The Ledger

How Endries International Unlocked Customer-Level Profitability with ImpactECS

In the world of industrial distribution, visibility into customer profitability can be the difference between growth and stagnation. For Endries International, a global distributor of industrial components, understanding which customers generate the most value—and why—was a strategic imperative.

But like many companies, Endries faced a challenge: their existing systems didn’t provide the level of detailed, trustworthy insight they needed to analyze performance at the customer level.

The Problem: Insights Buried in Spreadsheets

Endries’ ERP system provided solid insight into customer profitability at a direct margin level, but it lacked the ability to incorporate cost-to-serve factors needed to see true profitability. Data was dispersed across reports and spreadsheets, making it difficult to:

• Analyze profitability by customer with complete accuracy
• Understand how service, freight, and delivery costs affected margins
• Align pricing and sales strategies with overall profitability

Without a unified view, teams spent more time assembling data than using it to uncover the full picture of customer performance.

The Solution: A Targeted Deployment of ImpactECS

To overcome these limitations, Endries turned to ImpactECS by 3C Software, choosing a focused deployment strategy that would deliver rapid and actionable insights. Together, we designed a profitability model that combined financial and transactional data to analyze individual customer performance—revealing margin contributions, revenue patterns, and EBITDA drivers.

Seamless integration with existing financial systems ensured consistency and accuracy, while a structured training program empowered Endries’ internal analysts to take ownership of the model from day one.

What’s in the Customer Profitability P&L?

A central outcome of the deployment was a customized Customer Profit & Loss Statement—a clear, data-rich tool that transforms rows of transactions into actionable insight. Each line in the P&L represents a customer and includes a comprehensive view of financial and operational performance. Key elements include:

• Revenue: Total invoiced sales to the customer over the analysis period, including both direct purchases and any program-based revenue. This provides a baseline for evaluating each customer’s overall economic value to the business.
• EBITDA: A critical measure of the customer’s profitability, EBITDA reflects net earnings after factoring in cost-of-goods-sold and cost-to-serve components. This gives a clearer picture of operational contribution without accounting distortions.
• Margin %: Calculated as EBITDA divided by revenue, this metric helps compare profitability across customers of different sizes. It highlights high-revenue, low-margin customers that may appear valuable on the surface—but underperform relative to their peers.
• EBITDA Contribution %: Shows how much each customer contributes to total EBITDA across the portfolio. This helps prioritize top profit drivers and identify accounts that may warrant special attention, investment, or protection.
• Tier Classifications: Customers are segmented into categories—such as High Revenue / High Margin, Low Revenue / High Margin, or High Revenue / Low Margin—allowing for targeted strategies based on financial performance. These tiers help drive differentiated pricing, service levels, and sales focus.

These enhanced metrics empower the Endries team to answer questions like:

• Who are our most profitable customers—and what makes them different?
• Which accounts drive top-line growth but underdeliver on margin?
• Are there overlooked customers with strong margins and growth potential?
• Where can we adjust pricing, service levels, or terms to improve profitability?

By surfacing these insights, the Customer P&L becomes more than a financial report—it’s a strategic lens that helps the business make smarter decisions across pricing, sales, and account management.

In addition, the ImpactECS model enables Endries to generate a cumulative profitability curve (Figure 1) that ranks customers from most to least profitable. This visual analysis highlights the small percentage of customers responsible for the majority of total profit, as well as those that contribute little—or even negative—value. With this insight, Endries can prioritize high-performing accounts, reassess unprofitable relationships, and guide strategic decisions with a clearer understanding of overall customer impact.

The Results: Better Decisions, Powered by Better Data

With ImpactECS in place, Endries International has a trusted system that delivers consistent, customer-level profitability insights across the organization. The finance team now spends less time compiling data and more time analyzing it—enabling a deeper understanding of what drives profit at the account level. Sales and pricing teams can make smarter, data-backed decisions around customer strategies, service levels, and contract negotiations. And because the model is fully owned and operated by internal analysts, Endries can adapt and scale their insights without relying on IT. The result is a more aligned, proactive organization—where every team has access to the same profitability data, speaks the same financial language, and is focused on driving margin improvements and long-term customer value.

Learn more about Cost-to-Serve Analytics at www.3csoftware.com/solution/cost-to-serve

From Trade Uncertainty to Cost Clarity: Tariff Scenario Planning at Plexus

As global trade dynamics shift and tariffs continue to reshape supply chains, electronics manufacturing service providers like Plexus are under pressure to respond quickly, quote competitively, and maintain margins in a volatile cost environment. With operations across multiple geographies and a complex bill of materials for each product, understanding how trade policies affect cost-to-serve is no small task.

Understanding the Impact of Tariffs in Electronics Manufacturing

In recent years, electronics manufacturing service providers have faced increasing tariff pressures—particularly from U.S.-China trade tensions, shifting free trade agreements, and region-specific duties on key components and raw materials like semiconductors, aluminum as well as finished goods. For companies like Plexus, which sources components globally and assembles products across a global manufacturing network, even small changes in tariff structures can have a ripple effect on product cost.

Tariffs not only raise direct costs but also force decisions about where to manufacture, how to source components, and how to price final assemblies for customers in different regions. To navigate this complexity, Plexus turned to ImpactECS, a cost and profitability modeling platform, to bring clarity to these cost drivers and integrate tariff scenarios directly into their quoting process.

Cost-Based Quoting with ImpactECS: A Strategic Foundation

Cost-based quoting allows companies to build price proposals using real operational and financial data—factoring in materials, labor, overhead, logistics, and now, trade-related costs like tariffs. Unlike market-based or margin-back pricing approaches, cost-based quoting ensures prices reflect the true economics of delivering the product, providing both internal confidence and external transparency.

Plexus uses ImpactECS as the engine for this process, modeling every cost component that goes into their assemblies. The system allows them to simulate changes in input prices, regional labor differences, and external cost drivers, like tariffs, with precision.

How Plexus Enhanced Their Quoting Model for Tariff Visibility

• Regional Labor Cost Simulator: Plexus developed a labor cost simulator to evaluate how different manufacturing locations impact unit cost. For example, if relocating production from Southeast Asia to Mexico increases unit costs by 15%, they can compare this to the tariff-inclusive landed cost of importing from the original location. This analysis supports strategic decisions on plant utilization, sourcing, and customer pricing.

• Tariff-Adjusted Landed Cost Calculation: Tariffs often apply to specific components rather than finished goods. Plexus enhanced their model to calculate revised landed costs by applying tariff rates at the raw material or component level. This level of granularity enables accurate costing—even when a single component in a multi-part assembly is subject to a new duty.

• Configurable Tariff Presentation in Customer Quotes: Customers often have different preferences when reviewing pricing proposals. To accommodate this, Plexus added functionality to customize how tariffs appear in quotes—whether bundled into the material cost or broken out as a separate line item. This flexibility supports transparent communication and builds trust.

Strategic Outcomes: Visibility, Agility, and Confidence in a Shifting Cost Landscape

With the enhancements to their ImpactECS cost-based quoting model, Plexus isn’t just reacting to tariffs—they’re building a proactive strategy that strengthens customer relationships, improves operational decision-making, and protects profitability. These capabilities matter now more than ever, as manufacturing leaders are called to respond faster and smarter to a constantly changing global trade environment.

• Simulate and compare sourcing scenarios with tariff exposure included: Plexus can evaluate “what-if” scenarios across different manufacturing regions, factoring in both operational costs and tariff implications. This is critical for assessing the full landed cost, not just labor or material expenses, when considering new production locations or suppliers. These simulations help the team make confident, data-backed decisions on where and how to build products without compromising margin targets.

• Quickly adjust quotes as trade policies shift: When tariff rates change or new duties are introduced, Plexus doesn’t have to rebuild models from scratch. Instead, they can update inputs and generate revised quotes in real time. This speed and flexibility is essential in today’s environment, where price agility is often the difference between winning and losing a bid.

• Provide transparent and defensible pricing to customers: With the ability to show tariff impacts as a separate line item or embed them into material costs, Plexus can tailor price proposals to meet customer expectations. This transparency builds trust, reduces pricing disputes, and positions Plexus as a strategic partner.

• Align global manufacturing decisions with real cost and margin data: By connecting tariff implications to actual cost structures across regions, Plexus ensures that operational decisions like shifting production to a new site are grounded in financial reality. It’s not just about minimizing cost; it’s about optimizing for profitability across the entire supply chain.

• Strengthen internal cost governance and quoting consistency: With a centralized model inside ImpactECS, Plexus ensures that all quoting teams across geographies and product lines operate from a common data foundation. This reduces errors, eliminates version control issues, and ensures consistency in how tariff-related costs are applied across the organization.

In the face of evolving global trade policies and rising tariff pressures, Plexus leveraged ImpactECS to enhance their cost-based quoting capabilities and gain clarity into the true cost of doing business across their global supply chain. By integrating tools to simulate regional labor costs, apply tariff rates at the component level, and flexibly present pricing to customers, Plexus transformed a traditional quoting process into a strategic advantage. These capabilities enable faster, more informed decisions—supporting both competitive pricing and long-term profitability in a complex manufacturing landscape.

Learn more about Cost-Based Quoting at www.3csoftware.com/solution/cost-based-quoting

Mastering Program Profitability: Why Accurate Costing is Critical for Automotive Brands and Suppliers

The automotive industry in 2025 is more dynamic than ever, characterized by rapid technological evolution, shifting regulations, and the continued transition toward electric and autonomous vehicles. As brands and suppliers navigate this complex environment, program profitability remains a top priority—but achieving it has never been more challenging.

From geopolitical uncertainties and rising tariffs to shorter product lifecycles and heightened customer demands, companies across the automotive supply chain are facing increasing pressure to manage costs effectively while delivering quality and innovation. This makes accurate program costing a critical function—not just for maintaining margins, but for identifying opportunities, mitigating risks, and ensuring long-term success.

The Evolving Automotive Landscape: A Perfect Storm of Challenges

Automotive companies face a multifaceted set of challenges that directly impact program profitability. These include:

• Rising Costs of Materials and Components: The costs of raw materials like steel, aluminum, and lithium (essential for EV batteries) continue to climb. Additionally, supply chain disruptions and increased shipping costs exacerbate the financial burden on suppliers and OEMs alike.
• Tariff Uncertainty and Geopolitical Pressures: Proposed U.S. tariffs on goods from various countries are creating instability in global supply chains. These measures drive up costs for imported components and materials while exposing exporters to retaliatory tariffs, limiting access to international markets.
• The Shift to EVs and New Technologies: As automakers move toward electrification and autonomous driving, suppliers must invest heavily in R&D, retooling, and advanced manufacturing processes. This transition increases upfront costs and reduces margins, especially when combined with fluctuating consumer demand for hybrid, EV, and ICE vehicles.
• Sustainability Requirements: ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) compliance is no longer optional. OEMs are demanding sustainability from their suppliers, requiring significant investments in green materials and carbon-neutral manufacturing processes.
• Shorter Program Lifecycles: Vehicle programs are evolving faster than ever, driven by changing technology and market preferences. This reduces the time suppliers have to recover their investments, increasing the importance of precise cost management.

The Role of Accurate Program Costing in Addressing These Challenges

Accurate program costing is a cornerstone of managing these challenges effectively. Without a clear understanding of the financial impact of every decision—from sourcing materials to final assembly—companies risk eroding margins and losing competitiveness. Here are several ways accurate costing contributes to program success:

Improved Pricing and Profit Margin Management

Accurate costing allows automotive companies to set realistic pricing that reflects the true cost of production. This ensures margins are protected, even in the face of external pressures like tariffs or rising material costs. By understanding cost breakdowns, companies can also identify opportunities to negotiate better supplier contracts or optimize production processes.

Enhanced Forecasting and Risk Mitigation

Fluctuations in demand, regulatory changes, and supply chain disruptions make it difficult to plan for the future. A robust costing process enables companies to run scenario analyses and assess the financial impact of different risks. For example, a supplier can model how a proposed tariff would affect profitability and proactively adjust sourcing strategies.

Better Supplier Collaboration

Automotive programs often involve collaboration across a network of suppliers. Accurate costing facilitates transparent communication about pricing, enabling more productive partnerships. Suppliers and OEMs can work together to identify cost-saving opportunities and align with program goals.

Alignment with Sustainability Goals

Many suppliers are investing in sustainable materials and processes to meet ESG requirements. While these investments can be costly upfront, accurate costing allows companies to evaluate their long-term financial viability and identify where sustainability initiatives might generate cost savings or enhance customer value.

Faster Decision-Making

In a fast-paced industry, decision-makers must act quickly. Accurate program costing provides the data needed to make informed choices—whether it’s selecting a new supplier, adjusting production volumes, or deciding whether to pursue a specific program.

The Impact of U.S. Tariffs on Program Profitability

One of the most pressing issues in the automotive industry today is the potential impact of U.S. tariffs. As companies grapple with rising costs and shifting trade policies, accurate costing has become even more essential. Here’s why:

• Quantifying Tariff Costs: Tariffs add a variable cost to imported goods, which must be accounted for in program budgets. Companies without a clear understanding of these costs risk underestimating program expenses and over-committing to unprofitable programs.
• Identifying Alternatives: A robust costing process enables companies to evaluate alternatives, such as reshoring production, diversifying suppliers, or sourcing from tariff-exempt regions. Each option has financial implications that must be carefully assessed.
• Protecting Margins: With margins already under pressure, suppliers must determine whether to absorb tariff costs, pass them on to customers, or find cost-saving opportunities elsewhere. Accurate costing provides the insights needed to make these decisions.

Case Study: A Supplier’s Journey to Cost Optimization

Consider a Tier 1 automotive supplier specializing in powertrain components. Facing rising material costs and a proposed 20% tariff on steel imports, the company’s margins were under threat. By implementing a dedicated costing process, the supplier was able to:

1. Analyze the Tariff’s Impact: The company modeled how the tariff would affect its cost structure and identified which programs were most at risk of becoming unprofitable.
2. Evaluate Alternative Suppliers: Using cost data, the company compared the feasibility of sourcing steel from domestic suppliers versus suppliers in tariff-exempt countries.
3. Collaborate with OEMs: Armed with accurate cost data, the supplier engaged OEM customers in discussions about potential price adjustments and opportunities to co-invest in cost-saving measures.
4. Optimize Internal Processes: The company identified inefficiencies in its production line, reducing scrap rates and improving labor productivity to offset increased material costs.

As a result, the supplier maintained profitability across its programs while strengthening relationships with key OEM customers.

The Path Forward: Building a Dedicated Costing Process

In today’s complex automotive market, companies cannot afford to rely on outdated or ad-hoc costing methods. A dedicated, data-driven costing process is essential for identifying hidden opportunities and pitfalls, ensuring profitability from quote to program completion.

Key Features of a Robust Costing Process:

• Comprehensive Data Integration: Combining data from multiple sources, such as material prices, labor costs, and tariffs, ensures accurate cost calculations.
• Scenario Analysis: The ability to model different scenarios (e.g., tariff changes, supplier shifts) helps companies make proactive decisions.
• Performance Tracking: Ongoing monitoring of program costs allows companies to identify and address deviations from budget early.
• Collaboration Tools: Costing systems that facilitate communication between suppliers and OEMs streamline decision-making and improve transparency.

Why It Matters:

A dedicated costing process doesn’t just help companies avoid costly mistakes; it also uncovers opportunities to improve profitability. For example, it can highlight high-margin programs that deserve additional investment or reveal inefficiencies that can be corrected to reduce costs. Moreover, accurate costing enables companies to evaluate customer relationships—identifying which customers are consistently profitable and which may require renegotiated terms or a shift in strategy.

Conclusion

The automotive industry in 2025 presents both challenges and opportunities for brands and suppliers. Rising costs, shifting regulations, and evolving technologies make program profitability a moving target. However, companies that prioritize accurate program costing—from the initial quote to program completion—will be better equipped to navigate this complex landscape.

By adopting a dedicated costing process, automotive companies can gain the insights needed to manage risks, identify opportunities, and make informed decisions that drive long-term success. In a world where every penny counts, the ability to evaluate cost performance is not just a competitive advantage—it’s a necessity.

Navigating Uncertainty: The Strategic Priorities of C-Suite Executives in 2024

As we venture into 2024, C-suite executives across the globe are facing a landscape rife with uncertainty. The challenges of the past few years have reshaped the business environment, prompting leaders to reevaluate their strategies and priorities.

A recent survey by Boston Consulting Group’s Executive Perspectives series entitled “The CEO’s Guide to Costs and Growth” was conducted in November and December 2023, with more than 600 global executives across various industries participating. The purpose of the survey was to understand leaders’ perspectives on the macroeconomic outlook for 2024 as well as their strategic priorities—particularly those related to cost management. The results provide insight into the top three strategic priorities for executives as they guide their organizations through these unpredictable times.

Cost Management Takes Center Stage

Amidst the volatility of the global economy, cost management has become the most critical concern for executives worldwide and leaders are focusing on reducing costs to strengthen their organizations.

The BCG report emphasizes that strategic cost management involves more than just identifying and eliminating inefficiencies. Rather, it is about strategically aligning cost management initiatives with long-term business objectives. Companies are urged to view cost management as a tool for strategic alignment and vision, empowering employees to join solutioning processes and providing real-time feedback.

Moreover, businesses are encouraged to go beyond productivity improvements and reshape processes to optimize resource utilization and boost engagement. This unanimous view across all regions and industries highlights the importance of cost management as a defensive strategy against economic fluctuations.

Divergent Paths to Growth

While cost reduction is a shared priority, the approaches to achieving growth vary by region. These differing strategies reflect the unique economic conditions and opportunities present in each region.

European executives are focusing on price management as a growth strategy, which involves adjusting prices to reflect the value delivered to customers and the current market conditions. This strategy is particularly relevant in Europe due to the region’s high inflation rates. By carefully managing prices, companies can maintain profitability even when costs rise.

In North America and Asia, executives are looking to expand their product lines as a means to achieve growth. This involves introducing new products or variations of existing products to meet the evolving needs of customers and to leverage rapid technological advancements and manufacturing capabilities to innovate and produce a wider range of products. Product line expansion can help companies tap into new revenue streams and diversify their offerings, making them less vulnerable to market fluctuations.

Geographic Expansion with a Regional Twist

The third strategic priority- geographic expansion – has a particular emphasis on the vibrant market and manufacturing capabilities of Southeast Asia, combined with the need to adapt to evolving geopolitical tensions. This approach allows companies to tap into new markets, benefit from trade agreements, and build more resilient supply chains.

Southeast Asia has become a prime candidate for new factory locations due to a combination of low costs, specialty skills, and relatively free access to Western and Asian markets. The region offers a large, fast-growing market and an extensive manufacturing base that spans light, heavy, and high-tech industries. With the implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), there is expected to be an acceleration in the flow of goods, inputs, and investment between Southeast Asia and trade partners such as China, Japan, South Korea, and Australia. This trade pact is likely to create greater access to Asia’s biggest and most developed markets, lower the costs of importing manufacturing inputs, and make it easier for companies to build supply chains that leverage different advantages and skills across the region.

Geopolitical tensions, such as the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, have a significant impact on the global economy and, by extension, on corporate growth strategies. These tensions can disrupt trade flows, cause supply chain problems, and lead to shortages of key resources like oil and gas, affecting industrial production worldwide. The uncertainty caused by geopolitical tensions can hinder economic growth, increase costs, and create barriers to international cooperation. In response to these challenges, companies are reevaluating their growth strategies to mitigate risks. For instance, diversifying manufacturing locations can be a strategic move to reduce dependency on regions that are prone to geopolitical instability.

Cost-Cutting Strategies for Executives

In the realm of manufacturing organizations, navigating the complexities of cost-cutting strategies demands a strategic and meticulous approach. Let’s delve deeper into key tactics that can significantly impact your company’s profitability while maintaining operational excellence.

Connect Costs and Strategy

In today’s competitive market, manufacturing organizations must approach cost-cutting as an integral part of their overall strategy, rather than a standalone endeavor. The alignment of cost-cutting initiatives with the company’s overarching strategy is paramount for maintaining a strong competitive advantage. This strategic imperative ensures that every measure taken reinforces the organization’s unique selling propositions and long-term success.

By integrating cost-reduction initiatives seamlessly into the operational blueprint, organizations safeguard against compromising their long-term profitability. This approach ensures that cost-cutting measures are not implemented in isolation but are carefully orchestrated to support and enhance the overall business strategy.

When cost-cutting aligns with strategy, the organization can focus on the areas that drive the most value and are most critical to the competitive advantage. This alignment allows decision-makers to prioritize cost reductions that will have a significant impact on the bottom line and support their unique value proposition in the market.

Sustainable Cuts

It’s vital to prioritize sustainable cost reductions as a cornerstone of your financial strategy. This means looking beyond immediate cost trimming to identify measures that not only reduce expenses in the present but establish a framework for ongoing financial health in the future.

By adopting a comprehensive approach that considers the long-term viability of each cost-saving initiative, you can ensure that every cost-saving measure contributes to the overall financial stability and growth of your organization.

Negotiate with Suppliers

In manufacturing, the symbiotic relationship with suppliers presents a compelling opportunity to optimize procurement costs without sacrificing quality. Proactive engagement in negotiations with suppliers can yield significant cost savings and operational efficiencies while nurturing long-term partnerships that mutually benefit both parties.

By leveraging smart negotiation tactics, manufacturing organizations can secure better deals, unlock potential efficiencies in the supply chain, and establish enduring partnerships with suppliers. Proactive negotiations that go beyond mere price haggling can result in cost savings that extend far beyond the initial transaction, creating a ripple effect of financial benefit throughout the procurement landscape.

Identifying potential efficiencies in the supply chain through collaboration with suppliers allows organizations to streamline processes, reduce waste, and enhance overall operational effectiveness. This collaborative approach empowers decision-makers to uncover hidden opportunities for cost reduction and optimization, leading to tangible improvements in the bottom line.

Fostering long-term partnerships with suppliers based on mutual trust, transparency, and shared goals creates a stable foundation for ongoing cost management and operational excellence. Such partnerships enable a strategic alignment of objectives, the sharing of best practices, and a proactive approach to addressing challenges and opportunities in the broader supply chain.

Invest in Technology

Advanced data analytics solutions unlock the power of data to generate valuable insights and drive informed decision-making. By harnessing the vast amounts of data generated within manufacturing operations, organizations can identify patterns, pinpoint inefficiencies, and make data-driven adjustments to streamline processes and optimize resource utilization. This deep level of analytical understanding of operations allows for targeted cost reduction strategies that focus on areas most likely to deliver meaningful improvements.

When considering investments in automation and cutting-edge technology, it’s important to select solutions that not only address immediate cost reduction needs but also lay the groundwork for future growth. Future-oriented technology solutions enable scalability, flexibility, and adaptability to changing market dynamics. They provide organizations with the agility to respond to evolving customer demands, embrace new business models, and seize emerging market opportunities.

Engage Cross-Functional Teams

The collective wisdom of cross-functional teams and department heads represents a valuable asset in uncovering hidden opportunities for cost reduction. By fostering a culture of collaboration and idea-sharing, manufacturing organizations can not only open the door to innovative solutions but also strategically identify trade-offs that drive significant cost efficiencies. Embracing diverse perspectives across the organization is instrumental in uncovering and implementing cost-saving initiatives that contribute to improved profitability.

When cross-functional teams and department heads come together, their diverse expertise and perspectives provide a wealth of insights that can unearth untapped opportunities for cost reduction. Sharing knowledge, experiences, and best practices allows for a comprehensive understanding of operational inefficiencies and cost drivers, enabling the identification of strategic avenues for improvement.

Collaboration and idea-sharing within cross-functional teams are essential for evaluating operations from multiple angles, highlighting areas of redundancy, and uncovering process inefficiencies. This holistic approach to cost analysis enables decision-makers to gain a nuanced understanding of the interplay between different functions and departments, ultimately leading to the optimization of processes and resource allocation.

Furthermore, embracing diverse perspectives leads to the exploration of innovative solutions and strategic trade-offs that drive significant cost efficiencies. Through the synergy of varied viewpoints, decision-makers can identify creative approaches to cost reduction that may have been overlooked when viewed through a single lens. The amalgamation of diverse expertise often results in novel problem-solving techniques and the unearthing of innovative cost-saving initiatives.

Getting Started on the Path to Better Cost Management

First and foremost, executives must prioritize cost management as a defensive strategy against economic fluctuations. This goes beyond identifying and eliminating inefficiencies; it entails strategically aligning cost management initiatives with long-term business objectives. By adopting a holistic view of cost analysis and leveraging advanced software solutions such as those provided by 3C Software, executives can gain a comprehensive understanding of their cost structures and identify areas for optimization. Engaging cross-functional teams and department heads to foster a culture of collaboration and idea-sharing will further unlock hidden opportunities for cost reduction and drive operational efficiencies.

In addition to cost management, executives should embrace technology as an enabler of growth and profitability. Investments in automation and cutting-edge technology not only streamline processes and reduce labor costs but also provide manufacturers with the agility needed to respond to changing market dynamics. By leveraging solutions that harness automation and advanced data analytics, organizations can optimize resource utilization, make data-driven decisions, and adapt to evolving customer demands. 3C Software’s software solutions equip decision-makers with the tools and insights needed to drive efficiencies, optimize costs, and spur growth.

Furthermore, embracing a forward-looking perspective is critical for executives seeking to build resilient strategies. By anticipating regional differences and staying abreast of global trends, organizations can proactively respond to market shifts and capitalize on emerging opportunities. This requires constant monitoring of macroeconomic factors, a commitment to agility, and an openness to strategic collaborations. Executives should leverage insights from industry publications, research reports, and thought leaders to gain a comprehensive understanding of the factors shaping the manufacturing landscape and inform their decision-making process.

In conclusion, the strategic priorities for 2024 underscore the need for C-suite executives to balance cost management with growth initiatives. By prioritizing cost reduction, embracing technology, and adopting a forward-looking perspective, decision-makers can build resilient and sustainable strategies. The insights and recommendations outlined in the BCG survey, combined with the advanced software solutions offered by 3C Software, provide a roadmap for executives to navigate the complexities of manufacturing profitability, optimize costs, and drive long-term success. With a focus on collaboration, innovation, and agility, executives can steer their organizations towards improved profitability in the face of ongoing challenges.