White label? Of course!

Monetise customer relationships together

Anyone who wants to expand their IIoT portfolio quickly and without significant investment should consider a white-label model. What has long been common practice in many industries — think own-label brands in food retail — is only slowly gaining traction in industrial IoT. An opportunity for pioneers!

Compared with own-label products, the principle remains unchanged: a technology partner such as autosen provides a product (e.g. an IoT gateway, hardware and software), which the white-label customer then markets under their own name — usually enhanced with value-added services and support. Target groups are existing or new customers — stronger customer loyalty and easier access to new market segments are the big advantages of white labelling.

Typical IIoT use cases are digital after-sales or service offerings such as condition monitoring or predictive maintenance in mechanical engineering. These are particularly sustainable business models. Because these services ensure that the customer relationship does not end after the purchase, but really begins with commissioning. In addition to sales revenue, recurring income can be generated and thus customer value increased. The same applies to system integrators, for example, who can set up usage-based billing for their applications. The possibilities are as diverse as IIoT itself.

However, these applications always require machine data captured via sensors and transferred via a gateway into a secure cloud environment, where it is then visualised. Setting up proprietary systems for this, however, costs a lot of time and money and requires expertise in hardware and software as well as cloud and transmission technology. It is easier and faster to use technologies that are already available on the market and ready to deploy. [LB1] The alternative is therefore: instead of reinventing the wheel, you should rely on proven solutions and applications that can be marketed with your own logo and corporate branding and — to a limited extent — can also be customised in terms of functionality, user interface, etc., to create a unique user experience that fits your brand.

White labelling is a win-win-win for everyone involved. The technology provider gains new sales channels, and partner companies can offer new services without any development effort. The guiding principle is: no compromises on the technology, but full control over the customer experience, so end users benefit from integrated, brand-aligned services. This can generate higher value creation than in traditional trade.

The concept is also interesting from a macroeconomic perspective: the market is more open to new technologies when they are offered and implemented by trusted partners. White labelling is therefore also an innovation driver, because innovative solutions become established earlier and more widely.

Once the fundamental decision in favour of a white-label model has been made, the choice of technology partner should be made carefully. Because just as the new offering can positively enhance your image, there is also a certain risk that possible negative experiences will be associated with the provider. The solution should therefore meet the very highest requirements in terms of reliability, security and performance, and should already be proven with well-known companies.
Ideally, the solution was designed for use as a white-label product from the outset — with well-thought-out branding options, a user-friendly interface and low integration effort. One example: with io-key and autosen.cloud, autosen offers a configurable white-label package for industrial companies, OEMs and system integrators — including branding and support. The solution brings together sensor technology, connectivity and cloud technology, and is already used in numerous applications under the branding of renowned companies such as ifm or SMC. A complex development process on our side, but a straightforward solution that is easy to market for our sales partners — white label can be that simple.