3D printing is one of the hottest technology developments in supply chain today. Is it for real? The answer is a qualified yes, according to Shashank Narain, vice president of account development with The Smart Cube, a professional services firm. He has seen a 3D printer create a component with 20 moving parts, all on different axes. Today, 3D printers are being touted for everything from food to medical devices to complex aircraft parts. (They can even turn out guns.) The advantages are many: cheaper manufacturing, lower cost of entry into markets, the ability to tailor products to individual consumer tastes. Still, the technology has a ways to go before becoming a routine aspect of many production environments. In this episode, Narain discusses how far 3D printers have come (surprisingly far, it turns out), and how far they have to go, in both the consumer and industrial sectors. More specifically, he predicts how 3D printers will impact global procurement strategies.

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