As with software-as-a-service (SaaS), robotics companies are following in their footsteps by offering robotics-as-a-service (RaaS). RaaS makes deployment not only easier but also more feasible. This service is a cost-effective and scalable approach for adopting robotics in warehouses without spending too much on training and infrastructure. With such deployment of robots in businesses, the adoption of robots will increase. For instance, ABI Research notes that the RaaS concept will see approximately 1.3 million deployments globally by 2026. Of this number, the largest deployment will be in the logistics and manufacturing industries. With these projections robot purchases will be eclipsed by RaaS deployments in terms of revenues.

RaaS everywhere

The adoption of RaaS concept will be helpful in deploying robots as required by industry standards. With this model, user organizations will get to know more value that comes with deploying secure robotics solutions as compared to just deploying infrastructure. This will reduce the effort that organizations have to manage in the back office. The sluggish processes associated with a lack of trained personnel and poor, low-quality infrastructure will be replaced by highly qualified professionals and world-class robotic infrastructure.

Many large logistics companies are turning to robotics to improve their work rate and enhance efficiency in their warehouses. However, for companies that decide to develop and manage their own solutions in-house, adoption can end up being unpractical and lacking cost-effectiveness in the long run. The cost of managing robots and the expertise needed to maintain it may end up consuming more resources. Coupled with fast-changing business environments, it becomes difficult to ascertain the long-term benefits of robots to a business. For example, in the logistics industry which is characterized by constant pressure and ever-changing trends, it can be difficult to predict future needs.  RaaS enables logistics companies to minimize risk by reducing uncertainty and barriers to adoption by offering deployment of robots with minimal costs.

Professional help

Deployment of robots as needed enables supply chain leaders to adopt flexibility with reduced risk. Whereas typical robotic deployment can take up to two years of planning and installation, going for RaaS alternative will shorten time for planning because professional RaaS service providers already have tested and proven models that are working. This can get a business up and running within a few weeks. The deployment can begin as a pilot before going full scale. Such deployments are flexible since you can only pay for what you are using. If your business goes down, for example, you can reduce the number of units. You can as well increase the number of robots as workloads increase.

Proper deployment of robots will improve adoption and lead to establishment of positive experiences. With the of RaaS it is expected that organizations will benefit from their support on labor shortages. It enables warehouses to operate more hours and increase turnover which leads to more growth. At the same time, costs of doing business will drop since less money will be spent in operations.