In his most recent post
In his most recent post, the doctor discusses near-shoring from an AMR research project that indicates that this process can be used as a form or risk management with which this author agrees.
Many people when referring to offshoring and near-shoring think they are only discussing jobs that have been replaced by remote resources from India and China. This was a major topic in the most recent political campaign for President of the U.S.A. This author believes this subject should be taken more broadly to include sources of supply for resale and not for resale products in the retail market.
Many retail executives may not even be familiar with this term. It has been around for a number of years now and in contrast to offshoring, nearshoring offers companies an opportunity to collaborate with suppliers located in the same or similar time zones. If you have ever tried to source products or services from Asia, compare the time difference with that of building a relationship with sources of supply in a local time zone such as in Argentina, Brazil Canada or Mexico. There are significant headaches associated with doing business with a supplier that is on the opposite end of the clock. By example: A company located in New York at 8 p.m. EST. trying to do business with a supplier in Tokyo at 9 a.m. the next morning. The New York based company is well past the end of their day and the Tokyo based company is at the very beginning of their next day.
From today’s Sourcing Innovation blog “the doctor” posts: Hear, hear! I’ve always been for nearshore sourcing and home country sourcing not only because it decreases risks, but because it increases competitive advantage manufacturing flexibility while decreasing transportation costs and pollution.
In order to support near shore or home country sourcing, a significant database of new sources of supply is required where suppliers are adequately vetted against a number of safety and environmental certifications and a level of traceability is maintained. We all know that a key to sustainability in the e-negotiation process is a list of suppliers ready and willing to compete for your business. Running events with the same supplier’s quarter after quarter and year after year is not sustainable.
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