Systems Engineering

Seeing, understanding and mastering complexity in systems

Intelligent technical systems and products require new approaches in development due to their numerous dependencies. Only those who can understand and visualize a product across contexts can identify cost drivers, estimate customer benefits and make optimal product and portfolio decisions (systems thinking). This is where the systems engineering method comes into play. The approach aims to define customer needs and the necessary functionality early on in the development process and to anticipate all life cycle costs in order to derive requirements for the product. With sound expert knowledge, we understand the complexity of your system and show you the possibilities for optimization.

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Value & Cost Engineering

Competitive advantages through value-added products and lower manufacturing costs
Products must fulfill customer needs, but at the same time must not be equipped with cost-driving, superfluous functions that are not rewarded by the customer and therefore represent a cost disadvantage compared to the competition. With a structured, scalable and tried-and-tested approach, we support you in optimizing the manufacturing costs (cost) and value of your product, taking into account the current market.

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Important pillars of the coscomp Value and Cost Engineering methodology must be taken into account:

We keep an eye on the most cost-effective solution (cost reduction potential, cost down) in your product development by means of a cost and value analysis over the entire period. In particular, the costs that are incurred subsequently (follow-up costs) are also included in the analysis.

Your product design should be focused on ensuring that the components can be produced as simply and therefore cheaply as possible. The aim is to reduce costs with the help of innovation methods (design thinking), newly implemented functions or standardized interfaces.
The individual components are designed in such a way that they can be assembled as simply and efficiently as possible.
We use complexity management to unite the end user experience in product design.
The economical and time-efficient use of production factors must be at the heart of all your company's activities in the value chain, especially in terms of personnel, planning and organization.

What is design to cost?

Design to cost (DTC) is a cost optimization process that is used in the development phase of products or services. The aim is to take costs into account during the design phase and thus enable cost-efficient production. Cost targets are defined and integrated into the development process in order to avoid unnecessary costs while maintaining the quality of the product.

DTC involves a variety of techniques and methods, such as analysing cost structures, identifying cost-efficient materials and technologies, optimizing production processes and minimizing waste. DTC also requires close collaboration between different departments and functions, such as engineers, buyers and production planners.

DTC is used in various industries such as the automotive industry, mechanical engineering and electronics to develop competitive products with an optimum price-performance ratio.

Parametric Cost Modeling

Reliably Calculating Manufacturing Costs Early in the Development Process—Parametric cost models are mathematical models that determine the manufacturing costs of a product or system based on a few measurable factors (parameters and assumptions), such as size, weight, or manufacturing complexity. These are cost functions derived from statistical relationships that can be used as early as the very beginning of the development process.

Applications - Parametric cost models are primarily used in the early stages of development, even before detailed data is available. This enables our customers to generate cost estimates quickly and reliably, allowing them to make better cost-related decisions.

We develop parametric cost models using 4cost-aces—with just a few parameter inputs, these models deliver meaningful results, enabling early transparency and optimization of the cost structure.

Wo helfen parametrische Kostenmodelle? They help minimize risks during the development phase and provide insight into costs early in the design and proposal process, which is crucial for strategic planning and enhancing our clients' competitiveness.

Supplier management

Value and cost engineering is based on increasing value by integrating procurement into the product development process at an early stage. The make-or-buy analysis can be used to decide whether an element should be produced in-house or purchased externally by outsourcing. By identifying potential savings through target costing and supplier analysis, transparency is created and manufacturing costs are optimized. We help you to understand the cost structures of your suppliers more quickly so that you can track the prices of individual components and compare them with predefined target costs (Should Costings). The aim is to improve the long-term performance of the company and the supply chain as a whole (supply chain management).

Life cycle cost analysis

Decision Support Throughout the Entire Life Cycle
Life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle costing (LCC) involve a systematic analysis of the environmental impacts of products throughout their entire life cycle. The goal is to assess your company for environmental and sustainability opportunities as well as potential for optimization. Using software-based modular and allocation methods that enable fast and reliable cost forecasts, we can not only determine statistical data but also perform real-world, dynamic simulations spanning several years. The goal of our LCC simulation is to transparently determine all costs associated with a product, from purchase to disposal.

Product and system architecture

Consistent from the market to the product
The system architecture describes how a product is made up of different components and how they relate to each other via interfaces. We use the Design Structure Matrix (DSM) to map the entire system architecture and networking of a product, from the market requirements through to the product structure. The platform development approach makes it possible to provide modular, reusable and standardized components (simplification). In this way, we help you to achieve cost, time and quality targets and thus increase the competitiveness of your product.

Project management

Rely on our project management expertise and experience and get one of our project managers on board. Üeave the project leadership and project management for your specific project to us in terms of planning, management, monitoring and control.

Wir sorgen dafür, dass die Projektziele innerhalb des vereinbarten Kosten- und Terminrahmens erreicht werden. Regardless of whether you are interested in developing a product architecture or system architecture, want to optimize the manufacturing costs and value of your product using the Value & Cost Engineering approach or want to use a life cycle cost analysis to identify the capital goods that generate the lowest costs over a defined period of time.