Cost Pressure vs. Supply Chain Security

Relocating production to Asia remains a reality for many companies — and is often economically understandable.

Labor costs, economies of scale, and government subsidies make China and Southeast Asia particularly attractive. However, recent years have painfully demonstrated the risks involved: pandemic-related factory shutdowns, blocked seaports, skyrocketing freight costs, and geopolitical tensions have put global supply chains under enormous pressure.

What many companies have learned from this: the cheapest supplier is not automatically the most economical — especially when a single disruption brings your own production to a standstill for weeks.

This is precisely why the question of a reliable European manufacturing partner is moving back into the focus of strategic procurement decisions. Not as a full replacement for Far East suppliers, but as a deliberate safety net: a second pillar that holds when it matters most.