Identifying Business Potentials of Additive Manufacturing as Part of Digital Value Creation in SMEs – An Explorative Case Study

Identifying Business Potentials of Additive Manufacturing as Part of Digital Value Creation in SMEs – An Explorative Case Study

Grand Wailea, Hawaii

Additive Manufacturing allows the production of parts based on layer by layer, three-dimensional printing. With a unique set of characteristics, Additive Manufacturing is an important technology regarding the digital transformation and digital value creation of the manufacturing domain. Particularly small and medium sized enterprises are challenged by digital transformation processes and decisions on where to invest their limited resources. This paper identifies business potentials of Additive Manufacturing based on a recent case study conducted during collaborative workshops with five small and medium sized enterprises. Considering the special capabilities of Additive Manufacturing technology, business potentials are examined alongside the entire product lifecycle. It was found that these potentials appear primarily on a digital level and are therefore not limited to the physical domain. The potentials may channel enterprise transformation and enable the purposive generation of digital value.

https://aisel.aisnet.org/hicss-53/in/digital_supply_chain/3