Competing with cheap foreign labor is not a losing battle. While lower labor costs may mean that their costs per unit can drop significantly, there are specific steps being taken by companies across North America to compete globally with their number one asset - workforce efficiency. North American factories are competing against cheap labor because their quality is better, lead times are reduced, throughput is increased, and production process is streamlined.
Competing against foreign labor means finding the necessary resources to improve your factory's efficiency. By implementing core lean manufacturing principles and investing in automation, North American factories are finding that they can make better quality products at a lower cost per unit. Foreign labor costs may appear invitingly low, but by becoming flexible and efficient, factories are staying in North America because they can offer their customers lower prices if they stay in North America.
At Save Your Factory, we have a number of stories that show how real companies are competing against foreign labor by making their factories more efficient. We also have a collection of lean manufacturing case studies that show how companies are competing with cheap labor costs by reducing material waste and non-value added/non-productive time. The truth is that outsourcing jobs to foreign companies means losing customers to poor quality, losing to competition because of increased lead times, and losing to North American factories who are more efficient in their production. Go to our Improved Efficiency page to find case studies and intelligence reports about how companies are investing in their North American factories to increase profits.
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