What is Reshoring? Reshoring can be defined as the act of returning previously offshored jobs to their home soil. This trend developed in response to decades of offshoring in which American firms shifted jobs to Asia in search of lower-cost labor and access to foreign markets. The rise of offshoring was also enabled by advances in communication technology (i.e., the internet), foreign government incentives, and trade agreements that reduced or eliminated tariffs and other trade barriers. Yet, around 2010, the cost savings that American firms enjoyed from offshoring began to erode, as labor, energy, and transportation costs rose overseas. In addition, many firms found that they faced hidden costs in the form of lengthy supply chains, uncertain intellectual property rights protections, frequent employee turnover, and the need for constant monitoring for quality control. As firms became aware of these costs and started taking them into consideration, many decided that it would be more cost effective to reshore operations to their home soil. It is estimated that 249,000 manufacturing jobs have returned to the U.S. since 2010. 1 Most of this activity is taking place in three primary industry sectors: manufacturing, professional services, and information technology. Projections show that the reshoring trend will continue, as companies that were considering reshoring in previous years are now taking action. According to a December 2015 survey from the Boston Consulting Group, the share of manufacturing companies that are actively reshoring production to the U.S. has increased by approximately 250 percent since 2012. 2 Reshoring can be a catalyst for economic development through the creation of new jobs, the expansion of the community s tax base, and by providing training opportunities for workers. As thousands of jobs return to American shores, there are significant opportunities for well-prepared communities to attract these reshoring projects and impact their local economies. This section will present strategies that can be incorporated into a community s marketing program to help attract reshoring firms. Developing Leads to Attract Reshoring Economic developers frequently ask how to identify companies that are considering reshoring. Reshoring companies use many of the same strategies as companies that are considering relocating or expanding operations. Economic developers can gain leads about companies considering reshoring by applying the following approaches to stay informed. Communicate with representatives of existing businesses in the community, especially those with offshore facilities or suppliers. Attend trade shows and expositions of the target industries. Network with representatives from universities, state governments, labor unions, and trade associations. Read trade magazines and foreign new sources to stay abreast of trends. Utilize web-based news alerts about a particular industry or company. Track online inquiries and website visits. 1 http://reshorenow.com/content/pdf/2015_data_summary.pdf 2 https://www.bcgperspectives.com/content/articles/lean-manufacturing-outsourcing-bpo-reshoringmanufacturing-us-gains-momentum/
Conduct trade missions abroad or host reverse trade missions at home. Cold call companies. Map supply chains. Once a lead has been identified, the economic developer should conduct further research. The following methods may be used to gather additional information on a reshoring candidate. Consult newspaper and magazine archives for company information. Consult proprietary sales data companies (e.g., Dun & Bradstreet). Speak discretely with customers and suppliers of the target company. Access federal information resources from the U.S. Census, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Federal Reserve, and Bureau of Economic Analysis. Contact state government agencies or departments. Reach out to trade associations and trade publications. Conduct internet searches. Utilize proprietary corporate sales and import/export databases (e.g., IBISWorld, Hoovers, WISER, Datamyne). Read the analyst reports and annual reports of publicly traded companies. Utilize foreign government data from the company s country of origin Conducting this research will provide the economic developer with a detailed knowledge of the prospective reshoring firm and its needs, and it will will better position the community to land the deal. Use BRE to Identify Companies that could Reshore Reshoring leads can also be developed through a community s existing business retention and expansion (BRE) program. BRE programs are a means of opening channels of communication with local businesses that allow economic developers to ascertain what businesses need in order to grow in the community. BRE programs also help gather business intelligence on local companies through the use of surveys and interviews, whether conducted in-person or by email or telephone. 3 BRE surveys and visits can be used to identify companies that are likely to consider shifting production domestically. BRE programs can also help to identify companies that are considering relocating production to the United States from abroad. Candidate companies might be incumbent companies in a community with facilities or suppliers offshore. Alternatively, they could be the customers or suppliers of these incumbent companies. More detailed information about developing a successful BRE strategy can be found in IEDC s Business Retention and Expansion training manual. 3 Darrene Hackler, Cathy Katona, and Christopher J. Girdwood, Business Retention and Expansion. International Economic Development Council. 2011.
Unique Marketing Strategies to Attract Reshoring Many of the standard marketing strategies that are presented in this training manual can also be used to attract reshoring firms. However, there are also unique strategies that can be employed when marketing a community to reshoring firms. The following is an overview of these strategies. Evaluating the Costs of Overseas Production to Attract Reshoring In the past, when companies decided to offshore jobs, many conducted only a relatively simplistic cost analysis that compared factors like overseas wage rates to those in the U.S. Then, after seeing a significant difference in wage rates, they made the decision to offshore. It was only after these companies had moved offshore that they realized that they would face many hidden costs like lengthy supply chains, uncertain intellectual property rights, and frequent employee turnover. "When we started looking at the costs and complexities of the inventory and lead times, there really wasn't any savings," said Roger Murphy, president of Block Windows, a company that has recently reshored. 4 American companies that are operating overseas today still face many of these costs, although they may not fully realize it. Therefore, when looking to attract reshoring firms, communities should craft messages that call on companies to consider analyzing the costs of operating abroad versus domestically, especially in specific states or regions that enjoy a low cost of doing business. There are three free tools that can help companies make this determination: the Assess Costs Everywhere (ACE) Tool, the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Estimator, and the Cost Differential Frontier Calculator. Assess Costs Everywhere (ACE) The ACE tool was developed within the U.S. Department of Commerce s Economics and Statistics Administration in partnership with the National Institute for Standards and Technology's Manufacturing Extension Partnership. This tool helps manufacturers incorporate total cost assessment in decision-making. Total cost assessments help to uncover overlooked offshoring expenses such as trade financing, shipping, inventory, and product quality. ACE provides manufacturers an analytic framework as well as links to public and private resources and case studies. Website: http://acetool.commerce.gov/ Total Cost of Ownership Estimator The Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Estimator is a free online tool developed by the Reshoring Initiative. This tool helps manufacturers better assess and compare the total costs and risks of offshore and onshore ownership. The estimator provides customized calculations based on unique company data, allows for direct cost comparisons, and includes a forecast for strategic planning purposes. While the estimator is designed for businesses, it is also a useful tool for economic development groups, governments, educators, and other leaders looking to enable regional reshoring and foreign direct investment. 4 Kris Maher and Bob Tita, Caterpillar Joins Onshoring Trend. The Wall Street Journal. March 11, 2010.
The Reshoring Initiative's website provides other information resources, such as case studies and articles. The initiative educates suppliers on getting orders from large customers that currently source from overseas. The initiative also works with a variety of partners, including the National Academies of Sciences and Engineering, the Manufacturing Institute/Clinton Global Initiative, the Association for Manufacturing Excellence, and EDOs to improve the skilled manufacturing workforce. The initiative also consults with EDOs, manufacturing extension partnerships, and educational institutions that are advancing reshoring. Website: http://www.reshorenow.org/tco_estimator.cfm Cost Differential Frontier Calculator The University of Lausanne's Cost Differential Frontier Calculator helps companies determine the cost differential between producing domestically and overseas, emphasizing logistics and inventory carrying costs and risks. This easy-to-use-tool asks users to provide five data points to compare the costs of long lead times and demand volatility exposure. A short video explaining how to use the tool is provided at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wq0i2m0ahk. Website: http://cdf-oplab.unil.ch/ Promote Local Supply Chains to Attract Reshoring Economic developers can use their knowledge of local supply chains to market themselves to companies considering reshoring. When manufacturing companies began offshoring, many of their suppliers followed them overseas. Therefore, one of the primary obstacles to companies reshoring today is a lack of capable suppliers. States and regions with strong supply chains will stand out from other locations, and these supply chains should be actively marketed to attract reshoring firms. Also, as American firms continue to reshore, new opportunities are being created for suppliers to expand their businesses. This ripple effect throughout the local economy will help strengthen communities. As an added benefit, economic developers can use the supply chain mapping process to help identify reshoring companies. If large numbers of suppliers or customers for a particular company are located in one region, a company with overseas facilities that forms a link in the chain may be a suitable candidate for reshoring. The reshoring firm, local suppliers, and customers would all benefit from decreased logistics costs and other synergies were the company to relocate. Two tools that may help in this effort are ThomasNet and the U.S. Cluster Mapping Tool. ThomasNet ThomasNet is a free searchable supplier directory that allows a company to identify suppliers based on a product or service category; the brand or company name; or the United Nations Standard Products and Services Code (UNSPSC) code. The results can be narrowed down by company type, geography, ownership, or certifications and registration. Website: http://www.thomasnet.com/
U.S. Cluster Mapping Tool The project is led by Harvard Business School's Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness in partnership with the U.S. Department of Commerce and U.S. Economic Development Administration. The U.S. Cluster Mapping website provides data on industry clusters and regional business environments in the United States. The tool can be used by governments, economic developers, and businesses to understand and develop industries that promote economic growth and national competitiveness. Website: http://www.clustermapping.us/ Promote the Local Business Climate to Attract Reshoring What makes a community the best place to do business? Thinking like a company, one strategy is to identify the top reasons why companies choose to locate within the community and promote those as strengths to other companies. These strengths should be identified as part of creating a reshoring strategy. One approach to get the message out is to capture testimonials from local business owners. Such testimonials can be collected during the BRE surveys that are discussed above.