Automation providers vs Robotics resellers – Can I see the robots in action?

Learn the right questions and the kinds of answers you should expect when asking if you can see the warehouse robots in person

If you are in the market for warehouse automation, and you’ve decided that industry 4.0 is the way of the future, the next vital question is “where do I get my robots?”

Companies seeking out robotic solutions will find two kinds of potential suppliers; automation providers and robotic resellers. To distinguish between the two, you need to ask the right questions. Questions like the following:

“Can I see the robots in action?”

Depending on the answers given here, you will quickly be able to separate a run-of-the-mill robotic reseller from the genuine article that is the automation provider.

Robotics resellers

When directly asked “can I see the robots in action?” robotics resellers have no choice but to pivot towards what they are capable of offering instead.

Robotics resellers will direct you to photographs on a website or videos on youtube. Individual robots may even be visible on trade show stands, or in display cases at a well-furnished corporate HQ. However, if you directly ask whether they can show you the robots in action, performing the tasks their marketing materials boast about, the short answer from robotics resellers will be “no”.

This is because robotics resellers are not experts in the deployment, installation, and operation of the robots they sell. They can reel off the full technical capacities of any given make and model of warehouse robots, but knowing what they can do is very different from knowing how to make them do it.

Automation providers

It should be noted that automation providers will also have youtube videos of their robots, as well as online photo galleries, trade show displays. However, unlike robotic resellers, they also offer much more. Automation providers aren’t merely marketing to you when they claim expertise. They’re willing to put their money where their mouth is, and show you how their robots work in the real world.

Automation providers offer you the opportunity to see the robots in person. They will be able to show you robots performing the tasks your business need doing. Whether that’s transport and conveyance generally, a goods-to-person system, production line arrangements, or some combination thereof.

Watching the robots working in this fashion lets you have full confidence in the capacity of the automation provider. Seeing the robots in person will give you a much more well-rounded and balanced understanding of their full range of capabilities. Armed with this knowledge, you can ask more detailed questions, ensuring the best possible automation solution.

Automation action now

If you want to be sure you are dealing with a real automation provider, you need to see the robots they are selling, in action, now. Flashy videos of robots installed by other companies might be impressive, but they’re not representative. You need to know if a potential partner has the expertise and experience to deliver on their robots’ full potential.

That is why Wise Robotics is proud to own and operate Europe’s first warehouse robotics demonstration centre. Discover how our robots work and learn why they will be such a huge gamechanger for your operations.

Ask our experts any and all the specific and highly detailed questions you know your business needs the answers to. See how we would customise a flexible robotics solution for your business using our sandbox demonstration area. Book a tour of Wise Robotics today to see all this in person, and learn for yourself what industry 4.0 really means.