Cost-Cutting
Designer, architect, engineer, business owner, start-up entrepreneur, we have all faced it. Blood-rushing cost-cutting exercise with less fun but much of adrenaline gushing.
We are all designer. Often, with a budget given, designer do his best in site-survey, reaching out to all door steps of potential vendors and builders to get dreams realized.
What happen then? The opposite is needed. Do a cold-blooded cost-cutting exercise.
When client requests to itemize design, chop things down one by one to save cost, this is what happen:-
You ask for a whole chicken in the market. Vendor ask for $20. You wanted it $18. Free garlic for you? Not a good idea. You ask to chop off chicken wings, legs, in the end you wanted only chicken breast.
You may think that this somehow still work in some sense. You get parts for price worth the amount you intended.
But what is lost: 1. time for you to negotiate. 2. time for vendor to negotiate 3. you don't get what is good for getting a whole chicken instead of only parts 4. your good impression to vendor 5. time for vendor cutting the chicken 6. you simply don't get to eat a whole chicken
Consider another scenario. You ask for a motorcycle in a shop. $5000. You ask for discount but price is set. Cut off the parts of motorcycle? Probably not. You would probably get a lower range and quality motorcycle instead.
What is lost: 1. time for searching another motorcycle 2. downtime losses not being able to use motorcycle 3. you may lose more than what you think having no transportation during time searching for another one 4. your time negotiating 5. other people's time negotiating 6. you don't get to enjoy the motorcycle that you initially wanted
The amount of time and effort spent to convert a high quality product into a mediocre one should have been able to create another equally high quality or an even better product without having to create a new, devalued product.
A good designer gives you what you don't even know needed with advisable cost required.
Avoid value wasting, so is time-wasting.
Two advisable options for designers:-
- Price cost relatively high that in event cost-cutting exercise is needed, price still be able to meet what is design-intended. If cost-cutting is not needed, consider the price as something to support you in doing greater works in time to come.
- Don't do it. There is no reason for a design to settle for mediocrity by compromising value and diminishing principles.
For all:-
Be aware. It could be that a chicken is not even needed from the beginning. May be we are all vegetarian. Ride a friendly bicycle. Problem solved.