Leveraging 3D Printing Technologies: The Case of Mexico’s Footwear Industry: Mexico’s fashion footwear industry serves as an example of how companies in traditional sectors that adopt 3D printing can realize benefits along their value chain.

Overview: Traditional manufacturing techniques, new trends in global consumer behavior, and agile competition necessitate change in the fashion footwear industry, one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious sectors. 3D printing may be precisely what the fashion footwear industry needs. By 2029, 3D printing in the fashion footwear industry is forecast to grow into a USD $6 billion revenue opportunity globally. We applied a mixed-method approach to study the adoption of 3D printing in Mexico’s prominent footwear cluster, which comprises all manufacturers, suppliers, and associated industry contributors in the Guanajuato region. We discuss the state of the art of 3D printing and share local adoption behavior and global best practices. Our findings offer a guide on how companies in the footwear industry—and other traditional industries—can leverage 3D printing.