Traditional manufacturing methods such as injection molding require expensive molds to be made before a part can be manufactured. Such molds usually costs several thousand dollars and a mold has to be created for each individual part. Additive manufacturing on the other hand has no tooling costs to inhibit new parts being produced. The only costs are the design costs and cost per part; making it a favourable manufacturing method that can be scaled easily.

Additive manufacturing has minimal lead times, no minimum volumes, and no real maximum volume. The technology can be used to manufacture 10 or 10,000 units. This allows products to be manufactured to match the current market demand which reduces up front costs for clients.
 

As additive manufacturing allows parts to be produced when needed there is a substantial reduction is warehousing costs as large amounts of inventory are unnecessary. Parts simply exist in the digital space until needed.

With additive manufacturing you have the flexibility to produce the same part with different materials and colours to best suit the product applications and market demand.

Unlike traditional injection molding which has the design of a part constrained by expensive molds, additive manufacturing allows the design of parts to be continuously altered and improved over its lifespan.

The primary cause of inventory wastage is overproduction of a product for the market demand. Additive manufacturing makes it convenient to manufacture just as much as needed which minimizes inventory wastage for clients.