Reshoring II

The purpose of this project is to advance the understanding of reshoring decisions with particular focus on supply chain issues.

Introduction

Reshoring II is part of the regional research programme, which is a collaboration between Jönköping University, Region Jönköpings län och the business sector.

In this project we consider the decision criteria for reshoring with the particular perspective of Swedish industry. Many firms have off-shored production without necessarily having had a helpful decision process. When firms are considering moving production back to Sweden or nearby locations there is a need to develop an understanding of the motivations, barriers and consequences of the move. This is particularly challenging in terms of understanding the effects on the supply chain of such moves.

The project is connected to the larger Knowledge Foundation project RESHORING - Generic method for the evaluation of reshoring decisions.

Research questions

The research project focuses on three questions:

What supply chain issues motivate firms to consider or carry out reshoring?
What outcomes have been achieved when reshoring, especially in terms of supply chain improvements such as increased responsiveness and lead-time reduction?
What difficulties have been encountered when reshoring in terms of reconfiguring supply chains and resolving supply chain issues that motivated reshoring in the first place?

Expected results and effects

We aim to build a unique expertise in manufacturing reshoring by using a holistic perspective and considering several domains concurrently (i.e., logistics, manufacturing, and supply chain).

This project can be linked to another project at the School of Engineering. The project PRODHÖG - Competitive manufacturing in a high cost environment (granted by Regionförbundet Jönköpings län, 2015-2017) examines critical factors that make it possible to manufacture competitively in a high cost environment.

Project timeline and financing

The project started in July 2016 and is planned to be completed in December 2018. The project is financed jointly by Region Jönköpings län and Jönköping University.