Exploring Dynamic Production Cost and Total Cost of Ownership to Support Purchasing Strategy

Sammanfattning: The continued rise of EVs, as well as other industries seeking to electrify, will necessitate a capacity of LIB cells that are more than tripled by 2030. As LIB cell customers are demanding cheaper, and customized cells with high quality, requires LIB producers to lower their LIB production cost. One promising opportunity for reducing the cell production cost is reducing the cost of purchasing LIB production equipment. However, only considering the purchasing price may lead to poor and inattentive purchasing decisions and as a result of that, the TCO of the equipment should also be considered. The study will examine how the production cost and TCO of LIB production equipment are assessed to support the purchasing strategy.  A qualitative approach was adopted, where the case study was exploratory. This as the study looked at what drives cost discrepancies in equipment purchases and how different methodologies should be used to make sound purchasing decisions. Semi-structured interviews along with data collection retrieved from the case company laid the base of this research. Based on the conducted research, the study presents five insights. First, an established strategic purchasing strategy will provide resilience in a disruptive environment. Second, adopting a TCO perspective will provide both the purchasing strategy and process with a holistic view. Third, a standardized TCO model, adapted to LIB production, is required for successful implementation to ensure alignment with the purchasing strategy. Fourth, cross-functional alignment is required to implement a TCO analysis, and fifth, only assessing production cost is not ideal for reducing TCO.