For any careful analysis of what causes costs or how to manage costs better, disaggregation of overhead into different categories is an important but often difficult step. For example, without careful disaggregation, the difference in the cost of running a large number of small batches of many different products, rather than a few large batches of a few products, is not discernible. A manufacturer may be so inefficient in managing some part of overhead costs that a competitive disadvantage can result, but the mismanaged cost item may not be reported to any responsible manager. Instead, the mismanaged cost may be just one of many components of a large and growing total of overhead costs, representing some of the indirect labor, some of the indirect materials, some energy costs, etc. In the future, computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM), employing database management technology on a company-wide scale, may remedy this shortcoming of today’s information systems.