Interview with UPS: how will 3D printing impact the Supply Chain?

UPS is one of the world’s leading parcel delivery companies and a leading provider of specialised transportation and logistics services. Since its creation in 1907, the company has evolved tremendously and is quickly turning to innovative solutions. It is no surprise that it started focusing on additive manufacturing technologies. Additive manufacturing enables to dematerialise certain stock of parts by producing only the parts needed at a given moment. It’s a key advantage in terms of costs but also optimisation of logistics flows. Additive manufacturing creates opportunities in terms of ‘manufacturing-as-a-service’ since we start to produce parts according to users’ needs and no longer in volume. The technology has already changed other industries such as bringing growth to the ceramics industry. The general impact of 3D printing is very interesting and we wanted to know more about this dematerialisation of stocks. As well as how UPS is using 3D printing today to rethink the management of logistics flows: so we met Jean-François Mathieu, Director EMEA for the industrial sector at UPS.

3DN: Can you introduce yourself and your link with additive manufacturing?

Jean-François Mathieu

UPS is a leading supply chain company that now transports nearly 3% of global GDP to more than 200 countries and territories around the world. We are focused on innovation with, for example, our subsidiary UPS Capital, which covers all risks related to the supply chain. As a B2B Segment Manager at UPS EMEA, I’m in charge of the go-to-market in certain segments such as industry, automotive, aerospace, and so on.

3DN: How does UPS perceive 3D printing today?

We believe that additive manufacturing has recently reached a point of inflection, with significant advances in recent years that have significantly reduced production costs. The number of cases in which it becomes economically relevant continues to increase daily, and will continue to increase.