How manufacturers can update procurement and budgeting to adopt AI solutions
In the past, there was only one way to buy industrial solutions: as capital expenditure (CapEx) that depreciated. Whether it was assembly line robots, welding machines, or specialised defect detection cameras, solutions providers had minimum purchases and large contracts. The cost and risk for innovations and factory installations were high.
What’s more, buying industrial technology today to use the same way for the next 10 years is to be outdated by the time it’s installed – solutions like AI are improving annually. It’s time for manufacturers to update cost structures – from CapEx to OpEx . In this post, we’ll explain how operational expenditure (OpEx) with subscription models minimise risks and improve operations.
Traditional budgeting and perpetual licenses don’t work anymore
For years, specialised hardware assets were the spotlight, and the software was just the interface. Choosing the right machines took time, could cost millions upfront, took forever to install, and had training or maintenance on top. Automation machines sped up production, but they were usually rigid.
Cost as one of the biggest risks: would the investment pay off and would any surprises cost even more? Providers with locked in customers didn’t have much incentive to add features or make their software more user-friendly. But advancements in hardware and AI now make it possible to shift from a one-off capital expenditure and perpetual subscription model to a subscription-based model.
What’s the difference between OpEx and CapEx?
Why should manufacturers consider subscriptions? For one thing, they usually come with a lower barrier to entry for manufacturers to try new technologies, from cobots for pick-and-pack to AI for quality control and predictive maintenance. Below is a side-by-side comparison between traditional one-time depreciation (CapEx) and Subscription/AI-as-a-Service (OpEx) approach, especially for industrial and manufacturing.
Operational impact | Depreciation (CapEx) | AI-as-a-Service subscription (OpEx) |
Upfront investment & risk | High cost and barrier to entry; risk if project fails or model underperforms | Lower entry cost with subscriptions and installation fees |
Upgrade & maintenance | Often separate contracts. Can have high unforeseen costs. | Automatically delivered, included in subscription (assuming SLA) |
Scalability | Linear costs. Expansion requires renegotiation. | Pay for usage. Flexible to scale up or down as needed |
Quality alignment | Customer wants product performance, but vendor profits from problems (maintenance, trainings) | Vendor is incentivised to improve for customer retention |
Budgeting | Hidden costs that are difficult to forecast | Predictable recurring costs for a service |
Actionable data | Harder (usually costly) to receive usage data or insights from provider | Vendor is incentivised to provide data insights for customer value |
Flexibility | Limited — fixed contract, fixed capability | Pricing usually based on usage, features, or performance as needed |
A perpetual license model implicitly treats the software like industrial machinery: manufacturers buy it, depreciate it over time, and “own” it. But this means that customers also need to pay for upgrades that they do not own, even though they have little choice. In contrast, subscription models benefit from using the latest versions automatically, usually customer support and training provided to ensure retention.
Changing procurement processes to add AI automation solutions for manufacturing
It’s not enough to say “subscription is better” to decision makers. It is a totally different way of approaching costs. It is key to know what objections colleagues have, and show how the subscription model helps to manage risks.
Subscription fatigue
Some people don’t want to deal with yet another monthly bill, especially if it is based on usage. Talk to potential providers to see how they can help make your billing easier. For example, Enao Vision charges a flat rate per month for up to 100 devices. This saves the accounting department from looking at different numbers every month, and for budgeting to bump up costs only when the usage grows.
Regulatory or procedural complexity
Shifting from CapEx to OpEx can require internal changes in accounting, governance, and procurement. This may seem like an operational risk to some. Start the most basic change: cost. Getting approval to make a 1 million euro purchase is more complicated than signing off on a 500 euro subscription.
Service reliability, SLAs, and trust
People might ask: this is so much cheaper, is it really reliable? You should prepare strong SLAs, fallback or exit options, and show the provider’s service assurances. The main question to answer is: how much is lost if you cut the subscription? In most cases, it’s not much if it is a monthly model, and annual ones are still more flexible than machinery that needs to pay for itself over 20 years.
Data ownership, compliance, IP
Industrial AI touches on sensitive production data. A reliable provider will explain exactly what data is taken, how it is processed, and if/where it is stored. Contracts should also clearly define data usage, IP, privacy, and termination clauses. Speak to your IT team about security and compliance requirements and bring them to the negotiation table with providers.
AI as a subscription service reflects continuous improvement
Industrial AI solutions evolve, adapt, and are upgraded by the provider. Today, there are AI solutions for supply chain management, production optimization, quality inspection, and predictive maintenance to avoid hardware issues, to name a few. Many of these now offer machines, sensors, infrastructure, and software as service contracts.
Enao Vision’s AI quality control solution works out of the box, recognises defects it wasn’t trained on, and can prompt humans to provide more data. At the same time, the model also learns with each new model variation, unlike previous generations of software that were rules-based and needed to be retrained every time.
In summary, considering providers who do a subscription-based model aligns better with best practices from lean production: continuous improvement. Just as you as a customer want to continuously improve, your provider is also incentivized to get better to keep your business.
How values shaped Enao Vision’s pricing model
Enao Vision was founded on the belief that manufacturers also deserve the latest technologies that are user-friendly. Forward-thinking companies should not need to spend a fortune to hope that a solution works when it’s installed. Shopfloor managers should have the power to deliver quality in their hands – literally on an iPhone. We’ve built a pricing model to reflect that. To that end, Enao Vision has built our subscription pricing at with these principles in mind:
Pay when you see value: We offer a free one-month trial because you make an informed decision when you test in your own environment. Of course, we also support with setup so you can succeed.
Flexibility and scalability: Scale up to more lines or sites when you know how things work and are confident. Add features like advanced analytics when you’re ready without new CapEx proposals.
Built for continuous improvement and evolution: Our AI model continuously improves: more data, better tuning, new use cases. A subscription ensures that clients always run on the latest, validated version.
Transparency in usage-based billing: You see how much you use it, where it adds value, and pay according to output or performance—not arbitrary license tiers.
Robust SLAs and data guarantees: Guaranteed availability, defined data rights, provided contingencies—all baked into the model and not an extra charge.
Shared success model: We don’t just hand over code and charge perpetual licensing. When your defect-detection performance improves, so does our partnership.
Reduced technical burden: We manage model maintenance, updates, security, and infrastructure. No need for you to have hardware experts or a new IT team.
The subscription model makes solutions providers accountable. The competition used to be whether someone could impress you with a demo and promise of how it works in your factory. With subscription models it’s not about what we say, but whether the solution performs. This reduces the risk for manufacturers. We don’t need to put up a show – you can see for yourself and vote with your wallet.
Curious about how it works? You can either download our free iPhone app to try yourself, or speak to one of our experts.