Which technologies do you consult on?

All of the major location, identification and IoT technologies: RTLS (UWB, BLE, Wi-Fi), RFID (passive, active and RAIN UHF), industrial IoT and sensors, GPS and GNSS, AGV and AMR robot fleets, and hybrid stacks that combine them. We recommend the right mix for each zone and use case, not a single technology.

Are you really vendor-neutral?

Yes. We do not sell hardware or a software platform of our own, and we take no resale commissions, so our technology and vendor recommendations serve your outcome rather than a product we need to move.

Do you work outside the UK?

We are UK-based and work across Europe and internationally, delivering in English, German and French. Engagements can be remote or on-site depending on the work.

What does a consulting engagement include?

Typically discovery and requirements, vendor-neutral technology selection, vendor evaluation and RFP support, ROI and business case, solution architecture, and an implementation roadmap. We scope each engagement to where you are.

Can you help after the decision is made?

Yes. We work across the full lifecycle - we can also deploy, integrate, and operate the system, so you can keep one independent team from business case through to live operation.

How do we get started?

Usually with a short call or a fixed-fee discovery to scope the problem, followed by a proposal with clear deliverables, timeline and fees. There is no obligation and no platform pitch.

Is the TCO model really vendor-neutral?

Yes — it's structured to expose costs regardless of vendor. Vendors who price aggressively in year 1 and recover in years 2–5 (the most common pattern) get caught by the model. Vendors who price transparently across 5 years usually look favourable.

How accurate are the benchmark ranges?

Anchored on real deployments, ±30% typical accuracy at the early-budget stage. Site-specific variables (asset density, environmental complexity, integration scope) drive the variance. We tighten to ±10% during stage 1 of /method.

Does the model handle hybrid stacks?

Yes — separate sheets for UWB, BLE-AoA, RFID and combined hybrid deployments. Most large-site TCO models we build are hybrid.

What about cloud vs on-premise?

Both are modelled. Cloud (SaaS-style) usually wins on year-1 cash-flow; on-premise can win on year-5 TCO for large deployments, but adds operational overhead. We model both options for clients deciding.

Can we share the model with our finance team?

Yes — designed for that. The spreadsheet is annotated with assumption explanations and is structured to be CFO-readable. Many clients use it as the procurement-business-case input directly.

BESCHAFFUNGSVORLAGE

RTLS TCO-Modell — 5 Jahre, ehrlich.

Most RTLS deals are budgeted as year-1 capex and discover the real cost in years 2–5. This TCO model fixes that.

It's the spreadsheet we use with clients to build a 5-year cost picture across hardware, software, integration, support, tag replacement and change orders — vendor-neutral, fully editable, exposing the assumptions you'd otherwise miss.

Buchen Sie einen 30-minütigen Scoping-Termin

Was das Modell beinhaltet

The spreadsheet covers 5 years, broken into capex and opex. Hardware capex: anchors / readers / locators / gateways, tags (initial batch), supporting infrastructure (cabling, mounting, switches).

Software and platform: licences, subscriptions, hosting. Integration capex: enterprise-system integration (WMS / ERP / EMR / MES), often 30–50% of year-1 hardware capex.

Year-1 services: site survey, design, commissioning, validation. Annual opex: support, maintenance, platform subscription, tag replacement (~10–15% of fleet per year typical), connectivity. Change orders: site expansion, additional use cases, version upgrades.

Die Annahmen, die Kunden meist übersehen

Four cost categories regularly absent from vendor quotes. Integration: a vendor quotes the RTLS platform; integration to your WMS / EMR / MES is your problem (it shouldn't be — see /integrations).

Tag replacement: 10–15% of fleet per year typical for active tags, lower for passive.

Multiplies dramatically at hospital or warehouse scale. Change orders: vendor pricing for additional sites or use cases varies 2–5×; the model forces you to ask up front. Internal labour: clinical engineering, IT, integration partner time. Often 0.5–2 FTE equivalent.

Capex vs. Opex – die strukturelle Wahl

Most RTLS deployments are now offered in both capex (you own the hardware and licence it) and opex (success-based / subscription / RTLS-as-a-service). The model handles both.

Opex usually has higher year-5 total but cleaner cash-flow and faster expansion. Capex is cheaper TCO at steady state but locks capital and has slower expansion. We model both during stage 1 — see /method.

Eingebaute Sensitivitätsanalyse

The model includes sensitivity sliders on six key assumptions: tag count growth (sites expand), tag replacement rate (battery life vs duty cycle), platform-subscription escalation, integration scope creep, support response (premium tiers), and change-order pricing.

A small change in any of these can swing 5-year TCO by 30–50%. Most vendor quotes ignore these entirely.

Benchmarks aus realen Einsätzen

We maintain anonymised benchmarks from 40+ enterprise RTLS deployments we've advised on. Typical ranges (per-site, mid-size, 5-year): UWB manufacturing 400 k–1.2 M Euro; BLE-AoA hospital 600 k–1.5 M Euro; RAIN RFID warehouse 250 k–700 k Euro; AGV/AMR fleet 1.5–5 M Euro.

These are reality-check anchors, not quotes — every site is different. We refine for your specific environment in stage 1.

Was du als Nächstes tun kannst

Download the TCO model, populate your specific environment, and use it to challenge vendor quotes during the RFP.

If you want us to validate the model against benchmark data or to run TCO assessment as part of independent procurement advisory, book a 30-minute scoping call. The model is shipped after a short qualification email; sign up to the procurement-toolkit list.

FAQ

Häufig gestellte Fragen

Ist das TCO-Modell wirklich herstellerneutral?

Ja – es ist so strukturiert, dass Kosten unabhängig vom Anbieter offengelegt werden. Anbieter, die im ersten Jahr aggressiv Preise anlegen und sich in den Jahren 2–5 (das häufigste Muster) erholen, werden vom Modell überrascht. Anbieter, die über 5 Jahre transparent preisgeben, wirken meist günstig.

Wie genau sind die Benchmark-Bereiche?

Basierend auf realen Einsätzen ±30 % typische Genauigkeit im frühen Budgetstadium. Standortspezifische Variablen (Asset-Dichte, Umweltkomplexität, Integrationsumfang) treiben die Varianz an. Während Phase 1 von /Method ziehen wir auf ±10 % an.

Verarbeitet das Modell Hybrid-Stacks?

Ja – separate Blätter für UWB, BLE - AoA, RFID und kombinierte hybride Deployments. Die meisten großen TCO-Modelle, die wir bauen, sind hybrid.

Wie sieht es mit Cloud vs. On-Premise aus?

Beide sind modelliert. Cloud (SaaS-Stil) gewinnt meist beim Cashflow des ersten Jahres; On-Premise kann bei der TCO des Jahres 5 für große Einsätze gewinnen, erhöht aber den operativen Aufwand zusätzlich. Wir modellieren beide Optionen für die Entscheidungen.

Können wir das Modell mit unserem Finanzteam teilen?

Ja – dafür entworfen. Die Tabelle ist mit Annahmeerklärungen annotiert und so strukturiert, dass sie CFO-lesbar ist. Viele Kunden nutzen es direkt als Eingabe für Beschaffung und Geschäftsfall.

Zuletzt aktualisiert: 26. Mai 2026