Cost price calculation & Vendor Due Diligence support
Capsum has its roots in science and geek culture. The company was born from the dream of 3 top scientists who are passionate about cutting-edge technologies: to use microfluidics to produce marketable materials. What materials? They didn't know that. However, they decided to start exploring, without any expertise in cosmetics!
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Customer request
CAPSUM, a cosmetics group with two production sites (France and the United States), was facing an urgent need to control its production costs in a context of pressure on margins and ongoing vendor due diligence — making the reliability of financial data non-negotiable.
The calculation of complete cost prices (raw materials, packaging, packaging, packaging) for a hundred references was not finalized for the France site on Q4 and FY 2025, while the US site had already been processed. Without this brick, it is impossible to feed a margin analysis by product, per customer, or to measure the mix and profit effects on the total margin in France in comparison with 2024 and the budget. In addition, the emergence of American customs duties in early 2026 created an immediate financial risk on products shipped from France to the United States, requiring rapid quantification of the impact on margins. Finally, the valuation of stocks at the end of February 2026 had to be secured within a constrained schedule.
Our mission covered four areas: finalize the full cost prices of the France site, model the impact of US customs fees on the profitability of the products concerned, secure the calculation of closing stocks, and provide comprehensive analytical support as part of Vendor Due Diligence.
Results
On cost prices, we built a complete cost model by reference integrating the four components of industrial cost, with a comparative reading vs 2024 and vs 2025 budget. The inclusion of sales prices made it possible to generate a margin calculation by product, then a consolidation by customer with decomposition of the mix and profit effects on the overall margin variation in France — thus providing an analytical reading that can be directly used by the management committee and as part of the VDD.
On customs duties, we modelled the financial exposure of France → US flows by valuing the tariff impact on margins product by product, by distinguishing between scenarios according to applicable rates and contractual Incoterms. This work made it possible to objectify the trade-offs between absorption, customer repercussions and possible sourcing adjustments.
On stocks, the valuation at the end of February was secured in line with the recalculated cost prices, guaranteeing the reliability of the closing financial statements.
All of this work directly fed into Vendor Due Diligence, by providing potential buyers with a robust and audited vision of the group's industrial profitability.
Customer satisfaction
In the context of a VDD, the value delivered is not measured in immediate operational gains but in financial credibility and in securing the sale process. At the end of the mission, CAPSUM had a complete and coherent mapping of its industrial profitability — by product, by customer, by site — with a documented and defensible methodology in the face of buyer due diligence.
The ability to respond quickly to specific questions about costs, margins, and inventory within a tight transaction schedule was a key factor in the smooth flow of the process. The finance department has also gained autonomy in the production of these analyses, with tools that can be directly re-used for the following exercises.
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