01 / GEOMETRY
Simplify the design
Geometry can sometimes be simplified to reduce machining, forming, tooling or assembly requirements.
MATAPPLY PROBLEM / PRODUCT + BUSINESS
Reduce cost.
Reducing product cost is rarely solved by simply finding cheaper materials or reducing manufacturing effort. The strongest opportunities often come from understanding how engineering, product architecture, manufacturing, customer value and business economics connect.
01 / THE PROBLEM
What does product cost actually mean?
MATAPPLY DEFINITION
Product cost reduction is the systematic process of reducing the resources required to create, manufacture, deliver and support a product while preserving the value and performance customers require.
A product can be expensive because of materials, manufacturing processes, excessive complexity, component count, tolerances, development effort, supply constraints or features that customers do not value enough to justify their cost.
The key is therefore to understand the complete cost system rather than optimize one isolated number.
02 / COST DRIVERS
Where does product cost come from?
01
Materials
02
Manufacturing
03
Components
04
Assembly
05
Development
06
Supply chain
03 / ENGINEERING
Engineering can be a major cost lever.
02 / MATERIALS
Choose materials strategically
The lowest material price does not necessarily produce the lowest total product cost.
03 / TOLERANCES
Avoid unnecessary precision
Tight tolerances can increase manufacturing and inspection cost when they do not provide meaningful product value.
04 / PART COUNT
Reduce unnecessary complexity
Reducing component count can potentially reduce assembly, inventory, interfaces and failure opportunities.
04 / PRODUCT
Sometimes the cheapest part is the part you remove.
Product architecture determines what the product actually needs to contain.
Features, components and interfaces should ultimately support a meaningful customer or business requirement. Removing unnecessary complexity can sometimes reduce cost without reducing perceived product value.
MATAPPLY INSIGHT
Cost optimization begins before manufacturing.
Once a product architecture has been locked in, many cost drivers become difficult or expensive to change. Early product decisions can therefore have disproportionate impact on eventual cost.
05 / CUSTOMER VALUE
Lower cost is not the same as lower value.
A product can become cheaper to manufacture while becoming less attractive to customers.
Cost reduction should therefore be evaluated against the performance, features, reliability and experience that customers actually value.
VALUE
What does the customer need?
Identify the outcomes and capabilities that genuinely matter to the target customer.
TRADE-OFF
What can change?
Understand which features, specifications and engineering requirements can be changed without destroying value.
06 / CONNECTED COST PATH
From cost problem to better economics.
01
Identify cost drivers
02
Analyse the product
03
Explore alternatives
04
Validate customer value
05
Build the business case
07 / AI + OPTIMIZATION
Where can AI help reduce cost?
Engineering AI can help identify relationships between design variables, materials, manufacturing conditions and product performance.
Machine learning can support design-space exploration, cost prediction, surrogate modelling and optimization when suitable data is available.
AI can also help connect large quantities of technical, product and market information to identify cost-reduction opportunities that might otherwise remain hidden.
08 / EXPLORE THE ENGINEERING
Go deeper.
Product Engineering
Explore how engineering decisions shape product performance, manufacturability and development.
Explore Product Engineering →Product Strategy
Understand how product direction connects customer needs, technology and business objectives.
Explore Product Strategy →Market Intelligence
Understand the market, customers and competitive environment surrounding the product.
Explore Market Intelligence →Engineering Optimization
Explore systematic approaches to finding better solutions within engineering constraints.
Explore Optimization →
09 / COMMON QUESTIONS
Product cost questions.
How can product cost be reduced?
Product cost can be reduced by addressing material, manufacturing, design, architecture, supply chain, development and product value drivers.
Does reducing material cost always reduce product cost?
No. A cheaper material can increase manufacturing effort, weight, failure risk or other costs. Product cost should be considered as a connected system.
Can engineering reduce manufacturing cost?
Yes. Product geometry, material selection, tolerances, part count, assembly requirements and manufacturing processes can strongly influence manufacturing cost.
Can product strategy influence cost?
Yes. Product architecture, feature selection, customer requirements and value proposition can determine how much complexity and cost the product needs to carry.
MATAPPLY PROBLEM ENGINE
Need to make a product more competitive?
Start with the cost problem. MATAPPLY connects technology, product, market and business perspectives to identify possible paths toward better economics.
START WITH A PROBLEM