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Comparing Hives.co and Fabrico? These are very different tools with some overlap in the continuous improvement space. Fabrico is an AI and computer vision platform focused on Kaizen and manufacturing quality improvement. Hives.co is an idea management platform that structures how organizations collect and implement employee ideas across all departments. Here is how they differ and where each is the better choice.
What Is Fabrico?
Fabrico is a newer entrant in the continuous improvement software space, differentiating through AI and computer vision technology applied to Kaizen and manufacturing processes. Their approach uses artificial intelligence to analyze manufacturing operations, identify improvement opportunities, and support quality management. This is a fundamentally different approach from traditional idea management: instead of asking humans to identify problems, Fabrico uses technology to detect them automatically.
Fabrico is still growing its market presence and has fewer publicly available reviews compared to established idea management platforms. Their focus is narrow but deep: AI-powered manufacturing improvement.
What Is Hives.co?
Hives.co is a Scandinavian idea management platform serving mid-to-large organizations (500+ employees) across manufacturing, retail, and industrial sectors. The platform structures idea collection through campaigns, evaluation through custom scoring workflows, and implementation through accountability tracking. Clients include Volvo, Scania, Halfords, and VINCI Energies. Pricing starts at €695/month.
Key Differences
Human-driven vs technology-driven improvement. This is the fundamental distinction. Hives.co captures human insights: the warehouse worker who notices a safety hazard, the store associate who has a better customer service idea, the engineer who sees a process shortcut. Fabrico uses AI to detect manufacturing issues that humans might miss: quality defects, process anomalies, and efficiency opportunities.
Breadth vs depth. Hives.co works across any department and industry. Fabrico is specifically designed for manufacturing quality and Kaizen applications. If your improvement needs extend beyond the factory floor, Fabrico will not cover them.
Idea lifecycle management. Hives.co manages the full idea lifecycle: submission, evaluation, prioritization, implementation, and ROI tracking. Fabrico focuses on detection and analysis rather than managing a pipeline of improvement initiatives.
Where Hives.co Wins
- Broad organizational engagement. Hives.co captures ideas from everyone: factory floor, retail stores, offices, R&D labs. Fabrico's AI approach does not replace the need to listen to employees who see problems and opportunities daily.
- Structured evaluation. Custom scoring criteria, multi-stage review workflows, and clear accountability ensure the best ideas get implemented. Fabrico identifies issues but does not manage the implementation pipeline the same way.
- Proven enterprise scale. Volvo, Scania, Halfords, and VINCI Energies. These are large organizations running Hives.co across multiple sites.
- Cross-industry flexibility. Manufacturing, retail, energy, construction. Hives.co adapts to any industry where employee ideas matter. Fabrico is manufacturing-specific.
Where Fabrico Wins
- AI-powered detection. Computer vision and AI can identify quality issues and process anomalies that humans might miss, especially in high-speed production environments. This is genuinely powerful technology for manufacturing quality management.
- Reduced human bias. AI-driven analysis eliminates the subjectivity that can affect human idea evaluation. Every issue is detected based on data, not opinion.
- Real-time monitoring. Continuous AI monitoring catches issues as they happen, rather than waiting for an employee to submit an observation.
Who Should Choose Which?
Choose Hives.co if: You want to tap into your workforce's collective knowledge across all departments. You need a structured system for evaluating and implementing improvement ideas. You want proven enterprise-scale idea management with transparent pricing.
Choose Fabrico if: You are a manufacturer specifically looking for AI-powered quality improvement and Kaizen automation. You want technology-driven defect detection alongside your human-driven improvement programs.
These tools are highly complementary. Fabrico can detect manufacturing issues through AI while Hives.co captures the broader range of human-generated improvement ideas and manages them through to implementation.
Want to see how Hives.co works for manufacturers? Book a 20-minute demo.
