Businesses have always sent Request for Quote notices to
suppliers to ensure that they can keep their costs low. The high inflation
rates of the 1970s got businesses interested in managing their materials costs.
US manufacturers had always maintained records of their inventory items for tax
purposes. By the 1970s these inventory records were computerized and US
manufacturers were interested in limiting their inventory to preserve cash.
(MRP) Material Requirements Planning became the activity initiated to achieve
this.
The Quotes that came back from Vendors were typically lower
if larger quantities or parts were ordered. But companies were also redesigning
their products and needed to avoid building parts inventories of what might
become obsolete parts. They also had to deal with their vendors taking their
parts out of production and this required immediate design changes.
Vendors were judged by low cost, on-time delivery, parts
quality and ease of returns on parts that didn’t pass customer inspection.
Businesses used reliable vendors. The Vendor list became known as the Supply
Chain and this included US and overseas vendors.
Tariffs had always been charged on certain products by all
countries, but trade agreements initiated by the EU and those entered into by
the US like NAFTA and WTO to limit some of these Tariffs.
The result of these trade agreements for the US was
off-shoring of manufacturing, massive job losses and the decimation of US
manufacturing capabilities. Globalization of the Supply Chain has resulted in
US economic decline.
The US Trade Deficit in 2017 was $566 billion. Excessive
immigration has kept the Labor Force Participation Rate for working-age US
citizens stuck at 62.9%
The US federal government acted in the best interests of
campaign contributors, but failed to act in the best interest of its citizens.
Trump was elected in 2016 to use all effective means possible to return
manufacturing jobs and restore the middle class.
US companies who have their manufacturing done in China
would need to realign their supply chain to ship parts to the US to coordinate
the move.
Norb
Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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