Acerca de Mongo (parte III)

Parte I e parte II.

"One key reason why AM reduces the minimum efficient scale in a market lies in the fact that there are no fixed costs of making specialized molds, tools, or equipment that have to be amortized over a large production volume. As long as a digital model is fed into the printer, the machine can produce any feasible product without having to first create a costly production-grade mold or tool. The technology thus allows scaling capacity more closely to the needs of the market. No large investments are needed for the lumpy increases in capacity often experienced in TM systems.[Moi ici: TM = Traditional manufacturing]
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Whereas TM often requires a high utilization rate for efficient production, AM can be easily shut down temporarily, or capacity can be redirected to the production of different types of goods. As a result, whereas traditional plants that produce for the mass market are much larger than those operating in the same industry producing customized products, AM plants can be very small without a loss of efficiency.
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Similarly, benefits of marketing and sales of products accrue to large companies that operate in large markets. The need to reach markets located at great distance from the site of manufacturing is drastically lessened under AM, which allows selling to consumers who are in proximity to the producer. Proximity adds greater transparency for the consumer. Social responsibility is enhanced by selling products in the community in which they are produced, since workers and consumers overlap in terms of social and even family ties. [Moi ici: Outra série de tópicos que costumamos abordar - proximidade, interacção, co-criação, cadeias de fornecimento muito mais curtas e mais responsive e colaborativas] This is an important consideration because large firm size and brand visibility often act as a repository of reputation and trust that are costly to maintain. Local firms using AM do not require expensive means for generating and maintaining reputation as do large firms located in faraway places.
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Distribution management is a related source of economies of scale, requiring complex logistics for avoiding the inefficiencies associated with sending half- empty containers or half-empty trucks over long distances. AM will allow more on-demand manufacturing closer to the customer, reducing the need for scale to achieve efficient distribution. Transportation needs will be concentrated in the more aggregated supply of raw materials.
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smaller AM firms will not only have lower costs of organization due to their lower possible scale but will also be organized differently than larger TM firms. There will be fewer layers of management, employees will enjoy more discretion in decision making, there will be less monitoring, and there will be fewer complex incentive schemes.
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The company will break up its large plants into many smaller plants. Each of these smaller plants is cheaper to run because of the lower cost of organization. These smaller plants will be relocated closer to customers in order to economize on transportation, to be able to respond rapidly to changing local demand, and to better collaborate with customers. The drastic simplification of the supply chain and the local orientation of the plants will limit or eliminate the economic benefits from having centralized purchasing and sales and marketing. The benefits of holding together the large company, once most functions are decentralized or outsourced, may well disappear. If the brand is important, the company may switch to a franchising alternative, like many retail shops, or break up altogether and find alternatives to branding. [Moi ici: Foi aqui que dei comigo a pensar que um híbrido do modelo de negócio da Logoplast pode ser bem sucedido]
The organizational landscape may therefore change drastically under AM. The degree of concentration in many markets may decline precipitously. [Moi ici: Isto é o que prevejo para Mongo desde o momento zero. Infelizmente creio que não será fácil. As empresas grandes, conluíadas com os estados e a sua ganância por impostagem, vão criar barreiras a esta transição. Vai dar sangue. Imaginam as EDP deste mundo implodirem sem dar luta?] Organizations can be substantially smaller and more geographically dispersed. The distribution of occupations will also change: fewer production and assembly workers; and low-skilled store attendants, packaging workers, and many transportation workers may be largely replaced by employees who design and consult with customers to sell and produce customized goods. Many companies may become locally owned, possibly by their employees, as it is the case with many professional organizations of architects, designers, consultants, lawyers, engineers, and physicians."[Moi ici: Os especialistas do tal "bairro cibernauta". Ter uma printer 3D vai ser fácil, mas ser especialista, mas ser capaz de dar conselhos, co-criar, é o essencial. Talvez o tal modelo de cooperativas. Talvez o tal derivado da Logoplast: especialistas têm as printers 3D e compram as matérais-primas e alugam a operação a especialistas que interagem com os consumidores]

Tudo em sintonia com o que tenho escrito acerca da hipótese Mongo!!!