SHER-WOOD HOCKEY STICKS: GLOBAL SOURCING - Case Study Example

Sher-Wood Hockey Sticks: Global Sourcing al Affiliation Sher-Wood Hockey Sticks: Global Sourcing What motivated Sher-wood to outsource its manufacturing to suppliers inside or outside Canada in 2007 and 2011?Sher-wood was motivated by a number of factors to outsource its manufacturing in both 2007 and 2011. In 2007, for example, it emerges that the company outsourced the manufacturing of PMP 5030 to a local supplier based in Victoriaville, Quebec (Zhang, 2013). The case shows that the company opted to outsource the production of the wooden sticks after predicting that outsourcing would result in the growth of the composite stick business in terms of profitability and volume.

Additionally, Sher-wood believed that by outsourcing the wooden sticks, the company would be able to narrow its focus to the enhancement of quality of the hockey sticks with new and durable compounds. However, Sher-woods motivation to outsource in 2011 was quite different from that of 2007. In 2011, Sher-wood felt the need to backshore its production processes in China after realizing that the move would be advantageous to the company. In this regard, Sher-wood felt that staying in China would result in cost saving and a reduction in research and development costs (Zhang, 2013).

In fact, the case shows that because there was not enough opportunity for Sher-wood to sell the manufacturing equipment to a subcontractor in Victoriaville, Canada, the company felt the need to remain in China. However, the company plans to shift its manufacturing processes to Quebec, Canada as a means of cost reduction and resource optimization. Which firm activities would be impacted by offshoring outsourcing?Quite a number of activities would ultimately be impacted by offshore outsourcing.

Firstly, the activities of the company will be impacted by offshore outsourcing through loss of control of activity. Secondly, product assembling and handling will also be impacted greatly by offshore outsourcing. Additionally, the product launch is also likely to be impacted by the offshore outsourcing. As a matter of fact, outsourcing normally results in the incurrence of intangible and real costs that are not directly associated with labor, or transportation, both of which can affect the bottom line of the company.

Other activities, which offshore outsourcing would impact include the companys supply chain efficiency and accounting work among others. Should Sherwood outsource it remaining manufacturing to China? And will this solve Sher-woods concerns?Sher-wood should not consider outsourcing its remaining manufacturing to China. This is because it will be not only costly but also time-consuming to the company to outsource the remaining manufacturing to China because of export regulations as outsourcing will require moving the equipment (Zhang, 2013).

Outsourcing to China will also require sending experts to China, which will also be costly to the company. Additionally, the company ought to avoid outsourcing the remaining manufacturing to China since making such a move would impact negatively on the company employees who might be rendered jobless. Further, outsourcing the remaining manufacturing to China would not be appropriate because of the political and currency risks associated with outsourcing. Accordingly, outsourcing the remaining manufacturing to China would no in any way help solve the concerns of Sher-wood.

What alternatives exist? And what are the pros and cons of each?Sher-wood has a number of alternatives to pursue to ensure cost reduction and success. Firstly, the company should consider using the manufacturing equipments in neighboring countries that cost more than in China but closer to home. This alternative is advantageous since it would ensure faster response time. For instance, Sher-wood should consider utilizing facilities in Mexico because Mexico not only provides protection to intellectual property, but also offers free trade agreements (Zhang, 2013).

This alternative is, however, disadvantageous since it is expensive in terms of cost. Secondly, Sher-wood should consider adopting lean manufacturing. Lean manufacturing is advantageous since it would help improve productivity and help overcome short-term cost advantage of foreign manufacturers. However, lean manufacturing is disadvantageous in the sense that it would require additional investment in facilities and research and development, which is costly. ReferenceZhang, M. (2013). Sher-wood hockey sticks: Global sourcing.

Richard Ivey School of Business Foundation, 1- 11.