Where lean thinking and new technologies meet

The global manufacturing and supply chain landscape is rapidly changing as consumers demand more personalized products faster. In response to this development, Panalpina’s Logistics Manufacturing Services (LMS) is providing customers across the globe with solutions that focus on cost-efficiency, speed to market, and product customization. Panalpina is also in the perfect position to study the products it moves and identify how their supply chains could be re-engineered using new technologies such as 3D printing.

To highlight Panalpina’s ongoing research into the global supply chains of the future, Lean Management Journal (LMJ) recently published an article written by Hrishikesh Pawar and Fevos Charalampidis, both LMS analysts at Panalpina. Employed as part of the new Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) project between Cardiff University and Panalpina, both analysts are currently examining the role of 3D printing in distributed manufacturing models. As a 3D printing engineer, Hrishikesh focuses on engineering challenges, identifying components suitable for 3D printing and investigating various engineering parameters, while Fevos focuses on discovering optimum supply chain models and examining their cost-effectiveness.

Through projects like the Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP), Panalpina is discovering what it believes could be the key to leaner supply chains.