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Make or Buy Analysis

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The following is the general methods research on Make or Buy analysis:

The make-or-buy decision is the act of making a strategic choice between producing an item internally (in-house) or buying it externally (from an outside supplier). The buy side of the decision also is referred to as outsourcing. Make-or-buy decisions usually arise when a firm that has developed a product or part is having trouble with current suppliers.

Make-or-buy analysis is conducted at the strategic and operational level. Obviously, the strategic level is the more long-range of the two. Variables considered at the strategic level include analysis of the future, as well as the current environment. Issues like government regulation, competing firms, and …show more content…

Elements of the "make" analysis include:
1. Incremental inventory-carrying costs.
2. Direct labor costs.
3. Incremental factory overhead costs.
4. Delivered purchased material costs.
5. Incremental managerial costs.
6. Any follow-on costs stemming from quality and related problems.
7. Incremental purchasing costs.
8. Incremental capital costs.

Cost considerations for the "buy" analysis include:

1. Purchase price of the part.
2. Transportation costs.
3. Receiving and inspection costs.
4. Incremental purchasing costs.
5. Any follow-up costs related to quality or service.
One will note that six of the costs to consider are incremental. By definition, incremental costs would not be incurred if the part were purchased from an outside source. If a firm does not currently have the capacity to make the part, incremental costs will include variable costs plus the full portion of fixed overhead allocable to the part 's manufacture. If the firm has excess capacity that can be used to produce the part in question, only the variable overhead caused by production of the parts are considered incremental. That is, fixed costs, under conditions of sufficient idle capacity, are not incremental and should not be considered as part of the cost to make the part.
While cost is seldom the only criterion used in a make-or-buy decision, simple break-even analysis can be an effective way to quickly surmise the

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