Title: A roadmap for cost engineering in the automotive supplier sector

Authors: Paul Baguley, Paul G. Maropoulos, Robert Pease

Addresses: Decision Engineering Centre, Cranfield University, Building 50, Cranfield, Bedfordshire MK43 0AL, UK. ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK. ' Gateshead College, Durham Road, Low Fell, Gateshead NE9 5BN, UK

Abstract: The advent of global competition has introduced the need for new competitive manufacturing strategies. The implementation of new strategies has a dramatic effect on measuring product cost compared to traditional management accounting methods. It is found that new cost management methods are required to measure success and support decision-making within the new strategies. One example is the consequences of using traditional management accounting methods for measuring the effects of lean having catastrophic results during reporting. Such results steer managers away from lean manufacture based upon a false picture of the potential benefits. This research examines cost management methods potentially applicable within the automotive supplier sector. Because of the lack of cost-related data collected within the supplier sector companies, this paper ends with a demonstration of a novel method for use in data scarce environments.

Keywords: cost management; cost engineering; cost models; lean manufacturing; agile manufacturing; automotive suppliers; automobile industry; product cost.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMTM.2008.020170

International Journal of Manufacturing Technology and Management, 2008 Vol.15 No.3/4, pp.265 - 283

Published online: 06 Sep 2008 *

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