How to Move Manufacturing For E-Commerce: China+1, Alternative Hubs, and Step-by-Step Tips

Research published by Retail Gazette in April 2026 found that 87% of e-commerce businesses are planning to move their primary manufacturing location within the next three years. That’s not a fringe movement. It’s almost everyone.

Despite the rush, many businesses decide “we need to shift our manufacturing,” and they spend very little time on the more important question: how do you actually do it without major disruptions?

In short, the answer is often to diversify your manufacturing, rather than relocating all your production to another country.

If you’re manufacturing in China, as many businesses are, this strategy is referred to as China+1. It means keeping your existing Chinese manufacturing in place while building a second production relationship elsewhere, often in other Asian countries.

The same principle works regardless of where you’re manufacturing, and the goal is to make sure you don’t have all your eggs in one basket.

This guide covers when China+1 is the right call, and when it isn’t. We’ll also discuss some of the most common alternatives, mainly across Asia, and the step-by-step process for executing the transition without creating more problems than you’re solving.

How do you move your manufacturing as an e-commerce business? TL;DR:

• For most established e-commerce businesses, China+1 is smarter than a full exit. It builds redundancy without totally abandoning the systems and processes you’ve already invested in
• Vietnam, India, Mexico, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia each suit different product categories. The right choice depends on what you sell, not just where it’s cheapest.
• A properly executed manufacturing shift takes 12 to 18 months. Rushing it creates more risk than it removes.

Explore more: See how Wayfindr helps e-commerce businesses build genuine supply chain resilience

What Is China+1 and Why Is It So Popular Right Now?

China+1 means maintaining your Chinese manufacturing base and adding at least one additional country to your production network. The same logic can apply to any single-country manufacturing setup: Vietnam+1, India+1, or simply building a backup production base. In the past, this was more commonly used by larger companies, but that’s no longer the case.

A combination of three factors is making even relatively small businesses adopt a China+1 strategy:

• First, US tariffs on Chinese goods have made single-source Chinese manufacturing expensive enough to seriously hurt margins across a wide range of categories
• Second, the pandemic demonstrated how quickly a single-country dependency can shut down your entire operation
• Third, China’s own costs have risen steadily over the past decade as wages and compliance costs have increased, so the pure cost argument for China isn’t as compelling as it once was

Yes, tariffs have been a major driver of China+1 in the last 12-18 months, but reducing your exposure isn’t the only advantage. Here are a few more benefits:

• You gain production flexibility to shift volume between countries based on capacity or cost
• You’re less exposed if geopolitics or a natural disaster hits one country
• You gain some negotiating power with your Chinese suppliers
• You’re well-positioned to take advantage of any future changes, such as new manufacturing innovations or local tax incentives

One thing to understand: China+1 still has transition costs. Qualifying new suppliers, running pilot production, reconfiguring logistics to handle two or more origins, and managing compliance differences across countries all take time and money.

You probably won’t see any savings in the first year, but the benefits will become more apparent from year two onwards.

Should You Leave China Entirely, or Is China+1 the Smarter Move?

This is the first fork in the road, and most articles skip it entirely. China+1 does give you more options and greater resilience, but it’s not always the best choice. Full relocation can actually make more sense in a specific set of circumstances:

• You’re early-stage and not yet deeply embedded in Chinese manufacturing infrastructure
• Your product category faces tariff levels that make Chinese sourcing simply too expensive to sustain, or
• Your customers are concentrated in a market where a different manufacturing origin gives you a real commercial advantage.

In reality, China+1 is the more pragmatic approach for anyone already established in China. You keep your existing Chinese production running while building a second manufacturing relationship elsewhere.

The benefits have already been explained: you spread your risk when it comes to tariffs, you become more flexible when it comes to other disruptions, and you get some very useful negotiating power with your existing Chinese suppliers.

Where Should You Move Your Manufacturing?

The “where” question depends a lot on what you’re making. Sure, tariffs and local production costs are important things to think about, but it doesn’t make much sense to open production in a new country if they don’t have expertise in your specific industry.

Seven Manufacturing Hubs Compared

Here’s an honest comparison of the seven most relevant manufacturing hubs for e-commerce businesses considering China+1 or a full-shift strategy.

Be Mindful of Tariffs

A note on the tariff situation: it’s still in a state of flux, so things could change (again). The US initiated Section 301 investigations into Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and several other countries in March 2026, with findings expected before July 2026 and potential tariff actions to follow.

On top of that, the US now imposes a Section 122 baseline 10% tariff for most countries. It stacks on top of other tariffs. But, another change could be on the horizon. This is a temporary tariff, which expires in July 2026, unless Congress extends it.

If you’re making sourcing decisions now, factor in that the picture could look different again by year-end. Staying close to someone who tracks this in real time is increasingly important.

Which Manufacturing Hub Is Best for Your Industry?

The comparison above tells you what each hub can do. This table tells you how it might stack up for your specific product category.

How to Actually Move Your Manufacturing: A Step-by-Step Process

A properly done transition takes 12 to 18 months. That’s not a conservative estimate; it’s what the process actually requires. What follows is the operational reality of executing a manufacturing shift without creating more problems than you’re solving.

Step 1: Audit Your Current Manufacturing Dependencies

Before you look outward, look inward. You need to understand your key products, where they’re currently made, what their lead times are, and their total all-up costs when they finally arrive at your warehouse.

The goal here is to figure out a baseline, so you can begin running comparisons with alternate production centers. This might sound like an obvious step, but you’d be surprized how many businesses skip it.

Step 2: Define Your Selection Criteria Before You Talk to Anyone

Get your criteria down before you speak to a single supplier or visit a factory. Some things you might want to consider: minimum order quantities, quality standards and certifications (if required), lead times, and how they might integrate with your logistics providers.

Without this groundwork, your negotiations with potential suppliers won’t have any focus. The factory itself might look impressive, but that’s irrelevant if the numbers don’t add up.

Step 3: Qualify New Suppliers Properly

Supplier qualification is where most businesses underinvest and later regret it. Here’s a checklist of due diligence steps you should always undertake:

•  References from current clients making comparable products
• A factory audit covering production capacity, quality systems and labour practices
• Sample production runs before committing to any volume
• A clear picture of your supplier’s own sub-supplier network

The risk doesn’t stop at your direct supplier. If you’re moving into a country where you don’t have existing relationships, a 4PL partner with in-market networks will get you to qualified options far faster than starting from scratch through trade directories.

Step 4: Run a Pilot Production Run

This is mentioned above, but it also deserves its own section. You should always prove the supplier can deliver to your standard before committing to a large order.

One way to do this is to run a pilot for one of your key products. You could commit to 30 – 50% of a standard order, and then check how the end-to-end process pans out. What you’re looking for is production timing, quality control, how well they coordinate with your logistics provider, and the total cost when the products land in your warehouse.

By doing this, you’ll highlight any problems in the process that you’ll never have a chance to see during a factory visit.

Step 5: Build the Logistics Infrastructure Around Your New Source

A new manufacturing center means you’ll also need to set up new logistics processes. Freight routing, customs procedures, documentation requirements, and warehousing strategy all need to be considered.

Get your freight, customs, and warehousing strategy agreed before your first full production run ships, not after. Understanding how e-commerce logistics works at scale before you redesign it is time well spent. The logistics setup and the manufacturing decision need to be planned together, not one after the other.

Step 6: Don’t Exit China Until You’re Ready

If you’re running a China+1 strategy, keep your Chinese production at normal levels through the pilot and early ramp phases with your new supplier. The temptation is to start reducing Chinese orders as soon as an alternative is lined up. Resist it until you’ve run real volume through the new supplier and confirmed they can handle it.

Your Chinese supplier relationships have genuine value. Burning them before you’re confident in your alternative is an unnecessary risk that has caught out plenty of e-commerce businesses mid-transition.

How a 4PL Makes Moving Your Manufacturing Much Easier

Manufacturing shifts are complex enough that businesses attempting them without specialist support tend to take too long, make avoidable mistakes in supplier qualification, or build a logistics setup that works for the new origin but creates problems downstream.

Takomo Golf is a useful illustration. The Finnish direct-to-consumer golf company came to Wayfindr with a logistics operation creaking under rapid growth and a clear goal: diversify manufacturing away from a single-country dependency by expanding into Vietnam.

Wayfindr led the supplier qualification process, facilitated introductions and communication in Vietnamese, ensured potential partners met Takomo’s quality and compliance standards, and secured a partnership with a major OEM manufacturer in the country.

That’s not what a freight forwarder does. It’s what a 4PL operating at supply chain strategy level actually provides. The result for Takomo was a dual-stream logistics model: a dedicated fulfilment centre for standard US orders, combined with direct cross-border shipping from China for customised and time-sensitive orders. Manufacturing diversification and logistics optimisation designed together.

Final Thoughts: Where Do You Start?

Most e-commerce businesses know they should be doing this, and most keep putting it off. So ask yourself one thing: if your main manufacturing country went dark tomorrow, how long before you run out of stock? That answer tells you how urgently you need to move.

If you have time, keep it simple. Run the numbers on your best-selling products with current tariffs applied. Pick one to pilot somewhere new. Get the logistics sorted before the first shipment leaves, not after.

Wayfindr is a tech-enabled 4PL, which means we don’t own warehouses or trucks. We manage your entire supply chain and find the right providers for your specific situation. That’s exactly the kind of flexibility you need when you’re moving into new manufacturing territory. If you want to think it through with someone who’s done it before, our team is always ready to help.