Backshoring av produktion - Motiv till återflytt av produktionen till Sverige

Abstract

Background: For many years, manufacturing in the western countries has been moving abroad (offshoring) in order to lower costs. In the most recent years however, a trend shift has been identified where companies instead are moving manufacturing in the opposite direction back to their home countries (backshoring). Research within the field backshoring can be found in the bigger supply chain-related journals from 2009 and onwards, but the amount of studies performed in a Swedish context is currently still today limited. Several drivers for backshoring have been identified in earlier research, mainly flexibility, quality and ability to deliver. The Swedish perspective deserves further research as Swedish manufacturing companies might consider backshoring in the time to come, and guidance is then needed. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate and map the drivers behind Swedish companies’ backshoring of parts of, or all, manufacturing activities. Research question: What drivers have made companies move offshored production back (home) to Sweden? Method: A qualitative study has been performed where semi-structured interviews have been conducted with four companies. An inductive and empirical approach has been used. A theoretical framework has been put together in form of a literature overview based on studies from Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Germany, United Kingdom, the USA and New Zealand. Results and conclusion: The findings suggest that financial drivers, cost-related ones to be more specific, have been the most important drivers for backshoring. Production aspects and risks in the supply chain, mainly focused on flexibility, quality and ability to deliver, have turned out to be the second most important group of drivers. Overall, the rest of the result goes in line with earlier studies. However, drivers such as sustainability, external factors and drivers specifically related to Sweden as a manufacturing country, have not been drivers.