After a year that started with threats of a border adjustment tax that would turn industry cost accounting on its head, as we go into 2018 the sourcing outlook is mostly stable, despite some saber rattling on trade policy coming from the administration. The main trends of wages rising, automation increasing, and lead times and turnaround becoming more and more compressed will continue, as vendors squeeze suppliers trying to eke the best margins out of flattish consumer demand. Forward thinking suppliers and factories, meanwhile, realize that their ability to respond faster to consumer changes with new processes like mass customization ... Log in to view full article.