Obsolescence

The term obsolescence (from Latin obsolescere, wear out, getting old, out of fashion, prestige, lose value ) indicates that products or stocks of knowledge on natural or artificially influenced type of date or age. The corresponding adjective obsolete in the sense of no longer used or obsolete generally refers Obsolete, mostly standards, therapies or equipment.

Forms of obsolescence

Planned obsolescence

The planned obsolescence ( or artificial obsolescence ) the life of a product is artificially reduced. Products such as electrical appliances, so expire faster than is technically necessary.

Indirect wear

In this case, aging by changes of a component to another component faster. Thus it can be faster unusable as a result of parameter deviations of the charge controller the starter battery.

Functional obsolescence

In the case of functional obsolescence, however, the product remains even though more functional, but can by new requirements, such as new complementary products, but ultimately no longer be used in full.

Functional obsolescence can be found so that, especially in fast-growing sectors such as the computer industry (eg, requirements of different computer games to certain versions of the operating system or the availability of security-related fixes for older software). Consumers react mostly unsettled As a consequence, and skip, for example, one or more versions ( leapfrogging ). Another cause may be the discontinuation of certain (usually electronic ) components. In particular, long-term projects and long-lived assets are increasingly at risk from this is only partly foreseeable unavailability.

In software, the open source movement can be seen as a counter-movement: the case of software products, (eg GPL) are subject to a free software license, a final expiry of the availability of guaranteed disclosure of the source code is excluded.

Obsolescence

A obsolescence ensures that discontinued parts that are incorporated into products that will in time be replaced by a replacement or an extra- stocked. This management process is to ensure that the life cycle ( production and repair) of your product is not adversely affected by the availability or the failure of contributory components. Handled correctly, it is used to avoid or at least reduce production or service failures. Other objectives include cost savings and avoiding supply shortages. As a part of risk management, obsolescence management is used in all sectors in the capital goods industry ( capital goods, infrastructure, consumer durables, consumables, software products, etc. ) are used.

The Obsolescence management objectives:

• Prolonging the life of a product
• Timely information to the customers about discontinued products
• Sustainable design, component selection, resources and raw materials
• Suppliers and developers work together to find substitutes
• Camps of the future expected total demand

Mental obsolescence

In the case of psychological obsolescence is a product that in itself would be full and unrestricted use (eg, an older phone, a tube TV, monitor or external PC ), however no longer required, because it has become unsightly planned and / or has lost popularity, so colloquially "out" (supposedly no longer fashionable, no longer at the height of the time).

Mental obsolescence often the result of fashion trends, but also technical developments, such as the change from analogue to digital photography, which was initially not nearly competitive with those in terms of their performance parameters. The popularity of the product is thereby substantially influenced by his image, which in turn is manipulated by changed (updated) designs and marketing, including the application. Design is therefore an effective means to bring about artificial obsolescence.

Planned System Variations

Another form of planned obsolescence is the equipping of new products with new accessories variants that are no longer compatible with the existing accessories so that the consumers themselves also usually have to buy all the accessories except the new novelty. The best known examples are likely to compact digital cameras and mobile phones will be. Long time charging and accessories plugs were with almost every new generation varied until the legislature forced a standardization. There are often at new products again changed chargers and other battery while you're keen on so-called system cameras such as SLRs, exactly reversed, the compatibility of the accessories ( lenses, flashes, tripod mounts, etc.) across multiple product generations to guarantee.

Difficult repair

For some products, is criticized by consumer advocates that for products that the job would intentionally difficult. This is for example the case with the iPhone series of Apple, where the batteries are built-in. The repair is not only possible in specialized stores or. Some companies limit the availability of repair manuals. The company Toshiba forced in November 2012 with copyright complaints a blogger, all 300 Toshiba Service Manuals to take from his website where he provides free repair manuals for laptops. Other companies provide with excessive repair costs are expensive or spare parts that a repair even small damage no longer worthwhile.

Many electrical devices are protected by bonding the casing or use security screws to prevent unauthorized opening

Obsolescence in jurisprudence

A common reason for obsolescence in legal terms is the fundamental change in the constitutional relations. Thus, different legal standards from the era of National Socialism came not repealed, it is no longer used and regarded as obsolete. An example of this is that the foundation for the adoption order is still valid, but no longer gives the German Federal President as the competent organ of the state this Order. The mark of obsolescence is the state practice here. It is recognized as grounds for the termination of international treaties. So Austria declared as a result of the new situation in Europe by 1990, the military clauses of the Treaty of Vienna in 1955 as obsolete.

Causes

• Market saturation phenomenon ( usually associated with stagnation of sales ). Example: The U.S. automobile industry had excess capacity in the late 1950s, the French car industry capacity, the durability of the French cars at that time amounted to several times the durability of U.S. cars
• Agreement of the competitors (especially in oligopolistic markets, example Phoebuskartell )
• Conspicuous consumption ( usually leads to premature product Neukauf about as a sign of professional performance )
• Cost competition and Konsumpassivismus
• High ( free ) disposable income
• Limited market transparency (prevents consumers find products that are less subject to the planned obsolescence ).
• Anonymity of the manufacturers due to long supply chains or production on behalf of several different brands