As 2026 Approaches, U.S. Manufacturers Call Automation Critical: Yet Most Still Lag in Adoption, New Report Finds
December 15, 2025
An Industry Week survey of 214 U.S. manufacturers reveals a substantial gap between automation’s perceived importance and actual adoption
Vention and Industry Week collaborated in a new State of the Market report revealing a significant conclusion: while 92% of manufacturers agree automation is essential for long-term competitiveness, only 37% report having significant or full automation in place. Despite these hurdles, the industry’s commitment to automation remains robust, with 73% of companies planning to increase investments in the next three years–and nearly half (46%) specifically targeting robotics and automation. The gap persists not because manufacturers lack interest, but because traditional automation does not meet today’s market requirements.
The report highlights the top reasons why automation projects fail to meet expectations:
- 50% struggle to identify the right technology
- 39% cite a lack of internal expertise
- 32% experience 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,” mentioned Etienne Lacroix, founder and CEO of Vention. “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.
Vention Platform Directly Addresses the Barriers Exposed in the Report
Through the Vention platform, manufacturers 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.
1. Identifying the Right Technology
With 50% of manufacturers unsure which technologies to deploy, multi-vendor selection and integration becomes an early failure point.
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.
2. Eliminating Integration Barriers Through Zero-Shot Automation™
Nearly half of respondents report integration challenges including installation, maintenance, and system flexibility. Powered by an end-to-end stack that provides certainty of compatibility from design through deployment and into daily operation, Vention’s Zero-Shot Automation enables manufacturers to get automation right the first time.
The integrated hardware and software platform removes the complexity of multi-vendor solutions. 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.
3. Democratizing Automation for Teams Without Internal Experts
With 39% citing a lack of expertise, manufacturers need tools technicians can use without automation specialists.
Vention expands 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.
4. Ensuring Systems Perform as Expected Before They Hit the Factory Floor
One-third of manufacturers report automation systems failing to perform as intended. Vention removes 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.
5. Controlling Costs Through Built-In Predictability
With 32% 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 enables earlier project scoping, standardized and transparently priced components, complete bill of materials before checkout, lower integration and servicing costs, and accelerated deployment for faster payback.
Market Commitment Remains, But Success Requires a New Approach
The findings of the State of the Market report indicate that while 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 requires 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. 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.
In parallel, Vention offers comprehensive education pathways–including live and virtual demonstrations, hands-on software training, and certifications such as MachineBuilder 101 & 102–to equip users with the knowledge and confidence needed to adopt and scale automation effectively. Today, more than 25,000 machines across 4,000 factories operate on the Vention platform, supporting applications such as palletizing, welding, machine tending, and custom automation.
To download full report: LINK
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