Is Your Product a Candidate for Reshoring?

Mitch Nichols • September 27, 2021

Over the past year many OEM’s have experienced some unique challenges with continuity of supply and de-risking their global supply chain. AdvancTEK believes that during this current crisis that North America is a viable alternative to manufacturing offshore. Our lean manufacturing methods allow our Customers to realize competitive advantages right here at home. AdvancTEK’s tooling and engineering Project Management Team can assist your product development efforts with domestic tool builds, faster T1 samples and tool qualification, as well as a quicker ramp to sustaining volume production. We believe that our customers can and will benefit from local, skilled resources that can quickly adapt to the changing needs of the market.

More than likely your organization has already started the evaluation process of your offshore supply chain. Some helpful questions to consider when evaluating if your product is a good candidate for reshoring:

Your product has one or more of the following characteristics:

Inflexible quality requirements.
Annual volumes above 10,000 units.
Secondary Operations, Kitting or light assembly work that can be automated.
Multi-year production requirements.
High per-unit shipping cost (product does not pack densely).
Large form factor injection molded part that is fulfilled in North America.

You or your customer needs one or more of the following:

Quicker lead times to fulfill unexpected sales orders.
Flexibility to order small and large lots, as needed.
Assurance that products hitting your dock meet all quality expectations.
On-site technical support for purchased products.
Increased product or brand value from a “Made In The USA” or “Buy America” requirements.

You want to eliminate the risk of:

Increased import tariffs from China or Asia Pacific.
Your supplier violating your intellectual property rights.
Currency exchange rate fluctuations.
Paying for products before you’ve inspected them.
Your supplier selling unauthorized products made on your plastic injection molds.
Dramatically increasing labor rates in Asia.
Strikes at US ports or international ports.
Product liabilities expenses your supplier will not pay for.

Several companies have reached out to ask if AdvancTEK would consider accepting transfer tooling from their current suppliers or they are making the investment in a second set of tools. Their suppliers are being impacted by supply chain volatility and material shortages and the impact on customer deliveries continue to cause a financial strain. Over the past 20 years AdvancTEK has successfully transferred over 1,000 tools with minimal disruptions in delivery schedules. We have enough capacity to assist you if this need arises. We are problem solvers and we will find a way!