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Stuck with Expensive Designs? Here’s How to Uncover Lower-Cost Alternatives Without Waiting on Quotes

When your engineers can’t easily test lower-cost design options like swapping materials, shifting sourcing locations, or altering manufacturing processes costs creep higher, and opportunities slip away. Most teams simply don’t have the tools to evaluate design changes quickly and with real-world data. That makes it nearly impossible to optimize costs mid-cycle without delay, guesswork, or rework.

The problem starts with traditional costing tools. Spreadsheets, quote-based models, and outdated databases weren’t built for fast design iteration or product cost simulation. Engineers often work without credible cost data during early design phases. By the time quotes are requested and received, it’s too late to make meaningful changes. Procurement and sourcing teams are left reacting to designs rather than shaping them and that’s expensive.

The Shift to Muir's Product Intelligence Platform
Muir's Product Intelligence Platform flips the equation. Instead of waiting for cost data to arrive weeks after a design is finalized, teams can model cost implications in real time. Using AI and dynamic, synthetic Bill of Materials (BoM) models, Muir's Product Intelligence Platform helps teams simulate design changes like a switch from aluminum to steel, or relocating manufacturing from China to Mexico at the speed of decision-making.

How Muir Solves This
Muir’s platform delivers cost clarity from the earliest design decisions through to full-scale production:

  • Synthetic BoM Generation
    With only a basic product description, Muir autonomously builds a full synthetic BoM, from raw materials to manufacturing processes, so you can evaluate cost drivers without waiting on supplier input.

  • Reduction Engine
    This feature identifies cost reduction strategies specific to your product, ranking them by implementation difficulty and potential savings. Whether it’s swapping materials, redesigning a component, or changing sourcing geographies, Muir shows what’s feasible and impactful.

  • Scenario Modeling for Design Decisions
    Want to know how a different polymer affects cost? Or whether a cast part can be injection-molded for less? Muir simulates those trade-offs with real-world data on material, labor, and energy costs, including geographic variations.

  • Fast Feedback for Engineers
    Designers no longer have to wait weeks for cost feedback. Muir offers instant insights, enabling true design-to-cost decisions and eliminating the need for late-stage changes.

  • Portfolio-Wide Optimization
    Cost-saving design alternatives aren’t just for one-off products. Muir can apply its analysis across thousands of SKUs, helping companies identify systemic savings opportunities across product lines.

Actionable Takeaway
If your engineers can’t quickly test lower-cost alternatives with real data, your products are probably more expensive than they need to be. Empower your design teams with the tools they need to make smarter choices before costs are locked in with Muir.

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