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Should U.S. businesses seriously reconsider manufacturing oversees?

 
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profitizer

posts: 89

Jul 21, 2008 4:15 AM ET    Quote  Report Abuse
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Hello.

More often now, many articles are springing up questioning whether or not U.S. companies should reconsider manufacturing overseas.

This debate is being waged because shipping costs, labor, and other costs when manufacturing in countries like China, are sky-rocketing.  And then to top it off, as world conflicts heighten or continue, the probability is steadily increasing that U.S. Customs and Border Protection, a Dept. of Homeland Security, will increase product duty, lengthen approval processing time and/or deny entry of more imported goods.

Problems that businesses are experiencing from overseas production beside those previously mentioned are 1) having to carry excess inventory they may not be able to sell; 2) paying to store and maintain that excess inventory; 3) not having the right mix and/or volume of inventory necessary to satisfy customer demand in a timely fashion;  4) lack of cost control due to oil prices and other `runaway` or uncontrollable factors that rapidly consume what little profit and deliverability they have remaining; 5) competing against domestic companies who are more than willing to scoop up those businesses` customers; etc.  There seems to be no one who has enough of a handle on this situation to advise businesses on how they can remain profitable under these circumstances (`as is`).

So far, many businesses who manufacture overseas have responded by passing a portion of their increased costs down to the consumer.  But in many cases, depending on the product, the consumer is no longer willing to accept the revised pricing nor `rain checks` and are either going without or are seeking `Made in America` sources again.  Those businesses who are producing those same goods, or versions thereof, in the States are becoming more attractive and are putting their plans together to be in a position to ramp-up production (increase their capacity) and enjoy the ride when the time comes.


~~~~~~~~~~~ QUESTIONS: ~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I. Should businesses, whether large or small, worry about creating a `Plan B` OR do you think those businesses will try to `ride it out` thinking that the oil prices will stabilize and Customs will add more resources to keep products flowing into the States at an acceptable pace even in the event of a security concern OR just not change course because they have too much invested in overseas production and not enough infrastructure and resources to manufacture in the States?

II. What if there is another security concern - do you believe Customs will continue `business as usual` e.g. maintain status quo on the percentage of containers inspected, etc.?  What would those businesses do about cash flow if their product is not sold because they had not arrived on-time after Customs?  They would still be obligated to pay on-time for raw materials, manufacturing, shipping, their own staff, et al. even if their customer cancels their order because of delays at the border.  In some cases, expediting shipments from those distances or uncontrolled costs could produce negative profits.

III. What could `Plan B` be so that those businesses survive in the long run? 

IV. Should new and prospective entrepreneurs build their business around overseas production similar to the successful ones of the past? 

V. Are the glory days of overseas manufacturing becoming `a thing of the past?` 

VI. Is nearshoring becoming more attractive?  Is it really practical for U.S. companies?~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 
 
Check out my profile to see links to `LIVE` software examples; free software download resources; website and business techniques; and more...

Also, read the article, Web - Common Misconception #1: "Build a website; they will come..."
 
and see SuN thread "Building Targeted Website Traffic."

See you again, soon!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Also, check out these threads:
Intro Thread#1 Thread#2 Thread#3  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
profitizer7/21/2008 4:20 AM


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Jul 22, 2008 10:29 AM ET    Quote  Report Abuse
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I guess my question is, what`s your real purpose with this entry? No offense but it strikes me as a means to drum up business. There`s no doubt one can look really smart asking the right questions but there`s lots of holes here -to say nothing of slanting potential responses by your selection of questions. Why not trim down the topic and offer your opinions to open a salient discussion?


-------------------------

~Nurture people, not products~
http://www.fashion-incubator.com
profitizer

posts: 89

Jul 22, 2008 1:57 PM ET    Quote  Report Abuse
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Thanks for your reply, kathleenfasanella.
 
I appreciate your opinion, although you are incorrect as far as my motivation.  Also, as far as I am aware, there are no particular set of rules in which to spark a discussion.  I won`t go as far as to say that the motivation for your response is to acquire more forum activity points because that may not be a fair assessment, either.
 
I have been in this business a long time and know that if folks who are new to the manufacturing business or are contemplating getting into a business that requires them to have their goods produced based on a business model loosely described in my initial post, they may find themselves with very little chance of succeeding.  Many folks, including myself, believe that business model as written, which was great at the beginning is nearing the end of its course and should be revamped for reasons mentioned in that post.
 
Typically, the business model that exists for that entrepreneur`s industry is not really being looked at in detail by that entrepreneur anyway so they start their business off on flawed footing to begin with and then wonder why it is not working the way they thought it would.
 
I`ve read countless threads over time in this and other forums and blogs about folks wanting to know how to manufacture products because they have a `great` idea; and/or how to go about manufacturing overseas; or how to get more cash flow because they feel they are becoming over-extended because the cash is not coming in according to plan in order to pay everyone on time; etc.  I`ve spoken to many folks over the years about this same subject, too.  Same people; different faces.
 
When I ask certain questions like those in my initial post, which I don`t always give the answers to on purpose, I see that they have absolutely no clue about what they are getting themselves into.  It`s then up to them to ponder those questions and do their own more extensive research and/or learn from the school of hard knocks.  For quite a few, it was too late, because they ran out of money in which to fix their flawed `process` and they couldn`t afford to hire professionals to help them to get out of that jam.  Their poor judgement, although with good intentions, ruined their personal credit to boot.
 
Regarding your statement about `holes,` please be very specific.  Provide questions or statements that `supports your argument` because I am not providing a dissertation, at least not here.  I`m only posing a few of many questions I believe  from my own professional experience, what entrepreneurs need to strongly consider. 
 
What is your experience on this topic?  Have you ever manufactured overseas?
 
I`m always glad to find more folks of like minds to do friendly debates with on various subjects.
 
I hope to hear from you again on this topic.
 


-------------------------

International Business Network, LLC. (IBNETLLC.com)

* Buy Web Traffic (100% Human Targeted) at...
The Advertising Wall (.com) | VisitorsGalore.com

* Add Your Website Link to the LinkToUs.net Directory! (SEO backlinks)

Other Resources:
* Website Traffic Repair (.com)   |  * Health Care Statistics (.org)   |   * Cardio Workout (.tv)

Jul 22, 2008 2:21 PM ET    Quote  Report Abuse
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I won`t go as far as to say that the motivation for your response is to acquire more forum activity points because that may not be a fair assessment, either.


Do we get activity points? I had no idea. Do we get something of value for them?

Yes, I have an extensive background in manufacturing apparel, nearly 30 years. The thing is this, at least in apparel and at least in the product classes that *most* entrepreneurs specialize, I never thought off-shoring was a good idea. Until recently, I was something of an anathema. Most people interpreted my stance as jingoistic, rah rah rah America etc without examining the content of my objections -again- for *most* entrepreneurs in apparel. I write quite a bit about it, all the content is free on my site so I stand nothing to gain directly. You see, like you`re sensing now, the existing popular model of outsource manufacturing is a race to the bottom -in my opinion.

At this point since you seem to be open to the exploration of the topic, I`m wondering if you`d be interested in learning more about lean manufacturing (aka "pull manufacturing"). It`s a paradigm in industrial engineering and I believe it holds great promise -at least in my field. While theoretically I know it to be of benefit in other classes of manufacturing, I`ll stick to what I know. I wouldn`t  exactly know how to steer you but I favor a book called "The Machine that Changed the World". It`s inexpensive. A follow up might be "Lean Thinking". A lot of people think they are "lean" because they`re running on a shoestring but it`s not that at all. What I think would be really awesome is if we had a whole thread about lean manufacturing here.

In the short term I`ll say that the existing model (called "push manufacturing") leads to a whole host of endemic deficits, parasitic to margins. It`s a whole chain reaction from production to sales. And I just don`t think it`s healthy. I think it`s better to produce closer to market in both time lines and distance. Previously, buyers bought apparel at least six to 12 months in advance of delivery with commensurate product development scheduling but all that is changing. How can one capitalize on trends (whether in styling or economic) having made commitments so far in advance? It`s simply not tenable. I believe consumers have borne the brunt of it. I should shut up now. I could go on for days.


-------------------------

~Nurture people, not products~
http://www.fashion-incubator.com
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