The verdict in three sentences
For a Rotterdam plant with 80 to 300 assets whose preventive maintenance still lives in Excel, a custom CMMS costs, as a 2026 ballpark, 30 000 to 80 000 EUR excluding VAT, versus 40 to 120 EUR per user per month for a package such as Ultimo, Fiix or Mainsim. The expected gain is concrete: +4 to +8 points of machine availability, thanks to QR codes on assets, mobile work orders and spare parts tracking. A package wins for a standard need and a small team; custom wins when your routines, lines and shop floor flows are specific or must talk to your ERP and PLCs.
What Excel-driven maintenance really costs
A spreadsheet never chases anyone. Preventive visits slip, corrective jobs go unrecorded, an asset's history lives in one technician's memory and the stores discover a stockout when the breakdown happens. On a 150-asset site, those gaps are paid for in downtime hours.
| Indicator (2026 estimate) | Excel and paper | CMMS deployed |
|---|---|---|
| Planned preventive completion rate | 55 to 70 % | 90 to 97 % |
| Share of corrective work in maintenance hours | 50 to 65 % | 25 to 35 % |
| Availability of critical assets | 85 to 89 % | 91 to 95 % |
| Time to log a work order | 10 to 15 min (office) | 2 to 3 min (mobile, QR code) |
| Critical spare stockouts per quarter | 6 to 12 | 1 to 3 |
| Audit preparation time (ISO 9001, IATF, customers) | 3 to 5 days | under one day |
One hour of downtime on a production line in the Rotterdam port industrial area commonly costs 1 500 to 8 000 EUR depending on the sector (food, plastics, chemicals, metals). A few hours avoided each month fund a large part of the project.
Custom CMMS or package: the figures side by side
| Criterion | Package (Ultimo, Fiix, Mainsim) | Custom CMMS |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | 3 000 to 15 000 EUR configuration | 30 000 to 80 000 EUR excl. VAT |
| Recurring cost, 20 users | 9 600 to 28 800 EUR a year | 4 000 to 9 000 EUR a year (hosting, maintenance) |
| 5-year cumulative cost | 51 000 to 159 000 EUR | 50 000 to 125 000 EUR |
| Fit with your routines and lines | configuration within tool limits | full |
| ERP, MES, PLC interfaces | paid connectors or none | built for your stack |
| Ownership of code and data | no | yes |
| Time to go live | 1 to 3 months | 3 to 5 months |
The tipping point is often around 15 to 20 active users, or as soon as an ERP integration (SAP Business One, Exact, AFAS) is a must.
Typical scope of a custom CMMS
| Module | Features | Indicative budget (EUR excl. VAT) |
|---|---|---|
| Asset register | site, line, machine tree, QR codes, documentation | 5 000 to 12 000 |
| Preventive | routines, calendar and meter frequencies, planning | 6 000 to 15 000 |
| Mobile work orders | technician app, photos, signature, time spent | 7 000 to 18 000 |
| Spare parts | stores stock, thresholds, reservations, purchase requests | 5 000 to 13 000 |
| KPIs | MTBF, MTTR, availability, cost per asset | 3 000 to 9 000 |
| Interfaces | ERP, sensors or PLCs, company directory | 4 000 to 13 000 |
The project ships in releases: assets and work orders first (8 to 10 weeks), preventive and stock next, KPIs and interfaces last.
Mini case study
Need a professional website?
Kolonell builds websites that attract clients, optimized for the Sénégalese market. Free quote in 2 minutes.
Sarah, maintenance manager at a food plant in the Botlek area, looks after 180 assets with a team of 12 technicians. Availability on critical lines is 87 %, and each downtime hour costs about 3 000 EUR. Over 4 800 annual production hours, reaching 93 % availability means 288 downtime hours avoided, about 864 000 EUR of production protected per year in gross value. Even counting only a tenth of that as net gain, a 55 000 EUR custom CMMS pays for itself in under a year.
FAQ
How much does a custom CMMS cost for a factory in Rotterdam?
Allow 30 000 to 80 000 EUR excluding VAT depending on modules and interfaces, plus 4 000 to 9 000 EUR a year for hosting and maintenance. A first release with assets and work orders starts around 15 000 EUR.
Can technicians use it without network on the shop floor?
Yes, the mobile app works offline and syncs work orders once the network is back. That is often decisive in plants where Wi-Fi covers 20 to 30 % of the floor poorly.
Can we migrate our Excel history?
Yes, migration of assets, routines and 2 to 3 years of jobs is included. It usually takes 1 to 2 weeks depending on file quality.
How does it compare with Ultimo or Fiix?
These packages are robust and fast to deploy, at 40 to 120 EUR per user per month. Custom makes sense with more than 15 to 20 users, very specific processes or a heavy ERP integration.
Is the project eligible for subsidies?
Some Dutch schemes for SME digitalisation and smart industry can co-fund maintenance digitalisation; rates and caps vary with the current call.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your number of assets, users and your ERP: we price a phased scope with an indicative budget and a 3 to 5 month plan. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
