MEANING The use of cost information made by management to achieve the aims of a company STRATEGIC COST MANAGEMENT is the

overall recognition of the cost relationships among the activities in the value chain, and the process of managing those cost relationships to a firm's advantage. Also known as Cost Management Theory DEFINITION Strategic cost management can be defined as"scrutinizing every process within your organization, knocking down departmental barriers, understanding your suppliers' business, and helping improve their processes"

Main Aim of Strategic Cost Management To make sure that the business organization is able to be successful in its endeavors and also grow. Strategic cost management is also aimed at sustaining the rate of growth that has been achieved by a particular company A very important part of the process of strategic cost management is the proper usage of the available resources.

Applications for Strategic Cost Management: There are three basic business areas where strategic cost management can be applied. Strategic Cost Management Framework: The Strategic cost management framework provides a clear plan of attack for addressing costs and decisions that affect them. Following are the three core components of this framework. Strategic Management Program Steps: SCM Programme includes following five steps

. Planning and Training: Planning plays a crucial role in implementing the strategic cost management program. To implement the planning, a manager should gather very efficient team members and train them accordingly. Setting up of project management structure will facilitate the implementation of strategic cost management by clearly identifying the day to day activities, steering guidance and offering ad hoc assistance Fact Finding: This stage includes the tasks such as data gathering, conducting interview , developing benchmarks,conducting customer surveys. 4. Analysis and Recommendations for changes: Analysis of activities plays a crucial role in ascertaining the cost of the company. It can be done by various strategic cost management analytical tools viz. cost driver analysis, activity-based costing, selective business process reengineering etc. An action plan forproposed change should address the following questions what, who, when how aspects of the activities.

5 . Implementation: In implementation stage the first task to be done is to define responsibilities and accountability of each individual and controlling i.e. monitoring and corrective action should be the taken at each stage of programme. And this is how the continuous improvement can be achieved. The third,fourth and fifth sate in the above process indicates continuous improvement.

Analysis and Planning Enablers Top management support and sponsorship Information systems Identity of total cost drivers Cost models

A strategic cost management plan

Effective cross-functional teams Known Business strategies Alignment of supply strategies with business strategies Total cost approach to procurement Balanced approach to sourcing Performance measurements Redefinition of procurement business processes Maximize the leverage effect of purchasing Implementation Enablers: Supply chain visioning Diffusion of best practices in the organization Strategic alliances Planned change management Supply base rationalization Existence of shared supplier-customer strategies Minimization of transactional activities of purchasing Shifting of supply chain costs Outsourcing

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Importance of Strategic Cost Management The process of strategic cost management is very crucial in the context of the present day business enterprises. There are several ways in which the process of strategic cost management can be used. They may be mentioned as below: Employing strategic resources Making important business decisions Examining strategic resources Locating important resources

Target Costing Approach to Pricing:

Learning Objective of the Article:

Define and explain target costing. Compute the target cost for a new product or service. What are advantages and disadvantages of target costing approach. In traditional costing system it is presumed that a product has already been developed, has been costed, and is ready to be marketed as soon as a price is set. In many cases, the sequence of events is just the reverse. That is, the company already knows what price should be charged, and the problem is to develop a product that can be marketed profitably at the desired price. Even in this situation, where the normal sequence of events is reversed, cost is still a crucial factor. The company can use an approach called target costing.

Definition and Explanation of Target Costing Reasons for Using Target Costing Technique Example of Target Costing Process Advantages and Disadvantages of Target Costing Definition, Explanation and Formula of Target Costing:

Target costing is the process of determining the maximum allowable cost for a new product and then developing a prototype that can be profitably made for that maximum target cost figure. A number of companies--primarily in Japan--use target costing, including Compaq, Culp, Cummins Engine, Daihatsu Motors, DaimlerChrysler, Ford, Isuzu Motors, ITT, NEC, and Toyota etc.

The target costing for a product is calculated by starting with the product's anticipated selling price and then deducting the desired profit. Following formula or equation further explains this concept:

Target Cost = Anticipated selling price Desired profit

The product development team is then given the responsibility of designing the product so that it can be made for no more than the target cost.

Following set of activities further explains the concept of target costing technique:

TARGET COSTING PROCESS DIAGRAM

Determine Customer Wants and Price Sensitivity Planned Selling Price is Set Target Cost is Determined As: Selling Price Less Desired Profit Teams of Employees from Various Areas and Trusted Vendors Simultaneously Design Product Determine Manufacturing Process Costs are Considered Throughout this Process. The Process Requires Trade-offs to Meet Target Costs Once Target Cost is Achieved the Manufacturing Begins and Product is Sold Reasons for Using Target Costing Technique: Determine Necessary Raw Materials

The target costing approach was developed in recognition of two important characteristics of markets and costs. The first is that many companies have less control over price than they would like to think. The market (i.e., supply and demand) really determines prices, and a company that attempts to ignore

this does so at its peril. Therefore, the anticipated market price is taken as a given in target costing. The second observation is that most of the cost of a product is determined in the design stage. Once a product has been designed and has gone into production, not much can be done to significantly reduce its cost. Most of the opportunities to reduce cost come from designing the product so that it is simple to make, uses inexpensive parts, and is robust and reliable. If the company has little control over market price and little control over cost once the product has gone into production, then it follows that the major opportunities for affecting profit come in the design stage where valuable features that customers are willing to pay for can be added and where most of the costs are really determined. So that it is where the effort is concentrated--in designing and developing the product. The difference between target costing and other approaches to product development is profound. Instead of designing the product and then finding out how much it costs, the target cost is set first and then the product is designed so that the target cost is attained.

Example of Target Costing:

To provide a simple numerical example of target costing, assume the following situations:

Handy Appliance Company feels that there is a market niche for a hand mixer with certain new features. Surveying the features and prices of hand mixers already in the market, the marketing department believes that a price of $30 would be about right for the new mixer. At that price, marketing estimates that 40,000 of new mixers could be sold annually. To design, develop, and produce these new mixers, an investment of $2,000,000 would be required. The company desires a 15% return on investment (ROI). Given these data, the target cost to manufacture, sell, distribute, and service one mixer is $22.50 as calculated below:

Projected sales (40,000 mixers $30 per mixer ) $1,200,000 Less desired profit (15% $2,000,000) -----------Target cost for 40,000 mixers ======= Target cost per mixer ($9,00,000 / 40,000 mixer) $22.50 $9,00,000 300,000

This $22.5 target cost would be broken into target cost for the various functions: manufacturing, marketing, distribution, after-sales service, and so on. Each functional area would be responsible for keeping its actual costs within target.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Target Costing Approach:

Target costing has the following main advantages or benefits:

Proactive approach to cost management. Orients organizations towards customers. Breaks down barriers between departments. Implementation enhances employee awareness and empowerment. Foster partnerships with suppliers. Minimize non value-added activities. Encourages selection of lowest cost value added activities. Reduced time to market. Target costing approach has the following main disadvantages or limitations:

Effective implementation and use requires the development of detailed cost data. its implementation requires willingness to cooperate Requires many meetings for coordination May reduce the quality of products due to the use of cheep components which may be of inferior quality. In Business | Target Costing Approach--An Iterative Process: Target costing Technique is widely used in Japan. In the automobile industry, the target cost for a new model is decomposed into target costs for each of the elements of the car--down to a target cost for each of the individual parts. The designers draft a trial blueprint, and a check is made to see if the estimated cost of the car is within reasonable distance of the target cost. If not, design changes are

made, and a new trial blueprint is drawn up. This process continues until there is sufficient confidence in the design to make a prototype car according to the trial blueprint. If there is still a gap between the target cost and estimated cost, the design of the car will be further modified.

After repeating this process a number of times, the final blueprint is drawn up and turned over to the production department. In the first several months of production, the target costs will ordinarily not be achieved due to problems in getting a new model into production. However after that initial period, target costs are compared to actual costs and discrepancies between the two are investigated with the aim of eliminating the discrepancies and achieving target costs.

Kaizen Costing Definition: Kaizen costing is the process of continual cost reduction that occurs after a product design has been completed and is now in production. Cost reduction techniques can include working with suppliers to reduce the costs in their processes, or implementing less costly re-designs of the product, or reducing waste costs.

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