# The Repairability Advantage: Why Companies Are Designing Products for Longer Operating Lives
Published: 2026-09-04
Category: Business
Category URL: https://companiesdigest.com/category/business/
URL: https://companiesdigest.com/the-repairability-advantage-why-companies-are-designing-products-for-longer-operating-lives/

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For decades, product development followed a relatively simple commercial logic.

Companies designed products to perform well, manufacture efficiently and reach customers at a competitive price. Once the product had been sold, much of the economic relationship shifted toward replacement. A broken appliance, damaged device or worn component often created another sale.

That model is beginning to change.

Across consumer electronics, appliances, industrial equipment and other product categories, businesses are facing growing pressure to make products last longer, become easier to repair and retain more value after their original sale.

Regulation is one driver. Consumer expectations are another. Material costs, supply-chain uncertainty and the development of secondary markets are adding further incentives.

The result is a new business question:

**What if repairability is not simply a compliance cost, but a competitive advantage?**

For some companies, longer product lives may create opportunities to generate service revenue, strengthen customer relationships, recover valuable components and build more resilient product portfolios.

The economics of durability are becoming harder to ignore.

**The Product Lifecycle Is Becoming a Business Model**

Traditional product economics are heavily concentrated around the initial transaction.

The company manufactures a product.

A customer purchases it.

Revenue is recognised.

The manufacturer then concentrates on selling the next generation.

A repair-oriented model looks at the product differently.

The initial sale becomes only one stage of a longer economic relationship.

A product may later require maintenance. Components may be replaced. The device may be refurbished. It may be resold to another customer. Eventually, some parts or materials can potentially be recovered.

The [OECD's work on circular-economy business models](https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/business-models-for-the-circular-economy_g2g9dd62-en/full-report/component-6.html) identifies product-life-extension models built around durability, repair, refurbishment and remanufacturing. These approaches are designed to keep products and their embedded materials in economic use for longer.

That creates a fundamentally different way of thinking about product value.

Instead of asking only how much revenue a company can generate when the product is sold, management can ask how much economic value the product can generate across its entire operating life.

**Regulation Is Changing the Design Brief**

One of the clearest signals is coming from Europe.

The European Union's right-to-repair framework is pushing repairability further into mainstream product regulation.

The [European Parliament's right-to-repair rules](https://www.europarl.europa.eu/topics/en/article/20220331STO26410/recht-auf-reparatur-massnahmen-um-reparaturen-attraktiver-zu-machen) aim to make it easier for consumers to repair defective products rather than automatically replace them. The directive entered into force in July 2024, and EU member states are expected to apply national implementing rules from **31 July 2026**.

The framework covers issues such as access to spare parts, repair information and repair services for product categories covered by applicable EU rules.

For manufacturers, this has implications much earlier in the product lifecycle.

A product cannot easily be repaired if it was never designed to be opened.

A component cannot easily be replaced if it has been permanently integrated into a larger assembly.

A repair technician cannot diagnose a fault efficiently if information and replacement parts are unavailable.

Repair regulation therefore reaches backwards from customer service into engineering.

The design brief is changing.

**Repairability Begins Before the Product Is Manufactured**

It is tempting to think of repair as an after-sales activity.

In reality, much of the cost of repair is determined during product development.

Consider two devices with the same functionality.

In one, a failed component can be accessed by removing several screws and replacing a module.

In another, the same component is permanently bonded into a larger assembly.

The repair outcome may be completely different.

McKinsey has highlighted this relationship in its work on [developing products for a circular economy](https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/sustainability/our-insights/developing-products-for-a-circular-economy), noting that design decisions can determine whether products can practically be reused, repaired or recycled later.

This means repairability involves engineering trade-offs.

Products may need more modular designs.

Fasteners may need to replace permanent bonding in certain areas.

Components may need to be physically accessible.

Diagnostics may need to identify failures more precisely.

Parts may need to remain available for longer.

Those choices can increase costs in one part of the manufacturing process while reducing costs elsewhere in the lifecycle.

The business case therefore depends on looking beyond factory economics.

**The Cheapest Product to Manufacture Is Not Always the Cheapest Product to Support**

Manufacturers have spent decades optimising production.

That often means reducing component counts, automating assembly and simplifying manufacturing steps.

Those efficiencies are valuable.

But the design that is cheapest to assemble can sometimes be expensive to repair.

A component permanently attached during manufacturing may reduce production time.

If that component fails, however, replacing it may require replacing an entire assembly.

That increases warranty costs.

It can also frustrate customers and increase waste.

The commercial calculation therefore needs to include lifecycle cost.

A slightly more expensive design may make repairs faster, reduce replacement costs and extend the useful life of the product.

For companies selling large numbers of units, even small differences in repair economics can become material.

**Warranty Economics Could Become More Important**

Repairability also affects warranty costs.

When a product fails during the warranty period, the company typically has several choices.

It can repair the product.

Replace the product.

Refund the customer.

Or replace a larger module containing the failed component.

The design determines which of those options is economically practical.

A highly repairable product may allow the manufacturer or authorised service centre to replace one component rather than the entire unit.

That can reduce material usage and potentially lower warranty expense.

It may also improve customer experience because repair can be completed without replacing the whole product.

The value therefore extends beyond sustainability.

Repairability can become part of cost control.

**Spare Parts Are Becoming Strategic Inventory**

Longer product lives also create a new inventory problem.

If companies promise to support products for longer, parts must remain available.

That requires planning.

A manufacturer may stop producing a device after several years while customers continue using it for much longer.

Replacement screens, batteries, pumps, motors, circuit boards or mechanical components may still be required.

Companies therefore need to think about spare-parts availability during the original production cycle.

How many components should be retained?

Can suppliers continue manufacturing small volumes economically?

Can parts be standardised across several product generations?

Can certain components be remanufactured?

These decisions influence working capital as well as customer service.

Repairability is therefore not solely a design issue.

It touches procurement, inventory planning and supply-chain strategy.

**Standard Components Can Reduce Long-Term Complexity**

One way companies can improve repair economics is by increasing component commonality.

If every product generation uses completely different parts, maintaining repair inventory becomes expensive.

If selected components remain compatible across multiple generations, the economics change.

Fewer spare-part variants are required.

Technicians need less specialised training.

Repair networks can stock commonly used components more efficiently.

Refurbishment becomes easier.

This resembles modularity in other parts of business.

Standardisation reduces variation.

Variation creates flexibility, but it also creates cost.

The challenge for manufacturers is identifying which components genuinely need to change and which can remain stable.

**Repair Can Strengthen Customer Relationships**

Repairability also changes the relationship between a manufacturer and its customers.

Traditionally, the manufacturer may interact with the buyer only during the sale and perhaps during the warranty period.

A service-oriented model creates additional contact.

Customers may return for maintenance.

They may purchase replacement components.

They may use authorised repair centres.

They may trade in older products.

Each interaction extends the commercial relationship.

The OECD notes that maintenance and repair models can help original equipment manufacturers promote customer loyalty while also creating profitable activity for repair businesses. ( [OECD](https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/business-models-for-the-circular-economy_g2g9dd62-en/full-report/component-6.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com&utm_source=chatgpt.com))

This suggests that repair should not automatically be viewed as revenue lost from a replacement sale.

It can create another form of revenue.

**The Aftermarket Is Becoming More Valuable**

Many industries have long understood the value of aftermarket services.

Automotive companies sell replacement parts.

Industrial equipment manufacturers provide maintenance agreements.

Aerospace companies support equipment over extremely long operating periods.

The same logic is gradually extending into more consumer categories.

A company that controls a trusted repair ecosystem can potentially generate revenue long after the original transaction.

That revenue may come from parts, diagnostics, maintenance subscriptions, refurbishment or extended service agreements.

The key is to design the commercial model deliberately.

If the manufacturer leaves repair completely outside its ecosystem, third-party businesses may capture much of the residual value instead.

**Refurbishment Creates Another Customer Segment**

Not every customer needs a new product.

Some prefer lower-priced refurbished alternatives.

That creates another reason to design products for multiple lives.

A returned product can potentially be inspected, repaired, cleaned and resold.

This allows manufacturers and specialised refurbishers to serve customers at a different price point without producing an entirely new unit.

McKinsey has pointed to refurbishment and resale as part of the growing circular-economy opportunity in consumer goods. Its analysis of [circular business models](https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/playing-offense-on-circularity-can-net-european-consumer-goods-companies-500-billion-euros) argues that repair, resale, refurbishment and recycling can create new commercial value pools rather than simply reducing new-product sales. ( [McKinsey & Company](https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/playing-offense-on-circularity-can-net-european-consumer-goods-companies-500-billion-euros?utm_source=chatgpt.com&utm_source=chatgpt.com))

This creates an important strategic distinction.

A company can compete with the secondary market.

Or it can participate in it.

**Remanufacturing Can Preserve More Value Than Recycling**

Recycling receives considerable attention in sustainability discussions.

But recycling often represents the final stage of product value recovery.

A functioning component may be worth considerably more than the raw material contained within it.

That is why remanufacturing can be economically attractive.

A motor, industrial component or electronic module that can be restored and reused retains much of the engineering and manufacturing value originally embedded in it.

The OECD describes remanufacturing as effectively giving products a new service life and notes that material-cost savings can support the economics of refurbished and remanufactured products. ( [OECD](https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/business-models-for-the-circular-economy_g2g9dd62-en/full-report/component-6.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com&utm_source=chatgpt.com))

For companies exposed to volatile raw-material markets, this can also provide a degree of supply resilience.

A returned product becomes not merely waste, but a potential source of components.

**Reverse Logistics Becomes Part of the Operating Model**

None of this works unless companies can get products back.

Traditional supply chains are largely designed to move goods in one direction.

From supplier.

To factory.

To distributor.

To customer.

Circular business models require part of that flow to reverse.

Products need to return from customers to repair centres, refurbishment facilities or remanufacturing operations.

That creates logistical challenges.

Returns need to be collected.

Products must be inspected.

Components need to be graded.

Reusable parts need to be separated from material destined for recycling.

Data needs to follow the product.

This can create a completely new operational capability.

For companies that develop it well, reverse logistics can become part of their competitive infrastructure.

**Product Data Will Matter More**

A longer product life also creates a stronger need for product history.

When was the unit manufactured?

Which components were installed?

Has it previously been repaired?

Were any parts replaced?

Which software version is installed?

Has the product been subject to a recall?

This information becomes increasingly useful when products move through repair and refurbishment cycles.

Digital product records could therefore become more important.

A repair technician with reliable product-history information can diagnose problems more quickly.

A refurbisher can assess whether a device is suitable for resale.

A manufacturer can identify recurring component failures.

Lifecycle data can therefore improve both repair economics and future product design.

**Repairability Can Feed Back Into Engineering**

Repair networks see products differently from development teams.

Engineers design products before they enter the market.

Repair technicians see what happens after thousands or millions of customers begin using them.

That creates valuable information.

Which components fail most frequently?

Which parts are hardest to access?

Which repairs take too long?

Which assemblies are routinely replaced despite only one small component failing?

Companies that capture this information can use it in future designs.

Repair therefore becomes a source of engineering intelligence.

A product that is easier to repair in its second generation may also be easier to manufacture, diagnose or upgrade.

The feedback loop can improve the entire portfolio.

**Right-to-Repair Rules Increase the Importance of Independent Repairers**

Manufacturers will not necessarily perform every repair themselves.

Independent repair businesses are an important part of the ecosystem.

European right-to-repair legislation seeks to improve access to repair information, tools and spare parts and to make repair more accessible to consumers. ( [European Parliament](https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20240419IPR20590/right-to-repair-making-repair-easier-and-more-appealing-to-consumers?utm_source=chatgpt.com&utm_source=chatgpt.com))

This can change competitive dynamics.

Manufacturers may have less control over repair activity.

At the same time, larger repair ecosystems can make products more attractive to customers.

A product that can be serviced in many locations may have an advantage over one dependent on a limited proprietary network.

Companies therefore need to decide how they want to participate.

Some may build extensive authorised networks.

Others may provide parts and technical information to independent specialists.

The commercial strategy will vary by industry.

**Longer Life Changes the Replacement Cycle**

There is an obvious tension.

If products last longer, customers may replace them less frequently.

That could reduce new-product sales.

This is one reason repairability can appear commercially unattractive.

But replacement frequency is not the only economic variable.

Longer-lasting products may support premium positioning.

They may increase brand trust.

They may create service revenue.

They can support trade-in programmes.

They may create a supply of refurbished inventory.

They can help manufacturers retain customers who might otherwise switch brands after a product failure.

The OECD's analysis of long-life business models notes that companies producing more durable products may be able to support premium pricing strategies. ( [OECD](https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/business-models-for-the-circular-economy_g2g9dd62-en/full-report/component-6.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com&utm_source=chatgpt.com&utm_source=chatgpt.com))

The business model therefore changes rather than simply shrinking.

**Durability Can Become Part of Brand Positioning**

Consumers often evaluate products using features, price and design.

Durability and repairability could become more visible purchasing criteria.

A customer comparing two expensive products may increasingly ask:

How long will software updates continue?

Can the battery be replaced?

How expensive are spare parts?

Are repair centres widely available?

Will the manufacturer support the product five or ten years from now?

These questions become particularly important as purchase prices rise.

Companies that can answer them convincingly may differentiate themselves through longevity.

That represents a shift from selling innovation alone to selling confidence in the product's future usefulness.

**Companies Need to Avoid Repairability Greenwashing**

As repairability becomes more commercially valuable, companies also need to be careful about how they communicate it.

Claims that a product is sustainable, durable or easy to repair need evidence.

The European Parliament has supported stronger rules intended to address misleading environmental claims and improve information about product durability and reparability. Its work on [greenwashing and consumer information](https://www.europarl.europa.eu/topics/en/article/20240111STO16722/stopping-greenwashing-how-the-eu-regulates-green-claims) reflects the broader move toward requiring environmental claims to be substantiated. ( [European Parliament](https://www.europarl.europa.eu/topics/en/article/20240111STO16722/stopping-greenwashing-how-the-eu-regulates-green-claims?utm_source=chatgpt.com&utm_source=chatgpt.com))

Companies therefore need metrics rather than slogans.

How many years are spare parts available?

How long are software updates provided?

What proportion of common failures can be repaired?

What does a typical repair cost relative to replacement?

Specific information is considerably more useful than vague claims about sustainability.

**The Economics Differ by Product**

Repairability will not create the same value everywhere.

A low-cost product with little material value may not justify an elaborate repair network.

A high-value appliance, industrial machine or electronic device may be very different.

Companies need to consider several variables:

The cost of the product.

The value of its components.

The frequency of failure.

The cost of repair labour.

The expected operating life.

Customer expectations.

Regulatory requirements.

The availability of secondary markets.

There is no universal answer.

What matters is that these economics are evaluated during product development rather than after the product reaches customers.

**AI Could Make Repair More Efficient**

Artificial intelligence may also change repair economics.

Diagnostic systems can analyse error codes, maintenance histories and sensor data.

Technicians can use AI assistants to navigate repair manuals and identify likely causes of failure.

Manufacturers can analyse large datasets of warranty claims to identify recurring problems.

Predictive maintenance can identify failures before they happen in some types of equipment.

These capabilities can reduce diagnosis time and improve the economics of repair.

The combination of AI and modular product design could make maintenance increasingly data-driven.

A product may eventually report not simply that it has failed, but which component is likely responsible and which replacement procedure is required.

That would lower one of the major costs in repair: finding the problem.

**Repairability Is Becoming a Cross-Functional Decision**

The most important organisational change may be that repairability can no longer sit entirely within customer service.

Product development determines physical access.

Procurement determines component availability.

Technology teams control software support.

Supply-chain teams manage spare parts.

Finance evaluates lifecycle economics.

Marketing communicates durability.

Legal teams monitor regulatory requirements.

Customer service manages the actual repair experience.

This makes repairability a cross-functional business issue.

Companies that evaluate it only after the product has been launched will have fewer options.

By then, many of the important design decisions have already been made.

**Designing Products for Their Second Life**

The wider shift is from designing products for the point of sale to designing them for their entire economic life.

That does not mean every product needs to last indefinitely.

Nor does it mean replacement will disappear.

Technology improves. Customer needs change. Products eventually reach genuine end-of-life.

But the assumption that failure should automatically lead to disposal is becoming harder to justify economically and increasingly difficult to sustain from a regulatory perspective.

Companies now have an opportunity to ask a different set of questions during product development.

Can the product be opened?

Can important components be replaced?

Can repairs be diagnosed quickly?

Can spare parts remain available?

Can the product be refurbished?

Can components be recovered?

Can a second customer use it?

Each answer affects how much value remains after the original sale.

The emerging repairability advantage is therefore not simply about helping customers keep products for longer.

It is about designing businesses that can continue creating value while those products remain in use.

Companies that understand this shift early may discover that the most valuable product is not always the one replaced most frequently.

It may be the one that continues generating value long after it leaves the factory.

**References**

1. **European Parliament — Right to Repair: The EU's Actions to Make Repairs More Attractive**

   [https://www.europarl.europa.eu/topics/en/article/20220331STO26410/recht-auf-reparatur-massnahmen-um-reparaturen-attraktiver-zu-machen](https://www.europarl.europa.eu/topics/en/article/20220331STO26410/recht-auf-reparatur-massnahmen-um-reparaturen-attraktiver-zu-machen) ( [European Parliament](https://www.europarl.europa.eu/topics/en/article/20220331STO26410/recht-auf-reparatur-massnahmen-um-reparaturen-attraktiver-zu-machen?utm_source=chatgpt.com&utm_source=chatgpt.com))

2. **European Parliament — Right to Repair: Making Repair Easier and More Appealing to Consumers**

   [https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20240419IPR20590/right-to-repair-making-repair-easier-and-more-appealing-to-consumers](https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20240419IPR20590/right-to-repair-making-repair-easier-and-more-appealing-to-consumers) ( [European Parliament](https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20240419IPR20590/right-to-repair-making-repair-easier-and-more-appealing-to-consumers?utm_source=chatgpt.com&utm_source=chatgpt.com))

3. **OECD — Business Models for the Circular Economy**

   [https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/business-models-for-the-circular-economy\_g2g9dd62-en.html](https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/business-models-for-the-circular-economy_g2g9dd62-en.html) ( [OECD](https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/business-models-for-the-circular-economy_g2g9dd62-en.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com&utm_source=chatgpt.com))

4. **McKinsey & Company — Developing Products for a Circular Economy**

   [https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/sustainability/our-insights/developing-products-for-a-circular-economy](https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/sustainability/our-insights/developing-products-for-a-circular-economy) ( [McKinsey & Company](https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/sustainability/our-insights/developing-products-for-a-circular-economy?utm_source=chatgpt.com&utm_source=chatgpt.com))

5. **McKinsey & Company — Playing Offense on Circularity Can Net European Consumer Goods Companies €500 Billion**

   [https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/playing-offense-on-circularity-can-net-european-consumer-goods-companies-500-billion-euros](https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/playing-offense-on-circularity-can-net-european-consumer-goods-companies-500-billion-euros) ( [McKinsey & Company](https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/playing-offense-on-circularity-can-net-european-consumer-goods-companies-500-billion-euros?utm_source=chatgpt.com&utm_source=chatgpt.com))

6. **European Parliament — Stopping Greenwashing: How the EU Regulates Green Claims**

   [https://www.europarl.europa.eu/topics/en/article/20240111STO16722/stopping-greenwashing-how-the-eu-regulates-green-claims](https://www.europarl.europa.eu/topics/en/article/20240111STO16722/stopping-greenwashing-how-the-eu-regulates-green-claims) ( [European Parliament](https://www.europarl.europa.eu/topics/en/article/20240111STO16722/stopping-greenwashing-how-the-eu-regulates-green-claims?utm_source=chatgpt.com&utm_source=chatgpt.com))


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