AI agency Groningen: automating your processes, even from a distance
Search for an AI agency in Groningen and the list is shorter than in the Randstad. That is also why the search happens so specifically here: there are companies in this region with real process problems and relatively few parties doing the work.
We work across the whole country. Our office is in Bussum, and our founder spends two days a week at the office in Eindhoven. We put AI into existing business processes: job sheets, orders, invoices, planning, quality records, and the connections between systems that currently ignore each other. Chatbots are not our product.
To be clear from the start: Groningen is a long way from both of those places. A good two hours from Bussum, longer from Eindhoven. We come to Groningen for the core session and for the moments that genuinely matter, and when we do we plan a full day rather than a half-day. Building and the catch-ups in between happen remotely. Below is what that means in practice, what it costs, and when you are better off calling someone local.
The kinds of companies you find in and around Groningen
For this kind of work, Groningen is two things at once. Outside the city the money sits in physical chains: things that get made, processed, maintained or moved. In the city itself there is a lively IT and services sector running on projects and hours. Different processes, and therefore very different work sitting undone.
- Energy: networks, installation, inspection and maintenance, plus the suppliers around them. A lot of mandatory record-keeping and a lot of reporting per project and per client.
- Construction and installation: contractors, installers and technical service firms driving across the whole province. Job sheets, planning, variations, handover.
- Agricultural supply and food production: processing, trade and bulk transport. Batch data, quality records, certification requirements, and a different reporting format for every buyer.
- Transport and logistics: trips, loading and unloading data, waybills, and invoicing that gets pieced together afterwards from three different sources.
- IT and professional services in the city: agencies, software companies, consultancies and accountants. Project work, time tracking, quotes and document flows.
The work that sits undone here
The question is never whether AI can do something. The question is which piece of work comes back every week, is done by a person, and calls for no judgement.
In construction, installation and energy that is the job sheet and the report. The engineer hands it in, someone in the office retypes it, and invoicing runs a week behind. On top of that, the distances here are large: a crew driving from Delfzijl to Stadskanaal spends half an hour between two jobs. Planning that does not move with an overrun or a cancellation costs more here than in a city where the next job is around the corner.
In agricultural supply and food production it sits in the records. The same data per batch, a different form per buyer, and an audit asking whether you can find it again. Nobody enjoys that work, it has to be done every week, and it goes wrong fastest when things are busy.
In transport it sits in trip administration: data from the cab, paperwork handed in later, and an invoice that waits until everything is in. At the IT and services firms in the city it sits in the admin around the work: hours filled in from memory on a Friday, quotes rebuilt from scratch, client reports assembled by hand.
Far away, and we are not coy about it
We have no office in Groningen and we will not pretend otherwise. Our places are Bussum and Eindhoven; Groningen is a travel day for us. That is not a weakness, but it does call for a different way of working than with a client half an hour down the road.
So here is what we do differently: we plan a full day instead of a half-day. With two hours out and two hours back, a half-day of four hours is not efficient for anyone. In a full day we map two or three processes end to end and speak to everyone who works on them.
- Travel time: a good two hours by car from Bussum, longer from Eindhoven. We leave early so we can walk in at nine.
- The core session in Groningen is a full day: €1,192 excluding VAT and travel costs, instead of a half-day at €596. More money for the same journey, but you get more out of it.
- Travel costs: €0.45 per kilometre from Bussum, roughly €160 for the return trip. We charge that once per visit, not per half-day or per process.
- Building is done remotely, and so are the catch-ups: a fixed weekly video call, short lines in between. We are not driving four hours for a twenty-minute update.
- We come back for the moments that matter: the go-live of the first process, training on the shop floor, and any test where the people doing the work need to be present. Those visits are full days too.
- Several sites in the north? We do them on the same day, so you pay travel costs once.
When a local agency makes more sense
There are situations where you are better off with someone local, and it is fairer to name them than to leave them out.
- You want someone who can be at your table within the hour when something breaks, or who drops in physically every week. We cannot deliver that.
- The weight of your project sits in coaching and change on the shop floor: bringing a lot of people along, walking the floor weekly, changing habits. That work thrives on proximity.
- Your project is small. For a few days of build work, the travel cost of a visit weighs relatively heavily. A party around the corner is simply cheaper.
- The other way round: if the weight sits in building and connecting systems, and you want one team doing both the research and the build, distance is not a problem. That part happens behind a screen anyway.
What it costs
Our rates are the same for a company in Groningen as for one in Bussum. Only the travel costs differ, and here they are higher. We put that in writing up front, not on the invoice afterwards.
- AI scan: free, online, five minutes. A score, a few concrete opportunities and a first indication of price. No sales call and no travel costs.
- Core session on your shop floor: in Groningen a full day, €1,192 excluding VAT and travel costs. Our advisory rate is €149 per hour; we only do a half-day (4 hours, €596) here if you ask for it.
- Building: €110 per hour for straightforward work, €165 per hour for complex development. Paid monthly in advance from a budget you set, so there is no open end.
- Travel costs: €0.45 per kilometre from Bussum, roughly €160 per visit for the return trip.
- Remote meetings are charged as ordinary hours, with no travel costs. Which is exactly why most of the talking happens remotely.
Where it goes wrong
Five things come back every time. The first four apply anywhere; the fifth is specific to a supplier working at a distance.
- No owner. Without someone who has the authority to decide, the project disappears behind the daily workload. By far the most common cause.
- Data that does not add up. The same client twice, addresses in a free text field, three product codes for one product. Cleaning that up is dull manual work and often the bulk of the first few weeks.
- A supplier who keeps the door shut. Some packages have no open API, or only release one in a more expensive subscription. We check that before building, not after.
- The wrong first process. Starting with invoicing is tempting, but if something breaks there you pay for it in trust. Pick something where a mistake is visible and fixable.
- Silence at a distance. If we cannot walk over to your desk, someone on your side has to answer questions, supply data and make decisions. If that does not happen, the build stalls while the bill runs on. That is why we agree one weekly call and one point of contact before we start.
How to start
Start with the free AI scan: five minutes online, no strings, no travel costs. It tells you whether a conversation is worth having.
If the answer is yes, we have an intro call by video. That is deliberately remote: we only plan the drive north once it is clear to both sides that there is something to gain.
Then the core session: a full day at your place in Groningen, €1,192 excluding VAT and travel costs. We follow two or three processes end to end, talk to the people doing the work and count the steps. You get a core report with priorities and a go or no-go per opportunity, and that report is yours even if you do nothing further with us.
Frequently asked questions
Do you have an office in Groningen?
No. Our office is at Torenlaan 5B in Bussum, and we spend two days a week at the office in Eindhoven. We have nothing in Groningen and will not pretend otherwise. We work across the country and come to you.
How often do you come over if you are based that far away?
The core session always happens in person, because you cannot see a process through a screen. After that we come over for the moments that matter: the go-live of the first process, training on the shop floor, and tests where your people need to be there. Building and the weekly catch-up happen remotely. In practice that means a handful of full days per project, not weekly visits.
Why a full day instead of a half-day?
Because the journey takes a good two hours each way. A half-day of 4 hours means half a working day of travel for half a day of work, and the travel costs are the same either way. In a full day we map two or three processes end to end. Prefer a half-day anyway? That is fine: €596 instead of €1,192.
What do you charge in travel costs for Groningen?
Travel costs are €0.45 per kilometre from Bussum, which comes to roughly €160 for the return trip. We charge that per visit and state it in the quote up front, not as a surprise afterwards. If you have several sites in the north, we do them on the same day and you pay once.
What does it cost to start?
The AI scan is free and takes five minutes online, and the intro call after it is by video and costs nothing. The core session in Groningen is a full day: €1,192 excluding VAT and travel costs. After that you only pay for what you have built: €110 per hour for straightforward work and €165 for complex development.
When should we not start this at all?
If nobody can explain how a process currently runs, writing it down is the next step, not automating it. If what you mainly need is someone walking your floor every week, you are better off with an agency from the north. And if your current package already has an AI feature nobody uses, switch that on first.
What we do here
Further reading
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Other regions
Start with the free AI scan
Five minutes online, no sales call and no travel costs: you get a score, concrete opportunities and an indication of price. Based in Groningen and would rather talk first? Book an intro call by video, and afterwards we decide together whether a day on your shop floor is worth it.