A3D Manufacturing, an Arizona-based additive manufacturer, faced the inefficiencies most growing shops know well: supplier records, project statuses, and certifications scattered across disconnected spreadsheets. By adopting Sustainment, A3D centralized supplier records, streamlined reporting, and eliminated manual processes, driving a 50-75% efficiency improvement across sourcing, procurement, and supplier management.
About A3D Manufacturing
A3D Manufacturing is a manufacturing-as-a-service provider headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, blending professional-grade additive technologies with traditional processes: HP Multi Jet Fusion, Markforged Metal X, FDM and SLA printing alongside CNC machining, injection molding, and urethane casting. Founded in 2019, the company positions itself as a consultative, full-service manufacturer, guiding customers through process selection, materials, and design for manufacturability rather than just running parts. That posture earned it a place in serious conversations: A3D holds AS9100 certification from the International Aerospace Quality Group and ITAR registration, qualifying it to produce flight-critical components for aviation, space, and defense customers.
The challenge: quality systems outgrowing spreadsheets
Certifications like AS9100 don't just demand quality, they demand proof of it. A3D's approved vendor list, project statuses, supplier capabilities, and certification records lived across multiple spreadsheets, which meant every audit cycle required reconstructing a paper trail by hand and every day of normal work created records that had to be maintained twice.
The solution: one system that captured the work
With Sustainment, A3D organized its approved vendor list, tracked project statuses, and demonstrated supplier capabilities and certifications from one platform. Supplier records replaced the spreadsheet stack, and because the team managed day-to-day sourcing and procurement activities in the system, record-keeping happened passively; the work itself became the audit trail. During A3D's AS9100 recertification, that architecture proved its value: the platform consolidated numerous disconnected spreadsheets and systems into a cohesive workflow and drove a 50-75% improvement in efficiency.
"Sustainment was the answer we were looking for to put everything [supply chain-related] into one place and really make audits a breeze. We do work in the system on a daily basis and the system captures all that activity so when the audit comes around we just pull open Sustainment and know we're covered."
- Project Manager, A3D Manufacturing
The results
50-75% efficiency gains. Reliance on spreadsheets dropped sharply as sourcing, procurement, and supplier management processes were streamlined into one system.
Audit-ready, all the time. Automated record-keeping captured daily activity, keeping AS9100 compliance documentation current without manual upkeep, and recertification passed without the scramble.
Centralized supplier management. Vendor data, approval statuses, processes, and certifications gained a single home with full oversight.
The lesson: let the work keep the records
A3D's story is the quiet version of transformation: no reimplementation, no consultants, just moving daily sourcing work into a system that captured it. When the audit trail is a byproduct of the work instead of a second job, quality certifications stop being a seasonal emergency, and that's time a precision shop can spend making parts.
Ready to streamline your supply chain? Schedule a discovery call or email hello@sustainment.com.