According to Forbes.com, manufacturers around the world are learning to integrate automation and new technology into their operations with positive results, including business growth, higher efficiency and greater employee productivity.
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is growing fast in the food and beverage industry. And innovative companies are discovering the numerous benefits that automation offers to their businesses.
AUTOMATION AND BUSINESS GROWTH
Companies are learning that automation is directly related to business growth and their ability to remain competitive in a fast-changing market. There are many advantages to this growing trend, but we will highlight ten key benefits of automation for business growth in the food and beverage industry.
1. Increases uptime
Automation systems are fast, reliable and never tire. Advanced digital solutions also enable remote control and proactive service and maintenance. 24/7 automation support guarantees continuous, error-free production, which increases production uptime and has historic efficiency figures above 90 percent.
2. Improves workforce utilization
According to a McKinsey report, 54% of total working hours could be delegated to innovative robotic process automation solutions. Reducing labour costs and increasing efficiency.
Leveraging robotic automation improves workforce utilization by contributing to workforce changes and creating new and exciting jobs. According to Forbes.com, manufacturing jobs have grown at the fastest pace since 1995.
By automating repetitive physical processes, manufacturing facilities can deploy workforce where they are most needed without compromising production and outputs.
3. Reduces human error
The ability to identify the source of errors and inconsistencies and quickly address them is one of the biggest benefits of automation. By increasing quality control, traceability, and standardization, automation reduces human error by at least 50%.
Leveraging automation improves hygiene and sanitation in food manufacturing facilities, which reduces the possibility of human error raising food safety concerns.
Robotic automation in packaging and palletizing can also be extremely precise and gentle with fragile items, reducing the possibility of human error and product damage or loss.
4. Improves worker safety
According to a McKinsey report 18% of predictable physical activities such as heavy lifting, repetitive tasks and other dangerous work can be automated. Automation of these tasks can increase safety, protect workers and reduce hazards of a factory environment.
The extra safety provided by these automated systems also reduces costs overall as facilities will face less workplace injury claims.
5. Saves on Materials
Innovative automation solutions, such as box formers, save up to 20% on packaging materials compared to manual packaging. They allow for maximum efficiency in materials, reducing waste and providing optimal utilization.
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6. Traceability
An automated system counts and tracks items more efficiently, which enables easier recalls and collects valuable data to improve the supply chain.
According to Marlen.com, traceability is one of the biggest benefits of automation in manufacturing. Traceability supports business growth by providing valuable information that can be leveraged when making business decisions. By pairing automation with business analytics, companies can maintain visibility throughout the entire process of production and distribution of products.
In the food and beverage industry, traceability holds even more importance as it increases the shelf life of products, as well as food safety.
Traceability also supports business growth by making it easier for facilities to identify inefficiencies and points of improvement.
7. Standardization
Standardized processes increase quality control and production predictability. Even with standard operating procedures (SOPs) and extensive training, human error still impacts the standardization of products. With automation, processes and products can be standardized, which improves quality control.
According to New Food Magazine, automating production and standardizing appearance and quality of products improves line efficiency, bottom-line profit, and sales. Since every product follows the same procedures from beginning to end, quality becomes a reproducible standard – one that your clients can trust.
8. Competitiveness
Staying competitive in a rapidly changing industry with continuous technological advancements can be a tough goal to achieve. As competitors leverage technology and automation, they push down prices and raise raw material costs to slam the competition.
Automating your production line decreases cycle times and cost-per-piece. Automation also improves quality control, making facilities more competitive on a global scale.
9. Flexibility
Robots can meet packaging requirements for different products and specifications without requiring additional training, which provides flexibility and quick adaptation.
Automation in manufacturing facilities helps business be more agile and responsive without the extra cost and time required to train and re-deploy employees. It allows facilities to adapt to new industry requirements and opens the possibility to scale up or scale down operations without affecting workforce planning.
10. Reduces carbon footprint
The principle of sustainability is to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs. The three key pillars of sustainability are environmental, economic, and social. The environmental aspect may be the first that comes to mind, but thinking green has profoundly positive economic and social effects as well, resulting in increased savings and the improved well-being of employees.
Automation saves energy, packaging materials, waste, and delivery space. With sophisticated algorithms, the right amount of goods can be manufactured at the right time. Efficient planning of deliveries is essential for success in the food and beverage industry. These factors result in more environmentally friendly consumer goods, which is more desirable for both new talent and customers.
How Orfer Automation Solutions can help
The right automation partner can evaluate your industry-specific automation needs, identify the areas of improvement, and develop a comprehensive system to maximize your ROI while ensuring a smooth transition.
At Orfer, we offer solutions for secondary packing and palletizing, from individual machines to complete and sophisticated systems. Our products include product conveyor systems, box forming and packaging, palletizing, and pallet conveyor systems.
A family business founded in 1970, Orfer is the leading supplier of secondary packaging and palletizing of the Finnish food industry. Over the past five decades, we have built over 1000 automation systems and delivered projects in 18 countries.
We have worked with dozens of companies in the food and beverage industry. And we have a proven record of increasing efficiency, quality control, traceability, and safety, while reducing costs. Our clients also experience optimized production times with less downtime.
We are committed to driving sustainability in packaging and logistics. We automatically pack retail-ready products for display and delivery, saving space and packing material, providing 24/7 reliability, and increasing traceability and cost efficiency.
To schedule a meeting with our Sales Manager, Prem Pillai, and learn how you can leverage automation for business growth, click the button below.
Schedule a meeting to learn how you can leverage automation for business growth