Automation, digitization and artificial intelligence are progressing rapidly worldwide, and nowhere is this trend more visible than on production lines.

Automation is often seen as a key lever in enabling more streamlined and efficient operations. And in today’s economic landscape, many organizations are seeking to implement it as a means of remaining competitive and benefiting from potential savings, while retaining workforce numbers. 

Maintaining the environment with an eye on sustainability is another key contributing factor in the implementation of automation. Organizations are searching for ways to conserve resources that are caused by inefficient manual processes.

How, then, is automation transforming a fast-growing industry with a significant impact on consumers’ daily lives and the environment? Within the mobile device industry, it’s maturing with each technology cycle in the device refurbishment and repair sector. Smartphone trade-in programs are largely responsible for a projected increase in shipments of used and refurbished devices from 283 million in 2022 to 413 million in 2026, according to an estimate by analyst firm IDC.

The management of pre-owned devices, from trade-in to refurbishment to resale into the secondary market, is a complicated undertaking, involving a number of distinct stages. Operations begin when, following trade-in, devices enter the processing warehouse facility shipped in boxes. These need to be opened and organized by make and model. At large-scale facilities, upwards of 10,000 to 15,000 devices per day are being received. Devices must pass through a stringent data wipe and cosmetic grading procedure, with refurbishment or repair if needed. This is then followed by software loads, dozens of functional and connectivity tests for quality control, and kitting (packaging for resale). Only then can devices be shipped to new owners. Units that fail to meet the required criteria, or are deemed to have reached the end-of-life stage, are sent for recycling.

Today, some disruptive players working in this space are exploring the value of automation and robotics, employing artificial intelligence and machine learning to advance device cosmetic grading, device diagnostics, and repair. By doing so, they are accelerating mobile device-processing times, while improving the accuracy of grading.

When it comes to cosmetic grading, for example, the established manual approach lasts between 30 and 45 seconds per device. An automated grading system, by contrast, amounts to three to five seconds per device.

Time saved is critical in the context of the secondary device market, as the value of pre-owned devices can depreciate at a rapid rate. Assurant’s data puts it at an average of 1% per week, subject to seasonal cycles. By reducing the time to grade, recondition, and resell a pre-owned device into new markets, sellers can preserve as much residual value as possible. For OEMs, operators and retailers, maximizing device value is a top priority when reselling these devices.

Impact on Human Workers

Automation of monotonous and repetitive work is a great way to realize new opportunities for companies and their employees. Workers become free to explore higher-value tasks, such as problem-solving and development of new ideas. In the process, they benefit from increased job satisfaction, with clearer paths for progression and the opportunity to gain technical skills. Organizations that embrace automation can build a fulfilled and engaged workforce that is more productive, offering it greater choice, growth opportunities, and personal autonomy.

When it comes to processing pre-owned devices, automation plays a crucial role in unboxing millions of devices that enter processing facilities following trade-in. Done manually, the task is physically demanding, entailing health and safety risks, and making it difficult to recruit and retain employees.  When carried out by robots, the system automatically evaluates the dimensions of all boxes that enter the processing line, and determines the optimal cutting configuration for each one. The technology provides a solution for responsible organizations that want to minimize risky practices and put employee safety first.  

Automated technology also assists in data sanitation for devices entering the processing facility. Parallel processing allows for scaling, so that resetting to factory defaults and conducting test cycles can be executed in batches. 

Other applications where automation can relieve humans of simple and repetitive tasks include device charging, cleaning, debugging, lifting, transporting, cosmetic evaluation, and packing. Degrees of automation can be integrated into operations to make the relocation of staff to more specialized roles possible.

A Responsible Future

There’s another important advantage that automation delivers, which is helping to provide for a more sustainable environment: the reduction of waste.

Each year, between 50 and 60 million tons of e-waste are generally globally, making e-waste the world’s fastest-growing waste problem. This is the equivalent of throwing away 1,000 laptops every second for a full year. More needs to be done to ensure that pre-owned devices can be repurposed, to reduce the volume of waste that finds its way into landfill. By increasing the volume and speed of devices being repurposed, automation helps to feed the growing demand for secondary devices, and mitigates the carbon emissions associated with producing new ones.

AI and ML-driven automation has only started gaining traction. While it’s already having a positive impact on the secondary device market, the ongoing testing of new applications promises to further drive efficiencies and better outcomes for companies, consumers and, most importantly, the environment.

Brandon Johnson is senior vice president of global engineering and automation at Assurant.