Expertise and industry leadership.
Want to learn what you need to know about creating and running a successful product customization program? You’re in the right place!3 reasons to pivot from offshore mass production to onshore made-to-order.
The era of reliable global mass production has provided brands with seemingly limitless scalability. But has the global pandemic brought that era to end? As the global supply chain all but fell apart, many brands began to ask (or revisited) vital questions about the...
Satisfy the powerful need for self-expression, increase market share.
How can you give individuals the power to express themselves in a unique way through mass-produced products? That’s a tough one. Brands can satisfy many consumer needs through mass-produced goods, such as: • Value (quality within acceptable cost margins)• Consistency...
Online, mindful, values-driven: Tapping into the post-pandemic consumer mindset.
Life might be starting to look more like it did pre-pandemic, but the post-pandemic economy presents some new challenges for brands. There are certainly signs that we’re getting “back to normal.” People are getting out, going back to the office, and wanting to look...
Advance social sustainability with onshore/nearshore custom manufacturing.
Today, consumers and investors hold major U.S.-based brands to high standards for profitability, environmental impact, and social sustainability. You have to consider the impact of any business decision to your “triple bottom line” - profits, people, and planet. One...
How to score big returns on your custom embroidery program investment.
Large-scale custom embroidery has been an expensive option for brands to extend to consumers in the past. But new automation tools are cutting costs like never before. Processing custom embroidery orders, programming machines for custom production, and managing the...
Struggling to get mass customization off the ground? Automate this.
You’re eager to delight customers with product customization, but how do you do profitably? What’s the secret to making customization at scale, a.k.a. mass customization, efficient and cost-effective? Imagine no longer having to place all your bets on what will be...
To sell more products, inspire your customers with personalized or customized options.
A growing group of consumers, 26.4% of US Households, purchased personalized or customized products last year. Product customization has become a fantastically lucrative strategy for brands that embrace it. However, there is quite a bit of variation among these...
The smarter way to grow your direct-to-consumer sales channel: customization.
When you consider the $111.54B in direct to consumer ecommerce sales in 2021 in the U.S. alone, it’s no wonder brands are eager to explore new ways to grow their DTC channels. Those who do stand to win big. Some experts predict DTC ecommerce sales will swell to nearly...
Want to promote sustainable products? Reduce returns with customization.
If there is one word these days that makes every brand leader’s ears perk up, it’s sustainability. A genuine interest among brands in improving the stewardship of our planet’s resources and consumer demand for sustainable products are powerful drivers of change. There...
Virtual merchandising and sustainability.
The fashion industry is an economic colossus, providing jobs to millions around the world. Fashion also makes consumers feel good. But that good feeling comes at an enormous environmental cost: • In the Ghanaian capital of Accra, there’s a 20-meter high cliff of...
How to Take Advantage of Post-Pandemic Retailing
There is no doubt that Covid-19 caused untold personal hardships and economic damage around the world. It is also true that recovery from the pandemic has created incredible opportunities for all brands – and that the time to shift focus is now. Closures of...
Past, Present, and Future: Adding Rocket Fuel to Product Personalization
In a retail environment that’s both increasingly digital and awash in product choices, forging an emotional bond with consumers is the moat that protects your brand’s position. Product personalization is a core element of that protective moat. But to fully exploit the...
Who are the product customizers?
It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the prospect of starting a product customization program. Getting the right product configuration software, modifying your supply chain and logistics to handle single-piece orders, developing a marketing strategy, working with your...
Product customization: your path to increased sustainability.
Driven by consumer awareness and shifting preferences, brands are increasingly seeking ways to make their products – and their companies – more sustainable. Most of those efforts are focused on sourcing. Whether it’s recycled PET bottles being converted into fleece...
Your special makeup business can be improved.
The special makeup (SMU) business is a potential profit machine for any brand. Retail partners pre-commit to the purchase, so they assume all the inventory risk of the product. But instead of being a fast-flowing river of value and profits, the SMU function is...
Want to put some teeth into your social responsibility program? Try product customization.
The apparel and accessories industries have challenges when it comes to social responsibility. Periodically you’ll see moody, black and white ads on social media trumpeting a company’s support for Black Lives Matter, or decrying working conditions in Bangladeshi and...
The most important step in product customization: thinking.
Companies typically view product customization as something that’s difficult, complicated, and only accessible to giant brands like Nike or Suit Supply. But that perception is wrong. Product customization can actually be done profitably at a small scale without huge...
A better approach to limited edition products.
Brands have long known that limited editions of products are potential gold mines. Witness the lines of people (in pre-Covid days) before a Nike shoe drop or a new Supreme t-shirt launch. Consumers love the cachet of the special product, of being one in a million,...
Two good strategies for reducing inventory waste.
When dealing with problems, companies often focus on mitigating the effects of the problem, rather than fixing the root cause. This is precisely what we see every year in the footwear, apparel, and accessories industries, when brands are forced to either closeout slow...
The turnkey option for product customization.
Product customization and product personalization programs can be intimidating. Your factories might not be willing to manufacture in small volumes. Your supply chain may not be ready to ship frequently, and in small lot sizes. Your finance and accounting systems...
Order management is where the profit margin lies.
As companies continue to explore the possibility of personalized production and product customization, they inevitably spend an inordinate amount of time assessing the pretty front-end, consumer-facing software. And let’s face it: all those rotating 3D renderings of...
Transitioning to made-to-order in 3 key steps.
Is a made-to-order strategy feasible for apparel, footwear, and accessories? Fast Company just published an excellent article on how some smaller brands are thriving by abandoning the industry standard build-to-forecast approach, and instead adopting a made-to-order...
Product customization doesn’t cost you money. It makes you money.
In the wake of COVID-19, your unsold inventory is not (unfortunately) like a fine wine: it’s not getting more valuable with age. The sales you’ve lost—particularly with highly seasonal product—are yet another indication that you should be aggressively exploring...
Five critical questions to ask about a product customization program.
A product customization and personalization program delivers tremendous financial benefits to companies. However, when brands consider implementing it, they often focus on the up-front software cost. That’s the wrong thing to focus on. Of course, initial cost is a...
