Price models in robotics - pricing

One way to sell more and achieve higher margins is to optimize prices. Here I am - as a classical consultant - active for years and sensitized accordingly. In order to raise awareness of sales prices, I like to say "If in the purchase price lies the profit, what does the sales price stand for?" After all, especially those who have smaller SMEs as target customers can have sales costs that are difficult to map through a classic calculation and are reminiscent of those of the marriage broker Parship. Both have the same problem: A customer is acquired with effort and is then gone. With Parship because he finds his ideal partner sooner or later and is happy. Then he cancels his Parship subscription and a replacement has to be found for the happy one. The situation is similar for small SMEs: after lengthy deliberations, the company buys the robot (often Cobot) and is then taken care of for the time being. With total investments of 50,000 to 100,000 euros, several SMEs have to be visited and approached again and again until an order is placed. The companies are quite willing to buy, but they are also afraid. This must be taken from them. The right offer can be decisive here.

Leasing

Leasing has been around for decades, is not particularly flexible, but has two advantages: The investment is stretched and the monthly leasing rate can be taken directly to assess profitability. The leasing can include the total costs, i.e. robots including accessories and integration/programming. If the leasing rate is lower than the previous employee costs, the investment becomes interesting. One of the disadvantages is that leasing is not subsidized. If you look on the Internet at the websites of SMEs in eastern Germany or even in the Trier area, you will often find the EU logo as a sign of a subsidy. These companies collect their investments (incl. new buildings) and apply for funding. Here they can apply for robots as well. The funding rate is between 15 and 25%. Leasing is also not possible with "Digital Jetzt", the most attractive subsidy for SMEs, which is, however, decided by lot. Therefore, it cannot be planned in terms of time. If there is a subsidy, leasing is not possible, but it doesn't need to be, because people are happy to swallow the "toad" of purchasing. (Hire purchase is also eligible for subsidies - a compromise). The main disadvantage of classic leasing, however, is the multi-year commitment.

Leasing with different terms

Customers may have different convictions or different perspectives for the future. One way of taking this into account is to offer different leasing terms with correspondingly different rates, as the example shows:

It is quite conceivable that a cautious customer will order the first service robot with a 12-month term. If he is satisfied, he is likely to order further models with a 36-month lease.

Subscription robots

The first providers, especially startups, offer this variant. The price may be higher than that of leasing, but a subscription can also be cancelled. This significantly reduces the risk. The Swiss provider of painting robots Robonnement adds a clever offer on top: The customer can buy the robot at any time for a predefined price and receives 50% of the previous payments credited. However, there are two critical factors for the provider: He has to pre-finance a lot and has a problem if the robot is only a minor part of the investment. Because then he is "liable" for everything and cannot easily recycle e.g. special grippers or optics in case of a return. Therefore, a subscription is easily practicable, especially for standardized solutions, such as painting, palletizing or machine loading.

RaaS

Robotics-as-a-Service covers a wide range of models. Ultimately, they are similar to subscriptions, but can be based on hours or the number of days (e.g., picks). Billing requires appropriate data collection. And since the customer is obviously not sure of a high utilization rate, the supplier is likely to charge a corresponding risk premium. Refinancing is likely to be more difficult for the supplier. Robco offers the model shown below, with a 24-month term. Robco's offer already includes all ancillary costs including security certification. It is advertised as "amortization from day 1":

Conclusion

Those who can offer more than "just" the sales price have a clear advantage. Different customers have different wishes and also barriers to entry or financial resources. Another important aspect is the selling price itself. Here, too, all possibilities should be exhausted. Conceivable also appear "bets", as I have already described recently. I can help with both points (pricing models and optimizing the sales price) as well as finding the right financing partner.