How do you calculate the cost of a launch delay?

Multiply the delay in weeks by the gross margin you lose each week, then by the share of that margin you cannot recover, and add any one-time expedite and rework spend. With a 6-week slip at $18,000/week, a 70% unrecoverable share, and $12,000 of expedite cost, the total is $87,600.

What is the unrecoverable share and why does it matter?

It is the fraction of weekly margin that is gone for good once the launch slips, because the sales window closed or the customer bought elsewhere. The remaining share is demand you simply catch up on later. At 70%, only $12,600 of each week's $18,000 is treated as permanently lost.

What counts as a good or acceptable launch delay cost?

There is no universal benchmark, but a delay cost that exceeds the cost of recovery actions (a second tool, premium freight, added shifts) signals you should pay to pull the schedule in. When the $87,600 delay cost dwarfs a $20,000 expedite, recovery is clearly justified.

Why separate variable cost from the fixed expedite adder?

The variable portion ($75,600 here) scales with how many weeks you slip and is what you reduce by recovering schedule. The fixed expedite and rework cost ($12,000) is spent regardless of duration, so isolating it shows what recovery can and cannot save.

Lost margin vs lost revenue for delay costing?

Use margin, not revenue. Delayed units you eventually sell still cost you to make, so only the contribution margin is truly at risk. Costing a delay on full revenue overstates the loss and leads to overspending on recovery.

How is the per-week delay cost used?

Dividing total cost by delay weeks gives a running rate ($14,600/week here) that you compare directly against the weekly cost of any recovery option. If overtime to save a week costs less than $14,600, it pays for itself.

NPI, DFM/DFA & Engineering Change calculator

Launch Delay Cost Calculator

Launch Delay Cost translates a slipped production-start or product-launch date into a dollar figure the program team can put in front of finance. It captures the margin you forfeit for every week the launch is late, the portion of that margin you will never claw back once competitors or the buying window move on, and the expedite, overtime, and rework spend you burn trying to recover. NPI program managers, launch engineers, and operations leaders use it to size the cost of an engineering change, a tooling slip, or a supplier delay so they can decide whether to pay to pull the schedule back in. It turns a vague "we're behind" into a number that justifies premium freight, a second tool, or holding the gate.

What this calculator does

Estimate the cost of a launch slip from delay duration, weekly margin lost, the unrecoverable share, and expedite cost.
a program manager needs to value a launch delay to justify recovery spending or schedule trade-offs.
It computes the total cost of a launch delay as lost margin per week times the unrecoverable share over the delay window, plus a one-time expedite and rework adder.

Formula used

Total launch delay cost = delay weeks × margin lost per week × unrecoverable share + expedite and rework cost
Delay cost per week = total launch delay cost ÷ delay weeks

Inputs explained

Delay duration:
Margin lost per week:
Unrecoverable share:
Expedite and rework cost:

How to use the result

Use it during a schedule slip, an engineering change review, or a make-vs-pay-to-recover decision to quantify the cost of being late before you authorize recovery spend.
It assumes margin lost per week is steady across the whole delay; for seasonal or launch-window products the real curve is front-loaded and a flat weekly figure can understate early-week losses.

Common questions

How do you calculate the cost of a launch delay? Multiply the delay in weeks by the gross margin you lose each week, then by the share of that margin you cannot recover, and add any one-time expedite and rework spend. With a 6-week slip at $18,000/week, a 70% unrecoverable share, and $12,000 of expedite cost, the total is $87,600.
What is the unrecoverable share and why does it matter? It is the fraction of weekly margin that is gone for good once the launch slips, because the sales window closed or the customer bought elsewhere. The remaining share is demand you simply catch up on later. At 70%, only $12,600 of each week's $18,000 is treated as permanently lost.
What counts as a good or acceptable launch delay cost? There is no universal benchmark, but a delay cost that exceeds the cost of recovery actions (a second tool, premium freight, added shifts) signals you should pay to pull the schedule in. When the $87,600 delay cost dwarfs a $20,000 expedite, recovery is clearly justified.
Why separate variable cost from the fixed expedite adder? The variable portion ($75,600 here) scales with how many weeks you slip and is what you reduce by recovering schedule. The fixed expedite and rework cost ($12,000) is spent regardless of duration, so isolating it shows what recovery can and cannot save.
Lost margin vs lost revenue for delay costing? Use margin, not revenue. Delayed units you eventually sell still cost you to make, so only the contribution margin is truly at risk. Costing a delay on full revenue overstates the loss and leads to overspending on recovery.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.