Cost Breakdown Analysis The Final Frontier in Cost Cutting

Transcription

1 The Final Frontier in Cutting

2 Rising input costs, coupled with increasing global competition, often adversely impact profits. Intense global competition leaves little or no room to raise prices of goods and services at par with the rise in input costs. The only way forward to achieve a better top and bottom line is to reduce or control costs. A prerequisite for implementing high-impact Reduction Program is to develop a consistent and end-toend visibility of all input costs. Input cost visibility can be obtained using a technique called. It is the process to build up and understand the elements that compose the cost of a product or service procured. For an organization's senior management, is an effective technique that helps evaluate competitiveness of current prices and the economic impact of executive decisions. Definition: breakdown analysis is the process to build and understand the elements that compose the cost of a product or service. This technique is also referred to as Clean Sheet ing, Open Book ing, Should-be, Teardown, Price or Supplier.

3 The Approach to (CBA): Though many supplier relations are moving toward strategic supply alliances, traditional arm's length relationships still exist. In such a situation, the purchaser must discover the main drivers of the supplier's costs to demand competitive pricing. Even within a strategic supply alliance, in which both companies jointly study costs and cost drivers to reduce material costs, it is necessary for the purchaser to be aware of supplier's costs. is a Four-step Approach. GEP Approach 1. Data Collection Collect Data using either one or all of the following sources: ERP Spend Invoices 2. Systematic Expansion of the six key cost components to include all relevant costs Identify and Expand all relevant costs which were incurred among the following areas in providing the product or service: Materials Labor Conversion s Overheads Logistics 1. Data Collection: The product or service data to be analyzed under the CBA framework is identified by obtaining information through the following data sources: Enterprise Resource Platform (ERP) Procurement Systems 3. Determine To determine the cost drivers and units for a product or service use the following sources: Experts Open Data Sources Internal Databases External Third party databases 4. Develop Insights Summarize the Breakdown Approach to analyze and benchmark the data to develop insights which will help improve value for the client business. 2. Systematic Expansion of the Key Six Components: Once the service or product procured to be analyzed is identified, it is important to expand all components that comprise the following six key cost elements. Supplier Invoices Spend Summaries 2

4 Product/Service Procured s Materials The price of the materials can be obtained through the use of sources such as: Labor Conversion s Overheads Logistics Profit Market situations and price trends for product in consideration Prevailing and historic commodity markets prices Estimation for the product/raw materials in question Internal benchmarks b) Labor: 3. Determine Drivers of /Unit: The drivers can be determined by identifying all cost/process factors, in addition to the derived costs to manufacture the product or provide the service: To estimate the cost of labor, you need to know the number of workersl used in the manufacturing process, the hours worked on the process and the average wage rate. To determine the above factors, it is important to identify the following labor specific characteristics: a) Materials: The bills of materials or design and production specification documents providea list (and quantity) of materials consumed in the product. The relevant information can be obtained through: ERP/MRP systems Research of open market sources Internal consultant databases Interviews with experts / primary research Professional associations If you cannot obtain these documents you may have to reverse engineer the product. This means that you disassemble the product to determine all the cost of materials in it. In case of liquid products, you can use gas chromatography to separate all chemicals used in the final mix. Technology employed by the manufacturing process level of process automation Skill requirement and eligibility for the personnel to produce a product such as education, expertise, training, etc To obtain accurate estimates of the total annual labor, costs can be multiplied with adjustment factors such as vacation and supervision. All information required to accurately compute the cost of labor can be obtained from the following sources: Independent primary research Professional associations Experts Secondary research Supplier visits 3

5 c) Conversion s: Conversion costs include all the activities associated with the physical process of conversion of raw materials into finished goods. The costs include manufacturing process and cycle time costs, utilities, depreciation, maintenance and all other ancillary activities related to manufacturing the product. Manufacturing process costs refer to costs of activities like machining (e.g., turning, drilling), finishing (e.g., honing, milling), preparation (e.g., heating, mixing) and processing (e.g., printing, cutting). It is important to identify the appropriate drivers and units that form the key components of the conversion process. For example, using $/M Sq.Ft or $/M pieces as unit for cost drivers could lead to very different results while performing price sensitivity analysis. To effectively analyze conversion costs, it is important to develop detailed process maps of all activities involved in manufacturing a product. It is also important to develop an understanding of all additional costs incurred during the manufacturing process, such as time taken to complete a process, throughput, cost of machinery, set-up costs, machine maintenance costs and associated depreciation rate. Understanding all the above can be confirmed by soliciting expert opinion in consultation with the supplier. d) Overheads: Typical overheads include all non-operating expenses incurred in the manufacture of a product. It can include expenses such as: Plant overheads Selling expense Executive compensation Design and development expenses Administrative expenses Rent, leases, etc. Plant overheads include all the indirect costs associated with the production of a product or service. This term encompasses many different elements, depending on the company and the industrial sector. Generally items include: General plant burden Overtime Plant administration As there exists no formal method of allocating such expenses, overheads can be estimated as a percentage of the labor costs incurred to manufacture a product. It is difficult to attribute the exact overhead expenditure incurred for manufacturing a product. A common approach is to estimate the expected expenditure as a percentage of revenues. If the supplier's financial statements are available, it is reasonable to assume that overhead expenditure on the products sold is in the same proportion as that of the overall corporate entity. If financial statements are not available, then a reasonable estimate can be made by assuming that incurred expenditure is similar to industry average. e) Logistics: Logistics comprise the following costs: Custom clearance Transportation Warehousing Distribution Each of the aforementioned cost elements can be influenced by specific factors. For example, custom clearance as costs is dependent on the 4

6 importing country's prescribed rules and regulations. Transportation and distribution costs incurred are dependent on: The distance travelled in moving goods from the production centre to the consumption centre. The mode of transportation, such as inland water transportation, ocean water transportation, air, train or road. Warehousing cost is dependent on volume of goods stored, type of goods stored and the length of time for which the goods were stored. Finally, all of the above are also affected by the nature of goods procured and the frequency of procurement. f) Supplier Margins: The last cost-driver is supplier margins, as even suppliers must earn profit that is commensurate with the market conditions and industry structure. Any adjustment to supplier margins in relation to observed industry averages can be made by taking the existing relationship into account, willingness to do business, and product / service differentiation. 4. Strategic Benefits from the Approach: The over arching aim of the analysis is to answer the following questions: Are we buying the right products and services? How do we proactively control costs and derive competitive advantage through our procurement practices? Since the CBA exercise is done largely based on industry level averages and estimates, the results can be used to measure competitiveness of our procurement costs with respect to industry peers. Comparative analysis across suppliers, SKUs and geographies helps us craft informed negotiation strategies to lower purchase prices and minimize overall procurement costs. The increased visibility that the technique provides assists in controlling costs on an ongoing basis. Are we buying the right products and services? Many organizations understand very little about what they buy. The impact that this has on the organization's product quality and cost competitiveness can be immense, depending on the criticality of the product/service being procured. breakdown analysis is a good way to increase the understanding of what is being procured, and its impact on the business. The process gives a greater insight into the manufacturing process, and an understanding of all inputs needed to convert raw materials into the final procured product. This can help review current specifications and service levels, and reduce the excesses and inefficiencies. How does our supplier alliance impact competitiveness? In this age of integrated supply chain and colocated vendors, suppliers and customers are extremely inter- dependant. Procurement is not just about reducing costs. It is also about aligning your supplier to become your partner in success. is very useful in the supplier development process. The knowledge obtained through the CBA exercise helps organizations understand strengths and weaknesses of their suppliers. It also helps to evaluate existing and potential suppliers on the basis of their operational capabilities (technology, level of automation, etc.) and their fit with the organization's requirements. Additionally, helps to develop a long-term supplier strategy for the category (e.g., competitive sourcing vs. collaborative vendor development). 5

7 CASE STUDY: 1 During a performance benchmarking exercise for a leading international food processing company, consultants used the cost breakdown analytical methodology to systematically reverse-engineer all costs incurred in the procurement of flour (intermediate product), in addition to batter (final product). Part1: of Flour (Ingredients for batter) $540 Current Flour $527 Est. Flour $27 Profit Taxes and Duties $12 Admin Charges $60 Logistic $8 Amortization of Equipment $11 Maintenance &Repairs $5 $14 Energy Charges Milling s $22 Labor Cleaning s Wheat $51 $19 $300 6

8 $1,080 Current Batter $1,054 Est. Flour $105 Profit $38 Taxes and Duties $76 Admin Charges $36 Logistic Amortization of Equipment $21 Maintenance & Repairs $9 Other Ingredients $21 RESULT Additives s $76 Energy Charges $79 Labor Flour Based on the analysis, we were able to realize 6 per cent reduction in batter prices, using the following approaches: o Standardize some batter recipes to increase economies in conversion $67 $527 o Negotiate more effectively with the supplier to bring down costs in specific areas o Conduct negotiations on behalf of batter manufacturer to reduce procurement costs of the purchase of flour INSIGHTS The analysis revealed the following: o Current batter prices were at least 5 per cent higher than estimated costs o A savings opportunity existed with flour, as well as batter conversion costs o There was no visibility into wheat costs and the cost of additives as the recipes were confidential and shared by end customers directly with the batter supplier o Work with end customers to implement a variable cost model that would compute wheat and additive costs based on hidden recipe formulas, hence increasing visibility of costs without breaching confidentiality o Index the prices of wheat to the market o Introduce a price list mechanism for additives, reviewed quarterly o Work with the supplier to separate packaging transportation and storage from conversion cost 7

9 CASE STUDY: 2 While executing a spend analysis project for a leading beverage manufacturer, consultants at GEP noticed a high spend across three high-value SKU categories. Using the cost breakdown analytical framework, we observed the following cost structures: of three SKUs INSIGHT: 100% 90% The cost breakdown variance between different SKUs indicated that the design specifications had a significant impact on the end product price, hence the need to increase visibility of price at an SKU level. Also, comparative analysis of each of the suppliers across the three SKU categories identified significant opportunities to improve processes and to reduce margins through systematic negotiations. 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% RESULT: 0% SKU 1 component Substrate Total Ink Total Coating Additional Ink Machine Set Up s Raw MaterialConversion s Cutting s Packaging s Inspection s Other Overhead Transportation Profit Margin Supernormal Profit Quoted Price SKU 2 SKU 3 SKU 1 3 0% 8% 8% 3 SKU % 17% SKU 3 4 4% 10% 4% 17% 4% 2% 4% 5% 0% 100% 6% 5% 2% 100% 5% 5% 2% 100% To determine an appropriate pricing for the SKUs, a Request for Pricing with a variable price model was developed to capture each detailed cost component. Using the information collected, the most competitive prices across suppliers were applied to each component to develop best case price. The process not only provided more visibility into the individual cost components, but also developed an informed negotiation strategy to realize 13 per cent savings in procured costs. 8

10 GEP helps global enterprises operate more efficiently and effectively, gain competitive advantage, boost profitability, and maximize business and shareholder value. Fresh thinking, innovative products, unrivaled domain and subject expertise, and smart, passionate people this is how GEP creates and delivers unified business solutions of unprecedented scale, power and effectiveness. With 14 offices and operations centers in Europe, Asia and the Americas, Clark, New Jersey-based GEP helps enterprises worldwide realize their strategic, operational and financial objectives. Recently named Best Supplier at the EPIC Procurement Excellence Awards, GEP is frequently honored as an innovator and leading provider of source-to-pay procurement software by top industry and technology analysts, such as Forrester, Gartner, Spend Matters, Paystream and Ardent Partners. GEP also earns top honors in consulting and managed services from the industry s leading research firms, professional associations and journals, including Everest Group on its PEAK Matrices of Procurement Services Providers and Supply Chain Services Providers; NelsonHall on its NEAT Matrix of Global Procurement BPO Service Providers; HfS in its Blueprint Report on Procurement-as-a-Service; and ALM Intelligence in its Vanguard Reports on both Procurement Consulting and Supply Chain Consulting. To learn more about our comprehensive range of strategic and managed services, please visit For more about SMART by GEP, our cloud-native, unified source-to-pay platform, please visit Access our free knowledge resources at Walnut Avenue, Clark, NJ P info@gep.com Clark, NJ Princeton Toronto Dublin London Prague Mumbai Hyderabad Shanghai Mexico City a Rica São Paulo Singapore Sydney Copyright 2017 GEP. All rights reserved.