Need to Lease a Robot?
Kevin F Clune, CLFP
“Ben, I want to say one word to you, just one word. Are you listening? Plastics!”
This was the famous line from the 1967 film, “The Graduate”, starring Dustin Hoffman as the college graduate who received this piece of advice in the opening scene of the movie.
With the Graduation Season upon us, it might be timely to ask what one word could be substituted for “plastics” almost 50 years later? The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) projects 1,855,000 students at the bachelor's degree level will graduate as the Class of 2015.
As these young people embark on their careers, what field would you advise them to consider? How will this development affect your industry? Will it cause the next big wave in the economy?
“Are you listening? Robotics!”
Inspired by some recent news articles I have read, it occurred to me that if the same conversation took place today, the one word might be changed to “Robotics”.
For those of us in the Equipment Leasing Industry, Robotic equipment and related software that is used for business purposes is considered capital equipment and can be financed with an equipment lease. Due to accelerated technological changes inherent in robotics, a lease may be a preferable method of finance, as it will allow for timely upgraded equipment.
Will the growth of robotics cause the next industrial revolution?
According to an article in The Economist, technological progress has made the world a better place. “Although innovation kills some jobs, it creates new and better ones, as a more productive society becomes richer and its wealthier inhabitants demand more goods and services. “
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal indicated that more highly complex robots guided by specialized computer software will be doing the work of factory workers and also sales and clerical employees at a greater rate. Advanced robotic use has been creeping into factories for many years but they are now responsible for tracking inventory, invoices, automatic bill payments, and many other traditional white collar tasks.
For example, Pilot Travel Centers had “80 clerks and salespeople” who spent a combined 3,200 hours a week tracking and paying for orders for thousands of goods” just 5 years ago. The company now needs just 10 employees working a weekly total of 400 hours to perform these same jobs.
Surprisingly, however, Pilot Travel’s employee numbers have not declined because the company has almost doubled the number of stores they own. “Our motto is: leverage computers, not humans.” said the treasurer, David Clothier, referring to the company focus on automating many white-collar jobs.
Another WSJ article on this subject was titled, “Robots May Look Like Job-Killers, But It’s Hard to See in the Numbers” . It repeated the same forecast: “Automation will free workers to do other kinds of tasks, they say, and fuel more prosperity.”
As you celebrate with the graduates of 2015, it may be hard to imagine the world they will create in the future and the changes they will see in their lifetimes. There may be robots to drive their cars, cook their meals, and even take out the trash. The list of possibilities is endless.
In the meantime, if your business would be enhanced by the acquisition of the robotic equipment technology of today, we hope you will consider a lease.
Kevin F. Clune, CLFP
Clune & Company
