ABB’s products are designed for continuous evolution. It is ABB’s goal to protect our customers’ investment beyond the life-cycles of the underlying platform products.
Four stages define life-cycle policy for all ABB medium voltage products:
1. Active
2. Restricted
3. Legacy
4. Obsolete.
Product Life Cycle Stage | Available Services |
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Active |
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- Released for sale
- In full manufacture by factory
- Actively promoted in assigned markets
- Available to all customers
- Fully supported both technically and via after sales network
- Periodically enhanced through R&D or product improvements
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- Long-term support thanks to "Customer Support Agreements"
- Extended warranty application.
- Worldwide Service competence, ready for prompt actuation.
- Certified ABB spare parts ready in stock to guarantee their availability throughout the product life time (active, restricted and legacy stages).
|
Restricted |
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- Product is no longer promoted by the sales force (6 months after new product release)
- Product will be phased out
- 12 months prior to any "Manufacturing End" declaration, ABB will announce the phase-out
- Product still available for sale - mainly for expansions of existing systems, supply under frame agreements, in the case of space constrains, required functionality not yet covered by the new product, license agreements
- No further enhancements and developments
- Production continues in factory or might already be outsourced
|
- “Last Buy” opportunity of complete equipment.
- Good chance to obtain spare parts as per active products conditions.
- Best time to keep switchgear healthy via “Customer Support Agreements”.
- Call for training with wide coverage thanks to worldwide footprint still available.
|
Legacy |
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- Product is withdrawn from sale and no longer promoted by the sales force
- Retrofit and Service support continues through the responsible hub but may diminish over time with decreasing installed base
- Price increase (e.g. due to lower volume, vendor component costs, etc.)
- There are no further R&D or design activities on the product
- Product is no longer manufactured by the factory
|
- Complete new devices and spare parts still available on request.
- Retrofit solutions can already be applied.
- “Customer Support Agreements” designed to keep the service experience as per active products.
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Obsolete |
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- Product withdrawn from sales
- Product that is no longer owned by ABB due to disinvestments
- Product where manufacturing capability is no longer possible
- No longer manufactured as a complete product; only component spares and retrofit solutions available
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- Spare parts could be still accessible on request.
- Retrofit solutions are usually available. The use of active products allows a new life to be given to the plants.
- Our consultancy services are always available for supporting your cost-effective and optimized investments. Special care is given to obtain a soft shift to new applications and solutions.
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