SAP-APWorks Team Up To Accelerate Industrial 3D Printing

Taking another step in its 3D printing initiative, German software solutions corporation SAP SE (DE:SAPG) (TO:SAP) inked a co-innovation agreement with APWorks, to accelerate the adoption and standardization of industrial 3D printing.

This follows a promising collaboration with UPS in May, which aimed to establish a U.S. wide on-demand 3D printing network, by integrating SAP’s extended supply chain solutions with UPS’s additive industrial manufacturing and logistics network.

SAP’s deal with UPS aimed to provide access to on-demand manufacturing to companies, thus streamlining their supply chains, enhancing cost efficiency and reducing time-to-market.

The APWorks Deal

APWorks, a subsidiary of Airbus Defense and Space GmbH, and SAP intend to work toward facilitating the adoption and standardization of industrial 3D printing for the aerospace and defense industry.

APWorks will leverage SAP’s 3D printing services network to facilitate the development of a bionics network that will connect experts to end users.

Using SAP’s technology, APWorks will manufacture 3D printed components, enhance fuel efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions, along with managing spare part orders in real time. This will help it deliver qualified products on time for safety-critical applications in industries like aerospace and defense.

In essence, SAP will be working with APWorks to manage orders better as they manufacture 3D printed components to deliver to industries where safety and quality is critical.

Evolution of 3D Printing

3D printing has evolved past simple industrial prototyping and is fast racing toward manufacturing industries which use multiple materials like metals, plastics, and ceramics in 3D printing.

This technology is on its way to revolutionize traditional manufacturing and redefine conventional notions of the industrial supply chain. It makes great sense for industries such as aerospace, where 3D printing will allow users to print the parts they need, thus ensuring the removal of several costs associated with traditional manufacturing.

SAP’s Initiatives

SAP’s collaborations corroborate the shift in manufacturing supply chain that 3D printing is enabling. In fact, SAP recently said that it intends to rationalize the supply chain in terms of collaborating and delivering certification cloud services for industrial 3D printing, using their own SAP HANA Cloud Platform. They also plan to create an on-demand 3D printing manufacturing network.

This is in line with SAP’s plans with APWorks, which will offer manufacturing and logistical cost savings while eliminating supply chain issues.

However, SAP’s prospects in the near term look gloomy as it contends with headwinds like stiff competition in the IT services industry, persistent weakness in multiple end-markets like Latin America and Brazil, and escalating research and development expenses.

SAP currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader computer & technology space include ServiceSource International, Inc. (NASDAQ:SREV) , Exa Corporation (NASDAQ:EXA) and Adobe Systems Incorporated (NASDAQ:ADBE) , each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).