Discussion Page - Idea 73

#73: Focus on Solution

If there is one thing in the World that really wakes me up in the middle of the night is planned obsolescence.

I'm talking about when you buy a blender for example, and it brokes up a day after the warranty. 

The World can survive if it gets rid of this practice. It is true that to some extent, overproducing goods do generate new working opportunities. But it abuses the natural resources to such an extent that our grandsons will be plungled into war fighting for the scrapes left.

It really does something that I consider completely unnaceptable. People no longer perfect their products. Isn't it a lot more cool for a lamp to last a century than two years? Doesn't that make the engineer a lot more proud?

Sorry, I got carried away in this.

The idea is a business model that focus on offering solutions, not products. 

Let's give an example. I shave myself every other day. So I buy a razorblade that lasts for about a year, and a packaging of two blades every two months. The blades cost roughly as much as the razorblade [something quite misterious]. 

Shaving for me is not a sport. I just get it done and get on with life. Most of the time dread doing it. So I'm really all the interested in the shaving solution. I don't care if my razorblade has airplane aerodynamics.

This is the essence of the idea. There are products in life we don't really care about. 

A company approaches me and offers: I'll sell you a shaving solution, a razorblade and periodical blade refils.  When your blade brokes down, I'll send you a new one. There will be certain conditions such as you'll pay extra if you ask them before some time. You will pay a monthly subscription. I'll work, in my factory, to make a blade that lasts the longest, because now it is my interest to do so. 

Of course the numbers need to tailored to make this work. The subscription price needs to return a profit equivalent to what companies earn today with obsolescense. But it would make a world of difference to the environment and to our future.

BANNER IMAGE CREDITS: NASA, ESA and Allison Loll/Jeff Hester (Arizona State University). Acknowledgement: Davide De Martin (ESA/Hubble)