Discover the tools for knowing the costs your company should cut, without impacting its ability to deliver goods and services New from Steve Bragg, this book provides the tools for determining which costs a company should cut, without impacting its ability to deliver goods and services. It explains how to use throughput analysis in order to locate bottleneck operations in a company, which in turn dictates where capital investments should (and should not) be made. Delves into process analysis, to determine where excess resources are being used in a business process Describes the total cost of ownership, showing how a single purchasing decision actually snowballs into a variety of ancillary costs Shows how to create and use a spend management system to reduce procurement costs Shows how just-in-time systems can be used to eliminate inventory costs Cost Reduction Analysis: Tools and Strategies provides examples to show how much cost can potentially be eliminated to avoid drastic action later that can imperil your corporation's direction and future.

Focuses on rapid implementation of practical, real-world cost reduction solutions In today's economic climate, the need to cut costs can be the difference between success and failure. Cost Reduction and Optimization for Manufacturing and Industrial Companies covers all major cost reduction areas, providing easy to read examples and advice on steps to take. It provides the roadmap for implementing recommended actions with true and tried methods by taking a modern, all-inclusive look at manufacturing processes. Based on the author's cost reduction experience gained during 30 years of senior operations and consulting engagements with hundreds of organizations, this book includes easy-to-understand and easy-to-implement cost reduction concepts organized into five general areas --labor, material, design, process, and overhead. Each chapter: Dives into a cost reduction area and starts with the bottom line first by summarizing key points Provides proven tactics for cutting costs without a lot of extraneous data Follows a qualitative and design-oriented approach Emphasizes quick implementation and measurable cost reduction Identifies who in the organization should do the work Outlines risks and suggested risk mitigation actions Contains numerous tables, graphs, and photos to show the concepts described in the book Praise for Cost Reduction and Optimization for Manufacturing and Industrial Companies "In this introductory book, Berk not only takes a modern, all-inclusive look at manufacturing processes but also provides substantial coverage of engineering materials and production systems. It follows a more qualitative and design-oriented approach than other texts in the market, helping readers gain a better understanding of important concepts. They'll also discover how micro-economic conditions relate to the process variables in a given process as well as how to perform manufacturing science and quantitative engineering analysis of manufacturing processes." —Fred Silverman, Director Engineering of Hi-Shear Technology Corporation "Joe Berk has created a unique, practical and straightforward approach to cost reduction in manufacturing. This work provides valuable insights and concrete techniques, based on real-world experiences, to any manufacturing organization undertaking change to position itself to compete successfully in the global marketplace." —Joe Carleone, President and COO of American Pacific Corporation Check out author Joseph Berk's blog at http://manufacturingtraining.wordpress.com/

Maximize Your Profits with Innovative Cost Reduction Techniques! The Cost Half approach does not rely on gradual improvement activities. Rather, it is a radical, "greedy" approach that focuses on developing three interrelated strengths to ensure stable business results. That is, Cost Half puts you on the road to increasing market development strength, improving competitive quality, and maintaining competitive cost. The techniques in Cost Half: The Method for Radical Cost Reduction are designed to help meet target costs and create a sustainable cost management system for strong business capability. Highlights Include: Identification of the telltale signs of a company in need of a Cost Half program Practical techniques for changing cost-generating sources and locations Step by step guide for the implementation of Cost Half in your company Cost Half benchmarking activities A case study demonstrating a successful Cost Half project