Benchmark Industries manufactures large workbenches for industrial use. Wayne Garrett, Benchmark’s vice president for marketing, has concluded from his market analysis that sales are dwindling for the standard table because of aggressive pricing by competitors. This table sells for $875 whereas the competition sells a comparable table in the $800 range. Wayne has determined that dropping the price to $800 is necessary to maintain the firm’s annual market share of 10,000 tables. Cost data based on sales of 10,000 tables follow: 

	Budgeted Amount	Actual Amount	Actual Cost
Direct materials (sq. ft.)	400,000	425,000	$2,700,000
Direct labor hrs (hrs.)	85,000	100,000	$1,000,000
Machine setups (hrs.)	30,000	30,000	$300,000
Mechanical assembly (hrs.)	320,000	320,000	$4,000,000
Input data (from above):
Current selling price by Benchmark Industries		$875	per unit
Competitor selling price per unit		$800	per unit
Current market share (units), Benchmark Ind.		10,000	units

Required

1. Calculate the current cost and profit per unit.

2. What amount of the current cost per unit is attributable to non-value-added activities?

3. Calculate the new target cost per unit for a sales price of $800 if the profit per unit is maintained.

4. What strategy do you suggest for Benchmark to attain the target cost calculated in requirement 3?