Time Equations to Capture ComplexitySo far, we have relied on an important simplifying assumption that all orders or transactions of a particular type are the same and require the same amount of time to process. But time-driven ABC does not demand this simplification. It can accommodate the complexity of real-world operations by incorporating time equations, a new feature that enables the model to reflect how order and activity characteristics cause processing times to vary. Time equations greatly simplify the estimating process and produce a far more accurate cost model than would be possible using traditional ABC techniques.The key insight is that although transactions can easily become complicated, managers can usually identify what makes them complicated. The variables that affect most such activities can often be precisely specified and are typically already recorded in a company’s information systems. To take an example, let’s assume a manager is looking at the process of packaging a chemical for shipment. In this situation, complexity arises from the potential need for special packaging and the additional demands of air as opposed to ground transportation.Let’s say that if the chemical is already packaged in a way that meets standard requirements, it should take 0.5 minutes to prepare it for shipment. If the item requires a new package, however, the manager estimates, either from experience or from making several observations, that an additional 6.5 minutes will be required to supply the new packaging. And if the item is to be shipped by air, he or she knows (or can quickly determine) that it will take about 2 minutes to put the package in an air-worthy container.This information allows the manager to estimate the time required for the packaging process:Packaging Time = 0.5 + 6.5 [if special packaging required] + 2.0 [if shipping by air]Many companies’ ERP systems already store data on order, packaging, distribution method, and other characteristics. These order- and transaction-specific data enable the particular time demands for any given order to be quickly determined using a calculation like the one above.Thanks to this extension, the time-driven approach to ABC can capture the complexities of business far more simply than the traditional ABC system could, which might well have had to account for varying transaction times by treating each variant of the process as a distinct activity. Consider the case of Hunter Corporation (not its real name), a large, multinational distributor of scientific products, whose 27 facilities process more than one million orders each month to distribute up to 300,000 different product SKUs to 25,000 customers. Its old ABC model required that employees in its inside sales department (the salespeople handling phone and Internet orders rather than dealing with customers face-to-face) estimate each month the percentage of their time that they spend on three activities: customer setup, order entry, and order expediting.With the time-driven approach, Hunter’s ABC team of analysts was able to group the three activities into a single departmental process, called inside sales order entry. The team learned that it took about 5 minutes to enter the basic order information, plus 3 minutes for each line item, and an additional 10 minutes if the order had to be expedited. If the customer were new, 15 more minutes would be required to set up the customer in the company’s computer system.Following the approach described earlier, the previous three-activity model was replaced by a single time equation:Inside Sales Order Entry Process Time = 5 + (3 × number of line items) + 15 [if new customer] + 10 [if expedited order]This was straightforward to implement since Hunter’s ERP system already tracked the number of line items for each order and included fields that identified whether it was a rush order and whether the customer was new. The model multiplied the estimated sales process time by the departmental cost per minute to arrive at the cost of processing each order. Hunter could now obtain a more accurate and nuanced estimate of its costs in the unit while simultaneously reducing the complexity of the process for gathering and analyzing the data. Hunter has since rolled out time-driven ABC over all its operations. The results have been dramatic:• Hunter has reduced the number of items tracked from 1,200 activities to 200 department processes.• Managers can add complexity to the model by simply adding new elements to the time equations, which places less strain on Hunter’s accounting system than incorporating new activities would.• Cost estimates are now based on actual order characteristics and direct observations of processing times, not on subjective estimates of where and how people spend their time.• The new model is easier to validate. Hunter can reconcile the total process time—that is, the total absolute time spent on all the activities tracked i
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