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American manufacturing is at an inflection point. Labor shortages are accelerating, global competition is intensifying, and the pressure to produce more with less has never been greater. The answer — for manufacturers of every size — is automation. But knowing you need to automate and knowing how to do it are two very different things.
Automate Now is the practical playbook for CPG manufacturers ready to take action. Written by the Formic team — the people who have helped hundreds of U.S. factories automate for the first time — this audiobook cuts through the complexity and gives you a clear, honest roadmap: where to start, how to build internal buy-in, how to choose the right partner, and how to scale from your first win into a future-proof operation.
Automate Now — Episode 3
How Robotics Technology Is Evolving: Then vs. Now
It wasn't until fairly recently that automation became accessible to a wider group of manufacturers and production operations. For decades, it was reserved for the big players: automotive giants, electronics powerhouses, and Fortune 500 manufacturers with massive capital budgets and deep engineering and technical service benches needed to design, install, and maintain these systems. Back then, robotics meant multi-million-dollar installations, massive changeovers, and complex engineering that could take years to implement and longer to justify. Few could afford the risk, and even fewer saw the reward.
Fast forward to today: automation is more accessible, easier to manage, and faster to deploy than ever before. The technology that once defined only the largest, most advanced factories is now available to small and mid-sized manufacturers.
Production Automation: From Assembly Lines to Agile Cells
For decades, robots were hard-coded, dangerous to work alongside, and designed for high-volume, repetitive tasks. They were bolted behind cages, isolated from human workers, and difficult to reprogram without specialized engineers.
In the last two decades, automation technology has become vastly more flexible and collaborative. The rise of collaborative robots, or cobots, has enabled robots to work safely alongside people. The cost of robotic arms has fallen dramatically, and standardized software platforms have facilitated systems that can be programmed and updated without an army of engineers.
Smaller operations can now use automation not just for single tasks, but for creating agile production cells that adapt to changing needs.
Artificial Intelligence: The Game Changer in Robotics
Artificial Intelligence was once the stuff of science fiction and high-end research labs. Today, it's quietly transforming robotics and automation. In early automation, robots followed strict, predefined sequences. If anything deviated — like a product out of place or a box slightly skewed — the system stopped, errored out, or failed to execute the task successfully.
Now, the frontier is even more powerful: Vision-Language-Action models, or VLA models. These cutting-edge AI models combine visual perception, natural language understanding, and robotic control, enabling robots to interpret scenes, understand commands, and take action with unprecedented flexibility. Rather than relying on pre-programmed steps, VLA models allow robots to respond to spoken or written instructions like "stack these boxes on the pallet" or "pick up the blue bin from the top shelf," and then use vision and context to carry out the task accurately, even in unstructured environments.
By fusing what the robot sees, what it's told, and what it needs to do, VLA models bring human-like intuition to automation. They represent a major leap toward truly adaptive, general-purpose robotics that can be deployed faster, trained more easily, and operate in dynamic real-world conditions.
Perhaps most importantly, AI is making automation easier to deploy. No longer do systems require months of custom coding. Today, many robotic platforms "learn" by demonstration, or AI guides operators through deployment. This has dramatically reduced the barrier to entry, putting sophisticated automation within reach for nearly any manufacturer.
Humanoids: What's the Big Deal?
There's been a surge of excitement — and plenty of skepticism — around humanoid robots lately. With headlines showcasing machines that walk, gesture, dance, and even respond to voice commands, it's easy to think they're poised to take over factory floors. But the reality is more nuanced.
Humanoid robots are designed to mimic the general shape, dexterity, and mobility of a human worker. That means they can theoretically walk into an existing workspace, use the same tools, and perform tasks without requiring a complete redesign of the environment. This flexibility is a big deal, especially in facilities where floorspace is tight, tasks are varied, and workflows were never designed with automation in mind.
Where humanoids show real promise is in general-purpose labor — but there are important caveats. Most humanoids today are still in early stages of commercial readiness. They require significant computing power, advanced AI models, and robust mobility systems that are still evolving. They're also expensive, and in many cases, overkill for the types of structured, repetitive tasks that can be automated more efficiently with fixed robotic arms or cobots.
In short, humanoids are not replacing traditional automation: they're expanding its frontier. For high-mix, low-volume tasks or dynamic environments that aren't well-suited to fixed automation, humanoids may soon become an essential part of the manufacturing workforce. But for core applications like palletizing, case packing, and other end-of-line automation, simpler, more specialized systems still lead the way.
The Evolution of Palletizing: From Hand-Stacking to Machines
Palletizing — stacking goods onto pallets for shipment and storage — has been around as long as pallets themselves, which came into widespread use in the 1950s and 60s. For decades, palletizing was entirely manual, relying on the strength and endurance of human workers. It was grueling, repetitive, and ergonomically unsafe work.
By the 1960s and 70s, the first automated palletizers appeared — massive machines built for high-volume operations like bottling plants or large distribution centers. They required custom design, long lead times, and major plant reconfiguration.
Fast forward to today: robotic palletizers are smaller, smarter, and more flexible. Modern systems use articulated robotic arms, vision systems, and user-friendly programming interfaces that allow quick changeovers between products and patterns. Even small manufacturers can now afford to automate palletizing, often with minimal floor space and a fast return.
Case Packing: From Custom Engineering to Plug-and-Play
Case packing — placing individual items into cases for shipment — followed a similar path. Early automation in the mid-20th century was limited to dedicated lines running the same SKU for long stretches. These machines were custom-built for a specific package size and orientation. If an operation was running low mix, high volume production, these types of systems were productivity unlockers. Unfortunately, operations with varied product lines, frequent packaging or product updates, or high mix, low volume production found these types of solutions a poor fit due to complex and time-consuming changeovers.
Over the last 20 years, advances in robotic grippers, end-of-arm tooling, motion control components, and modular machine design have transformed case packing. Today's systems are built for productivity and flexibility. A single case packing cell might handle multiple product sizes and configurations with little more than a recipe change on a touchscreen. This has opened automation to CPG companies with high SKU diversity and smaller batch sizes.
Case Erecting, Sealing, Labeling, and Pallet Securement: Completing the End-of-Line Evolution
While palletizing and case packing get much of the spotlight, they're only part of the end-of-line story. The steps that come upstream and downstream of those workflows — like case erecting, sealing, labeling, and pallet securement — have evolved just as dramatically.
Early case erecting and sealing were labor-intensive tasks, often done manually or semi-automatically with machines that jammed, misaligned boxes, or required constant attention. Labeling was similarly prone to error, as a crooked barcode or a mislabeled box could mean costly chargebacks or rejected shipments. And once the boxes were stacked on pallets, securing the load was yet another manual, time- and material-consuming job.
Today, these processes have been transformed by automation. Case erectors and sealers are faster, more reliable, and capable of handling multiple box sizes with minimal adjustment. Automated labeling systems apply barcodes and product info with precision, ensuring that every box meets customer specs. Automated stretch wrappers and strappers ensure every load is stable and ready for transit.
The result is a fully integrated, turnkey end-of-line process where each step flows seamlessly, reducing errors, saving labor, and protecting both product and profit.
Where Are We Now?
Robotics technology has shifted from exclusive to inclusive. From palletizing to case packing, what was once only feasible for the largest companies is now a realistic, affordable solution for manufacturers of all sizes.
The combination of lowered system costs, intuitive software, Full Service Automation providers, and AI-driven flexibility means the question isn't if manufacturers should automate, but how and where to start.
We always say automation isn't an if but a when, and that's why we wrote this book: to provide a clear, practical path that any manufacturer can follow.
Key Takeaways
Robotics has undergone a dramatic shift: from expensive, inflexible systems built for industrial giants to accessible, adaptable tools for manufacturers of nearly any size. Once confined to massive automotive lines and Fortune 500 budgets, automation is now easier to deploy, more collaborative, and powered by AI that brings real-time adaptability to the factory floor. Advances like vision-language-action models and smarter cobots are expanding what's possible, while traditional end-of-line applications like palletizing, case packing, and labeling have become smarter, safer, and far more affordable. The barriers that once made robotics exclusive are quickly falling, and what was once a long-term engineering project is now a practical, fast-moving solution. Automation is no longer reserved for the few; it's ready for the many.