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6 Authentic Qualities Leaders Possess Even When They’re Not The Boss

leadership
Archives, Commentary, Global Trade Daily

6 Authentic Qualities Leaders Possess Even When They’re Not The Boss

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Some people lead because it’s in their job description.

But anyone can step up and take a leadership role in a business or organization, even when they have no authority to back up what they are trying to achieve, says Carrie Root, author of The Other Soft Skill: How to Solve Workplace Challenges with Generational Intelligence.

In multi-generational workplaces where employees can include Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials and Gen Z, you don’t have to be the oldest worker or the one with the most seniority in the company to show your leadership skills. But Root says you do need to be engaging, inspiring and credible – without being bossy.

“The challenge is to get people to follow your lead or your ideas because they want to, not because they are told to,” says Root, who is also founder and CEO of Alpha UMi (www.5gpowerskills.com), an educational consulting firm that creates professional development curricula.

 

She says those who are most successful at leading without authority usually possess certain characteristics and skills that make others willing to listen to what they have to say.

“Few will be proficient in all these skills,” she says, “but most successful leaders in the lead-without-authority realm will possess most of them.”

A few of those characteristics and skills include:

Be seen as trustworthy. Root says that trust is a foundational block of leadership. “It is especially important to someone who wants their ideas achieved,” she says. “The group needs to believe that the leader will be there to see it through.”

Have a positive attitude and a growth mindset. Whatever emotional energy a leader displays – positive or negative – is transmitted to the group. “People who exude positivity are much more fun to work with than those who portray a gloom and doom philosophy,” Root says.

Be succinct. In today’s world of Instagram and Twitter, you are playing to short attention spans, Root says. “It’s always good to share the ‘why’ but it’s got to be short,” she says. “Likewise, condense your vision into concepts that are easily understandable and quick to grasp. Plan to work the details out in committee.”

Be a good communicator and organizer. Strive to maintain energy and organization through emails and other information-sharing means when you are not meeting. “Make sure the organizational assignments are clear,” she says. “No one likes to find out that the work they did was also done by someone else.”

Show your appreciation. Everyone likes to have their contributions recognized. “This can be as simple as giving credit as opposed to taking credit,” Root says. “But a ‘thank you’ goes a long way towards fostering a sense of appreciation with those who are working with you.”

Check your ego at the door. Root says she has seen situations where egos drove extremely productive individuals to the sidelines, significantly costing the organization. “Recognize that there is more than your way to achieve goals,” she says. “Be open and encouraging to others’ ideas. Allow the group the opportunity to determine their path forward. This will give them ownership of the path.”

“A person who can lead without authority often radiates passion about the task they have taken on,” Root says. “They are good listeners who understand that there is more than just their way to do something. They are encouragers of individual ideas and talents while keeping the group headed towards their goal. Leading without authority happens when groups are energized through the recognition that the drive to achieve comes from the group.

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Carrie Root, author of The Other Soft Skill: How to Solve Workplace Challenges with Generational Intelligence, is the founder and CEO of Alpha UMi (www.5gpowerskills.com), an education consulting firm that develops professional-development curricula. Her company has provided workshops at conferences for major corporations and associations. Prior to founding Alpha UMi, Root had a successful engineering career working for large and small businesses, followed by more than two decades consulting as a high-level troubleshooter for the U.S. Navy.

carbon
Archives, Global Trade Daily, Site Selection, State Spotlight

States With the Least Carbon-Intensive Economies

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World leaders convened in Glasgow this November for the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference. Facing the intensification of global climate change, the negotiators reached an agreement that explicitly commits to reducing the use of coal, limiting other greenhouse gas emissions, and providing support to developing countries most impacted by climate change.

The Glasgow conference reflected heightened urgency around climate change as the effects of carbon emissions have accelerated and become more severe in recent years. A 2021 report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change found that without rapid reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, warming above 1.5°C is almost inevitable. This level of warming would have disastrous effects in the form of sea level rise, more severe weather events, and harm to agricultural systems and human health.

While there is still much work to do, the good news for the U.S. is that many states and the country as a whole have begun to reverse the growth in carbon emissions. Government policy to limit emissions and advancements in lower-emission technologies across the economy have helped turn the trends in the right direction.

Much of this progress has taken place over the last fifteen years. Total CO2 emissions peaked in 2007 at over 6 billion metric tons, but that figure fell to around 4.6 billion metric tons in 2020. One of the big contributors has been decarbonization in electric power generation due to the decline of heavy-emitting coal and the rise of clean energy sources like wind and solar. Over the last decade, these factors have reduced CO2 emissions associated with electric power generation by around 36%. And this trend also contributes to emissions reductions in the main “end-use” sectors—transportation, industrial, residential, and commercial—that consume electricity. Residential and commercial have seen the sharpest declines, with emissions dropping by more than a quarter since 2010 across both sectors combined.

Encouragingly, these declines have taken place even while the U.S. population and economy have continued to grow. From 1970 to the mid-2000s, carbon emissions and GDP grew together, with the pace of GDP growth exceeding that of carbon emissions. More recently, the steady upward trajectory of GDP has continued while carbon emissions have ticked downward. Since 2007, total energy-related CO2 emissions are down by 23.9% while real GDP has increased by 17.7% in the same span. These trends help alleviate concerns that reducing carbon emissions necessarily means limiting economic productivity, and many U.S. states are proving that economic growth in a less carbon-intensive economy is possible.

The data used in this analysis is from the U.S. Energy Information Administration and the U.S. Census Bureau. To determine the states with the least carbon-intensive economies, researchers at Commodity.com calculated total CO2 emissions per GDP. States with a lower value were ranked higher. In the event of a tie, the state with lower per capita CO2 emissions was ranked higher.

Here are the states with the least carbon-intensive economies.

State Rank CO2 emissions per GDP (tons per $ million) CO2 emissions per capita Total CO2 emissions (tons) Largest source of CO2 emissions
New York 1 123.6 9.0 175,900,000 Petroleum
Washington 2 135.9 10.2 77,000,000 Petroleum
Connecticut 3 136.8 10.5 37,600,000 Petroleum
California 4 148.0 9.0 356,600,000 Petroleum
Massachusetts 5 158.1 9.4 64,600,000 Petroleum
New Hampshire 6 158.9 10.5 14,300,000 Petroleum
Vermont 7 163.9 9.4 5,900,000 Petroleum
Oregon 8 164.5 9.5 39,900,000 Petroleum
New Jersey 9 198.0 11.9 105,400,000 Petroleum
Maryland 10 200.3 10.2 61,700,000 Petroleum
Rhode Island 11 206.5 10.5 11,100,000 Petroleum, Natural Gas
Hawaii 12 249.7 14.4 20,500,000 Petroleum
Arizona 13 252.1 13.1 93,900,000 Petroleum
Illinois 14 253.0 16.7 212,200,000 Petroleum
Maine 15 254.9 11.0 14,800,000 Petroleum
United States – 287.2 16.2 5,297,400,000 Petroleum

 

For more information, a detailed methodology, and complete results, you can find the original report on Commodity.com’s website: https://commodity.com/blog/states-carbon-emissions/

digital
Archives, Commentary, Global Trade Daily

Want to Bring Digital Transformation to Your Business? The Right Leadership is Key.

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When Under Armour ramped up its digital transformation efforts after the pandemic began, positive results soon emerged, and this year executives at the sportswear maker were able to report higher profit margins and a more seamless product-to-market pathway.

But Under Armour’s success story isn’t everyone’s success story. Plenty of companies spend lots of money on digital transformations, but only a small percentage achieve their desired outcome, says Sri Manchala, the ForbesBooks author of Crossing the Digital Fault Line: 10 Rules of Highly Successful Leaders in Digitalization (www.digitalfaultline.com).

That’s because digital transformation done right isn’t just about the money invested. It requires leadership of a particular kind, the kind that “methodical innovators” provide, says Manchala, CEO of the highly specialized digital transformation services firm Trianz.

“If heroic efforts, motivational speeches, and incentives alone worked, then more companies would be succeeding,” he says. “This battle requires intelligence, not superhuman efforts.”

In other words, he says, this is not a time to be a Marvel superhero.

“You are fighting to understand, control, and get ahead of a dynamic situation, not beat down an enemy,” Manchala says. “This is the time to think and act like a lead planner or the leader of a crisis-management center.”

After all, digital transformation entails more than building better intranets and websites, he says. It involves harnessing data to truly understand customer behavior in a digital world. It includes reimagining products and services. It concerns delivering high-velocity, digitalized experiences across the value chain to all stakeholders, even if that means discarding existing models.

The Methodical Innovator Persona

So just what kind of leaders are methodical innovators and why are they right for this moment? First and foremost, they are big-picture thinkers, Manchala says.

“They have an ability to connect the dots and boil down complex dynamics into simple, easy to understand root causes, dynamics and impact,” he says.

Methodical innovators also are exceedingly stakeholder-focused, whether those stakeholders are customers, suppliers, employees, partners or regulators.

Manchala says they also analyze data and develop their vision, strategy and priorities based on what the data reveals to them.

“Given their focus on outcomes, they are less emotional or attached to the past,” he says. “They are very willing to let go of prior business models and processes if the analytics support doing so.”

Also, instead of letting their egos get in the way of what they want to achieve, methodical Innovators practice a “no ego” approach, Manchala says. They quickly figure out just how big the problem is and just how little they really know about it, then they surround themselves with people who can make up for the knowledge they lack.

That may sound easy enough, but it’s not, he says.

Being Honest With Themselves

“It is incredibly hard for any leader to say ‘I don’t know’ in the corporate world,” Manchala says. “There is fear of being branded as ignorant, of being behind the curve, or of not being effective. A large percentage of leaders choose the tactics of ignoring, deflecting or deferring problems.”

But in the Digital Age, he says, you can run, but you cannot hide from what you don’t know.

That ties directly into what Manchala says is at the core of a successful leader’s character – an inherent honesty. For more than 100 years, study after study shows that the most important and admired quality in leaders is honesty, Manchala says.

“While we tend to think of honesty in transactions with others, methodical innovators are first honest with themselves,” he says. “In an environment of unknown forces, dynamics, pace and outcomes, they realize the importance of knowing what they don’t know. It is by acknowledging what they do not know that they begin the process of personal transformation.”

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Sri Manchala, the ForbesBooks author of Crossing the Digital Fault Line: 10 Rules of Highly Successful Leaders in Digitalization (www.digitalfaultline.com), is the CEO of Trianz, a highly specialized digital-transformation services firm headquartered in Silicon Valley and serving clients globally. Manchala shares data-driven insights on transformations and adaptive business leadership based on his two and a half decades in the technology industry, and leadership experience in the military and as a CEO. Manchala is a graduate of the National Defense Academy, an elite training academy for India’s Armed Forces officers, where he served in the infantry and Parachute Regiment (Special Forces). He is also an alumnus of the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California, where he is now a corporate advisory board member.

cash management
Archives, Banking, Global Trade Daily

9 Ways to Improve your Cash Management Systems

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Cash management is always important, but it’s certainly gotten a lot more attention in the past 18 months. The COVID-19 Pandemic spurred me to realize that the enterprise cash management process has a lot of room for improvement.

Amidst all the uncertainty, companies have to keep a very close eye on cash. At the same time, remote work can make cash management harder. It’s hard to keep track of all the paper the payment process traditionally requires when everyone is working virtually.

When virtual work became imperative, there was a cash management scramble. Suddenly, all eyes were on the amount of time and manual effort cash management required. AP professionals were shuffling back and forth from the office to pick up paper invoices and check stock. AR professionals were trying to figure out how to get to the post office or lock box and get checks deposited to the bank. Invoices and checks could be sitting for many days before they could be processed. It was hard to know what was going to happen and when. The lack of consistency, visibility and control were in plain view.

This pain and urgency caused some people to take action. Cash and paper check payments declined 16% year-over-year in 2020, slipping to 45% of B2B payments. Automated Clearing House (ACH) payments rose above $10 trillion for the first time in history.

We saw a lot of companies fast-track payment automation in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Nvoicepay has been in business for 12 years, and a third of our customers signed up for payment automation since the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic. We also saw a 26% leap in vendors in our supplier network hopping off the check-only wagon and reaching out to enroll to get paid by virtual card or ACH.

45% is still a lot of check payments, though. Companies are still sending out thousands and thousands of checks every day. Too much time and effort, and too little visibility and control is still the story wherever check payments are being made. Organizations have simply learned to live with the pain.

Why does anyone tolerate such a painful status quo? Either they don’t know there’s a better way, or they’re so absorbed in managing day-to-day efforts that they can’t imagine a different future or feel it may be too costly to change from the way things have always been done.

There is a better way,

When you stop to consider the full impact of payment automation on cash management, it becomes obvious how much better the future could be:

Reduced process costs. By reducing the cost of making payments you’ll improve cash flow right away. Paper costs go away. All that printing, signing, stuffing, stamping and mailing is replaced by just a few clicks. All payments can be made in a single workflow, instead of the three or four you’re probably running.

Card rebates. When you let go of paper checks, you’ll be able to pay more vendors by virtual card. Virtual card payments can generate rebates, which certainly helps with cash flow.

Less time fixing errors. Payment errors are expensive time-wasters. Even though it only takes about 10 or 15 minutes to fix an error, it adds up. It leads to interruption–you have to stop whatever else you’re doing and fix errors repeatedly.

Fewer hiccups. It takes time to void and reissue checks and get the right amount of money to the right place which complicates cash management. When you automate your payments, you don’t have to go hunting for old checks or piles of invoices.

Less opportunity for fraud. Checks still carry the highest fraud risk of any payment methods. Your bank account and your routing number are right there–no phishing or hacking required. The last thing you need when cash is tight is to have money stolen.

Reduced ACH fraud costs. ACH fraud is rising, mainly through business email compromise schemes (BECs). Effectively managing and safeguarding vendor data might require a lot of IT and staff time. Most companies don’t have the resources to do it effectively. Payment automation companies often are able to do that work for you.

Less time handling inquiries. Payment automation companies can handle vendor and customer questions, further freeing up staff time.

Greater visibility. Cash management is so much more efficient when you can see the status of all your payments in real time. With the right payment partner, you should gain access to detailed reporting and insights on your cash flow.

More flexibility. When you can pay everything electronically, and all it takes is a few clicks, you can time your payments with precision. This precision allows you to let go of trying to manage float.

Though the COVID-19 pandemic put a spotlight on painful, inefficient cash management issues, the reality is that the enterprise cash management process has been struggling for a long time.

Efficiency, visibility and control are the most important facets of cash management. If you’re doing paper processing, you might be missing something important on one of those three fronts. When you take advantage of digital payment methods, automate processes and manage your staff’s time better, cash flow management becomes significantly easier.

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Mark Penserini is the Vice President, Partner Management at Nvoicepay, a FLEETCOR company.  He has over 25 years of operational and technical experience specializing in project of management across Healthcare, Finance, and IT operations. 

inventory
Archives, Global Logistics, Global Trade Daily, Warehousing

Top 3 Performance Indicators to have in an Effective VMI

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To ensure effective inventory management, a supplier must have quality Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI). But how do you evaluate such software before purchasing and implementing it? What metrics should you look for?

Inventory Management

In a buyer/supplier relationship, the retailer and vendor are often jointly involved in inventory management, an approach called collaborative supply management. In the context of VMI (Vendor Managed Inventory), the delivery of goods to warehouses and stores is the vendor’s responsibility – they are required to deliver goods based on customer needs.

To successfully manage supply operations and ensure good processing speed, suppliers must keep track of their inventory levels. By getting up-to-date data on stock levels in warehouses and stores, suppliers can cover demand for goods and prevent costs and shortages.

The objective/goal: To have the right amount of goods at the right time, thanks to an adequate assessment of needs.

Demand Forecasting

For the most accurate supply management, suppliers make their forecasts based on the preliminary trends that VMI generates. To improve efficiency, the management tool should quickly and easily forecast demand. Additionally, the tool should provide the ability to check the reliability of the forecast at the end of the cycle (day, week, month) to assess future supplier needs.

For example, the software has predicted that customers will have demand for 200 security lockboxes. At the end of the cycle, we should be able to verify that all of the predicted items have been sold.

The objective/goal: Make the necessary changes in the next delivery cycle so that we don’t have to rely on chance.

Service Rate

Typically, retailers use a collaborative inventory management model when they intend to achieve an optimal service rate.

The objective/goal: no shortages and always meet store demands.

By sharing inventory management responsibilities, retailers aim to meet store demands while reducing inventory. Therefore, to optimize service rates, suppliers must be prepared to ship items coming in from different delivery points every day.

In a vendor-controlled supply chain model, a quality VMI solution is a key element in ensuring effective collaboration between all parties in the relationship. Only with fine-tuned inventory management and reliable demand forecasting is it possible to achieve optimal service rates. Which is simply necessary to build a successful vendor-implemented inventory management model.

Generix Group North America provides a series of solutions within our Supply Chain Hub product suite to create efficiencies across an entire supply chain. Our solutions are in use around the world and our experience is second-to-none. We invite you to contact us to learn more.

This article originally appeared here. Republished with permission. 

telematics
Archives, Global Trade Daily, Software

What Contractors Need to Consider When Purchasing Equipment Telematics

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Telematics can be an invaluable tool for contractors who want to track and monitor key assets more effectively, like heavy equipment and vehicles. The rise of smart technology and other Industry 4.0 tech has made these systems more accessible and powerful, encouraging contractors to invest.

However, implementing telematics can be costly and time-consuming, and not every system will provide the specific benefits a fleet owner or logistics professional needs. Knowledge of these factors will help any contractor make more informed decisions when purchasing telematics for heavy equipment.

Feature Considerations

System features are one of the most important factors for contractors wanting to purchase telematics equipment. Not all providers offer the same options, and pricing for equipment and devices can vary significantly depending on what a particular contractor needs.

More complex telematics systems can also be more expensive to purchase and maintain. If a contractor just needs the ability to track assets in real-time, functionality beyond GPS- or RFID-based tracking may make the system more expensive while not providing much additional value.

These are some of the most common telematics systems and the ones a contractor is most likely to need:

1. Real-time location tracking: Most systems offer GPS-based tracking that allows fleet managers to monitor the location of assets in real-time.

2. Alerts: Automatic notices trigger when customizable conditions are met — like assets moving after work hours or faster than local speed limits or scheduled maintenance alerts.

3. Asset and driver data reports: In addition to real-time reporting, most systems will also offer reports or dashboards that sum up recent events and patterns of usage. Contractors can use this information to track driver behavior, asset performance or machine health.

4. Asset diagnostics: Telematics systems can integrate directly with important vehicle or asset systems like engine control units (ECUs), providing them with access to data from sensors and monitoring devices. This allows the system to provide important information on vehicle health and performance to system owners — alerting them automatically when faults are detected or maintenance is needed.

5. Customer service: Dedicated customer support lines provide assistance with telematics system operation, troubleshooting and maintenance scheduling.

The specific data points that asset telematics will track can vary from system to system. Providers may offer monitoring for a wide range of data, including information on seatbelt usage, emissions, dashcam footage, fuel consumption, fuel efficiency, idling and performance.

Selecting a telematics system that offers the features a contractor needs will help them avoid overspending or selecting one that isn’t a good fit.

Contractors should also consider synergy and integration with existing technology. A business that takes advantage of IoT monitoring may want to investigate how the two systems could share data or be configured to supply information to the same dashboard.

Businesses that take advantage of digital twins may want to investigate how additional data provided by telematics may allow them to more accurately model construction sites, buildings or business operations.

Purchasing vs. Renting Telematics for Fleet Management

Often, telematics providers offer the option to either purchase or rent the equipment. While buying a system comes with some advantages — permanent ownership of the hardware and more control over telematics maintenance — renting may be a better option for some contractors.

As with construction equipment, renting can be an effective way to close asset gaps that emerge when systems fail, require maintenance or need replacement.

Suppose a rented telematics device stops working or needs maintenance. In that case, a contractor may be able to more easily procure a replacement or even request one from their provider while the rented equipment is being repaired.

Professional vs. Self-Installation

If a contractor isn’t purchasing new equipment with telematics systems that come pre-installed, they, their team or a third party will have to connect it to each asset they want to track.

This installation process can be involved and time-consuming. Any mistakes the contractor makes can negatively impact the telematics system’s performance or damage components.

Also, the asset in which the telematics system is being installed will be unavailable during this time. Troubleshooting can cause it to be unavailable for longer.

Professional installation is generally less risky but will be more expensive. The cost will typically depend on the system’s complexity, the number of vehicles or assets, and the contractor’s location — installation service rates can fluctuate significantly from region to region.

As with self-installation, the contractor will also need to prepare for significant downtime and loss of productivity while the system is installed.

A professional installer can likely work faster than someone without telematics experience, but all installations will take time.

Equipment Telematics System Security

The growing threat of cybercrime means contractors should also consider how telematics may make their businesses less safe. These systems generate so much data and are typically connected with other essential components, making the overall network more challenging to secure.

Contractors should consider how they’ll keep their telematics secure and how their provider addresses safety issues.

When shopping for a new telematics system, contractors should ask about the importance of security in the provider’s design process. They should also ask about how data is kept safe at the device firmware level, while it’s in transit and when it’s stored in the cloud.

Contractors should also ask about the steps they can take to keep their telematics systems and business networks secure. Providers may be able to help end-users configure them in a way that protects these systems from an attack.

Keep These Considerations in Mind When Buying Telematics

The potential benefits of a telematics system make the technology a good investment for contractors. However, not every one is the same. Varying features and payment options mean companies should carefully consider available offerings.

Contractors wanting the simplest and cheapest system should consider a rented telematics solution that primarily offers GPS tracking. Businesses in need of analytics, behavior tracking and other complex solutions may need more expensive systems. Researching needs and options before investing in telematics will ensure the system is the right choice.

financial
Archives, Banking, Global Trade Daily, International Trade

How Executives Can Increase Their Company’s Financial Efficiency

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As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, opportunities for logistic companies expand. While this is good news, it also means competition within the industry is rising. If supply chain businesses want to stand out from competitors, they must increase their financial efficiency.

Many investors and potential business partners use financial efficiency metrics to determine a company’s economic health. Consequently, financially inefficient businesses may miss out on valuable strategic opportunities. Partnerships and investment aside, an efficient company is a more successful one.

Here are seven ways executives can increase their company’s financial efficiency to attain these benefits.

Automate Back-Office Tasks

Most businesses have repetitive, manual tasks that take time away from more valuable work. According to one study, more than 40% of workers spend at least 25% of their time on these tasks. Since these inefficiencies are so common and so impactful, automation can bring considerable rewards.

Many of these inefficiencies are in back-office operations like data entry, scheduling, and approvals. These tasks are also easily automatable through robotic process automation (RPA) solutions. By implementing these tools, companies can free their employees to focus on other, more important work, accomplishing these goals sooner.

RPA is also often faster than humans at these repetitive tasks. As a result, companies will improve the efficiency of these back-office processes as well as the more valuable manual operations.

Increase Fleet Visibility

Another common source of financial inefficiency in logistics companies is a lack of visibility. Fleet operations are prone to disruption, and when businesses can’t predict or see them as they unfold, these disruptions can have far-reaching consequences. In contrast, increasing visibility can help respond to developing situations faster, minimizing delays and costs.

Many companies now track fleets with GPS systems, but businesses can go further, too. Internet of Things (IoT) sensors can monitor and communicate data like location, driving patterns, maintenance info, and product quality in real-time. With this timely information, fleet managers can see issues as they arise, leading to quicker, more effective responses.

Faster reactions lead to better customer service, less disruption, and sometimes avoiding serious delays entirely. Businesses’ financial efficiency will rise as a result.

Address Accounts Receivable

Accounts receivable turnover is one of the most popular metrics for financial efficiency, so businesses should strive to collect debts as quickly as possible. In the delay-heavy and prone-to-disruption world of logistics, that can be complicated. However, a few options can help.

One way to improve this ratio is to provide multiple payment methods for clients. This allows customers to use whatever best suits their needs, leading to quicker reactions from them. Similarly, payments will be faster when customers can use a process they’re already familiar with.

Another way to improve accounts receivable turnover ratios is to employ automation. Automated billing, reminders, and processing services are abundant today and can streamline the process for both companies and their clients. Employing these solutions while providing multiple payment methods will ensure businesses collect outstanding payments as quickly as possible.

Refinance or Consolidate Outstanding Debts

Outstanding debts are another common obstacle to financial efficiency. Having debts is normal for a business, but that doesn’t mean companies shouldn’t continuously reevaluate their loans. Periodically addressing these to see if there’s a way to refinance or consolidate them can help cultivate financial agility.

Many logistics companies may have outstanding vehicle loans, for example. These ongoing payments can easily fade into the background, but refinancing them can save $150 per vehicle per month in some cases. That seemingly small change frees up extra monthly revenue that companies can then put towards something else.

Alternatively, some companies may want to consolidate some of their debts. Doing so can make it easier to manage them and lower interest rates. Businesses may then be able to pay them off sooner.

Improve Cross-Department Communication

One aspect of the business that may fly under the company’s radar is communication between departments. When things get lost in translation moving between teams, it can lead to mistakes or take more time to achieve the desired goal. These mistakes and delays hinder financial efficiency, so improving communication can increase it.

Communication barriers cost $62.4 million annually in lost productivity on average. Consequently, companies should strive to remove barriers to effective collaboration, especially between different departments. Using collaborative software, holding frequent meetings, using instant messaging apps, and similar steps can do that.

When teams can communicate efficiently, confusion-related errors will decrease. Similarly, cross-department projects will have shorter completion times thanks to easier collaboration.

Reorganize Inventory

Inventory turnover is another aspect of financial efficiency to address. The longer items sit in warehouses or distribution centers, the less agile a company is. While logistics businesses may not be directly involved in the sales side of this issue, they can take steps to improve inventory inefficiencies.

Like fleets themselves, most inefficiencies in this area come from a lack of visibility. When organizations don’t know exactly where every item is at all times, it can take time to retrieve the correct one. Similarly, this lack of transparency can lead to confusion and errors that require correction down the road, leading to delays.

According to one survey, 34% of businesses have shipped items late because they sold out-of-stock items. Warehouse management systems, IoT tracking, and RFID tags can all help keep better track of inventory levels, avoiding mistakes like this. Logistics businesses can then pass these benefits along to their partners, creating positive ripple effects.

Train Employees More Thoroughly

One risk factor that can affect financial efficiency in any department in any business is human error. Even small mistakes can lead to considerable disruptions over time as more employees make them. Many may suggest automation as an answer, but that isn’t applicable in every circumstance and isn’t always necessary.

The solution to this problem is to put more emphasis on employee training. Organizations should look for common mistakes and, as trends emerge, emphasize these points in training. Periodic refresher courses over high-value or complicated processes can help too.

When workers better understand how to perform their jobs correctly, they’ll also work faster. More thorough training will boost confidence, leading to less second-guessing and higher efficiency.

Financial Efficiency Is Critical for Any Logistics Business

As the logistics market grows increasingly crowded, businesses must improve their financial efficiency to stay competitive. Higher efficiency will lower operating costs, attract investors, and open new strategic opportunities. These seven steps can help any business increase its financial efficiency. Companies can then become as agile and profitable as possible.

holiday
Archives, Commentary, Global Trade Daily

Is Your Boss A Grinch? How To Show Holiday Gratitude – And Retain Employees.

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The holiday season is a reflective time, and as company leaders look back on the past year of challenges and accomplishments, it’s important that they show gratitude to their employees – and not make it a rare occurrence.

Research has shown a strong correlation between employee recognition and employee retention. Specific to the holiday season, one survey found that about 60% of employees would be more likely to stay in their job if they received meaningful holiday gifts from their employer. As the “Great Resignation” sweeps the country, employers should be mindful of making the holidays the “Great Appreciation” for their best employees and making it a habit. says Michele Bailey (www.michelebailey.com), ForbesBooks author of The Currency of Gratitude: Turning Small Gestures into Powerful Business Results.

“As leaders reflect, those who haven’t made gratitude a core value of their organization should strongly consider it going forward into next year,” Bailey says. “The current context of workers leaving in droves basically demands it. And the holidays are the perfect time for leaders to set a new tone and show they are sincere about showing appreciation on a consistent basis.

“This really benefits everyone in an organization; led by the leader, everyone is influenced to show gratitude for each other. When you make gratitude a habit and recognize the value of the contributions of your colleagues, you encourage them to strive for greater results. And your business will inevitably grow as your team members champion your brand.”

Bailey offers five ways leaders can express gratitude to employees during the holidays and make the practice a regular feature of their organization:

Prioritize mental health. The nearly two-year-long pandemic has added anxiety for millions of workers, and every holiday season many people experience increased stress and depression. Therefore, Bailey says it’s vital that company leaders keep these factors in mind and check on the mental health of their employees. “Lots of employees feel burnout this time of year, and remote workers can feel more isolated,” she says. “Make sure to check in with your people one-on-one and in small groups. Let them know that you care.”

Give praise. “By publicly praising an employee or team who has done an outstanding job, you make them feel valued,” Bailey says. “This can boost their confidence and their enthusiasm for the company. A personal handwritten note also goes a long way with an employee. The holiday season is an ideal time for the leader to champion their top people and energize them going forward into next year.”

Make gifts meaningful. Bailey says leaders should put a good amount of thought into gift-giving as a reward for employees, showing a personal touch and making it something useful and memorable. “They don’t have to be expensive,” she says. “The value is in the thought. And along with material gifts, consider experiential gifts, which allow the recipient to have an experience that ties in with their interests.”

Give paid holiday leave. “Extra time off during the holidays to be with family is a bonus in itself,” Bailey says. “As work-life balance becomes more important to employees nowadays, this is the time of year when employers should show they’re sincere in making that happen.”

Survey your teams on what they need for next year. This is a way of paying your gratitude forward, Bailey says. “The holiday season and end of the year are a great time to tune in to your teams and listen to how you can help them do their jobs better next year. Being heard and having their thoughts turned into action by management help your employees feel appreciated.”

“If your work culture is not operating with gratitude,” Bailey says, “not only will the holidays feel a bit empty, but your potential as a company will remain unfulfilled.”

___________________________________________________________________

Michele Bailey (www.michelebailey.com) is the ForbesBooks author of The Currency Of Gratitude: Turning Small Gestures Into Powerful Business Results. She also is founder/CEO of The Blazing Group, a brand and culture agency born of her strategy-first approach to business and desire to enhance employee wellness in pursuit of business goals. She is also the founder of My Big Idea®, a mentoring program designed to propel individuals toward their personal and professional goals. Bailey has been recognized for contributions to women and entrepreneurship with honors such as the Bank of Montreal Expansion & Growth in Small Business Award and the Women’s Business Enterprise Leader Award in 2020. Bailey is a popular speaker and is also the author of a previous book, It’s NOT All About You, It’s About the Company You Keep.

tech
Archives, Commentary, Global Trade Daily, Special Reports

Retaining Talent Through Sustaining Momentum: Tech’s Starring Role in The Great Resignation

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We’re in the middle of a major shift in the workforce.

The pandemic caused a massive change from shared office space to remote work. As people spent time at home—and as they faced a multitude of intense stressors and even direct loss—they reevaluated what’s important when it comes to their careers.

Because of this, we’ve seen four million people quit their jobs in July 2021, and a record-breaking 10.9 million jobs remain open. You may have also seen the troubling statistic that up to 95% of the workforce is considering leaving their current company right now.

Companies looking to recruit and retain high performers are smart to take action in light of this Great Resignation. However, the answers may not be found in hefty signing bonuses or hasty returns to in-office collaboration.

The key is to lean even harder into the technology that has gotten us through this pandemic.

The pandemic as an unfortunate but powerful catalyst

The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically changed business as usual, and companies had to become virtual, digital-centric, and agile faster than they could have imagined.

According to a global survey of executives conducted by McKinsey, companies took an average of only 11 days to move to remote working–40 times faster than they thought possible. Companies also adopted digital technologies for advancements in operations and decision-making 25 times faster than expected.

The pandemic disruption removed (sometimes artificial) barriers to adopting new technology and made it imperative that companies keep investing in technology to sustain, grow, and thrive.

Now let’s take it a step further: If we can leverage technology to get our businesses through a global pandemic, we can absolutely do the same to keep our people happy and engaged.

Here’s how.

1. Dig into the tools you already have

Businesses jumped into collaboration tools out of necessity over the pandemic with a very practical goal of keeping operations running remotely. With that hurdle cleared, it’s time we refocus our efforts from pure functionality to connection, culture, and engagement.

My team, for example, has been using Slack for nearly all of our internal communication and collaboration since 2017. Back then, our primary goal was to lessen email fatigue (which 38% of office workers say is likely to make them quit their jobs).

Once the pandemic hit, we needed that platform to do some heavier lifting for us. Some changes we’ve made include:

-Creating new forums (channels) for conversation around everything from the pandemic itself, to how we can best deliver value to our clients remotely, to social injustice and unlearning bias.

-Adding new integrations including more practical HR tools that “show” who is out when you can’t physically see your team, and fun tools like the Donut bot that randomly pairs employees up and facilitates conversations.

-Learning and taking advantage of the package’s ongoing developments, like the “huddle” feature and direct messaging with outside organizations.

-Doubling down on using our few mandatory channels for clear communication on changing policies, amplifying team achievements, and—perhaps most importantly—soliciting feedback.

Of course, keep in mind that simply providing tools is never enough; you have to also provide your team with the training to take proper advantage of them, and the safety and opportunity to do so. This is a place where active involvement (and modeling) from your leadership team can make a big difference.

2. Evaluate your tech through the lens of individual experience and equity

When it comes to engagement, 42% of employees say their peers have the greatest influence. We have also (fortunately) entered the stage where employees will not stand for what they perceive to be unfair treatment.

It’s incumbent on employers, then, to zero in on how employees experience their work on a day-to-day basis and whether they feel connected to their team and heard as an individual.

Take a run-of-the-mill department meeting, for instance. Say your new hybrid configuration has half the department in your office and half at home. Do the remote workers have equivalent means to participate in the meeting itself? In the more casual chit-chat that takes place before and after?  Can they clearly hear who is speaking and when they can interject? Can they read and add to notes being taken? Do they have the same opportunity to execute on any follow-up items?

Unbalanced interactions like this are subtle, but over time will erode connection and leave certain teammates feeling alienated. Identify places where you may be unintentionally creating rifts, and use that pandemic-inspired tech confidence to fix them. Some common areas for improvement are:

-A better conference room setup with barrier-breaking tools like the Vibe whiteboard and the Poly Studio soundbar/camera.

-A better home office setup with external cameras and speakerphones as needed, a stipend for better internet bandwidth, extra monitors, and so forth.

-Standardizing on a document co-authoring solution like SharePoint or Google Docs.

-Training your managers to opt for the most inclusive meeting and collaboration formats over what is most convenient.

Any new tools you add will require—you guessed it—training!

3. Make sure your digital presence reflects your priorities

My final point is one of visibility. If your company is making these great strides to do right by your team, do them and your business a favor by giving talented job seekers enough insight to want to join you.

Questions to consider are:

-Does our online presence (website, social media) show—not tell—our commitment to our people?

-Do our online employee reviews paint an accurate picture?

-Do our job descriptions capture our values in a way that an outsider would grasp? Are we explicit about remote work policy and benefits?

-Does our hiring process mirror our culture? Does it blend the responsiveness of automation with empathy?

Part of this involves the thoughtful use of specific technology tools. We, for example, have had great success with Bamboo HR to digitize, secure, streamline, and humanize our hiring and onboarding processes.

But a lot of this is the evolution of taking our office-bound corporate cultures digital. First and foremost we make sure all employees, regardless of location, are connected and bought into our culture. Then we take it externally and let all the talent out there know what we’re bringing to the table.

And the more we can get our current employees to tell our story online, the better—not only do most candidates inherently trust individuals over brands, but this also reinforces engagement with those employees.

Final thoughts

It’s true that the Great Resignation and the current labor shortage won’t last forever; people who want to change jobs or careers right now will make those shifts, and eventually the waves will settle.

The question is which organizations will come out on the other side with their high-performing employees intact, and with some new star players (whose previous employers weren’t savvy enough to keep them) on board.

If you want it to be yours, keep the momentum going. Technological competence and creative use of the right tools at the right time will empower your team to forge strong connections no matter where they’re physically located.

There are few competitive advantages as powerful as that.

________________________________________________________________

Heinan Landa is the Founder and CEO of Optimal Networks, Inc., a Rockville, MD-based IT company that helps law firms and associations achieve measurable business results by way of thoughtful technology guidance and white-glove support. For three decades clients have turned to Optimal when they are spending too much time overseeing their IT team, are worried about the security of their data, or are concerned their technology isn’t providing the mobility or flexibility that their employees and clients expect. For more, www.optimalnetworks.com, 240-499-7900, or info@optimalnetworks.com.

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3pls, Archives, Global Logistics, Global Trade Daily, Warehousing

Generix Supply Chain Solution on Gartner Magic Quadrant

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A global provider of SaaS-based supply chain solutions, Generix Group has been recognized for the third year in a row among providers of WMS solutions with its inclusion in the 2021 Magic Quadrant for Warehouse Management Systems. 

A closely-followed series of market research publications produced by Gartner, the Magic Quadrant or “Gartner MQ” uses an evaluation matrix to analyze the positioning of technology-based companies, rate technology vendors based on defined criteria, and display vendor strengths and weaknesses, according to Techopedia.

Used to evaluate a vendor before a specific technology product, service, or solution is purchased, the Gartner MQ evaluates each vendor on vision completeness and execution ability. Digging down deeper, it classifies each vendor into four different quadrants: leaders, challengers, visionaries, and niche players.

Magic Quadrant for WMS

An industry-standard resource for supply chain professionals wanting unbiased research on the key players for advanced WMS solutions, the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Warehouse Management Systems is compiled based on the research firm’s rigorous methodology. With this information at their fingertips, companies can make a solid evaluation of WMS vendors based on multiple different criteria.

“The WMS market remains vibrant with vendors continuing to innovate,” Gartner points out. “Progress is being made in adaptability and support for automation while cloud services grow faster than the overall market. Supply chain technology leaders should use this (Gartner MQ) research to understand the current state of the WMS market.”

Gartner Magic Quadrants offer visual snapshots, in-depth analyses, and actionable advice that provide insight into a market’s direction, maturity, and participants. Magic Quadrants compare vendors based on Gartner’s standard criteria and methodology. Each report comes with a graphic that depicts a market using a two-dimensional matrix that evaluates vendors based on their completeness of vision and ability to execute.

Generix WMS Systems 

With two distinct WMS solutions, Solochain WMS and Generix WMS, Generix Group provides full-featured WMS functionality, high visibility and trackability, highly configurable automation platforms, and interactive on-the-job workforce training. The modern and intuitive visual interface supports real-time decision-making and critical business needs, including fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) as well as slow-moving consumer goods (SMCG) industries.

Working together with Locus Robotics, Generix recently rolled out automated warehouse solutions across Europe that include Locus’s innovative autonomous mobile robots (AMRs).

Furthermore, with ever-increasing changes in the industry, Generix can swiftly accommodate high growth needs from level-1 warehouse operations up to level 5, thus allowing hyper-growth for clients while digital transformation exponentially accelerates organic growth.

Solochain WMS is built on a scalable and flexible platform that powers its use as a warehouse management system, a manufacturing execution system, a transportation management system, and more. Highly configurable in terms of information layout, mobile workflow processes, reporting, and optimization rules, the WMS’ technological infrastructure is designed for maximum configuration flexibility and performance scalability.

Solochain WMS adapts and scales to meet a company’s needs all from within the same warehouse facility. It’s a highly flexible and adaptive warehouse management system that’s built for companies that need their supply chains to be nimble, efficient, and scaling, while ensuring execution excellence, compliance, and operational stability. And, for companies that perform product transformation (manufacturing, product kitting, etc.), Generix’s fully native Manufacturing Execution System (MES) can be enabled in WMS for complete inventory visibility throughout work-in-progress stages.

The Power of One  

Highlighting Generix’s strengths, Gartner says the company is expanding with a new entity in the Netherlands, a software engineering center in Romania, and its services center in Portugal. The company is also growing in North America with more than one-quarter of its business now outside its home geography.

“Solochain is well-suited to combination manufacturing and warehouse operations because it offers a seamlessly integrated WMS and MES,” Gartner says in its review. “This goes beyond simple transactional integration and addresses complexities of process integration between the warehouse and the shop floor.”

Gartner goes on to say that Generix Solochain offers powerful visual tools to facilitate, accelerate, and enhance implementations, and to provide ongoing support. It provides a model-driven architecture and back-office capabilities that document every client interaction in the application, facilitating upgrades.

According to one Gartner peerinsights user review, the company’s Solochain implementation was a multi-phased project. The first phase involved implementing the core WMS software and the second phase was the full integration with the firm’s existing ERP systems.

“The Solochain implementation team focused closely on our business process. Understanding the nature and rationale of our operations was the priority,” the company says. “Solochain offers many great best practice features out of the box. Understanding that functionality and relating it to our processes allowed us to redesign poorly performing operations and optimize others. We found the implementation team to be open-minded and very knowledgeable.”

Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product, or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

About Generix Group North America:

Solutions exist today that can ensure any warehouse or distribution center operates at peak efficiency, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. From Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) and Transportation Management Systems (TMS) to Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) and more, software platforms can deliver a wide range of benefits that ultimately flow to the warehouse operator’s bottom line.

Generix Group North America provides a series of solutions within our Supply Chain Hub product suite to create efficiencies across an entire supply chain. Our solutions are in use around the world and our experience is second-to-none. We invite you to contact us to learn more.

This article originally appeared here. Republished with permission.