In this second post in our total cost series, we’ll cover the impact of product type and dosage on inherent cost-in-use.
The Total Cost of Hygiene Consumables
Did you see our first post? Here’s a reminder.
We analysed our experiences in residential aged care, and found that three components make up total cost:
- Product
- Setup
- Practices
This series is our analysis of several situations where costs hidden under line price affect the total cost of consumables.
The costs of a hand soap dispensing system are embedded in the choices you make about dispensers and soap type. They go deeper than the cost of install and the base price of refills.
Let’s assume the initial install fee is the same, and compare the refill prices between the Accent System and System B.
Table 2 – Accent vs System B refill prices*
| Refill Price (1L) | Ratio | |
| Accent | $17 | 1.13 |
| System B | $15 | 1 |
If your analysis went only surface-deep, you would see System B as a better value option.
But you would soon find yourself with consistently higher running costs. Why is that?
Because of the effect of cost-in-use.
Table 2 – Accent Soap vs System B Soap comparison*
| Doses per Day | Dosage | Doses per Refill | Refill Price (1L) | |
| Accent | 1300 | 0.7 mL | 1428 | $17 |
| System B | 1300 | 1.4 mL | 714 | $16 |
| Cost per Dose | No. of Refills per Year | Annual Cost | ||
| Accent | 1.2 cents | 332.28 | $5,694.00 | |
| System B | 2.1 cents | 664.56 | $10,633.05 |
B’s dispensed dosage is two times as much as Accent’s, so B runs out faster. This leads to an increase in the purchasing frequency of refills and a much higher annual cost.
(Want to see the details? Read our proofs here)
Let’s also look further into Accent’s system.
Accent has two types of dispensed soap, foam and liquid gel. But these types are not interchangeable.
Foaming soap and foaming sanitiser are more efficient than gel-based products. This is because the nature of foaming soap (using air to build the foam body) leads to decreased dosage.
Foaming soap also provides:
- a better experience,
- better coverage, and
- equal cleaning capacity, for a similar total cost.
In summary:
- When dosage is higher than necessary, reordering cycles shorten.
- The type of product used can affect dosage and hence long-term costs.
When you’re looking for an effective hand soap dispensing system, the hidden costs are in the details. The next time you need to refill your hand care system, will you look at its total cost?
Stay tuned for our next post on the total cost of hygiene consumables by signing up for our newsletter here.
Proofs:
Refill Price (1L) | Ratio | |
| Accent | x | x (simp) |
| System B | y | y (simp) |
| Doses per Day | Dosage | Doses per Refill | Refill Price | |
| Accent | 50 | a mL | 1000/a (=c) | x |
| System B | 50 | b mL | 1000/b (=d) | y |
| Cost per Dose | No. of Refills per Year | Annual Cost | ||
| Accent | x/c | (50*365)/c (=e) | e*x | |
| System B | y/d | (50*365)/d (=f) | f*y |
