Company Q is a Hong Kong based apparel manufacturer. This company has entered the made-to-measure business for several years, producing customized shirts and trousers for the US market. The consumer simply chooses the fitting, fabric and style of garment they require, either at the store or through the Internet. The order is sent to one of its factories in Asia, where the garment can be made based on specific requirements and delivered directly to the customer in the US within three weeks.
To deal with the increasing trend of personalization fashion, it has developed “one-piece-flow” manufacturing method and corresponding supply and inventory management system. With the help of digitalization, it takes less than half an hour to produce one piece of shirt with specifications. The improvement for small-scale production with new technology is making personalization fashion practical and attractive.
In the previous century, made-to-measure used to be a traditional culture in the Hong Kong fashion market; however, this market shrank rapidly due to the maturity of garment production and high-speed societal development. After decades, customers are now transforming their consumption behavior to focus on personalization, sustainability and innovation. The traditional made-to-measure market has been upgraded into personalization fashion to realize better fitting as well as customized choices from materials, patterns to accessories and personal styles. Using the latest technologies, it is possible to get personal body measurement data through body scanners or even mobile apps, design a personalized product within minutes online and delivery the product to almost all over the world. As a traditional sourcing hub, Hong Kong can play a unique role in this market with the strength in agile supply chain and rich product development/design and manufacturing experience, and new digitalization technology application is indispensable.