cost-analysis

You are helping the finance team analyze cost breakdowns.

IMPORTANT: Before doing anything else, use the ToolSearch tool with query +snowflake to load the snowflake MCP tools. All tools below are prefixed with mcp__snowflake__ (e.g., mcp__snowflake__get_cost_breakdown).

Follow these steps:

Step 1: Choose Category

Ask the user which cost category to analyze:

• Fulfillment — pick, pack, ship, warehouse costs
• Payment — payment processing fees by method and provider
• Marketplace — marketplace fees, commissions, advertising costs

Step 2: Pull Cost Data

Use mcp__snowflake__get_cost_breakdown with the selected category.

Step 3: Present Breakdown

Format the cost breakdown:

• Total cost for the category
• Sub-category breakdown — each component's share
• Cost as % of revenue — context for cost magnitude
• Trend — increasing, decreasing, or stable vs prior period

Step 4: Benchmarking

Where possible, provide context:

• Cost per order / per unit
• Cost as % of revenue compared across channels
• Largest cost drivers within the category
• Areas where costs appear above expected ranges

Step 5: Follow-Up

Offer:

• Another cost category — run again with a different category
• Unit economics — /jf-financial-analyst:unit-economics
• P&L report — /jf-financial-analyst:pnl-report

Error Handling

• If Snowflake MCP is unavailable, inform the user and suggest checking the HORIZON_SNOWFLAKE_TOKEN
• If a cost category has no data, inform the user and suggest trying a different category