When it comes to playoff games hosted at Lambeau Field, the Packers are 18-6 all-time. I’d rather not talk about the most recent one.
But whether it’s in football or in business, home-field advantage can be a real thing. We all love having friendly faces to cheer us on.
For this month’s cover story on American-made metal products, I learned how Wisconsin manufacturers are cheering on the foundry industry and working together to celebrate our local teams. I also learned a lot about supply chain — including an introduction to Jay Woldt, associate professor of supply chain management at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
Woldt is a former account manager for Kohler Company who was the firm’s “go-to guy” for documenting products’ countries of origin following the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. He has since gone on to earn a Ph.D. and now quantifies his career as 50/50 between industry and academia.
His paper with Michael Godfrey was recently published in the International Journal of Production Economics: “Is there a home field advantage? The impact of shareholder wealth from U.S. manufacturing location decisions.” In it, Woldt and Godfrey studied the impact of manufacturing location announcements on the U.S. stock market. Their findings suggest the U.S. government has an opportunity to capture a greater share of the global manufacturing market by offering the right incentives and that investors respond quite favorably to U.S. firms reshoring (but not necessarily foreign direct investment). There could be momentum gathering for some positive trends, Woldt told me, though the world’s ongoing volatility makes the prediction business dicey.
So while my cover story started with an exploration of how a May 2022 White House directive that aims to lessen America’s reliance on foreign iron, steel and metal products might have an impact on our region’s foundries, it ended with a new appreciation for why, regardless of government action, businesses are increasingly embracing and emphasizing the benefits of buying things made here.
Amerequip Vice President Tim Dorn is an example of an executive who sees and appreciates the connection. “For manufacturing, this is a great place to be and take advantage of our foundries, that’s for sure,” he told me. “It makes us more valuable to our customers.”
And when you’re talking about a customer who “needs this yesterday,” there’s something to be said for being right down the road from your supplier. It’s not just about price anymore. Insert latest global transportation disruption here.
As you’re celebrating our country’s birthday this month, I encourage you to think about our home-field manufacturing advantage. While we’ve certainly scored some wins on the road, there’s simply no place like home.
Go, Pack, go!
