Manufacturing and Supply Chain Expert Lisa Anderson, MBA, CSCP, CLTD, President of LMA Consulting Group Inc., sees a non-stop resurgence of manufacturing for the near- and long-term due to the impact of re-shoring and near-shoring. LMA Consulting Group works with manufacturers and distributors on strategy and end-to-end supply chain transformation to maximize the customer experience and enable profitable, scalable, dramatic business growth.                                  

"The big secret in manufacturing these days is that manufacturers are slowly ramping up operations to bring them closer to home. Near-shoring and re-shoring are a new reality," comments Ms. Anderson. Every manufacturer needs to have products close to their customers (near-shoring) to be on top of changes in demand. The way to do that is to have closer proximity to operations (re-shoring) where you have better control in several areas. "In addition to supply chain chaos, the pandemic awakened many organizations to the fact that they need to be closer to the customer. They need to be strategic and work with their customers to understand what they need, when they need it and how they can respond when things change. And, long lead times are no longer part of the equation, especially when competitors can fill a void," she added.  

Manufacturers worldwide are making changes. "There has not been a big fuss about it, but this is big news. Not only is it happening in the U.S., but European manufacturers are also re-shoring, especially from Asia. They want greater control. Companies no longer want to be at the mercy of political, infrastructure, and other challenges facing outside governments, not to mention the logistics nightmares of late. In fact, a recent survey indicated that 80% of executives expect to be re-shoring this year compared to 54% last year. It makes sense: be closer to your operations and, most importantly, be closer to your customer," she added.