Transport companies will soon no longer have to drive to the customer to deliver products. If it is up to sports brand Nike, shoes will soon be printed at home by the consumer.
Consumers will soon be able to choose a pair of shoes themselves via the website and further design them to their own taste. Instructions for the new products will then be purchased. These instructions can eventually be used to control a 3D printer. Within about an hour, the new shoes are printed. Only printing the sole is not yet possible. This has to be attached separately. Should the buyer not have a 3D printer, they can visit the nearest shop.
Benefits for businesses
Home printing could offer great benefits for businesses. Large warehouses may become unnecessary as fewer products need to be stocked. This can drastically reduce logistics costs. Consumers produce the product themselves, which means companies no longer need to transport their products to customers or shops. Yet the 3D printer will not make warehouses and transport disappear altogether. In fact, the material being printed with will still need to be transported.
Read also: A look inside Nike's hugely expensive distribution centre
Changing the process
According to Eric Sprunk, director at Nike, the new way of working has great benefits for the company. "Nike used to send drawings of what the shoes should look like, the familiar Nike logo and other specifications to a factory somewhere in Asia where several workers behind a machine assembled the shoes. Now Nike simply sends a file and one person enters the instructions into a machine that makes the shoe."
Missing 3D printer
Nike is the not the only company experimenting with printing manufacturers and companies foresee a great future. One problem that currently remains is that few consumers have a 3D printer at their disposal, making the possibility of producing their own goods difficult at present. In addition, such a printer easily costs a few hundred euros and prices are rising fast.
Editorial LogistiekProfs
