LOGISTICS
Disruption , uncertainty and inflation are driving businesses to reshore and nearshore manufacturing and retail operations , but at what cost ?
There has been more reshoring and nearshoring around the manufacture of semiconductors than any other product , because of the longstanding and ongoing chip shortages
The shape of supply seems to be changing in every conceivable way . It ’ s becoming less chainlike and more network-based , as businesses seek the sophistication needed to thrive in an uncertain world . Supply chains themselves are also shrinking , with organisations beginning to move away from the cheap-labour strategies that have fuelled the manufacturing boom and rapid industrialisation in South East Asia for the past 40 years .
But those days seem to be drawing to a close , because supply chains that span the globe are too vulnerable to disruption in today ’ s volatile , uncertain world . Increasingly , firms are looking to reshore and nearshore both manufacturing and sourcing to reduce their exposure to risk . A recent Reuters Events whitepaper shows just how strong the reshoring trend has become . Produced in conjunction with A . P . Moller-Maersk , the giant Danish shipping company , the paper – called ‘ A generational shift in sourcing strategy ’ – is a global deep-dive into near-sourcing , nearshoring and reshoring in the postpandemic world .
It looks at how companies across the world are looking to rebalance their supply chains , reduce risk , increase visibility and improve sustainability .
The paper shows that the countries with the two largest manufacturing workforces ,
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