Yes, in a scenario where the higher production fee is outweighed by lower review and correction costs. That outcome must be measured; it is not established by the supplier’s price or technology claims.
The following is a hypothetical calculation, not a supplier comparison. Assume 1,000 files, all eventually accepted, equivalent material-error performance, and carrier labour costing $60 per hour, or $1 per minute.
| Cost component | Option A: cheaper drafting | Option B: higher production fee |
|---|---|---|
| Production fee | $100 × 1,000 = $100,000 | $125 × 1,000 = $125,000 |
| First review | 35 minutes × 1,000 = $35,000 | 10 minutes × 1,000 = $10,000 |
| Additional correction work | 150 files × 25 minutes = $3,750 | 50 files × 20 minutes = $1,000 |
| Other attributable costs | $5,000 | $5,000 |
| Total cohort cost | $143,750 | $141,000 |
| Cost per accepted file | $143.75 | $141.00 |
Option B costs $25 more to produce each file but costs $2.75 less through acceptance under these assumptions.
A simple break-even calculation is:
Required review minutes saved = extra production fee ÷ loaded review cost per minute.
Here, $25 ÷ $1 means 25 minutes of review reduction offsets the higher fee before considering corrections. Change the assumptions if implementation, supplier management, acceptance rates or quality differ. Also remember that valued staff time released is not automatically cash removed from the budget.