Find what sits outside the quote.
Integration, software, training, maintenance, support, facility changes, ramp losses and ongoing staffing all belong in the investment discussion.
For warehouse owners, operations & finance leadersBefore you buy the system,
Before you buy the system,
check the business case.
An independent second opinion on your warehouse automation proposal. Understand the costs, test the assumptions, and see what must be true for the investment to pay off.
One investment decision. A defined review. An executive memo you can use.
Vendor quote comparisonCash savings vs. capacityDownside sensitivity
Investment memo / 01Fictional example
The robot is only part
of the investment.
DECISION: PAUSE FOR EVIDENCEof the investment.
$187,000Total upfront investment
9.35 yearsBase simple payback*
*Illustrative steady state. $30k annual running costs. Released labor capacity only becomes cash savings when a specific cost is avoided.
REVIEW CANDIDATES
Mobile robots
Goods-to-person
Conveyors & sortation
Storage automation
Supporting systems
Why commission an independent reviewA convincing proposal
A convincing proposal
still needs a second read.
Your team owns the outcome. A review helps operations, finance and IT agree on the evidence behind the purchase—and the questions the vendor still needs to answer.
Test the assumptions against your building.
Compare claimed throughput with order mix, peak demand, exceptions, uptime and the work that remains outside the automated step.
Leave with a recommendation and its conditions.
Receive a clear proceed, proceed with conditions, or pause recommendation against your own investment criteria, with unresolved assumptions named.
The fixed-scope offerWarehouse Automation
Warehouse Automation
Investment Review
A business-case review for one site and one proposed automation investment, including up to three vendor proposals.
Comparable quotes
Scope, exclusions, dependencies and recurring charges normalized into a comparison you can question.
Editable financial model
Documented assumptions, total cost, released capacity, cash savings and downside/base/upside scenarios.
Executive investment memo
A recommendation, evidence gaps, key risks, decision conditions and the next questions for vendors.
Decision walkthrough
A 60-minute leadership review and one consolidated revision to the agreed deliverables.
The review evaluates the business case. Engineering design, site safety assessment, installation, commissioning and production system changes require separately engaged qualified providers.
How the review works
From proposal to a documented decision.
01 / FIT
Define the decision.
Confirm the purchase stage, sponsor, available quotes, review scope and any conflicts of interest.
02 / EVIDENCE
Agree the inputs.
Accept redacted quotes, relevant operating data and your financial hurdle. The delivery clock starts with usable inputs.
03 / ANALYSIS
Pressure-test the case.
Reconcile costs and assumptions, compare options, and make uncertainty visible in the model and memo.
04 / READOUT
Choose the next step.
Walk through the recommendation, assign open questions and agree what evidence would change the decision.
Try the financial logic
Hours released are not automatically cash saved.
Adjust this fictional example to see how the cash-realization assumption changes the case. These figures illustrate the method; they are not customer results.
Load example:
Net annual cash benefit / steady state
$20,000
Released labor value$100,000
Gross cash savings$50,000
Remaining capacity value*$50,000
Steady-state simple payback9.35 years
Year-one cash after investment−$179,500
Above the 3-year target. The base case needs stronger evidence or a different cost structure.
*Capacity is shown separately and excluded from cash savings. Revenue growth, taxes, financing, discounting and resale value are not included in this quick model.
See formulas and limits
- Released labor value = baseline hours × hourly cost × hours-released percentage.
- Gross cash savings = released value × cash-realization percentage. A staffing plan is needed to support this number.
- Net annual benefit = gross cash savings − additional annual running costs.
- Simple payback = upfront investment ÷ positive net annual benefit. This steady-state metric excludes the delay before benefits start.
- Year-one cash = gross savings × (12 − months before benefits) ÷ 12 − full annual running costs − upfront investment.
- Example scenarios change only hours released and cash realization: downside 12.5%/25%, base 25%/50%, upside 37.5%/75%. All other inputs reset to the same fictional defaults.
- Inputs stay in this page and are not sent or saved. A full review uses a more detailed model and evidence from your site.
A sample of the deliverableAn answer leadership
An answer leadership
can examine.
Every recommendation connects to a documented assumption, a source, or a question that remains unanswered.
Sometimes the right answer is to narrow the pilot, renegotiate a cost, or wait for better evidence. A useful review makes that decision explicit.
Connect operations with the investment decision.
The review brings warehouse operating assumptions, systems dependencies and financial criteria into one documented decision. Discuss the review method and relevant experience during the fit call.
Services through DC Health Check LLC. Every engagement identifies the reviewer, scope and delivery responsibility.
Memo: proposed mobile-robot workflow
- Decision
- Pause for evidence. Base simple payback exceeds the illustrative three-year target.
- Investment
- $187,000 all-in upfront; $30,000 in additional annual running costs.
- Base case
- 4,000 hours released at $25/hour. At 50% cash realization, $50,000 gross annual savings becomes $20,000 after running costs.
- Range
- Downside: −$17,500 annual net cash. Upside: $82,500 annual net cash and 2.27-year steady-state simple payback.
- Open items
- Validate labor redeployment versus avoided spend; reconcile integration exclusions; test throughput under the actual order mix.
- Next step
- Ask finance to confirm the avoided-cost plan and the vendor to substantiate capacity before final approval.
This is a demonstration of the review format, not a recommendation about an actual project. It is independent of the calculator’s current inputs.
Before the fit call
Practical questions.
Is this the right stage to buy a review?
It is best suited to a defined project with a decision owner, at least one substantive vendor proposal and enough operating data to check assumptions. If you are still exploring automation generally, the fit call will identify the evidence you need first.
Do you sell or install equipment?
This offer is an advisory review. Equipment procurement, detailed engineering, installation and commissioning are separately scoped with qualified providers. Potential conflicts and any commercial relationships must be disclosed before engagement.
Can you guarantee savings or payback?
No. The deliverable is a documented analysis and recommendation. We separate evidence, estimates and missing inputs. Final results depend on site conditions, execution and the accuracy of information supplied.
Do you have reviews or client results I can read?
The sample above uses synthetic data. No client testimonial or outcome is presented for this new offer. Use the fit call to examine the method, agree acceptance criteria and request any references that are available and authorized for sharing.
How will we share documents?
Confirm scope and data handling first. Start with redacted proposals and aggregated operating data through an agreed client-approved channel. The inquiry form does not accept files or connect to your warehouse systems.
What happens after the review?
You keep the model, memo and open-question register. Any pilot support, further vendor evaluation or recurring operations reporting needs a separate scope and agreement. There is no automatic enrollment.
Start with the decision you faceTell us what
Tell us what
you’re evaluating.
A free 20-minute fit call confirms the investment question, available evidence and whether this review is appropriate.
Send a short project inquiry. The review team will confirm fit and arrange a time by email.
audits@dchealthcheck.comNo files or payment are needed to inquire. Submitting this form does not reserve a slot or commit you to paid work.
What happens after you inquire
We check the project’s scope, decision timing and available evidence. If it fits, we arrange a call, agree the work in writing and confirm a delivery slot before payment or file transfer.