Reshoring efforts require strong local supply chain support

July 26 2013

In the business world, the practice of outsourcing some aspect of manufacturing or the supply chain to other countries like China is a time-honored tradition. Companies are always looking for cost-effective ways to get tasks done and housing production services in other areas of the world is one of those ways. However, in recent years, there has been a push by many companies to "reshore" their approach and bring operations back to the United States.

A recent article from USA Today covered this growing trend which is becoming more popular as supply chain and labor costs in traditional offshoring sites like China rise, making it less appealing to do business in those locations. Although technology has helped the world shrink, it is still easier to address a customer issue if the factory is down the street instead of across the ocean.

"In the past few years, major designers and retailers such as Brooks Bros. and Saks, as well as dozens of smaller companies, have moved some production from foreign countries to the U.S., creating perhaps 1,000 jobs," the article reads.

One thing every company that brings manufacturing services back to the U.S. will need to do is update its supply chain and logistics approach. A way to do this is to partner with a local business courier service that can handle all aspects of the supply chain, as well as provide benefits like same-day delivery and geographic knowledge, which can save time and money.