There is a gap between what warehouse operators expect from automation and what they get, said Exotec SAS. The company today released “Avoid Robot Regret: What Separates Automation That Delivers From Automation That Disappoints,” based on a survey of 250 supply chain decision-makers across the U.S. and Canada.
According to the report, one in four supply chain leaders said they wish they had gone a different way with automation. However, once they made the decision, 94% said switching providers would be prohibitively expensive, leaving most buyers with the systems they chose for the next 10 to 15 years.
Founded in 2015, Exotec said it delivers “flexible, reliable end-to-end robotic solutions for modern fulfillment operations.” By designing and manufacturing its own technology and solutions, Wasquehal, France-based company said it serves as a single automation provider, reducing complexity and risk while accelerating time to value compared with traditional systems.
Exotec identifies three common automation mistakes
Larger budgets and bigger teams don’t prevent the problem of robot regret, said Exotec. Companies with more than $1 billion in revenue were more likely to say their most significant automation investment underperformed than those with less than $1 billion in revenue (21% vs. 13%).
Across the survey, regret traced back to three decisions made before implementation:
Underestimating lifetime cost: Sixty-five percent of leaders said the total cost of ownership (TCO) came in higher than expected. Seventy percent said undisclosed costs have raised their annual maintenance spend. Among respondents whose systems underperformed, 43% said total costs ran 26% to 100% above expectations.
Unclear accountability for performance: Sixty percent of respondents had a system designed by more than one company, and one in seven said they haven’t seen the benefits of automation because no vendor takes full responsibility for performance. Buyers that worked directly with the equipment manufacturers rated the speed of root-cause identification higher than other buyers (75% versus 69%).
Timing. More than a quarter (27%) said their operations were not ready when they invested in and implemented automation. Early adopters with dedicated automation teams and leadership oversight rarely regretted their choice: One percent said they picked the wrong vendors, compared with 11% of fast followers.
“What we heard from supply chain leaders is that regret is rarely about the technology itself,” stated Romain Moulin, co-founder and CEO of Exotec. “It starts when a system built by several vendors stops working as one, and the customer is left figuring out who is responsible for the fix. The operations that get the most from their automation are the ones where a single partner owns the whole system performance, from design through the years it runs.”
Buyers who chose low-cost providers report regret most often. They were nearly five times as likely to say they picked the wrong vendor (24% vs. 5% of other buyers), and only 52% rated root-cause identification as fast, compared with 74% of other buyers. Across all respondents, 59% say low-cost providers hide costs and common complications upfront, and 22% say their vendor didn’t deliver what it promised during the sales process.
Additional findings from the report
- Automation is now table stakes. Ninety-one percent of supply chain leaders said automation is now a basic requirement, and 86% of those who have automated said they head into peak season more confident than before.
- AI use is near-universal, maturity is not. Ninety-nine percent of organizations use AI in some form, but 24% are still in the pilot phase.
- Humanoids trail purpose-built robots on expected return on investment (ROI). Most respondents (77%) trust purpose-built fulfillment automation to deliver better ROI than humanoids in the next five years, though 48% said they’re optimistic about implementing humanoids.
Exotec conducted this research using an online survey prepared by Method Research and distributed by RepData among 250 supply chain decision-makers working full-time in North America who oversee and have influence over automation in their warehouses and organizations. Data was collected Aug. 17 to 31, 2026. To read the full report, click here.