Make-Buy, Outsourcing & Network Design worked example
Production Footprint Comparison at 58% capacity load factor: a worked example
This worked example runs the production footprint comparison numbers for a tougher week than the baseline: 58% capacity load factor instead of the typical 80%. Compare the annual operating cost of a multi-site production footprint including the cost of changing it.
The inputs for this scenario
- Candidate production sites: 3 sites (held at the documented default)
- Annual operating cost per site: 1,850,000 $/site-yr (held at the documented default)
- Capacity load factor: 58 % (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 80)
- Footprint transition cost: 250,000 $ (held at the documented default)
Working through the calculation
- The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Footprint cost = sites x annual cost per site x load factor% + transition cost.
- Total production footprint comparison cost works out to 3,469,000 $ at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
- Production footprint comparison cost per unit works out to 1,156,333 $ / piece at these inputs.
- Variable production footprint comparison cost works out to 3,219,000 $ at these inputs.
- Fixed production footprint comparison adder works out to 250,000 $ at these inputs.
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 26.03% below the baseline at 3,469,000 $.
- Use it during a network design or consolidation study to compare the load-adjusted annual cost of competing site configurations. A result at this level usually justifies acting on the stressed input before touching anything else, because every other figure in the table is downstream of it.
Results at a glance
- Total production footprint comparison cost: 3,469,000 $ (headline result)
- Production footprint comparison cost per unit: 1,156,333 $ / piece
- Variable production footprint comparison cost: 3,219,000 $
- Fixed production footprint comparison adder: 250,000 $
Run it with your numbers
- To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Production Footprint Comparison calculator, set capacity load factor to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.
Last reviewed 2026-05-12.