Nearshoring vs. Reshoring: What Are the Differences?

Reshoring and nearshoring are different types of business strategies that companies can adopt, each with its advantages and challenges. Each of these business methods has different strategies and benefits which sets them apart from each other. 

This article will discuss the differences between nearshoring and reshoring, in terms of how they work, their advantages, and their disadvantages.

What Is Nearshoring?

Nearshoring is a business practice in which a company moves its operations or services to a neighboring or nearby country, often in the same region or time zone. The company aims to benefit from proximity, reduced logistical challenges, and cultural similarities while still achieving cost savings compared to onshoring business operations within the same country as the parent company.

To learn more, see our article on Nearshoring.

How Does Nearshoring Work?

Nearshoring involves locating business operations in a neighboring country of the original/parent company. The primary principles of nearshoring include: selecting a service provider or manufacturing facility in a nearby location, leveraging geographical proximity to reduce travel time and logistical challenges, operating in a similar time zone to facilitate real-time communication and collaboration, benefiting from cultural affinities, reducing costs compared to onshoring, minimizing supply-chain risks, and taking advantage of scalability and regulatory alignment. In essence, nearshoring offers a compromise between cost savings and proximity advantages, allowing companies to maintain efficient operations while still enjoying some of the benefits of offshoring.

However, there’s a difference between nearshore outsourcing and nearshoring with a captive operations business model. With nearshore outsourcing, the work, services, or other business operations are outsourced to a third party in the country of choice; whereas captive nearshoring is a specific model of nearshoring in which a company establishes its own subsidiary or dedicated office in a nearby or neighboring country to perform business functions or services. This subsidiary is wholly owned and controlled by the parent company, as opposed to outsourcing to a third-party service provider.

Why Do Companies Choose Nearshoring?

There are several reasons why companies might choose nearshoring as a business strategy. Companies typically choose to nearshore to benefit from geographical proximity, similar time zones, and cultural affinities, enabling cost savings compared to onshoring while maintaining operational efficiency and reducing supply-chain risks.

What Are Examples of Nearshoring?

Several well-known companies have successfully leveraged nearshoring to their advantage. Here are some examples:

1. Google: In 2011, Google outsourced 1,000 AdWords support jobs to call centers around the world. Subsequently, in 2014, Google partnered with Latin-American-based technology services provider, Globant, for nearshore outsourcing. This partnership resulted in the successful development of Project Ara and related software.
2. Basecamp: A project management platform that has outsourced much of its development work, using nearshore solutions. Basecamp is now (speculatively) worth approximately $100 billion and has around 15 million active users.
3. Slack: Slack outsourced various aspects of its app design, including logo creation, marketing site design, and web and mobile apps, to an agency based in Canada. This outsourcing move contributed to Slack's success in establishing a unique brand identity for its messaging software, setting it apart in terms of appearance and user experience. The effectiveness of this outsourcing strategy is evident as in July 2017, Slack secured a $250 million investment round, valuing the company at $5 billion.
4. Skype: A pioneer in the software development industry, Skype used a team in Estonia to run the company, ensuring time zone alignment and cultural similarity.

What Are the Advantages of Nearshoring?

The advantages of nearshoring are as follows:

1. Reduce transportation distances, lead times, and shipping costs leading to faster, more efficient operations and timely product delivery.
2. Nearshoring to culturally similar countries promotes shared languages, cultural norms, and business practices. This affinity fosters better working relationships, and coordination, and reduces cultural barriers compared to offshore locations.
3. Choosing nearshore countries with time-zone alignment enables real-time collaboration, efficient communication, and timely decision-making, enhancing operational efficiency.
4. Geographical proximity and cultural affinity make collaboration easier, with manufacturing companies establishing closer relationships with nearshore partners and suppliers.

What Are the Disadvantages of Nearshoring?

Although there are a lot of advantages associated with nearshoring, there are also some disadvantages to consider. These disadvantages include:

1. Nearshoring to countries with different languages can lead to potential language barriers, hindering effective communication and collaboration. Building cross-cultural competencies may be necessary to address this issue.
2. May involve higher labor costs compared to offshoring to more distant, lower-wage destinations. Although labor costs may be lower than in the home country, they can still be higher than in certain offshore locations.

What Is Reshoring?

Reshoring is the practice of bringing back business processes, manufacturing, or services to a company's home country or a location that is closer in proximity to the company's headquarters. It is the opposite of offshoring, in which operations are moved to a foreign country to take advantage of lower labor costs or other cost-saving factors. 

To learn more, see our article on Reshoring.

How Does Reshoring Work?

Reshoring works by a company relocating its business processes, manufacturing, or services back to its home country or a nearby location after having previously offshored it to a foreign country. The process typically involves assessing the economic and strategic factors that led to offshoring in the first place and then making a decision to return operations. Companies may invest in local facilities, workforce training, and infrastructure to support the reshoring effort. This move aims to regain control, improve product quality, reduce supply-chain vulnerabilities, and support local employment. Reshoring is often driven by a company's desire to strengthen its domestic operations and enhance its relationship with its home market while addressing the challenges and limitations of offshoring.

Why Do Companies Choose Reshoring?

Companies choose reshoring for various reasons, including the desire to regain control, improve product quality, reduce supply-chain risks, support local employment, and address other strategic and economic considerations. Reshoring is often driven by a desire to enhance domestic operations and strengthen a company's ties to its home market.

What Are Examples of Reshoring?

There are many companies that have gained a lot of benefits by reshoring their operations. Here are some real-life examples of reshoring:

1. Walmart and Brooks Brothers: Previously, major retailers like Walmart and an upscale apparel brand Brooks Brothers had outsourced their manufacturing to countries like China and Taiwan. However, Walmart launched its "Made in the USA" project, committing to invest billions in American-made products to strengthen local supply chains and gain domestic support. Brooks Brothers relocated their manufacturing to maintain high-quality craftsmanship and support the domestic textile sector. These cases illustrate how large multinational companies can adapt to market dynamics and prioritize domestic production.
2. Ford Motor Company: Facing increasing costs and supply-chain disruptions, the Ford Motor Company decided to reshore manufacturing in the United States. They established new factories within the country and hired more domestic workers, gaining better control over their operations and reducing vulnerabilities to global disruptions.
3. Reshoring in North Carolina: In 2022, North Carolina experienced a notable increase in reshoring, with around 106 companies relocating their operations to the state, leading to the creation of 43,881 new jobs. This resurgence is largely driven by the state's significant investments in the electric vehicle (EV) battery industry. Manufacturers, particularly EV battery producers, are attracted to North Carolina due to its favorable corporate income tax rates and business-friendly regulatory environment. North Carolina offers the lowest corporate income tax rates in the nation, making it an appealing choice for businesses looking to bring their operations back to the United States.

What Are the Advantages of Reshoring?

The advantages that come with reshoring include:

1. Can lead to long-term cost savings by reducing shipping, import/export, and inventory holding costs, while proximity to suppliers and customers lowers transportation expenses.
2. Domestic manufacturing allows for better quality monitoring, real-time defect identification, and corrective actions, resulting in higher customer satisfaction and reduced recalls.
3. Shortens lead times in procurement, manufacturing, and sales, enabling quicker responses to market demands and enhancing flexibility in production planning.
4. Provides manufacturing flexibility, enabling companies to adjust production volumes, product configurations, and operations swiftly in response to market changes or customer demands. This agility helps companies seize opportunities and efficiently manage demand fluctuations.

What Are the Disadvantages of Reshoring?

Some of the disadvantages that companies might face with reshoring include:

1. May lead to higher labor expenses compared to offshore locations, impacting profitability, especially in labor-intensive industries, although tax incentives and automation can offset these costs.
2. Can introduce supply-chain disruptions during the transition, requiring adjustments to supplier relationships, local supply chains, and inventory management, along with effective risk assessment and communication.
3. May involve different regulatory environments, compliance requirements, and administrative efforts, which should be considered in the evaluation of reshoring benefits.
4. Companies engaging in reshoring may face shortages of skilled workers in their home country, which can lead to increased competition for talent, higher recruitment and training expenses, and potential production delays.
5. Often requires substantial initial investments. Companies may need to build or upgrade manufacturing facilities, purchase new equipment, and invest in technology and automation to enhance productivity and competitiveness.
6. Transitioning production back home can introduce temporary disruptions in the supply chain, impacting customer orders and delivery schedules. 

How To Choose Between Nearshoring and Reshoring?

Choosing between nearshoring and reshoring comes down to the company’s business priorities. If cost reduction is important and supply-chain vulnerabilities are manageable, nearshoring may be the better fit, offering cost savings while maintaining some proximity advantages. Reshoring provides similar benefits but with quicker turnaround times, although it may involve higher labor costs for skilled workers. Assess your specific cost structures, regulatory needs, time sensitivity, and customer expectations to guide the decision. It may also depend on your long-term strategy and customer preferences. 

What Are the Similarities Between Nearshoring and Reshoring?

Reshoring and nearshoring strategies have a common objective: to bring production or sourcing activities closer to a company's domestic market. This closeness enhances the company's ability to respond quickly to customer demands and align with local market preferences.

Both reshoring and nearshoring strategies offer companies increased control and resilience within their supply chains. Reshoring allows companies to regain direct control over domestic operations, enabling better quality control oversight and enhanced protection of intellectual property.

Similarly, nearshoring provides companies with a higher level of control and coordination compared to offshoring to more distant locations. These strategies help address complex supply-chain challenges, reducing disruptions, minimizing delays, and mitigating uncertainties.

How Do Nearshoring and Reshoring Differ in Terms of Industry Suitability?

The suitability of nearshoring and reshoring varies based on the specific needs and characteristics of different industries. Nearshoring is often a better fit for industries requiring agility and quick response times, such as: technology, electronics, and fashion, in which demand can fluctuate. It's also favored in software development and IT services, thanks to the need for real-time collaboration and access to specialized skills. On the other hand, reshoring is better suited for quality-critical industries like: aerospace, pharmaceuticals, and precision engineering, in which local expertise and quality control might be important. High-value manufacturing sectors find reshoring beneficial to maintain stringent quality standards and protect intellectual property. Additionally, industries in which consumers strongly prefer locally produced goods, such as food and apparel, align well with reshoring to meet customer expectations.

Which Is More Costly, Nearshoring or Reshoring?

The cost benefits of nearshoring and/or reshoring will depend on the country of the parent company. Generally, nearshoring tends to be more cost-effective than reshoring, although it may not offer the rock-bottom costs associated with offshoring to distant countries. Nearshoring brings savings through lower labor expenses, reduced overhead, and operational efficiencies while benefiting from geographic proximity and fewer logistical costs. In contrast, reshoring can be costlier due to the higher labor costs associated with operating in the home country or a nearby location. However, it may yield savings in terms of reduced transportation expenses, supply-chain risk mitigation, and enhanced quality control. 

Is Nearshoring Riskier Than Reshoring?

The level of risk associated with nearshoring versus reshoring varies and depends on a range of factors. Nearshoring can expose a company to certain risks related to the foreign country where it relocates operations, like: political instability, regulatory changes, currency fluctuations, and cultural differences. While it's less risky than offshore outsourcing, there are still uncertainties tied to the chosen location. In contrast, reshoring comes with different risks, mainly tied to higher labor costs, potential skill shortages, and the need for greater upfront investment. Finding skilled labor and managing disruptions during the transition back to the home country can also be challenging. Deciding which approach carries more risk depends on industry-specific considerations, a company's risk tolerance, and the specific business context. That is why a comprehensive risk assessment is essential to make an informed decision aligned with the company's goals and circumstances.

Summary

This article presented nearshoring and reshoring, explained each of them, and discussed their key differences. To learn more about nearshoring and reshoring, contact a Xometry representative.

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