درگیری مدیریت تامین در هدف فرآیند هزینه یابی

This article investigates the role of purchasing/supply management in the target costing process. It is based on case studies of eleven firms that use target costing. In addition to exploring the role of purchasing, purchasing's interface with suppliers was investigated. Research results indicate that supply management plays a substantial role throughout the target costing process. Its contribution is particularly critical at the initial stages, when developing component level target costs, and when activities/modifications are occurring to achieve target costs. Supply management also plays a lead role in managing, monitoring and improving costs. Importantly, there is no single function that is more important than others in target costing. A cross-functional team approach, including suppliers, is critical to the long-term success of target costing efforts.

As demonstrated in Fig. 1, target costing encompasses a whole range of activities and inputs that are internal and external to the organization. This paper takes the perspective followed in Fig. 1, that the target costing process is being used for a new product or service. The target costing process begins with developing an understanding of unmet needs in the marketplace, and then determining what customers would pay to have their needs met, the “target price.” Internal goals and pressures determine the profit margin desired. Calculating the allowable target cost is the next step, where: View the MathML source During the next step, the target cost is apportioned among the key cost elements, and further broken down to the materials or component level. This is the level at which the organization actually tries to manage the cost elements. Based on the component level goals or targets, the next step involves undertaking various cost management activities to achieve the target component/materials prices. This aspect of the target costing process is presented in more depth below. Once the target costs are achieved, the item goes into production, and continuous improvement measures are implemented. The activities that make up the target costing process cut across functional boundaries within the firm and organizational boundaries in the supply chain.

The findings of this research highlight several factors particularly relevant to supply management's involvement in target costing and to the general applicability of target costing in various industries and purchases. Target costing is a valuable tool and philosophy to support the organization's overall efforts to remain cost competitive while meeting the customer's demands. Yet target costing is not a stand-alone effort. It is a process most effectively undertaken by cross-functional teams, in conjunction with other value-adding processes such as early supplier involvement, value analysis and value engineering. The key findings of this study are summarized in the following paragraphs. Supply management is involved to various degrees in target costing, from very limited to that of being the driver of the entire process. Based on the case studies, it appears that it is most effective for supply management to participate in target costing as a member of a cross-functional team. Such involvement provides the knowledge, cooperation and commitment needed to increase the likelihood that target costing will be successful within an organization. The results of this study indicate that there is no one function that is best suited to lead target-costing efforts. It appears that the use of a cross-functional team is more important to the successful implementation of target costing than is the identity of the function leading the effort. Furthermore, in order for the cross-functional team to be effective, it is important that target-costing success be integrated into the performance objectives of each team member. Accountability for results is key to the long-term success of target costing. A tiered-team approach appears to be a particularly effective technique for managing and implementing target costing. In this tiered approach, a higher-level team oversees the entire project and is supported by a number of other teams that meet regularly and execute and implement the target costing process within the organization and the supply base. These meetings include top management, and explicitly review current cost estimate compared to targets. All costs in excess of targets must be explained, and an action plan must be under way to eliminate those excesses. The supply management person who sits on the high level or program team has responsibility for overseeing purchasing's activities in support of target costing. These activities are generally executed by a number of buyers interfacing with a number of suppliers and internal cross-disciplinary teams. While this study indicates that marketing and research tend to have primary responsibility for determining the target selling price to the end customer, supply management becomes involved in working with accounting and calculating the target costs on a component or material level. The methods used by supply management vary but tend to be based on historical cost patterns, research of current market conditions and technology, the competitive environment, and, in some cases, simple regression or correlation models of past cost behavior. The costs are often calculated as a joint effort among several functions. Among the manufacturing organizations studied, it is particularly important that supply management maintains a close working relationship with design engineers/R&D. This relationship is critical to the target costing effort, because design drives the supplier requirements, which in turn drives cost and has a direct impact on the ability of a product or service to meet the target cost. In order to work closely with the technical groups, supply management must understand and be able to communicate in technical language. In most cases, those in supply management did not have a technical background but were able to learn from experience and interest. Overall, the primary roles that supply management plays during the target costing process in the organizations studied include: • identify potential suppliers, • prescreen suppliers, • participate in supplier audits/qualification very early in the product/service development process, before selection, • negotiate with suppliers regarding terms and conditions, • develop long-term agreements with suppliers, • work with suppliers on cost estimating and identify options for achieving target costs, • work with suppliers throughout the new product/service development process to ensure that the suppliers are on track, • work with designers/other team members to explain and resolve supply issues. These are all-important activities that facilitate the early involvement of suppliers. The activities also help to keep many of the “business issues” in supplier relationships on track, while allowing the technical people to work with suppliers on design and development issues. The activities undertaken to achieve target cost goals vary from fairly minimal to extensive efforts. The less extensive efforts include using factual data to negotiate with suppliers and sharing long-term strategies to gain supplier cooperation. Other methods used to achieve target cost—such as feature trade-off, changing specifications, changing materials and changing design—are much more extensive and have broader implications. These efforts generally require team coordination and close working relationships among supply management, design/R&D, manufacturing, and possibly marketing, and are critical if any feature performance or appearance is to be changed. The firms studied indicate that if the desired target cost was not achieved, they may cancel or delay the project. All the organizations observed involve suppliers very early in the new product/service development process, during the concept/discovery phase, or during very early specification development. All indicate they will incorporate a supplier's new technology into design when the supplier's new technology is superior to their own. They may also seek out suppliers offering new technology or collaborate with suppliers on technology development. Utilization of supplier technology helps explain why these organizations involve their suppliers early, while the design is still fluid. Similarly, every one of the organizations indicates that they work with their key suppliers to help them improve performance in order to meet target cost goals. Suppliers also participate in the design for materials and design for production processes. The results of this study have implications for the development of target costing systems. First, it is important to understand the contribution that supply management involvement can make to the target costing process. Purchasing involvement is important to the extent that supplier involvement is important. Purchasing plays a crucial role in identifying, qualifying and beginning the negotiation/target cost discussion with suppliers early in the process, when it is easiest to make modifications. Second, target costing should be studied and executed from a holistic, team perspective. Many functions play a crucial role and make an important contribution to the target costing process. The findings of this study indicate that while purchasing is an important player in the target costing process, it is the use of a multi-disciplinary team, including suppliers, that is critical to the success of target costing.