Course Description
A substantial majority of U.S. businesses exist in a competitive environment, which makes achieving and maintaining a competitive advantage critical to long-term success. Because your competitors will also understand this, the business landscape is dynamic, constantly changing as businesses jockey for competitive position. While this leads to an active business environment, it can also lead to over-emphasis on short-term marketing strategies at the expense of establishing longer-term, sustainable advantage. Competitive advantage is about winning and keeping customers. A one-time marketing or promotional campaign, or a continuous stream of marketing gimmicks and costs, will not achieve or sustain this for any business. Rather, businesses must look to an overall plan that may require a single large investment up front to reap success that will last months to years.
These lessons on Achieving Cost Advantage cover the benefits of operating business at a lower cost than your competitors while still maintaining equivalent quality. You will learn the value of conducting cost analyses to help you realize your expenses at varying volume levels, so you can adjust quickly to disruptions to business—such as higher wages, increased material costs, supply chain issues, and even pressure from a competitor—and control costs. You will also learn that when costs can’t be controlled any further, value chain reconfiguration may be a solution.
Learning Objectives
- Learn how controlling costs can serve as a competitive advantage
- Understand that for customers convenience often outweighs cost
- Recognize how cost analysis and economies of scale can provide cost improvement and cost advantage
- Understand what the cost drivers of your business are and how to control them
- Determine if reconfiguring the value chain is appropriate for your business
Skills You Will Learn
- Cost Benefit Analysis
- Cost Management
- Cost Reduction
- Cost Volume Profit Analysis
- Overhead Cost Analysis
- Profitability Analysis
What You'll Learn
- Learn how controlling costs can serve as a competitive advantage
- Recognize how cost analysis and economies of scale can provide cost improvement and cost advantage
- Identify the cost drivers of your business and how to control them
- Determine whether reconfiguring the value chain is appropriate for your business
- Understand why for customers convenience often outweighs cost
- Conduct cost analyses to realize your expenses at varying volume levels
Key Takeaways
- Operating a business at a lower cost than competitors while maintaining equivalent quality offers a competitive advantage.
- Competitive advantage is about winning and keeping customers, which a one-time campaign or stream of marketing gimmicks will not achieve or sustain.
- Cost analysis helps you understand expenses at varying volume levels so you can adjust quickly to disruptions such as higher wages, increased material costs, supply chain issues, and competitor pressure.
- When costs can no longer be controlled, reconfiguring the value chain may be a solution.
- Sustainable advantage may require a single large investment up front to reap success that lasts months to years.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does this course cover?
The course covers the benefits of operating a business at a lower cost than competitors while maintaining equivalent quality, the value of conducting cost analyses across volume levels, identifying and controlling cost drivers, economies of scale, and when reconfiguring the value chain may be appropriate. Lessons include Cost by Itself vs. Components of Differentiation, Cost Analysis and Economies of Scale, Cost vs. The Value Chain, and Test Your Knowledge.
Who is this course for?
It is suited to businesses operating in a competitive environment that want to achieve and maintain a sustainable cost advantage and control costs amid disruptions such as higher wages, increased material costs, supply chain issues, and competitor pressure.
What skills will I gain from this course?
The course develops skills in cost benefit analysis, cost management, cost reduction, cost volume profit analysis, overhead cost analysis, and profitability analysis.
How can a business respond when costs can no longer be controlled?
According to the course, when costs can't be controlled any further, reconfiguring the value chain may be a solution, and the course helps you determine if doing so is appropriate for your business.
