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When a US or European industrial plant decides to evaluate an OEE platform, OEE vendors offer 3 to 5 different entry points: free demonstration, free audit, 48-hour POC, paid pilot of 30\/60\/90 days, full deployment with multi-year commitment. Each modality has its own logic, costs, deliverables, and traps. Choosing the wrong entry point is costly: too light and you don’t get the technical conviction needed to engage in a full deployment; too heavy and you commit hundreds of thousands of euros without sufficient validation.<\/p>\n
This decision should not be improvised. It should be made deliberately based on 5 criteria: project scope, decision-maker risk profile, plant maturity on OEE topics, budget available for the evaluation phase, and timing of the decision. This article presents these criteria, the modalities, and a decision matrix to choose the right format. The goal is not to recommend one specific format, but to give plant managers the analytical framework to choose informedly.<\/p>\n
Free demonstration (1-2 hours, remote)<\/strong>: a vendor demo, usually via Zoom, on a vendor demonstration platform with sample data. Useful for: validating the user interface, understanding the analytics philosophy, evaluating the team. Limits: zero validation that the technology will work in your specific context. To avoid: making a buying decision based solely on a 90-minute demo.<\/p>\n Free audit (2-5 days on site)<\/strong>: a vendor team comes to the plant to observe operations, interview operators and supervisors, identify priority pain points, and produce a recommendation report. Useful for: getting an external view of the situation, validating that the vendor understands your context, getting a structured benchmark of where your plant stands. Limits: no actual technology deployment, the report can be brilliant but not validated by data, and the vendor has obvious commercial interest in recommending their solution. To watch out for: free audits sometimes hide a soft commitment (next contractual step expected).<\/p>\n 48-hour POC (technical 2-day deployment)<\/strong>: vendor technician on site, sensors and tablets installed, data flows for 48 hours, results review. Useful for: validating that the technology actually works in your context, getting the first OEE measurements on your real lines, technically de-risking the next step. Limits: 48 hours is too short to see weekly variations or product mix. Costs: usually free or small charge (1,000-5,000 \u20ac) deductible from the next pilot.<\/p>\n Paid pilot 30 to 90 days<\/strong>: full deployment on 1-3 lines with a contract for the duration of the pilot. Includes installation, support, monthly improvement workshops, weekly performance reviews. Cost typically 5,000-25,000 \u20ac for the pilot duration. Useful for: rigorously evaluating real impact (OEE before\/after), validating operator adoption over the long term, building the business case for a full deployment. Limits: real budget engagement, contract to negotiate, change management to organize.<\/p>\n Full deployment with multi-year commitment<\/strong>: full plant or multi-plant rollout, typically 3-5 year contract. The standard format for industrial purchasing decisions. Cost: 30,000 to 200,000 \u20ac per year per plant, depending on scale and modules. Useful: when the decision is made and one is in optimization mode (price, payment terms, SLA). Avoid for the buying phase itself.<\/p>\n Here are the 5 criteria for choosing, with the recommended modality. Criterion 1: project scope<\/strong>. Single line, single plant: 48-hour POC then paid pilot 30 days. Multiple lines (2-5), single plant: 48-hour POC then paid pilot 60 days. Multiple plants (corporate program): free audit on a representative plant, then paid pilot 90 days, then phased rollout.<\/p>\n Criterion 2: decision-maker risk profile<\/strong>. Risk-averse decision-maker (recently appointed plant director, demanding industrial group): start with free audit (low engagement) before any technical engagement. Risk-tolerant decision-maker (long-tenured plant director with autonomy): start with 48-hour POC (faster, more efficient).<\/p>\n Criterion 3: plant maturity on OEE topics<\/strong>. Plant has never measured OEE, no baseline: free audit useful to clarify the situation before any technical engagement. Plant already measures OEE (Excel, MES, etc.), wants to upgrade: skip the free audit, go directly to 48-hour POC then paid pilot. The audit will not bring much added value because the plant already understands the topic.<\/p>\n Criterion 4: evaluation budget available<\/strong>. Zero evaluation budget: free demo + free audit, then push directly to multi-year contract negotiation. (Risk: too light validation.) Small budget (5-10k\u20ac): 48-hour POC then paid pilot 30 days. (Best balance for most plants.) Substantial budget (15-30k\u20ac): 48-hour POC then paid pilot 90 days. (Most rigorous validation, best for corporate programs.)<\/p>\n Criterion 5: decision timing<\/strong>. Urgent decision (3 months horizon, often connected to a strategic plan or production crisis): 48-hour POC then 30-day paid pilot, then commit. Standard timing (6-12 months horizon): paid pilot 60-90 days, then commit. Long timing (12-24 months horizon, often M&A or major industrial transformation): free audit then paid pilot 90 days then phased rollout.<\/p>\n Instant download. No email confirmation needed.<\/p>\n \n The Decision Matrix \u2014 Which Modality for Which Situation<\/h2>\n
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