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Customer driven marketing
The document proposes an integrated ecosystem for customer-driven fashion marketing and production. It begins with custom-designed, one-off items produced locally and scaled up to mass production. Each step engages customers for feedback to identify popular designs. Production is flexible across local workshops, small factories, and large networks. Distribution ranges from direct delivery to global online and retail chains. The goal is to empower customers, producers, and designers while streamlining production and distribution.
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Customer driven marketing
- 1. Customer-driven marketing A WP4scenario
- 2. Objectives • Drive fashionby scaling up of crowdsourced ideas • Engage customers and users in fashion experience • Add value to items of clothing: highlight value in fabrics, sewing, cut • Allow factories freedom of choice and guaranteed production • Create a continuous scenario linking one-off with mass production • Tighten distribution to reduce travel and shipping • Explore possible role of TCBL as brand
- 3. Starting point: productionof 1 • Custom-designed and custom made • Recovery of the traditional tailor’s atelier: collective imagination • Made to measure – requiring however ability to cut properly • Choice of design: improved ownership • Experience of production, involvement in the process • Emergent models aim to give the sensation of self-design • Mass customisation approaches give choice but little sensuality • Social networks can identify models and promote designers
- 4. Single production model •Self-design supported by background services • Actual production at home or in traditional or co-work laboratories • Delivery in loco or via web • Infinite variations of design possibilities, opportunities for designers • Social networks can identify winning trends and models Design and cut services Custom(er) designed order of 1 Home sewing or local lab E-com- merce or direct delivery Social & fashion network approval Fabric micro- logistics Thousands of different models
- 5. Next step: localseries production • Promising models identified through social networks, fashion bloggers • Retail potential through local shops, web fashion services, etc. • Clothes are sized but addressing local tastes and trends • Niche markets focusing on lifestyles, service innovations, etc. • Local series assembly in large shops or small factories • Fabrics and cutting can be centrally optimized to reduce costs • Global upscaling potential measured by social networks + sales
- 6. Series production model •Designs selected by local/regional startup brands • Flexible production through a range of channels, incl. social centres • Distribution through local shops and franchises, niche web shops, etc. • Limited number of models, continuous re-stocking (bricks-web mix) • Social networks identify emergent global styles Cutting, placement services Niche market designs, orders of 100 Local labs and small factories Local shops, niche chains, web Social & fashion network scaling up Multi-step distribu- tion logistics Hundreds of models, constant turnover
- 7. Next step: massproduction • Promising models identified through social networks, fashion bloggers • Factories can select models and propose to retail outlets • Retail potential through large scale distribution, web shopping • Clothes are winning models at a competitive prices • Fabrics and cutting in multi-level distribution chain • Global appeal builds on «history value» of models (who, where…) TCBL as «umbrella brand»?
- 8. Mass production model •Designs selected by producers for global potential • Mass production with guaranteed orders, shared control • Distribution through large chains and shopping web • Fixed set of models, timed to fit with season changes • Social networks reinforce TCBL brand value Business process services Global market designs, orders of thousands Large factory networks Branded large distribu- tion, web Social & fashion brand support Co- managed supply chain logistics Tens of models, timed turnover
- 9. Integrated ecosystem • Bottom-upmarketing drives fashion by user engagement • Production re-gains bargaining power, distribution as a service • Service elements scale up individually from one level to next • Original value of artisan-made custom design remains • Garments acquire specific history and personality • Customers have choice in terms of quality and fit
- 10. Integrated ecosystem Design and cut services Custom(er) designed orderof 1 Home sewing or local lab E-com- merce or direct delivery Social & fashion network approval Fabric micro- logistics Thousands of different models Cutting, placement services Niche market designs, orders of 100 Local labs and small factories Local shops, niche chains, web Social & fashion network scaling up Multi-step distribu- tion logistics Hundreds of models, constant turnover Business process services Global market designs, orders of thousands Large factory networks Branded large distribu- tion, web Social & fashion brand support Co- managed supply chain logistics Tens of models, timed turnover
- 11. Next steps • Understandwhat this is: one of many scenarios or a first stab at «the» scenario • Understand what is missing: ethical aspects? environment? • Map onto this the contribution of the Design, Making, Place labs (where they fit in, what kind of service concepts are needed) • Map onto this where different Business Pilots could fit in and how (and what the related transition scenarios would look like) • Map onto this different best practice cases we are finding like the Fashion Tech Week startups (and how other services, especially on the retail side, fit in)
Editor's Notes
- #2 WP4 aims to start with scenarios of future T&C ecosystems, to paint a complex picture to see then where specific elements – Business Labs of different types, Business Pilots of different types, new services, etc. – can fit in on an overal map. In this case, the starting point is to look at marketing: identifying what clothes people will wear (or making them want to wear them) drives the market. Everyone from the designer houses to the big distributors identify shapes and colours of the near future with a degree of certainty that allows them to make large-scale purchases and be pretty certain they will sell what they’ve ordered. The whole process is very secret since their competitiveness depends on their ability to outguess (or out-create) others. This scenario aims to transform that marketing (including fashion design) process into a customer-driven process.
- #3 This scenario turns that process upside down, supposing that marketing can be driven bottom-up by individual people choosing what they want in a made-to-measure environment, with producers gradually selecting items for mass production and broader distribution according to their popularity on social media. There are several objectives here.: With the customer driving fashion tastes through collective intelligence, it is hoped that fashion choices can be closer to what people actually want and need. By engaging people in the process of «fashion making» they gain ownership and empowerment to set the rules. In the process, people learn about clothing and to appreciate quality fabrics, sewing, cutting, etc. A big objective is to free producers from the slavery imposed by retailers; once fashion is «open source» competition shifts from cost to quality and local specificity The freedom of the producers is derived from the fact that social media guarantees that what is selected is what people want Another big objective of this scenario is to imagine an ecosystem that brings together the small laboratory and mass production in a continuous process, so they both play part of the same picture. Another big objective is to encourage zero (or few) kilometer logics, allowing local distribution and production to make sense for a good part of market needs One point for reflection, in this scenario, TCBL can play a «brand» role guaranteeing not so much individual products but the process: ie clothes that are made respecting certain ecosystem features and using certain services.
- #4 The starting point of the scenario is fully customer-driven with production series of one. This picks up on many variations currently emerging of the «design your own» (selecting design variations like type of collar) but can go even further and include all variations of young designers or students proposing designs from which to select, personalisation according to a pre-defined set of choices, otherwise supported or coached self-design, on-line interaction with a designer or tailor, etc., all sorts of scenarios that the Design Labs can explore. The clothing then is produced as a series of 1, perhaps in scenarios using robotics and such but more probably in scenarios such as traditional tailor’s ateliers (maybe linked in networks), home workers, community spaces, etc. that the Place Labs can explore. In addition, there is a probable role for «background» services like made-to-measure cutting, optimisation of fabric use (placement) and cutting and distributions, e.g. new supply chains supporting series-of-one manufacturing, that the Making Labs can explore. Here however is where the TCBL «magic» of recovering artisanship and handicraft knowledge needs to emerge and become explicit, not only as an «authenticity» component of marketing the TCBL brand, but also as a way of immersing the customer in a learning experience that becomes an important part of the value. If the price needs to be relatively high for these items, the knowledge component needs to be very visible. It should also be emphasised that the desire component of fashion emerges more through human interaction (how do you think it makes me look?) that simply selecting collar styles from a drop-down menu. Finally – and here the desire component comes out strongly – an important role should be played by the use of social media. Every step – interacting with a designer or tailor, selecting a design, trying it out – can be published to Facebook and give visibility to the customer, the designer, and the piece of clothing. From here, rather straightforward analytics can be applied to identify emergent designers, trend-setting customers, and winning fabrics and models (or even general trends).
- #5 Here is a simple map of a possible supply/value chain for the first level of this scenario. The steps used to illustrate this possible work flow are as follows: A customer selects or defines a design through some TCBL-compliant service Design and cutting services refine the design and make it ready for production Micro-logistic services may combine this order with others, physically cut and prepare the fabric, and deliver assembly kits to the place of production Production takes place in an existing laboratory, home sewing, experimental Place Lab facility, etc. The item can be delivered through an e-commerce service, picked up locally at a service center or the production lab, etc. In this scenario, thousands or millions of different models are designed and produced in a season, all of which can have visibility through social media Different web sites and services can comment the models, their designers, the customers (doesn’t she look great), vote on the best items, have competitions, promote start-ups and so forth
- #6 The next level of this scenario involves a series production of, say, several hundred pieces at a time, generally for on-line niche markets or for distribution through local small stores. The models are selected on the basis of the reception on social networks from the previous step, and production orders given to small factories (possibly the majority of «factory» pilots in TCBL, with some Place Lab scenarios) on the basis of agreements with local distributors or innovative web fashion and lifestyle services (room for start-up ideas here, see the winners at the Fashion Tech event in Paris). Cutting is no longer custom-fit but sized, while fabrics and style variations can occur at the local distribution level (scenarios for the Design Labs to explore); here further optimisation can take place for the cutting and handling of fabrics (Making Labs). This level of the scenario is reminiscent of the organisation of fashion in the 1960’s where the Paris-based tailors distributed patterns of their designs a year later, except that through open source fashion and social media the timescale is reduced to near-simultaneity.
- #7 Here the supply/value chain workflow follows the same elements with changes at each step: The designs are derived from those of the previous step, and order agreed between production facilities and local retailers or innovative on-line services in just-in-time orders of ca. 100 pieces Specific (and innovative) fabric handling, cutting, placement, etc. services support the process to cut costs This is part of an innovative multi-step distribution logistics that can include partially cut elements to be locally refined previous to the assembly stage Assembly takes place in the local labs and small factories that participate in the agreements leading to the orders of the batches: in short, they are producing items they themselves have ordered The distribution then takes place through the networks of local shops and/or the innovative niche web services that participate in the production agreement in cooperation with the small factories This system produces several hundred (maybe thousands) of models each season, but given the flexibility of the value chain can be a constant turnover of models The process has visibility through advertising paid for by the distributors but also through the social networks, that can give visibility to the production factories etc. Quality of production is still an important component of these items that remain at a mid to upper range price. In this level of the scenario, TCBL business services can play an important role and also the TCBL brand can play a role in guaranteeing quality of process and design.
- #8 The final step in the process would be mass production. Here the decision to produce could come form a network of factories and production facilities reaching agreements with a distribution network or franchise or on-line service, guaranteeing production local to delivery. Or it might come from large distribution networks (or innovative web services) producing in low wage countries, though the TCBL brand and design license would impose fair trade conditions on production (through eg the WRAP certification). The model to produce can come from the first level (a quick success of a designer on Facebook for instance) or through a more consolidated model from the series production cycle. In a well, primed ecosystem the speed of uptake on social media can keep within the cycles of the mass fashion process. This «history value» of a model – this jacket was first designed and produced by hand in Sicily – could contribute to the appeal of the product line. In this scenario, the TCBL brand gains ever greater importance, not as a product brand (clothing can maintain designers’ names etc.) but rather as a process brand, guaranteeing the respect of the TCBL methods and principles.
- #9 In the supply/value chain workflow for mass production: The orders are for thousands of items but are agreed and negotiated between the buyer/distributor and the production facilities through TCBL mediation services TCBL business process services are here essential for a cost-effective workflow Co-managed (and not centrally controlled) logistics follow multi-level supply and cutting of fabrics, keeping distribution local Local production is favoured through virtual production networks of relatively large-scale factories directly linked to delivery Large scale distribution can be used through local production under the TCBL brand, as well as innovative web distribution (catalogue services eg Amazon) Number of total models is limited to sure and lasting models with turnover respecting fashion cycles Social and fashion networks support the TCBL umbrella brand to lower or eliminate advertising This level of scenario may account for a significant percentage of production, with the TCBL brand guaranteeing quality of process (including social and environmental impact)
- #10 These three levels are not considered as a maturity model, but rather an integrated ecosystem, where each level lives its autonomous existence benefitting from the co-presence of the other levels and all contributing to the identity of the TCBL brand. The main point is that marketing becomes not the exclusive weapon of competition but rather an open environment of market sensing based on the deep integration of the fashion process with social media. The «lower» level of custom-made production establishes the brand of quality and personalisation that is then connected to the mass production items of the same or derived (ie simplified) models, which nonetheless maintain the value. Customers can choose which level of quality and personalisation they prefer, using services at any level (custom, series, mass) that carry the TCBL brand.
- #11 By superimposing the schema of the value chains for each of the three levels, the ecosystemic dimension emerges more clearly. Each of the elements has a vertical continuity, for instance linking home sewing and local labs to small and large factories, such that it is possible to imagine the same production facilities being involved in at least two levels for the same model; the same can be said of the logistics operations, the social networking environments, etc. On an overall schema such as this one it is possible to place precisely the activities of many of the TCBL business labs, pilot businesses, and business services, as well as emergent services and enterprises.
- #12 The next steps proposed aim to test and enhance this scenario by mapping the different TCBL components onto it and seeing what kinds of transition paths are sparked off by doing so.