Focus on overheads: Why transparency in overheads is becoming increasingly important

Whether production, administration or logistics - overhead costs have a significant impact on a company's economic performance. However, there is often a lack of structured comparative data to realistically classify overhead costs. Different locations, industry peculiarities and functional characteristics make evaluation difficult. If you want to make well-founded decisions here, you need reliable company financial data - especially on overhead cost structures and functional cost benchmarks. The costdata® database creates a precise basis for this - worldwide, cross-industry and data-based.

Overhead key figures from over 4,100 regions and 30 industries

The database covers a wide range of cost centers - from materials management, production and sales to logistics, development, IT, HR and administration. Standardized overhead cost figures based on international comparative data are available for each of these functions. Differences by industry, region and company size are taken into account, creating a robust benchmarking framework for all key overhead functions.

By integrating historical values, time comparisons, trend analyses and budget validations can also be carried out - a valuable aid for strategic controlling and cost management.

Strategic decisions based on real overhead benchmarks

The possible applications range from classic cost center analysis to budget planning and location evaluation. The overhead data from costdata® provides valuable orientation, particularly in the context of reorganization projects, shared service initiatives or the introduction of new management models.

Purchasing, development and administration costs can be compared and analyzed in a targeted manner. The data also provides an objective basis for investment decisions - for example in IT, process automation or personnel development.

Identifying optimization potential in the administration

In contrast to directly attributable production costs, overheads often remain opaque - even though they make up a significant proportion of total costs in many industries. Systematic optimization potential can be identified through targeted analysis of administrative, sales or development overheads - whether through outsourcing, automation or organizational realignment.

Overhead key figures can be integrated into the overall costing, particularly in conjunction with other data categories - e.g. product pricing data, commodity prices data or competitor pricing data. This creates a complete picture of the company structure - across departments, plants and countries.

Conclusion: Understanding overhead, controlling structures in a targeted manner

In a dynamic economic environment, overhead cost comparisons are more than just a controlling discipline - they are the basis for transparency, efficiency and competitiveness. The overhead data from costdata® enables precise analyses at cost center level, international benchmarks and strategic derivations for management, controlling and corporate planning.

➡️ Request a free demo now and make informed decisions with structured overhead data

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