Luis Manuel Hernández pointed out that Baja California offers great advantages for the continued strong development of the industry through new manufacturing production alternatives known as re-shoring and near-shoring.

The Chairman of the Maquiladora and Export Industry Association (Index) mentioned that the global manufacturing is moving from a cost reduction (cost-effective) approach to a value-creation approach.

He indicated that it is no longer a question of being the cheapest in the market, but the best, and this can be achieved through 2 new ways of carrying out outsourcing; with the so called near-shoring, i.e. outsourcing services in countries bordering with the organizations’ final client and re-shoring, the return of operations to their country of origin.

He added that both practices seek to correct certain disadvantages of off-shoring, as such practice dominated the manufacturing scene in the 1960s and 1970s, including: enlargement of supply chains, cultural differences (including language) and the obstruction of the operations across time zones.

He expressed that almost all these drawbacks are corrected through near-shoring and re-shoring, and this represents a unique opportunity for Baja California.

He added that the State has urban centers, developed workforce, a diversified economy and increasing specialization levels.

Luis Manuel Hernández reiterated that State’s current conditions are perfect for the industry to develop strongly through re-shoring and near-shoring.

He considered that there are two immediate ways to take advantage of this moment: first, to strengthen the regulation to facilitate the practices described above; and second, to make a strong commitment to specialized personnel training, especially in the use of new 4.0 technologies.