The Impact of Near Sourcing on Global Dynamic Supply Chains: A Case Study

Although near sourcing is a valid alternative to global sourcing as a way to improve supply chain (SC) efficiency, there is a lack of studies aimed at understanding the reasons underlying the adoption of near sourcing strategies and at evaluating the related benefits. With the purpose of contributing to the discus-sion about the role of near sourcing in current dynamic SCs, the present work analyses the case of an Italian retailer that turned the global store furniture pro-curement process into near sourcing. Switching from Far East suppliers to a conti-nental one enables a SC reengineering that decreases transportation and inventory carrying costs and assures economic viability. The work provides a methodologi-cal reference to compare global and near sourcing policies and to calculate the as-sociated savings. The approach may be adapted to investigate different products, services, and business sectors.