Fostering Mainstream Adoption of Industrial 3D Printing: Understanding the Benefits and Promoting Organizational Readiness

As the multibillion dollar additive manufacturing (AM) industry continues to evolve, a growing number of companies have adopted 3D printing to produce finished goods. Yet recent research suggests that AM has barely begun to achieve its potential market; estimates on current penetration range from just 1% to 10%. It is not surprising that executives are having difficulty; the technology has many second-order effects on business operations and economics. Three factors—technology, awareness, and organizational readiness—contribute to adoption rates. A recent McKinsey & Company survey of leading manufacturers highlights a general lack of awareness of AM's applications and value. Interestingly, 40% of the respondents were unfamiliar with the technology “beyond press coverage,” and an additional 12% of respondents indicated that AM “might be relevant but [they] needed to learn more about the technology.” In essence, more than half of the market has yet to grasp AM's applications. Once this pent-up potential is unlocked, companies will face organizational challenges that require new management processes, alignment across business units, proactive executive champions, and fresh employee capabilities. To drive the conversation forward, executives must examine AM's potential benefits and identify the steps their companies should take to ensure organizational readiness.