25%
Potential savings identified across the total product portfolio
Driving Cost Efficiency and Product Innovation Through Advanced Cost Engineering
Industry: Industrial Manufacturing
Service: Cost and Value Engineering
Our Client
A global premium company with a portfolio of high-end home and personal-care products with major operations in Asia and Europe and annual revenues of approximately half a billion euros. The company designs, produces, and distributes a broad portfolio of consumer products, including legacy items, current models, and new series.
The Challenge
The client faced significant barriers in achieving cost-efficient product development and portfolio management:
- Target costs could not be reflected early in development, as market-driven cost expectations were not aligned with initial design phases.
- A diverse product portfolio from legacy to new series—made accurate and consistent cost assessment difficult.
- Complex technical and sourcing requirements across Taiwan, China, and the Philippines increased overall cost uncertainty.
- Insufficient integration between cost engineering, purchasing, and production planning limited the ability to meet new cost targets and tooling requirements.
External support was required to:
- Generate cost transparency on actual designs as a baseline.
- Identify actionable cost-saving opportunities.
- Improve alignment between cross-functional departments.
Real Results Achieved Together
The cost engineering program delivered clear visibility over the full product range and established a solid foundation for long-term cost optimization.
The project led to a significant increase in supplier negotiation readiness, improved the accuracy of cost calculations to enable fact-based decision-making, and strengthened collaboration among design, engineering, purchasing, and manufacturing teams.
+600
Product components analyzed with full cost transparency
Transformation Impact
- Achieved clear visibility on cost structures to target specific areas for optimization.
- Strengthened alignment across design, engineering, and production functions.
- Enabled fact-based negotiation readiness for sourcing and supplier discussions.
- Embedded design-to-cost and design-for-assembly principles for sustainable cost optimization.
Our Approach
EFESO conducted a multi-phase cost engineering program covering the client’s entire product range—from legacy items to upcoming launches.
- Holistic Cost Analysis
• Bottom-up cost calculations and component-level breakdowns.
• Comprehensive review of materials, processes, tooling, surcharges, packaging, and logistics. - Design-to-Cost and Design-for-Manufacturing Assessment
• Value assessments to identify design-optimization opportunities.
• Identification of improvement levers for manufacturability and assembly. - Supplier and Sourcing Optimization
• Assessment of supplier processes to enhance negotiation readiness.
• Improved transparency for multi-regional sourcing decisions. - Cross-Functional Collaboration and Workshops
• Workshops uniting cost engineering, purchasing, and production planning.
• Iterative reviews to refine measures and ensure practical implementation. - Quantitative Opportunity Identification
• Prioritized cost-saving opportunities aligned with internal stakeholders.
• Practical measures integrated into ongoing cost-management processes.
Related Services
Cost and Value Engineering
Rising costs demand optimization from design through production. We apply cross-functional value engineering, zero-based redesign, and continuous cost tracking to protect margins.
Facing Similar Cost-Engineering or Product-Value Challenges?
- Struggling to meet market-driven target costs early in development.
- Managing complex, multi-regional product portfolios with limited cost visibility.
- Seeking stronger integration between engineering, purchasing, and production planning.
- Needing fact-based cost structures to support supplier negotiations and design choices.
Discover More Clients Results
20%
Downtime reduction
Industrial Manufacturing
Improving OEE and Production Oversight Through Digital Transformation
A die-cast metal manufacturer improved equipment effectiveness, reduced downtime, and increased operational visibility through predictive maintenance, IoT integration, and real-time production monitoring.
15%
Operating cost reduction
Resources Mining and Processing
Reducing Mining Operating Costs Through Operational Excellence
A mining company reduced operating costs by 15% by improving pit-to-plant coordination, maintenance effectiveness, supply chain performance, and operational accountability through a high-performance operating system.
25%
Reduction in project delays
Industrial Manufacturing
Resources Mining and Processing
Building a Digitally Enabled CAPEX PMO for Better Project Performance
A major mining company implemented a centralized CAPEX PMO with digital reporting tools to improve governance, cost control, project visibility, and execution consistency across its capital project portfolio.
60%
Reduction in start-up time
Food & Beverage
Vertical Start-Up Reduces CAPEX Project Time by 60%
Accelerated CAPEX execution through Vertical Start-Up methodology, reducing project timelines by 60% across European operations.
$750K
Validated savings achieved
Life Sciences
Packaging
Turning Cost Pressures Into Sustainable Profitability
Packaging manufacturer achieved $750K savings through optimized labor ratios, reduced scrap, and material efficiency improvements.
$2.5M+
Procurement savings secured
Industrial Manufacturing
Private Equity
Transforming Operational Excellence for a Private Equity Exit
Scientific instruments manufacturer faced production bottlenecks and quality challenges. We redesigned manufacturing flow, implemented lean principles, and enhanced testing protocols, improving on-time delivery to 95%.
30%
Inventory cost reduction
Transportation, Logistics and Services
Supply Chain Transformation Boosted by Adoption and Digitalization: Turning Fragmented Operations into Unified Excellence
Cruise operator required operational excellence across fleet operations. We optimized crew efficiency, enhanced maintenance planning, and improved supply chain logistics, reducing operating costs by 12%.
Industrial Manufacturing
Strategic Operations Restructuring for a Leading Industrial Components Manufacturer: Building Integrated Planning Capabilities at Scale
Fact-based restructuring of a complex industrial site, enabling a clear shutdown decision, cash-drain elimination, and a structured roadmap for execution.