They may be a hassle, but audits can provide valuable insights and ideas for your company.

During the fourth quarter of this year, it seems that everyone and their brother have scheduled audits at my company. Some are for certifications such as ISO 9001 and AS9100. Others are customer-driven, as the cloud of Covid has at least partially lifted and after a three-year hiatus customers are able to travel to meet their suppliers. I have always hated audits; however, I also have learned that they can be a powerful tool when incorporated into the business planning process.

First, a disclaimer: I truly hate audits, for three basic reasons.

First, those conducting the audit – especially certification audits – have no clue what you make, the manufacturing challenges faced in producing the product, or industry-specific acceptability standards related to the product that you must meet. These auditors just follow a flat checklist and try to jam the proverbial square peg (your facility) into a round hole (their certification program).

Relocating manufacturing to the West requires more than moving factories.

For much of the past decade, many have touted the reshoring of electronics and especially printed circuit boards and electronic assemblies. Many reasons have been cited as to why reshoring is now taking place, from supply chain difficulties to nationalism, to the marketing optics of where products are made.

Indeed, no matter where you are from, it is always a nice feeling to buy locally, and while supply chain issues have been a serious problem over the past few years thanks in large part to tariffs and Covid, these challenges have seemed to impact all parts of the world relatively similarly. Because – or despite – these desires and challenges, the rate of reshoring, as measured by employment expansion, has been escalating, with the estimated annual number of jobs created attributed to reshoring topping 350,000 in the US alone.

That said, the challenges in successfully reshoring are still significant and basing success purely on employment levels may be misleading. Looking at the challenges, there have always been four: capital, facilities, technology and people, with now the possible addition of a fifth, inflation, to contend with. And two on the list may end up putting a cap on reshoring, at least in certain industries.