THE BEGINNING OF OFF SHORING:
Throughout the 1990's, Jack Welch was the chief executive of General Electric. During his tenure with General Electric, he stated that as a business "you'd have every plant you own on a barge to move with currencies and changes in the economy". What Mr. Welch meant by this statement was that in order to take advantage of the lowest costs, businesses would have to relocate or take advantage of off shoring their business operations into economies where labor rates were much less.
INVEST TO KEEP MANUFACTURING AT HOME:
Taking advantage of off shoring opportunities, many businesses relocated their manufacturing facilities to countries within Asia where labor rates were much lower in cost by comparison to those in the United State. As a result, many businesses relocated their manufacturing facilities to those lower cost countries. Despite the lower labor rates in Asia, some US businesses invested in their company in order to remain competitive. The investment in vertical integration, automation, and other manufacturing infrastructure significantly increased productivity and remained competitive in the global marketplace. iCONN Systems, LLC has done just that.
iCONN Systems' Technology and Vertical Integration:
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iCONN Systems, LLC has invested significantly since its inception in 2007. Early on, iCONN Systems business strategy was to not only develop strong customer relationships, but to vertically integrate the business and invest in technology and infrastructure. The vertical integration of the business provides iCONN with the advantage of having more control over the value chain. As a result, iCONN can better serve its customer base through world class service, including rapid response times.
Cost control is another key element to iCONN's investments. By vertically integrating, what was once procured from a supplier can now be produced at iCONN. What does this mean for our customers? This means that, in addition to shortened lead times, we're able to "eliminate the middle man" therefore reducing the amount of time a product or component are "stepped on" which would normally drive up the piece price thus driving up the final cost. Additional cost components that are reduced are optimized resource utilization and lower handling costs like transportation.
Cost and control over the value chain are two of the many drivers towards iCONN's investments. Quality is another main driver of iCONN's approach to business. Vertical integration means that iCONN Systems has more control over the products and processes which help to improve the quality of our products.
MADE IN THE USA:
Vertical integration, automation, along with other investments have allowed iCONN Systems to keep manufacturing in the United States with little reliance upon low cost labor economies to stay competitive. Check out the infographic to see just some of our investments over the course of the years which have allowed us to continue to stay competitive in the global marketplace.
Manufacturing Capabilites & Engineering Services Page
