Following the passage of the Tax Cut and Jobs Act, Bedford Inc., a small appliance manufacturing firm, is considering adding robotics into its assembly process. With the new tax law, companies can deduct 100 percent of qualified equipment for tax purposes while depreciating on a straight-line basis on their financial statements.

Currently, Bedford has $250.0 million in annual sales, generating a PM of 4.5 percent on sales and an ATO of 2.5. Bedford's engineering group believes the robotics can be installed and operational within the first few months of the year. Bedfords CFO believes the robotics will reduce operating costs that would pass on to lower sale prices, yielding increases annual sales. The CFO estimates that investing $30 million in the robotics will increase sales by $16.5 million and increase the PM to 6.0 percent because fewer workers will be needed.

Based solely on the above financial consideration, explain whether or not you would recommend management consider upgrading automating its assembly process.