The Benefits of DDM Technology

The DDM technology offers businesses a number of unique benefits in a wide range of areas, including operational costs and efficiencies, product innovation, and environmental impact. The various benefits which would provide a competitive edge for the organization are,

• There are no constraints of tooling, jigs, and fixtures and therefore it provides the freedom to the manufacturer to produce in the batches of one. So the company can eliminate investing in fixed assets and there is no associated amortization of tooling costs.

• The products can be brought in to the market at lesser cost with lower lead times. So in the future even a small company or an innovator can be the ultimate provider of quality goods without being constrained with capital requirement of setting up an industrial complex. Anybody who can invest in a DDM machine can be the producer with marketing and sales abilities being outsourced to competent companies. (Bassoli, 2007)

• The manufacturing of the entire product is feasible and therefore it reduces manufacturing, assembly, and inspection costs. It enables the manufacture of topologically optimized components, where complex structures with optimized strength-to-weight distribution can be manufactured at no extra cost. This reduces the raw material needed for manufacture and would reduce costs to increase competitiveness. (Krogmann, 2012)

• Since there is no need for tooling, DDM helps to manufacture the same product at different location which are closed to the consumers thus bypassing the supply chain costs.

• It also limits the energy consumption as many processes of tooling, molding, casting etc which requires heating and cooling are bypassed.

• The manufacturing of a single component reduces the wastage of materials leading to optimum production. There is also the optimum use of raw materials which reduces the cost of production.

• It reduces fuel consumption, vehicle emissions and thus reduces the carbon footprint of the industry. Te customers in the future would be more conscious of the environmental impact and are ready to extra for safeguarding the environment. Through DDM the manufacturing process does not involve creation of waste effluents and can provide an environmentally friendly product design. (Reeves, 2013)

Many 3PL companies offer a wide range of services including; inbound freight, freight consolidation, warehousing, distribution, order fulfillment and outbound freight and this would completely change once DDM becomes common place. The DDM System has allows the company to reach out to new markets and customers around the country, who need services beyond pure manufacturing, including design and prototyping.