Upfront, I’ll admit that I hate how everything has moved to a subscription model. I use few Microsoft products (Word for reading press releases and my monthly column to Italy, Excel for occasional tracking, Powerpoint almost never), yet I must pay an annual subscription. I dropped Adobe everything except for reader. Just don’t use it enough.
This news release regarding another survey of “US business leaders” points to the perennial financial debate within enterprises—which is better on the income statement and balance sheet, capital expenditure or expensing the expenditure?
The survey was commissioned by RobCo. The findings come from the RobCo Automation Readiness Index, a survey of 400 US business leaders in sectors including manufacturing, construction, engineering, and healthcare, conducted by Sapio Research. The data show US companies accelerating automation of back-office and production processes to boost output, secure supply chains, and support a renewed push for domestic manufacturing.
Summary of results:
- 95% of US industrial businesses plan to introduce new automation within the next three years
- Federal incentives and reshoring are accelerating factory automation plans
- Companies are turning to automation to fill labor gaps and improve job quality
- High upfront costs and skills shortages are pushing demand for leasing and robots-as-a-service
Oh, by the way, RobCo provides “Robots as a Service” or RaaS. That would be a type of subscription model.
While only one-third of companies said they were currently using robots, more than half (54%) are testing or planning to use them, indicating that robotics will likely play a major role in America’s new wave of automation.
Most companies said that new federal incentives to boost manufacturing, including new grants and tax incentives, were among the influences behind the drive to adopt the technology (73%), with 61% saying that onshoring or reshoring of production was a factor driving their automation plans.
Similar to the evolving conversation about AI where people are realizing that it can be a tool to enhance the work of humans, the survey found something we’ve known for 20 or more years—robots replace humans for “dull, dirty, dangerous” tasks.
Robots are taking on repetitive and dangerous tasks, freeing employees for higher-value work. Research shows growing acceptance: 58% of employees and 55% of unions are positive about automation. Companies are already seeing results, with 43% reporting lighter workloads, higher productivity, and improved morale.
Driving adoption are clear human-focused goals: boosting satisfaction (42%), addressing staff shortages (37%), reducing errors (49%), and cutting time on repetitive tasks (47%). Even non-automated sectors see potential gains in efficiency and reduced reliance on skilled labor. The message is clear: automation empowers people, rather than replaces them. But obstacles remain as funding models are outdated.
Almost half (48%) say that high initial investment is holding them back, with traditional funding models requiring high investment in physical robotics assets and third-party vendors for integration and maintenance.
Findings reinforce RobCo’s business model:
The findings point to a clear shift away from large, one-off capital projects toward subscription-style models like RobCo’s robots-as-a-service offering.
If you are like me and never heard of the company, following summarizes their history and mission.
Founded in 2020 out of the Technical University of Munich, RobCo is on a mission to make industrial automation more accessible, affordable, and adaptable. Its patented modular hardware kit, combined with the RobCo Studio no-code software platform, allows industrial companies of all sizes to automate repetitive and dangerous tasks quickly and with unmatched flexibility. Whether it’s machine tending, palletizing, dispensing, or welding, RobCo’s modular robot kits provide versatile end-to-end solutions that are simple to deploy and manage remotely – without heavy upfront investment or specialist expertise. With offices in Munich and San Francisco and robots already in operation worldwide, RobCo is supercharging a new generation of industrial companies to reduce costs, boost productivity, and compete on a global stage.
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