The cost that no one sees

Awkward conversations about the margin (5)

When costs are discussed in a company, almost everyone looks at the same thing.

Big decisions. Important suppliers. Significant contracts.

But in many companies the reality is different.

The greatest opportunities don't usually appear where everyone is looking.

They appear in things that no one has checked for years .

• Games that work.
• Contracts that are automatically renewed.
• Services that continue to be provided as always.

Nothing seems to be wrong.

Everything is still working.

And that's precisely why they go unnoticed.

Behavioral economists have been explaining something similar for years: we tend to pay attention to what generates visible problems, while we stop questioning what seems stable.

Businesses are no exception.

Over time, many decisions become integrated into the cost structure as if they were inevitable.

As if they had always been there.

The problem is that markets don't stay still.

• Suppliers change.
• Technologies evolve.
• The purchase conditions are changing.

Meanwhile, many companies continue to operate with cost structures that reflect decisions made in contexts very different from the current one .

Not because anyone is doing their job badly.

But because the day-to-day running of the business takes up all the space.

• Production.
• Customers.
• Operations.
• Growth.

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Reviewing what seems to work is always left for later.

Until someone decides to look.

And then something interesting happens.

No errors appear.‍

Expenses that had been invisible within the cost structure for years are now appearing .

And often, that's where the most interesting margin improvements begin.

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