Traditional production technologies are uncritically maintained due to concerns about loss of quality, lack of production expertise or existing long-established supply chains. As a result, valuable cost reduction potential, for example through changes in production volumes or new technologies, is untapped.
The development of market-orientated products is already strongly influenced in terms of costs in the early phases of product creation through the definition of materials or production technologies. Design-to-cost (DTC) ensures that products remain cost-effective and competitive throughout their entire life cycle. The success of a product depends largely on whether the defined cost targets can be met and whether it is possible to react flexibly to market influences. As an innovation partner, we analyse suitable production processes for different production quantities at an early stage, look for potential cost savings and optimise not only the cost structure, but also the functionality, quality and manufacturability of a product.
Why Design-to-Cost?
Every development project starts with internal company data and assumptions about expected cost structures in order to develop viable products. Here, the following aspects can lead to further challenges:
- Insufficient consideration of scale effects.
- Incomplete, inaccurate or unrealistic requirement and specifications.
- Excessive demands and specifications.
- Lack of variant planning for future product extensions.
- Target cost overruns that lead to inefficiency.
The AWS Cost Engineering database contains more than one million current data records on machines, technologies, materials, labour costs, customs duties, taxes and other influencing factors. This allows us to make precise calculations and realistic cost estimates, which is what makes our DTC approach so successful.
Successfully Implementing Design-to-Cost
Costs influence every phase of product development. Around 80 % of manufacturing costs are already determined in the design and development phase. This is precisely where DTC comes in. With our comprehensive cost and value analysis tools, we optimise your product in the following areas:
- Cost-efficient production: through targeted material selection, standardisation of components and process optimisation.
- Process optimisation & economies of scale: Lean approaches, automation and modular construction methods ensure efficiency.
- Faster time to market: Agile project management and early cost assessment reduce development times.
- Minimise total cost of ownership (TCO): Sustainable materials and life cycle analyses reduce maintenance and operating costs.
- Increase sustainability and resource efficiency: We focus on environmentally friendly materials, recycling concepts and energy-efficient production.
Our systematic DTC approach ensures that products are not only technically optimised, but also economically and sustainably viable over their entire life cycle.
Successful products
With Cost Engineering approaches, you can secure your profitability and competitiveness right from the start.
Our Methods
- Target costing: Definition and adherence to target costs.
- Value analysis: Improvement of the price-performance ratio.
- Benchmarking: Comparison with industry best practices.
- Cost down workshops: Whether with the customer’s own development department or together with potential suppliers, previously unknown potential can be identified and checked for its realisation potential.
- Change evaluation: Tracking of costs for product changes
- Negotiation support: Identified potentials are negotiated and implemented together with the purchasing department on the basis of facts.
Detailed analysis
We support you with a detailed analysis of your existing or pipeline products. We also look into the potential for alternative manufacturing or assembly techniques in the product design and work out recommendations for more cost-efficient implementation of your requirements. Various approaches can be compared as early on as the concept phase and initial indications of the cost drivers can be evaluated. The analysis at this stage is based on sketches, drawings, CAD models, prototypes or initial samples.
