With all due respect, people have been outsorcing for some time. It comes down to the savings in labor and materials added to the cost of how often you have to check on the supplier and the level of acceptability of the parts versus doing it locally with higher labor and material costs, but without the travel cost and presumably fewer rejected parts. That is not to say that offshore parts are of poorer quality. (I can already feel the heat of the pending flame e-mails.) Waiting for 5-10 years in today's business economy could spell death for a company. Here is a simple example of comparisons. A part made locally costs $50. I can buy them in batch sizes from 25 to 10,000. My vendor is within a 2 hour drive. Part made offshore costs $8.00. I must buy in batch sizes above 2,500. I have to travel to the offshore company twice a month to keep my finger on the pulse of the product and I'm gone for a minimum of 4 days. The container gets stuck due to customs, a labor dispute or worse the boat sinks. If the part is bad or I have to tweak it I will need to rework it for some cost that in total is still less than the part I bought locally. How will this impact my production line if I plan for "Just In Time" deliveries? Don't forget the level of "Intellectual Property" you are sending out beyond your control. Will it be cloned? Will copied products show up on the market for much less? Just my view of the issue. Phil -----Original Message----- From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Jeffrey Bush Sent: Wednesday, May 11, 2005 11:19 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [TN] Articles on NOT Outsourcing to foreign shores I recommend a long-term study of the issue - possible 5-10 years before making any move. Jeffrey Bush Director, Quality Assurance and Technical Support VERMONT CIRCUITS INCORPORATED 76 Technology Drive - POB 1890 Brattleboro, Vermont 05302 Voice: 802.257.4571.21 Fax: 802.257.0011 http://www.vtcircuits.com -----Original Message----- From: Bev Christian [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Wednesday, May 11, 2005 9:49 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [TN] Articles on NOT Outsourcing to foreign shores Greetings, A acquaintance who is not a TechNetter has asked me if there are any general articles out there that help a person decide where is the break point for keeping manufacturing local and when it is the time to outsource offshore. I know I have read such articles, but cannot remember when or where. Thanks in advance. 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