How to Get a Robotics Integration Quote (and What It Should Include)

Why integration quotes vary so much

Two integrators can quote the same cobot arm at wildly different totals. Usually they are not quoting the same thing. A quote that only covers the arm and a gripper is not an integration quote — it is a hardware price with the hard parts left out.

This guide explains what a complete robotics integration quote should include, so you can compare offers line by line.

What a complete quote should include

1. Site survey and task definition

Before any number is real, someone has to look at your site: the station, the space, power, network, lighting for cameras, and how staff move around it. A quote issued without a survey is an estimate at best.

2. Cell design and engineering

The arm is one line item. The cell around it — framing, fixtures, end-of-arm tooling, sensors, guarding — is where most of the engineering lives. Expect this to be itemised, not buried.

3. Safety and compliance

A per-cell risk assessment, safety scanners or light curtains where required, emergency stops, and documentation. If safety appears nowhere in the quote, ask why.

4. Software and integration

Connecting the cell to your existing systems — ordering, inventory, MES, PMS — plus the programming of the task itself and the interface your staff will actually use.

5. Installation and validation

Physical installation, commissioning, and a validation period where the cell proves it can do the task at the agreed rate before you sign off.

6. Training

Your team needs to run, clean, and recover the cell after a stop. Training should be a named line item with a duration, not a promise.

7. Support and maintenance

What happens after go-live: response times, remote support, spare parts, preventive maintenance, and what it costs per year.

Red flags in a cheap quote

• Arm-only pricing presented as a complete solution
• No site survey before a fixed price
• No safety line items at all
• No validation period — you pay before the cell proves anything
• No training or support terms — the integrator disappears at go-live

How to compare two quotes fairly

Build a simple table: hardware, engineering, safety, software, installation, training, year-one support. Fill it in for each offer. The quote that looks expensive often just includes what the cheap one left out.

Then model the payback honestly — our free cobot ROI calculator and total cost of ownership guide walk through the full cost picture.

How smert.ai quotes

smert.ai is a robotics systems integrator based in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong. Every engagement starts with a site survey and a written task definition, and our quotes itemise hardware, engineering, safety, software, training and support separately — so you can see exactly what you are buying. Contact us to start a survey, or explore our robotics integration services.