Based on Jabil Guangzhou’s extensive experience with automation, the equipment manager advises companies to conduct a comprehensive self-assessment before introducing automation equipment to clearly define their production needs. If a company’s primary goal is to reduce labor costs and improve product consistency, it should calculate the return on investment to ensure the economic feasibility of the automation plan. For large-scale production enterprises, highly automated equipment should be chosen, provided that the product has stable long-term market demand. On the other hand, companies involved in multi-variety, small-batch production should prioritize equipment flexibility to avoid excessive investment leading to prolonged machine downtime.

Furthermore, while automation reduces direct labor dependence, companies still need to cultivate highly skilled technical talent to manage and optimize automated equipment effectively. The equipment manager noted that although many believe machines will eventually replace human labor, in reality, high-end automation equipment still requires specialized personnel for operation and maintenance. Therefore, training employees with automation management capabilities is key to a company’s future development.