ABSTRACT
Squeezing the supplier to reduce cost has run its course; you have been asking your suppliers to cut 2%, 3%, 5%, or even 10% off the cost of your products for so many years that it has just become an expectation. But you cannot continue to ask them to do this; yes, they will almost always cut their own profit to save a customer, but at what long-term cost? As your suppliers continue to lose more and more profit, at some point it has to stop and that will be when they go out of business and you, the customer, have to scramble to find a new supplier. The one bright spot in all of this is that the offshore cost savings that many companies thought they achieved by moving to places such as China, India, Vietnam, etc., are now starting to dissipate as their standard of living rises and the demand for higher wages in these countries increases. Also, many companies have found that the hidden costs of off-shoring their products have resulted in no savings at all. For these
reasons it is important for small business owners to improve their operations and be in a position of taking back the work to their own country.
