What is bespoke?
Whilst reading a book about the differences between American and British English, I came across a discussion about the meaning of the word “bespoke”. Whilst it is used more in Britain than America, both groups agree that this is a term that is often misused.
Understanding the Difference from Made-to-Measure and Custom
Many craftsmen offering a bespoke service get very frustrated by those who use the terms “bespoke” and “made-to-measure” interchangeably. Such people, they insist, are very much mistaken, as the two terms mean totally different things.
Both of these terms originate from the tailoring industry. ‘Bespoke’ dates back to the 17th century, when tailors held full lengths of cloth in their premises. When a customer chose a length of material, it was said to have “been spoken for”. Once a material had been chosen, the tailor then measured the customer and, starting from scratch, produced a pattern and tailored a suit which met the customer’s every requirement. By creating a new pattern for each individual customer, rather than just modifying a base pattern, the tailor was sure that he hadn’t missed any nuances of the customer’s body. Additionally, the customer had no limit on what options he could request, regardless of complexity. Saville Row in London was – and still is – considered the home of bespoke tailoring.
On the other hand, “made-to-measure”, simply uses a basic, pre-existing template pattern, which is then adjusted to roughly the individual’s measurements. Although there may be hundreds of patterns and fabrics to choose from, the customer cannot expect anything not on the list. To misquote Henry Ford, “you can have anything you want, as long as it is a variation of something on the list”. Whilst made-to-measure provides a better fit and less of a mass-produced look than an off the shelf suit, it cannot truly be called bespoke.
Bespoke vs Custom
The word ‘custom’ or ‘customised’ is a really loose term that could cover both bespoke and made-to-measure, as well as any modification whatsoever. A bumper sticker on a car could be argued to be customised. Customised is so nebulous a term as to be almost meaningless.
How Does This Relate to Report Automation?
So how does this relate to report automation? You might be wondering, is report automation bespoke or merely custom? In truth, most so-called ‘custom’ reporting solutions are more “made-to-measure” than truly “bespoke.” A made-to-measure reporting system may let you adjust templates, choose layouts, or apply your brand colours, but you’re still confined to a predefined framework – limited by what the system allows.
A bespoke automation solution, on the other hand, is built entirely around your organisation’s specific data structures, reporting workflows, and branding requirements. It doesn’t just tweak a base template; it starts from the ground up to ensure every detail fits seamlessly.
At E-Tabs, we believe true report automation should be as bespoke as a Savile Row suit – carefully crafted, fully tailored, and “spoken for” you. Instead of forcing your reporting needs to adapt to a tool, we build automation that adapts to you. The result is reporting that’s faster, cleaner, and perfectly aligned with your organisation’s unique identity and standards.
From PowerPoint and Word to Excel, Google Slides or PDF, our automation is built entirely around your workflow. Whether it’s a multi-market tracker, KPI dashboard or concept test, E-Tabs handles it all with precision and 100% accuracy. It integrates with your existing data systems, automatically populates templates, performs significance testing, sorts and trends results, and even applies conditional formatting with your brand’s logos, colours and rules. Reports that once took days can now be refreshed in minutes, consistent, accurate and unmistakably yours!
Find out more about our bespoke automation.
