Rapidly effective cost reduction for products ready for series production (re-design) by means of practice-proven cost reduction methods, such as
- Supplier workshops
- Should costing analyses
- Cross-functional cost-out workshops
- Teardowns
Value & Cost Engineering Consulting
Realize cost reductions and meet customer requirements
Shorter product life cycles and an aggressive global price and quality competition force companies to constantly review their product and manufacturing costs. In volatile industrial markets, the ability to adapt one's own Product portfolio quickly and flexibly to changing customer requirements and thus maximize its "value" is becoming a decisive competitive factor.
Against this background, integrated Value & Cost Engineering (VCE) provides suitable instruments to effectively and quickly optimize the cost-benefit ratio at any point in the product life cycle. This enables EFESO to put your company in a position to meet customer requirements in the best possible way - at the best possible price. At the same time, VCE helps to reduce time-to-market and thus to secure market shares in highly competitive environments.
Holistic approach as the key to successful product cost reduction
In contrast to traditional cost management, EFESO's VCE approach is based on a holistic and targeted approach. Based on market and customer requirements, we derive the permissible product costs and support companies in optimizing their manufacturing costs in the process chain - from sales to production. We use a comprehensive set of methods and tools for this purpose.
Value & cost engineering support in all phases of the product life cycle
We accompany our clients through all phases of the product life cycle: from immediate measures to reduce manufacturing costs for existing products, to the redesign of a product family (portfolio), to the institutionalization of measures within a VCE organization.
This includes the following points - used correctly and with emphasis, reductions of 30 to 60% of product manufacturing costs can be achieved.
VCE QuickWin cost reduction
VCE end-to-end programs
Programs for the complete cost-optimized redesign of a product or Product portfolio in the sense of an end-to-end approach. These include:
- Market, customer and competitor analyses as well as product benchmarking.
- Cost management such as target costing, zero-base budgeting.
- Material cost optimization: e.g. BoM Transparency, supplier workshops, supplier management.
- Cost reduction methods: e.g. Design-to-Cost, functional analysis, OPEX optimization, make-or-buy considerations, global production footprint.
- Variant streamlining and standardization.
- TCO simulations incl. indirect and possibly later costs (total cost of ownership, e.g. with recycling / disposal, component and material replacement, eco-design).
VCE Organization and change
- Integration of the VCE approach and VCE methods into the product development process and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM).
- Comprehensive empowerment of employees with the help of training on cost awareness and further training in central methodologies, principles, and contexts (VCE approach and specialist training such as "cost-optimized welding").
- Moderating the central units in the VCE process (sales, development, purchasing, product management and production) towards overall objectives.
- Implementing sustainable change in the organization, especially in cross-departmental collaboration on product cost issues to achieve a greater overall corporate optimum.
- Consideration of expertise available within and outside the organization that is decisive for the respective Product portfolio. This can be provided, for example, by technology experts in manufacturing processes or for cost databases, as well as suppliers, customers, and dealers. We consider product-relevant costs across the entire product life cycle (total cost approach).
To ensure sustainable optimization of profit planning and cost management, EFESO supports the development of a VCE organization tailored to the respective company with the corresponding processes, roles and responsibilities. This strengthens cost awareness in the long term.
Value & cost engineering for (networked) solutions and systems
EFESO supports you in the realization of significant results by means of value & cost engineering as well as in a corresponding, sustainable organizational development.
In addition to the VCE potential of individual products and components, systems and services offered should also be considered. The associated ecosystems - e.g. providers of networked products and services - should be included in the sense of "shared responsibility and shared benefits". It is also important to consider and optimize the networking of hardware and software in an integrated manner.
CASE STUDIES & INSIGHTS - PRACTICAL EXAMPLES
©ROI/Bilton
Lean development in R&D
CASE STUDY:
Innovation impulses for lighting designers. The LED revolution has made many business models obsolete, while the wave of digitization and the associated technological change have increased the pace of change by a factor of X. To keep pace here, agile working methods are necessary not only in manufacturing, but also in R&D. Lean methods can prove particularly helpful - but can they be transferred 1:1 from manufacturing to development?
Value and Cost Engineering
CASE STUDY:
Cost transformation from premium to volume provider. Mass manufacturers who expand their Product portfolio into higher price segments are not uncommon. A premium manufacturer of refrigeration appliances, on the other hand, takes the opposite approach. What seems banal from a technological point of view is an enormous challenge from a cost perspective. EFESO accompanied the company in this demanding transformation project.