What Is TCO?
Total Cost of Ownership accounts for every cost associated with a bearing over its full lifecycle: purchase price, shipping, storage, installation labour, lubricant, monitoring equipment, planned maintenance, unplanned downtime (lost production + emergency labour + expedited parts), and disposal.
TCO Approach at SMS Bearings
SMS Bearings helps customers move from price-based purchasing to TCO-based decisions. A genuine SKF or Timken bearing may cost more upfront but delivers lower TCO through longer life, better reliability, and reduced downtime. See our Bearing Selection Guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is TCO more important than purchase price?
A bearing's purchase price is typically only 10% of its total cost of ownership. The remaining 90% comes from installation labour, lubrication consumables, condition monitoring, downtime costs when it fails, and replacement labour. A premium bearing costing 30% more may deliver 3x longer life, dramatically reducing TCO.