ECONOMIES OF SCALE : Case Studies & Examples
Economies of scale occur when increased output leads to lower unit costs (lower average costs) This diagram shows that as the firm’s output increased from Q1 to Q2 , average costs fall from AC1 to AC2
Examples:-
Tap Water – High Fixed costs of a national network
The water companies had to invest in a large network of water pipes spreading without the country to produce tap water. This investment has a very high fixed cost. Nevertheless, as they distribute water to over 25 million households it brings the average cost down. But, would it be worth for an another water company building another network of water pipes to compete with the existing company? No, because they will be getting only a small share of the
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The aim of the study was to determine what factors affect economies of scale in waste management, identify the gaps in knowledge/data if any with a modelling approach review where local authority waste production is sufficient to deliver an value added waste management solutions.
EVIDENCE BASE
To analyze the factors that are influencing optimized waste management services, it was necessary to establish a robust evidence base from Government reports , local authority reviews & waste management technology analysiss. Each of the reports & studies considered differing factors to achieving economies of scale, & provided a broader range of influencing variables including the following:
• Political
• Dem&s & Constraints
• Economic & Financial
• Legislative
•
Other scale economies can be Multi-Product ES (“Economies of Scope”); indeed, different types of cereals can be produced in a very similar way, not requiring different production facilities, but leveraging the existing ones. The same can also be applied to packaging/bagging, which is the main source of Economies of Scale, because the Big Three use the same
Economies of scale: Large companies can produce products at a much lower cost than small ones because the cost per unit drops as the volume of output rises
Another example of an area with good sustainable waste management is in Nottingham where they have incorporated a waste management project which have worked very effectively in terms local sustainably like Curitiba. However some of the waste was used in an incinerator to supply electricity to parts of Nottingham. The initial electricity that was not used by Nottingham due to them part-schally generating there own electricity was resold to the
The impact of economies and diseconomies of scale Tesco face As businesses grow and their output increases, they commonly benefit from a reduction in average costs of production. Total costs will increase with increases in output, but the cost of producing each unit falls as output increases. This reduction in average costs is what gives larger firms a competitive advantage over smaller firms. This fall in average costs as output increases is known as Economies of Scale.
They can only produce small batches. Scale economies have brought down the unit costs of production and have fed through to lower prices for consumers. Economies of scale are a key advantage for a business that is able to grow. Most firms find that, as their production output increases, they can achieve lower costs per unit. Economies of scale are the cost advantages that a business can exploit by expanding their scale of production. The effect of economies of scale is to reduce the average (unit) costs of production.
The Marginal Cost graph intersects the Average Total Cost graph and the Average Variable Cost graphs at their minimum points. As long as the cost of producing one additional unit remains less than average total cost, the average total cost continues to fall. When marginal cost finally exceeds average total cost, average total cost begins to rise in response. The same effect applies to the relationship between marginal cost and average variable cost.
Economies of scales are defined as “the reduction in long-run average and marginal costs arising from an increase in size of an operating unit” (Business Dictionary, 2016). Some of the causes of this could be technology that decreases the cost of production or even better management that makes production output increase. For example, Walmart which has a larger volume of business compared to Publix, a smaller supermarket is more profitable. One of the main reasons is the reduction in marginal cost due to the relationship with a supplier. Because Costco makes larger orders from suppliers to accommodate their wholesale stores they are offered better deals. The larger volume of shipment is also granted better discounts as well. Let’s say at Publix and apples costs $1.50 each but a pack of 10 at Costco is $10. It costs Publix $0.75 to buy, ship, and stock every apple. The pack of 10 at Costco gives them a $2.50 profit. The because Costco is buying so much to accommodate its wholesale customers because of economies of scale they can be offered even bigger markdowns. Costco could set the price of their apples even cheaper, which entices customers to buy even more. When buying wholesale there is a cheaper price because of the additional amount of
According to waste legislation business' must establish 'a system that ensures waste producers or those handling waste follow the waste hierarchy (i.e. prevention, reuse, recycling, recovery, disposal)' ( Surrey County Council, 2012) This forces business' to consider waste management throughout their infrastructure.
Economies of Scale is a phenomenon which can be described as diminishing cost per unit as a result of increased output.
Moreover, economics of scale describes gains in efficiencies with task or production specialization. In this regard, constant returns to scale occur if both the inputs and outputs amounts increase proportionally (Salvatore, 2015). Although, an increasing returns to scale transpires when output amounts increase with a greater proportion than inputs thereby decreasing unit costs. As an example, if a firm borrows money at a lower interest rate than the competition and maintains the same output amount, then the firm would lower input costs and gain increasing returns to scale. Conversely, decreasing returns of scale can occur when input amounts increase with a greater proportion than output, and this effect increases costs per unit. For instance, a large firm with increasing controls or bureaucratic governance could unintentionally increase input costs at a pace that proportionally surpasses output amounts. Returning to the Liberty University example, each LU online curriculum has an economy of scale. In using production specialization or degree completion plans, LU reduces input costs and gains output efficiency, in the long-run, as students move through the coursework. Initially, LU incurs decreasing returns of scale during the creation and introductory period of a new class and materials while student input is low. This situation leads to higher costs per student.
For WM the fuel, environmental charge included on a customer’s invoice is determined by first putting in the percentage of the WM Collection Fuel Surcharge Table or WM Disposal Fuel Surcharge Table into the overall invoice charges (excluding taxes). Next the environmental percentage is put in the sum of the total invoice charges and fuel surcharge calculation (excluding tax). Landfills produce harmful gases that if breathed in by people can cause serious health issues. The gases they let off also can ignite huge fires. If the water gets contaminated, then there is a long process to get to clean again and it cost 10 million dollars. Landfills also create a toxic soup of industrial and home-cleaning chemicals. These are just some of the impacts that solid waste management has on people and environments. My group has come up with different ways to solve these
“Economies of scale are unit cost reductions associated with a large scale of output” as it is able to spread over the fixed costs over a large volume of quantity (Wickramasekera, Cronk & Hill 2013 p90). “First-mover advantages are the economic and strategic advantages that accrue to early entrants into an industry and the ability to capture scale economies ahead of later
My main concern about waste disposal is toward poverty. In every society, for it to work effectively the waste disposal has to be handled properly. The lack of proper waste disposal can contribute for the underdevelopment of the community. For instance, in poorer community that does not have resources to dispose of the trash properly create a series of problems. For example, when there are a lot of trashes in a community, it will prevent investors to invest in a community, the housing market, schools and stores will decline, in consequence the houses will loose its value. This will create a ripple effect because people will start immigrating toward a better place where it is much cleaner. Families will try to move to a better place where their kids can have a better future. I ask myself who wants to live in a dirty environment? I hope nobody. That’s why I believe that the government should help the poorest communities about the ways to handle waste disposal, and better educate them about recycling.
Increasing returns are the natural outcome of decreasing output costs and have external and internal factors which influence economies of scale (Ossa, n.d.). Economies of scale are influenced externally by industry size, rather than firm size and include