Digital Manufacturing and the Circular Economy

Robin's PhD research focuses on the opportunities of Digital Manufacturing for the transformation towards a Circular Economy. The research deals with different stages of the Circular Economy and Digital Manufacturing, specifically Additive Manufacturing (AM) related research topics, e. g. Circular Economy strategies, use cases of AM, quality of AM production, and local and decentralized production. The purpose of the first research paper is to explore and find use cases for AM in aftersales to maintain products, that today are not maintained, and thus contribute to implementing a Circular Economy. Following an exploratory research design, Robin employs a multiple case study approach analyzing three cases. In total, 15 companies were included and data was collected and analyzed from 31 company interviews, publicly available data, 12 expert interviews, and internal company data. This study develops propositions describing three major use cases for AM in aftersales: To improve aftersales operations, to use for low demand, and to meet (future) regulations and customer demands. Furthermore, challenges in AM implementation are discussed.

Robin Kabelitz-Bock joined Kühne Logistics University in July 2021 as PhD Candidate supervised by Prof. Dr. Kai Hoberg and Prof. Dr. Johannes Meuer. Robin conducts research in the field of Digital Manufacturing and the Circular Economy. He is funded by the Fab City project (led by the Helmut-Schmidt-University) which explores the benefits and effects of decentral, local, and open-source production in Hamburg. Robin holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering and Management from Brandenburg Technical University and a Master of Science in International Management and Engineering from Hamburg Technical University. In his Master´s thesis and his current research at KLU, Robin applies mainly qualitative methods and conducts case study research. During his study at Technical University Hamburg, Robin stayed a semester abroad at University Técnica Frederico Santa Maria in Valparaiso, Chile. Before joining KLU in 2021, Robin worked as a senior consultant at civity Management Consultants.