Modern manufacturing systems are often semi-automated, i.e. integrating both manual and automated op-erations. Our studies show that decisions on how, and even if, automation should be realized often are taken in an ad hoc manner. Improved efficiency in production through automation could be achieved with better precision if a more conscious approach towards automation was used. We argue that it is essential to formulate explicit automation strategies, which will provide guidance to the appropriateness of automa-tion in different situations. Further, it should give advice as to the most suitable degree of automation needed. Two different perspectives on automation strategies have been identified through a literature re-view and empirical studies. The first perspective is when decisions concerning automation are treated as one of several decisions in a manufacturing strategy. The second perspective is when the overall manufac-turing strategy is equal to an automation strategy, i.e. the strategy is automation. The paper elaborates on the content and process of automation strategies, i.e. what must be included in a strategy and how is it formulated.