The report highlights the importance of designing products that meet customer needs at the lowest possible cost. The author argues that manufacturers have already made significant efforts to reduce production costs and improve quality, but there is still scope for significant cost reductions. The approach recommended is to undertake a systematic review of customer, design, production, and supplier issues. This approach can result in an improvement in product performance of 16% and a reduction in product complexity of 10%. The report also identifies typical cost pitfalls, such as excessive product functionality and variants, invalid specifications, and failure to standardize purchased parts. By changing the design of the product itself, rather than focusing on production processes, manufacturers can achieve significant cost reductions.
