AI GeneratedOPS & AUTOMATIONInsight

Your Bots Run at 36% — The Fix Is in Your Forgotten Network Layer

Jun 14, 2026

Adversarial AI Pipeline

Key Takeaway

With bots operational only 36% of the time and legacy PLCs holding decades of untapped process data, the biggest ROI isn't in new equipment — it's in the 'forgotten middle' network infrastructure that can sniff data from a thousand different programs without changing the core machinery. This operational intelligence unlocks root cause analysis, predictive maintenance, and the throughput gains you need to offset a labor market that's 'understaffed all over the place.'

Our Take— Mike Sanders, Founder

“We see operations teams chase new automation while their existing assets run at 36% utilization — that's a 2.5x capacity gap hiding in plain sight. The network layer that connects legacy equipment to modern analytics isn't sexy, but it's where we consistently find 15-25% throughput gains without a single equipment purchase.”

Your Bots Run at 36% — The Fix Is in Your Forgotten Network Layer

From the Source

"The forgotten middle is this place that's going to do all this benefit if you put it in those networks... You can sniff that stuff. You can get that if you put in that infrastructure."

— EP 591: Making Digital Transformation in Warehousing Work

Key Takeaways

01Bot utilization at 36% vs. target 90%+ reveals massive hidden capacity
02Legacy PLCs contain critical data across 'a thousand different programs' — accessible without replacement
03Network infrastructure can 'sniff' existing data to enable predictive maintenance and root cause analysis
04Labor is the biggest cost driver — automation layered on digital visibility is no longer optional
05OEE is multi-dimensional: you can't manage what you can't see (Drucker's principle applied to operations)