Make-Buy, Outsourcing & Network Design worked example

Production Footprint Comparison at 92% capacity load factor: a worked example

This scenario runs the production footprint comparison calculation on the strong side: 92% capacity load factor, with every other input held at its documented default. An operations director evaluating whether to consolidate plants or shift volume across a manufacturing footprint.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Candidate production sites: 3 sites (unchanged)
  • Annual operating cost per site: 1,850,000 $/site-yr (unchanged)
  • Capacity load factor: 92 % (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 80)
  • Footprint transition cost: 250,000 $ (unchanged)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Footprint cost = sites x annual cost per site x load factor% + transition cost) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 5,356,000 $ for total production footprint comparison cost, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 1,785,333 $ / piece for production footprint comparison cost per unit.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 5,106,000 $ for variable production footprint comparison cost.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 250,000 $ for fixed production footprint comparison adder.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where capacity load factor sits at 80% and the headline result is 4,690,000 $, this scenario comes in 14.2% above the baseline at 5,356,000 $.
  • Use it during a network design or consolidation study to compare the load-adjusted annual cost of competing site configurations. Treat this as a target state: the delta against the baseline quantifies what the improvement is worth before you commit to chasing it.

Results at a glance

  • Total production footprint comparison cost: 5,356,000 $ (headline result)
  • Production footprint comparison cost per unit: 1,785,333 $ / piece
  • Variable production footprint comparison cost: 5,106,000 $
  • Fixed production footprint comparison adder: 250,000 $

Run it with your numbers

  • Every input above is editable in the live Production Footprint Comparison calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.