Why Reshoring Matters Now More Than Ever

One of the things that the COVID-19 crisis has brought into focus (admittedly there is a huge multitude of things that will take a considerable amount of time to be sorted and addressed) is the supply chain in the industry. Which is awfully long. Consequently, responsiveness can be delayed.

To be sure this is one thing when the issue is that of needing something to make ventilators and masks—a stat situation—and entirely another when sourcing parts and components.

This image is from Perfection Chain Products of Cullman, Alabama, said to be the largest producer of weldless chain products in North America. The labeling of the chain has to do with chain design, not the letters in the paragraph below.

 

But if you think about it, having a long supply chain means that if something happens in the market at time C and you have ordered a shipload of parts from, say, China at time A, you might not get those parts until time D, which could mean that they are less valuable than they were at time A because as a result of what happened at time C (e.g., people are no longer interested in buying whatever).

Which is a somewhat convoluted way of saying: A shorter supply chain might be better. (To be sure, there are other factors that must be considered.)

To that end, Gardner Business Media, the company that brings you AutoBeat, is holding a series of webinars on Reshoring.

As in bringing back production operations from elsewhere.

This is a four-part series that will provide data, proven strategies and case studies of the benefits of Reshoring.

Topics included in the webinars:

• Why Reshoring is profitable for 20-40% of what you and your customers now import
• How to identify the products most eligible to Reshore
• How to quantify the costs and risks of offshoring
• How to convince companies to Reshore and buy from you

The presenter is Harry Moser, a man who founded the Reshoring Initiative after a career in manufacturing. He is presently on the Commerce Department Investment Advisory Council.

The first webinar is this Wednesday, April 29, at 2 p.m. ET. Click here to register.

A portion of the registration fee will go toward supporting the Reshoring Initiative.