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What's Next When Offshoring Isn't so Cheap?

Harvard Business Review

Over the last decade, offshore manufacturing seemed like a no-brainer. dollar, rising fuel costs and the risks inherent in longer supply chains have many companies rethinking their sourcing strategies. Offshoring isn't going away, but companies will have to be smarter about it. Is it time to retrench?

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The Downside of Best Practices | N2Growth Blog

N2Growth Blog

Moreover if they decide to develop the application should this be done internally with existing staff, or outsourced, and if outsourced will it be done domestically or offshore and who will manage the process. Oh, and what about development methodology? That compilation of tasks that go from time sheet to paycheck?

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A Business Model for Bangladesh

Harvard Business Review

The death of over 800 people in the collapse of Rana Plaza , a building with garment factories in Bangladesh, spurred widespread outrage over working conditions in offshore factories. The need to improve supply chain compliance does not come from moral arguments alone; the business consequences are also increasingly unescapable.

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Oil’s Boom-and-Bust Cycle May Be Over. Here’s Why

Harvard Business Review

While they can start to tap into the global reserves of shale oil, which exist literally everywhere, developing the reserves in most places from China to Argentina will require a significant investment to develop the shale ecosystem and supply chains needed, in addition to the infrastructure to gather, treat, transport, and store the crude oil.

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Just How Important Is Manufacturing?

Harvard Business Review

Making parts for an iPhone is a challenging mix of materials science, mechanical engineering, precision fabrication, and managing mind-boggling complexity in the supply chain. Many of the jobs in the most advanced semiconductor-manufacturing plants are as complex as a lunar-landing mission.

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The 4 Types of Small Businesses, and Why Each One Matters

Harvard Business Review

An important but less well-documented type is comprised of an estimated 1 million small businesses that are part of commercial and government supply chains (referred to as suppliers). from offshore. A robust network of small suppliers is important to the long-term competitiveness of large U.S.

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Unglamorous Freelance Manufacturers Could Boost U.S. Competitiveness

Harvard Business Review

Many of us admire Apple for its originality but tend to forget the importance of its power-supply innovations, all of which were done in China by a Taiwanese company. By shifting much of their production to Asia, Western companies have also offshored critical aspects of innovation. In photonics, offshoring has sometimes prevented U.S.