Where Does My Stuff Come From

Almost nothing is made where you think it is Where Does My Stuff Come From? reveals the complex international supply networks behind products Americans use daily, from chocolate chips and computer chips to athletic shoes and frozen fish. Written by Willy Shih, a Harvard Business School professor with 28 years of hands-on experience at IBM, Digital Equipment Corporation, and Eastman Kodak, this accessible guide demystifies global supply chains through everyday products. Shih examines why so many goods get made far away, who actually makes them, and what it costs you. Why do my cashew nuts say they came from Vietnam when they were actually grown in West Africa? What do Henry Ford and lifestyles of the Chinese Communist Party have to do with making iPhones? What do Ozempic and beer have to do with laundry detergent? Things come from where they do for a variety of reasons, and this book will help you understand the economic logic behind it all. Readers will also discover: The brand on the label usually doesn’t tell you who actually made the productWhy ‘just make it in America’ is harder than it soundsHow tariffs and industrial policies can have an outsized influence on where things are madeThe tension behind reshoring, high-paying jobs, and having a wide choice of inexpensive products Ideal for consumers who are curious, business professionals navigating trade disruptions, or anyone trying to make sense of today’s trade debates, Where Does My Stuff Come From? provides clear context for understanding how global supply chain decisions shape everyday American life and purchasing power.

WILLY SHIH is the Robert & Jane Cizik Baker Foundation Professor of Management Practice at the Harvard Business School, where he has taught for 20 years. Prior to HBS, he spent 28 years in industry at IBM, Digital Equipment, Silicon Graphics, Eastman Kodak, and Thomson SA. Willy’s expertise is in manufacturing, supply chains, and product development. He has written for the Harvard Business Review, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Forbes, and the Nikkei Asian Review.