A student brought this article to my attention a few days ago. Localized production at this level is getting pretty close to immediate delivery of consumer goods and has serious implications for logistics managers around the world. We should see even more mass customization as 3D printing costs drop and capabilities of the technology improve.
http://www.3dprinter.net/3d-printing-disruptive-to-logistics-industry
After addressing this in class, a second student showed me this Ted presentation which discusses the idea of using a 3D printer to develop tranplantable kidneys. Talk about a revolution in the healthcare industry!
Credit to Rick Soulas and Chris Yi, both Penn State/Smeal College of Business students for bringing this to my attention.