In any successful business there is an interest, and often a formal effort, to control cost. For meaningful cost control, a company has to have a thorough understanding of its business and the details of what drives expenses. Cost control should never be about buying the lowest price material or equipment. It should be focused squarely on value. The issue is not how much an item costs, the issue is how will it affect efficiency and output. In reality, many companies evaluate raw materials and equipment by how much they cost, not what they can do. Unit price is seldom a good indicator of real cost, it is a component in calculating the cost of production.
Cost control starts with education. The more we know about the materials and equipment that are used to make our end products, the better equipped we are to select the most cost-effective options. For example, one coating material may be less expensive than another but does not cover as well. More coating is required to achieve proper hiding, so the less-expensive coating (by unit price) turns out to be more expensive in cost per applied square foot. Or a manufacturer can provide a less-expensive piece of equipment than his competitor but it turns out that it is inadequate for the job. The cost to upgrade it turns out to be more than the competitive product with the higher initial cost.