Supply chain challenges like port lockouts, labor strikes, and geopolitical tensions are out of your control, but how your business responds doesn’t have to be. Manufacturers are looking toward proactive solutions like diversifying suppliers, increasing automation, and nearshoring to remain resilient in the face of these disruptions.
One increasingly popular strategy? Partnering with manufacturing-as-a-service (MaaS) providers to scale production quickly and efficiently. Let’s explore how MaaS can transform your supply chain strategy and help you maintain agility in today’s volatile business environment.
Here are key points manufacturers should consider:
- Diversification of suppliers: Proactively shift from global to local suppliers before upcoming tariff increases hit.
- Empower in-house manufacturing or assembly: Adding automation at manufacturing sites, packing and distribution centers. Example: Optimize assembly or secondary processes with manufacturing aids like drill guides, jigs, and fixtures.
- Nearshoring or reshoring: Bring production closer to your customers to take full control of supply chain risks.
Even smaller manufacturers and local machine shops are adopting strategies to stay competitive. And many are turning to MaaS providers to add flexibility to their supply chains.
In the age where everything can be delivered in an instant, even local machine shops and small to medium-size manufacturers must make agility and foresight part of their supply chain strategy. What are other engineering and manufacturing companies doing? Bringing in manufacturing services to scale up and down as business demands change.
How MaaS Adds Agility
Manufacturing-as-a-service is a business model similar to SaaS (Software as a Service) where manufacturing services are rendered for buyers in an easy, on-demand, and online format.
MaaS providers combine additive manufacturing (like 3D printing) and traditional methods (like CNC machining) to offer flexible solutions tailored to your production needs. They deliver recommendations, optimize costs across product lifecycles, and help develop scalable, future-proof strategies. By partnering with a MaaS provider, businesses gain access to high-level expertise, ensuring efficiency and long-term competitiveness.
Maybe it’s not a term commonly used colloquially, but MaaS has been around for a while, ever since 3D printing and additive manufacturing took off. Many MaaS providers also specialize in CNC and injection molding tech in addition to offering 3D printing services.
The benefits of on-demand 3D printing and manufacturing services include faster time-to-market, supply chain risk reduction by creating redundant manufacturing streams, and a happy byproduct: sustainable local manufacturing, safeguarded from global developments.
4 Key Benefits of MaaS Companies Provide
On-demand manufacturing services provided by these types of companies offer flexibility, speed, and quality for companies who need to get parts manufactured quickly. Some manufacturing-as-a-service providers, like A3D, even let you upload your part file for a quick quote so you can easily see if the cost and timelines work for you. Some providers take it a step further by having live subject matter experts available to answer questions and strategize on your project.
Four key things that this type of on-demand manufacturing services get you:
- Flexibility: Choose from options like 3D printing, injection molding or CNC machining services, plus advice on which one suits your needs best.
- Scalability: Scale your production as demand grows or follow seasonal trends.
- Fiscal Prudence: Quickly and affordably validate designs and create pilot parts for user studies.
- Sustainability: Eliminate the need for large inventories and create only what you need with on-demand parts and components delivered on time.
A3D Customers: Real-World Applications of MaaS
Check out these real-world examples of customers using manufacturing-as-a-service to scale their production.
FitmyFoot Uses MaaS to make getting custom orthotics easy and quick
Companies can remain agile in today’s volatile market by adapting production lines to meet changing customer needs quickly, kind of like FitmyFoot, a consumer products brand that creates 3D-printed custom insoles for people. The old-school way of getting custom orthotics was time-consuming. Now users can upload a picture of their foot, FitmyFoot creates a digital model, and A3D 3D prints the custom in-soles for them. Customers can get their custom insoles quickly and it’s a solution that scales to changing market demands.
Interlink Engineering Scales Production with MaaS
Another use for MaaS or on-demand manufacturing services is to bridge gaps in production capacity during unexpected spikes in demand.
For example, some companies only do minimal prototype manufacturing in-house like Interlink Engineering. They use A3D for production manufacturing demands to bridge gaps in capacity during unexpected spikes in demand. We spoke to
Interlink Engineering about how they use the A3D manufacturing-as-a-service model:
“A3D has options all along that staircase. Sometimes it’s 3D printing, cast parts, low-production molds, or getting machined. Even without a huge budget, you’ll be able to get to the point of releasing your product.”
- Dylann Pratt, Owner and Director of Engineering
A3D Manufacturing MaaS Solution Provider
Partnering with a MaaS provider offering both additive and traditional manufacturing methods ensures flexibility, cost efficiency, and scalability. Businesses gain tailored strategies and unbiased recommendations to remain competitive and future-proof their manufacturing. A3D Manufacturing provides end-to-end services to help you stay ahead in the evolving manufacturing landscape.
Ready to scale your production and mitigate supply chain issues? Explore A3D Manufacturing’s MaaS solutions to remain agile and competitive. We offer 3D printing and manufacturing options like MJF (Multi Jet Fusion), FDM, SLA, post-processing services, CNC machining, injection molding, urethane casting, and more.
A3D’s Key Differentiators:
- North American Manufacturing-as-a-Service Bureau: Optimize manufacturing process, reduce costs, and scale by working with a local manufacturer.
- Certified Manufacturing Expertise: HP Certified Partner, AS9100, ISO 9001:2015 certified, ITAR-compliant manufacturing as a
- Access to Multiple Forms of Manufacturing: A broad range of technologies and materials ensures your parts are made in the best possible way.
Get high-performance, high-quality parts, fast. Get in touch with A3D to see how MaaS can help your business scale.
