Remaining competitive in a world of outsourcing

摘要

Outsourcing of goods and services presents a significant challenge to domestic companies. Engaging in outsourcing presents a company with significant costs and risks which are often not fully analyzed prior to the outsourcing decision. Despite the reversal in some foreign factories of the principles of Lean, judicious use of Lean principles and automation can make domestic production not only competitive with outsourcing, but has allowed some factories and companies to recapture outsourced production.