In January 1992, a subcommittee of the Sales and Marketing Executive Council (SMECS) of SEMI (Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International) received a charter to explore the issue and growing role of cost-of-ownership (COO) analysis in the semiconductor equipment and materials industry. One of the subcommittee's objectives was to raise the level of awareness of COO analysis within the equipment sales and marketing community, especially with regard to the use, value, and potential impact of COO models in product definition and selling. This article examines the COO analysis technique from that perspective and advises marketing management and equipment and materials marketers about how COO modeling can affect their businesses.