Automation will probably play a big role in reshoring manufacturing and we need to embrace this reality rather than fight it.

Robotics automation company Rapid Robotics just received $5.5 million in funding to expedite manufacturing reshoring. Their machines are powered by a SaaS model and AI and are ready to perform manufacturing tasks out of the box for just $25,000 per year.

According to CEO Jordan Kretchmer, “The need to automate simple tasks is incredibly high, but the ability to do so has been out of reach for a vast majority of manufacturers. The Rapid Machine Operator is the first robotic solution to close that gap, making US manufacturers more competitive and supply chains more resilient.”

This highlights something I have been saying for a while: that companies will only reshore when it is profitable for them to do so. Perhaps machines like this will make it easier for companies to reshore manufacturing and use the cost savings to hire more skilled workers at higher wages. Automation like this will possibly cost jobs unless manufacturers use the productivity gains to retrain and redeploy their existing workforce.

Regardless, innovation and automation are here to stay and will only become more commonplace as time goes on. Domestic manufacturers need to recognize this reality and embrace the changes rather than resist them.