Bohrer & Schaufler AG is an Austria-based manufacturer of high-precision drilling solutions for the oilfield and exploration industry. Its customer base is global and mostly consists of multinational companies in the oil exploration and extraction industry. Bohrer & Schaufler’s products are often combined with accompanying services, and the company is generally treated as a partner by its customers. Engagement is mostly via multi-year project contracts. Failure-safe, reliable products with high availability are essential since down-times are extremely costly in the oil exploration and extraction business. At the same time, the industry is under heavy cost pressure and is constantly looking for ways to increase efficiency.
Bohrer & Schaufler, therefore, wants to look into the possibilities of applying activity-based and process-based costing methods for the identification of future synergies between itself and its main customers. Discuss the applicability of such approaches in Bohrer & Schaufler’s customer-project environment and briefly outline possible application areas.