How To Outsource Manufacturing And Increase Sales (Ask Rod, Episode 39)

Moving your company's manufacturing overseas can be a tempting way to trim your budget. But what about the hidden costs?

And attracting customers to your website is only half the battle. How do you convince them to be once they're there?

Executive Editor Rod Kurtz -- along with special guest, Billy Leroy of Billy's Antiques & Props, shares his tips on overseas manufacturing and increasing sales.

Got a question about your business? We're here to help! Just send us an e-mail at [e-mail]. Or tweet us at @HuffPostSmBiz.

Comments

[Edidiong Adiakpan]

12:55 PM on 12/30/2011

It's greed that makes corporations outsource jobs. They don't want to pay American workers minimum wage, they want to pay 2 bucks to a foreigner to do the same job as an American would do for higher. It's bad for the economies of other countries because they are working so hard and paying so little and it's bad for the U.S economies because it leaves a lot of people out of work, in fact it only works great for these companies, who get sky rocket profits. Regardless of if outsourcing is less expensive or not, it's just plain wrong and selfish and hurts everyone except the CEOs of big companies.

[Steve Mahoney]

02:27 PM on 12/22/2011

Outsourcing becomes an issue when you have to through expensive managers in the US into the mix to manage offshore and nearshore efforts. BPO/ITO and multi-sourcing work best for parts of a process and are great for 1) Manual process QA, 2) Admin/Clerical, and 3) Compliance/Admin/Internal Audit back-office processes.

[Mitchg1947]

01:42 PM on 12/21/2011

Lets outsource everything and become professional online video game players....

[Laurence Lance]

10:13 AM on 12/21/2011

It outsourcing our only choice? How about making the USA a more business friendly environment and bring mfg. back home? What a concept!

[edmundavolio]

03:52 PM on 12/21/2011

The only solution for outsourcing is for Congress to require products SOLD in the US be made with the same mandates as MADE in the US. This would bring back many, if not most, lost jobs. The US min. wage is 600% more than Multinationals pay in China and 1400% more than paid in Indonesia, with no environmental, worker safety or child labor laws. This is why the US Economy is being ruined. Since Congress is paid by Multis, the electorate must vote out all leadership in Congress and others who will not require the above. At present, there is no Dem or Repub candidate that is proposing such a mandate, therefore, there will be no change in jobs regardless who get elected.

[Soulcatcher]

07:44 AM on 12/21/2011

Whose side are you on? Just wondering.

[John Edward Lloyd]

01:24 AM on 12/21/2011

You will sell a lot more of your product in the USA if it is made here. A growing number of people look for the Made in China tag and put it back on the shelf.

[Soulcatcher]

07:51 AM on 12/21/2011

Absolutely. Instead of scrounging for more profit per item, they could move their manufacturing back to the USA and make it by selling more items--stealing business from the Made in China companies that we are all very sick of by now.

[born 2b different]

01:11 PM on 12/22/2011

Price and selection is what drives sales, not country of orgin, especially in this economy.