Over almost 20 years I've observed that when it comes to automation, most businesses want it or even declare they can't operate without it. Increasingly companies must evolve through technology to remain competitive. But how is automation woven into the ongoing business strategy and given the right resources and funding?
Building Roadmaps to Support Strategy
Automation is a powerful tool to address challenges with productivity, efficiency, safety, quality, sustainability, cost control and employee attraction/retention. At a high level CEOs make these categories part of their yearly strategic goals and from there they are cascaded down to various internal departments. In some organisations there are strategic thinkers who are responsible for developing automation roadmaps for both the organisation's products and internal processes. How these roadmaps are built can vary but it's critical that they include the outcomes they plan to pursue, the value derived and the investment required to make them a reality. It is also important to look across the whole end-to-end process. Sometimes the benefits for individual pieces of automation don't amount to much unless the entire process is automated. With a well composed and detailed roadmap, it is much more likely the business will get long term support and buy in from those who control the funds.
The Common Approach
For many businesses automation planning is far more reactive. They look to adapt the latest technologies into their operations and products based on what their competitors are doing or some impressive results they've seen online or at a trade show. In other words they are using technology availability to determine their focus rather than strategy. That's not to say that these companies are putting effort into the wrong things but perhaps the decision making is more ad-hoc. This can make it more difficult to get adequate funding or to achieve game changing outcomes as the business case is often built on scenarios conceived in isolation rather than big picture value.
Another commonly used tactic is to include requirements for new technologies within large equipment supply contracts. This will successfully engage OEMs to look at the problem and attempt some solution but often has undesired outcomes. The solution provided may be the most expedient they can devise within the timelines and constraints of the contract and the performance of the solutions can be variable depending on the complexity of the unknowns at time of signing. If you're looking for something completely new and unproven to be created you should separate the requirement into its own innovations clause or contract that allows you to be deeply involved through the process and has the flexibility for change based on what is learned along the way. You also need to accept that new developments have risk that needs to be shared between supplier and client.
Driving the Right Research and Product Development
For an organisation to achieve their automation goals their suppliers also need to see a business benefit. Without a clear picture of the real value of automation suppliers are unlikely to prioritise R&D and product development on what their clients need. Many times I've seen or heard of push back against pricing for features because at an engineering level the price was seen as excessive, regardless of the overall value their business might get from it. Value pricing is critical to drive supplier investment and prioritisation of limited resources, and having open conversations about what value a feature holds rather than trying to get a great bargain can facilitate better outcomes in the long term. Developing long term relationships with suppliers who want to work in partnership is the key to achieving successful automation and should be included as part of your strategic plan.
Summary
Whilst an ad-hoc approach can yield benefits, the greatest chance of successfully using automation to improve your business is achieved through a strategy driven approach. Build a detailed roadmap that demonstrates tangible business improvements, get the right levels of funding and executive support, and engage with suitable automation partners who will go on the journey with you for mutual benefit. I and Nolara Automation Solutions can help you navigate through these stages from strategy, roadmap development, and planning to building and implementing solutions. Please don't hesitate to contact me if this is a journey you'd like to be on.
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