costdata enables SAP PLC access to the world’s most reliable product costing database

Safe business decisions with costdata® market data

Cost engineering is the new magical word. Due to shortages of raw materials and supply bottlenecks, many companies are attempting to introduce cost engineering into their operations as quickly as possible in order not to lose touch with their competitors.

Cost engineering is about involving the entire company in the process of cost optimization (profit maximization). The focus of interest is the critical examination of the entire life cycle of a product – from the procurement of raw materials, through manufacturing and assembly, to overhead costs. The clearly defined goal is the identification of cost drivers or savings potentials for cost optimization or profit maximization. Crucial for cost engineering is a profound database, a reliable basis for decision-making. This is exactly the core competence of costdata.

For more than 25 years costdata is collecting and maintaining worldwide market data and developing precise modules for product costing. The database contains benchmark data collected worldwide on wages and salaries, workplace costs and machinery, material prices, location factors and overhead cost structures. These datasets put business decisions on a solid firm empirical footing. Particularly in volatile times, dependable benchmark data in product costing provide the greatest possible certainty.

costdata® market data for SAP PCL customers

Since July 2021 costdata GmbH is an official partner of SAP. Two solutions have been developed for the SAP product PLC (Product Lifecycle Costing). With the first, the user accesses the costdata® market data, but mainly uses an SAP software solution.

In the second, the SAP PCL user uses the “Should Costing Solution” in addition to the costdata® market data. With this software, the user benefits from a variety of highly functional modules that enable transparent product costing, primarily of purchased parts, even without expertise in manufacturing and production processes. Location relocation module, cost driver analysis, product comparison analysis, cycle time calculator, machine hourly rate calculator, tooling cost estimation, parametric estimation, etc. offer precise results at the push of a button and support management, purchasing, controlling, development and sales in strategic business decisions.

Identify cost drivers, avoid wrong decisions

With costdata® market data, market-oriented product costs can be calculated for any industry at any production location in the world. The range of calculable products extends from simple stamped or injection-molded parts to complex electronic assemblies and systems. Technologically, the software is not limited. Thanks to the comprehensive benchmark data, decision-makers always know where they stand in comparison with the market, the competition or other production sites. The costdata® market data identifies excessive profit margins and avoids expensive wrong decisions.

Advantages of costdata® market data for SAP PCL customers

• Possibility of comparison

The costdata® market data (costdata® market data) enables you to calculate product costs very accurately in your SAP software solution, based on average, representative market values. By comparing your own company data with the costdata® market data, savings potentials and cost drivers in material, machine, wage, electricity costs, etc. are clearly and transparently shown.

• Savings potentials

Benchmark product costing can be used to identify potential savings. This applies to the manufacturer, who can identify cost drivers in its company. This applies to the purchaser, because based on figures, data and facts, the value chain is consistently, comprehensible and negotiations with manufacturers are conducted at eye level. And not least, management, development, sales and controlling benefit from this cost transparency because it identifies optimization potential, the implementation of which leads to improved business success.

• Negotiation confidence

The costdata® market data enables you to calculate product costs very precisely. This provides you with an ideal basis for negotiations, because it is much easier to argue with calculated figures, data, and facts. Differences must be conclusively justified by both negotiating partners. Negotiations are no longer based on set price anchors, but on plausible values. In addition, the negotiation is objectified and de-emotionalized, which contributes to an improved customer-supplier relationship.

• Competitiveness

You can use costdata® market data in your SAP software solution to perform targeted competitive analyses. On the one hand to check your own competitiveness by comparing your company data with the costdata® market data, on the other hand by simulating the cost structures of your competitors. In both variants, you will find out whether your product price is competitive.

Use Case: Are price increase demands justified?

Let us look at a typical case of this time. High raw material prices and energy costs significantly hold back companies’ profit expectations. Producers pass on price increases to their customers. But are the demands for price increases from producers or suppliers justified? This is where transparency helps. Which components of the total product price have increased, and which price increase demand is therefore justified? Increases of the raw material price usually do not influence the production, i.e., personnel costs, machine hours, etc. With costdata® market data you create a transparent and comprehensive product cost analysis in your SAP software solution, where every cost factor is clearly identified. Price increase requests can thus be checked very precisely.

Sustainable enterprise: CO2 data for a parallel calculation

Today, commercial activity is no longer determined solely by monetary considerations. Prospects and customers today are increasingly looking at a general attitude, at values, at a sense of responsibility. One key point is climate neutrality. How do I know how much CO2 I am causing and how can I as a person, organization or community actively contribute to staying within the CO2 budget? In cooperation with worldwatchers GmbH or, since June 2022, via its spin-off company sustamize, costdata provides “CO2 data” in addition to the classic, currency-based market data, which can be applied within a parallel calculation. In this way, the costs of product manufacture can be evaluated not only in monetary terms, but also at sustainability and environmental levels. This sustainability report is the first of its kind in the EU.

Easy access to costdata® market data with your SAP software solution

Here is a short overview of what market data costdata can provide to SAP PLC users.

costdata® wage & salary

The costdata® wage and salary database currently contains wage/salary costs for 10 wage and 10 salary groups from over 20 industries, for over 4,100 country regions worldwide. Additional regions and industries are constantly being added. Tariff areas, border areas, industrial parks or urban areas are also considered.

The costdata® material data comprises various databases:

• Raw material database

The costdata® raw material database represents more than 700 data sets, whereby not only common prices for ferrous and non-ferrous metals (e.g., raw iron or aluminum scrap) are stored, but also price information on rare earths and precious metals.

• Metal database

The costdata® metal database includes more than 32,800 metal alloys. The current market price can be mapped for the available FE and NF metals in 11 economic areas. The metal database also includes a selection of historical and trend data (forecast), which can be exported from the database via Excel report.

• Plastics database

With more than 9,900 data records, the costdata® plastics database covers not only common and general plastics, but also specific trademarks. A selection of historical and trend data (forecast), which can be exported from the database via Excel report, is also available.

• Construction materials database

In the costdata® construction materials database, you will find a variety of building materials ranging from chemicals/chemicals to wood to glass and production materials such as resins, adhesives, hardeners, etc. in over 1,100 data records.

• Food and textile database

In the costdata® food and textile database you will find over 200 records of food and textile products.

costdata® machine database

The costdata® machine data contains data from over 12,000 machines with detailed information, prices, and simulations for the usual production processes. For each machine, you will find information such as prices, energy requirements, footprint, number of employees, etc., as well as typical characteristics from the associated production method (e.g., pressing force, clamping force …) supplied.

costdata® overhead costs

A major strength of costdata® market data is the provision of overhead benchmarks. The costdata® benchmark country data contains the most significant structural costs of the world’s most important industrialized countries – for more than 30 industries from over 4,100 regions.

What makes costdata’s market data exceptional

We have been generating our market data since the time the company was founded in 1997. Since then, our experts have been researching the data worldwide and laying the basis for our unique database, which makes us the world market leader in this segment. All data is updated at least every three months, the market data on materials even monthly.

Among other things, we collect and verify the data in our consulting projects, for example individual cost data from the automotive industry, mechanical engineering, medical technology, etc. We also collect and generate data in all sectors of the manufacturing industry. We screen and collect primary data, such as concrete offers from manufacturers. We access metadata, stock exchange prices, statistical surveys, official registers, etc.

Further guarantees for our data quality are the experience and expertise of our data experts. For 25 years, costdata® market data has been subject to constant supplementation and revision by our data experts and our customers, who work with the data daily.

In difficult times, only data-based decisions help?

In volatile times, only data and facts provide real support. They are objective, they can be evaluated, they allow better control and they are transparent. What do you think?

Contact

Inquiries and comments are very welcome.