På en global marknad med allt tightare vinstmarginaler har fokus på produktkostnad ökat. I produktutvecklingsprocessen har ett allt större behov av förbättrade arbetssätt kring produktkostnadskalkylering uppstått för att företag skall vara konkurrenskraftiga. Produktkostnad är en väsentlig del av ett företags kostnadsmassa. Under en produktutvecklingsprocess tidiga skeden saknas ofta etablerade metoder och processer för beräkning av produktens kostnad. Speciellt svårt är det att uppskatta produktkostnad i tidiga faser av produktutvecklingsprocessen då osäkerheten kring konstruktionen är stor. Detta kan få till följd att till exempel avsaknad av vetskap kring materialkostnad eller investeringsbehov uppstår. Målet med denna uppsats är att hjälpa, utvärdera och supportera kring förbättringar av arbetssätt inom produktutvecklingsprojekten när det kommer till produktkostnadskalkylering. Syftet med detta examensarbete är att skapa en passande finansiell modell som kan användas vid val av koncept i tidiga stadier av produktutvecklingsprocessen för att säkerställa högsta möjliga lönsamhet för Volvo Construction Equipment. För att lösa detta problem så har insamling av teori i form av böcker, artiklar samt rapporter genomförts med fokus på produktutveckling och produktkostnad. Teoristudien påvisade mycket material kring produktutvecklingsprocessen men mindre kring detaljerad produktkostnadskalkylering. Den empiriska delen har genomförts i samarbete med Volvo Construction Equipment med syfte att få ökad förståelse för problemställningar i dess verkliga miljö. Från intervjuer, dokumentation samt övrig insamling så påvisades att förbättringspotential fanns kring produktkostnadskalkylering i tidiga faser av produktutvecklingsprojekt. För ytterligare ökad förståelse genomfördes en strukturerad jämförelse samt en diskussion kring respektive område av teori och empiri. Resultatet av jämförelsen visar att Volvo Construction Equipments hantering av problem korrelerar med den teori som existerar i uppsatsen. I de situationer där Volvo avviker från teorin så finns orsaker till att företaget inte väljer att följa denna. För att förbättra processen kring produktutveckling och produktkostnadskalkylering på Volvo Construction Equipment skapades en kalkylmodell. Modellen applicerades konkret i ett pågående produktutvecklingsprojekt i företaget och gav möjlighet till uppföljning av utvecklingen av produktkostnaden under de olika faserna av projektet. / On a global market with tighter gross margins the focus on product cost have increased. A demand for improved methods within product cost calculations in the product development process is important to sustain competitive. Product cost is a vital part of a company’s cost base. During a product development process early stage there is often a lack of established methods and processes for calculation of the product cost. Especially difficult is it to estimate product cost in early stages of the product development process when the uncertainty around the construction of the product is big. That might lead to lack of knowledge around material cost and need of investments occur. The goal with this thesis is to help, evaluate and support around improvements within the product development projects when it comes to product cost calculation. The purpose of this thesis is to create a suitable financial model that is applicable when choosing concept in early stages of the product development process to sustain highest possible profitability for Volvo Construction Equipment. To solve this problem a collection of theory in form of books, articles and reports has been made with focus on product development and product cost. The theory part showed a lot of material around the product development process but less data around detailed product cost calculation. The empirical part has been created in cooperation with Volvo Construction Equipment with purpose to increase knowledge for problems in its natural environment. From interviews, documentations and other collection has shown that improvement potential was found for product cost calculations in early stages of product development project. For further increased understanding a structured comparison and a discussion around each area of theory and empirical data was created. The result of the comparison shows that Volvo Construction Equipment’s handling of problems correlates with the theory that exists in the thesis. To improve the process with product development and product cost calculation at Volvo Construction Equipment a calculation model was created. The model was applied in a real product development project in the company and gave opportunity for estimations of the development of the product cost during the different stages of the project.

The purpose of this study was two-fold: (1) to compare different home dehydrators and determine if the operation and design of the home dehydrators affected the color, cost, nutrient content, acceptability or flavor of the resulting products and (2) to determine the effect of physical parameters on product color, nutrient content, acceptability and flavor. The physical parameters that were measured during the dehydration process were temperature, relative humidity, and mass flow rate of air. Two products, Daucus carota var sativa (carrot) and juice of Lycopersicon sp. (tomato), were dried in each of six dehydrators (treatments). A sensory panel was used to determine the color, acceptability and flavor differences in dehydrated carrots and tomato juice form the different treatments. Carotene and ascorbic acid content were determined in the carrots and tomato juice, respectively. The total cost of dehydration was calculated by summing the fresh produce cost, energy costs, equipment and cost of labor. The design and operation of the five dehydrators designated for home use had significantly different effects on the cost, color, flavor, and acceptability of both carrots and tomato juice. Ascorbic acid content in dehydrated tomato juice production from the six dehydrators differed significantly, but, the carotene content of dehydrated carrots did not differ statistically between treatments.

About 75% of the total product cost is determined in the early design phase, which means that the possibilities to affect costs are relatively small when the design phase is completed. For companies, it is therefore vital to conduct reliable cost estimates in the early design phase, when selecting between different design choices. When conducting a cost estimate there are many uncertainties. The aim with this study is therefore to explore how uncertainties regarding product cost can be considered when estimating product cost and how expert’s knowledge can be integrated within cost estimation. A case study has been conducted within the aerospace industry at the company GKN Aerospace Sweden (GAS) in Trollhättan, from which a model to estimate product cost has been developed. The model is developed for space turbines, but can with modifications be used for other products. Space turbines are highly advanced products, produced in small batches with complex manufacturing processes and high costs. Because of the heavy capital investment, long lead times and high risks, cost estimates become very important, which made GAS suitable for the case study. The new cost estimation model (NCEM) developed is a combination between intuitive, analogical and analytical cost estimation techniques. Product cost at GAS is built up by the following cost elements; raw material, purchased parts, material surcharge, manufacturing cost, manufacturing surcharge, outsourced operations, method support, delivery cost, warranty and scrap, which are studied more in depth. The material cost is estimated based on historical data and a list of previous purchased alloys is created. The manufacturing cost is determined more in detail where the cost for each operation is estimated, based on operation time, amount of removed material or welding speed. The method support cost is estimated based on a study of an internal prognosis where the amount of time from each discipline needed to support the product is determined. Included in the NCEM is also a risk assessment. The main insights from this study is that transparency is vital when estimating product cost. It is important to state what assumptions that have been made. Breaking down the product cost into smaller units and create awareness about the cost drivers will identify risks and reduce uncertainness. Experts possess a great deal of knowledge about cost drivers and should be integrated when estimating product cost.

Problem: What are the most critical activities for process industry? Whether general view of impact of these value chain activities on product performance (quality, cost and innovation) applied to process industry? How do those activities impact to product performances? If they cannot affect product performance, what could be the reason behind it?   Purpose: This paper aims to conclude general view of impact of value chain activities on product performances (quality, cost and innovation). Accordingly we would create a conceptual model. And then test whether this model applies for process industry and further more figure out the reason behind through case study.   Methodology: In this paper, qualitative research is our approach. We choose single case study as research strategy and conduct three interviews. Documentation and interview data are collected and analyzed to provide theoretical framework and empirical evidence for the whole paper.     Result: Based on case study, and previous work, the model concerning impact of major activities for process industry (Marketing sales, Human Resource and Supplier management) on product performances (Quality, Cost and Innovation) is derived. This model contains answers to nine hypotheses assumed in theoretical part, giving reader a new and easy way to understand process industry.        Conclusions: Distinguished from other industry, process industry with its own unique characteristics does not lend support to all nine hypotheses. Fundamental analysis proved that some assumptions do not establish for process industry while the others may have more significant relationships. To be specific, there exists strong impact of human resource on product quality and cost, supplier management on product cost and also marketing and sales on product quality. But, to our surprise, the other assumed relationships are not that significant while product innovation has adverse affect on marketing and sales.

Background: Additive manufacturing has recently gained cogency as a final part manufacturing technique. The method uses a layer-upon-layer technique to build three-dimensional objects. This technique has many advantages creating new opportunities regarding production. Purpose: The purpose of the study is to investigate cost elements, cost drivers, their weight distribution, and to explore production uncertainties of the additive manufacturing process. The production uncertainty parameters of the explored uncertainties are then evaluated to investigate how some of them impacts the production cost of the case component. Method: The following study have used qualitative data collection methods in terms of interviews together with a pre-study and a sensitivity analysis tool to identify cost impacts of uncertainty parameters. Five primary interviews were performed with employees at the company with relevant knowledge of the studied field. Results: The result shows that the product cost can be divided into two categories of material cost and manufacturing costs, these two categories then have different cost elements that drives cost. The explored uncertainties of the process consist of both aleatory and epistemic uncertainty. The explored production uncertainty parameter that affects the final product cost the most is the time needed to finish the AM build. Conclusions: Considering production uncertainty is important in order to have reliable and accurate cost estimations. The three explored production uncertainties that have the most significant impact on the final product cost is the yearly machine running time, the SLM machine time needed to finish the component, and reduced manning time in the operations. These three uncertainty parameters should, therefore, have a larger focus than variables that do not have the same impact on the final product cost, to create better cost estimations. / Bakgrund: Additiv tillverkning har på senaste tiden fått slagkraft som en produktionsteknik för slutprodukter. Additiv tillverkning använder en lager på lager teknik för att bygga tre-dimensionella objekt. Denna teknik har många fördelar som skapar många nya produktionsmöjligheter. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka kostnadselement, kostnadsdrivare, fördelningen av kostnader och att utforska produktionsosäkerheter inom additiv tillverkning. De utforskade osäkerhetsparametrarna inom processen är sedan studerade för att se hur de påverkar den slutgiltiga produktkostnaden. Metod: Följande studie har använt kvalitativa datainsamlingsmetoder i form av intervjuer tillsammans med en förstudie och ett utvecklat känslighetsanalysverktyg för att identifiera kostnadsförändringar på grund av förändringar i osäkerhetsparametrar. Fem stycken intervjuer har genomförts med anställda på företaget som har relevant kunskap inom området. Resultat: Resultatet visar att produktkostnaden kan delas upp i två kategorier, materialkostnad och tillverkningskostnad. Dessa två kategorier består sedan av olika kostnadselement som driver kostnader. De utforskade produktions osäkerheterna inom processen består av två typer av osäkerheter beskriven i teorin. Den produktionsosäkerhetsparameter som har störst påverkan på produktens slutkostnad är SLM maskintiden som krävs för att bygga komponenten. Slutsatser: Att beakta produktionsosäkerheter i kostnadsuppskattningar är viktigt för att uppskattningarna ska vara tillförlitliga och korrekta. De tre studerade produktionsosäkerheterna som har störst påverkan på den slutgiltiga produktionskostnaden är årlig maskinanvändning, SLM maskintiden som krävs för att bygga komponenten och bemanningstiden för operationerna. Dessa tre osäkerhetsparametrar bör därför ha ett större fokus eftersom de har störts påverkan på slutresultatet.

The National Safety Council (NSC) estimated that over 35,000 people died in U.S. traffic accidents. About 3.8 million traffic crash injuries requiring medical attention occurred in 2013, and the number of deaths was about the same over the last 5 years. The NSC found that product recalls, car repairs, injuries, and deaths were due to unsafe product designs or inferior product quality. These statistics underscore the challenge of producing quality vehicles while satisfying customers. The purpose of this nonexperimental study was to examine relationships among product (vehicle) quality, product cost, product safety, and consumer satisfaction. The hypotheses inquired the extent to which relationships exist between product quality and customer satisfaction and if product cost and product safety influence this relationship. The theoretical foundation included theories on product quality and consumer satisfaction associated with the cost and safety theories such as product quality and customer satisfaction that are critical factors that can promote positive social change. Data were collected from a random sample (N = 77) of U.S. automobile users and analyzed via simple and multiple linear regression, which showed a significant statistical relationship between product quality and customer satisfaction. However, neither the product safety nor product cost helped mediate the relationship between product quality and customer satisfaction. Building high-quality cars leads to fewer injuries and deaths associated with vehicular accidents, thus promoting positive social change for both U.S. automobile buyers and sellers

Kiekvienai gamybinę veiklą vykdančiai ar paslaugas teikiančiai įmonei tikslus gaminamos produkcijos ar paslaugų savikainos įvertinimas pinigine reikšme yra itin svarbus klausimas. Savikainos skaičiavimų metodų ir būdų yra labai daug, jų parinkimą įmonei lemia taikomos gamybos pobūdis ir jos organizavimas, įmonės vykdoma veikla, aplinka ir kiti veiksniai. Norint teisingai apskaičiuoti produktų savikainą, visas įmonės patiriamas išlaidas pirmiausia reikia tinkamai identifikuoti, tiesiogines priskirti konkretiems gaminimas, o netiesiogines išlaidas racionaliai paskirstyti tarp numatytų objektų, kurių savikainą reikia apskaičiuoti. Tačiau pagal gamybos pobūdį parinktas savikainos kalkuliavimo metodas dažniausiai nėra pats tinkamiausias netiesioginėms išlaidoms apskaityti ir paskirstyti. Tuo tarpu autoriai tyrę ABC sistemą, savo straipsniuose pažymi, kad šiuo metu su netiesioginių išlaidų paskirstymo užduotimi geriausiai susidoroja būtent ABC metodas. Norint pasinaudoti pagal gamybos pobūdį parinkto metodo (šiuo atveju procesinio fazinio metodo) ir ABC sistemos privalumais susiduriama su problema: mokslinėje literatūroje procesinis ir ABC produkcijos kalkuliavimo metodai pateikiami atskirai, neanalizuojama galimybė šiuos metodus sujungti į vieną savikainos kalkuliavimo modelį. Darbo objektas – procesinio fazinio ir ABC savikainos kalkuliavimo metodų ypatybės bei privalumai. Darbo tikslas – sukurti savikainos skaičiavimo modelį, kuris leistų tiksliai ir efektyviai apskaičiuoti... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Exact value of production or service costs is important issue for all manufacturing or service companies. There are many methods and approaches of costing. The mode of production, the organization of production, company activities, environment and other factors influence method to use for production costing. In order to get correct calculation of production costs, all costs incurred by company firstly must be properly indentified, direct costs should be assigned, overhead allocated to objects which cost must be calculated. However, method of calculation chosen by nature of the production is not most appropriate for accounting and allocating indirect costs. Meanwhile the authors, who analyzed the ABC system, points out that ABC method the indirect cost allocation task handle most notably. In order to use benefits of ABC method and method chosen by nature of production (in this case process phase costing method) encountered a problem: process costing and ABC methods are presented separately into science or professional literature, no one does not examine the possibility to use these two methods in single production costs calculation model. The object – features and benefits of process phase costing and ABC methods. The aim – to design a costing model which can accurately and effectively calculate the direct cost of products, rationally allocate cost of company activities to production. The objectives: • To analyze the nuances of choice cost calculation method by company... [to full text]

Strategic cost management is in its infancy. Researches and studies are still in an early exploratory stage and have not yet developed a consistent theory for strategic cost management. The thesis presents a comprehensive framework for strategic cost management. In particular the study attempts to contribute to filling the gap in the literature of strategic cost management. The suggested framework covers the concept, the objectives, the principles, the analysis fields & activities, the objects, the instruments and the key supports factors of strategic cost management to meet different challenges that the companies encounter from time to time and at different stages of development.

Strategic cost management is in its infancy. Researches and studies are still in an early exploratory stage and have not yet developed a consistent theory for strategic cost management. The thesis presents a comprehensive framework for strategic cost management. In particular the study attempts to contribute to filling the gap in the literature of strategic cost management. The suggested framework covers the concept, the objectives, the principles, the analysis fields & activities, the objects, the instruments and the key supports factors of strategic cost management to meet different challenges that the companies encounter from time to time and at different stages of development.