Return on investment: how important is it long-term?

摘要

Companies are always looking for that magical assurance that they will achieve an ROI within 12 months. But in an industry where short-term contracts are frequent, food prices fluctuate and suppliers are looking to lower their costs, it is perhaps unrealistic to look at the short-term benefits on a robot that could last up to 20 years. "Any food producer wishing to succeed in today's competitive market must be responsive to rapid change," explains Alan Spreckley, European Packaging Sales Manager, ABB. "The idea that manual workers are more effective in flexible food manufacture is a common misconception. Drafting in temporary labour to meet peak orders in particular not only increases costs in terms of wages, but can cut profits through errors which are much more likely when staff are unfamiliar with the process. Whatever the product, customers want consistent quality and human workers faced with rapid-pace, repetitive tasks often make mistakes, leading to wasted ingredients, late delivery or even a product recall."