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  • March 1985 (Revised November 1985)
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Wilmington Tap and Die

By: Robert S. Kaplan
  • Format:Print
  • | Pages:22
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Abstract

The general manager of a division manufacturing taps and dies must decide whether to continue a major capital investment program. The program was designed to replace aging mechanical machines with modern, electronically controlled equipment. A post-audit, after an initial group of two machines had been purchased and made operational, revealed that actual sales were lower than had been projected in the capital expenditure request, and operating costs were higher because of problems adjusting to the new technology. Analysis requires considering intangible benefits from new investment in addition to the more easily quantified labor cost savings.

Keywords

Capital Budgeting; Investment; Accounting Audits; Cost Management; Technological Innovation; Information Technology; Performance Productivity; Production; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Manufacturing Industry

Citation

Kaplan, Robert S. "Wilmington Tap and Die." Harvard Business School Case 185-124, March 1985. (Revised November 1985.)
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About The Author

Robert S. Kaplan

Accounting and Management
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  • Comparison of COVID-19 Hospitalization Costs across Care Pathways: A Patient-level Time-driven Activity-based Costing Analysis in a Brazilian Hospital By: Ricardo Bertoglio Cardoso, Miriam Allein Zago Marcolino, Milena Soriano Marcolino, Camila Felix Fortis, Leila Beltrami Moreira, Ana Paula Coutinho, Nadine Oliveira Clausell, Junaid Nabi, Robert S. Kaplan, Ana Paula Beck da Silva Etges and Carisi Anne Polanczyk
  • Accounting for Carbon Offsets – Establishing the Foundation for Carbon-Trading Markets By: Robert S. Kaplan, Karthik Ramanna and Marc Roston
  • Dr. Andrea Pusic, Video Supplement By: Robert S. Kaplan
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