Offshore Manufacturing: A Holistic Approach

Offshore Manufacturing has become a popular strategy for manufacturers from developed countries, especially those based in North America and Europe, who are moving their manufacturing and other related functions to emerging countries like China, India and Brazil to take advantage of low cost labor, raw material cost and fast growing market opportunities.

As a result, most large players in almost all manufacturing sectors have a global presence and are aggressively pursuing a strategy of moving or setting up their operations in low cost countries. Most of these companies are mature with refined processes to set-up global operations and are in the second or third wave of migration or expansion. In contrast, small and medium manufacturers do not enjoy this advantage, as most of them do not have the experience or the capability to move or setup manufacturing operations in low cost countries. This paper attempts to provide a systematic approach for small and medium manufacturers to help them prioritize and take the right steps for moving their manufacturing operations to low cost countries.