Challenges for Managing Component Obsolescence in Long Life Products Through the Product Development Lifecycle

Abstract

Producers of low volume, long life products must utilize the latest commercial, off the shelf (COTS) components in order to meet cutting edge technological needs. These COTS components often have a primary use in the high volume commercial markets (e.g. smart phones) which are characterized by short product lifecycles to satisfy consumer needs and remain competitive. Consequently, the two to three year lifecycles of these products tend to heavily influence the lifecycle of the components inside. Most tactical military products (as an example of low volume, long life products) have a very long design, production and support period that can often exceed ten years. Given the lifecycle mismatch between the products and components, an obsolescence management process is essential in order for a producer of low volume, long life products to effectively manage obsolescence in their product line. In this paper, the obsolescence management strategies are reviewed to identify best practices and recommendations that can improve a company’s ability to deal with obsolescence, sometimes called DMSMS (Diminishing manufacturing sources and material shortages), though the terms are not strictly interchangeable. This is achieved not only through a comprehensive literature review but also through a series of case studies from different companies. These validate findings from literature and provide a realistic perspective on the challenge to manage obsolescence, during the product development lifecycle.