Current Situation
Manufacturers are still producing and shipping products, leading to escalating costs for both transportation and inventory carrying costs.
Goals and Objectives
The goal of this use case is to reduce lead times and eliminate transportation costs by building/manufacturing certain products at the point of consumption.
Technology Deployed
Cloud, big data and analytics, IoT, AI, and connectivity services
Use Case Summary
3D printing and smart manufacturing reduces and even eliminates the need to ship parts and products. Parts can be printed at the plant or finished products at the retail outlet, eliminating costly transportation and dramatically reducing lead times.