Reshoring Strategy: Case Illustrations of Japanese Manufacturing Firms

Increasingly, turbulent global market factors and the mature domestic market conditions dictate firms from the advanced nations (e.g., United States, Western Europe, Japan) to pursue reshoring strategy. Literature review includes articles that provide understanding on the relationship between offshoring and reshoring. Through case studies, we further examine reshoring strategy of Japanese firms in China. We discuss first the historical background of outsourcing strategy of Japanese firms from 1960s to 2010. The multiple case studies of Japanese firms suggest that successful reshoring strategy requires advanced planning for preparing right contexts and careful coordination of goals implementations in terms of strategic cost reduction, productivity enhancements and strategic alliances with suppliers in China. In this sense, the learning outcomes through offshoring in China are reapplied in achieving successful reshoring strategy. Another important finding is that reshoring strategy is to strengthen the mother factories at home base for their long term global competitiveness.