In episode 86, Kirby Best, the CEO & President of the innovative on-demand factory Bespoke Manufacturing Company, talks about what on-demand production is and what it means for the future of fashion. Learn the pros and cons of an on-demand model and how to know if it is a good fit for your fashion business.
Kirby is currently the President & CEO of BMC.Fashion, iCreate.Fashion, and 3100 West.
His main focus is on creating value to the customer through “on-demand” and fully customizable products using the finest technical material possible.
He is the past President & CEO of Lightning Source Inc. the world’s largest digital print-on-demand book manufacturer, and a division of Ingram Industries.
Kirby was the founder and CEO of Royal Book Manufacturing – a company that optimized the book manufacturing process for speed, efficiency, and cost. Kirby has served on several Boards including the BMI (Book Manufacturers Institute). He has written articles for trade journals, published several books and spoken at industry shows worldwide on the future trends in the manufacturing and information analysis industries.
Prior to his business career he represented Canada in many World Championships. He was the driver of Canada 1 – the four man bobsled and skied on the biathlon, speed and freestyle skiing teams for Canada.
Mountain Biking, Road Biking, Soaring and Polo are his top four sports today. He has four sons – all of which enjoy challenging him at everything!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- What on-demand production is and how it is different from the traditional production model
- The benefits and downsides of on-demand production
- What an on-demand production model can look like as a brand grows and scales
- The type of products that are the best fit for BMC’s Phoenix plant
- How the role of a designer might shift with widespread adoption of an on-demand production model
- The costs of on-demand manufacturing versus traditional bulk production
- The high-tech systems that BMC uses and the human roles that technology cannot replace
- The lessons they learned from their first factory that have improved BMC’s Phoenix plant
- The best way to prepare to work with BMC
- Kirby’s outlook on the future of the fashion industry
People and resources mentioned in this episode:
- Bespoke Manufacturing Company
- Bespoke Manufacturing Company Instagram
- 3100 West
- Redefining Fashion: A Sustainable Future BMC video
- The True Cost documentary
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