Design‐manufacturing coordination: Proximity, integration and beyond, towards omnishoring

Abstract

Recent research argues that when innovation is embedded in the manufacturing process, design and manufacturing need to be integrated and geographically close to secure current and future innovation. However, process‐embedded innovative industries such as fashion (Pisano & Shih, 2012) have massively outsourced and/or offshored for decades. Our research aims to understand how innovative firms in the fashion industry manage design‐manufacturing coordination in terms of proximity and integration. Examining 18 European fashion firms, our work uses an abductive approach to understand how firms manage their design‐manufacturing coordination and specifically the role played by proximity and integration in such coordination. The analysis reveals that there is a range of coordination modes that go beyond geographical proximity and vertical integration. We also argue that proximity and integration are complex notions and not independent options. Finally, we demonstrate the concept of omnishoring, as coordination strategies are often managed simultaneously and complement each other.