U.S. manufacturing trend

According to The Atlantic, Timbuk2 is not the only company embracing the “go local” trend.  An estimated 200-300 businesses in San Francisco alone are driving profits by focusing on local customers. And recent research by Accenture found that 61 percent of the manufacturing executives they surveyed have considered shifting their manufacturing operations to be closer to where demand for their goods and services is highest.

What do local manufacturers have in common that helps them thrive? Kate Sofis of SFMade—a non-profit dedicated to supporting and growing manufacturing in San Francisco—suggests that successful “local” manufacturers tend to “[be] consumer-products companies [that are] design-driven, intensely customer focused, increasingly sell direct, and often marry technology in their business model.” In other words, these new local businesses tend to be innovative, concerned with the customer experience and able to design products that incorporate readily available, local materials. The combination of these qualities facilitates speed-to-market, which is important to consumers.

(from http://blog.arenasolutions.com)