Mapping and evaluating the enablers of additive manufacturing for sustainable supply chains using ISM–MICMAC and DEMATEL methodologies

Abstract

Additive Manufacturing (AM) has been attracting attention in recent years as an innovative production technology that can enhance sustainability in supply chains. Offering maximum material utilization, this technology can reduce waste generated during production. Furthermore, its ability to produce close to the point of consumption makes it environmentally significant. Unlike traditional techniques, it produces layer-by-layer only in the required areas. This enables manufacturing processes that are demand-driven, flexible, and compatible with circular economy principles. This study reveals the factors and obstacles that facilitate the integration of AM into sustainable supply chains. It also aims to assess three-dimensional sustainability impacts. The research explored the interactions between sustainability elements using the ISM (Interpretive Structural Modeling)–MICMAC (Cross-Impact Matrix Multiplication Applied to Classification) and DEMATEL (Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory) methods. The results demonstrate that AM-induced enablers play a critical role in influencing the sustainability of supply chains. It is also emphasized that fully realizing this potential requires policy support, stakeholder collaboration, and investments in energy-efficient technologies and environmentally friendly materials. Future research is recommended to focus on the integration of AM with Industry 4.0 technologies and the establishment of legal and economic incentive mechanisms to accelerate its widespread adoption.

Keywords

• Additive Manufacturing
• Sustainability
• Supply Chain Management
• ISM-MICMAC
• DEMATEL

References

1. References
2. [1] Mani, M., Lyons, K. W., & Gupta, S. K. (2014). Sustainability characterization for additive manufacturing. Journal of Research of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 119, Article 419. [CrossRef]
3. [2] Berman, B. (2012). 3-D printing: The new industrial revolution. Business Horizons, 55(2), 155–162. [CrossRef]
4. [3] Ersoy, K. (2023). Supply chain management in defense industry with additive manufacturing. Makina Tasarım ve İmalat Dergisi, 21(2), 63–73. [Turkish] [CrossRef]
5. [4] Bigliardi, B., Bottani, E., Gianatti, E., Monferdini, L., Pini, B., & Petroni, A. (2023). Sustainable Additive Manufacturing in the context of Industry 4.0: a literature review. Procedia Computer Science, 232, 766–774. [CrossRef]
6. [5] Hegab, H., Khanna, N., Monib, N., & Salem, A. (2023). Design for sustainable additive manufacturing: A review. Sustainable Materials and Technologies, 35(23), e00576. [CrossRef]
7. [6] Ghobakhloo, M. (2018). The future of manufacturing industry: a strategic roadmap toward Industry 4.0. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 29(6), 910–936. [CrossRef]
8. [7] Hozdić, E., & Butala, P. (2020). Concept of socio-cyber-physical work systems for Industry 4.0. Tehnički vjesnik, 27(2), 399–410. [CrossRef]

9. [8] Sarı, T., Güleş, H. K., & Yiğitol, B. (2020). Awareness and readiness of Industry 4.0: The case of Turkish manufacturing industry. Advances in Production Engineering & Management, 15(1), 57–68. [CrossRef]
10. [9] Kellens, K., Baumers, M., Gutowski, T. G., Flanagan, W., Lifset, R., & Duflou, J. R. (2017). Environmental dimensions of additive manufacturing: mapping application domains and their environmental implications. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 21(Suppl 1), S49–S68. [CrossRef]
11. [10] Kunovjanek, M., Knofius, N., & Reiner, G. (2022). Additive manufacturing and supply chains – a systematic review. Production Planning & Control, 33(13), 1231–1251. [CrossRef]
12. [11] Woldesilassiea, T. L., Lemu, H. G., & Gutema, E. M. (2024). Impacts of adopting additive manufacturing process on supply chain: Systematic literature review. Logistics, 8(3), 1–24. [CrossRef]
13. [12] Bouchenine, A., & Abdel-Aal, M. A. M. (2023). Towards supply chain resilience with additive manufacturing: A bibliometric survey. Supply Chain Analytics, 2, Article 100014. [CrossRef] [13] Tuck, C., Hague, R., & Burns, N. (2007). Rapid manufacturing: impact on supply chain methodologies and practice. International Journal of Services and Operations Management, 3(1), 1–22. [CrossRef]
14. [14] Petrovic, V., Vicente Haro Gonzalez, J., Jordá Ferrando, O., Delgado Gordillo, J., Ramón Blasco Puchades, J., & Portolés Griñan, L. (2011). Additive layered manufacturing: sectors of industrial application shown through case studies. International Journal of Production Research, 49(4), 1061–1079. [CrossRef]
15. [15] Thomas, D. (2016). Costs, benefits, and adoption of additive manufacturing: A supply chain perspective. The International Journal, Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 85(5–8), 1857–1876. [CrossRef]
16. [16] Javaid, M., Haleem, A., Singh, R. P., Suman, R., & Rab, S. (2021). Role of additive manufacturing applications towards environmental sustainability. Advanced Industrial and Engineering Polymer Research, 4(4), 312–322. [CrossRef]
17. [17] Kunovjanek, M., & Reiner, G. (2020). How will the diffusion of additive manufacturing impact the raw material supply chain process? International Journal of Production Research, 58(5), 1540–1554. [CrossRef]
18. [18] Attaran, M. (2017). The rise of 3-D printing: The advantages of additive manufacturing over traditional manufacturing. Business Horizons, 60(5), 677–688. [CrossRef]
19. [19] Baumers, M., Tuck, C., Wildman, R., Ashcroft, I., Rosamond, E., & Hague, R. (2013). Transparency built-in. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 17(3), 418–431. [CrossRef]
20. [20] Khajavi, S. H., Holmström, J., & Partanen, J. (2018). Additive Manufacturing in the Spare Parts Supply Chain: hub Configuration and Technology Maturity. Rapid Prototyping Journal, 24(7), 1178–1192. [CrossRef]
21. [21] Tosello, G., Charalambis, A., Kerbache, L., Mischkot, M., Pedersen, D. B., Calaon, M., & Hansen, H. N. (2019). Value chain and production cost optimization by integrating additive manufacturing in injection molding process chain. The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 100(1–4), 783–795. [CrossRef]
22. [22] Ghuge, S., Dohale, V., & Akarte, M. (2022). Spare part segmentation for additive manufacturing–A framework. Computers & Industrial Engineering, 169, Article 108277. [CrossRef]
23. [23] Ullah, A. S., Hashimoto, H., Kubo, A., & Tamaki, J. I. (2013). Sustainability analysis of rapid prototyping: material/resource and process perspectives. International Journal of Sustainable Manufacturing, 3(1), 20–36. [CrossRef]
24. [24] Baumers, M., Tuck, C., Bourell, D. L., Sreenivasan, R., & Hague, R. (2011). Sustainability of additive manufacturing: measuring the energy consumption of the laser sintering process. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part B: Journal of Engineering Manufacture, 225(12), 2228–2239. [CrossRef]
25. [25] Ford, S., & Despeisse, M. (2016). Additive Manufacturing and Sustainability: An Exploratory Study of the Advantages and Challenges. Journal of Cleaner Production, 137, 1573–1587. [CrossRef]
26. [26] Murmura, F., & Bravi, L. (2018). Additive manufacturing in the wood-furniture sector: Sustainability of the technology, benefits and limitations of adoption. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 29(2), 350– 371. [CrossRef]
27. [27] Kumar, S., & Czekanski, A. (2018). Roadmap to sustainable plastic additive manufacturing. Materials Today Communications, 15, 109–113. [CrossRef] [28] Böckin, D., & Tillman, A.-M. (2019). Environmental assessment of additive manufacturing in the automotive industry. Journal of Cleaner Production, 226, 977–987. [CrossRef]
28. [29] Yang, S., Min, W., Ghibaudo, J., & Zhao, Y. F. (2019). Understanding the sustainability potential of part consolidation design supported by additive manufacturing. Journal of Cleaner Production, 232, 722–738. [CrossRef]
29. [30] Baechler, C., DeVuono, M., & Pearce, J. M. (2013). Distributed Recycling of Waste Polymer into RepRap Feedstock. Rapid Prototyping Journal, 19(2), 118–125. [CrossRef]
30. [31] Despeisse, M., Baumers, M., Brown, P., Charnley, F., Ford, S. J., Garmulewicz, A., & Knowles, S. (2017). Unlocking Value for a Circular Economy through 3D Printing: A Research Agenda. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 115, 75–84. [CrossRef]
31. [32] Ingarao, G., Priarone, P. C., Deng, Y., & Paraskevas, D. (2018). Environmental Modelling of Aluminium Based Components Manufacturing Routes: Additive Manufacturing versus Machining versus Forming. Journal of Cleaner Production, 176, 261–275. [CrossRef]
32. [33] Parry, E. J., Best, J. M., & Banks, C. E. (2020). Three-dimensional (3D) scanning and additive manufacturing (AM) allows the fabrication of customised crutch grips. Materials Today Communications, 25, Article 101225. [CrossRef]
33. [34] Hohn, M. M., & Durach, C. F. (2021). Additive manufacturing in the apparel supply chain—impact on supply chain governance and social sustainability. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 41(7), 1035–1059. [CrossRef]
34. [35] Kianian, B., Tavassoli, S., & Larsson, T. C. (2015). The role of additive manufacturing technology in job creation: an exploratory case study of suppliers of additive manufacturing in Sweden. Procedia CIRP, 26, 93–98. [CrossRef]
35. [36] Ekren, B. Y., Stylos, N., Zwiegelaar, J., Turhanlar, E. E., & Kumar, V. (2023). Additive manufacturing integration in E-commerce supply chain network to improve resilience and competitiveness. Simulation Modelling Practice and Theory, 122, Article 102676. [CrossRef]
36. [37] Delic, M., & Eyers, D. R. (2020). The effect of additive manufacturing adoption on supply chain flexibility and performance: an empirical analysis from the automotive industry. International Journal of Production Economics, 228, Article 107689. [CrossRef]
37. [38] Khajavi, S. H., Partanen, J., & Holmström, J. (2014). Additive manufacturing in the spare parts supply chain. Computers in Industry, 65(1), 50–63. [CrossRef]
38. [39] Liu, P., Huang, S. H., Mokasdar, A., Zhou, H., & Hou, L. (2014). The impact of additive manufacturing in the aircraft spare parts supply chain: supply chain operation reference (SCOR) model based analysis. Production Planning & Control, 25(13–14), 1169–1181. [CrossRef]
39. [40] Naghshineh, B., & Carvalho, H. (2022). The implications of additive manufacturing technology adoption for supply chain resilience: A systematic search and review. International Journal of Production Economics, 247, Article 108387. [CrossRef]
40. [41] Yosofi, M., Kerbrat, O., & Mognol, P. (2019). Additive manufacturing processes from an environmental point of view: a new methodology for combining technical, economic, and environmental predictive models. The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 102(9), 4073–4085. [CrossRef]
41. [42] Bäckström, H. K. (2024). Navigating the intersection: cost reduction and sustainability in logistics strategies [Master thesis]. Jonkoping University.
42. [43] Al-Meslemi, Y., Anwer, N., & Mathieu, L. (2018). Environmental performance and key characteristics in additive manufacturing: a literature review. Procedia CIRP, 69, 148–153. [CrossRef]
43. [44] Hertwich, E. G., Ali, S., Ciacci, L., Fishman, T., Heeren, N., Masanet, E., Asghari FN, Olivetti E, Pauliuk S, Tu Q, & Wolfram, P. (2019). Material efficiency strategies to reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with buildings, vehicles, and electronics—a review. Environmental Research Letters, 14(4), Article 043004. [CrossRef]
44. [45] Fruggiero, F., Lambiase, A., Bonito, R., & Fera, M. (2019). The load of sustainability for additive manufacturing processes. Procedia Manufacturing, 41, 375–382. [CrossRef]
45. [46] Agnusdei, L., & Del Prete, A. (2022). Additive manufacturing for sustainability: A systematic literature review. Sustainable Futures, 4, 100098. [CrossRef]
46. [47] Bhatt, S., Joshi, D., Rakesh, P. K., & Godiyal, A. K. (2023). Advances in additive manufacturing processes and their use for the fabrication of lower limb prosthetic devices. Expert Review of Medical Devices, 20(1), 17–27. [CrossRef]
47. [48] Wang, Z., & Yang, Y. (2021). Application of 3D printing in implantable medical devices. BioMed Research International, 2021(2021), Article 6653967. [CrossRef]
48. [49] Fianko, S. K., Dzogbewu, T. C., Agbamava, E., & de Beer, D. J. (2025). Mass Customisation Strategies in Additive Manufacturing: A Systematic Review and Implementation Framework. Processes, 13(6), Article 1855. [CrossRef]
49. [50] Singh, A., Wu, P., Okwudire, C., & Banu, M. (2025). Advancing workforce development through additive manufacturing education and training. Manufacturing Letters, 44, 1637–1648. [CrossRef]
50. [51] Ben-Ner, A., & Siemsen, E. (2017). Decentralization and localization of production: The organizational and economic consequences of additive manufacturing (3D printing). California Management Review, 59(2), 5–23. [CrossRef]
51. [52] Wang, L., Cao, Q., & Zhou, L. (2018). Research on the influencing factors in coal mine production safety based on the combination of DEMATEL and ISM. Safety Science, 103, 51–61. [CrossRef]
52. [53] Öztürk, C. (2025). Digitalization as a catalyst for social sustainability in supply chains: an ISM-fuzzy MICMAC and DEMATEL approach. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 1–61. Preprint. doi: 10.1007/s10668- 025-06011-y [CrossRef]
53. [54] Jung, S., Kara, L. B., Nie, Z., Simpson, T. W., & Whitefoot, K. S. (2023). Is additive manufacturing an environmentally and economically preferred alternative for mass production? Environmental Science & Technology, 57(16), 6373–6386. [CrossRef]
54. [55] Alinezhad, A., & Khalili, J. (2019). DEMATEL method. In New Methods and Applications in Multiple Attribute Decision Making (MADM) (pp. 103-108). Cham: Springer International Publishing. [CrossRef]
55. [56] Kravchenko, M., Pigosso, D. C. A., & McAloone, T. C. (2020). Circular economy enabled by additive manufacturing: Potential opportunities and key sustainability aspects. DS 101: Proceedings of NordDesign 2020. Lyngby, Denmark, 12th - 14th August 2020.
56. [57] Ponis, S., Aretoulaki, E., Maroutas, T. N., Plakas, G., & Dimogiorgi, K. (2021). A systematic literature review on additive manufacturing in the context of circular economy. Sustainability, 13(11), Article 6007. [CrossRef]
57. [58] Barati, A. A., Azadi, H., Dehghani Pour, M., Lebailly, P., & Qafori, M. (2019). Determining key agricultural strategic factors using AHP-MICMAC. Sustainability, 11(14), Article 3947. [CrossRef]
58. [59] Priyadarshini, J., Singh, R. K., Mishra, R., Chaudhuri, A., & Kamble, S. (2025). Supply chain resilience and improving sustainability through additive manufacturing implementation: a systematic literature review and framework. Production Planning & Control, 36(3), 309–332.
59. [60] Vishwakarma, A., Dangayach, G. S., Meena, M. L., & Gupta, S. (2022). Analysing barriers of sustainable supply chain in apparel & textile sector: A hybrid ISM-MICMAC and DEMATEL approach. Cleaner Logistics and Supply Chain, 5, Article 100073. [CrossRef]
60. [61] Ozturk, C., & Gulec, N. (2025). Leveraging IoT, Big Data, and AI for Sustainable Supply Chains: A Strategic Analysis with ISM, MICMAC, and GREY-DEMATEL. In International Conference on Intelligent and Fuzzy Systems (pp. 550-557). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland. [CrossRef]