Posted on 12/02/2012 6:55:58 AM PST by grey_whiskers
My only point was that the companies moved the production offshore *first* (lower wages), without consulting the customers about whether the customers would prefer price or quality.
So once I was convinced of that, the question became, "OK, why would they suddenly rock the boat when everything was going well?"
And the answer I came up with was, they wanted new markets since the West was a mature market.
I agree offshoring sucks: I was most emphatically NOT trying to defend it -- as you might guess by reading the article which started this thread.
Cheers!
Under “Preparedness on the Go”, you might want to consider having a CD or other copy of the family photo album with a family member who is in a different location. FYI, the small bank safety deposit drawers are too narrow for a CD.
Outsourcing has its place. But the whole-sale gutting was silly..
The owner fell prey to a financial/business consultant who had made a name buying up small electronics manufacturers on the brink which had inventory, slashing costs by dumping all the line personnel (cutting costs) while maintaining quality selling the old inventory.
After showing a quarter of major turnaround (on paper), the companies were sold at a profit, but were doomed to failure because the product had suffered from the elimination of the experienced hands.
Anyway, that guy got the owner's ear, and things went downhill from there--the company broken up and sold in just 3-4 years.
The consultant made his and moved on, the guy who had built the business lost out.
There were lots of other factors involved, but most of the real business-wrecking decisions which looked good on paper originated with the business consultant.
None inferred or intended. We agree on this. I'm just looking at it from the angle of what we're doing to enable it, and what we can do to stop it.
It should be clear we can't count on either party to stop this. Maybe they shouldn't, as opening up other markets to our goods is a good thing. But if we want to keep our jobs, then we're the ones who need to buy stuff made here.
Thanks for the ping. I don’t think it’s smart if your R & D is thousands of miles away from where the products are made except for the more simple items. I think we should do like the Germans concentrating on specialty manufacturing.
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