A recent article from Knowledge@Wharton asked a similar question: Should Manufacturing Jobs Be ‘Re-shored’ to the U.S.? The commentary focused on General Electric’s plans to invest about $1 billion on revamping production facilities in Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia and Indiana.

Over the past few years, GE has been very intentional in moving the manufacturing of high-tech appliances from China and Mexico into the U.S.

A question to consider is whether we could see similar movement in the utilization of technology providers. Certainly the dynamics of manufacturing are very different. There are issues of managing a complex supply chain, logistical challenges, workplace dynamics and advancing manufacturing methodologies to consider. Still, it begs the question if there could be a swing in sentiment on in-sourcing technology needs.

An interesting point not addressed in the article was that of GE’s technology sourcing policy. What is their stance, what are their practices when it comes to securing IT needs. Do they consider price only, or do they also entertain parallel issues such as span of control and working closely with nearby partners.

One of the overriding concerns in both manufacturing and deploying technology is how labor costs impact the bottom line. In the study it was noted that while China’s wages have increased five-to-six fold from 1999 to 2009; those costs are still only about 12% of wages here in the U.S. If we examine that from a technology perspective and consider all the other players in the world, we can readily find resources for even less.

While I addressed this topic back in early August in my blog post Offshore Developers: Evil Aliens, it seems the fervor has changed in those few short weeks. For better or worse, a recent added complication is the emerging politics surround outsourcing, and how it can be viewed as unpatriotic, not taking care of the people around us.

We will see how this dynamic continues to play out in the months and years ahead…

 

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