Selection and ranking of low cost countries for outsourcing and offshoring in the manufacturing sector

Abstract

With the advent of globalisation, there is a need for companies to gain and sustain a competitive advantage. Outsourcing and offshoring are strategies often employed by organisations to sustain and gain such competitive advantage. This paper focuses on evaluating the factors that influence the selection of Low Cost Countries (LCCs) for outsourcing and offshoring. It also ranks a group of seven LCCs to determine the best locations to emigrate manufacturing operations. To do this, the most influential factors for outsourcing and offshoring are identified and weighted based on their importance. Then, these factors are evaluated based on the degree of development in the studied LCCs. The study indicates that Taiwan, Indian and China are the best top options for manufacturing organisations to outsource/offshore their operations.