Global Just-in-Time-and-Place manufacturing

Just got word that the system/platform that I built (with the help of a fantastic tech team I assembled) in 2006 (HubCast) is at an important milestone. The company that is capitalizing on it has reached a level of success that will bring it much closer to the $500 million valuation it will eventually get.

In a nutshell, the system/platform makes it possible to send print orders (high-end printing and not the stuff you do with a PC printer) to global production locations, get it printed with exacting quality, and then deliver it to a local customer. In essence, it is the first step on a long journey towards Just-in-Time-and-Place (JITP) manufacturing. NOTE: this system is going to be a big winner in a world with costly liquid fuels.

Comments

[Viceroy]

It's surprising no one thought of this before, with or without stratospheric shipping costs.

[John Robb]

Lots of people tried, but nobody pulled it off. This one actually works and is built in such a way that the quality is stellar and the system/platform is inexpensive to operate (the strong process control is automated).

Wouldn't mind building this again, but with a front end site that allows a pattern sharing/marketplace to develop, in the 3D printing space (ie. local fabrication).

[TheDreamer]

John,

This sounds exactly like my dream of having publishing as an industry totally changed in accordance with the realities of the internet.

The way I envision it is that anyone can publish a manuscript online, and then can from any number of local publishers pick up a top quality book. These locales would of course benefit tremendously if they were to engage in the artisan craft of book binding.

The price of such a service would be reduced to merely the royalties directly to the author and the productive value generated by the actual publishing. Resulting in mass efficiency gains all around and an elimination of the social cost of corporate bureaucratic waste.

[zenpundit]

Congrats John! You are on a roll!

By high-end printing do you mean books? Catalogs on slick bond paper? Magazines ?

"The way I envision it is that anyone can publish a manuscript online, and then can from any number of local publishers pick up a top quality book."

How does this differ from Lulu.com ? Production quality?

"These locales would of course benefit tremendously if they were to engage in the artisan craft of book binding."

Hey...hey..don't go devaluing all my carefully gathered antique books ! LOL!