Steps of the implementation process
The literature survey and case studies on ABC have provided some valuable information for the development of an implementation framework. The following are some of the major steps in the implementation of ABC in manufacturing. The frame- work has been developed in such a way that gives a more generic view of the issues associated with the implementation of ABC in practice.
Identify the cost objects: In order to make correct decisions about improving the overall performance of the organization, one needs to identify major business strategy such as increase in market share of a set of components/products. The cost of such products/parts should be calculated more precisely with the objective to make decisions about product-mix and utilization of resources. This emphasizes the need for selecting the components or products for which all the costs can be traced and collected easily in a clearly identified manner. This product has been called as “cost object”.
Analyse the activities: Firstly, the direct material and direct labour standards should be studied. Secndly, the activities that are driving the overhead should be identified. The overhead costs (such as indirect wages, maintenance and repair, depreciation and taxes, and fringe benefits) can be analysed by determining the activities, cost of them, corresponding cost drivers, and the share of the cost in the total cost of the product. In order to minimize human errors in data handling, computers can be used.
The selection of the cost drivers is the most important aspect of analysing the activities and their costs. The classification of activities as value- added and non-value-added would help to identify the cost drivers for each activity. This could be entrusted to an ABC-team which includes people from various divisions in the supply chain.
Identify cost allocation methods: Allocation of various costs, in particular the cost of overheads should be based on the resources consumed and cost drivers. The cost allocation bases such as ma- chine hours or labour hours should be selected depending upon whether the system is labour-in- tensive or capital-intensive.
Monitoring the implementation: The implementation should be monitored with the original development plan and the expected results of such an implementation. Hence, there is a need to create some sort of ownership feeling among the participating personnel in the implementation team of ABC by assigning and studying the results of their responsibilities. Some of the non-financial performance measures as noted in Table 1 can be used in evaluating the performance of the implementation
of process of ABC.