Omron presents its new ROI calculator to help companies evaluate their investments in collaborative and mobile robots. It takes into account rental opportunities, which are more affordable and ideal for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Omron's ROI calculator gives companies considering investment in collaborative or mobile robots an overview of ROI based on real data. It enables users to estimate how long it will take an investment to break even, while taking account of inflation and interest rate adjustments in line with market conditions.
Mobile robots and cobots are easy to deploy and transport, making them a worthwhile investment for achieving greater production flexibility. They can also provide a safer working environment, accompanying their human colleagues to help them lift or transport goods and materials.
However, many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) cannot afford to finance an initial investment in these technologies. Omron offers leasing options designed to make life easier for manufacturers wishing to expand their fleets of mobile robots or collaborative robots (cobots), while keeping initial investment costs low.
Eduardo de Robbio, Head of Strategic Business Development at Omron, comments: " We saw an increase in the need for highly diversified production in small quantities during the pandemic, combined with a shortage of workers in many sectors. This led to an increase in vacancies for both human operators and robots. In addition to flexible rental options, we wanted to provide our customers with an easy-to-use ROI calculation tool to support their decision-making process. "
Once the data on current operations has been entered, and the type and number of robots selected, the ROI calculator provides a clear overview of the payback period, the ROI percentage and the net present value (NPV), indicating the estimated total present value of future cash flows.
A key decision for the customer is how to finance a new investment. Omron's ROI calculator offers two typical options: the traditional Capex option with full payment up front, and an Opex option with leasing, with payments staggered between 3 and 5 years.
Eduardo de Robbio continues: " Robots can take over repetitive tasks and ensure flexible, precise and efficient operations, allowing human colleagues to concentrate on strategic issues and creative tasks. As far as the fundamental aspect of return on investment is concerned, human labor is assigned to higher value-added tasks, which is absolutely essential for manufacturers in the future. In addition, automation can compensate for the lack of experts on the labor market. "