FEATURE Robotics
SERVICE IS SHIFTING THE ROI EQUATION
The hidden ROI driver in robotics: Michel Spruijt, President at Brain Corp International, discusses why service, and not hardware, determines automation success across a range of industries and geographies
W
hen organisations invest in robotics, the conversation almost always starts with hardware and software
capabilities. When it comes to deploying autonomous robots, executives and procurement teams tend to focus the majority of their attention on how fast a machine can operate, how long its battery lasts, and how easy it will or won’t be to set up and operate. These are undoubtedly important considerations, but in my experience, they are rarely the decisive factor in whether an automation strategy succeeds or fails. The real medium-to-long term differentiator is less glamorous but far more impactful. It’s service.
Unplanned downtime is the Achilles’ heel of automation. According to a survey by ABB, more than two-thirds of industrial businesses experience at least one unplanned outage each month, with the average cost of downtime nearing $125,000 per hour! Also, according to recent European industry forecasts, manufacturers in Europe are projected to lose more than £80 billion due to downtime in 2025 alone, with some sectors facing disruption costs measured in millions per hour. Those numbers are startling, and they indicate an obvious yet overlooked reality: the long-term success of any automation initiative depends not on how sophisticated the robot is on paper, but on how quickly it can be repaired and returned to service if an issue arises. For years, automation ROI was
8 October 2025 | Automation
conventionally calculated by comparing the cost of a robot to the labour hours it could replace or augment. That calculation is still relevant, but to get to the real ROI ground truth is increasingly complex. Today, resilience and reliability matter just as much as efficiency. Yet, only 15% of European manufacturers currently have real- time visibility into their production processes, according to a 2024 study, making it difficult for most organisations to even measure or optimise uptime across their operations.
Service networks
This shift explains why some large-scale deployments succeed while others falter. Organisations with high-functioning service networks, can minimise downtime, maintain operational continuity, and allow automation to be scaled confidently. Those without such support can find themselves constantly firefighting. Working with businesses across industries and geographies, I’ve observed a consistent pattern. The most successful adopters of robotics treat service as a core part of their automation strategy. These organisations ask difficult but necessary questions early in the procurement process and the answers they get are often more predictive of long-term value than the specifications listed in the product brochure. ● What is the average response time when something goes wrong? ● Are service technicians trained specifically on this type of robot? ● How are spare parts sourced and delivered?
● Is there a proactive maintenance plan to
prevent failures before they occur? The leading players in the field are already
reacting to this new way of thinking: in a recent European survey by Bain & Co., 100% of OEMs polled indicated plans to offer predictive maintenance services by 2024 (up from 42% in 2019), and 95% are investing in remote maintenance and operational efficiency offerings.
This prioritised focus on service is not limited to one sector or region. In retail, downtime can disrupt customer experiences and slice into razor thin margins. In logistics, it can create bottlenecks across supply chains. In facilities, where robots are increasingly used for cleaning and material handling, downtime can hamper both efficiency and safety. Across all these contexts, the story is the same: a reliable service model is what determines whether automation enhances operations or ultimately undermines them. The robotics industry has reached a tipping point. Hardware innovation will continue, and rightly so. But, in my opinion, it’s essential that the conversation around automation ROI recognises more of the factors that lead to successful long term deployments. The defining question is no longer only about what a robot can do when it works, but about how reliably it works, and how quickly it can be back in action if or when it falters.
Brain Corp
www.braincorp.com
automationmagazine.co.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40
