview
According to Lohman (2017), there are numerous policies and procedures that have been
followed by the Government and private sector based companies who require some specific
business processes to run their business. It is an opportunity for the small and medium-sized
company to have growth in their business in terms of economic, technological and legal issues.
ICT companies consist of highly skilled personnel in the trading industry. These companies
concentrate on improving their development costs, moreover, to gain competitive success in the
market. My company is currently focusing on having better economic growth. Therefore, I am
investigating about the technology we can use for our business. We have chosen 3D printing
technology for the expansion of our business as this technology is training these days. Customers
prefer to use high-quality products which are designed according to their requirements at the
affordable prices. To conduct my research effectively, I will be going to perform group meeting
with the other managers of the ICT SME’s companies of Australia to understand their business
processes and how our company can improve their business processes. This will also help me to
analyse the current requirements of the market and accordingly I can measure the availability of
resources in our company.
Problem Statement
The research was conducted using the qualitative methodology for which issues like loss of
resources and improper communication with the higher authorities of the company were faced.
Business meetings were conducted which consumed a lot of time and another operating cost. The
main challenge that I faced to design this report is to understand the proper utilization of
resources and also to identify the operating costs that will be going to be required for our new
project.
Research Methodology
According to Almalki (2016), a research methodology so the theoretical analysis of a topic based
on a systematic approach. Research is been conducted by the professionals to prove the existence
of something relevant to the business. Research methodology can b of a different type depending
the type of information needs to be collected. I am specifically using qualitative data analysis
methodology because I wanted to theoretically understand about the 3D printing technology. The
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in-depth collected from the qualitative data analysis methodology will be helpful for me to
acknowledge the key issues that our business is facing and also the advantages to processes of
the 3D printing technology procedures for the expansion of our business. I will be referring
journals, articles and other internet sources to collect information. Besides this, I will also gather
primary data by taking questionnaires with the managers of other ICT companies in Australia.
Aims and Objectives
The aim of this report is to identify the importance of 3D printing technology for our business.
Competing in the global market with more improvised products is not an easy task. The
customer's requirements have to be in mind while developing an appropriate business strategy.
However, some of the aims and objectives that I have reported are as follows-
1) To ensure that the product design will include all the necessary requirements of
customers
2) To identify potential risks that our company might face while implementing 3D printing
technology
3) To understand the other related developments in the printing technology globally
4) To research the business strategies that can be implemented by our company to ensure
success for our business
5) To analyse market requirements so as to attain competitive advantage
These are some of the short-term aims and objectives that our company will follow. For this
project, these objectives are identified which will be beneficial for me to collect more specific
information about the importance of 3D printing technology. These key aims of the project will
guide me to research efficiently about the minor and major issues for the growth of our business.
Key issues of the company
Our company is dealing with industrial and retail customers for about 10 years. Now,
considering a change in the business processes of the global market our company has decided to
move our business as online services. The key issue is to move from offline services to the e-
business will include a lot of potential risks to the company and this will also require the cost of
changing their services to online. One of the solutions that the company has thought of is to use
3D printing technology that could create products at an affordable rate. This technology will be
helpful for the company to manage the decrease in economic value and to generate more leads
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for the e-business. E-business will also contribute our company to expand our business to other
regions like Oceania. Other key issues are the security as the new software will be installed
which will bring different kinds of security vulnerabilities. Authentication because global users
will be accessing the information, therefore, valid usernames and passwords will be required.
Legal issues also need to be considered because the company has to follow the policies of the
Government that affects the overall cost of ownership. Lastly, is the technological factors that are
the main concern for the company because the implementation of upgraded technology is
necessary to manage the e-business operations. Most probably, enterprise resource planning
(ERP) system will be incorporate by our company because such systems provide integration of
the business processes with the developed business strategies. These systems provide automated
services for the business and is best suitable for the e-business. We will be taking advice on
implementing an ERP system for our business from experts so as to ensure that we are investing
in a positive aspect. The idea of implementing enterprise resource planning system came to my
mind as these systems do not require customization as these have the capability to automatically
install updates whenever required. Such systems also allow cloud storage to integrate so that our
company store a large amount of information for the transactions that are made on daily basis.
Issues from a global perspective
The website by Apple Rubber has described about the issues that most of the business face by
implementing 3D printing technology. In the field of additive manufacturing, 3D printing
technology provides a lot of advantages and opportunities to the businesses and mostly to the
new market entrants. Some of the issues that have been identified as a global level are as
follows-
1. Unstandardized 3D printing: comparing with the traditional manufacturing methods 3D
printing does not provide quality products most of the times. However, this issue does not
occur constantly but as recorded by the professional manufacturers there are some issues
related to reliability, quality and strength. Although products manufactured from 3D printing
technology are affordable for the customers, it does not provide the required standard levels
for competing in the market. The uncertainty of this technology is made to be resolved by
AMSC (Additive Manufacturing Standardization Collaborative) in order to provide growth in
the manufacturing sector for all the businesses.
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2. Additive manufacturing impacts the environment: While manufacturing the products from
the 3D printing technology it is important to consider the environmental factors. Plastic
filament is used to manufacture products which are harmful to the environment. This material
also consumes much of the electrical energy polluting the environment. Plastic is considered
to be the non-biodegradable product and so its use in the manufacturing industry is not
reliable. However, there is a solution for this issue that the manufacturing companies should
reuse the by-products obtained while designing products using 3D printing technology. This
material (plastic filament) has an adverse effect on nature and health of living organisms, it
pollutes the air releasing harmful particles. Manufacturing industries should use ventilation
for purifying the environmental pollution.
3. Equipment and product cost are high: Since the plastic material is used in manufacturing
products, metal printers are required. These metal printers are highly expensive as their
maintenance cost is also high. Therefore, the manufacturing process gets delayed because
when the printers need to be repaired it takes a lot of time to process efficiently. Producing a
3D based objects layers of materials is required for arranging it sequentially for which
appropriate speed of the 3D printer is needed. If the printers will continuously require repairs
it will not be able to perform well for producing products. It consumes much time and energy
which is a global issue for all the manufacturing companies at a global level.
4. 3D printing knowledge gap: there is very less skilled personnel in the manufacturing
companies globally who have the perfect knowledge about the 3D printing technology. This
has increased the operating costs of the company as training has to be provided to the
employees about the 3D printing technology. Companies most of the time hire the seasonable
engineers to accomplish targets that have short deadlines but this is not possible every time
as it costs much higher than having a permanent human resource for accessing the equipment
of 3D printing technology Apple Rubber (2017).
Advantages of 3D printing technology
 Speed: complex designs of the products can be manufactured within few hours. This saves a
lot of time and overall cost used for the maintenance of 3D printers.
 Single step manufacture: A CAD model is used for manufacturing 3D objects which
consume fewer steps in the manufacturing process. It also provides customization for each
object which requires fewer steps in providing finishing to the products.
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 Cost: the machine and material cost of manufacturing 3D objects is lower as compared to
other objects. The price is similar to that of purchasing a laptop or a computer which is
affordable for the customers.
 Risk Mitigation: prototype of each 3D object is tested before launching them into the market.
This helps in analysing any risks associated with the manufactured product. This also
contributes to taking effective decisions for assigning prices of the products to be sold into
the market Redwood, (2017).
Disadvantages of 3D printing technology
This technology involves the joining of materials together to design a reliable product. Although
3D objects have complex structures, these are available at an inexpensive rate in the market but
have fewer disadvantages too.
 High energy consumption: these consume 50 to 100 times more electrical energy for a single
product which affects the overall energy consumption rate. Loughborough University has
recorded this statistics for the manufacturing rate of 3D objects.
 Harmful emissions: manufacturing of 3D objects creates toxic emissions in the environment
which affects the health of people living in the nearby areas of the industries. Ultrafine
particles and a large number of organic compounds are released into the environment during
the process of 3D printing which adversely affects the nature.
 Expensive: the 3D printers are available in the market at a higher rate than expected by the
manufacturing companies which are not affordable. Companies have to pay much of their
capital interests in the 3D printers only which is becoming a loss for them.
 3D printers are not user-friendly: high-voltage supplies are required to perform 3D printing
and such equipment are difficult for the users to manage it effectively. Therefore, companies
have to provide training to the staff members which increase overall operating costs for
manufacturing of 3D objects Pearson (2018).
Limitations of 3D printing technology
 The 3D objects are sometimes not designed with the required strength
 Although these are cost-effective, 3D objects do not provide reliability
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Conclusion
It is to conclude from this detailed research report that the 3D printing technology can be adopted
by our company to expand the business. If the companies have to expand their business to the
local and international market, then they have to ensure that the 3D products are user-friendly
and the user manuals are available for the customers so that they can know how to access the
products efficiently. While developing e-business strategies company has to take reference from
some experts so that they can create reliable products for the customers. Expert advice is always
helpful for the company to increase their business value. I have concluded from researching
about the topic 3D printing technology that our company can use this technology to expand our
business. This is because it is cost-effective and will make easily made available to the customers
worldwide through the online services.
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Recommendations
On the basis of research that has been conducted for 3D printing technology, few
recommendations are as follows-
 It can be recommended for the company to use enterprise resource planning systems to
manage their business operations. ERP systems are available at affordable prices in the
market and have a very low maintenance cost. ERP systems can install updates for the
software system automatically which makes easier for the company’s employees to work for
it.
 When manufacturing the 3D objects, the company should use proper ventilation and filtration
for the polluted air so that the environment is not much affected by the harmful emissions
produced by the 3D printing.
 Training should be provided to all the staff members of the company so that they can
efficiently use the equipment of 3D printing technology. However, this will increase the
overall cost but it will beneficial for the company to avoid potential risks.
 E-business strategies should be developed by the company’s managers so that more number
of customers can be attracted to purchasing the products that are available online. Soke of the
e-business strategies includes discount offers for the customers and free home delivery
options.
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References
 Almalki, S. (2016). Integrating Quantitative and Qualitative Data in Mixed Methods
Research--Challenges and Benefits. Journal of Education and Learning, 5(3), 288-296.
 Apple Rubber, (2016). Industry Trends. Apple Rubber. Retrieved from
http://www.applerubber.com/blog/5-of-the-biggest-challenges-facing-manufacturers-in-3d-
printing/
 Attaran, M. (2017). Additive Manufacturing: The Most Promising Technology to Alter the
Supply Chain and Logistics. Journal of Service Science and Management, 10(2017), 189-
205.
 Britannica, (2017). 3D Printing. Britannica. Retrieved from
https://www.britannica.com/technology/3D-printing
 Chao, I., Young, J., Coles-Black, J., Weinberg, L., Rachbuch, C., & Chuen, J. The
application of Three-Dimensional (3D) printing technology for Anaesthesia: A Narrative
Review.
 Lohman, R. (2017). World Leaders in 3D Printing. Australia Unlimited. Retrieved from
https://www.australiaunlimited.com/technology/amaero
 Pearson, A., (2018). 10 Disadvantages of 3D Printing Technology. 3dinsider. Retrieved from
http://3dinsider.com/3d-printing-disadvantages/
 Redwood, B., (2017). The Advantages of 3D Printing. 3dhubs. Retrieved from
https://www.3dhubs.com/knowledge-base/advantages-3d-printing
 Science Direct, (n.d.). Three Dimensional Printing. Science Direct. Retrieved from
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/materials-science/three-dimensional-printing
 Swanepoel, J. A., & Harrison, A. W. (2015). The business size distribution in Australia.
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