Mar 17, 2016 | By Alec
By and large, experts are very optimistic about the future of the ongoing 3D printing revolution, with sales expected to steadily increase and adoption rates to grow massively. According to a recent Gartner study, up to 10% of people in the developed world could have 3D printed accessories on their person by 2019. But when looking at specific sectors and industries, 3D printing is more successful in some areas than in others. According to a new study by consulting firm Oliver Wyman, a whole wave of disruptive technology is about to hit the aviation maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) sector – which is remarkable, as most MRO industry specialists don’t see 3D printing as a viable technology at all.
However, that doesn’t mean that Oliver Wyman doesn’t know what they’re talking about. A leading global management consulting firm with offices all around the world, they specialize in industry knowledge and expertise in strategy, operations, risk management, and organization transformation. They also regularly write reports on various sectors and their 2015 MRO Survey, entitled Turning the Tide, predicts that innovation is to hit the MRO industry hard.
According to their study, a number of technologies are set to lift off between now and 2020. The use of big data and predictive maintenance will be pervasive, while they expect new repair and manufacturing technologies, including 3D printing, to be widely adopted. They also warn that most aviation companies will have to overhaul their IT infrastructure to accommodate those changes. By 2020, they expect, these innovations will fundamentally have changed the industry by cutting or re-distributing up to 20 percent of the industry’s revenue (or $15 billion USD).
To accommodate these changes and disruptive technologies, the MRO industry will have to change their financial models entirely. “MRO providers must also invest in different capabilities during the next few years, as manufacturers deliver next generation aircraft and engines with new technology and services,” they add, arguing that standard practices will no longer be viable in the near future as non-traditional competitors will enter the MRO market and siphon off revenue opportunities.
Of course, companies are always told to innovate to stay afloat, but this might cause some problems within the MRO industry. Most survey respondents did say that their organizations had clear growth strategies and visions, but that they were unable to translate identified opportunities into disruptive operational plans. In fact, a massive 76 percent of respondents argued that their organizations failed in this respect. Many gave their companies a failing grade when it comes to their ability to grasp opportunities and get them approved by top management (54 percent), and 58 percent gave failing grades when it came to on pilot projects and fast-to-market roll-out programs.
These upcoming technologies like 3D printing will therefore challenge existing management structures to think outside the box and commit to technological and business model development. “Within MROs, there is a need for clarity, purposeful analysis, and selection of the right opportunities to capitalize on innovation,” they argue. “To ride the wave, MROs must prepare now. As new technology hits the market, MRO providers risk losing profitable work and the opportunity to define the commercial frameworks for deploying technology. MROs and operators must actively choose technologies to develop and exploit.”
Fortunately, it’s everything but too late. MROs can grab opportunities to control their own destiny, as manufacturers control a sizable share of the maintenance market right now. “Early business models will frame what is being sold and how. Skilled first-movers will have the opportunity to define the structure and features of new offers to the market,” they write.
Perhaps more remarkably, the industry is wholly unprepared to adopt 3D printing technology. According to respondents, the they did not at all expect the technology to be adopted within the next five years. “Fewer than one in five respondents reported their firms had moved beyond internal discussions on additive manufacturing. A full 40 percent of respondents haven’t broached the subject at all,” they revealed.
According to Oliver Wyman’s specialists, they are dangerously underestimating the technology. In fact, it could be one of the prime innovators that the sector could benefit from. “The ability to instantly manufacture parts could enormously reconfigure supply chains, change requirements for spares, upend the market for parts manufacturer approval, and alter the relationship between OEMs and customers. High cost and a lack of acceptance among aviation customers are impeding additive manufacturing, but those issues could resolve more quickly than anyone anticipates,” they argue. It doesn’t often happen that engineers are more skeptical about new technologies than market specialists, but time will tell if the MRO sector is endangering itself through willful ignorance. The full report can be found here.
Posted in 3D Printing Application
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