IT management and innovation

IT management and innovation

Introduction

Advances and improvement in the field of technology have contributed to different sectors such as clothing and shoe sector is not exceptional. The use of technology has enabled the smooth integration of 3D printed shoes, such as sneakers used daily by the athletes in running activities (Mark, 2016).  There is also other 3D printed footwear such as 3D printed insoles that demonstrated how technology has impacted on the footwear company. As much as these personalized products are few, they are accessible to some customers, and with time, the customization would increase and gain much popularity. The cooperation of 3D printing would enable different companies, especially the footwear company, to design products that would adapt to their customer’s feet size and shape. Combining efforts with addictive manufacturing would enable 3D printing to produce the best 3D printing shoes.

3D printing of shoes

3D printing shoes would help in enhancing and adding value to the footwear product and the entire supply chain (Waatti, 2019).  The company will have to transform various methods used in the manufacturing of the shoes.3D printing culture would also be essential to the company because the company would be able to cut down the cost of production, especially on the amount of material needed to make this type of shoes as well as little input in terms of labor.3D printing of shoes would enable the footwear company to the beachhead and secure market by providing products that match the customer’s needs, fashion, and preferences. Another reason for producing 3D printing shoes would be to meet customer specification.

In most cases customers have different shoe sizes and shapes. The footwear company has been unable also to produce products that would suit these customers’ specifications. Most athletes have been the only people who have been able to enjoy the comfort of 3D printing shoes. It is high time that the company takes this opportunity to maximize technological advances to come up with 3D printing of shoes that would meet the needs of all customers, whether they are sportspeople or not. With the use of the technology, the customers would also be accorded the same comfort athletes, and other people enjoy while using the 3D printing shoes. When unique quality products are provided in the market segment, the overall volume of sales of the company would significantly increase, thus making the company maximize more profits.

Production of 3D printing shoes would encourage stiff competition with other companies that manufactures footwear products (Mark, 2019).  Customers prefer going for quality products that are designed in a unique with and, most importantly, are in line with the current fashion. The company manufacturing these products would, therefore, be able to secure large markets in different parts of the country. Making good use of the advances in the field of technology would help the company to manufacture different sizes and shapes of shoes that perfectly meet the customers’ needs. When customers are satisfied, they will always want to get more of their products from the company, a situation that would enable the company to continue thriving in market segments globally. Furthermore, technology improvements would also help the company establish various suitable shoe structures that would add value to the already existing products by reinventing the products.

For a company to be on the lead, especially in additive manufacturing, it would be relevant that it establishes some of the challenges that would threaten its innovation. The footwear company would also need to partner with other companies such as Silicon Valley and Carbon to make good use of technological advances. Technology can be used in the form of oxygen and light to produce a 3D sneaker midsole. Manufacturing of the sneaker midsole tends to consume less time during the production process because there is no dirty injection during the molding process. Besides, its production takes fewer minutes, thus saving time for various operations in the company. The technology of incremental automation would be essential in aiding 3D printing shoes.

The technology would enable the development of the 3D printer, which would be using the fused filament fabrication approach. This technological tool, together with the polymer, would aid the production of the desired shoes.3D printing limits the waste of resources and materials used in the manufacturing process because it only uses the amount of content that it needs, thus saving cost as well as eliminating any form of wastage in the company. 3D printing can not only change the way the footwear industry is being perceived but also how the entire manufacturing process would be affected by the advancement in the field of technology.

3D printing sneakers

A sneaker is usually used in activities such as running. The running shoe can be modified with the help of technology to produce 3D printed sneakers that would meet the need of a specific user. The midsole of the sneaker can be adjusted to match 3D printing. The use of addictive can enable the manufacturers to customize a well-designed 3D printed Sneaker. Technological techniques such as the use of Future Craft 3D, Printing 3D machine, digital light projection, the liquid resin has made the manufacturing process of the 3D printed sneaker much effective. The use of these techniques has produced the most durable products as well as the polymeric products.

The new technology trend in the 3D printed shoes

The pattern that has contributed to the innovation of 3D printing shoes has been; different demands from clients that are demanding personalized products to meet their needs and tastes. Customers are the significant people who define the success and the failure of the footwear company. The footwear company has, therefore, employed 3D printing in manufacturing 3D printing shoes to satisfy customer’s needs. By using 3D print, a new level of customer customization has been unlocked, which has been advantageous to the customers. As much as customization is still low, but with the trend, the footwear company would be in a better position to emphasize and encourage more mass customization to meet customer’s needs. The second trend has been in the field of digital manufacturing that has stimulated innovation in the printing of 3D products that have led to the production of better products that meet customer customization. The digitization, as well as automation in footwear company production, has aided the perfect integration of 3D printing of a variety of products (Mark, 2019).  More specialized machines have been sed together with the new technological tools put in place that have enabled the natural and faster production of items that are suitable both for the local consumption and global market consumption. Optimization has been much natural because the use of additive manufacturing, such as HP, has been used to facilitate. The footwear has abandoned the use of the traditional manufacturing method is with time being left since the manufacturers also need technologies that would provide them with the best alternatives to make the footwear products one of a kind.  Streamlining of multiple of various products has been possible by the use of digitization. The use of 3D printing is the most suitable because it doesn’t demand so many items, such as extra tooling to facilitate the manufacturing process. What the 3D printing requires is only for the footwear company to create a digital model and then set some better parameters that include printing speed on the platform. Additionally, the footwear company can also make good use of the software application that would make it manufacture unique products.

In conclusion, advances and improvement in the field of technology have bought more benefits, especially to the footwear company. This is because more customized products in different sizes and shapes have been manufactured to meet customer’s specifications in different parts of the country. Customers have been able to enjoy quality products and excellent products attached to the value. Most companies that have incorporated the use of technology in their production and manufacturing processes have also been able to make a significant improvement. These companies have been able to market their products globally, secure market segments in different regions both locally and internationally as well as being able to increase their volumes of sales through maximizing more profits. The footwear company has, therefore, been able to maintain its brand image in the local market and international markets.

As much as there are significant benefits of the innovation in the footwear company, much effort needs to be reinvested to establish a perfect 3D product (Jones & Larson,2018).  For instance, there is a need for developing 3D scans that would help in defining the shoe structures as well as making them one of a kind. More advancement in 3D printing would also help in making lightweight shoes that would enable the user to feel more comfortable when using them. All customers desire the perfect fit, and when these technologies are improved, it would be easy for the footwear industry to meet these unique customizations and specifications. It is high that innovators join other innovators such as Olivier Van Herpt in improving and manufacturing better 3D products, especially the footwear.

                                       Benefits associated with new technology trends        

New technological trends have helped in anticipation of the product. For instance, most customers have been anticipating an improvement in the products they are buying to be it clothes or footwear. With the incorporation of 3D printing, the customer’s dream of having quality products would be achieved. This is because the products produced would always be in line with the advances that are in line with the customer’s preferences and fashion. Technological trends, therefore, help in predicting the products that would fully satisfy the customer’s needs.

It enables the footwear company to focus on establishing a web-based application to aid customers’ services in the market segment. Technological trends play a vital role in making sure that customers enjoy various products (Baker, Grinstein & Harmancioglu, 2016).  For instance, technological advances would be it easy for the customers to scan the size of their feet and then place their orders without necessarily going to the market to obtain the products they need in their respective places. Technological advances would also enable the company to market its various products through online advertisement as well as using other social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram to advertise their products. Additionally, these social media platforms would also enable them to interact with their customers since they would be able to raise any complain or state any challenge with the products. This feedback is essential for stimulating the growth of the business.

Risks associated with the technology trends

As much as technological trends improve 3d printing footwear, it also poses some risks to the business. Technological advances would require that the company provide training services on how to operate various technological tools that would have been introduced in the business. This implies that resources would be allocated to aid the entire process, thus causing further expenditure to the company. Business disruption is also another risk. With the incorporation of the technological tools, it would mean that various operations would come to a standstill the new strategies that are being implemented to aid the manufacturing process of the 3D printing footwear. This factor would, therefore, cause an interruption to the entire means of various operations in the business environment. Another risk would be ineffective control that would make the use of the technological tools irrelevant.

References

Baker, W. E., Grinstein, A., & Harmancioglu, N. (2016). Whose innovation performance benefits more from external networks: entrepreneurial or conservative firms? Journal of Product Innovation Management, 33(1), 104-120.

Jones, D. P., & Larson, R. R. (2018). U.S. Patent Application No. 15/911,007.

Mark, G. T. (2019). U.S. Patent No. 10,226,103. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Mark, G. T. (2016). U.S. Patent Application No. 14/988,222.

Waatti, T. A. (2019). U.S. Patent No. 10,264,851. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.