Lara GuevaraSupply Chain expert (Product and Service)

Should You Move Manufacturing Out of Asia?

13 Jun 2026 · 2 min

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1:39

In this interview, the host asks Lara Guevara whether brand owners should consider moving backpack manufacturing out of Asia, especially given recent tariffs and the possibility of supply‑chain disruptions. Guevara cautions against a hasty relocation, emphasizing that moving production without a thorough assessment can be counter‑productive. She advises brands to first evaluate the diversity and visibility of their raw‑material sources across multiple supply‑chain tiers (tier‑1, tier‑2, tier‑3). Understanding where components such as zippers and specialty fabrics originate—and whether vendors have transparent, diversified upstream suppliers—is crucial before deciding to shift manufacturing to South America or the United States. The core message is that supply‑chain resilience and visibility should guide any relocation decision rather than reacting solely to tariffs or geopolitical pressures.

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Do you think that this is going to change maybe the backpack manufacturing landscape a little bit? I mean, obviously we don't know how long this will last, right? You know, maybe it could be over tomorrow. But in the situation that it doesn't, I mean, are you seeing brand owners, especially when you stack this with tariffs? Yeah. You know, there's a lot of incentive to potentially consider moving manufacturing outside of Asia, maybe into South America, maybe into America itself. What are you seeing? Smart brand owners doing that you would recommend other brand owners at least look into? Or is China and Vietnam still the way to go?
Yeah, so I think there's no rush in transferring because it's not a very smart move if you're not gonna think of it and new product, develop a new product properly, you know, not the shortcut development of new products for other manufacturers. But what I think the best next step that if you have to check if you have a diverse source of raw materials or if your client or if your vendor has a diverse source of raw materials, because, um, if you don't have, um, visibility on your vendor's vendor and your vendor's vendor vendor, then everything is going to be affected. So that's the tier 1, tier 2, tier 3. So even if you know so much about your vendor number 1, do you know anything about their vendors. So they get zippers from specialty fabrics from here, from there, and so many, so many raw materials. And having an understanding what is their supply chain is very, very important too.