The secrets of extraordinary low-cost operators: They focus on more than efficiency and process improvements.
By: Hout, Thomas
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Material type: 
BookPublisher: Hayward Business Review Description: 103(2), Mar-Apr, 2025: p.126-135.
In:
Hayward Business ReviewSummary: There’s a misconception that becoming a low-cost leader in an industry can be achieved by implementing one-off programs aimed at efficiency improvement and waste reduction. But the reality is much different. The author has spent decades studying how extraordinary low-cost organizations differ from their competitors, and he distills what he has learned in this article. Companies that have enjoyed sustained low-cost positions have unique leadership styles and cultures. Their CEOs, for instance, share some notable characteristics: respect for people, a long-term commitment to the organization, a preference for decentralized decision-¬making, and a zeal for making change happen. Low-cost exemplars also take a distinctive approach to the design and execution of their operating systems. They eliminate long-standing industry barriers to lower costs; ensure that product design and process design reinforce each other; develop original multipurpose technologies that connect the company to the customer and reduce cost; and use cycle time and variance as a management tool. The article offers executives three questions to ask to assess their company’s prospects for becoming the low-cost leader in their industry.- Reproduced
https://hbr.org/2025/03/the-secrets-of-extraordinary-low-cost-operators
| Item type | Current location | Call number | Vol info | Status | Date due | Barcode |
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Articles
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Indian Institute of Public Administration | 103(2), Mar-Apr, 2025: p.126-135 | Available | AR135602 |
There’s a misconception that becoming a low-cost leader in an industry can be achieved by implementing one-off programs aimed at efficiency improvement and waste reduction. But the reality is much different. The author has spent decades studying how extraordinary low-cost organizations differ from their competitors, and he distills what he has learned in this article. Companies that have enjoyed sustained low-cost positions have unique leadership styles and cultures. Their CEOs, for instance, share some notable characteristics: respect for people, a long-term commitment to the organization, a preference for decentralized decision-¬making, and a zeal for making change happen. Low-cost exemplars also take a distinctive approach to the design and execution of their operating systems. They eliminate long-standing industry barriers to lower costs; ensure that product design and process design reinforce each other; develop original multipurpose technologies that connect the company to the customer and reduce cost; and use cycle time and variance as a management tool. The article offers executives three questions to ask to assess their company’s prospects for becoming the low-cost leader in their industry.- Reproduced
https://hbr.org/2025/03/the-secrets-of-extraordinary-low-cost-operators
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