Robotics as a service: a robot subscription for your warehouse?

Robotics as a service (RaaS) could soon offer companies of all kinds the chance to automate their logistics and industrial processes through a subscription service.To get more news about Robots on Demand, you can visit glprobotics.com official website.

RaaS came about due to the expansion of the “as-a-service” business model, e.g., software as a service (SaaS). Organisations access these shared software solutions via the cloud. Rather than owning the physical infrastructure, they outsource the services they need to an external provider.

In its analysis Automation has reached its tipping point for omnichannel warehouses, consulting firm McKinsey points to a new subscription-based business model: “Many new robotics and automation providers have innovated as-a-service models (XaaS), such as robotics as a service (RaaS) and fulfillment as a service (FaaS).”

What is robotics as a service (RaaS)?
Robotics as a service is a business model that promotes the automation of warehouses and production centres by means of leased technology solutions. As consulting firm Deloitte says, “robots as a service allows a company to have the benefits of robotic process automation by leasing robotic devices and accessing a cloud-based subscription service.”

Leasing logistics robots facilitates the implementation of a flexible warehouse, with processes adapted to fluctuations in product demand. “It also gives organisations the ability to scale up and down rapidly and easily in response to changing market conditions and client needs,” says the Deloitte study.

Accessibility is the key to the robotics-as-a-service model. According to the article Working with robots in a post-pandemic world, published by the MIT Sloan Management Review, “access to the technology is getting less expensive, with robots-as-a-service models allowing companies to pay” by subscription.

It’s important not to confuse robotics as a service (RaaS) with another concept that shares the same acronym: ransomware as a service (RaaS). The latter is a type of subscription-based cybercrime that has major multinational corporations on high alert. Microsoft published an article warning of this kind of cyberattack.
Robotics as a service is a further step towards logistics and industrial automation. This business model contributes to flexible logistics. In this environment, customers can expand or reduce their warehouse capacity and the degree of automation based on market demands.

In the not-too-distant future, the robotics-as-a-service model could be another option for companies to automate their processes. Businesses have their own particular demands, personalisation needs and unit loads to be handled. Depending on these factors, some organisations might choose to design and implement a fully automated warehouse. Others, meanwhile, will adopt pay-as-you-go subscription models for their industrial processes.