Brainstorming Ideas: Reduce Unique Intermediate Cost Drivers in Process

Reduce unique ICDs by redesigning the product or the process. The objective of this activity is to reduce the number of ICDs by reducing the occurrence of an ICD in producing a unit of Output, or by reducing the number of separate ICDs used in the Output. A unique ICD is one of the key activities in the work center’s contribution to the final product (O). It is separate and distinct from any other activity in the work center. For example, the fastening of a part onto a subassembly and a quality control check of the subassembly would be unique ICDs.

A. Redesign the product

Any redesign of the product or its components implies that the resulting product, after the redesign, would be acceptable to customers.

1. Warnings and advice
2. REDUCE PERFORMANCE STANDARDS
   
   1. Overall product
      1. Reduce information available to the customer Examples>>
      2. Increase the resources the customer must use with the product
         1. Money Examples>>
         2. Time
            1. Reduce the Convenience of Purchase Examples>>
            2. Reduce the Convenience of Use Examples>>
            3. Reduce the Convenience of Service Examples>>
      3. Lessen the quailty of the experience the customer has with the product
         1. Sensory experience Examples>>
         2. Image Examples>>
         3. Security or risk in purchase Examples>>
         4. Entertainment Examples>>
   2. Components
      1. Eliminate component with low value added
         1. Customer does not need Examples>>
         2. Customer uses infrequently Examples>>
      2. Offer less of a component in the product Examples>>
      3. Reduce performance above competitive standards Examples>>

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