In the wake of the pandemic, the business environment has forced manufacturers to evaluate (or re-evaluate) automation. Manual, repetitive tasks, such as palletizing, are considered a logical initial focus.
However, feedback from individuals trying to find solutions remains consistent. The fragmented palletizing automation market makes finding information difficult and time-consuming. That's why more companies are using our Automated Palletizing Buyer's Guide.
Here's what we know:
- time is finite – Technical experts have limited scope to explore improvement options, while top management cannot afford extended or iterative proposals.
- Uptime is critical – Production uptime has always been of utmost importance, but today the pressure is especially severe. Preventing downtime is a top priority.
- Margin management is difficult. – Between parts, labor and transportation costs, the battle to maintain profits is becoming increasingly difficult. As a result, production must increase daily, weekly and monthly deliveries.
- Customer trends change quickly – Companies must adapt to rapidly changing consumer preferences and trends.
Robotiq has discovered a problem that needs a solution. That's why we created the Automated Palletizing Buyer's Guide. It compiles our industry expertise into a practical guide to help users research, select and present automatic palletizer solutions. This blog article covers the first step in the process: Strategic Essentials Framework.
Introduction to the Strategic Command Framework
This buyer's guide is a top-down approach to choosing the right palletizing solution for any business. The first step is Strategic Essentials FrameworkA high-level overview of business challenges and opportunities.
The Strategic Imperative Framework is derived from the Lean Robotics methodology and its objectives are to: peopleboost productivity, and nurture adaptability Maximize automation effectiveness through efficient, step-by-step deployment on the factory floor. design, integratedand activate.
Impact Category: What
The strategic imperative framework begins with the impact categories of people, productivity, and adaptability. Each row is ranked by importance. The table below summarizes each impact category on the left side of the downloadable Strategic Command Framework.
category |
specific element |
Element details |
people |
health and safety |
Increase palletizing safety and reduce health risks. |
labor availability |
Reduce reliance on physical labor for hard-to-fill roles. |
|
employee engagement |
Increase employee growth and retention. |
|
productivity |
Efficiency and Throughput |
Increase throughput and avoid bottlenecks. |
consistency |
Increases palette integrity and consistency. |
|
adaptability |
continuity |
Reduce downtime and reduce dependence on a small number of operators. |
flexibility |
Meet the cycle-specific requirements of your value stream in real time. Reduce transition time and complexity. |
|
scalability |
Manage fluctuating demand, respond to growth, and meet ROI. |
Solution Category: Methods
The ranks of solution mechanisms are located on the right-hand side of the strategic command framework. This forces the team to rank the most important categories. This will provide focus as the team transitions to researching the palletizing solutions category.
category |
specific element |
Element details |
design |
Pre-engineered precision |
Reduce design costs, avoid scope creep, and reduce risks associated with custom engineering designs. |
Maximized performance |
Maximize payload and pick rate. Reduce your footprint. |
|
Turnkey solution |
Reduce selection and installation complexity. |
|
integrated |
quick installation |
Reduce system installation and training time. |
factory custom |
Minimize impact on factory layout. Minimize relocation of upstream and downstream tasks. |
|
activate |
trustworthy |
Increase production uptime and reduce unplanned downtime. |
control |
Maintain control over product handling, increase software availability and modify programs autonomously. |
Strategic Essentials Framework
The Strategic Command Framework is a downloadable tool designed for use and storage by research teams. Although not intended as a presentation material, this framework is an important baseline for the rest of the process.
next stage
Once completed and remembered, the strategic command framework is (temporarily) set aside. The next step in the process is to understand the different categories of solutions available in the market. Business priorities and solution environments will be discussed together in later chapters.
An automated buyer's guide guides your team through the next steps.
1. Strategic tasks:
Start with a replay Strategic Imperative Framework From the beginning of the process. This is a fundamental principle of the decision-making process. Accordingly, Business Coordination Matrix These business principles will help you align them with different categories of palletizing solutions.
2. Detailed specifications:
It summarizes the technical specifications and highlights specific features (and functions) that are essential to the product. Palletizing process detailed specifications table.
3. Evaluate the solution:
Review our previous tools to analyze your palletizing options. We classify each according to how well it aligns with strategic imperatives and specifications.
4. Cost analysis:
Provides a cost analysis overview detailing the initial investment, operating costs, and scalability impact for each solution.
5. Decision-making framework:
Transfer the information you need into your business' decision-making framework.
6. Conclusions and recommendations:
We present the most appropriate solution based on alignment with strategic imperatives, specifications and cost analysis.
7. Pitch and Justification:
Use the information documented in the Automated Palletizing Buyer's Guide to develop a persuasive argument for your chosen solution. Highlight the benefits, unique value proposition, and how it aligns with the company’s long-term goals.
8. Internal communication:
Prepare a clear and concise presentation (or document) to share with relevant stakeholders in your organization. Make sure your evidence is well-structured and data-driven.
The Automated Palletizing Buyer's Guide is available from Robotiq along with all the tools.
take action
The post-pandemic business environment has forced manufacturers to re-evaluate the role of automation, especially when handling manual and repetitive tasks such as palletizing. However, feedback suggests that navigating the fragmented palletizing automation market remains a significant challenge. That's why we created the Automated Palletizing Buyer's Guide.
The Automatic Palletizer Buyer's Guide distills industry expertise into a practical resource for researching, selecting and presenting automatic palletizer solutions. This guide introduces the Strategic Imperative Framework, a high-level approach to aligning business challenges and opportunities with automation solutions. By leveraging this framework, companies can make informed decisions that increase productivity, empower employees, and improve plant floor adaptability. Through efficient deployment and phased integration, companies can maximize the impact of automation and address their unique operational needs.
Additional Resources
Are you aware of the concept of LEAN ROBOTICS? The Robotiq team has extensive experience supporting tens of thousands of manufacturers on their automation journey, providing insight on how to stay focused during the process. LEAN ROBOTICS books are available as text or audiobooks. Click here for more information.
Are you ready to get started? Talk to our palletizing experts.