IPC report highlights business implications of on-shoring in North America
July 9, 2014. A new report in IPC’s series of on-shoring studies, “On-Shoring in the North American Electronics Industry: Update on Trends and the Impact on Companies,” has been published by IPC-Association Connecting Electronics Industries. Presenting data collected by IPC over the past two years, the report highlights North American electronics industry trends in on-shoring and domestic sourcing and includes new data on the business impact from companies that have actually engaged in some form of on-shoring.
According to the 2014 report, many companies have considered on-shoring, but only a few have taken action. North American and European companies from this select group reported the impact of on-shoring and domestic sourcing on their operational and financial performance in 2014, addressing metrics such as costs, delivery time, time to market, quality control, inventories and sales. “While data from a small sample is not statistically significant, it offers preliminary indications of how on-shoring has affected the companies that have adopted this strategy,” said Sharon Starr, IPC director of market research.
The current status of some high-profile on-shoring initiatives by Apple, Motorola, GE and other major companies is also provided in the report. Although not all of these on-shoring initiatives succeeded, those that did point the way for other companies.
The report also covers on-shoring drivers, deterrents and issues, domestic sourcing trends, the status of the cost gap, and recommendations for North American companies considering on-shoring. In addition, the report includes data from the large-sample studies conducted in 2012 and 2013.
On-Shoring in the North American Electronics Industry: 2014 Update on Trends and the Impact on Companies is a product of IPC’s market research service and is provided at no charge to companies that completed the survey. The report is available to IPC members for $225 and to nonmembers for $450.