Automation refers to using expertise to finish duties and processes with minimal human intervention. The time period encompasses a variety of applied sciences from robotic palletizing cells to AI product administration instruments. Automation is reworking industries and there are great advantages to automating components of your corporation.
The case for automation is getting stronger yearly. Whereas 10 years in the past, we had been nonetheless introducing firms to the essential advantages of automating even one course of, now folks typically come to us already realizing that they need to automate. And so they need to do it shortly and effectively.
There are numerous advantages to including automation, notably with robotics. Whereas a variety of discussions give attention to the “easy advantages” of automation — like elevated effectivity, productiveness, and efficiency — there are various extra nuanced advantages to automation.
In order for you your corporation to thrive this yr, it is essential to know the precise advantages which might be most essential proper now. It is also essential to know what you need to keep away from when automating, to flee widespread pitfalls.
Let’s discover 9 of the highest advantages of automation in 2025.
9 Advantages of Automation in 2025 (and What to Keep away from)
1. Flexibility and agility
With robotic automation, we regularly speak about flexibility and agility. These are each advantages that include automation however one is more and more extra related in 2025…
Versatile automation refers to methods that may meet deliberate adjustments to job or product calls for. For instance, your organization may expertise seasonal manufacturing spikes. A versatile automation course of can adapt to those predictable adjustments.
As Robotiq R&D Challenge Supervisor, Nicolas Lauzier highlights, this agility and related sensible expertise can provide your organization a aggressive edge:
“There may be an urgency for adopting automated options within the present financial local weather. In keeping with reviews, sensible manufacturing facility options would be the major drivers of competitiveness within the subsequent 5 years.”
A pitfall to keep away from right here is investing too closely in inflexible automation options. These are sometimes designed for mass manufacturing and may fall quick in at this time’s fast-evolving markets.
2. Scale simply and adapt to vary
A standout good thing about automation is scalability. Not solely can the best automation show you how to ramp up manufacturing to satisfy your strategic progress targets, agile automation can even show you how to pivot manufacturing to handle surprising market shifts.
In the course of the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020, we noticed that many firms that succeeded in adapting to the altering world scenario had invested in the best automation earlier than the pandemic.
One technique that may be very useful is to deploy “copy-paste” robotic cells. This includes deploying a selected software as soon as after which replicating that very same cell to scale manufacturing.
An instance of copy-paste automation is in decentralized palletizing. This modular strategy includes including a palletizing cell to the top of every new manufacturing line. By incorporating this core end-of-line course of into the road itself, you keep away from needing a drastic reconfiguration of your facility each time you scale manufacturing.
A pitfall to keep away from right here is assuming that you already know what the market will need sooner or later or relying an excessive amount of on predictions. As an alternative, put money into automation that may help you adapt to adjustments shortly once they occur.
3. Scale manufacturing domestically
Native manufacturing, empowered by collaborative robotic automation, is more and more thought of a strategic selection for producers.
For a few years, offshoring manufacturing was seen as the best way to scale manufacturing. Nonetheless, in recent times, reshoring manufacturing has change into widespread. This shift is not only a pattern however is turning into a necessity within the quickly altering financial and geopolitical panorama.
By bringing manufacturing nearer to house, producers can expertise many advantages, together with decreased transport prices, shorter lead instances, and the flexibility to customise merchandise for native markets.
Reshoring with robotic automation additionally builds resilience into an organization’s operations by lowering reliance on complicated international provide adjustments.
A pitfall to keep away from with reshoring is to match solely the preliminary prices relatively than calculating the return on funding of automation in the long run. Offshored operations typically depend on low-cost labor, which may make automated options look extra pricey to start with. Nonetheless, financial savings typically change into clear while you venture into the medium to long run.
4. Make higher selections with information
Automation does not simply carry out key duties in your corporation, it additionally generates invaluable information. This information can feed into your wider enterprise analytics and show you how to make higher, extra strategic selections.
Within the trendy world, information is significant for making good enterprise selections. With a robotic system, for instance, you possibly can generate information that means that you can hold optimizing your robotic deployment and enhance efficiency.
Our eBook Analytics for Cobots highlights how collaborative robots can simplify capturing this important information. By monitoring solely the best metrics, you possibly can give attention to those who immediately align together with your operational wants for the automated resolution.
Amassing this information can even show you how to justify your previous selections, reminiscent of investing in automation within the first place. For instance, the information you gather from a collaborative robotic may help you calculate the ROI and make selections about future automation initiatives.
A pitfall to keep away from right here is monitoring pointless information. Solely monitor and analyze information that’s related to your wants and software.
5. Solves workforce shortages
Labor scarcity is a rising problem in trendy manufacturing and is an issue now we have been monitoring for a number of years. With an getting older workforce and fewer expert staff in key jobs (reminiscent of finish of line palletizing), automation is more and more the one choice for some firms.
Robotiq’s Nicholas Lauzier emphasizes the urgency of this example in 2024, stating:
“Research present that the labor scarcity producers presently face will not be prone to diminish; the truth is, it’s anticipated to worsen. As folks retire, youthful staff more and more go for jobs with higher working circumstances and compensation, steering clear of producing positions.”
Automation presents a strategic response to this challenge, enabling you to maximise the potential of your current groups. By permitting automated methods to take over the extra repetitive, mundane duties, you unlock your expert professionals for higher-value, extra intellectually stimulating actions.
A pitfall to keep away from will not be speaking the labor shortages to groups earlier than including automation. When folks perceive why you might be including this new expertise, they’ll extra simply get on board.
6. Construct safer, higher workplaces
One of the vital understated advantages of automation is its capacity to create higher workplaces. By addressing the “4 D’s of robotics” you take away the least interesting features of individuals’s jobs.
These 4 D’s consult with duties which might be boring, harmful, soiled, or pricey. They’re often jobs that result in low morale, increased accident charges, decrease job high quality, and elevated operational prices. By automating them, you possibly can take away the burden on human staff and make their jobs extra rewarding.
Robots typically excel on the duties that people do not get pleasure from doing. For instance, a boring job is likely to be a repetitive meeting job. When human staff do the identical job for hours on finish, they’ll change into demotivated, and the duty high quality is decreased. However a robotic will simply and constantly carry out the identical job for hours on finish.
A pitfall to keep away from right here will not be involving your group members within the deployment. Whenever you contain folks from the beginning, they typically take possession of the robotic deployment, main to higher outcomes.
7. Lower waste and increase sustainability
Sustainability has change into a central focus throughout many industries. As many firms look to align their operations with extra sustainable practices, automation can present a robust device to information this transformation.
Robotic automation, for instance, has been proven to make packaging processes extra sustainable. Packaging is usually a notoriously wasteful manufacturing stage, each in supplies and power utilization. With the best automation resolution, you possibly can deal with this drawback and contribute to enhancing your organization’s general sustainability.
By including collaborative robotic packaging, you possibly can optimize your workflow and reduce materials use to a minimal. For instance, by monitoring your robotic, you possibly can tweak and alter the quantity of fabric utilized in packaging to chop it to a minimal. This isn’t a one-off exercise however relatively a step you need to revisit from time to time to see how one can additional cut back waste.
A pitfall to keep away from at this stage is taking a look at your automated processes in isolation. Typically, you possibly can cut back waste considerably throughout robotic deployment by noticing different inefficiencies in the remainder of your operations.
8. Guarantee constant operations
Whereas robotic automation is commonly most celebrated for enhancing effectivity and productiveness, maybe its most transformational profit is consistency.
In contrast to handbook processes, automation is very constant. That is essential in enterprise processes because it ensures your organization is dependable and maintains a excessive stage of product high quality. Including a robotic to your manufacturing workflow not solely makes its particular job extra constant, it additionally improves the consistency of your whole manufacturing move.
In Eli Goldratt’s seminal e-book “The Aim”, the writer highlights how a selected robotic workstation units the work cadence for the remainder of the manufacturing, serving to to take away a problematic bottleneck. Individuals working in manufacturing typically speak about how the robotic makes them extra constant as a result of they need to “beat the robotic” or sustain with its constant throughput.
Lean Robotics supplies a targeted pathway that may assist obtain this consistency in your corporation. The primary stage, mapping your current handbook course of, can typically show you how to establish wasteful or inconsistent steps earlier than you automate with a robotic.
A pitfall to keep away from right here is making an attempt to suit your automation into your course of with out contemplating the remainder of your manufacturing levels.
9. Automation is simpler than ever
Maybe the most important profit to utilizing automation in 2025 is how straightforward it’s now to automate in comparison with the way it was up to now.
After we first began serving to firms to automate their processes, they nonetheless wanted to place in various work throughout deployment. As of late, including a robotic to your manufacturing is simpler than ever earlier than.
Robotiq’s CEO Samuel Bouchard highlighted this at a Automatica commerce truthful, saying:
“With plug-and-play elements, you continue to must do a little bit of the mixing. Our early adopters had been prepared to do this. Now we’re working with individuals who do not even know what a cobot is. It permits extra folks to undertake robots into their factories.”
With options like software kits you possibly can add robotics to your course of shortly and simply, serving to you to attain the outcomes you wish to make.
By eradicating boring, harmful, soiled, and pricey duties from the palms of people, you need to use automation to make the mark you need to make on the world.
As Samuel says, that is a part of our core driver at Robotiq:
“Our mission for the previous 14 years has been to free human palms from repetitive duties. That is nonetheless our mission. We see a variety of cobots, however I nonetheless suppose we’re at a extremely early stage. There may be nonetheless a variety of potential.”
How will you automate in 2025?
Automation in 2025 guarantees a world past simply effectivity or productiveness.
From enhanced labor dynamics to sustainability, consistency, and usefulness, its advantages ripple throughout each facet of enterprise. Nonetheless, the important thing to reaping these rewards lies in making use of that automation thoughtfully and avoiding key pitfalls.
What’s going to the way forward for automation seem like in your organization?
Take a look at our software kits to see how simply you possibly can apply automation this yr.
What profit most speaks to your wants proper now? Inform us within the feedback under or be a part of the dialogue on LinkedIn or Fb.
