With markets becoming increasingly challenging, more and more manufacturers are finding that automation is no longer a luxury but a necessity to remain competitive.
But how do you find the right system for your operation? Technology plays a part, but there’s more to consider when bringing your automation goals to life, from the day-to-day functionality to long-term financial benefits. Every part of your business has unique needs and priorities that must be addressed if the equipment is to deliver its full potential and manufacturing goals are to be met.
That’s why we take a collaborative approach – working with the whole of your business to ensure the automations we provide solve immediate problems and offer lasting value.
Meeting automation goals on the manufacturing floor
For the production team, which includes operatives, technicians and engineers, functionality, reliability and integration are top concerns. They need to know that the automation introduced can handle the demands of daily operations, integrate with existing processes and equipment and deliver consistent results without breaking down or creating other technical challenges that lead to unexpected downtime.
Crucially, it must improve efficiency: speeding up production whilst maintaining quality.
To achieve this, we liaise closely with your production team and conduct on-site assessments to understand the workflows, technical requirements and any bottlenecks or pain points. This allows us to recommend and design systems that integrate seamlessly into the environment and we back this up with robust training and maintenance programmes to ensure the rollout runs smoothly.
Meeting the automation goals of the back office team
Back office teams like HR and sales and marketing need to be sure that the new equipment will benefit people and processes, and have a positive customer impact. Automation needs to demonstrate improvements to the working environment, streamline administrative tasks (saving time and money), and enhance customer satisfaction with the quality or consistency of the end product.
Employees need adequate training and clear explanations to ensure they’re on board with the investment and not resentful of automated equipment ‘taking jobs’.
As part of our proposal, we’ll make it clear how automation will complement existing roles, enhance product consistency and improve processes such as inventory management and reporting.
Meeting the management team’s automation goals
The management team is focused on the big picture: will the investment deliver a financial return (and when), bring long-term benefits and align with the overall goals for the business? They’re looking at how introducing automation will reduce the cost of labour, energy or materials, increase profitability and help them remain competitive by allowing them to scale.
At this level, we work with management to build a clear business case for automation. By analysing production metrics and identifying cost-saving opportunities, we’re able to present a detailed ROI forecast that clearly demonstrates the benefits. Our solutions are designed to be scalable, ensuring they meet current needs and adapt to future growth and many incorporate data-gathering capabilities, providing management with real-time insights that can shape decision-making and improve efficiency further.
How to build a business case for automation investment
As part of our commitment to customer satisfaction, we can help you create a well-structured business case to secure investment in automation, outlining the problem, the proposed solution and the anticipated benefits.
Through site visits and interviews we can identify inefficiencies and limitations in existing processes and detail how automation will address these. Financial analysis provides in depth calculations of ROI over time, including up front costs, ongoing expenses and projected savings as well as intangible gains such as improved health and safety or customer satisfaction.
We only supply palletising and sack-filling equipment from manufacturers who we trust and we work with leading providers to bring you the widest possible range and the greatest number of benefits.
