What is Cost Structure?

Explanation

  • The cost structure of every business is directly related to the nature of the activity of the business, i.e., all different businesses will have different structures. For instance, some businesses will require working capital more as compared to fixed capitalFixed CapitalFixed capital refers to the investment made by the business for acquiring long term assets. These long term assets don’t directly produce anything but help the company with long-term benefits.read more and vice versa.Every business aims to reduce all costs to the minimum, so the gains of the business could maximize. These structures include different types of costs. Those costs were reduced to zero. Also, such as included costs which we have to incur only if we do some activity; therefore, if no activity is done, then no costs will be incurred. Those costs could not be reduced as well, such as fixed costsFixed CostsFixed Cost refers to the cost or expense that is not affected by any decrease or increase in the number of units produced or sold over a short-term horizon. It is the type of cost which is not dependent on the business activity.read more, i.e., these costs will have to be incurred whether we produce something.These costs are related to the size of the enterprise. Small enterprises need less planning and analysis of such costs compared to those operating at a global or large scale.

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Characteristics

  • Level of organization, i.e., the level at which the organization is going to work as the higher the level of output, the lower will be the costs.The Costs relating to any product may reduce on account of those fixed costs, which are to be allocated based on output or revenue generated from the segment.It also includes costs that may be variable or fixed, or both.

Types of Cost Structure

The different types are as follows:

  • Variable Cost, which includes Purchase costs, etc.Irrelevant Costs such as Sunk CostSunk CostSunk costs are all costs incurred by the firm in the past with no hope of recovery in the future and are not considered while making any decisions since these costs will not change regardless of the decision’s outcome.read more;Fixed CostsFixed CostsFixed Cost refers to the cost or expense that is not affected by any decrease or increase in the number of units produced or sold over a short-term horizon. It is the type of cost which is not dependent on the business activity.read more, this could not be reduced.Those costs which additionally have to incur if we proceed with our business activityBusiness ActivityBusiness activities refer to the activities performed by businesses to make a profit and ensure business continuity. read more.

Attributes

The main attributes are as follows:

  • It gives an early view of earnings from the business activity, clarifying to the analyst whether or not to proceed with manufacturing.An early view of all the situations will help the analyst examine the business’s position on whether to accept such a proposal, as it involves money, resources, and staffing, which they could utilize somewhere else if not here, resulting in some value addition.

Example of Cost Structure

For instance, let us take an example of 2 businesses, namely X and Y. Company X is a newly set up enterprise and has invested a substantial amount in machinery and other manufacturing facilities. On the other hand, company Y is an established enterprise and has been operating in the field of manufacturing for the last three years and is now planning to outsource its product manufacturing.

The variable costs of company X are meager as compared to company Y. Company Y has to incur a fixed agreed sum of the purchase cost of manufactured products, and the fixed cost of the company Y is very low as it has outsourced the product manufacturing and only has to bear purchase cost only.

Now suppose company X and Y both have 5,000 units of their product, and both of them are selling their product at $150 per unit, and the purchase cost of the product outsourced by company Y is $210,000, and the per-unit cost of company X is $80 per unit. Now,

Profit of Company X

  • = $(150-80) * 5,000 units= $ 70 * 5,000= $ 350,000

Profit of Company Y

  • = $(150*5,000) – 210,000 = $540,000

From the above calculations, it is very clear that Company Y has earned more profits than company X as it has lower costs of products.

Importance

The cost structure plays a vital role in the success of any product or business and hence is vital from the following point of view:

Benefits

The benefits are as follows:

  • That helps in the fixation of the price of a product that could be charged in an open market and competition.The analysis of such a cost structure would show us the areas where further efforts could reduce the costs.

Conclusion

Cost Structure is mainly connected with the costs which are necessary to be incurred while working on the goal of the organization; these costs may be purchase cost or maybe manufacturing cost, which includes the cost of raw material, labor costs, and other overhead costsOverhead CostsOverhead cost are those cost that is not related directly on the production activity and are therefore considered as indirect costs that have to be paid even if there is no production. Examples include rent payable, utilities payable, insurance payable, salaries payable to office staff, office supplies, etc.read more such as transportation cost, electricity cost, etc. which needs to be incurred. The cost structure concept is designed to outlay the funds we need during the business process of a particular segment or for a business as a whole. The main focus of cost structure is to allocate the costs so that the costs should be minimized and the profits earned thereupon be maximized.

This article has guided what cost structure is and its definition. Here we discuss characteristics, types, attributes, and examples of cost structure and its importance and benefits. You may learn more about financing from the following articles –

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