8. Total cost of ownership

In the context of economic globalization, companies are increasingly obliged to adopt a global and systemic vision in their strategies, in order to master the various levers that enable them to remain competitive. Over the past few decades, new concepts and software have been developed for both large companies and small and medium-sized businesses, enabling them to minimize not only their production costs, but also the total cost of ownership of their investments over their entire lifecycle. The notion of the cost of ownership of an industrial process transforming materials or providing services is perceived very differently depending on whether we're talking about a mass-market consumer product or a high-speed train or a turnkey power plant. Carrying out an overall cost of ownership study involves estimating how much a customer will spend to acquire, use, maintain and dispose of a fleet...