3D printing spare parts to avoid Excess Stock

How Additive Manufacturing can help you avoid excess stock

Excess stock is any supply in excess of demand. Every company may define excess stock a bit differently but for OEMs, it is typically the stock left over 2 years after the end of a part’s lifetime.

Companies that carry excess stock levels for spare parts typically find that the issue was caused due to poor demand forecasting or not properly tracking the lifecycle stages of a product. Excess stock comes with many cost considerations. The company’s working capital is tied up and they incur logistics and handling costs. Excess stock can quickly turn into obsolete stock, meaning the company will eventually incur scrapping costs as well. This material waste takes a toll from an environmental perspective.

We help you respond to ad hoc challenges and solve immediate spare parts issues through our supply platform, which connects you to a network of Additive Manufacturing partners. We also enable you to take a more proactive approach by analyzing supply chain data to understand when it is most convenient to produce spare parts on demand instead of overstocking.

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A global home appliances group was looking to secure a like-for-like replacement of a part for one of its kitchen appliances. The OEM is required by law to keep these parts in stock, but often incurs high set up costs, large minimum order quantities and eventual scrapping costs in order to meet this requirement. 3D printing offers a better way, by enabling them to supply the part as needed, on-demand. They worked with DiManEx to 3D print, test and deploy the part in the field. This led to significant gains from a supply chain optimization perspective.

The Dutch Army needed to secure a grill replacement for Fennek vehicles. The grill is placed at the back of these armed vehicles and is constantly exposed to vibrations and heat. Collisions can also cause damage to the part. Securing a replacement is possible through a traditional supplier, but they have a high lead time and a minimum order quantity that would result in overstocking and eventual waste. The Army’s Material Stock Logistic Command worked with DiManEx to launch an expriment and produce the grill on demand using 3D printing. This pilot helped them avoid excess stock and reduce lead times to keep the Fennek vehicle operational.