An Industry Week survey of 214 U.S. manufacturers revealed a substantial gap between automation’s perceived importance and its actual adoption.
MONTREAL—A recent Industry Week survey of more than 200 U.S. manufacturers revealed a substantial gap between the perceived importance of automation and its actual adoption, according to a release from the industrial automation platform developer Vention.
Vention collaborated with Industry Week in a new State of the Market report that examines how automation is faring in the manufacturing industry. A significant finding of the report is that although 92 percent of respondents agreed that automation is essential for long-term competitiveness, only 37 percent reported having significant or full automation in place
“Despite these hurdles, the industry’s commitment to automation remains robust, with 73 percent of companies planning to increase investments in the next three years—and nearly half (46 percent) specifically targeting robotics and automation,” the release stated. “The gap persists not because manufacturers lack interest, but because traditional automation does not meet today’s market requirements.”
According to Vention, the report highlights the top reasons why automation projects fail to meet expectations of manufacturers. Currently, 50 percent of survey respondents reported they are struggling to identify the right technology, while 39 percent cited a lack of internal expertise. Some 32 percent are experiencing budget overruns.
“These statistics confirm what we at Vention, and the industry at large, have known for years: Traditional approaches limit manufacturers in what they can accomplish,” said Vention Founder and CEO Etienne Lacroix, in the release. “Manufacturers don’t have an automation problem, they have an integration, complexity, and predictability problem. And this is exactly what Vention’s solutions are built to solve.”
While the survey identifies several constraints in more traditional approaches, it also highlights the need for fundamentally new approaches that remove integration bottlenecks, compress deployment timelines, and reduce project risk. The Vention platform is said to directly address the barriers exposed in the report. Today, more than 25,000 machines across 4,000 factories are reported to operate on the Vention platform, supporting applications such as palletizing, welding, machine tending, and custom automation.
Through the Vention platform, manufacturers reportedly benefit from an average payback period of 1.3 years, deployment timelines that are 3–8 times faster, and an average return on investment of 4.7x. But with 50 percent of manufacturers unsure of which technologies to deploy, multi-vendor selection and integration becomes an early failure point, the company said in the release.
“Vention reduces this uncertainty through expert design services, feasibility reviews, and guided technical recommendations delivered by its Application Engineering team and engineer-led Account Executives, accelerating technology decisions and projects that are set up for successful deployment from day one,” the release stated.
Eliminating integration barriers
Nearly half of respondents reported integration challenges, including installation, maintenance, and system flexibility. According to Vention, its Zero-Shot Automation™ is powered by an end-to-end stack that provides certainty of compatibility from design through deployment and into daily operation. As a result, it is said to enable manufacturers to “get automation right the first time.”
“The integrated hardware and software platform removes the complexity of multi-vendor solutions,” the release stated. “By combining modular, plug-and-play hardware with intelligent software, enterprises can accelerate commissioning of automated equipment, streamline deployment, and scale operations—all within a single, connected ecosystem.”
Making automation accessible for teams without internal experts
With 39 percent of respondents citing a lack of expertise, manufacturers need tools that technicians can use without automation specialists. The Vention platform is said to expand access with intuitive drag-and-drop design, low-code programming, and physics-enabled simulation, enabling teams to design, validate, deploy, monitor, and support automated systems that previously required dedicated engineering resources.
In addition, one-third of manufacturers reported automation systems failing to perform as intended. Vention is said to remove this risk with physics-accurate digital-twin simulation that models gravity, collisions, and motion while validating designs, cycle times, and behavior prior to deployment. “This enables predictable system performance from day one,” the company said.
Also, with 32 percent of manufacturers reporting budget overruns, clear upfront scoping and predictable cost structures are key to successful automation projects. Vention’s unified hardware-software-AI stack reportedly enables earlier project scoping, standardized and transparently priced components, and complete bill of materials before checkout. It is also said to enable lower integration and servicing costs, and accelerated deployment for faster payback.
According to Vention, the findings of the State of the Market report indicate that although manufacturers remain committed to automation, unlocking its full potential—and strengthening global manufacturing competitiveness—will require a new approach that directly addresses the barriers outlined in the survey. This advancement is said to require solutions that strengthen workforce capabilities, integrate seamlessly with existing equipment, and expand access to modular, affordable automation for small and mid-sized manufacturers.
“Vention’s solutions are designed to support this transition,” the company said in the release. “By unifying hardware, software, and physical-AI within a single integrated platform, Vention enables teams to deploy automation without specialized expertise, with installation timelines measured in days rather than months, and at a cost structure suitable for manufacturers of all sizes.”
Vention also offers comprehensive education pathways—including live and virtual demonstrations, hands-on software training, and certifications such as MachineBuilder 101 and 102. These offerings are intended to equip users with the knowledge and confidence needed to adopt and scale automation effectively, the company said.