Application of Marginal Costs

Marginal costing is vital in economics as it refers to the change in total production based on the growth of additional units. In this article, we will discuss the applications of marginal costing.

In economics, the marginal cost is the change in total production cost that comes from growing or making an additional unit. In other references or contexts, they refer to Marginal cost as producing an additional quantity or an increase of a unit of output.

The marginal cost of manufacturing an automobile will include the cost of parts and the labor needed for additive automobiles, but not the fixed cost of the factory manufacturing, which does not change with the output.

What is the Marginal Cost?

At a certain level of production and period being considered, marginal cost considers all the cost that varies with the level of production, whereas, on the other hand, the cost is fixed. It does not vary with the production. The marginal cost can be either a long-run marginal cost or short-run marginal cost, depending on the output, which is varied by the cost.

There is a formula for determining the Marginal cost, which is:

Divide the total cost of change in production cost by the change in the total cost of the quantity.

The purpose of calculating the marginal cost is to determine when a business or an organization can accomplish economies of scale to modify or optimize manufacturing and overall operations. If the production’s marginal costs are one additional unit degraded than the per-unit price, the individual or the manufacturer has gained a profit.

Marginal Cost of Production

The Marginal cost of production is defined as an economic construct most frequently used among the producers to separate an optimal production level. Sometimes producers also examine the cost by adding one more unit to their manufacturing schedules.

The Marginal cost of manufacture considers all the reimbursements that alter with that production level. 

Let’s take a look deeper with the help of an example:

If the company demands to build a completely new factory to manufacture more goods, the cost required to build that factory is known as the Marginal cost. The Marginal costs are directly proportional to the goods being manufactured.

In the economic sector, the Marginal holds a very important position as a manufacturing company looking to increase its profits and manufacture up to a certain point where the marginal cost would be equal to the marginal revenue. Past that certain point, the marginal cost of manufacturing an additional unit will surpass the revenue yielded.

Applications of the Marginal Costing

On prices, selling, and regression, make or buy decisions

The most useful effort of marginal costing is that it supports making useful and vital decisions. Decision-making includes a choice between various alternatives, and marginal costing aids in selecting the best possible option by rendering all possible facts.

Below mentioned are some of the common examples of the marginal decisions taken with the assistance of the technique of marginal costing;

  • Different methods of Manufacturing
  • Selling or buy decisions
  • Gain or Profit Planning
  • Altering activities
  • Fixing or interchanging prices
  • Choosing an appropriate merchandise mix.

Fixing or Interchanging or Selling Prices

Moreover, the prices or the cost of the products are regulated by the market statuses of economic process and supply rather than by market conditions of economic process and supply rather than by administration or management. Yet, the process of fixing or fixation of exchanging or interchanging prices is one of the important functions of management.

Below-mentioned is the scenarios in which the interchanging or selling prices are fixed even at a lower place than the marginal cost:

  • When challengers are to be eradicated from the market.
  • When a new product is launched, it has to be made very popular among other competitors. 
  • When commodities are biodegradable, there is a stock of such commodities.

Holding a Desired Level of Profits

To maintain the desired level of profits, a company or the industries have to cut down the prices of some of their products or goods from time to time to complete due to government rules and regulations and other reasons.

In some cases, if the economic process for a company’s manufactured product is lively, then the minimum level of gain or profit can be held by pushing up the sales. The marginal costing technique can plant out the production of such.

Assessment of Performance:

Assessment of performance skillfulness of various departments or commodity lines can be made with the help of marginal costing.

Profit or Gain Planning

There are several steps by which gain or profit performance of a business organization can be improvised:

  • By modifying volume
  • By modifying marketing price
  • By degrading variable costs
  • By degrading Fixed costs

Conclusion

Marginal costing is crucial while calculating your finances as an enterprise owner. It is also a scoring topic if you prepare for several competitive commerce exams. In this article, we have discussed several applications of marginal costing with a comprehensive understanding of the concept of marginal cost. We have also covered the topic of profit or gain management and planning.