Global manufacturing saw production grind to a near standstill during the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s likely to remain that way for the foreseeable future.
With reshoring manufacturing now a more attractive alternative to overseas components of supply chains, American companies are eager to reduce the impact world events can have on their operations.
Partnering with a single, American-based manufacturer can make a big difference in your overall production -- decreasing lead times and your total cost of ownership. Single-sourcing manufacturing creates efficiencies that far outweigh the perceived benefits of offshoring and eliminates coordinating between multiple vendors.
4 Benefits of Reshoring With a Single-Source American Manufacturer
If you’re taking a hard look at how an American manufacturer fits into your supply chain, here are four benefits to consider:
- One-stop shopping
- Reduced transportation costs
- Less product handling
- Improved quality control
1. One-Stop Shopping
Single-sourcing your manufacturing ensures you’re dealing with one company, and one company only.
That means there’s no additional time -- and money -- spent on cobbling together a domestic supply chain with multiple links. Nor is there additional time -- and money -- spent managing a complicated web of partners.
At the onset of your partnership with one manufacturer, you can get everyone on the same page to have a deep understanding of your product, expectations, and demands.
Should the unexpected happen, such as a quick shift in market trends, you only need to make one phone call -- and you don’t need to worry about what time it is on another continent or any communication barriers.
2. Reduced Transportation Costs
Getting a product from point A to point B costs money. When more stops are added along a product’s journey, more shipping costs follow suit.
With a single, American manufacturer as part of your supply chain, there’s only one trip your product makes -- from their shipping bay to your receiving dock.
Even if you are offshoring or nearshoring with a single overseas manufacturer, your product has multiple stops and inspections before even making its way to the United States for additional stops and inspections. These are just two of the many hidden costs of offshoring.
3. Less Product Handling
The more your product is handled during production, the more chance there is for something bad to happen. The odds increase drastically for a dent, a scratch, or outright breakage when working with multiple vendors.
4. Improved Quality Control
With a single vendor, you can agree on a set of inspection standards your product must clear to be considered done.
A production error at one manufacturer might not be viewed as a defect at another. In fact, you may not even see the product midway through its production to catch an error. Getting that defect fixed or your product outright replaced starts the production process all over again -- and there’s a good chance your job won’t be ushered to the front of the production line.
Reshoring With a Single-Source Manufacturer = Shorter Lead Times
Even if your manufacturer is halfway across America, you’ll still see shorter lead times.
As we’ve mentioned, offshore production is a long process -- which increases a product’s total cost. Add in a world-changer such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and production take even longer.
While working with multiple American vendors is faster and eliminates the hidden costs of offshoring and nearshoring, you’re still dealing with multiple vendors where any number of issues can hamper production.
A single-source manufacturer reduces lead times because there’s:
- No coordination between vendors
- No additional shipping
- Streamlined communication
- Improved quality control
- Trust
