SOLUTIONS — THE COMMERCIAL SHAPE

Rent vs buy.
Run the numbers.

We rent robots, so read this knowing where we stand. But the comparison below is the one we walk through with every plant manager — including the rows where buying wins.

  • TYPICAL PURCHASE$250K+ CAPEX
  • ARR RENTALONE FLAT MONTHLY FEE
  • PROOF PATH90-DAY PILOT
(01) BUYING vs RENTING — THE HONEST COMPARISON
The new way to automate. Same outcome — less risk, less spend, less effort getting there.
Buying versus ARR rental, line by line
Dimension BUYING ARR RENTAL
Upfront cost Large CapEx approval before the line moves. Low upfront spend. Flat monthly OpEx, or a 90-day pilot.
Speed to deploy Months of scoping, procurement and internal approval. 6–12 weeks from first call to live. Build and configuration is the bulk of it — the install on your floor is 1–2 days.
Flexibility Once bought, you're committed to the asset and the learning curve. Scale up for peak, return it if the fit is wrong, keep it if the numbers work.
Support model Depends on the integrator contract and your internal team. ARR programs, supports and checks in weekly.
Risk Most of it sits with the buyer after purchase-order sign-off. Pilot first. Prove it on your line before long-term commitment.
(02) RENT-TO-OWN — YOU END UP OWNING IT ANYWAY
Renting isn't the alternative to owning. It's the cheaper way to get there.
01 WEEK 8 · LIVE

Start below what you already pay.

One flat monthly rate puts a fully programmed, fully supported system on your floor in weeks — and it costs less than the shift it replaces. No $250K sign-off, no capital tied up, and the saving starts the first week it runs.

02 ACROSS THE TERM

Pay less, after tax.

Rental is OpEx — every hour is 100% tax-deductible in the year you spend it. Run the deduction through and the true cost lands below buying the same system outright.

03 YEAR 5 · YOURS

Then you own it.

At the end of the term the system transfers to you. The exact asset a buyer fronted $250K for on day one — except you paid less after tax and carried none of the risk getting here.

Lower after-tax cost. Full support the whole way. And the system is yours at the end — so why pay $250K to own it on day one?

(03) THE NUMBER THAT DECIDES IT
BUY — BEFORE FIRST CARTON
$250K+

Capital, delivery, commissioning, integration and training — all before the line moves. Then 7–15% of total system cost every year after, the industry-standard spend on maintenance and support.

RENT — SAME LINE, WEEK 6
$0 UPFRONT

System, programming, training, parts and 24/7 response in one rate. Tax-deductible OpEx on the P&L.

(04) RENT vs RENT — NOT ALL RENTAL IS RENTAL
A three-year lock-in isn't a rental. It's a finance plan with a different name.

Machine builders have started renting too. Read the terms before you read the pitch — because a rental that can't be exited, can't be trialled and can't be priced without a phone call is carrying the same risk a purchase does. It has just moved the payments around.

Typical builder-led rental offers versus ARR rental
Dimension TYPICAL RENTAL OFFER ARR RENTAL
Minimum term Three-year lock-in is common. 12 months — or 90 days on the pilot.
Paid when Months of rent payable in advance, before the machine exists. No lump sum up front — one flat monthly rate.
The rate Quoted privately, on request. One flat monthly fee, set at scope and fixed in writing.
Before you commit Nothing to see until it is built and installed. Prove it on your line for under $15k.
Quote to first carton 12–14 weeks of build time is typical. 6–12 weeks to live — 1–2 days of that is on your floor.
What's excluded Rarely stated up front. Six site-readiness items, listed before the proposal.

If a rate can't be put in writing up front, it isn't a rate — it's a negotiation you enter without a reference point.

STILL UNDECIDED? THAT'S WHAT THE PILOT IS FOR

Prove it for under $15k.

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