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.

MODÈLE D’APPROVISIONNEMENT

Modèle RTLS TCO — 5 ans, honnêtement.

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.

Réservez un appel de 30 minutes pour le périmètre

Ce que comprend le modèle

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.

Les hypothèses que les clients manquent généralement

Four cost categories regularly absent from vendor quotes. Intégration: 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 — le choix structurel

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.

Analyse de sensibilité intégrée

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 issus de déploiements réels

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.

Ce que vous pouvez faire ensuite

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

Questions fréquemment posées

Le modèle TCO est-il vraiment neutre envers le fournisseur ?

Oui — il est structuré pour exposer les coûts, quel que soit le fournisseur. Les vendeurs qui fixent des prix agressifs en première année et se redressent entre les années 2 et 5 (le schéma le plus courant) se font prendre par le modèle. Les vendeurs qui fixent des prix transparents sur 5 ans ont généralement une image favorable.

Quelle est la précision des plages de benchmark ?

Ancré sur de vrais déploiements, ± 30 % de précision typique au stade du budget initial. Les variables spécifiques au site (densité des actifs, complexité environnementale, portée d’intégration) influencent la variance. Nous resserrons à ±10 % lors de la phase 1 de la méthode /.

Le modèle gère-t-il les stacks hybrides ?

Oui — feuilles séparées pour les déploiements UWB, BLE - AoA, RFID et hybrides combinés. La plupart des modèles TCO sur grand site que nous construisons sont hybrides.

Qu’en est-il du cloud vs du site ?

Les deux sont modélisés. Cloud (style SaaS) l’emporte généralement grâce aux flux de trésorerie de la première année ; Le site peut gagner sur un TCO de 5e année pour les grands déploiements, mais ajoute une surcharge opérationnelle. Nous modélisons les deux options pour les décisions des clients.

Pouvons-nous partager ce modèle avec notre équipe financière ?

Oui — conçu pour ça. Le tableau est annoté avec des explications d’hypothèses et est structuré pour être lisible en CFO. De nombreux clients l’utilisent directement comme entrée d’entrée entre les achats et les affaires de la situation.

Dernière mise à jour : 26 mai 2026