Why manufacturers should embrace automation?

It’s natural to feel unsure, hesitant or fearful when you’re met with the unknown particularly when it comes to things you need to learn more about like robot automation.

At first, automation may be viewed as:

• An additional business expense
• Not suitable because there needs to be a high level of technical expertise within a company to integrate robots effectively
• A waste of time because you can’t automate every process in a production with a robot
• Not flexible enough to undertake intricate business processes
• Only suitable for short-term solutions

These could be seen as reasons not to invest enough in automation or in automation at all.

Take a moment to consider this. If you choose not to automate and continue to run your processes manually, you’ll achieve the same results however as your competitors start integrating automation into their productions they will advance further and you run the risk of falling behind.

Alternatively, if you choose to embrace automation you have the opportunity to build a leveraged business. You can grow and expand your production, build a business that’s globally competitive, widely recognised and highly successful.

Which option would you prefer?

Automation offers both short-term and long-term benefits for all types of businesses, particularly when you look at the innovation behind collaborative robots.

Automation is a long-term value driven investment

There is an investment when you automate however the value and benefits far outweigh the initial investment. Automation isn’t an option for business, it’s not a luxury item, it’s essential for growth and development.

Automating with robots is not a short-term solution; it’s a valuable business strategy that facilitates the growth and sustainability of a business. Many manufacturers focus on finding a low-cost solution to fix a process or a challenge in their production, they look at the short-term solutions and don’t consider the future benefits. Businesses must prioritise their future and invest in their employees and their business by adopting strategies that will ensure they have a business that is scalable, sustainable and competitive.

If you want to survive you must innovate and integrate new technologies into your business to remain efficient and competitive. Automation will allow you to consistently deliver on your promise to your customers.

Some businesses are hesitant to automate because they feel their employees don’t have the level of technical knowledge or expertise needed to integrate robots into a production. If the expertise isn’t in-house, these companies feel they need to spend money on hiring experienced staff.

Today, this couldn’t be further from the truth because virtually anyone can program a collaborative robot within minutes and learn the necessary skills to integrate, redeploy and trouble shoot issues if they arise. There’s no need to engage expensive experts because everything can be completed in-house. Your employees will learn new skills that will enhance their careers and grow your business.

The future is collaborative

The focus shouldn’t be on automating everything in a business, it’s about automating individual processes that will drive a more efficient production. It’s about creating a collaborative work environment where employees use tools like collaborative robots to do their jobs more efficiently and effectively to drive business outcomes.

Today’s automation solutions are flexible and have the ability to automate the most intricate of tasks. Collaborative robots, for example, can be customised for palletising and packaging applications and we’re seeing today they’re being used to assist in surgeries, in hospitality and in laboratory analysis and testing. The flexibility and versatility of this technology means it can automate a wide range of tasks and processes within a business.

Automation delivers powerful advantages

Reducing costs and increasing efficiencies is important for all manufacturers and this is often the single reason many choose to automate, so they can replace workers to reduce their costs. However what’s often overlooked is the fact that if a manufacturer introduces automation they will be able to showcase their innovation and technology to their customers and highlight how their products are produced in a responsible, cost effective manner while ensuring stability and a consistent output. This in itself greatly increases brand awareness; brand loyalty, customer retention and it will help build a positive reputation.

For contract manufacturers that produce products for big brands, automation is powerful because these brands promise their customers a responsible manufacturing process that uses the most advanced technologies to ensure consistently high-quality products at low prices.

By adopting automation, these manufacturers are seen as market leaders by existing customers and their businesses are extremely attractive to new business opportunities both locally and globally.

Automation is a critical business asset that must be embraced if you want to succeed.

About the author:

Shermine Gotfredsen is the General Manager Universal Robots Pte Ltd (Southeast Asia and Oceania). Shermine is committed to working in partnership with companies across the SEAO region to help them make the right decisions on how to improve productivity through automation.