Is it time to reduce outsourcing .......???

As the credit crunch increases its grip on the world economy is it time to review your outsource strategies ?

Over the last decade we have seen increasing levels of outsourcing in the U.K to the point where very little of our electronic goods are actually manufactured in the U.K. This has led to a loss of manufacturing jobs, the impact of which is being felt particularly harshly at the moment. However it could be strongly argued that many more R&D jobs would have been lost had outsourcing of manufacture not been widely adopted.

The U.K (& indeed the U.S) still remain major centres for R&D in the industry and we lead the world in innovative solutions.

There is no doubt also that the outsourcing of manufacturing activities has greatly benefited the consumer, just look what you can get for your money in terms of mobile phones, digital cameras, widescreen T.V's, etc etc

This is a good time to review our outsourcing strategy and every company will have a different response, what you outsource depends on your core skills and capabilities, your views on IPR and the needs of your customers.

In our view outsourcing remains a key fundamental strategy bringing benefits to the OEM and the consumer.