20 DC VELOCITY MAY 2017 www.dcvelocity.com
newsworthy
German software giant SAP SE has launched a three-dimensional (3-D) printing service connecting such disparate
companies as UPS Inc., HP Inc., and Jabil Circuit Inc. with
SAP’s digital manufacturing and engineering teams, a move
SAP said could help users streamline their supply chains.
The “Distributed Manufacturing” service will combine
SAP’s manufacturing supply chain and Internet of Things
(IoT) offerings with UPS’s transportation and logistics
network, allowing users to accelerate their operations by
quickly printing specialized or personalized items and
express-shipping them to customers, SAP said.
By making 3-D printing a seamless part of digital man-
ufacturing, customers can optimize design and better inte-
grate order creation and procurement tasks, SAP said.
The Distributed Manufacturing network will also steer
more business to 3-D printing service providers such as
Atlanta-based UPS, which first teamed up with SAP in 2016
to launch a nationwide network of printers for customers
that want to create rapid prototypes or replacement parts for
on-demand delivery. The service is available at more than
60 of the company’s UPS Store retail locations and at a 3-D
printing factory at UPS’s Louisville, Ky., Worldport facility.
The new service expands on that concept by creating an
online portal that allows users to choose from more than a
dozen 3-D printing service providers. Customers log onto
the cloud-based platform, upload their drawing, and select
a printing vendor. The platform will enable companies to
gain access to 3-D printing at a fraction of the $300,000 cost
of buying a top-shelf printer, Mike Lackey, SAP’s global vice
president of solution management, LoB (line of business)
manufacturing, said in an interview.
Companies could leverage the network to reduce expensive short production and prototype manufacturing runs,
and reduce inventory costs by printing spare parts rather
than storing and picking them later. This is especially true
for seldom-used replacement parts, which needlessly take
up warehouse space, he said.
“3-D printing is going to change logistics,” Lackey said.
“You won’t be shipping finished product around the world.
You’ll be printing it closer to your customer and making it
personalized as well.”
—B.A.
SAP launches 3-D printing service
17_0417 DC Velocity_MAY Mod: March 23, 2017 3: 45 PM Print: 04/13/17 9:27:01 AM page 1 v7
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