Today’s fashion industry is increasingly adopting the principle of on-demand or made-to-order manufacturing, where clothes are produced only after an order is placed. This differs from traditional mass production, which involves creating garments in bulk and storing them until sold. On-demand manufacturing leverages advanced technology and smart supply chain methods to produce clothing based on customer demand, reducing waste, overproduction, and inefficiencies.
This shift is in response to a growing demand for personalised clothing. While fashion trends were once shaped primarily by designers, retailers, or editors, customers now play a key role in influencing trends. In traditional manufacturing, companies often produce large quantities of garments in advance, leading to excess inventory and waste when items do not sell as expected. On-demand manufacturing reverses this model, producing garments only when ordered, reducing the risk of unsold stock and waste.
Technology is crucial in enabling companies to efficiently design, manufacture, and manage processes online, delivering customised products. This model makes fashion more accessible and aligns trends with customer preferences rather than being dictated solely by designers or retailers.
This article explores how on-demand manufacturing works and its many benefits. These include offering personalised clothing and addressing waste and ethical concerns in the fashion industry by reducing overproduction. On-demand manufacturing also cuts down on inventory, supports sustainable practices by lowering waste and carbon emissions, and enhances supply chain transparency. Additionally, it saves costs by minimising storage and production expenses, accelerates speed to market by quickly responding to consumer demand, and emphasises quality over quantity by focusing on high-quality, durable clothing and sustainable consumption.
On-Demand Manufacturing and the Shift in the Fashion Industry
The fashion industry faces significant challenges, including overproduction, excess inventory, poor working conditions, and pollution, primarily due to its reliance on outdated inventory-based manufacturing models. Despite advancements in technology and the rise of on-demand services in other sectors, fashion continues to use traditional production and supply chain methods, which are no longer sustainable. To address these issues, many fashion brands are now exploring on-demand manufacturing and mass customisation. These innovative approaches help brands maintain or increase profit margins while satisfying consumer demands for personalisation, sustainability, and novelty.
On-demand manufacturing, also known as made-to-order, involves producing items only when there is demand, often requiring pre-payment. This method contrasts sharply with traditional wholesale production, where large quantities of goods are made in advance in the hope that they will sell, often resulting in dead stock and waste. On-demand production, by making products only after they are ordered, eliminates this waste and allows for greater flexibility, as well as the ability to meet exact specifications and higher quality standards.
Recently, on-demand manufacturing has gained traction as designers are shifting their business models towards greater ethical and economic efficiency. Traditional apparel manufacturing methods no longer meet the needs and expectations of today’s consumers. By combining nearshoring with on-demand production, companies can quickly adapt to changing consumer demands, offering a more responsive and cost-effective solution. If implemented correctly, this model provides a significant competitive advantage.
Evolution of Consumer Preferences Towards Personalisation
In recent years, consumer preferences have shifted significantly towards more personalised products. Several factors have driven this evolution, leading to a rise in customisation across various garment industries. The demand for unique, tailored, and sustainable items has spurred innovation in customisation technologies and business models, reshaping the landscape of many industries and enhancing the overall consumer experience. Some factors responsible for this shift are:
Tailored Fit and Comfort – Customisation allows consumers to receive garments that fit perfectly, enhancing comfort and satisfaction. Artificial intelligence (AI) body scanning technology captures precise body measurements, enabling brands to create made-to-measure clothing that fits each customer uniquely.
Unique Designs and Personalisation – Digital printing and fabrication technologies enable brands to offer a wide range of customisable designs, patterns, and colours. Consumers can personalise their garments with specific prints, logos, or embroidery, making each item unique.
Enhanced Shopping Experience – Digital customisation provides an interactive shopping experience. Consumers can engage with the design process, choosing fabrics, styles, and details that match their preferences. This interactive element enhances customer engagement and fosters brand loyalty.
Desire for Unique Identity – Today’s consumers seek to express their individuality through the products they purchase. This desire for unique, personalised items has driven demand for customisation in the apparel industry, as people want clothing that reflects their personal style and preferences.
Technological Advancements – Advanced technologies such as AI, 3D printing, digital fabrication, and body scanning have made customisation more accessible and affordable. These innovations enable brands to offer personalised products without significantly increasing production costs.
Increased Awareness and Expectations – With the rise of social media and digital platforms, consumers are more aware of trends and innovations. They expect brands to offer products that meet their specific needs and preferences. This heightened awareness has pushed brands to focus on personalisation.
Sustainability and Ethical Concerns – Consumers are increasingly concerned about the environmental impact of mass production and fast fashion. Customisation often involves producing items on demand, which can reduce waste and overproduction, aligning with consumers’ sustainability values.
The Future of Fashion in On-Demand Manufacturing and Technological Innovation
Fashion brands are increasingly adopting on-demand production models and utilising advanced technologies to enhance their manufacturing processes and offer personalised customer experiences. This shift addresses significant industry challenges, particularly the need for precise sizing and fit for each customer. The integration of technology is fundamentally transforming business models and driving modern customisation in fashion. Frequently highlighted in top fashion magazines, digital tools and processes are revolutionising clothing design and production, disrupting the traditional fashion cycle. Key technological advancements enabling customisation include:
AI Body Scanning for Perfect Fit – One of the major challenges in on-demand production is ensuring garments fit perfectly. Many fashion brands are now using AI body scanning technology to tackle this. AI body scanning captures precise measurements of customers’ bodies, allowing for the creation of custom-made garments that fit flawlessly. This not only improves customer satisfaction but also reduces the likelihood of returns due to sizing issues.
Digital Printing and Fabrication for Customisation – Digital printing and fabrication technologies offer fashion brands greater flexibility and customisation in their production processes. These technologies allow brands to create unique patterns and designs on demand, eliminating the need for large minimum order quantities. This reduces waste and promotes more sustainable production practices. Digital fabrication, such as 3D printing, enables brands to produce complex and customised garments with high precision and efficiency.
Real-Time Response and Waste Reduction – By leveraging data and analytics, fashion brands can quickly respond to real-time customer demand, better predicting what customers want and producing accordingly. This reduces overproduction and waste, while also allowing for a more agile response to market trends and customer preferences—a significant advantage of on-demand manufacturing.
3D Weaving for Size Inclusivity – 3D weaving technology allows brands to create custom garments that ensure a perfect fit for all body types. This not only enhances size inclusivity but also minimises fabric waste, contributing to more sustainable manufacturing practices.
Shifting Towards a Fashion Ecosystem – By embracing advanced technologies and focusing on customisation and ethical practices, fashion brands are paving the way for a more responsible and sustainable industry. As consumers increasingly demand transparency, authenticity, and sustainability, the on-demand manufacturing model is set to become the new standard in fashion. This shift marks the beginning of a new era of economic and environmental responsibility, ensuring the fashion industry can meet the needs of today’s consumers while preserving resources for future generations.
Computer-Aided Design (CAD) Software – CAD software revolutionises the fashion industry by allowing designers to create detailed digital clothing models. These models can be tailored to fit any size, shape, or style, ensuring inclusivity for all, including people with disabilities. The digital approach simplifies collaboration between designers and customers, making it easier to bring unique fashion ideas to life. CAD also enhances the design process and final product quality by enabling precise adjustments and modifications. Moreover, it supports efficient production planning, as digital models can be quickly updated to meet changing customer demands.
AI and Machine Learning – AI and machine learning play a crucial role in modern fashion by analysing vast amounts of customer data to predict trends and preferences. This allows brands to offer customisation options that align closely with consumer desires, promoting a more inclusive and body-positive fashion industry. By understanding consumer behaviour, brands can provide personalised recommendations, enhancing the overall shopping experience. This data-driven approach also improves inventory management, reducing waste and overproduction, which contributes to more sustainable fashion practices.
Virtual Try-On and Fit Technologies – Virtual try-on and fit technologies are transforming the online shopping experience. Through augmented reality (AR), these technologies allow customers to see how garments will look and fit on their bodies before making a purchase. This reduces uncertainty and frustration related to sizing issues, promoting a more inclusive fashion approach. Customers can explore different styles and visualise themselves in various outfits, leading to more informed purchasing decisions and increased confidence. This innovation not only boosts customer satisfaction but also significantly decreases return rates, benefiting both consumers and retailers.
Emblem Configuration – Efficient inventory management is a major challenge for fashion brands, especially when dealing with products that have similar designs, colours, and styles. Emblem configuration—assigning unique symbols, logos, or emblems to different products or categories—offers an effective solution. This system simplifies product differentiation and categorisation, making inventory management more efficient. Distinctive emblems also enhance brand recognition and marketing efforts. Unique symbols associated with specific brands or collections become easily recognisable to customers, improving the overall shopping experience and helping brands establish a strong market presence.
Benefits of On-Demand Manufacturing
On-demand manufacturing offers a more sustainable, efficient, and customer-centric approach to fashion production. It addresses industry challenges such as waste, ethical concerns, and inventory management while promoting high-quality, personalised, and environmentally responsible practices. As the fashion landscape evolves, on-demand manufacturing stands out as a key driver of innovation and sustainability.
Achieve Supply Chain Transparency – On-demand manufacturing offers real-time visibility into the production process. Advanced software predicts trends and optimises production, ensuring efficient resource use. By digitising workflows and tracking orders, brands can ensure ethical sourcing and better monitor production. Companies like Loomia use smart textiles and blockchain to verify product authenticity and sustainability.
Promote Quality Over Quantity – On-demand manufacturing focuses on quality by producing durable, high-quality garments that last longer. It supports slow fashion principles, encouraging consumers to buy fewer, better-made items. Companies like Printful help brands launch products with minimal upfront costs. This balanced approach ensures manufacturers meet demand without compromising quality, supporting sustainable growth.
Address Waste and Ethical Issues in Fashion – Traditional fashion production often leads to overproduction, with many clothes left unsold. On-demand manufacturing cuts waste by making clothes only when ordered, saving resources. It also supports ethical practices by allowing designers more time and promoting smaller-scale production, which ensures better working conditions. Brands like Everlane have set an example with transparent supply chains, helping consumers make ethical choices.
Save Costs – Just-in-time production reduces excess inventory, storage costs, and the need for large production runs, ultimately saving money. Brands can avoid upfront costs and free up capital for other areas. Digital technologies and automation further cut production costs and increase efficiency. Companies can adjust production based on demand, avoiding costs associated with overcapacity or underuse.
Support Sustainable Practices – On-demand manufacturing addresses environmental challenges by reducing waste, emissions, and water use. Producing clothes as needed also lowers the need for long-distance shipping. Brands like Thread International use recycled materials in their on-demand production. Companies like MADE Outdoor use 3D scanning for precise fits, improving efficiency and customer satisfaction.
Customer Satisfaction with Customised Clothing – On-demand manufacturing enables customised clothing, leading to higher customer satisfaction and loyalty. With automation and data, companies can quickly respond to trends and produce small batches, reducing overstock. Tools like 3DLOOK’s Mobile Tailor use body scanning to obtain accurate measurements remotely, improving fit without the need for in-person fittings. Programmes like Nike By You and Louis Vuitton’s Mon Monogram allow customers to personalise their purchases, resulting in fewer returns and happier customers.
Support Slow Fashion – Made-to-order clothing supports slow fashion principles, focusing on quality over quantity, ethical practices, and long-lasting garments. This approach encourages consumers to buy high-quality, durable clothing that lasts longer and reduces the need for frequent replacements. The main appeal of on-demand manufacturing is its commitment to quality, with designers and manufacturers creating smaller batches to ensure each piece meets high standards and can be adjusted based on customer feedback.
Gain Speed to Market – On-demand manufacturing quickly brings products to market, aligning production with consumer demand and reducing lead times. Unlike traditional seasonal models, it produces items when there is confirmed demand, reducing overproduction and waste. Automation and data analytics help startups adopt responsive production cycles that match social media-driven trends.
Reduce Inventories – On-demand fashion minimises excess inventory by producing items based on actual orders, streamlining production, and improving cash flow. For example, Zara places manufacturing near distribution centres to ship products quickly in small batches, avoiding excess inventory and adapting to market changes.
Challenges and Limitations
While customisation in fashion offers numerous benefits, it also presents significant challenges. One major issue is managing a supply chain that caters to individual preferences, which can result in longer production times and higher costs compared to traditional mass production. Finding a balance between customisation and affordability can be difficult for brands.
Additionally, scaling customisation is challenging. High-end items like couture are easier to customise due to their price point and target market, but applying the same level of personalisation to everyday clothing requires efficient manufacturing processes and technology to be cost-effective.
Another concern is data privacy, as customers provide personal information for customisation. Brands must invest in strong cybersecurity measures to protect this sensitive data.
The Future of Fashion Customisation
Customisation is more than just a trend; it represents a major shift in the fashion industry that will continue to evolve. As technology advances, customisation will become more diverse and sophisticated. For example, brands may use customisation to support sustainability by offering eco-friendly materials, zero-waste designs, and repair services. Customers who prioritise sustainability may be willing to pay more for these options.
The concept of a circular fashion economy, where old garments are returned for refurbishment or recycling, could also benefit from customisation. In terms of technology, AI is likely to play a larger role, predicting style preferences and design elements with greater accuracy. Virtual and augmented reality will further enhance the customisation experience, allowing customers to try on clothes and make design choices in immersive environments.
Additionally, enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems will become crucial for managing complex operations, improving efficiency, and ensuring timely delivery as the industry adapts to new technologies and changing consumer needs.
