Advantages of using a standard cost system?

It is a management by exception accounting system. You forecast by knowledge or history what your material costs may be (usage and cost) and your labor(hourly rates and production units) and the estimated overhead for a period of production and then measure the actual results against the standard. Rather than reviewing all costs - you review only the variances and the reason why and the cost drives that generated the variances. You can determine whether those cost drivers can be controlled and apply those measures or eventually set them as a part of the standard cost value.