“Additive manufacturing is not a technology decision. It is a supply chain strategy decision — and the organisations that understood that early are now building resilience while others are still commissioning feasibility studies.“
I wrote “Supercharg3d: How 3D Printing Will Drive Your Supply Chain” to break through the impasse that stops most organisations thinking clearly about additive manufacturing: the technology people cannot speak supply chain, and the supply chain people do not understand the technology well enough to evaluate it honestly. Seven years on, that impasse still exists in too many boardrooms.
I understand both sides of the conversation. I understand the technology — the materials, the processes, the economics and the certification requirements. And I understand the supply chain — the inventory dynamics, the make-vs-buy logic, the lead time economics and the board-level risk appetite. Most people who work in this space have one or the other. I have both.
What this covers:
Readiness assessment: Where is your supply chain today relative to additive manufacturing adoption? What are the highest-value use cases? What are the barriers?
Business case development: Identifying and quantifying the specific supply chain problems that additive manufacturing can address, and building the financial case for adoption in language that decision-makers will find credible.
Supply chain integration strategy: Where additive manufacturing fits in the network, how it changes sourcing strategy, make-vs-buy analysis, supplier qualification and partner selection.
Implementation programme design and oversight: Building the governance and programme architecture for an adoption programme and managing the risks specific to additive manufacturing integration.
Regulatory and certification strategy: Particularly in aerospace, defence and medical contexts where parts qualification is complex and the cost of getting it wrong is significant.
Board and leadership team education: Structured sessions for boards and leadership teams who need to understand enough to make good decisions — without becoming engineers themselves.
The defence dimension: As Co-Chair of the UK Ministry of Defence’s Project TAMPA — a 120+ company task force driving additive manufacturing adoption across UK defence — I bring direct, current knowledge of the regulatory, certification, commercial and supply chain challenges specific to defence and security contexts.
