Reducing control panel lifecycle costs without sacrificing quality requires a panel-centric MRO strategy built on reliable, serviceable, and standardized components. RS supports these strategies with an extensive selection of high-quality, industrial-grade control panel components, expert technical support, and value-added services.

FORT WORTH, Texas, June 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — RS, a high-service global product and service solutions provider for industrial customers, supports panel-centric MRO strategies with an extensive selection of high-quality standardized, serviceable control panel components engineered, tested, and proven to reduce industrial control panel lifecycle costs without sacrificing quality or performance.

The high downstream cost of “low-cost” control panel components

Control panels are indispensable for industrial automation — integrating the power distribution, control logic, motor switching, and industrial communications components that essentially serve as the brains and central nervous systems of these systems within a single protected enclosure. When these systems fail, unplanned downtime quickly escalates beyond the cabinet itself. Equipment stops, diagnostics are lost, and recovery efforts often cascade across production lines and critical infrastructure, which can result in 5–20% reductions in overall productive capacity with costs compounding as operational complexity increases.

Despite these risks, conventional MRO cost-reduction efforts frequently focus on reducing upfront component prices. But while lower-priced relays, power supplies, contactors, and networking hardware may provide short-term savings, they often increase total cost of ownership (TCO) through premature failures, prolonged troubleshooting cycles, emergency repairs, and spare-parts proliferation.

Sustainable MRO savings depends on control panel simplification and standardization — not reactive fixes that introduce long‑term inefficiency. This is especially true given industrial organizations’ growing reliance on stable electrical and communication infrastructure. As facilities become more automated, networked, and data-driven, even intermittent faults can require repeated maintenance and negatively impact productive capacity. And these increasingly dynamic industrial uptime demands don’t exist in a vacuum; they have to be balanced against persistent skilled labor shortages and procurement constraints, ranging from tight budgets to logistics and administrative inefficiencies.

Panel-centric standardization drives real MRO cost savings without sacrificing quality

RS supports sustainable MRO lifecycle savings by helping industrial customers adopt panel-centric strategies that prioritize high‑quality standardized, serviceable control panel components proven to facilitate simple, repeatable, and proactive maintenance processes in discrete and process manufacturing, energy and utilities, and facilities and intralogistics operations. Popular selections from the RS portfolio include:

RS PRO power relays and relay sockets. Designed to support standardized, serviceable control panel architectures across a wide range of industrial applications, this broad range of electromechanical and solid-state relays, sockets, and accessories delivers dependable switching performance that reduces downtime risk and is widely available from stock, ensuring long-term supply continuity. Their standardized form factors and socketed installation options simplify MRO processes, support cleaner panel layouts, and reduce spare parts complexity across facilities to help keep lifecycle costs low while maintaining the high quality and reliability modern automation systems demand.

Phoenix Contact QUINT POWER power supplies. Designed to maximize system uptime, these power supplies support all load situations and DC fuse types and feature preventive function monitoring, static and dynamic boost, and power reserve capabilities, selective fuse breaking (SFB) technology, integrated gas discharge tubes, and more than 20ms of mains failure buffer time to prevent failures and provide a high level of immunity to electrical disturbances. They also feature robust metal housings with primary-switched topologies for galvanic isolation and a wide range of rated operating temperatures (-40°C to +70°C) to ensure optimal performance in harsh industrial environments and satisfy SIL functional safety requirements to ensure reliable performance and standards compliance. Additionally, select models support fieldbus communications and IO-Link protocols that facilitate access to diagnostic data, reduce troubleshooting expenses, and improve system availability.

Schneider Electric TeSys Deca contactors. Designed to facilitate Industry 4.0 digitalization and electrification trends, these durable, standardized contactors feature form factors that are easy to integrate into motor starters and control circuits, up to 20% smaller than competing solutions, and ruggedized for harsh environments with up to 98% humidity and temperatures as high as 70°C. They feature front-facing control circuits for enhanced wiring accessibility and precision, user-friendly one-click connection technology that slashes installation time by 75%, EverLink main power connections that mitigate the loosening effects of shock or vibration, wide-band coil technology capable of accepting 24–500VAC/DC inputs, and safety features designed to mitigate fire risks. This range is also compatible with auxiliary contacts, overload relays, and connection accessories, which helps reduce part variation across machines and facilities, ease replacement, and simplify spare‑parts strategies. Additional advantages include up to 80% greater energy efficiency, up to 69% carbon savings per unit, and 15% operational cost savings all backed by rigorous testing.

Moxa EDS-205 Series unmanaged Industrial Ethernet switches. Designed to reduce communication-related faults at the cabinet level, these compact, rugged, and reliable entry-level switches provide robust protection against shock, vibration, EMI, overload currents, and reverse polarity. They also accelerate fault isolation, improve MRO processes, and deliver dependable connectivity without the overhead of managed networks. They support 10/100 Mb/s communication across five RJ45 ports that automatically negotiate transmission speeds and support full and half-duplex, medium-dependent interface (MDI), and MDI-crossover (MDIX) functionality, which helps simplify installation and minimize setup errors. Their IP30, DIN-rail-mounted housings are equipped with LED status indicators for visual diagnostics and a removable three-contact terminal block that helps optimize space, simplify troubleshooting, support prewiring and hot swapping, and enable fast maintenance and replacement. They also offer broadcast storm protection, which prevents network failures caused by excessive, looping broadcast traffic, exhibit low power consumption (0.77W max.), which enables efficient control panel designs, and support store‑and‑forward switching, which improves data integrity and helps maintain stable network performance.

Partner with RS to reduce your MRO spend without sacrificing quality

Reducing control panel lifecycle costs without sacrificing quality requires a panel‑centric MRO strategy built on reliable, serviceable, and standardized components. Selecting high-quality, industrial-grade relays, AC/DC power supplies, contactors, and Industrial Ethernet switches can help your industrial MRO teams reduce the risk of downtime, simplify and speed up maintenance, and achieve predictable long‑term performance.

RS supports panel-centric MRO strategies with an extensive portfolio of field‑tested and proven control panel components from trusted suppliers, including cost‑effective RS PRO products designed to deliver industrial-grade reliability and durability. RS also supports panel-centric MRO strategies by helping organizations streamline purchasing and inventory management with its integrated eProcurement services that reduce administrative effort and purchasing friction; are compatible with all major platforms, including Oracle, SAP, and Ariba; and offer round‑trip punchout, electronic catalogs, and electronic PO and invoice delivery — all supported by a dedicated team of RS experts.

For more information about cost‑effective industrial control panel solutions from RS — including RS PRO power relays and relay sockets, Phoenix Contact QUINT POWER power supplies, Schneider Electric TeSys Deca contactors, and Moxa EDS‑205 series unmanaged Ethernet switches — visit the links embedded here and check out the new RS Expert Advice article, “Simplify industrial control panel MRO without sacrificing quality” by Jeff Clonts, the Technical Product Support Manager for Value-Added Solutions at RS. For more information about industrial control panels, check out other relevant RS Expert Advice content. For assistance identifying, standardizing, procuring, and maintaining control panel solutions sure to simplify your MRO without sacrificing quality, please contact your local RS representative at 1.866.433.5722 or reach out to the RS technical support team.

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About RS
RS is a high-service global product and service solutions provider for industrial customers, enabling them to operate efficiently and sustainably. We operate in 33 markets, stock over 875,000 industrial and specialist products, and list an additional five million relevant for our industrial customers, sourced from over 2,500 suppliers. This extensive range supports our customers across the industrial lifecycle of designing, building, and maintaining equipment and operations. We enhance their experience through a tailored service model, leveraging our efficient physical, digital, and process infrastructure sustainably. We combine a technically led and digitally enabled approach with an exceptional team of experts; ultimately, it’s our people that make the difference. Our purpose, making amazing happen for a better world, reflects our focus on delivering results for people, planet, and profit. 

RS Group plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange with stock ticker RS1, and in the year ended March 31, 2026, reported revenue of $3,871.07 million. For more information, please visit https://www.rsgroup.com/ or connect with us on LinkedIn or X (Twitter).

About RS in the Americas 
In the Americas region, RS stocks more than 250,000 industrial and electronic products from more than 700 trusted suppliers. These solutions cover categories extending from automation and control equipment to interconnect, passive, active, and electromechanical components and include more than 90,000 high-quality, competitively priced RS PRO products. For more information, please visit https://us.rs-online.com or connect with us via social media on LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube.

Editorial Contact & Media Inquiries:
Laurie Tortorello, Director of People & Culture Communications, RS Americas
Laurie.Tortorello@rsgroup.com

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