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Europe

Manufacturing returning to Britain

Small manufactures are considering shifting production back from the Far East to the UK to save money and provide a better service to customers, the Telegraph reported based on a survey by IDC.

The study involving 700 small and mid-sized manufacturers around the world found that companies were struggling to meet customer expectations because the complexity of managing global supply chains.

These companies also ranked improving customer service as the most important strategic challenge facing them, with increasing sourcing from lower cost countries ranked last of 12 priorities.

“Low-cost sourcing can result in lower responsiveness and poor customer service, higher costs, and additional risk factors such as supply chain disruptions, diminished intellectual property protection and environmental concerns,” said the IDC Manufacturing Insights report for Infor, the business software provider, and IBM.

“Manufacturers will continue to focus on optimising manufacturing operations and the supply chain, but they are now consistently prioritising customer fulfillment above all else. This is a remarkable shift from pure cost cutting initiatives of the past as seen in 2009 with the crisis.”

North American and European manufacturers were making this change, the report added.