Robot and Automation Solutions Implemented Last Minute, Further Challenging Supplier Lead Times: Study

The need for automation and robotics is not just expected to increase this year – it’s also becoming an urgent priority for many businesses.

Among the businesses seeking to automate, a large majority are looking to do so at a relatively short notice of less than six months, according to new data from HowToRobot.

“It’s becoming clear that automation and robotics are often planned in the short-term in response to immediate challenges such as labor shortages,” says HowToRobot CEO, Søren Peters. “The short timeframes for automation implementations put pressure on suppliers to act fast and lower lead times while also requiring diligent planning from both end-users and suppliers.”

HowToRobot

Key takeaways:

• Across automation projects worldwide in 2023, 56% had a timeline of less than six months to find a supplier and get a solution up and running.
• While lead times seem to have normalized in 2024, meeting the relatively short time horizons for customer projects can still require some compromises between buyers and suppliers.

“Very complex, custom-engineered solutions often involve longer lead times than simpler, standard solutions. When facing tight deadlines, we see that businesses sometimes have to chop up their projects into smaller bits and adjust their automation ambitions toward those proven solutions,” says Peters. “By getting a simple automation solution up and running fast, businesses can move workers to other production areas where they are more needed. In many cases, this helps reduce the impact of the labor shortages on the businesses in the short term, while more automation can be introduced in steps later on.”