Project Experience

Price and Cost Structures - Financial services…adopting techniques used in manufacturing cost studies, the costs of providing services can be estimated for financial services competitors

Client Situation
The costs of providing financial services can be broken down into discrete, quantifiable costs, similar to a manufacturing cost study. One financial services client was interested in understanding the cost structure of the call center operations of two of its primary competitors; the ultimate goal of the research was to improve the productivity of its own operations.

Fuld Approach
Combining information the client had assembled on the costs of its own operations with data we obtained during interviews with numerous sources, including suppliers and technology vendors, we were able to estimate the costs of each competitor's call center operations. Among the inputs of production we examined in detail were facility-related costs, including size and rental costs; staffing costs, including training, salaries and benefits; technology costs, including network and desktop hardware, operating system software, and scalable architecture; and telecommunications costs.

Benefits and Implications
Our analysis pinpointed several relatively high-cost areas in our client's call center operations. By focusing on productivity improvements in these areas, our client was able to bring its call center cost structure in line with those of its top competitors.
For more information on analyzing the price and cost structure of your financial services competitors, please contactlscanlon@fuld.com.