Rural sourcing gains momentum in US

[OhioChick]

19 Feb 2009, 1000 hrs IST, Pankaj Mishra, ET Bureau

BANGALORE: Smaller US firms such as Rural America Onshore Sourcing and Xpanxion are attempting to build a sustainable rural outsourcing model in the
US at a time when offshore locations such as India are facing a backlash and unemployment rates have touched an all time high.

Xpanxion, an Atlanta-headquartered software firm, which shifted its software testing work from Pune to Nebraska few years ago is among a handful of such firms seeking to create a more comfortable and cost effective alternative to offshore outsourcing.

"The decision for us to execute on our cross-sourcing model in a US rural community was based on lower operational costs and a lower cost of living in rural areas of the US as compared to larger metropolitan cities such as Atlanta , Boston, or San Francisco," Paul Eurek, founder and CEO of Xpanxion told ET in an interview last week.

Customers such as NCR, Coca Cola and Goldleaf Financial Solutions are outsourcing software projects to Xpanxion. At a time when political lobbyists such as Senator Chuck Grassley are leading a campaign against offshore outsourcing by American firms, some customers might prefer to outsource smaller projects to local providers and avoid being seen as supporting the outsourcing of US jobs.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Infotech/ITeS/Rural-sourcing-gains-momentum-in-US/articleshow/4153192.cms

[jjray7]

1. Very cool idea

Thanks for posting.

[FreakinDJ]

2. This is already being done in Manufacturing to some extent

There is a significant number of Rural 1 man CNC job shops springing up in America already. The biggest contraint to expansion of this trend is China's control of ram material production (Aluminum, Steel, Iron).

For many China can produce the part cheaper then American Companys can buy the raw material

[formercia]

3. Build it and they will come.

Supply the talent and manufacturing capability and 'Buy American' will become the rule rather than the exception.

[pleah]

4. K&R

[CrispyQ]

5. Of all the political tee shirts that I wear out & about,

the one that gets the most comments is the one that reads:

Outsourcing
No Job Left Behind

I have had people of all types stop me & comment on this issue. One woman was almost in tears because she had just lost her job. Another woman had found a better job, but she was still seething that she had to train her replacement if she wanted her severance package. Everyone had either lost a job or knew someone who lost their job to outsourcing.

[OhioChick]

7. Where did you find that t-shirt? n/t

[CrispyQ]

8. Here:

http://t-shirts.cafepress.com/item/outsourcing-black-tshirt/65554765

[OhioChick]

9. Thank you!

I'm going to have to order one of those! :thumbsup:

[Still Sensible]

6. Excellent idea. Probably only a few firms doing this

can survive, though. I think the gains are likely to be quite modest, enough to be attractive in certain conditions. Surely those cost savings can't approach what India and Mexico have been offering.