Practical guides on should-costing, supplier negotiation, procurement and supply chain cost.https://costmatiq.com/blogen-inhttps://costmatiq.com/blog/costing-proprietary-partshttps://costmatiq.com/blog/costing-proprietary-partsProprietary and sole-source parts can still be should-costed. Either obtain the 3D model and drawing from the supplier, or tear the part down and reverse engineer it to build your own model. Cost it from that model, add a market benchmark of what others pay, and you have negotiation levers even without a second quote.Fri, 09 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTProcurementhttps://costmatiq.com/blog/delivered-cost-packaging-freight-dutieshttps://costmatiq.com/blog/delivered-cost-packaging-freight-dutiesDelivered cost is the part's cost at your dock: the ex-works should-cost plus packaging, freight, insurance, and duties and tariffs where the part crosses a border. Comparing suppliers on ex-works price alone can reverse once delivered cost is included, so the should-cost should carry these lines explicitly.Fri, 09 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTSupply chainhttps://costmatiq.com/blog/design-to-cost-dfmhttps://costmatiq.com/blog/design-to-cost-dfmDesign to cost uses cost estimates while a part is still being designed, so that tolerances, features, materials and processes are chosen with their cost in view. Design decisions are widely understood to fix much of a part's cost before production starts, so a change at the drawing board is often cheaper and larger than a price concession later.Fri, 09 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTCostinghttps://costmatiq.com/blog/negotiate-with-a-cost-breakdownhttps://costmatiq.com/blog/negotiate-with-a-cost-breakdownPut the supplier's quote and your should-cost side by side, line by line. The gap often sits in a few lines (material weight, cycle time, machine choice, overheads or margin). Turn each difference into a specific, factual question, and agree the corrections line by line instead of bargaining over the total.Fri, 09 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTNegotiationhttps://costmatiq.com/blog/preparing-negotiation-levershttps://costmatiq.com/blog/preparing-negotiation-leversA negotiation lever is a specific, evidenced reason a price can come down, such as a lighter blank, a faster cycle or a lower overhead rate. Find levers by comparing quote and should-cost line by line, rank them by the strength of the evidence and the size of the saving, and prepare one clear question for each.Fri, 09 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTNegotiationhttps://costmatiq.com/blog/raw-material-index-pricinghttps://costmatiq.com/blog/raw-material-index-pricingRaw-material index pricing links the material share of a part's price to a published commodity index. You need each part's material content (gross weight and grade), an agreed index and base value, a review period, and a formula that moves the price up and down with the index. It replaces argument by letter with an agreed calculation.Fri, 09 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTSupply chainhttps://costmatiq.com/blog/spend-stratification-cost-reductionhttps://costmatiq.com/blog/spend-stratification-cost-reductionSpend stratification turns a large part portfolio into manageable negotiations. Split spend by product line, group parts into commodity kitties (motors, enclosures, proprietary parts and so on), should-cost each kitty, then negotiate one supplier and one kitty at a time with the gap per part in hand.Fri, 09 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTProcurementhttps://costmatiq.com/blog/what-is-should-costinghttps://costmatiq.com/blog/what-is-should-costingShould-costing is a first-principles estimate of what a part ought to cost: the most efficient manufacturing route is chosen, then material, process, tooling, overheads, logistics and a fair supplier profit are priced line by line. The result is a cost benchmark to compare supplier quotes against.Fri, 09 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTCosting