RaaS Case Studies

Real-world ROI data from commercial robotics deployments. Every case study includes specific financial metrics — payback period, annual benefit, 5-year IRR — sourced from the RaaS investment analysis research base.

Case Studies
7
Avg Payback
6.5 months
Avg 5-yr IRR
135%
Verticals Covered
6

Scholastic

inVia Robotics·Warehouse Picking
Payback
6 months

Performance-based and subscription pricing model. Scholastic achieved 3x productivity and 70% labor reduction — one of the most dramatic outcomes in the dataset.

Labor reduction
70%
Productivity gain
3x
Payback period
6 months
IRR
50%
5-yr IRR: 50%

DHL

Avidbots·Commercial Cleaning
Payback
<2 months

Avidbots Neo deployed into DHL facilities. 56% ROI in the first month makes this one of the fastest-payback deployments in the research base. Enterprise RaaS with performance guarantees.

Team productivity
2x
Month 1 ROI
56%
Labor savings
80%

Grimmway Farms

Carbon Robotics·Agriculture
Payback
12 months

Carbon Robotics LaserWeeder eliminates weeds with lasers instead of herbicide. 95% herbicide reduction creates sustainability ROI beyond pure cost savings.

Herbicide reduction
~95%
Payback period
12 months

apo.com

RightHand Robotics·E-commerce Piece-Picking
Payback
Year 1

RightHand Robotics' piece-picking AI delivered 10x pick rates at apo.com. NPV positive in Year 1 — unusual for capex-heavy automation.

Pick rate improvement
10x
NPV
Positive Year 1

Manufacturing plant (30-AMR fleet)

AMR provider (anonymized)·Manufacturing Material Handling
Payback
10.2 months

A 30-robot manufacturing AMR deployment. Headline 128% 5-year IRR is one of the strongest in the dataset. Shows the compounding ROI when multiple cost centers (labor, efficiency, safety, forklift replacement) all benefit.

Labor savings
15 FTEs × $65K = $975K/yr
Production efficiency
$1.2M/yr
Safety cost reduction
$240K/yr
Forklift fleet reduction
$180K/yr
Total annual benefit
$2.6M
5-yr NPV: $8.1M (at 10% discount)
5-yr IRR: 128%
Investment: 30 AMRs
Annual benefit: $2.6M

Hospital system (12-robot fleet)

Avidbots-style floor scrubbers·Healthcare Cleaning
Payback
6.2 months

Healthcare cleaning deployment with the most compelling ROI story in the dataset. 25% reduction in hospital-acquired infections creates $850K/year avoidance — the soft benefit that dominates the hard labor savings. 147% 5-year IRR.

Cleaning staff reduction
45 → 30 (attrition)
HAI rate
8.2 → 6.1 per 1K patient days (25% improvement)
Coverage consistency
72% → 97%
Year 1 cost
$301K
Annual benefit
$1.75M
5-yr NPV: $6.1M
5-yr IRR: 147%
Investment: $301K Year 1
Annual benefit: $1.75M (labor $630K + overtime $240K + HAI avoidance $850K)

Organic vegetable farm (2,500 acres, $18M revenue)

Carbon Robotics (LaserWeeder)·Agriculture
Payback
2.5 months

Organic agriculture is labor-intensive for weeding. 2.5-month payback and 165% IRR make this the highest-IRR case in the dataset. Carbon Robotics subscription model aligns provider and customer incentives.

Hand-weeding cost avoidance
$600K (1,200 acres × $500/acre)
Total annual benefit
$750K
Subscription cost
$70K/year
5-yr NPV: $2.4M
5-yr IRR: 165%
Investment: $70K/year
Annual benefit: $750K
Key insight:The highest-ROI case (organic farm, 165% 5-yr IRR) and fastest-payback case (DHL cleaning, <2 months) are both in low-tech verticals. Margin isn't correlated with technology sophistication — it's correlated with labor-cost displacement. This is where Huma's acquisition thesis concentrates.