Integrated Cost Reduction Delivers Over $100M Savings
Methodology offered by Ricardo Strategic Consulting typically provides between ten and forty percent reductions in the cost of sourcing highly engineered products for the company's clients
VAN BUREN TOWNSHIP, Mich., Sept. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- In the current era of global austerity, businesses worldwide are being faced with the challenge of cutting unnecessary cost while maintaining and improving product performance – in short, enhancing competitiveness by producing more for less. Since it was first introduced in 2005, the Integrated Cost Reduction (ICR) process offered to its clients by Ricardo Strategic Consulting has achieved total customer savings in excess of $100M, through its intensive focus on a combination of commercial, design, manufacturing, supply chain and warranty savings initiatives. This integrated approach to cost reduction overcomes the limitations associated with a more traditional functional view of cost reduction. A key success factor is the unique combination of capabilities Ricardo brings to bear on its cost reduction projects, as the company's ICR consulting teams consist of sourcing, technical and manufacturing experts that help to offset the resource or capability bottlenecks that clients so often face. In its most recent ICR project, an audited total of in excess of $35M in savings has been realized for a global automaker in a project carried out in four successive waves of effort over a three year period.
Commenting on the success to date of the ICR process, Ricardo Strategic Consulting North America president Andy Chien said, "Integrated Cost Reduction has been one of the cornerstones of our operational improvement service offering in the North American market as well as globally. It's been widely successful because unlike other management consulting firms, we're able to provide a highly effective and insightful turnkey cost reduction capability for our clients to offset resource and capability shortages that they face."
ICR service line leader Kevin Hauser added, "We have generated such confidence in our abilities to realize savings with ICR that a major automotive client now earmarks a specific incremental savings task in their annual budget for our team to achieve. There's no greater testimony to the significant and very tangible value that we can provide on an on-going basis."
About Ricardo
With technical centers and offices throughout Europe, the United States and Asia, Ricardo provides strategic consulting and engineering expertise ranging from vehicle systems integration, controls and electronics, and hardware and software development, to the latest driveline and transmission systems and gasoline, diesel, hybrid and fuel-cell powertrain technologies. Ricardo's customers include the world's major automakers and suppliers as well as manufacturers in the military, commercial, off-highway and clean-energy sectors. The company also serves in advisory roles to governmental and independent agencies. Ricardo's U.S. operation, Ricardo Inc., is headquartered in Van Buren Township, Michigan. Ricardo plc posted sales of $300 million in financial year 2009 and is a constituent of the FTSE TechMark 100 index — a group of innovative technology companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. For more information, visit www.ricardo.com.
SOURCE Ricardo
WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM?
Newsrooms &
Influencers
Digital Media
Outlets
Journalists
Opted In
Share this article