Product cost transparency

In 2023, I designed a custom cost analytics tool for a multi-billion dollar manufacturing technology company. The tool united their end-product structures, materials, and real spend data. This project highlights how design and sourcing decisions impact final product costs & the bottom line.

The Challenge

For this company, the product BOM and cost data were in different systems. Engineering knew what components made a product but couldn’t see how material choices, supplier prices, or cost changes affected finished-product margins over time. Procurement and finance had detailed invoice and PO data but didn’t know how those costs translated into what they were selling.

The Solution

I designed and implemented a custom BOM cost analytics solution that integrated multi-level product and material data and connected raw materials to historical spend.

The system supports flexible BOM roll-ups and explosions to move between component and finished-product views and provides standard versus actual cost (PPV) analyses to highlight margin variance. I partnered closely with procurement, finance, and operations teams throughout the project.

The Outcome

This tool provides procurement, finance and engineering with:

  • Clear visibility into true product cost

  • Ability to track how material and sourcing changes impacted margin

  • Faster identification of cost pressure at the component level

  • More confident pricing, sourcing, and product decisions

Why It Matters

Across industries, tiny design or sourcing changes impact margin in big ways.

This project shows how thoughtful operational design can support creative teams by making costs transparent, traceable, and actionable without getting in the way of the product vision.