Concept in Definition ABC

In a consumer society like the one we live in, all or most of the goods and products have a limited useful life.

What exactly does the shelf life refer to? That for each good there is an estimate of how long it will be able to be used without losing its essential characteristics. This estimate is usually provided by manufacturing companies to provide information to the consumer. Do not forget that this data can be decisive for the acquisition of a product.

Main parameters of shelf life

To establish the useful life of an object there are a series of factors to consider: the quality of the raw material employee, the production process, the exposition to natural conditions, human use and the intrinsic wear and tear of one's own good. Let's think about a simple pen, its useful life will depend on the wear of the ink and not on the material used for its manufacture.

The useful life in the economy

This concept is in common use in economic terminology. It must be taken into account that the information on the useful life of a product is decisive for the

accounting of a company. On the other hand, knowing how long a good is going to serve can help to schedule its amortization, account for possible repairs or establish a strategy of marketing. As is logical, the useful life of a product is directly related to the production process of a company, with the price variations of said product and, ultimately, with the cost effectiveness business.

Planned obsolescence

Programmed obsolescence is understood as the strategy of the companies themselves so that the useful life of a product is the most appropriate possible for their economic interests. This presents a conflict interests between producers and consumers, since the manufacturer does not make the best possible product, but rather that said product has been programmed to stop serving in a certain time (for example, a copier can be programmed to make 20,000 photocopies and after this number the machine stops working and its useful life has finalized).

The phenomenon of planned obsolescence has overwhelming logic from a business point of view, since if a product had an unlimited useful life, the company that manufactures it could lose money and end up closing. However, it is clear that this type of practice has a deceptive intention towards the consumer.

With regard to this phenomenon, countries such as France and others have promoted laws that prosecute the abuses associated with this form of manufacturing.

Photos: Fotolia - Igoror - Andrey Popov

Topics in Useful Life