Geometric Limited is a specialist in the domain of engineering solutions, services and technologies.  I turned to Geometric earlier this week to draw from their expertise and gain a greater understanding of the processes and benefits of cost optimization for manufacturers. I learned that cost optimization is often thought of as a cost reduction exercise, however established products have inherent costs “built-in” to the product.  Manufacturers with established products must focus on post-production expenses and work to reduce material costs and manufacturing expenses, while most of the cost structure for the product is already set because of the product specifications and decisions that were made during the development stage.  The experts at Geometric advise that by pursuing cost optimization initiatives during the product development stage “companies can create significant cost optimization through better understanding and evaluation of cost drivers across the entire product realization value chain”.  There are, however, five potential barriers to achieving full cost optimization during development and these may arise due to the inherent nature of the product development stage.  In this weeks infographic we explore these barriers as the first part of our ‘Cost Optimization Series.’