Today’s manufacturers are navigating a perfect storm of challenges: labor shortages, rising input costs, increasing demand, and mounting pressure on profitability and safety. Typically, manufacturers address these challenges with temporary labor, lean manufacturing, product diversification, and traditional automation.
Unfortunately, many of these tactics serve as temporary band-aids rather than long-term solutions. A more permanent solution to closing the productivity and labor gaps in many CPG facilities is Full Service Automation.
Your Automation Options in 2025
Earlier this week, Formic and SNAC International hosted a webinar on getting started with automation the easy way. In it, Formic’s VP of Sales broke down manufacturers' automation options:
- Do It Yourself
- Hire the “Pros”
- Full Service Automation
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Do It Yourself |
Hire the “Pros” |
Full Service Automation |
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You source, you install, and you maintain the automation. |
Hire integrators to design and install systems for you. |
All-inclusive, on-demand automation with no upfront cost. |
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✅ Pros: Full control, done in-house. |
✅ Pros: Expert setup, tailored to your needs. |
✅ Pros: Low risk, fast deployment, fully supported, flexible. |
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❌ Cons: High initial cost, steep learning curve. |
❌ Cons: Expensive, long lead times; risk of change orders, surprising delays. |
❌ Cons: No ownership. |
Getting Started with Automation
No matter which route you choose, automation success depends on more than just picking the right robot. It’s about planning your approach from the ground up. Here's how:
First: Choose the right line to automate
- Identify bottlenecks: Where are delays, inefficiencies, or labor challenges slowing production?
- Define automation goals: Are you looking to cut costs, boost output, reduce reliance on manual labor, or all of the above?
- Evaluate processes: Common starting points: palletizing, case packing, material handling, and repetitive tasks.
- Determine funding: Will you leverage CapEx (buying the system outright) or OpEx (subscription or RaaS model)?
Then: Choose the right partner
- Full Service Automation: Takes weeks
- Hire the “Pros”: Takes months
- DIY: Takes an unknown amount of time
Finally: Deploy and improve
- Plan for minimal disruption: Choose an implementation timeline that minimizes downtime.
- Ensure workforce readiness: Train employees on working alongside/with automation.
- Integrate and test: Ensure smooth handoffs between automated and manual processes.
- Monitor and optimize: Adjust workflows & continuously improve efficiency.
The Cost of Waiting to Automate: Why Now?
We keep saying automation is a now, not a later. That’s because waiting comes with real costs: higher operating expenses, labor churn, safety risks, and lost revenue due to limited capacity. Meanwhile, competitors who are automating are gaining ground.
The reason many manufacturers haven’t made the leap? Traditional automation can be expensive, slow, and difficult to get right, unless you take the Full Service Automation route.
Full Service Automation
That’s exactly why we started Formic.
Formic provides Full Service Automation that helps manufacturers get started immediately, without the need for CapEx, new hires, or the risk of failure. We offer everything you need to automate now and ensure long-term success.
That includes the complete system to do the job right: engineering your robot, delivering and deploying it, and making sure it performs as expected. We also provide all the parts and services required to keep it running smoothly, including continuous performance monitoring and maintenance. On top of that, we equip you with the technology to improve productivity by capturing, using, and learning from your production data.
Our customers rely on us for success and trust us to manage the automation so that they can do what they do best: running their business.
Ready to explore your automation options? [Watch the full webinar here] to learn how you can take the first step.