Dear Business Partner,

Finding the biggest fleets consumed our end of 2024 – 2025 is the time to learn something from it. In this first issue of the year, we compiled our seven learnings. Also, download our Biggest Fleet magazines in English or German and listen to our podcast below. Have a great year!

Learning 1: Industry Sentiment

The cleaning industry is under pressure to adopt robotics, with large companies fearing market disruption and smaller ones struggling with high costs and uncertain returns. Conflicting perceptions of automation progress between North America and Europe create reluctance to openly discuss robotics strategies. As customer demand for automation grows, companies are increasingly hesitant to share their experiences, fearing a loss of competitive edge.

Learning 2: David and Goliath?

Our ranking and international industry feedback suggest an essential lesson to be learned: Microbots and robots are rarely thought of together. Numerous fleets are limited to one type of robot. While some see the low-cost microbots as
tripping hazards, others purchase entire swarms of small vacuum cleaner robots. We have juxtaposed both prevailing opinions.

Learning 3: Who’s afraid of robotics?

For decades, manufacturers, dealers, and FM service providers have worked together in a well-established triad: manufacturers develop and produce cleaning equipment, dealers distribute it in close regional cooperation, and service providers use it at the end customer’s premises. This construct is stable, familiar, and based on long-standing personal relationships. However, with the introduction of robotics into cleaning, fear of change is growing in all parts of this chain.

Learning 4: Different markets = different uses of robotics

The development of cleaning robotics has varied worldwide in recent years, shaped by the specific requirements of regional markets. Our ranking of fleet operators also shows that the markets in North America, Europe, and Asia sometimes differ significantly in their use of robotics. We shed light on the challenges and opportunities this presents for fleet operators and the long-term implications these differences have for the industry.

Learning 5: Which manufacturers are represented where?

There are still clear regional preferences in the market penetration of individual manufacturers. In North America, the US manufacturer Tennant and the Canadian robotics experts from Avidbots dominate. Chinese manufacturers are gaining a foothold in Europe, while European manufacturers are solid in the microbots segment. Singapore is strengthening its domestic brands, but the Chinese market remains a blind spot for foreign countries.

Learning 6: These sectors are performing best

The informative value of the Biggest Fleet Ranking should still be treated with caution, but it does at least indicate trends in market penetration. We expected some results, but we also discovered some unexpected ones.

Learning 7: Our ten theses about the future of cleaning robotics.

Robotic cleaning has experienced a remarkable upswing in recent years and shows no signs of slowing down. But what developments can be expected in the coming years? Based on our observations and market analyses, we venture into the future of cleaning robotics and derive ten theses from them.

Download the brochure!

Download the brochure for the results and the lessons we learned along the way. FieldBots Radar congratulates all participants on their documented leadership in cleaning automation!

No time to read?

Whether on the plane, in the car, or secretly in a boring Zoom meeting, the most critical learnings from “The Biggest Fleet 2024” are also available
as a video podcast.

A big thank you to our partners

Let us know what you think about The Biggest Fleet, do you agree with the learnings? Where will our industry head in 2025?

Your team from FieldBots Radar