Dimensioning of product support: issues, challenges, and opportunities

Dimensioning of product support is influenced by the product's designed-in characteristics, especially those related to RAMS. Based on a case study conducted in a manufacturing company that produces advanced automated production systems, this paper examines issues related to dimensioning of product support for advanced industrial products. The focus is mainly on the investigating engineering factors/parameters that influence product support strategy. In the case study, we examine various approaches and methods to integrate RAMS in combination with LCC in design work processes to arrive at the most cost effective product support strategy for industrial systems and components. Various aspects of product support strategies for functional products where the customer buys only the performance, not the physical product is studied and analyzed. In the conventional product scenario, the manufacturer benefits from selling support services, whilst this profit generating process becomes a cost and liability in the functional product scenario. It is concluded that the product support strategy for functional products will differ considerably compared to that for conventional products.