Hi there,

Once you know where the problem is, there is no longer need in setting up a full profitability framework, which is particularly useful in identifying the cause of the profit decline. In this case, I would suggest that the best approach is a hypothesis driven manufacturing cost issue tree. You first need to breakdown the cost of manufacturing to its components, outline the levers to reduce the cost, and ask for data to support these levers. One example below:

1. Cost of labour = labour hours / bike * cost of labour / hour
   1. Can we reduce amount of labour needed? How efficient / well-trained the production staff is? How does our client compare to industry averages?
   2. Can we reduce the cost of labour? How does our pay compare to industry? Is there an option to outsource some, labour intensive processes / components to a low cost location, while maintaining the US spirit of the brand?

You can do the same with the other components of manufacturing costs: raw materials, utilities, machinery, lease of the facility.

Hope it helps!

Kind regards,

Ben.

(editiert)