Setting Standards in an Uncertain World: Protecting Profitability in the 2027 Reset
As organizations prepare their 2027 standard costs, shifting material prices, tariffs, labor rates, and production volumes are making the annual reset harder. The assumptions set now will shape pricing, profitability analysis, budgeting, and operational performance all year.
How can organizations set reliable standards when underlying costs keep moving? And how can they tell when those standards need another look?
This educational session follows one manufacturer from December 2026, when it sets its standards, through a year of changing conditions. The story organizes the discussion around three questions: Are we setting the right standards? Are we using them for the right decisions? How do we know when they need to change? Attendees see how assumptions about materials, tariffs, volume, and yield flow into variances, customer profitability, and quotes, and when current or forecast costs give a better answer than the standard.
Key takeaways:
- Attendees leave with five things they can apply to their own 2027 standard cost process.
Identify the assumptions with the greatest impact on standard cost accuracy. - See how outdated standards distort profitability analysis, pricing decisions, and performance measurement.
- Match standard, current, and forecast costs to the decisions each one supports best.
- Recognize the signals that call for a mid-year reset, and set the thresholds and governance to act on them.
- Apply five practical questions to the 2027 standard cost-setting process.
Speaker: Sam Smith, Sales and Solutions Leader