ABC systems help managers to evaluate the effect of current product and process design choices on activities and, as a result, costs and to identify design changes that reduce costs. For example, design decisions that decrease the complexity of the mold reduce costs of design, but also materials, labor, machine setups, machine operations, and mold cleaning and maintenance because a less-complex design reduces scrap and the time for setup and operation of the molding machine. Plastim’s customers may be willing to give up some features of the lens in exchange for a lower price. Note that Plastim’s previous costing system, which used direct manufacturing labor-hours as the cost-allocation base for all indirect costs, would have mistakenly signaled that Plastim should choose designs that most reduce direct manufacturing labor-hours. In fact, there is a weak cause-and-effect relationship between direct manufacturing labor-hours and indirect costs.