Increased global competition has forced companies to think aggressively about effective Cost Management. A low cost high quality product has become an object of desire, to gain a competitive edge. It is essential that cost management addresses not just individual activities or cost centres but the entire value chain.
What is Total Cost Management ?
Total Cost Management (TCM) is a systematic and structured approach to understand the costs of an organization, with the aim of providing a holistic framework to control, reduce and eliminate costs. Cost management is a philosophy, an attitude, and a set of techniques to create more value at lower cost. In this fast space competitive scenario, Cost Management information increases customer value.
What is the need for a TCM study?
Any TCM study is necessitated to answer the following questions:-
What is the product cost?
How to reduce the pricing without reducing the values?
Which are the profitable products and what are their profits?
Which customer segment is most profitable?
How to make or buy the right decision?
What are the important TCM tools / techniques?
Some of the important tools and techniques of Total Cost Management are as follows:-