Cost Model & Pricing Brief

What Changed

Summary of cost model and pricing enhancements through v1.3.0

We've made several improvements to how production costs are modeled and how pricing is displayed throughout the quoting system. Here's the quick version:

• Modeled costs — A new smoothed production cost based on curve fitting, replacing raw actuals for quoting. Eliminates misleading costs from low-volume gauges.
• Cost curve analysis — Visual scatter plot with polynomial regression, automatic outlier detection, and one-click saving.
• GP/Hr indicator — Phil's gross-profit-per-uptime-hour metric is now shown everywhere pricing appears: pricing modal, line items table, pricing breakdown, and cost model page.
• Volume breaks — Single line item can now generate multiple price tiers (TL, 1/2 TL, 1/4 TL, 1 HU) on the PDF automatically, with configurable profiles for Line 101 Gaylord, Line 2 Gaylord, and 1-Roll Box packaging.
• Manual cost lookup — Cost model lookup is now a deliberate action (click "Lookup cost" then "Apply") rather than auto-populating on field change.
• Dedicated pricing modal — Pricing is now done in a separate modal from line item editing, with cost model lookup, base pricing, cumulative adjustments, and a running summary showing effective margin and GP/Hr.
• Base family fallback — Modification-level families (e.g., 3996.1, 3996.2) automatically fall back to the base family (3996) cost curve when no specific cost model exists.
• Tolerance overrides — Default tolerances from Fuse are shown on each line item. An Edit button opens a modal to set custom gauge/width tolerances, flagged as NON-STANDARD.
• ASTM D1056 auto-fill — Mat Spec field auto-resolves the ASTM D1056 callout based on product family code.
• Workflow redesign — New status flow separates line item creation from pricing. See Quote Flow below.
• Sheet product support — Line items can now be quoted as sheets (not just rolls), with sheet dimensions in inches or meters, sheets-per-box auto-suggest, and stack height validation.
• Customer PDF preferences — Each customer can have specific price columns enabled on their PDF ($/SF, $/LF, $/Roll, $/SqM, $/M). SF is always shown per Phil's requirement.
• Special notes on PDF — Free-text notes that appear between the pricing table and standard notes on the quote PDF.
• SOP tracking — Won quotes now track Start of Production date, with warning badges for missing SOP and filterable in the quote log.
• Per-quote bulletin approval — Technical bulletins not yet approved for release can be individually approved/rejected per quote through the existing approval workflow.
• Tier markup display — Volume break tiers now correctly show +3%/+5%/+8% markups (not discounts) in the pricing modal.

Actual Cost vs. Modeled Cost

Two views of production cost, one table

Every cost model entry now has two cost values:

Setting Modeled Costs

Two ways to set modeled costs:

1. Curve fit tool (preferred for families with enough data) — Open the chart on the cost model page, review the fit, and click "Save modeled costs."
2. Manual entry (for families with sparse data) — Click the modeled cost cell in the table to type a value directly.

Use the "Missing modeled cost" filter to find entries that still need a modeled cost assigned.

Cost Curve Analysis

Visual tool for reviewing and fitting production costs

The cost curve analysis tool (click "Show chart" on the cost model page) plots actual production costs against thickness for a given family/line/skin combination.

How It Works

1. Select the product family, line, and skin type from the dropdowns.
2. The chart shows actual costs as blue bubbles (larger = more production volume).
3. A green curve is automatically fitted through the data using polynomial regression.
4. Orange circles mark outliers that were automatically excluded from the fit (using IQR analysis on residuals).
5. Statistics show R² (goodness of fit), number of points, degree, and thickness range.

Controls

• Fit degree — Linear (1) through Quartic (4). Default is Quartic (4), which captures the U-shaped cost curve typical of foam extrusion (thin and thick gauges cost more, sweet spot in the middle).
• Weight by volume — When checked, high-volume gauges have more influence on the curve. Recommended.
• Show outliers — Toggle outlier visibility on the chart.

Saving

Click "Save modeled costs" to write the curve-fit values back to each cost model entry. The curve coefficients are also saved for use in interpolation (when a quoted thickness falls between existing entries).

GP/Hr (Gross Profit per Uptime Hour)

Phil's preferred profitability metric, now visible throughout the system

GP/Hr tells you how many dollars of gross profit a product generates per hour of machine uptime. It's the key metric for comparing products that use different amounts of machine time.

Line Cost Constants (2025 Actuals)

Where You'll See GP/Hr

• Pricing modal — Live indicator in the running summary. Updates as you change margin % or add adjustments. Shows the dollar value and whether it's above/below the line's 2025 average.
• Pricing breakdown table — ~GP/Hr column for each line item, color-coded.
• Line items table — ~GP/Hr column on the right side of the table, color-coded.
• Cost model page — ~GP/Hr column in the table.

Color Coding

Quick Reference Examples

Volume Breaks

Multi-tier pricing on a single line item

When a customer wants to see pricing at different release quantities, you no longer need to create separate line items. Enable Volume Breaks on a single line item and the PDF will automatically expand it into multiple rows.

Volume Break Profiles

Roll counts per tier depend on the packaging type. Three default profiles are configured:

Line 101 Gaylord (4 rolls/gaylord)

Line 2 Gaylord (8 rolls/gaylord, double-stacked)

1-Roll Box (6 boxes/skid)

Profiles are configurable in Settings → Volume Breaks.

How to Use

1. In the line item modal, check "Volume breaks".
2. Select a profile (auto-selected based on production line when possible).
3. Choose which tiers to include (TL, 1/2 TL, 1/4 TL are checked by default).
4. Save the line item.
5. On the PDF, this single line item becomes 3–4 rows, each showing the tier label and roll count from the selected profile.

Line items with volume breaks show an orange VB badge in the line items table.

Tier Pricing (Markup Structure)

Volume break pricing uses markups for smaller quantities relative to the TL (Truck Load) base price:

These markups are configurable per quote in the pricing modal. The pricing modal shows each tier with its markup percentage and calculated price. Smaller quantities cost more per unit because of setup and handling overhead.

Updated Quote & Pricing Flow

Two-phase workflow: line items first, then pricing

Status Flow

Quotes now follow a defined status progression:

1. New Request — Add line items, customer requirements, packaging, follow-up schedule, and volume break tiers. Pricing fields are hidden during this phase. Core sizes default to 6" (Line 101) or 3" (Line 2).
2. Pricing / Feasibility — Click "Move to Pricing" to transition. A blue guidance banner shows how many items still need pricing. The Pricing breakdown section shows each line item with a "Set pricing" button that opens the dedicated Pricing Modal (cost model lookup, base pricing, adjustments, running summary). Feasibility review runs in parallel.
3. Awaiting Approval — Quote is priced and ready for review. Before submitting, the system validates that customer requirements are reviewed and follow-up schedule is set. If requirements are non-standard, a completed feasibility review is also required.
4. Approved — Ready to Send — Quote has been approved. The "Send quote" button is now enabled.
5. Sent — Quote PDF has been emailed to the customer.
6. Follow-up — Awaiting customer response per the follow-up schedule.
7. Closed — Won, Lost, No Response, or Reference.

Kanban Board

The board now shows 5 columns: In Process, Awaiting Approval, Ready to Send, Sent, and Follow-up Needed.

Pricing Modal (during Pricing phase)

Pricing is now done in a dedicated modal separate from the line item editor. Click "Set pricing" on any line item in the Pricing breakdown section.

1. Click "Lookup cost" — the system searches the cost model using the line item's specs:
   • Modeled cost (green) with the actual cost shown smaller for reference
   • Or actual cost only (orange warning) if no modeled cost exists
   • Modification families (3996.1, 3996.2, etc.) automatically fall back to the base family cost curve
2. Click "Apply" to load cost, margin, and price into the base pricing fields.
3. Edit margin to recalculate price, or edit price to recalculate margin. Set a lot charge if applicable.
4. Add price adjustments (volume, strategic, market, complexity, etc.) with a percentage or $/BdFt amount. Adjustments stack cumulatively on the base price.
5. The running summary shows the effective price after adjustments, effective margin, and GP/Hr in real time.
6. Click "Save Pricing" to save.

Quick Reference

Formulas and constants at a glance

Constants