Made in the U.S.A. – the new frontier for sourcing?

Over the years, there has been a lot of play in the media and in the purchasing profession regarding the subject of Low Cost Country Sourcing and offshoring. Depending on the year, it might’ve been a popular sourcing destination to be in India, China, Poland, Hungary, or any number of other countries.

More recently, there has been a growing realization that “the obvious” global sourcing decision may not be so obvious after all. A number of factors need to be understood in order to make the right decision; among them: currency valuations, sovereign country risk, quality issues, inventory issues, transit times, supply chain risks, etc.). To say it another way, a lot of homework and a lot of scenario planning are required to ensure that today’s global sourcing decision is a smart one for the foreseeable future.

It is in that context that I found the following article interesting. The title (American Made: Five Companies Bucking the Outsourcing Trend) says it all.

http://www.livescience.com/culture/american-made-companies-outsourcing-100903.html 

What are you seeing in your business? If you are a U.S. based company, have you reversed any previous offshoring decisions in favor of awarding business to US suppliers? If you are a non-U.S. based company, have you awarded any of your business to globally-competitive manufacturers based in the U.S.?

Related Article: 10 Great Companies still manufacturing in the USA