Institute For The Future

Artifact from the Future: Just In Time Manufacturing Saves USPS

Your friendly neighborhood mail truck is now your custom wedding gift truck, too. Using state-of-the-art 3D fabbing, the postal service has turned thousands of low-value post offices into neighborhood production centers for all kinds of gifts—just minutes from their destination. Online registries mean the happy couple’s gifts don’t have to travel from all corners of the earth to get to the church on time. Of course, the postal production office also delivers Christmas and birthday presents, and even your monthly supply of coffee filters, slashing the cost of shipping.

This Artifact from the Future is a snapshot of what might emerge if forecasts about the future materialize. It was developed as part of our 2012 Map of the Decade which offers an overview of the major forces that are shaping this century—and creating turbulence in the coming decade. It is an at-a-glance tool for exploring the fundamental question: What is possible?

Like all IFTF’s Artifacts from the Future, this image offers insights into future everyday lives and is intended to give you an immersive look at a possible future change.