E-Business Supply Chains: Technology Report on 3D Printing

This report delves into the integration of e-business principles, particularly focusing on the transformative impact of 3D printing within modern supply chain management. It begins with an executive summary that highlights the importance of 3D printing and its potential to provide organizations a competitive advantage. The report then explores the benefits and weaknesses of 3D printing, such as reduced warehousing costs, sustainable manufacturing practices, and reduced transportation expenses, while also acknowledging drawbacks like slow production speeds and high initial costs. The report also discusses the risks associated with implementing 3D printing technology and provides a case study of Nike to illustrate the practical application and advantages of this technology. Finally, the report analyzes the future of 3D printing, predicting its potential to assist companies in their development and highlighting its role in shaping the future of supply chain management. The report is well-structured, including an introduction, detailed analysis of benefits and weaknesses, a discussion of associated risks, a case study, and a conclusion that summarizes the findings and implications of 3D printing in supply chain management.

Running head: E-BUSINESS SUPPLY CHAINS
E-Business Supply Chains
Name of Student
Name of University
Author Note

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Executive Summary
The report focuses on the implementation of e-business in the modern world and its
effectiveness in the market. The emergence of 3d printing in the market and its relationship
with supply chain management can help organisations to ensure that a competitive advantage
is gained in the market. In order to understand the concept in a proper manner, case study
regarding Nike has been provided. At the same time other examples have been provided that,
highlight the usefulness of the implementation of 3d printing in the modern world. The
benefits and weakness of the application of 3d printing is provided along with its risk factors.
The report analyses the future of 3d printing and the manner in which it can assist companies
for development.

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Benefits and weakness of 3d printing in supply chain management.........................................3
Risk and implementation of technology in supply chain management......................................6
Case study example....................................................................................................................8
Discussion on future directions of 3d printing in supply chain.................................................9
Conclusion................................................................................................................................12
Reference..................................................................................................................................13

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Introduction
In the modern world, supply chain management plays an important role in the success
of an organisation. According to Christopher (2016), supply chain management is the flow of
goods and services that involve the movement of raw materials from one part to another.
With the advent of the internet, supply chain has become cost effective. The concept of e-
business can be written down as a proper relationship between the internet and the supply
chain integration. The relationship helps in transforming many processes that are within the
supply chain management. Hence, as stated by Monczka et al. (2015) procurement of
customer management as well as product design can be related to the supply chain
management and internet. At the same time, 3d printing is one of the emerging concepts that
are adopted by organisations which helps to create a three-dimensional object. The 3d print
can be applied to any objects irrespective of its shape, size or devising.
The report focuses on the implementation of 3d printing in supply chain management
and the benefits it can provide to the organisations. The benefits and the weakness of 3d
printing in supply chain management is discussed along with the risk and implementation of
technology in the supply chain management. A case study example is provided that highlights
the importance of 3d printing in the modern world and the manner in which it can be
implemented in the market. The future of 3d printing is predicted based on the analysis of its
characteristics and its implementation in the modern supply chain management structure.
Benefits and weakness of 3d printing in supply chain management
Jacobs, Chase and Lummus (2014) is of the opinion that 3d printing may provide an
opportunity for improvement the supply chain management in organisations but the weakness
that it may provide them with also cannot be discounted given the fact that every people is

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not technically sound. Hugos (2018) countered this statement by saying that the implication
of 3d printing often provides individuals with an opportunity to be innovative which in turn
may assist the organisations to continue its dominance in a competing market. Thereby, the
advantages and disadvantages of 3d printing in supply chain management can be analysed.
One of the biggest advantages that 3d printing can provide is the fact that it reduces the cost
of warehousing.
As stated by Boonjing, Chanvarasuth and Lertwongsatien (2015) the reduction in the
cost of warehouse can help in improving the level of production of an organisation. 3d
printing is commonly known an additive manufacturing which implies that materials are
added to the process rather than its subtraction. The fact that less material is wasted makes
the manufacturing process sustainable. As stated by Mangan, Lalwani and Lalwani (2016)
sustainable is important for every organisation to maintain as it can help in maintaining a
balance between the laws of the Government and of protecting the environment. 3d printing
also helps in making the transportation system convenient. This is mainly because the 3d
printing can help in directly providing the items to the people rather than provide it to the
factories.
At the same time, Brandenburg et al. (2014) observed that 3d printing not only help in
improving the supply chain management and making it more environmental friendly, it also
provides opportunities for speeding up the process of production. This particular provision
can be of advantage to countries that have a less economy as the excess cost of manufacturing
the products as well as its shipment can be controlled. Fredendall and Hill (2016) is of the
opinion that another advantage of 3d printing is that helps in reducing the storage material. In
the earlier days, the tools required for manufacturing a product required the existence of spare
parts and other equipments that can be used for supply chain.

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However, in the modern world, the implementation of 3d printing can help in storing
the materials in a single CAD file at a computer. This implies that the warehouses of the
organisations do not have to be filled and it can be used for purpose that can help in the
expansion of the business. At the same time, storing the required tools in a CAD file makes it
transportable and easier to carry around thereby; the implementation of innovative tactics can
be adopted at any time. Fahimnia Sarkis and Davarzani (2015) are of the opinion that 3d
printing provides several barriers that can hinder the progress of an organisation. These
drawbacks can be costly, as at times companies may not have the provisions to bear the cost
of the production using 3d printing.
One of the huge drawbacks that can be seen from the application of 3d printing is its
slowness in providing the final product. As stated by Wang and Cullinane (2015) attaining a
certain quality standard is necessary for every organisation so that it can attain customer
satisfaction. However, 3d printing can provide quality work but at a very slow pace. The
evidence points to the fact that 3d printing cannot be used for mass production (Wisner, Tan
and Leong 2014). At the same time, the tools and techniques that are required for the
implementation of 3d printing is costly. Excessive cost of identifying the resources along
with the research and development used for the product can be unbearable for small-scale
organisations. This provides a huge drawback in its progress in the society. In this regard, a
more comprehensive detail can be provided that highlights the advantages and disadvantages
of 3d printing in supply chain management.
Advantages Disadvantages
Shortening of production and supply chain The built up speed is slow
Reduction of waste materials The size of the resources required is limited
Formulation of complex internal structure Costs for adopting resources is high along

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with research and development costs
Reduction of transportation cost Quality issues due to lack of uniform
guideline
Portable Production steps need to be followed
systematically
Less shipments of items needed Right to intellectual property
Production can be made on demand Lack of safety of products
Limited number of products needed Cannot be used for bulk production
Design file can be stored in computers Requirement of repeatable and reliable
machines
Table: Advantages and disadvantages of 3d printing in supply chain management
(Source: Created by author)
Risk and implementation of technology in supply chain management
Beske and Seuring (2014) are of the opinion that technology in the modern world
provides success as well as promote risk factors that may deal a critical blow to the progress
of organisations. Twenty years ago, supply chain was considered as an activity that was
continued behind the scenes. The number of resources and employees required to make the
process a success was not taken into consideration. However, with the increase in demand of
the customers and the competition in the market, supply chain management have developed
to grow in the foreground and have been a constant source of success (Genovese et al. 2017).
The expectations of the customers have grown due to the development of technology.
This is mainly because customers can identify the products that can help in meeting
their requirement and compare it with others before purchasing it. Hence, it is fitting that the
application of e-business in the supply chain management is made so that people can

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understand the effectiveness it has on the market. Mylan et al. (2015) is of the opinion that
growth of competition is another reason behind the application of technology in supply chain.
The expansion of roles and responsibilities in an organisation can bring about a technical
competence and provide employees with an opportunity to contribute for an organisation. As
observed by Schoenherr and Speier‐Pero (2015) technology has emerged in the supply chain
management in a systematic manner.
The risks involved in the implementation of the technology in supply chain
management are that it involves the ignorance of the people implying supply chain. Results
from over 500 businesses have shown that about 75% of the people were not sure about the
method and about 12% wanted a more visible process to be followed for supply chain
management. As stated by Meixell and Luoma (2015) the disapproval of technology in
supply chain is mainly because the people do not trust the advent of technology in supply
chain management. This is evidenced from the fact that the 75% of the people that have
expressed concerns about supply chain management have stated examples of incidents that
have disrupted the supply chain of an organisation.
Ross (2016) is of the opinion that disruption in supply chain can be caused by a
variety of factors. One such factor is that the management is incapable of leading the
employees in a proper manner. The incapability of the managers can provide hindrance to the
employees particularly if new technologies are implemented in the supply chain management.
Hence, providing blame on the technologies does not bring about solutions for an
organisation. At the same time, technologies can provide loss for the companies if it is not
implemented in a proper manner. Therefore, changes can be made that can help in bringing
about changes in an organisation and provide technologies with an opportunity to assist in the
process of supply chain management.

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An example can be provided that defines the manner in which a small scale company
like Wohler Associates had to suffer from a considerable loss in the company. It has been
seen that Wohler Associates had applied the implication of technology in supply chain
management and had suffered loss as much as $1 million. This provided the company with a
disadvantage and provided the employees with an opportunity to doubt the implementation of
technology. As stated by Christopher (2016) the risk of implementing technologies in supply
chain can be severe but it is also the duty of the managers to ensure that proper training is
provided to the people so that they can embrace the process in a proper manner.
Case study example
Nike is one of the most reputed organisations in the world that supplies quality shoes
for different purpose. The supply chain process applied by Nike consists of digitalising the
method that is required for success. Monczka et al. (2015) is of the opinion that the
companies mainly focus on increasing efficiency and sustainability as a method of gaining a
competitive advantage. In the case of Nike, the implementation of 3d printing for supply
chain management have provided differentiation of its products and the manner in which
transformation in the manufacturing industry can be maintained (Nike.com 2018). Nike
managed to implement 3d printing while manufacturing shoes so that the craftsmanship
required by the use of hands can be prevented.
The focus of Nike has been on sustainability and the advancement of supply chain has
helped Nike to change the process it adopts in designing its shoes. With the application of 3d
printing, Nike has managed to reduce 3.5 million pounds of waste (Nike.com 2018). The
reduction of wastes had started since 2012 and Nike managed to incorporate an effective
application of supply chain management in the company. With the help of 3d printing Nike
developed a Flyknit technology that helps in the reduction of wastes and assists athletes to

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wear shoes that bring about success for them (Nike.com 2018). Thereby, the popularity of
Nike in the business world as well as in the sports world is maintained with the assistance
received from 3d printing.
This particular example provides an idea about the capabilities technology can
achieve in supply chain management. It has been evidenced that Nike had conducted research
on the application of 3d printing supply chain using the vast research and development
department it has. At the same time, it can be said that Nike managed to implement unique
techniques that can help in the growth of the product and ensure that a better and final
product is manufactured for the customers to remain satisfied. The successful innovation
managed by Nike and its implementation of technology in the market have made people
believe that 3d printing have a future that can be used effectively by every organisation.
Discussion on future directions of 3d printing in supply chain
According to Pagell and Shevchenko (2014), research has shown that the benefits that
are gained from the implication of 3d printing is destined to have a huge impact in its
survival. Most of the managers of reputed organisations have given their vote about the
adoption and implementation of 3d printing for supply chain management. Coyle et al.
(2016) is of the opinion that for manufacturing industries the application of 3d printing can
bring about a huge amount of success and at the same time ensure that it provides an
opportunity for improvement in the business sector. Despite the support from important
people such as the President of countries, 3d printing have received several criticism that
question the existence and implementation of the system in the long-run.
Power and Simpson (2016) is of the opinion that misconception about technology and
its effective use in the organisations are the reasons behind the doubt on implying 3d printing.
Statistical report can prove that the implementation of 3d printing can provide organisations

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with an opportunity to increase its profits. Within a few years, the application of 3d printing
for supply chain management can help in the growth of every company and achieve more
than the target revenue that is set for themselves. For example, Nike can attain a profit of
US$20 million by the end of 2020, if it continues to implement the application of 3d printing
(Hazen et al. 2014).
Figure: Prediction of increase in the use of 3d printing and the increase of revenue for
Nike
(Source: Nike.com 2018)
Xu et al. (2017) is of the opinion that development of a new procedure in the 3d
printing department can help organisations to continue its business process. The effect of
contour constructing is that it can revolutionise the manufacturing sector and provide with an
added advantage in the industry. The fact that 3d printing does not require any additional
materials provide it with an advantage to prolong its implementation in the modern world. In
the case of supply chain management, 3d printing can help in reducing the work load of the
people along with the transportation cost of movement. However, Chia and Wu (2015)

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provided caution that the development of 3d printing for supply chain management can be
used at home as well. An example can be given in this case, in which a bunch of high school
boys in the United States managed to implement 3d printing for the supply of guns.
Therefore, the example provides evidence that 3d printing can be used effectively by
people at home. Despite this Muth et al. (2014) is of the opinion that due to the advanced
research required along with the costs of implementation of the process, people at home may
find it difficult to continue using the system and provide a threat to the existing
manufacturing industry. However, the example provided here ensured that such threat to the
business can be provided and based on this, it can be said that the future of 3d printing is
secured (Beske, Land and Seuring 2014). Another reason for the long-term future orientation
of 3d printing is that it does not require any additional material or resources for
implementation (Hong et al. 2015). Therefore, the requirement of advanced technologies in
the form of conventional resources such as high graphic printers or computers can help in its
implementation in the market.
Hong (2015) is of the opinion that 3d printing in supply chain can help in improving
the catastrophic areas of management. For example, it can be provide an opportunity of
growth in the market and ensure that the organisations implementing the process deliver
quality products. Tests conducted by experts in the field of technology provide evidence that
there is no significant decrease in the quality of products during mass production. However,
as stated earlier the slowness of the process may hinder the chances of organisations to fail in
meeting its deadline. Touboulic and Walker (2015) are of the opinion that despite its potential
to succeed in the market and its approval from managers of organisations, 3d printing require
the implementation of proper regulations and laws.