If the proposed product is a modification of an
existing product, a firm has a cost basis from
which it can determine what the potential costs
of the proposed new product might be if the new
product’s specifications and method of manufacture
are similar. The next step in the target costing
process, then, is to determine what the new
product’s costs would be, using existing product
specifications and manufacturing processes.
This is frequently called the “engineered costs.”
Sakurai uses the terms “drifting costs” and “current
costs.”