Ok, now what? Everyone knows that offshoring is an obvious way for medical device manufacturers to save costs. The cost of labor in developing countries is far less expensive than it is in developed ones.

But if the decision were based only on that factor, every medical device manufacturer would have already moved all manufacturing operations to developing nations. In fact, there are a ton of considerations that must be taken into account if a device firm is going to send manufacturing operations overseas. In MD&DI’s Guide to Outsourcing this month, we help you sort through some of these considerations.

Mario España of ProNicaragua offers some pointers on how to choose an offshore community, especially when it comes to Latin America. He shows you how to spot the most free-trade-friendly countries, the most interested local governments, and the most conducive cultures to draw from. He also suggests questions that you should ask in order to ensure that you get the best possible deal.

Audrey Soon of International Enterprise Singapore shows how the growth of the biomedical sector in Singapore has made it a more attractive option for offshoring. She helps you determine which operations there have the right credentials for manufacturing medical devices to be sold in the developed world.

And, in an MD&DI Web exclusive, Rick Rogers and Gray McCord discuss some of the reasons why you should outsource to China—and some of the reasons why you should not. They have come up with 10 questions to ask yourself before deciding whether to start a Chinese operation. If you can’t answer “yes” to at least eight of them, China is probably not the best location for your operations.

Deciding to offshore (and where) should be a careful decision, not a reflexive one. This is the kind of information you need to help you make that decision.

Erik Swain
erik.swain@cancom.com