During my four decades as a consultant, it has never ceased to amaze me how little attention manufacturing firms pay to the amount of time they use the equipment they’ve invested in to generate a return on that investment. The equipment uptime needed to drive their cost models is seldom available and must be somehow be estimated. Although they see their equipment as an available and valuable resource, they don’t appear to treat it as an investment. They fail to grasp to economic impact of idle equipment and how that relates to their return on investment (ROI).

Over the last few weeks, I’ve had some truly powerful coaching sessions, received amazing questions from many of you, and reflected deeply on a core theme that keeps surfacing—intention.

In the realm of Cost and Value Stream Engineering (CVSE), collaboration with suppliers is pivotal to achieving cost efficiencies and operational excellence. However, ensuring alignment and mutual commitment is often a challenge. Enter the Upfront Agreement, a strategic tool that fosters transparency, sets expectations, and creates a win-win foundation for supplier workshops and collaborations.

Okay, I must tell you something that blew my mind. Just this week, two different people casually mentioned that pumpkin spice lattes are coming back soon, and they’re already thinking about Halloween decorations.

September is here — and let’s be honest, we’re all feeling a little of the back-to-school blues. The long days of summer are winding down, vacations are over, and routines are back in full swing. But instead of sinking into post-summer sadness, let’s lighten the mood together.

Dear SPCEA Community - I’m thrilled to share some exciting news with you!!  My first book, Authentically Yours: The Global Woman’s Guide to Confident, Cross-Cultural Leadership, officially launches on December 1, 2026.

As the demand for cost engineers continues to grow, understanding the academic backgrounds that hiring managers seek has become increasingly important. In a recent survey conducted by SPCEA, we explored the educational qualifications preferred by employers when hiring cost engineers. The results offer valuable insights into the qualifications that are most valued in this profession.

For those lucky enough to have had careers in the automotive industry, Long-Term Agreements (LTAs) are as common as cars themselves. Most consider them a normal part of doing business. They are meant to provide suppliers with assurances of volumes over the full life of the program in exchange for steady supply and cost reductions for the customers. It’s standard practice for the suppliers to offer customers LTAs in the form of annual price reductions (or rebates) over program life and/or an upfront lump sum payment before the start of production (SOP). The larger the price decreases or lump sum payments, the better for the customers. The supplier sales team is happy to win the business, and the customer purchasing team is happy to bring savings to their company every year. Except that none of it is real.

I had some time to reflect and do a bit of research on key trends over the holiday.

The product cost engineer plays a crucial role in ensuring efficient product design, production processes and cost-effective operations within manufacturing settings. Here are ten important skills that I think every product cost engineer should possess: