Total Cost of Ownership: Questions to Ask Every Vendor
Ask for five years, not one
| Cost | Question to ask | Typical answer you should insist on |
|---|---|---|
| Preventive maintenance | What is the schedule and the parts list? | Intervals, part numbers, prices |
| Wear parts | Which items are consumable, at what duty? | Cable, belt, gripper, filter |
| Software | Any subscription or licence renewal? | In writing, with the renewal price |
| Training | How many seats, how often refreshed? | Named courses, not “support” |
| Downtime | What is the assumed MTTR and spares stock? | Local stock level and lead times |
Watch the exclusions
Quotations often exclude travel, commissioning support beyond a fixed number of days, calibration after a collision, and software upgrades to new controller versions. Listed exclusions with prices are a sign of an honest offer; vague silence is not.
Model it yourself
Build a simple five-year cash-flow with the vendor's numbers plus your own labour rate. The result usually ranks options differently from the purchase price — which is exactly why it is worth doing before signing.