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How AI is Enhancing Supply Chain Performance

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Archives, Global Logistics, Trucking, Warehousing

How AI is Enhancing Supply Chain Performance

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The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many supply chains throughout the world to collapse. This reminds us that over the years, the world has become extremely interconnected — a global village — and supply chains have grown in complexity almost exponentially.

But as businesses emerge from the devastating effects of the pandemic, one thing is clear, software, digitization, and automation will be the cornerstones of future development, and companies must incorporate these into their business structures to build resilience, weed out inefficiencies, and prepare well for the next disruption.

Intelligent project management software like pmo365 has already begun to automate and digitize the business world, allowing senior executives to monitor company resources and projects effectively. But another area where business software is making giant leaps is in improving supply chain performance via artificial intelligence.

Areas where AI can optimize supply chains

When we think about supply chains, we tend to focus on the physical (and more visible) aspects, such as transportation, transformation, and storage and warehousing of materials. But underlying these physical flows, are certain processes and information flows that are equally important for the integrity and flow of a supply chain.

Because modern supply chains are so complex, information needs to flow back and forth between various people and organizations at an alarming speed to coordinate the activities of the day and ensure the successful running of the chain.

Risks need to be predicted, potential hurdles identified, and decisions must be taken fast. All this depends on effective communication and intelligent software, and this is where AI can enhance supply chains.

In addition to information flows, AI can also power (and improve) the various processes that make up a supply chain. By automating iterative tasks, identifying inefficient processes, and providing supply chain professionals crucial predictive data, AI can shift the focus of the human workforce towards more complex and strategically important tasks.

So let’s take a look at some benefits of AI use in supply chain management.

Benefits of AI in supply chain management

AI prevents stocking of unwanted inventory

Because of AI’s ability to process huge amounts of data, identify trends, and take into account recent world events, companies are now using AI to study consumer habits and the ups and downs of seasonal demand.

This allows companies to prevent stocking unwanted inventory, which is not only a waste of space but also means the customers are not getting what they want, which really translates into a loss of revenue.

Inventory management is an overall complex process, with many aspects like order processing and packing involved. Companies strive for accurate inventory management because it prevents understocking, overstocking, or sudden stock-outs in unpredictable circumstances, all of which could translate into hefty costs.

AI can automate various processes in inventory management, reducing the risk of error, and providing valuable predictive data on supply and demand. This can turn the slow and sluggish animal of inventory management into an intelligent and efficient beast!

AI-backed decisions are better

Given the complexity of modern supply chains, it’s no surprise that supply chain professionals are often faced with difficult decisions. Huge amounts of data to sift through and limited end-to-end visibility makes these decisions even more difficult and risky.

Supply chain optimization software integrated with AI allows machines to analyze large amounts of data and detect patterns that are hard for humans to see. AI can then offer actionable insights to professionals, allowing them to make AI-backed decisions, and make them fast and at the right time. This can have a major impact on the overall efficiency of a supply chain.

AI improves fleet management

Managing large fleets is a difficult task. Fuel costs, labor issues, and unexpected bottlenecks can lead to significant fleet downtime, which negatively impacts delivery times and disrupts the supply chain.

Fleet managers often find themselves struggling to make the correct use of large amounts of data that comes in from a large fleet. With AI, fleet managers can gain a greater insight into their fleet than they ever had before.

With real-time tracking and intelligent use of weather and traffic data, AI can provide fleet managers valuable information about the optimal time, place, and date for a particular delivery to be made. AI can also detect bottlenecks and work its way around them, reducing unplanned fleet downtime and eliminating fuel inefficiencies. All of this translates into an effectively managed fleet, which is crucial for the uninterrupted running of the supply chain.

AI enhances workplace safety

Warehouses are important to supply chains, and it’s crucial for companies to provide a safe working environment for workers in a warehouse.

AI enhances warehouse safety in two ways. First, it improves the overall management and planning in a warehouse, which in turn makes it safer to work in.

Second, AI can record stocking parameters and analyze data related to workplace safety. This analysis can be turned into actionable insights for operators, allowing them to take timely decisions and be proactive about maintenance. Both of these factors play an important role in making warehouses safer!

consent
Archives, Global Trade Daily, Software

When Determining the Right Preference and Consent Provider, Know the Differences in Capabilities

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Thousands of companies today, large and small, are realizing the importance of building trust and giving customers a voice through functions such as customer consent and preference management. Regulations such as GDPR and CCPA, as well as customer backlash related to poor customer experiences, has forced much of this shifting environment for brands today.  

Why is consent and preference management becoming more important? 

Customer consent is important because it grants permission for brands to provide marketing or service communications with prospects and customers. Preference management is also important. We all sign up for newsletters, product information, promotions as well as lifestyle preferences related to things such as travel. Therefore, it is important for all customer-facing departments (e.g. marketing, sales, and customer service) within a business to make it very easy for customers to indicate and change their preferences as their interests evolve over time. 

Companies today are spending millions on marketing technologies that enable seamless customer consent and preference management. Research firm Markets and Markets1 estimates that the consent management industry will represent $765 million by 2025, up from $317 million in 2020.  

Not all preference and consent providers are equal  

While many businesses are realizing they need these critical technologies to enhance, refine and preserve the overall customer experience, they should do their homework when selecting the right preference and consent management technology provider to work with – as not all are created equal. 

All-in-one may not mean the best solution 

At first glance, there are a handful of enterprise-level technology providers that do everything from customer relationship management to marketing automation to preference management. These cloud-based software companies have the look and feel of a “Big Box” provider and offer a suite of applications that help companies manage all aspects of their business.   

The allure of working with a provider such as this is the single vendor, “all-in-one” solution where there are often no additional costs or integration required for a core platform. However, what they gain in their single-stop allure, they often fall short in truly satisfying the unique, holistic, and cross-platform solutions needed for preference and consent management requirements for each individual company. 

Specialty vendors can build custom solutions 

On the other hand, specialty and boutique providers that focus on preference management and consent solutions offer a more holistic approach that includes strategy, best practices, process, and governance in addition to technology. They often start by interviewing their customer’s customer to understand what’s truly important to the consumer. With this insight in hand, they are able to design a holistic solution that meets both the consumer’s and organization’s needs. With this roadmap in place, they are ready to manage the deployment process and help gain adoption. This greater internal and external adoption leads to increased customer engagement, improved marketing ROI, and higher revenue potential.  

Along with internal adoption comes the ability to help integrate preferences for consumers across the entire organization and its many departments – a critical function that can be missed by “big box” providers whose offerings aren’t designed to meet this unique set of needs. As a result, this leads to a single view of the customer, greater customer trust, and assurance of regulatory compliance.  

On the surface, listening to customers and honoring their preferences is not only obvious, it’s also a must in today’s customer-driven business climate. Every business today must listen to their customers and the outcomes are immediate and apparent. As digital environments grow increasingly more complex – along with the penalties introduced for non-compliance – businesses of every size, and in every region must rely on the right solutions. It is up to each individual business to determine the right provider to work with for the right set of unique solutions. 

________________________________________________________________

Editor’s Note: Tom Fricano is the Practice Director of Strategy and Consulting at PossibleNOW. With more than 25 years of experience, Tom assists clients with customer experience, preference management and consent initiatives through advisory and strategic consulting, technology expertise and project to product to implementation roadmaps.

Learn more at: https://www.possiblenow.com/preference-management 

1: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/consent-management-market-68100621.html 

data
Archives, Global Logistics, Global Trade Daily

Apple, Facebook and Google are Reshaping How Businesses Leverage Consumer Data

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The landscape for how companies deliver content to consumers and the way they obtain consent to use personal data is changing before our eyes. Apple, maker of the iPhone and iPad, recently announced changes to the way it will handle privacy for its users. Specifically, they plan to give customers enhanced control over privacy settings that will empower them to have more say over which of their personal data is provided to brands. 

This has angered executives at Facebook who say the changes will limit and significantly diminish the ability to deliver highly targeted content and ads to its users – a move that is sure to damage advertising revenue from the millions of businesses that depend on targeted content, messages and offers for a more personalized experience and effective campaigns.  

Additionally, Google, which has established itself as the number-one digital advertising platform through its search engine, has also recently announced it will make changes to the way in which it delivers personalized content and ads. They are proposing their own new set of technologies that they say still allows them to track web users personally, but in a way that respects their privacy. According to the company, they can do this through tools that promise to group consumers into interest groups on their devices, and never send their browsing information to a central server. 

What’s At Stake – How We Currently Use Marketing Data 

What’s at stake is the way in which companies use technology and algorithms to track individual users. For example, if Google enhances privacy by masking consumer data, then businesses must go through Google to purchase ads and thereby gain access to targeting data in order to deliver messages in front of a specific user base. 

Driven by Big Data, these ads have helped companies target people who have the characteristics of someone to whom the messages and offers are likely to be of interest.  

Of course, Big Data is the process of purchasing data from a third-party provider, collecting online activity, purchase history, social media content and more to identify people that are potentially interested in what companies have to offer.  

However, one inherent problem is that companies are making assumptions based on this data, and also many times those assumptions are based on very outdated and/or inaccurate data – in addition to the fact that people know this is happening and see it as “creepy”. For example, a person Googles a certain topic and then they are served targeted digital ads about the same product.   

Because of this, Big Data is falling out of favor because many times it is inaccurate, and it lacks consumer transparency and control.  At the same time, companies like Google and Apple want to do a better job of keeping consumer data more private while also continuing to deliver a personalized Internet experience for the consumer. 

How Will Companies Deliver Personalization While Enhancing Privacy? 

There has been a war waging for some time now over a person’s right to data privacy. Further, there’s a privacy/personalization paradox that exists. This refers to the fact that consumers want data privacy and to know that their data is safe. However, at the same time, we live in a digital world and most people feel overwhelmed with all the messages coming at them daily. Therefore, they also want messages to be personalized and relevant and have expectations that businesses will provide great customer experiences for them. 

How Will Use of Data Change? 

That being said, there must be a fundamental change in the way companies collect and use data. As we’ve discussed, big data is often inaccurate, feels like an invasion of privacy, and breed’s mistrust.  

What’s happening, as a result, is that companies are now embracing the collection of zero-party data. Zero-party data is information a customer freely and intentionally shares with a brand they trust. It can include personal insights like preferences, feedback, profile information, interests, consent, and purchase intent.  

The Result is More Trust, Empowerment & Data Control 

This step is in the right direction in that customers should be more in control of their data. The benefit of using zero-party data is that: 

-it is unique to the brand and no other brand has the same data;  

-it’s the ultimate source of truth in that the customer offers up their own insight, rather than making assumptions based on big data and;  

-it is relationship-based so it relies on a higher level of trust with the customer which means the company must be transparent about their use of the data and the relationship must be mutually beneficial. 

The key to all of this is that businesses in every industry, no matter their size or location, must change the way they engage and interact with their customers. They must build trust so that their customers and prospects are willing to share zero-party data with them. 

In doing so, these businesses will gain access to the data they need to engage with customers on their terms and provide enhanced value in return such as better customer service and relevant customer experiences.  And by providing customers easy access to update and edit their data, they will be in control of their data which not only builds trust but also keeps their data current. And that leads to a mutually beneficial relationship. 

________________________________________________________________

Scott Frey is the original founder of PossibleNOW formed in 2000. Today, he serves as the President and CEO for PossibleNOW, Inc. and PossibleNOW’s wholly-owned subsidiary, CompliancePoint. Frey is responsible for the business growth and acquisition strategy, product development initiatives, and all sales and marketing strategy for both companies. He specializes in designing technology and professional services solutions to solve complex business challenges related to marketing and compliance operations. 

Under Frey’s tenure as CEO, the company has evolved from a marketing compliance solution provider solving privacy and compliance issues, to a more diverse organization that helps companies leverage PossibleNOW’s Enterprise Preference Management solutions to deliver relevant, targeted, personalized communications to their customers and prospects, increasing profitability and customer loyalty. 

Manufacturer
Archives, Global Logistics, Global Trade Daily

10 Integrations Every Manufacturer Needs With Their ERP

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As manufacturing markets grow more competitive, the need to operate lean and eliminate inefficiencies has become more important than ever. In the past having a quality ERP system was enough to get the job done.

Today the best ERP systems incorporate all the new Internet
of Things (IoT) technologies currently being developed.
They integrate with these technologies to enable your business to cut costs, work more efficiently, and simplify your entire manufacturing process in ways that were previously only dreams. The ability to integrate with third-party IoT technologies has already become one of the most important criteria for selecting an ERP system – and a powerful competitive advantage.

Our list of the 10 integrations every manufacturer needs with
their ERP includes some that are new and some that have been around a while. If you don’t acquire them soon, expect to be left behind – by your customers and your industry.

Nesting Interface

Operating lean requires reducing setup time and labor as well as material waste. Nesting software handles all three by efficiently arranging part shapes on sheets or plates of stock material to produce the least amount of waste. It eliminates the time required to manually plan which parts to cut on a piece of metal, plastic, wood, etc. and reduces purchasing costs by minimizing unusable leftover materials.

A nesting interface enables your ERP system to share information with the nesting software, including work orders, inventory information, workcenter details, and other data. The nesting software uses this data to optimize material usage and sends cutlist details, material drops, scrap, and estimates for routing and work orders back to the ERP system.

RFID

Whether they’re using barcodes, badges, or biometric scanners, employees typically have multiple processes for entering the building, unlocking doors, and logging into your ERP system. Radio frequency identification (RFID) lets you consolidate all access procedures into your ERP system to eliminate multiple badges, barcoded employee lists, and human error.

In the process, RFID provides faster and more efficient log-ins, more accurate data, lower technology costs, and stronger security of your building and your data. It also facilitates more accurate payroll processing and tracking of job costs. As more manufacturers embrace this technology, RFID can also be used to trace inventory, improve scheduling by tracking idle equipment, locate lost or misplaced tools and equipment, monitor waste and shrinkage, and more. Some manufacturers are even using this technology to track material moving from an outside storehouse into the warehouse and
through production on the shop floor.

EDI

In the manufacturing world, small process improvements performed hundreds of times a day can add up to big savings. Electronic data interchange (EDI) software saves time and money (for you and your customers) by facilitating the computer-to-computer exchange of business data across different platforms. This data can include purchase orders, invoices, inventory levels, shipping notices, and much more.

Using EDI to seamlessly integrate with your customers’ business systems speeds up the order entry process by allowing them to send order data electronically. No phone calls. No faxes. No manual data entry. Just fast, accurate electronic data transmission that eliminates the need for a second entry on the other side of every transaction. The error-free transmission also eliminates the need for time-consuming reconciliations. You can view a list of top EDI
solutions Global Shop Solutions integrates with.

eCommerce/Web

When it comes to saving time and simplifying processes, eCommerce is like EDI on steroids. Imagine if customers could place an order on your website, and your ERP system would automatically launch the sales and work order processes to get the job rolling. Then it would also automatically send an invoice or process payment with a credit card. How much time and effort would that remove from your order entry process?

All it requires is three basic elements:

• A SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) software program so that your website can communicate with your ERP system

• An experienced website vendor to build your eCommerce portal

• An ERP vendor willing to support the integration between their product and the eCommerce platform Global Shop Solutions recently assisted one of our correctional institution customers in building an eCommerce website. Read the case study here. Or better yet, visit their website.

CAD Interface

Do your engineers still spend hours every week writing lengthy BOMs and comparing them against the BOMs in your ERP system?
A CAD Interface solution can eliminate this wasteful manual
entry by seamlessly importing the BOM into your ERP system. Your engineers can then use the imported BOM to ensure sufficient materials are on hand to complete the job on time and on budget. With a CAD interface you can:

• Reduce engineering time and costs
• Eliminate manual data entry to update BOMs,
and the human error that goes along with it
• Ensure everyone on the shop floor has the latest
document rev
• Create jobs faster

It used to take one of our packing industry customers four man days to create jobs. Since implementing a CAD Interface solution, it now requires only a couple of clicks to build 100+ routers in a few seconds. Global Shop Solutions offers CAD Interface solutions with SolidWorks®, Solid Edge™, Autodesk Inventor®, and other leading design programs.

Tool Cribs and Vending Machines

To improve the accuracy of tooling costs, more manufacturers are employing tool vending machines.

Workers scan their badge and job number into the machine and press a button for the tool they need. The vending machine dispenses the tool and automatically applies the cost of the tool to the job, thereby increasing accuracy for the overall job costing process.

The key with this integration is seamlessly transporting the costing data to your ERP system. Global Shop Solutions recently wrote a program for one of our aviation design and build customers which passes tool usage and tooling requirements to Global Shop Solutions ERP software.

Employee Efficiency

You can’t afford to have employees standing around wondering what to do next. Integrating Internet-capable TV screens and displays with your ERP system can significantly reduce employee red time.

These screens, strategically placed around the shop floor, can display a variety of real-time data pulled from your ERP system. This includes the status of work orders in progress, work orders scheduled to begin, and hot jobs that need immediate attention.

In addition to keeping employees on the job, this integration eliminates the need for reams of paper work orders and shop floor schedules. It also prevents confusion on the shop floor because employees can always see what needs to be worked on and when – without having to leave their machines or workcenters.

Global Shop Solutions offers this capability via TrueView™. Within 30 days of implementing this integration, one of our precision metal fabricator customers, generated productivity improvements of 20% to 25%, while a manufacturer of washing machines and drying cabinets uses this integration to properly sequence upcoming jobs at each workcenter.

Another example comes from a wood product and component manufacturer. Despite averaging nearly 500 hours a month of indirect time, company management thought they were at full capacity – until they placed 18 TV screens connected to TrueView around their shop floor. TrueView was used to display the names of employees not on a job for more than four minutes and notify their supervisors. Indirect time plummeted to 50 hours per month, and the company now has the capacity to schedule more jobs, increase margins, and pay their employees more.

Payroll

Accounting & payroll are complex, time-consuming processes. Managing all the data in one system makes the entire process quicker and easier while reducing administrative costs. Integrating your payroll system into your general ledger and shop floor data allows you to:

• Eliminate redundant data entry
• Easily distribute payroll accounting by department
• Simplify tax reporting
• Manage your employees better than ever
• Complete end-of-month closing in less time

Global Shop Solutions seamlessly integrates with ADP®, ABRA, Paychex® and other leading payroll solutions.

Taxes

Making efficient use of sales tax data has also taken a big step forward by integrating with ERP software.

Manufacturers can now link sales tax data directly from their ERP software to their state sales and property tax software programs. They can also simplify other tax-related tasks, such as R&D tax credit tracking. For example, one our customers uses this integration to set up tasks on their work orders. This allows the Project Manager to instantly review the percentage of work on a job that can be attributed to R&D for tax credit purposes.

Business Services

Tracking employee expenses – meals, gas, tools, etc. – on installations, repairs and other service calls has long been a thorn in the side of financial personnel. Even with today’s sophisticated software programs, expenses can still get lost. Or they don’t get applied to the job until the employee returns to the office. Either way, it interferes with your ability to track job costs in real time.

Now you can enjoy cost, compliance, and visibility by integrating expense-reporting software with your ERP system. Global Shop Solutions easily integrates (using one of our free, downloadable ARC programs) directly with Concur and other popular expense-tracking programs. Using a smartphone app, your field service teams can tie expenses directly into a work order in Global Shop Solutions ERP software the minute they happen. Job costing has never been so simple or timely.

___________________________________________________________________

As IoT transforms the manufacturing industry at breakneck speed, success increasingly depends on your ability to connect with real time data from anywhere at any time. As a global leader in ERP solutions, we believe it is our responsibility to help you do that. If you’re not taking advantage of the ERP integrations outlined in this whitepaper, call Global Shop Solutions today at 800-364-5958. You’ll be amazed at how a few simple integrations can exponentially increase the power, functionality, and return on investment of your ERP software.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Daniel Carranco is the Director for the Continuous Improvement Department for Global Shop Solutions. He leads a department comprised of teams that deal with existing customer projects including consulting and custom development. A Global Shop Solutions team member for more than a decade, Carranco holds a master’s degree in international business, and is a frequent speaker to manufacturing executives and industry groups on maximizing ROI with ERP software.

To learn more about the 10 Integrations Every Manufacturer Needs With Their ERP, call 1.800.364.5958 or visit www.globalshopsolutions.com

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Archives, Global Logistics, Global Trade Daily

The Importance of Connectivity in a Global Manufacturing Footprint

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While the Internet of Things (IoT) has taken our homes by storm with smart lightbulbs, HVAC systems, TVs, and beyond – the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and cyber-physical systems (CPS) are bringing a new wave of innovation to the manufacturing floor.

IIoT and CPSs provide your enterprise with the ability to network together multiple machines, sensors, instruments, and other devices across your global footprint and gain valuable insights to improve your manufacturing operations. CPS technologies are essentially an ecosystem of IIoT devices and can exchange data and control actions within the ecosystem.

While the IIoT and CSP evolution in modern manufacturing are exciting, it would not be possible, or safe for that matter, without a reliable, scalable, and secure network connectivity backbone. Here we will discuss the importance of connectivity to your global manufacturing footprint.

Connectivity: What’s the point?

Whether you work at an utterly tech-enabled manufacturing enterprise or one that solely relies on connectivity for communications, your connectivity is mission-critical in 2021. As the world economy progresses, more and more of your operations are moving online.

Your customers, employees, stakeholders, and managers require data integrity, security, transparency, and availability. Simple accounts payable or customer invoice processing can no longer be managed through a filing cabinet paper trail. Furthermore, preventative maintenance and other manual industrial processes can no longer afford to be handled in an offline and ad hoc manner. The best enterprises in 2021 will use IIoT and CPS to manage the shift from preventative maintenance to predictive maintenance schedules. This means that they will use AI and IoT to predict when conveyor belts will need replacement rather than guessing the wear over time.

Whether you are simply processing customer invoices or implementing exciting new manufacturing technology, your reliance on network connectivity keeps increasing every day with each megabyte of data your enterprise produces.

Choosing the Right Connectivity Solution

The right connectivity solution for a successful global manufacturing footprint will have two key attributes: capability and reliability. If your wide area network (WAN) and every local area network (LAN) has these attributes in place, you can be confident that your global manufacturing footprint is connected for success.

Capability

Your network needs to have the capability to meet the needs of your global manufacturing footprint. In networking terms, capability refers to bandwidth.

Bandwidth is the maximum amount of data that your connection can handle at any moment and is measured as megabits per second Mbps. If you’re running a global footprint with high data needs, yours is likely measured in Gbps – gigabytes per second.

Suppose you’re on a voice-over internet protocol (VOIP) phone call at your manufacturing plant and the quality of your call degrades when an engineer uploads a large 3D-CAD design to your servers. In that case, it’s likely that your network does not have adequate bandwidth to support your enterprise’s needs.

As you’d expect, the higher bandwidth your network has, the higher the cost likely is. It’s essential to make an educated estimate of your bandwidth requirements to ensure your business can function without overpaying for bandwidth you don’t need. Thankfully, there are online guides to help you do just that.

Reliability

A reliable network offers adequate speeds, minimal packet loss and jitter, limited to no unexpected downtime, and maximum security.

Low latency and minimal packet loss/jitter are required to run a smooth global manufacturing operation, impacting everything from simple email communications to production schedules. Latency is the technical term for the speed or rate at data moves across your network. Packet loss and jitter, which refer to when data is lost or mixed up in transfer, also impact your network reliability.

Internet outages and network downtime are expensive in more ways than one. Suppose your facility has payables due or orders to be shipped but is unable to communicate with the required constituents. In that case, network downtime can be detrimental to your performance and your enterprises’ reputation. One way to avoid downtime is with an adequately redundant network backbone that ensures that if your internet connection drops out, every one of your locations and customers can still function and access your services. Failover is the method of switching between your primary and secondary connectivity systems.

Luckily, many providers offer service-level agreements (SLAs) to ensure a specific level of network reliability regarding latency, packet loss, jitter, and network uptime/failover processes. Be sure to read the fine print of your SLA before signing up for connectivity services.

However, given the prevalence of malware and network intrusions, most SLAs explicitly does not cover network security. It’s up to your IT team to ensure that your network is adequately protected from cyber threats using firewalls, encryption, and security protocol.

What’s Next

If reading this prompts you to question the capability and reliability of your enterprises’ connectivity, it might be time for you to reassess your network architecture and providers.

But as a global manufacturing enterprise, your time and resources should be focused on your core competencies, not your Internet connection. There are plenty of telecom agents, managed service providers, and IT consultancies who are eager to help out if your IT team is not fully equipped to find the best solution for your enterprise.

__________________________________________________________________

Ginger Woolridge is the Head of Growth at Lightyear, a web platform that helps businesses comparison shop for network services (dedicated internet access, WAN solutions, VoIP, managed services, etc.). Ginger is based in NYC.

HMI
Archives, Global Trade Daily, Software

Benefits of using HMI for Industrial Purposes

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HMI stands for Human Machine Interface. We use HMIs to control and monitor machines in any industry. It is mainly used in the manufacturing sector. Process industries massively use HMIs, such as in oil and gas and mining processes in which many operations are managed remotely from a control room. Industries have implemented HMI software where human interference with a machine or automated equipment is needed. This could be in a system, plant, building, or even a vehicle. The level of assimilation and refinement may vary, but we can use HMI for just about any application type.

Let’s come to the point and see the benefits of using hmi for industrial purposes:

Improved Productivity

A human-machine interface, i.e. HMI, improves the performance of the given task. Even if a person can perform that same task, this kind of software/device increases productivity in an enormous amount. Using an HMI facilitates more work in any industry in a short time.

 Troubleshooting with old data

The HMI system detects, have the systems inspected based on past data feed. The entire evaluation, isolation, and correction of the alarm took less time to do it manually. HMI’s makes it troubleshoot the problems in early stage.

Report generation

The creation of a perfect report and save it for data analysis is one of the crucial tasks. As a human, we can make many mistakes while recording such things. Maintenance and feeding the data for future use is something that should be done on time.

Comfort

With the ability to control a device easily, their use in production and ease systems has dramatically improved people’s lives by increasing comfortability. The machine should be accessible from a long distance so that the operator can be at more ease.

Keeping Records

They have high abilities to keep records. By inserting instructions into an HMI, the system to which it is connected can automatically store the data. Such data can be utilized later for other researches, for example, troubleshooting future analysis.

Internet of Things (IoT)

Internet of things refers to a combination of devices that are all coupled to the internet. HMIs can also connect to the internet since they are devices too. This enables remote access to the devices.

Reduce the Cost of Hardware

An HMI reduces the expense that an industry acquires in terms of devices like consoles, connections, and control panels. An HMI can replace them, thus saving on costs.

Asset management

Accuracy in real-time data and reports gives managers the ability to be more efficient and make just the right maintenance plans for businesses. The drilling and fracking industries have to handle some of the most challenging circumstances in managing and observing large numbers of regularly moving assets.

Data availability

Data is an essential input when making decisions. How users utilize these records will discover the value applied to the process. The power is in the availability of data and relying on people’s abilities and skills to get insight and make enhancements. This data is available for other analysis too.

IoT
Archives, Global Logistics, Global Trade Daily, Trucking

How Will Adoption of Internet of Things (IoT) Facilitate Logistics Sector?

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The expansion of the e-commerce sector, which will account for a 17% share in global retail sales by 2021, has increased the incorporation of the internet of things (IoT) technology for enhancing the logistics ecosystem. The booming e-commerce industry, on account of the changing consumer behavior, requires fast and free shipping with competitive product pricing. To keep up with this changing customer behavior, various companies have started adopting IoT solutions in their logistics activities to manage a sudden order rise, time-sensitive needs of customers, and inconsistent shipping.

The adoption of IoT solutions improves the efficiency of logistics operations, as they help in tracking the inventory and warehousing, monitoring the driver activity, allowing for smart location management, and updating the delivery status. The benefits offered by IoT technology are imperative for the success of any logistics company. This realization will, therefore, increase the IoT in logistics market size from $34,504.8 million in 2019 to $100,984.5 million by 2030. According to P&S Intelligence, the market will advance at a CAGR of 13.2% during 2020–2030.

Additionally, the rapid digitization in the logistics sector is propelling the demand for IoT solutions. Logistics and trucking companies across the globe are using data analytics, telematics, self-driving, and robotic technologies to attain operational efficiency and combat issues such as the shortage of truckers. Besides, the integration of robotics in supply chain management, data analytics, warehousing, and machine learning has helped in solving the issue of labor shortage and enhancing technical efficiency.

Furthermore, the developments in the 5G network technology will fuel the demand for IoT solutions from the logistics industry. The 5G technology will improve the experience of drivers by providing better insurance coverage for vehicles and real-time traffic updates. Moreover, this cellular network technology allows logistics companies to cut down the latency, thus ensuring higher efficiency in operations. Apart from this, the logistics industry also uses local area network (LAN) technology-based IoT solutions to improve its operations.

In the past, the North American logistics sector displayed the highest adoption of IoT solutions, on account of the rapid digital transformation in the region. Moreover, the emergence of new IT startups due to the surging internet penetration and expanding scope of e-commerce has facilitated the adoption of IoT technology in the logistics industry. Besides, a surge in advertising and marketing activities pertaining to robotics, near-field communication (NFC), low-power wide-area network (LPWAN), artificial intelligence (AI), and radio-frequency identification (RFID) technologies and an increase in the efforts to educate and train professionals in these technologies widen the scope for companies offering IoT solutions for regional logistics companies.

This will be because of the fact that blockchain for supply chain management has the ability to replace conventional processes as it uses ledger technology that makes logistics operations sustainable and ethical. Geographically, the market will demonstrate the fastest growth in Asia-Pacific in the coming years, as per the estimates of the market research company, P&S Intelligence. Rapid technological advancements in the logistics industry are the major factor fueling the expansion of the IoT in the logistics market in this region.

Source: P&S Intelligence

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Rahul has around 2+ years of experience in market research and consulting services for the automotive domain. He holds varied experience in market sizing and forecasting with varied models, competition landscape, consumer behavior analysis, opportunity analysis, product/company benchmarking, data mining, and BOM costing. He has successfully delivered multiple projects in market entry and share analysis and others.

Some of the projects delivered by him include Artificial Intelligence in Transportation Market, Global Electric vehicle and Charging Infrastructure Market, and Mobility-as-a-Service Market.

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Archives, Global Trade Daily, International Trade, Special Reports

A Digital Transformation Driven by Artificial Intelligence

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Digital transformation is one of the most important drivers of how businesses deliver value to their customers in a competitive, fast-changing business environment. The process aims to leverage digital technologies to create or modify user experiences and business processes, thus meeting users’ changing needs and the market.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is now recognized as one of the main enablers of digital transformation in multiple industries. AI can help companies become more innovative, flexible and adaptive than ever before. Many think of it as a future or visionary technology, but the opposite is true. AI is already being cost-effectively deployed in numerous companies, accelerating productivity and competitiveness, while helping speed digital transformation.

What is Digital Transformation?

Digital transformation is a set of processes, tools, and methodologies used by businesses to optimize their operational activities, such as offering differentiated service, increasing performance and expanding their reach. More than a concept, digital transformation is a dynamic movement; it attracts organizations looking to review processes, innovate and gain competitiveness with the help of technology. Artificial intelligence is a critical strategic factor for businesses to expand their impact.

AI and Digital Transformation

Digital transformation took a big step forward when AI and machine learning became part of business strategy. Aside from boosting productivity, these technologies are essential because they enable better use of the data collected by a company. With useful data, businesses can expand, improve their current products and services, and create innovative strategies.

Here are three examples of how digital transformation coupled with AI can deliver top results:

1. 360-Degree View of Customers

AI helps businesses, especially their marketing sector, understand customer needs and preferences. Every digital transformation success depends on gaining accurate buyer personas and audience discovery. It is crucial to gain a comprehensive understanding of the customer at the beginning of the digital transformation, and AI is ideally suited to this mission.

AI helps reveal consumer behavior trends, purchasing history and digital channel engagement to create a buyer’s detailed view. Today, buyers expect personalized experiences along their journey. AI is essential to quickly unlocking consumer insights to create and reinforce those personalized experiences. This way, companies can gain a competitive advantage through higher customer satisfaction, increased customer loyalty and more effective marketing campaigns.

2. Dynamic Analytics

As already mentioned, collecting useful data is essential to digital transformation strategy. But what powers the success of the strategy is how that data is capitalized. AI processes thousands of data points to gather insights and identify trends in real time. This is how companies can accurately pre-empt consumer needs rather than react to consumer actions. With these insights, companies can create highly personalized experiences for their buyers and make data-driven decisions to develop more effective marketing campaigns. Success is reflected in significant savings across budget allocation and in more cost-effective media and advertising purchases.

3. Growth and Profitability

AI helps businesses profit through their digital transformation by increasing operational efficiency, mitigating risks and accelerating growth and innovation. For business leaders, marketing, sales and customer service are the top three areas where AI can make the most impact. According to Accenture, AI can increase profitability in multiple industries by an average of 38 percent by 2035. By that same year, AI will boost additional revenue by $14 trillion!

AI-Driven Automation for Customer Service 

Digital transformation that incorporates AI is redefining and revolutionizing the end-user experience in countless ways for both B2B and B2C organizations. The new capabilities offered by AI-driven Conversational RPA for Customer Service can auto-resolve 65 percent of user requests and reduce issue resolution time by 90 percent—improving customer satisfaction scores by 80 percent. Sophisticated workflow automation integrates AI and RPA to automate customer workflows across product support, upgrades, troubleshooting, case management and more. The horizon for new revenue streams, cost-savings, and productivity is nearly unlimited.

Redefine your employee and customer experience with the world’s first AI-driven service desk: Visit Aisera to learn more or request a demo.

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Archives, Global Trade Daily, Software, Special Reports

5 Remarkable Benefits of Machine Learning in Business

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In recent years, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence have taken the world by storm in every business sector. Marketers and business leaders are in a race of taking advantage of the applications by implementing them in their business.

Many people in the industry have heard about Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence, but they have no idea about their usages and benefits. They have no clue how these two technologies can add value to their business and solve their tedious problems.

Machine Learning is a data analysis process that extracts meaningful data from raw data and provides an accurate result with ML algorithms. This information can help in solving complex and data-rich problems. In this way, you can find various data insights without being programmed to do so.

With rapid speed, Machine Learning is evolving. Moreover, it helps organizations in improving their scalability and business performance globally.

In recent times, many giants like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft have implemented machine learning in their business. And they have come up with new machine learning platforms.

Moreover, on a daily basis, too, we are using machine learning, but we are unaware of it. An example of this is the spam detection by Gmail, image and face recognition, and tagging by Facebook and Google Photos. Yes, these are examples of ML. Your business can obtain numerous benefits from machine learning. Hence, in this article, I am going to explain why you should implement Machine Learning in your business and lead the market.

Benefits of Machine Learning in Business

If you implement ML in the right manner, it can serve as a solution to a variety of business complexities and problems while predicting customer behaviors. Let’s see how ML can be benefited to your business.

Real-time Business Decision

Business analysts fetch the data from the internet and pass it to business organizations. This way companies have big data. But it’s not easy to extract the correct information and make a decision from data.

Implementing Machine Learning in your business can help you gain better results. As we know, ML leverages ML algorithms. It analyzes the existing data and understands human behavior. The results help businesses make the correct decision. It allows organizations to transform data into knowledge and actionable insights. This information can be integrated into everyday business processes. Then, it automatically analyses the current business situation, market demands, and deals with the changes. In this way, machine learning can help out many businesses with real-time business decisions. It keeps them ahead of the competitors.

Easy Spam Detection

Spam is promotional messages that are sent via the internet. These emails could be junk mail or simply annoying to the customers. In some cases, it even slows down the performance of the computers. This problem was solved by ML a few years ago by introducing rule-based techniques to filter out pam. This was introduced by email providers.

However, with the help of ML, the spam filters are creating new rules for eliminating spam emails. It helps the network to deal with the spam issue. Phishing messages and junk mail are detected by this system.

Predict Customer Behavior

Many organizations use machine learning to predict the behavior of their customers. It covers the predictive information in prescriptive information to gain more customer base or offer them more customized services. Retail companies can offer the best-personalized product or service to their customers by going through their behavior, purchase pattern, and shopping history. This way, they can improve their demand forecasts.

Enhances Security

Cybersecurity and network intrusions are the major factors of organizations that are affecting their growth. Every organization tries to build a wall of network security and take essential steps for that. They must identify unwarranted networking behavior before intrusion takes place into the full force attack and leak data or affect services.

Moreover, machine learning helps you analyze the network behavior and executes steps to prevent it automatically. ML algorithm adapts to change and replaces manual research and analysis. In this way, you can improve your cybersecurity and unveil security insights.

These benefits of ML can apply to many cases that happen in the business. The manual operation is replaced by the main application of this technology. All the companies are implementing machine learning for their better growth and results.

Product Recommendation

Product recommendation plays an important role in better marketing strategy and valid sales. ML analyzes human behavior, their purchase history, and based on their research, they identify products in which customers are more interested.

With the ML algorithm, it also identifies hidden patterns among the items and finds similar products in groups and clusters. This is called an unsupervised learning process.

This way, you can recommend the products to your customers and enhance the sales of the company.

Maintenance Predictions

This benefit is very important for manufacturing firms where they follow corrective maintenance practices, which are often expensive and inefficient. However, with the implementation of ML, companies can make use of ML to figure out meaningful insights and patterns hidden in their factory data. This is known as predictive maintenance. This helps you identify the risk so you can reduce the chances of failure and increase productivity. This way, you can save money which has to be spent on expenses.

Wrapping Up

So we can surely conclude that machine learning is the best and essential technology that can boost business growth and reduce errors. ML plays an important role to deal with data-related tasks. It’s also helping business owners to run their businesses successfully.

If you want your business to take to the next level, ML plays a significant role. However, we are somewhere using the benefits of ML, but we are unaware of it. Every business can increase its sales and profits by implementing ML. It doesn’t matter whether you own a small business or large, ML is suitable for every kind of business.

So, you can integrate ML into your business solutions with web and mobile app development services. It takes your business to the up and increases better revenue. If you are into the eLearning business, then you can look out for various trends with the help of Machine Learning.

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Kiran Beladiya is the co-founder of the website design company the name is The One Technologies. He is managing everything from discussing project ideas with clients to its release. Due to the hectic schedule, he could not get enough time to nurture and sharpen his writing skills but he is an avid writer. You can connect with him on Twitter and LinkedIn.

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Archives, Executive Education, Global Trade Daily

10 Ways to Make Knowledge Transfer Between Employees Effective

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Your business’s success lies in your ability to get the right information to the right people at the right time. Miscommunications can be greatly detrimental to your organization. Knowledge management systems are designed to streamline your information sharing experiences for your business. 

As your organization grows and evolves, it becomes necessary to duplicate the knowledge of the existing staff. Such preemptive measures cushion you and your business when a founder or employee leaves, with their absence risking the sustainability of the organization. Knowledge sharing platforms facilitate continuous communication among the different divisions in your business for smooth operations, even during large transitions. 

This exchange of knowledge, using either audio, video, or text, inspires collaboration, which, in turn, increases productivity. An efficient knowledge transfer system allows you to capture and save vital information for use by future generations. Information sharing systems leads to better decision-making, innovation, and performance in an organization. The process’s essence is to create new knowledge that can help better the organization moving forward. 

Here are 10 methods you can use to transfer key information between the employees of your company effectively. 

Using Technology

Embrace knowledge sharing technology to capture and save vital company or business information. Technology automates the captured information in a variety of formats for safekeeping’s sake. Knowledge sharing tools are capable of removing any duplicate information collected from many employees. Additionally, it’s advisable to encourage your employees to start a social media group where they get to collaborate and exchange information. 

Training your employees

Training is paramount for duplicating the existing employee’s knowledge. It helps keep the knowledge alive if an employee were to depart and the company doesn’t have a ready replacement. Organizations need to operate with a back-up plan in the event that the most experienced IT guy or any other core employees choose to leave. 

Your organizations can’t afford to get caught flat-footed, and that’s why you always need to keep training programs running non-stop. If you don’t have sufficient resources to pay for your employees’ formal training, you can try the less expensive e-learning experiences. 

Promoting networking

Nurture a culture where your employees regularly meet up to exchange information in your organization. Plan for events that bring about teams from different divisions of your company for improved information collection.

These informal gatherings are a great way for your employees to pass on key information to the younger staff. For instance, having a water-cooler at the office or an employee lounge can encourage your staff to congregate and, in the process, exchange information. 

Using formal documentation

Transferring key information in your organization is an intricate step-by-step process. One slight misstep and you risk undoing all the past gains. There are several tools such as Word Docs, Excel Spreadsheets, and PowerPoint presentations, that you can use to store knowledge. 

That said, you can capture valuable knowledge, without shelling out the big bucks, in a simple and pain-free process by making use of free downloadable PowerPoint templates. A huge perk of most free slides is that they’re easy to use, even for employees who have no experience in making presentations. These are highly customizable, so you can tailor them according to your knowledge-transfer needs.

Armed with the right documentation tools, your employees have a simpler time outlining the procedures in a process. These tools also make it easier for the teams to track their goals. Documenting the process uplifts the morale of the team members. 

Encourage your employees to take and share notes during office gatherings and watch how the overall productivity peaks from then on. 

Leveraging other employees’ knowledge

Hiring consultants to develop an effective knowledge transfer system in your organization is another great idea. Bear in mind, however, that the consultant may eventually leave. Therefore, it’s prudent to get this consultant to share their knowledge with specific employees. The employees will, in turn, carry on overseeing the knowledge transfer practices instituted by the hired consultant. 

Collecting data

Accurate employee data and information is critical when creating efficient knowledge-sharing systems. Use spreadsheets to collect vital info such as the employees’ names and their importance to the organization, the impact of the information known by these employees, and the resources needed to impart that knowledge to other employees. 

Make use of mentors

Mentors, whether short or long-term, play a critical role in disseminating key information in your organization. Mentorship is a great avenue for organizations to transfer implied and underlying information from one generation to the next. 

Enabling employees to gain experience

Getting hands-on experience from a more experienced team member is a simple way to learn about an organization’s history and culture. Guided experiences are perfect for transferring those skills that require a more practical approach, such as auto mechanics. 

Promoting the use of virtual simulations 

Organizations have upped the game, and they’re now using augmented reality and 3D animations to train their employees. This modern technology confers plenty of rewards to the employees and the owners as well. Augmented reality and other impressive technology tools promote the transfer of knowledge within an organization. 

Keeping track of results

Use knowledge management tools to assess the signs of progress, if any, of your knowledge transfer plans. Tools such as Pipedrive and Hubspot allow you to track your performance progress by setting up benchmarks. As you grow and evolve, make sure you regularly assess your organization’s knowledge transfer practices and their effectiveness.  

Benefits of Knowledge Transfer 

Knowledge transfer systems facilitate the capturing and eventual dissemination of key knowledge across your business. Employees obtain better access to the saved information as the system streamlines communication in an organization. These practices boost confidence and productivity in employees. Knowledge transfer systems enable faster decision-making. 

In Conclusion

Investing in a knowledge transfer system is a must for businesses. This system helps automate and streamline capturing, saving, and analyzing information surrounding your organization’s culture and systems.

Effective knowledge transfer builds stronger, happier, and healthier organizations. Creating a robust knowledge-sharing culture involves several key steps, such as identifying and collecting information, capturing and saving knowledge, transferring and sharing the information, and applying that knowledge. 

Organizations are also required to regularly assess the applied knowledge-sharing measures to weed out any redundancies.

If you realize a particular approach isn’t delivering the expected results–for example, your social media strategy–immediately revise your plans.

Avoid waiting to the last minute to replace your experienced workers if they’re about to retire or complete their tenures. Be smart and develop a knowledge-sharing culture of duplicating skills within your organization today.