--- title: "Parts Attach Rate Starts in the Quote: Obsolescence & TCO" description: Parts attach rate starts in the quote. PMMI found 85% of buyers price obsolescence into TCO while 41% of OEMs never quote it. image: https://envalo.com/hubfs/AI-Generated%20Media/Images/Industrial%20Parts%20Schematic%20On%20Tablet%20With%20Orange%20Hotspots.png --- [Skip to main content](https://envalo.com/resources/blog/parts-attach-rate-obsolescence-in-the-quote/#main-content) [![Envalo](https://envalo.com/hs-fs/hubfs/sr-envalo/images/Envalo.png?width=96&height=32&name=Envalo.png) ![Envalo](https://envalo.com/hs-fs/hubfs/sr-envalo/images/Envalo.png?width=96&height=32&name=Envalo.png) ![Envalo](https://envalo.com/hs-fs/hubfs/sr-envalo/images/Envalo.png?width=96&height=32&name=Envalo.png) ![Envalo](https://envalo.com/hs-fs/hubfs/sr-envalo/images/Envalo.png?width=96&height=32&name=Envalo.png)](https://envalo.com) - [Show submenu for Solutions Solutions](https://envalo.com/solutions) - [Interactive Parts Solution (enIPS)](https://envalo.com/solutions/interactive-parts-schematics) - [Product Information Management (PIM)](https://envalo.com/solutions/product-information-management) - [Integrated Data Layer (IDL)](https://envalo.com/solutions/integrated-data-layer) - [Managed Services](https://envalo.com/solutions/managed-services) - [Industries](https://envalo.com/industries) - [How It Works](https://envalo.com/how-it-works) - [Pricing](https://envalo.com/pricing) - [Show submenu for Resources Resources](https://envalo.com/customers/enerco-integrated-customer-service-portal) - [Our Work](https://envalo.com/our-work) - [Our Insights](https://envalo.com/resources/blog) - [Case Studies](https://envalo.com/our-work) - [About](https://envalo.com/about) Open main navigation Close main navigation - Show submenu for Solutions Solutions - Solutions - [Solutions](https://envalo.com/solutions) - [Interactive Parts Solution (enIPS)](https://envalo.com/solutions/interactive-parts-schematics) - [Product Information Management (PIM)](https://envalo.com/solutions/product-information-management) - [Integrated Data Layer (IDL)](https://envalo.com/solutions/integrated-data-layer) - [Managed Services](https://envalo.com/solutions/managed-services) - [Industries](https://envalo.com/industries) - [How It Works](https://envalo.com/how-it-works) - [Pricing](https://envalo.com/pricing) - Show submenu for Resources Resources - Resources - [Resources](https://envalo.com/customers/enerco-integrated-customer-service-portal) - [Our Work](https://envalo.com/our-work) - [Our Insights](https://envalo.com/resources/blog) - [Case Studies](https://envalo.com/our-work) - [About](https://envalo.com/about) - [Pricing](https://envalo.com/pricing) [Request a Demo](https://envalo.com/request-a-demo) [Pricing](https://envalo.com/pricing) [Request a Demo](https://envalo.com/request-a-demo) # Parts Attach Rate Starts in the Quote: Obsolescence & TCO by [Michael Moores](https://envalo.com/resources/blog/author/michael-moores) ![Parts Attach Rate Starts in the Quote: Obsolescence & TCO](https://envalo.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AI-Generated%20Media/Images/Industrial%20Parts%20Schematic%20On%20Tablet%20With%20Orange%20Hotspots.png?width=1200&height=820&name=Industrial%20Parts%20Schematic%20On%20Tablet%20With%20Orange%20Hotspots.png) ### **Your Customer Budgets for Obsolescence. Your Quote Doesn't Mention It.** Parts attach rate, the share of a machine's lifetime parts spending that comes back to the OEM that built it, starts in the quote. PMMI's 2026 Managing Obsolescence report found 85% of end users factor obsolescence into total cost of ownership at least some of the time. Yet 41% of OEMs never include it in their estimates. So the buyer is putting a number on obsolescence before signing, and four OEMs in ten supply no part of it. The report, published in July 2026, is built on 190 surveys of end users, OEMs and component manufacturers plus 14 in-depth interviews. ##### **Do buyers really price obsolescence into the machines they buy?** Most do, and more often than the OEMs selling to them. In OEM Magazine's September 2026 account of the study, 27% of end users said they regularly build obsolescence into total cost of ownership, against 14% of OEMs. Another 20% of end users do it about half the time, a habit 1% of OEMs reported. Only 7% of end users never do. The public summary does not give each group's size, and these are self-reported habits, not matched buyers and suppliers. If the estimate isn't coming from the OEM, it comes from the plant's own history, usually the last machine that stranded them. The cost lands in replacement parts, overhaul kits, downtime and, eventually, the next equipment purchase. An OEM that says nothing about obsolescence doesn't avoid the subject. It gets priced on someone else's worst experience. ##### **What do customers want from the OEM at the sale?** A plan, and most aren't offered one. Resource Recycling's August 2026 coverage of the report found about three-quarters of end users would be interested in an up-front package to address future obsolescence, while about two-thirds of manufacturers offer none. Manufacturers told the researchers why: obsolescence is uncertain and strategies vary, so a package is hard to build. The report's authors suggested a middle path, such as a pre-set service agreement or an overhaul kit. The same coverage found only 11% of end users and 17% of manufacturers have a formal, consistent process for obsolescence at all. An OEM that brings one to the quote is offering something most competitors don't. ##### **Can an OEM actually estimate obsolescence?** Approximately, yes, because obsolescence runs on two clocks and both can be read. The first is physical. Notification lead times are typically three years or less, according to the report, and OEM Magazine's September 18 article says most component manufacturers keep obsolete backstock for three years or less. Once a drive or sensor is discontinued, the customer has a short window for a last-time buy before the options narrow to a conversion kit or a broker. The second is digital, and it has no shelf. Obsolete software can't be stocked and pulled when a machine fails, the same article notes. It also cascades. OEM Magazine's August 28 piece relays an OEM engineer describing how one failed I/O card became a full controls upgrade, because the replacement hardware wouldn't run the old firmware. The machine outlives both clocks. Fifty-two percent of end users told PMMI that obsolescence events have increased over the last five years. ##### **What should a lifecycle line in a quote include?** Not a forecast to the dollar. Five things the OEM already knows or can find out: 1. **Recommended spares** for the machine as configured, with wear items separated from the purchased components most exposed to discontinuation. 2. **Component status today**: active, on last-time-buy notice, or already superseded. 3. **Conversion kits** that exist and the ones planned. As Part 1 of this series showed, most OEMs build them and fewer than half of end users report using them \[internal: Part 1, confirm live slug\]. 4. **Firmware end-of-support dates**, where the supplier has published them. 5. **How the customer will be kept current** after the machine ships. The last item is the one a quote can't do alone. A lifecycle line is accurate the day it is printed. Two years later a drive's status changes, and the customer finds out either from the OEM's parts record or from a failed order. A quote that promises lifecycle information and a parts book that never changes after shipment contradict each other. ##### **How does a lifecycle line raise parts attach rate?** The customer who got a spares list, a component status and a kit number at the sale knows where the next part comes from. The customer who got none of it searches the old part number online. Parts attach rate is won or lost that way, one lookup at a time, years after the salesperson has moved on \[internal: Post 8, Self-Service Gap\]. The margin is why it matters. Deloitte's 2020 interviews with 35 North American and European manufacturing leaders put aftermarket operating margin at about 2.5 times new equipment, and McKinsey's 2017 analysis across 30 industries found aftermarket EBIT of 25% against 10% for new equipment \[internal: Post 9, Aftermarket Margin\]. Both are global and dated; they are cited together because they agree. Eighty-five percent of buyers are already estimating what obsolescence will cost them. The OEM can supply the estimate or be the subject of it. Tags: [eCommerce,](https://envalo.com/resources/blog/tag/ecommerce) [Interactive Parts Schematic App,](https://envalo.com/resources/blog/tag/interactive-parts-schematic-app) [Online Parts Catalog](https://envalo.com/resources/blog/tag/online-parts-catalog) **[Michael Moores](https://envalo.com/resources/blog/author/michael-moores)** Oct 28, 2026 Michael Moores is the Founder and CEO of Envalo, Inc., an eBusiness solutions company he started in 2012 to give small and mid-market manufacturers a way to compete on customer experience without enterprise-level budgets. Before Envalo, Michael held product and technology leadership roles at companies including Briteskies, PreEmptive Solutions, and Inspherion, bringing close to 20 years in B2B eCommerce and product development to the work he does today. Michael is a graduate of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program at Cuyahoga Community College. He leads Envalo's work building Interactive Parts Schematics and the broader enVent Suite — tools that turn static parts catalogs into live, ERP-connected ordering experiences for dealers and field technicians. What drives him is a straightforward conviction: mid-market manufacturers shouldn't have to choose between modern systems and healthy margins. He's spent his career building the systems that let them have both. [Email me](mailto:michael.moores@envalo.com) [Follow me on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jmichaelmoores/) Test ## FAQ ### What is parts attach rate? Parts attach rate is the share of a machine’s lifetime replacement-parts spending that goes back to the OEM that built it. It is decided one order at a time over years, and each order tends to go to whoever makes the right part easiest to identify and buy. ### How do you include obsolescence in total cost of ownership? Add a lifecycle line to the quote: recommended spares, the current status of the purchased components most exposed to discontinuation, available conversion kits, and published firmware end-of-support dates. Approximate figures are fine. The point is that the estimate comes from the OEM, not the buyer’s worst past experience. ### What is an up-front obsolescence package? An offer made at the sale to cover future obsolescence, such as a pre-set service agreement, an overhaul kit or a planned component strategy. In PMMI’s 2026 research, about three-quarters of end users said they would be interested, while about two-thirds of manufacturers offered none. ### How long are discontinued machine components available? Often not long. PMMI’s 2026 research found notification lead times are typically three years or less, and most component manufacturers keep obsolete backstock for three years or less. Software has no backstock at all, so firmware end-of-support dates matter as much as hardware notices. ### What is a last-time buy? A final purchase of a discontinued component before the supplier stops selling it. An OEM that passes last-time-buy notices to its customers gives them time to stock spares before the part disappears, and gives them a reason to place that order with the OEM. ## See it on one of your machines Bring one machine you’ve built or support. In 10 minutes, we’ll show you every supplier’s components on one clickable schematic, matched to that unit’s serial number, with the parts list your techs would see on their phone. [Book 10 minutes](https://envalo.com/request-a-demo) ##### Categories - [eCommerce](https://envalo.com/resources/blog/tag/ecommerce) - [Interactive Parts Schematic App](https://envalo.com/resources/blog/tag/interactive-parts-schematic-app) - [Featured Post](https://envalo.com/resources/blog/tag/featured-post) - [Online Parts Catalog](https://envalo.com/resources/blog/tag/online-parts-catalog) - [Uncategorized](https://envalo.com/resources/blog/tag/uncategorized) ##### Recent Posts - [You Didn’t Build the Machine. You Still Own the Phone Call.](https://envalo.com/resources/blog/spare-parts-documentation-integrators/) - [Who Carries the Schematic After the Manufacturer Stops?](https://envalo.com/resources/blog/obsolete-components-integrator-documentation/) - [Nobody Publishes the Long Tail](https://envalo.com/resources/blog/obsolete-parts-catalog-long-tail/) - [The Dealer Portal Opportunity: How Interactive Parts Catalog Software Gives Your Channel a Direct Line to Parts, Pricing, and Documentation](https://envalo.com/resources/blog/dealer-portal-interactive-parts-catalog-software) ## Related Articles [![You Didn’t Build the Machine. You Still Own the Phone Call.](https://envalo.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AI-Generated%20Media/Images/Workshop%20Table%20With%20Tablet%20And%20Legacy%20Parts%20Catalog.png?width=500&height=500&name=Workshop%20Table%20With%20Tablet%20And%20Legacy%20Parts%20Catalog.png) You Didn’t Build the Machine. You Still Own the Phone Call. Ask an integrator why they bother writing a recommended ...](https://envalo.com/resources/blog/spare-parts-documentation-integrators/) [![Who Carries the Schematic After the Manufacturer Stops?](https://envalo.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AI-Generated%20Media/Images/Technician%20Interacting%20With%20Interactive%20Industrial%20Schematic%20On%20Tablet.png?width=500&height=500&name=Technician%20Interacting%20With%20Interactive%20Industrial%20Schematic%20On%20Tablet.png) Who Carries the Schematic After the Manufacturer Stops? Why are parts and service carrying the dealer business ...](https://envalo.com/resources/blog/obsolete-components-integrator-documentation/) [![Envalo](https://envalo.com/hs-fs/hubfs/sr-envalo/images/footer-logo.png?width=176&height=59&name=footer-logo.png)](https://envalo.com) A Dynamic Parts Platform for Manufacturers - - [Solutions](https://envalo.com/solutions) - [Industries](https://envalo.com/industries) - [Our Work](https://envalo.com/our-work) - - [Our Insights](https://envalo.com/resources/blog) - [Careers](https://envalo.com/careers) - [Contact](https://envalo.com/contact) ###### Connect with Us - [![Twitter](https://envalo.com/hs-fs/hubfs/sr-envalo/images/twitter.png?width=24&height=24&name=twitter.png) X-Twitter](https://twitter.com/Envalo_Inc) - [![Linkedin](https://envalo.com/hs-fs/hubfs/sr-envalo/images/linkedin.png?width=24&height=24&name=linkedin.png) Linkedin](https://www.linkedin.com/company/envalo/) - [![Facebook](https://envalo.com/hs-fs/hubfs/sr-envalo/images/facebook.png?width=24&height=24&name=facebook.png) Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/EnvaloInc) ©envalo. All rights reserved. [Terms of Service](https://envalo.com/terms-of-service) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Michael Moores", "url" : "https://envalo.com/resources/blog/author/michael-moores" }, "dateModified" : "2026-10-28T20:05:10.589Z", "datePublished" : "2026-10-28T19:50:04.000Z", "headline" : "Parts Attach Rate Starts in the Quote: Obsolescence & TCO", "image" : [ "https://envalo.com/hubfs/AI-Generated%20Media/Images/Industrial%20Parts%20Schematic%20On%20Tablet%20With%20Orange%20Hotspots.png" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://envalo.com/resources/blog/parts-attach-rate-obsolescence-in-the-quote/", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://envalo.com/hubfs/Full%20Color%20Logo.jpg" } } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "Person", "description" : "Michael Moores is the Founder and CEO of Envalo, Inc., an eBusiness solutions company he started in 2012 to give small and mid-market manufacturers a way to compete on customer experience without enterprise-level budgets. Before Envalo, Michael held product and technology leadership roles at companies including Briteskies, PreEmptive Solutions, and Inspherion, bringing close to 20 years in B2B eCommerce and product development to the work he does today. Michael is a graduate of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program at Cuyahoga Community College. He leads Envalo's work building Interactive Parts Schematics and the broader enVent Suite — tools that turn static parts catalogs into live, ERP-connected ordering experiences for dealers and field technicians. What drives him is a straightforward conviction: mid-market manufacturers shouldn't have to choose between modern systems and healthy margins. He's spent his career building the systems that let them have both.", "email" : "michael.moores@envalo.com", "name" : "Michael Moores", "sameAs" : [ "https://www.linkedin.com/in/jmichaelmoores/" ], "url" : "https://envalo.com/resources/blog/author/michael-moores" } ```