Guide 03 of 10
Most cost savings come from one of six areas. Use the buttons to filter the list. Each lever says where it works best and roughly how much it usually saves.
Combine several parts into one, using snap-fits, parts that do more than one job, insert moulding or large single castings. Fewer parts means fewer joints, fixtures, fasteners, things that can fail, and invoices to pay.
5–15% assembly costDesign parts so they’re easy to make and assemble, using the Boothroyd–Dewhurst method: keep only the parts you really need, make parts that locate themselves, assemble from one direction, and shape parts so they can’t be fitted the wrong way.
10–30% assembly timeSwitch to a cheaper material that still does the job, such as plastic instead of metal, coated steel instead of brass, or glass-filled recycled plastic instead of new. Test it properly with simulation and life testing before you switch.
10–40% part costTake out material that isn’t carrying any load. Options include castings shaped by topology optimisation, walls that vary in thickness, tailor-welded blanks and sandwich structures.
10–25% material massEvery unnecessary decimal place costs money. Loosen tolerances that don’t affect how the part works, lower the finish standard on surfaces nobody sees, and remove duplicate GD&T callouts.
5–20% machining costKeep a list of preferred fasteners, bearings, motors and connectors, and reuse proven modules across programmes instead of designing new ones each time.
Savings from scale and qualityBuild products on a shared core and make them different only at the end, using shared platforms, standard interfaces and late-stage variation. Higher volumes on the shared parts bring the cost down.
15–30% dev + unit costUse customer research, such as conjoint analysis, and warranty and usage data to find features customers don’t value. Then remove them or make them optional.
3–10% unit costSet a target cost based on what the market will pay, split it across every subsystem, and check it at each design review. Treat cost as a requirement, just like weight or performance.
Stops 10–20% cost creepReplace safety margins that have piled up over the years with ones checked by simulation that still meet the standards. Over-design is hidden cost, and simulation makes it visible.
5–15% materialMatch the material grade to what the part actually goes through. For example, 409 stainless instead of 304 where corrosion allows, PA6 or glass-filled PP instead of PA66 where temperature allows, or ductile iron instead of a forging.
10–30% material costRecycled plastics, remelted alloys and bio-based fillers are often cheaper and lower in carbon, so you save money and improve your sustainability figures at the same time.
5–20%, plus lower CO₂Start from a blank that’s already close to the final shape, using precision forging, casting, metal injection moulding, powder metal or 3D-printed preforms. You buy less material and machine less of it away.
20–50% machiningGet more parts out of each sheet, bar or roll with nesting software, fewer coil widths, blanks shared between parts and better cutting plans.
3–8% raw materialSort scrap by alloy, send it back to the mill, and sell clean regrind at a better price. In aerospace, titanium chips can even go back into the melt.
1–3% of spend recoveredSwitch to a process that suits today’s volumes rather than the volumes at launch. For example, casting instead of machining, fine blanking instead of stamping, hemming or adhesives instead of welding, or colour moulded in instead of painting.
15–40% conversion costUse cobots for assembly and machine loading, cameras for inspection and automated packing, where the cycle-time savings justify it.
20–60% direct labourGet more parts from the same machine with conformally cooled tools, quick changeovers (SMED), work on bottlenecks and predictive maintenance. The overhead per part goes down.
10–25% machine cost/partGo after the biggest causes of scrap and rework using DOE, SPC and error-proofing. Every point of yield you gain in an expensive process goes straight to profit.
2–8% COGSMatch tool life to the number of parts the programme will actually need, use family moulds and modular die sets, 3D-print jigs and fixtures, and buy tools from lower-cost toolrooms.
30–50% tooling capexRedo the make-or-buy sums with today’s wages, machine use and freight costs. Bring high-margin machining in-house and outsource commodity processes.
10–20% on moved scopePut labour-heavy steps in lower-cost regions, automate them in high-cost ones, and move production closer to home where logistics costs and supply risk matter most.
10–30% landed costWork out what a part should cost from its material, cycle time, machine rates and a fair margin. Then negotiate the difference using those facts instead of asking for a percentage off.
5–15% on quoted pricePlot price against a cost driver such as weight, power or size for a family of similar parts. Any part priced well above the line is worth negotiating.
3–8% category spendBring qualified new suppliers into the bidding, and use structured e-auctions for commodities with stable specifications.
5–20% on tendered scopeGive more of your business to fewer, better suppliers in return for a real price reduction and a shared commitment to improving productivity.
5–12% bundled spendSource from lower-cost regions such as India, South-East Asia, Eastern Europe or Mexico, but compare the full landed cost, including duty, freight, quality and supply risk.
15–40% vs. high-cost baseSuppliers understand their own process costs better than you do. Workshops where you share the savings with them often turn up ideas your own team would miss.
3–7% of supplier spendSplit the price into raw material and conversion cost. Link the material part to a published index, negotiate the conversion part, hedge the most volatile materials, and get money back when prices fall.
Avoids 2–5% lost to price swingsPayment terms, consignment stock, free trade agreements, correct tariff codes and duty drawback. There’s often money to be found in the paperwork.
1–4% landed costUse the right grade of board, remove unnecessary layers, switch to bulk packs and redesign the packing inside the box. Packaging is a product too, so value engineer it.
10–30% packaging costReplace one-way cardboard with durable totes and racks that go back and forth between you and the supplier. Each trip costs less, there’s less waste, and parts are easier to handle at the line.
30–60% per-trip costDesign products and packs to fill containers, for example by making them flat-pack or stackable. Move freight from air to sea or rail, and use milk runs and consolidation hubs.
10–25% freightRank your variants by sales and margin, then cut or merge the ones at the bottom. Every variant you remove frees up stock, changeovers, quality checks and admin.
2–5% total COGSTrack the percentage of shared parts across your range as a KPI, and reward reuse at design reviews just as you would performance.
Savings that grow over timeDesign out the most common warranty problems, and make products easier to service and upgrade. Aim for the lowest cost over the product’s life, not just the lowest parts cost.
20–40% warranty spendChoose your industry and up to three problems, and it will suggest the five levers most likely to help.
Pick at least one problem to see the suggested levers.
Free, narrated and interactive — with a Certificate of Completion.