Faced with persistent bottlenecks in automation procurement, buyers often spend months gathering quotes and navigating complex specifications. The new AI-driven sourcing service from HowToRobot, a company based in Fredriksberg, Denmark, aims to condense this timeline from months to days by guiding buyers through defining project requirements and connecting them with a global supplier network. This initiative responds to widespread labor shortages in robotics, particularly in manufacturing and logistics, while targeting both newcomers and experienced professionals in automation. Businesses like Columbia Okura, involved in automating palletizing, are among those benefitting from streamlined procurement, helping their clients retrieve competitive proposals more efficiently. The AI leverages insights from hundreds of past projects, positioning itself as a resource for organizations seeking clarity amidst evolving automation demands.
Similar automation marketplaces have appeared in recent years, but many have required hands-on consulting or offered limited digital matching, often leaving buyers with generic quotes or unclear project scopes. Earlier platforms tended to focus on hardware sales instead of holistic solutions, and rarely integrated financial services or robust supplier vetting at scale. HowToRobot’s current approach differentiates itself by blending artificial intelligence with ongoing human oversight and continually updating features tailored to end-user feedback, providing a more agile response to industry-specific requirements and challenges.
How Does HowToRobot Streamline Project Definition?
HowToRobot’s service starts by asking targeted questions based on the buyer’s context, such as industry application and typical processes, making it easier for clients to articulate project needs even if they are not automation experts. This results in structured project briefs that go to suppliers, aiming for precise and relevant responses without overwhelming the buyer. Søren Peters, co-CEO of HowToRobot, explained the company’s insight-based model, stating,
“We learned the 20 to 30 most important things that we need to know before we can send a welding request to a vendor to get a decent quote back.”
The company’s platform draws on previous consulting experience, such as work on welding applications, enabling both accurate scoping and fast supplier engagement.
What Support Exists for Small and Large Enterprises?
The platform is designed to serve various business sizes, from small and mid-sized enterprises to organizations managing hundreds of factories. While some clients have dedicated automation teams and merely seek broader supplier access, others require guidance on where automation fits their processes. Peters highlighted the flexibility, adding,
“People are starting to use HowToRobot to post a quote for a palletizer in eastern U.S. They get some quotes and save them on the platform. They use that as a catalog to send out to their factories.”
HowToRobot continues to refine seller-buyer matching, moving toward presenting filtered product examples and standardized vendor answers.
How Does the Platform Balance AI Automation with Human Expertise?
Despite its AI foundation, HowToRobot emphasizes human oversight, involving robot engineers who review submitted requests and assist users directly as needed. Buyers can request callback support at any step, ensuring that technical details do not become hurdles for successful automation sourcing. The company places importance on combining local knowledge and market insight, updating its AI regularly to address evolving client expectations and industry developments.
The automation procurement landscape has matured, with HowToRobot integrating lessons learned from earlier, more fragmented approaches. Incorporating structured acquisition processes, close human involvement, and tailored finance options, the platform recognizes the diverse capacities and needs of industrial buyers moving toward automation. Users benefit from increased transparency and actionable information, particularly relevant in sectors like palletizing and welding automation, where requirements and return on investment calculations are nuanced.
Finding reliable automation suppliers and articulating project needs has historically slowed the adoption of robotics technology across industries. By blending domain-specific AI with experienced consulting and accessible financial options, HowToRobot offers a service model that lowers entry barriers for automation at scale. For buyers, the takeaway is the importance of clear requirements, supported by targeted questioning and credible supplier selection, in securing automation solutions that closely match operational goals.
