A pilot is more or less a working version of the end solution that is deployed for Production use to a small set of users (not more than 10-20 internal and supply chain users). A successful pilot is a very strong indication (almost certain) that Cogence will work well in a Production setting.
We are comfortable with free pilots because in most cases a production-ready Cogence will be ready in as little as 2 weeks and e are pretty confident that by the end of the free pilot you and your team and Supply Chain partners will love Cogence.