In cost models, you replicate an Article's price from individual cost factors and link these to indices. This lets you argue your Suppliers' price components based on data.
Create a cost model
Suitable Articles: Especially Articles with high order volume, frequent price changes, complex supplier negotiations or strategic importance. The required indices must be available in Tacto.
In the side navigation, open Articles and select an Article. The Cost model column shows which Articles already have a model.
In the Article, open the Cost Development tab and then Configuration.
Select a reference date – good practice is the date of the last price negotiation.
Set the target price – manually or automatically from invoice values. If needed, convert to the negotiation unit via Modify Invoice Unit (e.g. €/kg → €/t, conversion factor 1000).
Define cost factors – the price is the sum of the factors. The Open amount shows how much of the Article price has not yet been modeled.
Cost factors are either dynamic (linked to an index, value changes over time) or constant. You enter the value as an absolute value (quantity used) or a relative value (share of the Article price).
You can see the results on the Market development, Modeled Price and Potential Analysis tabs.
Add an index as a cost factor
In the cost model or in the Negotiation Cockpit, open the cost factor search.
Search for the index (material, material group or source) – filtered by country or custom data sources if needed – and add it.
Weight the cost factor in the cost model according to the Article's material share.
Upload custom indices
For data not included in the standard library (e.g. specific material grades or regional labor costs), you can store your own indices.
Open Settings > Tools > Data sources.
Click Add index and select the name, currency, unit and type of index (time series or constant).
Click Create Index and upload your index file – make sure the date and value columns are formatted correctly.
Permissions: Admins and Key Users can create and manage custom indices; all other users can view them.
Limitation: Custom indices are not assigned automatically – select them manually via the Custom data sources filter.
Available standard indices
Producer price indices (DESTATIS): Industry and product price indices (including for metals, plastics and chemicals) as well as import prices for Germany.
Non-ferrous metals (LME): Exchange prices for non-ferrous metals, daily.
Steel (LME / Platts, LME / Argus): Scrap, rebar, hot-rolled coil (HRC), regional, monthly in USD/t.
Stainless steel (Outokumpu): Alloy surcharges for common materials (e.g. 1.4301, 1.4404, 1.4571), monthly in EUR/t. The alloy surcharge reflects only the volatile part; base price + surcharge make up the total price.
Wood (HPE wood price index): Pallet/packaging wood, plywood, OSB, monthly.
Alloys (Tacto / LME): Free-cutting brass (MS58), hot-stamping brass (MS58), cold-forming brass (MS63), gunmetal (Rg5), phosphor bronze (CuSn8) – daily from LME element prices, weighted by composition. Reflects only the metal content.
SMM (Shanghai Metal Market): Aluminium P1020A spot premium Rotterdam (weekly), cobalt Rotterdam, electrolytic manganese, magnesium 9990 CIF Netherlands (daily), APT/tungsten CIF Rotterdam (weekly). Values in USD, short history.
LBMA gold & silver: for price components linked to precious metals.
Energy: Electricity prices per country (Ember) and day-ahead electricity prices per bidding zone (ENTSO-E), gas prices for North-West Europe, Southern Europe and the EU (ACER), Brent crude oil (LSEG / Refinitiv).
Labor costs: Labor cost indices of European countries (Eurostat) as well as the Swiss wage index (FSO, annual).
China (NBS): Producer and purchasing price indices as well as average wage development.