Developing a product costing model using Process-Based Cost Modeling : A case study of early stage cost estimation in a multinational agricultural cooperative

Sammanfattning: Product costing can be used to estimate potential future costs and revenues associated with a product. In the development of new products early cost estimates can be used to support decision making regarding which products are worth pursuing, and which production processes that are the most profitable. For a firm to make precise early cost estimates both technical and financial expertise is needed; however, in practice there is generally a gap between technology and cost. Process-Based Cost Modeling (PBCM) is a model developed to address this gap and generate costing estimates of higher precision. The model is especially developed for process production technologies. Although promising, PBCM is under researched and its applicability in new contexts are yet to be explored.  The purpose of this study was to explore the PBCM’s applicability in new context of process production. This was done through a case study at a multinational agricultural cooperative. The problematization presented by the Case Company was to make early cost estimation of the production process of a main product and its byproducts. Furthermore, the Case Company wanted to compare alternative production designs and use of different raw materials in the production process. To create a product costing model that fully captures the contextual depth of the problem both qualitative and quantitative data was gathered from internal documents, a series of interviews, and observation of one of the sub-processes.  The findings of the study resulted in development of a batch costing model, a hybrid between continuous operations and order costing systems. The batch costing proved to be dynamic and allowed comparison of different production and raw material alternatives. Furthermore, the PBCM methodology that resulted in the batch costing model was evident to give a deeper contextual understanding of the relationship between cost and production technology. For the Case Company, the outcome of the study highlighted key areas needing further investigation and process design features that lower operational costs. The results also provide recommendations how to increase the precision of the product costing models when more data are available. Finally, the academic outcome of the thesis provides trajectory in the further research on PBCM and gives new perspective on the use of batch costing in continuous operations.