OPEX Concept
OPEX is the English acronym for Operational Expenditure and that designates the amount of money used to maintain in operation the capital goods of a company, namely the equipments and facilities. So, OPEX is the cost continuously spent to maintain the production of a product or service to keep a business or a determined system running. As opposed, CAPEX, refers to the cost of development or supply of own capital goods or non consumable parts of the system, needed for the production and to maintain the business or service running. For example, the purchase of a machine is CAPEX, while the costs with its maintenance are OPEX. OPEX can also include the cost with the employees that work with the machine and others directly associated to its operation such as the consumables.
Many times and due to different reasons, companies find themselves in the need to switch CAPEX by OPEX and vice versa. A way to reduce CAPEX by counterpart of OPEX is the resource to outsourcing and the renting of equipments and facilities. The most evident advantages of this switch are the rise in cost flexibility and the reduction of financing needs (that now are more diluted in time). A disadvantage can be the costs raise.
