Corporate Uniform Suits: Measure Every Employee or Grade a Size Run?
A hotel group, a bank's branch network or an events company asks a custom shop or uniform brand for "suits for our staff". The first technical question is not cloth or colour. It is this: will every employee be measured and cut individually, or will the company buy a graded size run and fit people into it?
The answer changes the minimum order, the reorder process, what happens when someone new joins, and how the program is quoted. This post sets out the choice for shops and uniform brands that produce corporate suit programs through Shi Yuan.
The two routes
MTM per employee. Each person is measured and their suit is cut individually. MTM starts from one piece, so a program can be any size, and a new starter can be added at any time.
Graded size run. The company buys a set quantity across sizes; staff are fitted from stock and altered locally. Bulk starts at 50 units per run.
Many programs end up mixing the two: graded stock for most staff, MTM for people outside the size range and for client-facing senior roles.
Decision matrix
Score the program on each row. Where most answers fall in one column, that is your starting route.
Headcount on day one — Leans MTM per employee: Small, or spread across many locations — Leans graded size run: Large and concentrated
Body-size spread — Leans MTM per employee: Wide, many people outside a standard chart — Leans graded size run: Most staff fit a normal chart
Visibility of the role — Leans MTM per employee: Client-facing, photographed, senior — Leans graded size run: Back-of-house or short shifts
Staff turnover — Leans MTM per employee: Low; people keep suits for years — Leans graded size run: High; suits are reissued
New starters — Leans MTM per employee: Occasional; can wait for an individual order — Leans graded size run: Frequent; need a suit on day one
Local alterations — Leans MTM per employee: No tailor available — Leans graded size run: A tailor or uniform room on site
Measuring logistics — Leans MTM per employee: Measurements can be collected (form or visit) — Leans graded size run: Hard to measure everyone
Worked example (hypothetical)
A custom shop is quoting a hotel group with three properties. The client wants 12 front-office managers in suits that fit well in guest photos, and around 70 concierge and events staff with high turnover.
The 12 managers go MTM: measured at a single on-site day by the shop, each cut individually, with one manager's suit made first as the approval garment.
The 70 staff go graded: a size run of 70 jackets and matching trousers, with unfinished hems and generous waist outlets so the hotel's tailor can adjust them; our companion note on seam allowances and alteration outlets covers what to write.
Both groups use the same cloth, lining and buttons so the program looks like one uniform.
New starters are fitted from a small buffer of graded stock, and the buffer is topped up with the next run.
Size run planning for the graded part
Ask the client for a headcount by size, not a total. If they don't have one, run a short sizing day with try-on jackets in your core sizes. Build the run from that count, plus a buffer for turnover in the most common sizes. Our post on size-run grading explains how a size chart and grade rule get approved before bulk.
Keeping the program consistent over time
Corporate programs live for years, which creates problems one-off orders never face:
Cloth continuity. Choose a cloth you can reorder, and ask how availability is checked. If a cloth is discontinued, the program needs a planned switch, not a mismatch at reception.
Shade between runs. Later runs can differ slightly in shade from earlier ones. See fabric lot and shade consistency.
A sealed reference. Keep one approved garment (or its written record) as the standard each reorder is checked against.
Logos and branding. If the program needs embroidered logos, special buttons or branded linings, list them in the first brief and confirm what can be done before quoting; don't assume.
Quoting the program
Quote the two parts separately: the MTM roles per garment, and the graded run per run. The client sees why a new manager's suit takes longer than a stock jacket off the rail, and you avoid hiding MTM cost inside a bulk number. Our quotes are written after construction, cloth and volume are known; partner pricing is on request.
Where we fit
We make both parts under your label, with your patterns or ours. The corporate client is yours; we do not contact them. The manufacturing page shows the MTM and bulk routes side by side, and the private label suit manufacturer page explains the label and packaging side.
Quoting a staff program now? Send the headcount and roles: WhatsApp the corporate brief
Send the program outline
Send your country, rough monthly volume, MTM, bulk or both, and the number of staff by role. We will suggest the split and what the approval garment should be.
WhatsApp Shi Yuan · Email houzhenying226@gmail.com
Shi Yuan Suit Factory, Baodi, Tianjin, China. Acumenwear.com is our English export site.
