Benefits to consumers and manufacturers
Consumers
The benefits to end-users are clear; instead of replacing a defective product it can be repaired at less cost by the user itself or a third party. This reduces not only cost but also waste and environmental impact.
Manufacturers
Manufacturers may be hesitant to make the changes required to improve repairability because they fear increasing prices and decreasing revenues. However, I believe the long-term benefits outweigh the short-term disadvantages.
Making products easier to repair makes the product more attractive to potential customers and improves customer satisfaction. For sure, repairability will be an important consideration when choosing my next coffee maker.
Performing repairs almost always requires spare parts, so making products more repairable increases the market for spare parts and provides opportunities to companies that manage to setup an efficient service supply chain to sell more spares with a healthy profit margin.
Waste and the associated effect on the environment are a growing concern for many people. Because improving repairability reduces waste it contributes to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). CSR is becoming more and more important to customers and may even be a deciding factor when competing for public tenders.
While some customers may prefer to execute repairs themselves, most customers simply want their products to work. Applying the right to repair principles reduces the cost of repair, not only for customers, but also for the manufacturers themselves. This in turn makes it easier and more lucrative to offer service contracts to customers.
