Nearsourcing

CONNECT’s Nearsourcing Initiative focuses on matching San Diego companies in need of outsourcing with our region’s local outsourcing cluster. The program includes workshops that educate our region’s innovation entrepreneurs on the benefits of contracting with local manufacturers, including reduced time to market, increased innovation and reduced risk and costs; and a matchmaking program that helps San Diego innovation companies in need of outsourcing to Look Near First – to connect and contract with qualified San Diego production resources. The program ensures that business is not off shored unless necessary and keeps economic growth and job creation in our local region—which can be found in these case studies. The program also includes initiatives to market San Diego’s production capabilities and help local supply chains network, innovate and compete internationally. Here you’ll find more details on the program as well as access to the San Diego outsourcing community through The Connectory and the CONNECT Resource Guide.

The CONNECT Nearsourcing Initiative is led by a Steering Committee of Production Cluster leaders including D&K Engineering, BIT MedTech, Althea Technologies, Pharmatek Laboratories, Sharp HealthCare, Invetech, DD Studio, Leardon Solutions, Outsource Manufacturing, Inc., Solekai Systems, Clarity Design, the East County Economic Development Council, which owns and operates the Connectory – a database of 5,600 local production companies, the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation and intellectual property experts from Sughrue Mion.

In June 2012 CONNECT presented a Commitment to Action to President Clinton’s Global Initiative America Summit including:

1.  Workshops that educate entrepreneurs about the benefits of being virtual versus building infrastructure, the benefits of near sourcing versus the risk of offshoring and the capabilities of San Diego’s local production cluster.
2.  An interactive database called The Connectory that allows entrepreneurs to access more than 5,600 San Diego production companies.
3.  Matchmaking sessions that connect contractors and suppliers through an active matchmaking process.
4.   A community wide “Look Near First” education and marketing campaign
5.  Roundtables of companies by cluster along supply chains to facilitate networking, partnering and discussion of innovation opportunities.
6.  Availability of CONNECT’s world renown Springboard mentoring program to provide engineering and scientific expertise to supply chains to help them become more innovative and internationally competitive.
7.  A partnership with the San Diego Convention Center to market San Diego’s outsourcing capability to major innovation related conventions.
8.  Connecting the region’s educational institutions to the training needs of the region’s innovation clusters.
9.  Further research by the CONNECT Innovation Institute to develop more in-depth recommendations.

See press release here.

“The CONNECT Nearsourcing process has been extremely valuable to us for this project. We have been able to reach pre-screened and qualified local resources in a fraction of the time and with a fraction of the effort we would have expended otherwise. I am confident we will have a higher quality and lower cost outcome as a result.”