Reshoring Initiative Participates in Forum Hosted by Obama

Founder Harry Moser discusses Total Cost of Ownership as key to understanding real costs of offshoring during expert panel as he encourages manufacturers to bring jobs back to the U.S. at the White House Insourcing American Jobs Forum.

Harry Moser, founder and president of the Reshoring Initiative (Chicago, IL), was invited to participate in a daylong Insourcing Forum hosted by President Obama at the White House on January 11. Featuring a cross-section of American industry leaders and experts and cabinet level officials, the event included a roundtable discussion with the president, a speech by him on the insourcing of jobs and two panel discussions on bringing jobs back to the U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and multiple cabinet members also participated in the dayʼs proceedings.

Moser participated in the Insourcing Forum as an expert on American manufacturing and how to revitalize it. He was joined by other leaders from various industries and disciplines, including Hal Sirkin, consultant and senior partner at the Chicago office of the Boston Consulting Group. Each participant had the opportunity to share their own experiences in bringing manufacturing and service jobs back to the United States, as well as advise on the changes needed to further accelerate this process.

“It was an incredible honor to be included in this event and Iʼm personally grateful to the president and his administration for taking the time to focus on this timely and vital topic,” said Moser. “Throughout the day, a common theme emerged: many American companies make sourcing decisions based on price and ignore the total cost of sourcing offshore. Increasing awareness of the total cost of ownership has been one of the Reshoring Initiativeʼs key objectives and the January 11 event represents a major milestone.”

In a morning roundtable discussion, President Obama asked Moser to explain what costs American companies often overlook in their sourcing decisions. Referencing the Reshoring Initiativeʼs extensive research on the subject, Moser cited the largest factors typically overlooked as emergency airfreight, travel and the negative impact on innovation of separating manufacturing from engineering. These and other frequently overlooked costs usually account for as much as 20 percent to 30 percent of a companyʼs total cost of offshoring.