For tailor shops taking wedding, company and school orders
Group suit orders for tailor shops: every person measured, one cloth, delivered in batches
A tailor shop can take a wedding party, company or school order without buying a size run. Each person is measured and ordered as one made-to-measure suit in the same cloth and pattern, sent in batches as measurements come in. The minimum is one piece, so late additions are normal orders, each 14 days in production.
Company orders often begin with someone at the company searching for corporate uniforms. The shop that can measure every employee and deliver one consistent look is the one that gets the order. Each person's order goes through our made-to-measure ordering system, straight to the factory.
- 1 piece
- minimum, late additions included
- 14 days
- in production per batch, shipping extra
- 1 specification
- cloth, model and construction for the whole group
- AI ordering
- each person's order goes straight to the factory
Three kinds of group order a custom shop sees
Wedding parties
A groom and his party, sometimes the fathers, with a date fixed months ahead. The look is either matching or coordinated, and the date does not move.
Companies
Front-of-house and sales teams, hotel and hospitality staff, a management team for a year-end event. One look across many body types, and new hires months later.
Schools
Blazers or suits for staff, graduating classes or school events. Many people at once, with the date set by the school calendar.
Running a group order, step by step
- 1
Lock the specification once
One cloth reference, one model, one construction, one set of trims and one label for the whole group. Write it down before anyone is measured and send it with every order.
- 2
Measure every person
In your shop, on site at the company, or remotely through our measurement page, which gives video guidance for each measurement and ends with a code the person sends to you.
- 3
Order in batches as measurements come in
Each person is one order in the AI ordering system, under the same specification. Send the first batch when it is complete, not when the last person has been measured.
- 4
14 days in production per batch
Counted from each confirmed batch. Shipping comes on top, and each batch ships on its own.
- 5
Fit, then add the stragglers
Fit each person in your shop. Late joiners, new hires and replacements are single orders in the same specification, because the minimum is one piece.
Keeping batches consistent
The risk in a group order is rarely the tailoring. It is the second batch drifting from the first. Three things cause it: the cloth, the measuring and the specification.
Cloth. Cloth is dyed in lots, and a reorder weeks later can come from a different lot. Confirm the cloth reference and its availability for the whole group before the first batch. If the group will order over several months, raise it at the start, while there is still a choice of cloth. No factory can honestly promise that two dye lots are identical.
Measuring. Use one measurement method for everyone. If different people take the measurements, give them the same form, and send remote staff to the same measurement page.
Specification. Keep the locked specification in one place and attach it to every batch, the stragglers included. The longer version is in delivering corporate suits in batches.
Who does what on a group order
| Stage | Your shop | The factory side |
|---|---|---|
| Before | Agree the look and the date with the client, lock the specification, choose the cloth | Digital swatch book, swatches posted on request |
| Measuring | Measure each person, or send them the remote measurement page | Measurement page with video guidance; each result comes back as a code you import |
| Ordering | Enter each person as one order, batch by batch | The AI ordering system sends each order straight to the factory |
| Production | Keep the client informed of batch dates | 14 days in production from each confirmed batch, then shipping |
| After | Fit, alter, add late joiners as single orders | Same specification, one-piece minimum |
Price basis and planning the date
Per two-piece suit, ex works Shanghai: CMT with your cloth from USD 100, full make from USD 155, half canvas full make from USD 185, full canvas quoted by specification. Shipping is extra and import duty is paid by the buyer. The minimum is one piece, so a group of five and a group of fifty go through the same process.
Work back from the event date: the last fitting, minus your shipping time, minus 14 days in production, minus the time it takes to collect every measurement. Collecting a whole group's measurements takes longer than it sounds, so start it first.
For what breaks a corporate programme and the questions to ask the client, see corporate suit programmes. For a wedding party with coordinated rather than identical suits, see the tonal wedding party spec guide. Black tie groups are covered on wholesale tuxedos.
Frequently asked questions
How does a tailor shop handle a group suit order?
Lock one specification for the whole group (cloth, model, construction, trims, label), measure every person, and order each person as one made-to-measure suit, in batches as measurements come in. At Centi Sartoria each batch is 14 days in production from confirmation, shipping extra, and the minimum is one piece.
Can a group or corporate order be delivered in batches?
Yes. Each batch is confirmed on its own, spends 14 days in production and ships on its own. Shipping is extra.
Can people be added to a group order later?
Yes. The minimum is one piece, so a late joiner, a new hire or a replacement is a normal order in the same specification.
Will a second batch match the first?
The specification, pattern and construction are repeated from the locked specification. Cloth is dyed in lots, so confirm the cloth reference and its availability for the whole group before the first batch; a reorder much later can come from a different lot.
Can the people in a group be measured remotely?
Yes. Our measurement page runs in a phone browser, gives video guidance for each measurement and ends with a code the person sends to the shop, which the shop imports into the order.
What does a group suit order cost?
The same starting prices as any order, per two-piece suit, ex works Shanghai: CMT from USD 100, full make from USD 155, half canvas full make from USD 185, full canvas quoted by specification. Shipping is extra and import duty is paid by the buyer.
For shops that already sell custom suits
See the price sheet and your margin per suit
Three minutes, seven questions, free. You get the wholesale price sheet, your margin per suit at your own retail price, a direct line to a partner manager and an account on the AI ordering system.
Start the 3 minute checkOpens b2b.centisartoria.com/start