Global and regional supply chains face numerous well-documented challenges. Conflict, infrastructure breakages, tariffs and trade barriers have all impacted manufacturing in the last five years (not to mention a pandemic immediately before). These challenges and others will continue to put pressure on manufacturers’ abilities to meet their obligations in a timely and cost-effective manner.
Supply chain disruptions often happen quickly and without warning. They take many forms. Planning for every possibility is economically irrational and likely impossible. The key therefore is to focus on decision-making speed and optionality as much as pure efficiency.
Building a buffer vs systems change
When manufacturers treat ‘resilience’ (i.e., the ability to adjust and recover quickly and repeatedly from disruption) as a worst-case scenario instead of the status quo. Building up stock could work, but it ties up working capital to hedge against an unknown threat. Localizing production can be prudent, but is only half an answer. Taking on multiple suppliers makes sense, unless they’re all using the same narrow waterway to get to you.
Instead manufacturers must presume that disruption is inevitable and seek to design their systems to weather the challenges. That means focusing on standardization, control, early signal detection from across the organization and decision making and interchangeability.
Buffers and changes to procurement patterns might be the solution once a threat has been identified and understood, but as a way to build resilience they are blunt instruments rather than surgical precision.
Manufacturers need capability rather than capacity
As a business Shapeways went through its own well documented disruption. To underline the previous point this was not something that resilience planning would ever approach, and no ‘back up’ plan could be put into place. But, once the situation was stabilised through fast, decisive action the next challenges arose.
We saw a doubling of demand very quickly leading to our internal capacity being quickly maxed out. The logical solution would be to outsource but the details of how that happens are more important still. We needed to ensure we retained our capabilities while quickly bringing online extra capacity.
We outsourced capacity but not responsibility. To achieve this we designed our systems to treat outsourced capacity as if they were simply machines in another room. Shapeways retains control throughout the process. Control of the exact build configuration for a 3D printed part down to build orientation; control over the materials as if they were handled in-house; and control of the part finishing, quality control and final inspection. Through this system design we can rapidly bring extra capacity online when needed while retaining the quality assurance rigor applied to our in-house capacity.
Keep product pathways open
Single-supplier chains are inherently unstable and to be avoided wherever possible. To build true system-level resilience, manufacturers must design parts for multiple production paths not just multiple suppliers. As our CEO Marleen Vogelaar recently suggested, decisions around materials have a huge role to play in ensuring that production pathways remain open as long as possible (and are able to be re-opened painlessly).
In practice this means thinking about materials not just as a list an engineer picks from, but a strategic advantage in building manufacturing resilience. At Shapeways we work with a huge array of materials including many ‘non-standard’ grades and alloys. Therefore the materials may be more interchangeable than many manufacturers realise depending on the regulatory and qualification framework they operate in.
Lengthy qualification cycles often lock designs in place. In that context changing something as fundamental as the material is usually a challenge too far. This is the exception rather than the rule however, especially in Next Generation Hardware with its rapid iterations and constant ‘beta’ status.
Sometimes the opportunity to switch materials can be stark. For example, we recently worked with a company producing aluminium parts for use in a challenging environment. We identified an opportunity to replace milled aluminium parts with 3D-printed equivalents. It produces the same or even improved geometry in high-temperature PPA (polyphthalamide), now widely available on industrial FDM platforms.
In that instance, resilience isn’t about finding another aluminium supplier or an alternative milling operation, but embracing the opportunity to have two completely different supply chains available for the same solution – Jan van Dijke, Head of Supply Chain at Shapeways
Maintaining balance
The aluminium to PPA example is extreme and highlights an additional challenge in building resilience in your manufacturing operations: balance. Take an approach that’s to conservative and you will risk missing opportunities and reducing your capacity for innovation. Too aggressive and you start to lose technical control of your processes and risk upsetting your own capabilities.
The challenge for manufacturers is to think deeply about finding their own middle ground by enhancing capacity while maintaining control over the outputs. It’s also important to move methodically through the process of finding multiple production paths with selective pilot programs. Few companies have the resources to tackle everything at once, but carefully managed pilots will bring learnings that make subsequent attempts quicker and more fruitful.
Designing systems for hardware that evolves
Manufacturers must think carefully when designing processes and systems around rapidly evolving hardware. Here, there is internal pressure on supply chains as well as the ever-present risk of external shocks. When nothing is set in stone, it can be challenging to maintain the levels of control required for modern hardware manufacturing.
If teams treat each phase of the manufacturing chain as distinct and only tangentially related. There is a risk of fragmentation of process understanding, quality data, design history and ultimately accountability. Each break in the cycle represents an opportunity for resilience to be impacted or lost.
Resilient supply chains also support iterative change and rapid innovation by preserving control while maximizing flexibility. Modern products are never truly “finished.” Advances in electronics, connectivity and sensors drive constant change. As a result, their supply chains can never fully solidify. Some elements will stabilize and others won’t.
Partnership evaluation
When parts shift between processes, such as moving from milling to 3D printing, or between materials. Manufacturers must retain control over process knowledge, configuration, and specifications to reduce risk. In this context, the right partner is not simply the fastest or cheapest. It is the one that can manage rapid iteration, guide transitions smoothly, and scale production without compromising quality.
Manufacturers who design their supply chains as lifecycle systems rather than a sequence of vendors are best positioned to absorb internal and external pressures without affecting delivery or speed of innovation.