Where companies make products is a major consideration in the current economic, social and political arenas.  Putting all other considerations aside, strictly from a business standpoint, it is often beneficial to leverage local support within a global supply chain.  

Local production can save money on transportation costs, quicken the speed of innovation, and ultimately offer greater control over the supply chain which is a key consideration for new and proprietary technologies.   

Within each company’s global supply chain, sourcing engineering, design, and manufacturing of products that feature core, proprietary technologies can offer advantages of speed, efficiency, and cost that tech companies should leverage as part of their overall go-to-market strategy.  At CTEMS, we support high growth tech companies in the semiconductor, imaging, electric vehicle, and sustainable energy markets where speed, efficiency, and protection of proprietary technology are critically important to ongoing success in the marketplace.

Electric cars, whether fully electric or hybrid gasoline-electric are a growing market that is very likely to keep expanding exponentially into the foreseeable future. Government incentives are only one leg in a multi-legged stool which is driving fast adoption of electric cars throughout the US and abroad. Most notably, growing consumer demand fired-up by the superior driving performance, safety, and fuel efficiency of electric vehicles will continue to make an electric car an extremely desirable purchase for consumers.

Most US Electric Vehicle manufactures utilize local companies across the US for a range of supply chain services including component suppliers, paint and body manufacturers, glass, seat and interior assembly suppliers, and vehicle delivery providers just to name a few. In addition to the expertise and efficiencies these US-based companies provide, there is much greater ability to protect trade secrets closer to home.  American patent law is simply stronger than patent law found in many other countries. 

Bottom line – strategically leveraging local resources within a global supply chain offers clear advantages that manufactures should consider in their overall growth strategy – especially for high growth, tech companies.