Total Cost of Ownership & Cost Benefit Analysis

by: Carlo Ciotti PVC4Cables
In a complex period like the one we are experiencing at a global level, the issue of cost control is
crucial for any product at every stage of its life, from purchase to maintenance, up to disposal and
recycling.
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)—the methodology evaluating the economic performance of
materials—is considered the most effective method to provide an analysis of the users’ monetary
costs throughout the products’ lifetime.
TCO is therefore a ‘customer-centric’ analysis aimed to account for the difference between the
purchase price of something and its long-term cost.
The TCO methodology is increasingly used in public procurement, and it is considered highly
relevant, in perspective, also by primary companies operating in the cable sector.
For this reason, PVC4Cables commissioned the expert consultancy firm, Althesys, an analysis of PVC
cables’ competitiveness, through assessing the cost savings resulting from the use of PVC, instead
of the main functional alternatives, along its entire lifetime. The study analyzed the most common
alternative cables (a 100 m long cable suitable for Low Voltage connections) for residential
buildings, industrial buildings, and telecommunication, in France, Germany and Italy.