The four levers behind every RTLS business case.
First-pass models capture the dominant value drivers. Custom models we build during a strategy call layer on workflow-specific KPIs — OEE, bed turn, perfect order rate, FOD events — tied to your own data.
1 · Time recovered
Hunt-time per FTE × number of FTEs × working days. The single largest line item in most healthcare and tool-control programmes.
2 · Loss avoided
Annual shrinkage and walk-off, reduced by visibility. Typical reductions of 50–80% on the previously "lost" portion of the fleet.
3 · Utilisation uplift
Better visibility increases effective fleet size. Capex avoidance — you don't need to buy more pumps, tugs, or pallets if the existing ones are findable and reachable.
4 · Workflow uplift
OEE, bed turn, dock dwell, cycle time — the workflow-specific gain that's unique to your operation. Modelled separately in the custom version.
Building a CFO-credible locating business case
Locating ROI collapses when models only count tag price and ignore search labour, shrinkage, utilisation-driven CapEx avoidance, and workflow KPIs (OEE, bed turn, dock dwell, FOD events). The calculator exposes the four dominant levers; custom models add the fifth — your workflow-specific uplift — with sensitivity on adoption and accuracy degradation.
Use scenario presets as conversation starters, not as promises. Hospital pump fleets, WIP plants and 3PL DCs have different dominant levers. Replace every default with your time-motion or finance-validated inputs before investment committee.
Challenge vendor ROI slides that assume 100% adoption on day 30, zero false alerts, and no opex for battery changes or survey rework. Haircut aggressively; re-run NPV.
Competitive context: where payback usually appears
Healthcare equipment programmes often pay back first on labour and utilisation. Retail item RFID payback rides accuracy-driven sales and count labour. Automotive/JIS cases hinge on stoppage avoidance and containment speed. Safety programmes (mustering, collision avoidance) need dual framing: risk reduction plus operational time — pure fatality-ROI rhetoric rarely survives governance alone.
We keep models vendor-neutral. Technology fit tips in the calculator are heuristics from environment and accuracy need — not a product push. Confirm with RF reality on your floor.
For regulated overlays, include validation and compliance labour in opex. Part 11 and ATEX programmes that omit those lines look cheaper until stage 2.
From first-pass model to gated investment
Stage 1 should leave you with a tailored model, baseline measurement plan, and gate criteria that unlock further spend. If finance only sees a vendor calculator, you do not yet have a business case — you have a brochure with cells.
Bring your labour rates, loss rates and utilisation guesses to a scoping call; we will show which lever actually moves your NPV.
Sensitivity, adoption and the honesty checks finance expects
Run sensitivities on adoption (50/75/100%), accuracy degradation year 2–3, and SLA escalation. Safety programmes should show operational time savings alongside risk narratives. Regulated programmes must include validation labour.
Compare vendor-provided ROI to this model line by line. Delta rows usually hide opex and integration. Present both to the investment committee.
We build custom models in stage 1 tied to your time-motion or WMS/EHR extracts — calculator presets are not the deliverable.
Extended ROI advisory for locating programmes
Finance stakeholders increasingly reject single-point ROI. Give them ranges, sensitivities and explicit assumptions. Separate labour, shrinkage, utilisation and workflow uplift so each can be challenged. If a vendor only offers a blended '3.2× ROI', ask for the unlocked model.
Healthcare: search minutes and fleet utilisation dominate; be careful with patient-flow benefits until PHI design is approved. Manufacturing: search + stoppage + containment speed. Logistics: dwell, miss-ship, count labour. Safety: pair risk reduction with operational time — pure moral ROI rarely clears CapEx alone.
Include negative cases: what if adoption is 60%? What if accuracy drifts after layout changes? What if SLA Gold is required in year two? Honest models build trust; heroic models create clawback politics later.
Competitive dynamic: OEM calculators often omit integration and compliance labour. Put those lines in yourself. Independent models are part of why gate-governed programmes survive investment committees.
Next step after the on-page calculator: extract two weeks of hunt-time or WMS exception data and we will rebuild the model with your finance partner on a scoping call.
Last updated: 13 September 2026