The Hidden Infrastructure of Reshoring
Reshoring manufacturing is rarely just a shift in geographic production. It is the complete reconstruction of a manufacturing ecosystem. Many companies do not realize the full extent of this requirement until they are already operating in the middle of a transition.
When responding to supply chain instability, tariffs, or geopolitical uncertainty, executives typically begin by asking where they should manufacture next. It is a logical question, but it is the wrong starting point.
The correct question is: What must we recreate before we can manufacture our product in a new location?
The Manufacturing Ecosystem
When production lives overseas for years, suppliers do not simply assemble products. They build operational systems around your product. Moving production means every one of these underlying structures must be relocated, recovered, or rebuilt from scratch.
| Engineering Systems | Manufacturing & Quality | Supply Chain & Logistics |
|---|---|---|
| 3D CAD models and drawing files | Work instructions and assembly details | Vendor relationships |
| Revision control history | Operator training and fixtures | Component sourcing |
| Firmware and source code | Inspection and test procedures | Inventory management |
| Design intent, material choices, color hex codes, surface treatments, finishes, and textures | Validation and acceptance data | Packaging and compliance |
The Illusion of Product Ownership
Before requesting quotes or evaluating domestic manufacturers, leadership teams must determine if they actually own their product.
While most companies have legal ownership of the intellectual property, actual physical ownership is a different matter. It is the possession of every tangible asset required to build the product consistently. If you do not possess the native CAD files, firmware, production fixtures, manufacturing documentation, and quality procedures, you do not fully own your manufacturing capability - yet. The first step in recreating this capability is determining what is missing. From there, experienced engineers can help you work through the list, rebuilding the missing capabilities. I’ll break down what type of talent you need based on what you are missing further down in this article.
The Reverse Engineering Hurdle
One of the most expensive realities of reshoring is a company discovering they must reverse-engineer their own product.
Over time, contract manufacturers often update CAD models, adjust tolerances, or modify manufacturing documentation without transferring those revisions back to the customer. Years later, when the company attempts to move production, they realize they lack the foundational blueprints to build what they sell.
Reverse engineering is not simply recreating geometry; it is recreating engineering intent. It requires determining why a specific tolerance was selected, why a particular material was chosen, or why an assembly happens in a specific sequence. Those answers rarely exist inside a 3D CAD model. If the intent is not known, it can be easy for changes to be made that negatively impact product functionality, robustness, or appearance.
The True Scope of Tooling
When evaluating reshoring costs, executives frequently limit their definition of “tooling” to injection molds or heavy stamping dies. In reality, the tooling infrastructure required to scale a product is vastly more complex.
It includes production fixtures, assembly jigs, inspection gauges, calibration equipment, and specialized automation aids. Because these assets are typically developed and refined over years, rebuilding them from scratch at the last minute causes immediate schedule slips, budget overruns, and inconsistent early-stage quality.
If planned for, these tools can be designed, tested, and put into production without impacting the overall launch schedule and budget. The key is having an accurate assessment going into the process.
Manufacturing In-House
Successful manufacturability begins during the engineering phase, not after it. Every early design decision, from material selection and tolerance stack-ups to fastener choices, creates permanent downstream consequences for the manufacturing floor.
Ultimately, deciding whether to build a newly reshored product in-house or partner with a domestic contract manufacturer is a strategic evaluation. For some organizations, building internally creates long-term enterprise value. For others, utilizing an established domestic partner is the most efficient path to scale. The correct path depends entirely on whether manufacturing is a core competitive advantage for your specific organization.
Keep in mind that this can be done on a sliding scale. Components can all be made at various supplier locations and brought onsite for assembly and quality control. To take it even further, sub assemblies (weldments, mechanical assemblies, wiring harnesses, plastic parts sonic welded together, etc..) can also be brought in pre-assembled, and only final assembly and QC done in house. If a company has the desire to vertically integrate production in the future but lacks the equipment and/or skills to do so immediately, it may be beneficial for them to rely on manufacturing partners more heavily initially, and slowly move more and more in-house.
The Operational Checklist
Before initiating a reshoring transition, verify internal possession and control of the following assets:
- Native CAD Models and Engineering Drawings
- Firmware and Source Code
- Tooling and Test Fixtures
- Manufacturing and Process Documentation
- Supplier and Sourcing Knowledge
- Complete Revision History
- Quality Standards and Test Procedures
If an organization cannot confidently produce any of these assets, the transition will shift from a production relocation to a complete engineering rebuild. That doesn’t mean it can’t be done. The first step is an audit to gain an accurate assessment of what needs to be rebuilt.
From there, it is a matter of finding the right people to get the work done. Here are the team members you need to look for:
- Native CAD Models and Engineering Drawings.
- Mechanical Engineer (abbreviated to ME) for CAD (find someone who can show you 10+ years of active design experience and a portfolio to back it up). I mostly see these professionals working in SolidWorks or Autodesk Inventor, but Fusion360 and Onshape are gaining popularity. Make sure they have experience designing for the manufacturing processes used to make your product. If you are recreating an existing product, then your engineer will need experience reverse engineering. Don’t go cheap on this step - everything you do downstream depends on the quality of this work. An engineer who has 15 years of experience designing CNC machined parts may not have the CAD surfacing skills required to design organic shapes for a modern consumer product. They may also lack the expertise to design for injection molding. The inverse is also true; if an engineer only has experience designing plastic injection molded parts, and your product is a steel trailer, they are not the right fit. They need applicable experience.
- Electrical Engineer (EE) for circuit board design and board layout. Some EEs can do both of these activities, but not all. In industry these are often separate tasks, so you may need one EE to design the circuit, and another to layout the physical board. They will need to work with your ME, providing them with up to date 3D models of the circuit boards to ensure proper fitment into the product.
- Firmware and Source Code
- Embedded Systems (Circuit Boards) - If you have a custom circuit board (PCBA) with proprietary firmware running on it, then you need a software developer with experience designing firmware for embedded systems. This is very different from designing web applications or mobile apps.
- Mobile App - For this you need a developer with experience writing applications for both Android and IOS, or two separate developers who can coordinate. There are also options like Flutter that allow you to develop a single codebase and deploy it to multiple operating systems.
- Tooling and Test Fixtures
- Often called a Manufacturing Engineer. This would be a Mechanical Engineer, similar to the engineer you used to create the CAD files, only this time you are looking for someone who has experience working in a manufacturing setting. If you are working with a domestic contract manufacturer, ask them if they have these engineers in house. If you plan to manufacture your product yourself, find someone with extensive experience who can be onsite frequently or partner with your internal engineering team.
- Manufacturing and Process Documentation
- Manufacturing Engineer (see Tooling and Test Fixture above)
- Supplier and Sourcing Knowledge
- I recommend having your internal purchasing department lead this, although some relationships will also be built by the Mechanical Engineer from steps 1 (Native CAD Models and Engineering Drawings) as they work on the Bill of Material for the product. It is good practice to have your engineer create and populate this document so that purchasing has a starting point. Depending on the complexity of your product, sourcing may need to be a team effort between these two parties.
- Complete Revision History
- This is an important step that, if not done well, can lead to a lot of confusion. I have seen files with labels like “<file name>REV23_5.12.2023_FINAL_VersionB”… You need a simple and clear method of tracking revision history. Ideally this is done through PDM, git, or at least a well structured file with backups. A lot more could be said on there, but make sure there is a plan and your entire team sticks to it.
- Quality Standards and Test Procedures
- This can vary heavily based on industry, product type, size of your company, and so on. What you need for a medical device is drastically different than what you need for a children’s toy. There may be legal standards you are required to comply with, and there will no doubt be internal QC standards that need to be set. To tackle this, you are looking for a Quality Engineer (QE) and, depending on your field, a Regulatory Compliance Specialist. If your product requires specific certifications (like FDA, FCC, CE, or UL), you need someone whose resume explicitly proves they have navigated those exact regulatory bodies before. For general manufacturing, look for a QE who knows how to establish Acceptable Quality Limits (AQLs) and write clear Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the factory workers. Much like your Mechanical Engineer, industry fit is critical here. Your QE will also need to work hand-in-hand with your Manufacturing Engineer to ensure the test fixtures (from step 4) are actually capable of validating these quality standards on the assembly line.
Scott Rendel is a builder, engineer, and advisor. He leads engineering and technical execution at Novien, and provides strategic counsel to technical founders at scottrendel.com.