Resurgence of the “Made in America” Movement

The resurgence of the “Made in America” movement is a direct response to the amount of jobs, particularly manufacturing, that are being sent overseas. While importing a majority of our goods does often lead to cheaper prices, it leaves Americans with fewer jobs, overall lower incomes, and generally worse quality products. With the recent presidential election, both parties have turned their attention towards this growing movement and the dedication of federal spending to rebuild infrastructure and American manufacturing. In support of states where manufacturing jobs are heavily relied upon, the President has already imitated plans in support of his “buy American, hire American” campaign slogan. 

In early February 2017, President Trump himself made a visit to Boeing’s South Carolina manufacturing plant. This trip, which followed previous commitments from other US-based manufacturers, including Carrier, to keep re-invest in manufacturing in the US, was strictly in support of his “America First” message. President Trump is quoted saying, "Our goal as a nation must be to rely less on imports and more on products made here in the USA.” The President has also spoken of future plans and proposals, including a substantial penalty for companies who move their jobs outside of the US, in order to help kick-start growth in America’s original industry. 

And the President isn’t the only person in the country who believes in this movement. Many companies are proudly advertising their Made in America status, despite the cost and competition challenges that come with manufacturing products domestically. Keeping manufacturers inside our borders allows companies to have better control of supply chain efficiency, product quality, and results in more money in the pockets of US employees. 

What does a “Made in America” Future Look Like? 

Studies have shown that the companies whose suppliers and customers are in the same country will be the ones that ultimately survive economic recessions financial hardship. This is a result of two main factors: 

1. Intricate global supply chains have higher cost variances as a result of global politics. Additionally, risk is significantly larger leaving companies vulnerable to supply disruptions and quality control problems.
2. Labor rates, which are the primary reason why companies choose to outsource production, are slowly catching up with that of the Western world. In due time, the cost of logistics along with reduced cost savings from labor, will outweigh the cost of domestic production. 

A future where America is indeed put first looks promising for both US citizens and US industry. This movement could bring more manufacturing jobs back to the US and ultimately begin to re-balance the global economy.

How can we help? 

InsideTheBox (ITB) is a US based industrial product development consulting company. Supporting American manufacturing since 2016, ITB helps US-based manufacturers efficiently and effectively manage through the lifecycle of industrial production. Regardless if you out-source or maintain US operations, ITB can help you mitigate risk, discover cost efficiency, and improve operational performance.

How a Product Development Consultant Can Aid Your Business Organization?

A product development consultant helps companies to create profit by more efficiently and effectively developing a product and getting it to market. Most importantly, this type of consultant is used to help ensure products meet customers’ quality and delivery needs, but also establish operational processes so that production is stable and sustainable. Typical product development services include research and planning into product design, prototyping of production processes, the development of key performance indicators, and the creation of quality and control practices. Below are examples of how your industrial business can progress through the help of product development consultants: 

1. Industrial product development consulting is not only needed for new products, but can also be implemented into existing operations. Continuous improvement efforts are utilized throughout manufacturing operations to ensure production is sustainable and is fit to meet the ever changing market conditions and needs. 
2. Analysis of client operations and market research can be used to help identify goals and limitations. Defining the scope of product development challenges is critical to ensuring success. Set achievable goals that are unique to your operations. Simply throwing a framework at your problems will not make them go away. 
3. Make a clear action plan with key milestones and initiatives for the lifecycle of your product. Product development should never be complete with first article approval. A strong industrial product development consultant will ensure that your operations have been established to sustain the lifecycle of your program. 
4. It is critical to always re-visit your market and your customer needs. Feedback is a tremendously useful tool when you can derive specific actions from it. Always account for your target market needs. Typical Industrial product development services will include the establishment of key performance indicators and critical to quality requirements. 

Why Hire A Product Development Consultant? 

A lot of cutting-edge companies are trying to find new ways to develop products and get to market faster. A global market has created increased competition and effective design, development, and deployment is critical to building a strong market base. Although many won’t see value in the investment, consultants will typically have the versatile skillset that can enhance a management team’s capabilities. In the long-term, the potential upside from increased market share, as well as a quicker return on investment, easily off-set any consulting investment.

Key Focuses of Product Development

Before any product can be sold, it must be defined, designed, and built. Product development consulting services are rapidly growing in importance in today’s markets due to the need to quickly get products perfected and ready for the market. As the market changes, product needs change too. Rapid development and deployment can make or break a product’s sales success. At its root, the purpose of product design and development services is to grab maximum market share and to create an error-free production process. Product development services also are one of the key drivers behind strategic innovation. Not only do product development consulting services focus on the creation of new products according to the need of customers and ever changing market conditions, but they also support the reinvigoration of existing products in target or struggling markets. 

One of the core skills of product development companies is the ability to effectively identify the needs of a client and turn them into an efficiency product strategy and design. While innovation is always preferred, practicality in terms of its development, timeline, and cost are most critical to effectively accelerating growth and sales. By effectively designing a product and its production processes, product development consulting services help to create demand in the market. Quality assurance is also critical to ensuring sustained success and customer satisfaction. 

The main functions of product development consulting are: 

1. Translating a customer’s idea to a sustainable and practical design.
2. Defining Critical to Quality and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) from prototyping processes. 
3. Drawing comparisons with the top competition to develop a go-to-market strategy
4. Speculative justification for continuous improvement of production processes 
5. Applying analytical and professional skills to design new products and renovate existing products to expand market share. 

Success is measured through the collection of data. The ability to identify outlier data and leverage tools such as statistical process control to better manage production results in effective and sustainable product development and deployment. The use of performance metrics and KPIs is critical to enforcing best practices.