In warehouse automation, the purchase price is the easy part. The hard part is what shows up after go-live: battery replacement and recycling, spare parts, specialized maintenance, energy draw, downtime recovery, and the extra equipment you didn’t think you’d need to keep the operation flowing. That Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) can kill even the best projected ROI.
Here’s the quickest way to cut through the noise: When a vendor claims low TCO, ask:
- What are the recurring costs year 2–7 (parts, service, consumables, energy, and any extra robots needed to maintain throughput during charging or downtime)?
- What facility upgrades are required to host the system?
- What additional tech pr engineering headcount is required to keep it running?
- What breaks, how often, and how quickly can you recover?
- What “downstream” equipment is still required to get orders out on time?
At Freespace Robotics, low Total Cost of Ownership is engineered into the system. We eliminate common cost multipliers (like battery lifecycle overhead, facility upgrades), reduce complexity inside the cube, and compress more of the fulfillment workflow into one platform - so you’re not paying for a growing stack of add-ons and integration over time.
We were named Startup of the Year at ProMat2025 and have a feature-complete demonstration unit that brings our Total Cost of Ownership story to life - because TCO isn’t a promise in a spreadsheet, it’s what your team must operate every day.
If you’re coming to MODEX2026, stop by our booth (C15367) to see for yourself. Or take the virtual tour anytime.