It was Q3 2023. I was staring at a spreadsheet that showed we'd already blown 60% of our automation parts budget for the year—and we still had four months to go, including the annual December plant shutdown where everything gets replaced.
Not ideal. My boss wasn't thrilled.
I'm a procurement manager at a 40-person systems integrator in Texas. We specialize in retrofitting aging production lines for mid-sized manufacturers. My territory: the $180,000 annual budget for PLCs, drives, and control components. I've negotiated with 15+ vendors over the past 6 years, and I track every single invoice in our cost tracking system.
The core issue was simple: we'd been buying Allen-Bradley components for most of our projects because that's what our head engineer knew. But the costs were creeping up. Way up. And I needed answers.
So I did what any budget-holder would do: I launched a full cost comparison between our current approach (Allen-Bradley) and the alternative (Siemens). Here's what I found.
I requested identical quotes for a typical project setup: one S7-1200 PLC, a small HMI, basic I/O modules, and a starter kit for testing. I asked both distributors for the same specs.
The Siemens quote came back $1,700. The Allen-Bradley quote? $2,100. A $400 difference—roughly 19% more for the AB system. I remember thinking, "Okay, this supports the reputation." But I also knew that was just the start of the story.
"The question isn't the sticker price. The question is the price of everything that comes after the sticker."
After comparing 8 vendors over 3 months I built a TCO spreadsheet that changed how we buy. Here's what it revealed:
Software and licensing. The Siemens TIA Portal software license was included in the starter kit. For Allen-Bradley, the Studio 5000 license was a separate line item: $850 annual subscription. That's $850 per seat, per year, that doesn't appear on the PLC quote. (Should mention: if you're a smaller shop, that $850 is huge. For us, with three engineers, it was $2,550 annually—more than the PLC itself.)
Training. Our senior engineer knew Siemens from a previous job, so we only needed one basic refresher course ($800). For Allen-Bradley, we had zero in-house experience, so we'd need the full training track: $2,800 per person. That's a $2,000 difference right there.
Upgrades and module costs. When we looked at expanding the system—adding a few more I/O modules or a second drive—the Siemens S7-1200 modules were roughly 15-20% cheaper per channel. Over the lifecycle of a typical project (2-3 years), that adds up.
After two weeks of number-crunching, here was the actual TCO for a 24-month lifecycle including everything I'd missed initially:
A $2,500 difference per project. That's a 37% premium on Allen-Bradley once you factor in the hidden stuff.
Then came the emergency.
In March 2024, one of our biggest clients had a critical line failure. We needed a replacement PLC and a drive module shipped to their plant in Houston by Friday. The order had to be placed by 2 PM that day to make the rush delivery cut.
My normal process: get three quotes, compare lead times and TCO, negotiate pricing. Normal process takes 2-3 days. We had 2 hours.
In hindsight, I should have made the call to the Siemens distributor first. Instead, I called our Allen-Bradley rep—habit.
The AB distributor quoted $3,200 for the PLC + drive module, standard delivery 3-5 business days. They offered a "rush" option for $400 extra: guaranteed Friday morning delivery. Total: $3,600.
I called the Siemens distributor. Same specs? $2,600. Rush delivery? Included. No premium. Total: $2,600. They could have charged me $3,000 and I'd still have saved $600. But they didn't.
We went with Siemens. PLC arrived Friday at 9 AM. The line was back up by 3 PM. Missed deadline cost: $15,000 in penalties if we'd failed. The "cheaper" option wasn't cheaper—it was riskier.
"In March 2024, we saved $1,000 by choosing a vendor that included rush delivery. The alternative was missing a $15,000 deadline."
After that incident, I implemented a new procurement policy: minimum 3 quotes for any component over $1,000, with a mandatory TCO calculation that includes software, training, and projected expansion costs for 24 months. Every engineer knows to check the Siemens quote first, then use it as leverage with AB if they have a strong preference.
The result? Over the past 12 months, we've switched our default to Siemens for 80% of new projects. Annual savings: roughly $14,000—17% of our automation budget. The team still uses AB for legacy system integrations, but new builds are Siemens-first.
I'm not saying Allen-Bradley is bad hardware. I'm saying the total cost of ownership is hard to see from a single quote. And in emergency situations, the ability to deliver without a rush fee is worth more than any spec sheet.
Honestly, I'm not sure why more buyers don't do a full lifecycle cost comparison before picking a brand. My best guess is it comes down to inertia—engineers are comfortable with what they know, and procurement doesn't push back hard enough.
Here's what I'd recommend based on my experience:
This pricing was accurate as of Q4 2024. The market changes fast, especially with new module releases and trade tariff adjustments. Verify current rates before using these numbers for your budget—but the methodology stays the same.
Related: If you're evaluating PLC platforms for a new project, start with a TCO comparison. It'll save you more than any single vendor discount.