ROI for Industrial Automation- Prime Areas to Consider

Return on Investment (ROI) in automation for manufacturing refers to the financial benefits a company can expect to see as a result of investing in automation technology. There are many factors that go into the final decision of choosing automation plans. Manufacturers must have historical data that defines their current process to ensure that the automation plan designed is working for them. Manufacturers also need to align their automation plans to their business growth plan to ensure their physical assets work to support their goals.

The ROI from automation in manufacturing while measured monetarily through investment versus direct savings and increased revenue, can also have some parallel outcomes that can be significant.

Some ROI points that need to be monitored that can ultimately contribute to financial returns are:

• Increase efficiency– measured and managed production data can lead to plugging of wastage and increase your floor efficiency multi-fold.
• Reduce labour costs– automating data entry can help re-assign your valuable manpower to more supervisory roles and reduce the hiring of mass low-cost labour for repetitive tasks.
• Improve quality– as each segment of the process is monitored and adjusted to meet the customer requirements, the quality of products can be regulated and improved without massive effort. In addition, manufacturers can start to expand to customised manufacturing to serve a global clientele.
• Increase productivity– automated production planning can help sales and marketing personnel to gain information like availability and delivery dates through a mobile-enabled app instead of working with multiple departments that need to physically track and tabulate. Re-routing production or carrying out preventive maintenance can reduce delays and improve machine operating time.
• Enable sustainability efforts- as calls for sustainable manufacturing gets louder; more establishments are focusing on getting the right policies and action plans in place. However, measurements and reporting are also crucial to ensure sustainability efforts are not just an industry token and have workable outcomes. Automation solutions deliver data that not only enable quick decisions but also helps manufacturers adhere to regulatory requirements.

When planning, please consider factors such as the cost of automation technology, the cost of labour, the time saved by automating specific tasks, and the benefits of improved quality and efficiency and you will be on track to gain your ROI.

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