Editorial - Technification: essential to remain current
There is no doubt that the strong process of technological industrialization that the production of footwear is going through relativizes its characteristic as a “labor-intensive industry.”
Internet and digitization are the origin of automation, integration, interconnectivity, and robotization that are replacing manual operations in many manufacturing processes.
The manufacture of footwear, which was closely linked to crafts, is slowly making room for more automated, standardized, and industrialized productions, related to the transformation of the sector worldwide, which tends to productive concentration.
This situation has been recognized by major international fashion brands, which have valued and prioritized many of these industrialized products, with singular success in the consumer market. In this way, fashion accepts new technologies and fully explores their possibilities.
However, for connoisseurs, craftsmanship will maintain its place in the manufacture of footwear, for personalized and differentiated models, conceived for greater productive flexibility in terms of volumes and designs. Surely, the diversity and properties of the materials will continue to affect the quality of these shoes. Socio-economic reasons and changes in usage habits influence consumption, which is targeted by both large, medium, and small companies, in order to position themselves in the market in the best way.
Given the situation, it is inevitable that factories review their production capacity and level of technification based on the current characteristics of the market and consumption. Technological investment must consider these aspects, especially as we approach a period of greater sustainable competitiveness, within a scope of variable costs and difficult access to raw materials.
The Editor