Bespoke and mass production will no longer be contradictions.

Melbourne Herald Sun, Thursday November 27, 2014

Once upon a time a son of gentry would visit the family shoemaker in Jermyn Street, London, to have his feet lasted. Perfect models would be made of his feet, carved out of hard wood, which from then on would be used to make his shoes.

Then later, while serving in India's North-West Frontier, he may decide it was time for a few new pairs. A letter to Jermyn Street would see the beautiful new, perfectly fitting shoes delivered by the next tea clipper.

This bespoke shoe making is still available in a few stores around the world, if you have about $5000 for a pair of shoes. But rapid innovations may make it available for us non-gentry, and not a very long time away.

Already there is technology that can scan your foot, digitise it, and rebuild a perfect model - the last - with a 3D printer. There are a number of companies around the world working to create just such a system. Some of the sports shoe companies already have "design your own style".

Management consultants McKinsey & Co point to a huge new marketing wave coming at us in the shape of custom choice and fitting. A lot of the software has already been written, many of the machines have already been built.

Ford and General Motors have invested heavily on interchangeable robotics - so when you order your car, details, specifications, features and colours can all be programmed into your order on-line.

We're already used to our computers being customised to the smallest details of memory, screen definition, networking capacity, inbuilt radio and TV - there seems to be no function that can't be specified when we make the purchase.

Clothing is another area where the computer comes into its own. Like the shoemaker's last, your whole body could be recorded and filed. So long as you were managing your weight, you could order your perfectly-fitting outfits from wherever you were in the world. The computer image would even show you how you will look with that particular blouse and skirt or trousers and jacket.

Of course this sounds like magical marketing but it will all depend on the ability to supply and respond. By all accounts it took our supermarkets over two years to develop a system reliable enough that now they can advertise computer shopping with home delivery.

McKinsey instruct that the first step is to identify opportunities that create value for the consumer and are supported by smooth, swift, and inexpensive transactions for both customer and producer.

The second is the tricky part - keeping costs controlled even when numbers and manufacturing complexity increase. This is why the customising of goods is still in the hands of small start-ups or separate divisions of large companies.

But now, they say, "We believe the time for widespread, profitable mass customisation may finally have come, the result of emerging or improved technologies."

They foretell it has the potential to increase a company's revenue and beat competitors, improve cash flow and reduce waste. You only make what has been ordered - and usually paid for. The customer's loyalty is guaranteed - they know you will always supply the perfect fit. You'll also gather data that can help you develop the range of standard products for the off-the-peg customers.

Customising is mass production - but one at a time. It creates a radical new marketplace.