Cost Avoidance vs. Cost Savings

In the case of manufacturing processes, it is reasonable to characterize the value of process, equipment and yield changes as cost savings.  However, the value of life-cycle management activities (i.e., sustainment) is usually quantified as a cost avoidance.  “Cost avoidance is a cost reduction that results from a spend that is lower than the spend that would have otherwise been required if the cost avoidance exercise had not been undertaken” [1].  A simpler definition of cost avoidance is a reduction in costs that have to be paid in the future to sustain a system [2].  

Cost avoidance is commonly used as a metric by organizations that have to support and maintain systems to quantify the value of the services that they provide and the actions that they take.  These organizations do not like to use the term “cost savings” since a savings implies that there is unspent money, whereas in reality there is no unspent money, only less money that needs to be spent.  Another way to put it is, if you told a customer that you saved 100 dollars, the customer could ask you for the 100 dollars back; if you told a customer you avoided spending 100 dollars there is no 100 dollars to give back.

Unfortunately, making business cases based on a future cost avoidance argument is often more difficult than business cases that are based on cost savings, therefore, there is a greater need to be able to provide detailed quantification of sustainment costs.  Requesting resources to create a cost avoidance is not as persuasive as making a cost savings or a return on investment argument. 

[1] Ashenbaum, B. (2006). Defining Cost Reduction and Cost Avoidance, CAPS Research.

[2] Sandborn, P. (2017). Cost Analysis of Electronic Systems, 2nd edition, World Scientific.