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Day: 18 October 2022

UK organisations “failing to innovate”

Posted on by David Priestman

Budget constraints and skills gaps are topping the list of challenges standing in the way of innovation for 71% of organisations across many business sectors in the UK and Ireland, despite almost three quarters (74%) saying that innovation is vital to their survival as a business, according to new research.

The research, commissioned by InterSystems, a leading provider of next-generation solutions for critical enterprise digital transformations, and conducted by data analyst Vitreous World, polled more than 300 business leaders across healthcare, financial services, fintech, supply chain, and education sectors in the UK and Ireland. Among the findings are stark differences between the attitudes towards and capabilities for innovation across sectors.

Skills gaps surfaced as a recurring challenge for organisations across all sectors. More than a third (34%) collectively cite a lack of skills to understand and analyse data as their biggest challenge when attempting to use data to drive innovation initiatives. When asked how innovation initiatives could be improved, almost half (47%) stated by getting access to real-time data, with this rising to 60% among fintechs. Forty-five percent of the total respondents think their innovation initiatives would be helped by using more or better data and insights.

Chris Norton, Managing Director, InterSystems, commented: “In today’s landscape of constant change and uncertainty, digital transformation strategies and traditional organisation practices will continue to be tested. To meet evolving customer demands, guard against market volatility, and navigate the impact of geopolitical events, digital investment is a necessity. However, just digitising what you have today is not enough. Organisations must focus on innovation and expand its impact to create new value.”

Other key findings include:

  • Almost a third of those surveyed (32%) cite technology constraints as a major barrier to innovation, while more than a quarter (26%) struggle to keep up with the latest innovation or technologies, which rises to 43% in education.
  • 31% of healthcare respondents view reluctance to change as one of the biggest barriers to innovation.
  • Just 11% of organisations have reached their current digital transformation goals, dropping to only 3% of those within education.
  • Complying with changing regulation and insufficient skills in-house were found to be the biggest difficulties organisations face with interoperability, with education respondents in particular struggling with regulation changes (57% vs an average of 49%). Meanwhile 41% of financial services respondents say that their current data platform does not facilitate interoperability with financial services standards.
  • An overwhelming 94% of supply chain respondents revealed they are willing to accept some degree of risk to reach their innovation goals, compared with 85% of overall respondents.
  • More than three-quarters of respondents (77%) are using data to enable and drive innovation across their organisation, however, often face challenges including data inconsistencies and unreliability, to delays in accessing the data.
  • Almost a third (32%) of those surveyed think innovation helps their organisation get a competitive advantage
  • 85% of organisations rely on third-parties to plan, collaborate, and deliver innovation strategies.

“Innovation is now key to long term business survival. Without innovation to differentiate organisations and create new customer experiences, then success is just about process efficiency, cost, and price. For all business sectors, scalable and sustainable innovation is underpinned by reliable digital infrastructure, analytics, arming staff with skills and ultimately with timely access and action to the right data,” added Norton.

CLICK HERE to download the full research report.

UK organisations “failing to innovate”

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Budget constraints and skills gaps are topping the list of challenges standing in the way of innovation for 71% of organisations across many business sectors in the UK and Ireland, despite almost three quarters (74%) saying that innovation is vital to their survival as a business, according to new research.

The research, commissioned by InterSystems, a leading provider of next-generation solutions for critical enterprise digital transformations, and conducted by data analyst Vitreous World, polled more than 300 business leaders across healthcare, financial services, fintech, supply chain, and education sectors in the UK and Ireland. Among the findings are stark differences between the attitudes towards and capabilities for innovation across sectors.

Skills gaps surfaced as a recurring challenge for organisations across all sectors. More than a third (34%) collectively cite a lack of skills to understand and analyse data as their biggest challenge when attempting to use data to drive innovation initiatives. When asked how innovation initiatives could be improved, almost half (47%) stated by getting access to real-time data, with this rising to 60% among fintechs. Forty-five percent of the total respondents think their innovation initiatives would be helped by using more or better data and insights.

Chris Norton, Managing Director, InterSystems, commented: “In today’s landscape of constant change and uncertainty, digital transformation strategies and traditional organisation practices will continue to be tested. To meet evolving customer demands, guard against market volatility, and navigate the impact of geopolitical events, digital investment is a necessity. However, just digitising what you have today is not enough. Organisations must focus on innovation and expand its impact to create new value.”

Other key findings include:

  • Almost a third of those surveyed (32%) cite technology constraints as a major barrier to innovation, while more than a quarter (26%) struggle to keep up with the latest innovation or technologies, which rises to 43% in education.
  • 31% of healthcare respondents view reluctance to change as one of the biggest barriers to innovation.
  • Just 11% of organisations have reached their current digital transformation goals, dropping to only 3% of those within education.
  • Complying with changing regulation and insufficient skills in-house were found to be the biggest difficulties organisations face with interoperability, with education respondents in particular struggling with regulation changes (57% vs an average of 49%). Meanwhile 41% of financial services respondents say that their current data platform does not facilitate interoperability with financial services standards.
  • An overwhelming 94% of supply chain respondents revealed they are willing to accept some degree of risk to reach their innovation goals, compared with 85% of overall respondents.
  • More than three-quarters of respondents (77%) are using data to enable and drive innovation across their organisation, however, often face challenges including data inconsistencies and unreliability, to delays in accessing the data.
  • Almost a third (32%) of those surveyed think innovation helps their organisation get a competitive advantage
  • 85% of organisations rely on third-parties to plan, collaborate, and deliver innovation strategies.

“Innovation is now key to long term business survival. Without innovation to differentiate organisations and create new customer experiences, then success is just about process efficiency, cost, and price. For all business sectors, scalable and sustainable innovation is underpinned by reliable digital infrastructure, analytics, arming staff with skills and ultimately with timely access and action to the right data,” added Norton.

CLICK HERE to download the full research report.

Cyber Monday: “No delivery chaos”

Posted on by David Priestman

Importers of fast-moving consumer goods don’t need to be on high alert when it comes to mega retail events such as Black Friday or Cyber Monday in November – at least in regards of sea freight rates and transit times. The supply chain experts at Setlog, a software company based in New York City and Germany, do not expect delivery chaos or a sharp rise in ocean freight rates for containers from the Far East before well-known shopping events and in the run-up to Christmas.

The main reason is that importers of consumer goods have learned from the Covid-19 pandemic and are now ordering their products on average one week earlier than they did in 2020 or before the pandemic. In addition, order volumes have fallen by up to 25% since the summer compared to the previous year. This can be seen in an analysis of 80 Setlog customers and brands on October 14th. Another finding: in the months from June to September, transit times shortened by up to seven days compared to the same period last year.

However, retailers only have small reason to be happy about the situation: “The cause of the decrease of order volumes by up to a quarter is the companies’ fear that consumers will buy significantly less in stores or online by the end of the year in comparison to the previous year – due to the current political and economic climate,” emphasises Ralf Duester, member of Setlog’s Board of Management.

In addition to the lower order volumes, other reasons contribute to the fact that the delivery situation is significantly more relaxed than a year ago. Overall, there is more capacity at the moment. There are half a million more containers in circulation and depending on the route, the ships are hardly overbooked at all, compared to being four times overbooked a year ago. As a result, transit times of container ships from Asia are levelling off again at 35 to 38 days, depending on the route and loop.

According to Setlog, sea freight rates have eased considerably, and are now only a quarter of the peak values during Covid-19. Back then, companies had to shell out between $16,000 and $20,000 for a 40-foot container. Now, depending on the port of departure, route, and shipping company, they have to put less than $5,000 on the table. On the spot market, prices of $4,000 and less are now being offered, even if it is not always possible to return the container to an inland depot, which makes drayage costs more expensive.

However, this trend, which is welcome for importers in general, is currently being dampened by a particular misery for European companies: while business is running almost smoothly, for example in Shanghai, the world’s busiest port, ships are still jammed on the North Sea waiting to enter the port of Hamburg. Therefore, it can still be too late for very tightly calculated or delayed promotional goods, even if there is a general improvement of the current status.

According to Setlog, delays of up to eight days are still to be expected in occasional cases. The situation is constantly improving, however US east coast-bound ships that call at a North Sea port prior to their journey across the Atlantic might experience delays, too.

In the pre-Christmas season, the results of many importers of fashion, toys, household articles and more are not only diminished by lower demand, but also by rising purchase prices. Depending on the product and country, Setlog registers price increases of between 8% and 15% – not considering the strong US dollar, as purchases in Asia are generally not made in Euros.

According to supply chain expert Duester, the increased prices for goods from the Far East do not lead to large-scale production volumes of T-shirts or household goods being relocated from Asia to Europe or the US. “Labour and production costs are still significantly higher here,” Duester said.

Nevertheless, he observes shifts in Asia. Some orders are placed in Vietnam or India instead of China. This can also be seen in freight rates and container demand. While ocean freight rates for 40 DC containers continue to fall in China – they are currently about half the price they were at the beginning of the year – price levels in India and Vietnam have stabilised over the past two months. In several ports – including Mundra, Nhava Sheva and Ho Chi Minh City (pictured), the demand for containers has increased significantly though.

A new port of destination, port strikes, political crises: In times of disrupted supply chains, companies that use software to bring transparency into their value chain and who communicate changes to their supply chain partners in real time are particularly in an advantage. “Since the credo ‘resilience before efficiency’ has been applied in supply chain management, many companies have rethought their approach. The supply chain is better planned, monitored, and managed,” concludes Duester.

 

Cyber Monday: “No delivery chaos”

Posted on by David Priestman

Importers of fast-moving consumer goods don’t need to be on high alert when it comes to mega retail events such as Black Friday or Cyber Monday in November – at least in regards of sea freight rates and transit times. The supply chain experts at Setlog, a software company based in New York City and Germany, do not expect delivery chaos or a sharp rise in ocean freight rates for containers from the Far East before well-known shopping events and in the run-up to Christmas.

The main reason is that importers of consumer goods have learned from the Covid-19 pandemic and are now ordering their products on average one week earlier than they did in 2020 or before the pandemic. In addition, order volumes have fallen by up to 25% since the summer compared to the previous year. This can be seen in an analysis of 80 Setlog customers and brands on October 14th. Another finding: in the months from June to September, transit times shortened by up to seven days compared to the same period last year.

However, retailers only have small reason to be happy about the situation: “The cause of the decrease of order volumes by up to a quarter is the companies’ fear that consumers will buy significantly less in stores or online by the end of the year in comparison to the previous year – due to the current political and economic climate,” emphasises Ralf Duester, member of Setlog’s Board of Management.

In addition to the lower order volumes, other reasons contribute to the fact that the delivery situation is significantly more relaxed than a year ago. Overall, there is more capacity at the moment. There are half a million more containers in circulation and depending on the route, the ships are hardly overbooked at all, compared to being four times overbooked a year ago. As a result, transit times of container ships from Asia are levelling off again at 35 to 38 days, depending on the route and loop.

According to Setlog, sea freight rates have eased considerably, and are now only a quarter of the peak values during Covid-19. Back then, companies had to shell out between $16,000 and $20,000 for a 40-foot container. Now, depending on the port of departure, route, and shipping company, they have to put less than $5,000 on the table. On the spot market, prices of $4,000 and less are now being offered, even if it is not always possible to return the container to an inland depot, which makes drayage costs more expensive.

However, this trend, which is welcome for importers in general, is currently being dampened by a particular misery for European companies: while business is running almost smoothly, for example in Shanghai, the world’s busiest port, ships are still jammed on the North Sea waiting to enter the port of Hamburg. Therefore, it can still be too late for very tightly calculated or delayed promotional goods, even if there is a general improvement of the current status.

According to Setlog, delays of up to eight days are still to be expected in occasional cases. The situation is constantly improving, however US east coast-bound ships that call at a North Sea port prior to their journey across the Atlantic might experience delays, too.

In the pre-Christmas season, the results of many importers of fashion, toys, household articles and more are not only diminished by lower demand, but also by rising purchase prices. Depending on the product and country, Setlog registers price increases of between 8% and 15% – not considering the strong US dollar, as purchases in Asia are generally not made in Euros.

According to supply chain expert Duester, the increased prices for goods from the Far East do not lead to large-scale production volumes of T-shirts or household goods being relocated from Asia to Europe or the US. “Labour and production costs are still significantly higher here,” Duester said.

Nevertheless, he observes shifts in Asia. Some orders are placed in Vietnam or India instead of China. This can also be seen in freight rates and container demand. While ocean freight rates for 40 DC containers continue to fall in China – they are currently about half the price they were at the beginning of the year – price levels in India and Vietnam have stabilised over the past two months. In several ports – including Mundra, Nhava Sheva and Ho Chi Minh City (pictured), the demand for containers has increased significantly though.

A new port of destination, port strikes, political crises: In times of disrupted supply chains, companies that use software to bring transparency into their value chain and who communicate changes to their supply chain partners in real time are particularly in an advantage. “Since the credo ‘resilience before efficiency’ has been applied in supply chain management, many companies have rethought their approach. The supply chain is better planned, monitored, and managed,” concludes Duester.

 

DHL Express expands Johor Gateway facility

Posted on by David Priestman

DHL Express, the world’s leading international express service provider, has opened its expanded RM10.8m (approx. €2.35m) Johor Gateway located within the Senai Airport City industrial park. Spanning over 6,000 sq m of warehouse space, the facility is more than twice the size of its predecessor and will support robust trade growth in Malaysia’s southern region.

The new Johor Gateway comes equipped with a high-speed conveyor system capable of sorting up to 1,900 shipments per hour. This offers improved shipment processing for the more than 1,800 parcels and documents bound for and coming from the facility’s busiest trade lanes, namely the United States, Australia, United Kingdom, Singapore, Germany, Hong Kong, China, and Japan. The faster transit times make for an uptick in service quality for customers in Johor and Singapore.

The facility’s opening was officiated by Yang Berhormat Lee Ting Han, Johor State Executive Councilor, and Investment, Trade, and Consumer Affairs Committee Chairman. Sean Wall, Executive Vice President of Network Operations and Aviation at DHL Express Asia Pacific, and Julian Neo, Managing Director of DHL Express Malaysia and Brunei, were also present alongside representatives from local authorities, investment bodies, and customers.

“Johor has long emerged as a major centre of economic activity and recently recorded RM60.9 bn (approx. €13.3bn) in investments from January to June this year. This is the highest in the country and the highest-ever for our state,” said Y.B. Lee. “DHL’s continued confidence is a strong endorsement of our strategic position in Asia Pacific and our dynamic business landscape.”

Sean Wall added: “As one of the fastest growing economies, Johor remains a critical element of the regional DHL network. The Johor Gateway shows our commitment to enhancing connectivity for the countries and communities we serve. Through its upgrades, our new facility can rise to the demands of increasing cargo volumes driven by the state’s strong import and export performance.”

Managed by 135 Certified International Specialists, the Johor Gateway is designed with the highest security standards as per Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA) guidelines. In addition to high-definition digital cameras that identify and capture shipment movement piece by piece, advanced X-ray and explosive trace detection (ETD) machines are in place.

In line with Deutsche Post DHL Group’s commitment to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, the facility is fitted with state-of-the-art solar panels and energy-efficient infrastructure that cut the release of greenhouse gases by an estimated 22%.

“The new Johor Gateway is a testament to the enormous extent that global trade has intensified. Overseas markets will remain important to help SMEs and large corporations realise their growth potential. With the bigger and enhanced facility, DHL Express can better help homegrown brands to get their business from where they are to where they want to be,” said Neo.

The Johor Gateway is one of six gateways across the DHL Express Malaysia aviation and ground network. This includes 11 service centres, 137 retail outlets and service points, 347 vehicles, 73 weekly flights, four dedicated aircrafts, and 1,500 employees to ensure comprehensive service coverage.

 

DHL Express expands Johor Gateway facility

Posted on by Keith McKinley

DHL Express, the world’s leading international express service provider, has opened its expanded RM10.8m (approx. €2.35m) Johor Gateway located within the Senai Airport City industrial park. Spanning over 6,000 sq m of warehouse space, the facility is more than twice the size of its predecessor and will support robust trade growth in Malaysia’s southern region.

The new Johor Gateway comes equipped with a high-speed conveyor system capable of sorting up to 1,900 shipments per hour. This offers improved shipment processing for the more than 1,800 parcels and documents bound for and coming from the facility’s busiest trade lanes, namely the United States, Australia, United Kingdom, Singapore, Germany, Hong Kong, China, and Japan. The faster transit times make for an uptick in service quality for customers in Johor and Singapore.

The facility’s opening was officiated by Yang Berhormat Lee Ting Han, Johor State Executive Councilor, and Investment, Trade, and Consumer Affairs Committee Chairman. Sean Wall, Executive Vice President of Network Operations and Aviation at DHL Express Asia Pacific, and Julian Neo, Managing Director of DHL Express Malaysia and Brunei, were also present alongside representatives from local authorities, investment bodies, and customers.

“Johor has long emerged as a major centre of economic activity and recently recorded RM60.9 bn (approx. €13.3bn) in investments from January to June this year. This is the highest in the country and the highest-ever for our state,” said Y.B. Lee. “DHL’s continued confidence is a strong endorsement of our strategic position in Asia Pacific and our dynamic business landscape.”

Sean Wall added: “As one of the fastest growing economies, Johor remains a critical element of the regional DHL network. The Johor Gateway shows our commitment to enhancing connectivity for the countries and communities we serve. Through its upgrades, our new facility can rise to the demands of increasing cargo volumes driven by the state’s strong import and export performance.”

Managed by 135 Certified International Specialists, the Johor Gateway is designed with the highest security standards as per Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA) guidelines. In addition to high-definition digital cameras that identify and capture shipment movement piece by piece, advanced X-ray and explosive trace detection (ETD) machines are in place.

In line with Deutsche Post DHL Group’s commitment to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, the facility is fitted with state-of-the-art solar panels and energy-efficient infrastructure that cut the release of greenhouse gases by an estimated 22%.

“The new Johor Gateway is a testament to the enormous extent that global trade has intensified. Overseas markets will remain important to help SMEs and large corporations realise their growth potential. With the bigger and enhanced facility, DHL Express can better help homegrown brands to get their business from where they are to where they want to be,” said Neo.

The Johor Gateway is one of six gateways across the DHL Express Malaysia aviation and ground network. This includes 11 service centres, 137 retail outlets and service points, 347 vehicles, 73 weekly flights, four dedicated aircrafts, and 1,500 employees to ensure comprehensive service coverage.

 

CakeBoxx makes executive team appointment

Posted on by David Priestman

CakeBoxx Technologies has appointed digital supply chain expert James Blom to its executive team. Building on CakeBoxx Technologies’ record year-over-year growth in 2020 (200%) and 2021 (260%), Blom’s appointment follows the announcements of CakeBoxx’s new COO, James Campbell, and new CTO, Sean Tan.

With this expanded executive team, the company says it is well-positioned for 2023 to accelerate its leadership in specialised supply chain platforms and container solutions for renewable energy, defence, and critical infrastructure projects associated with autonomous transportation and automation.

“We have seen unprecedented demand across multiple industries for our specialised transportation platforms,” said Daine Eisold, Founder and CEO of CakeBoxx Technologies. “With our reputation for integrated systems engineered modular, intermodal transport and storage platforms in the wind energy and defence sectors, we are naturally gravitating toward the exciting autonomous naval, aerospace, and uncrewed vehicle systems industries to develop advanced transportation solutions for their high-value, mission-critical programmes.

“We are now being asked to reimagine container and supply chain transportation holistically. This involves everything from rearchitecting container cargo operations, intermodal facilities, transloading and warehousing, to evolving the performance of global digital supply chain platforms. By integrating advances in supply chain visibility, tracking, and real-time intelligence software for shipping and logistics with physical, unmanned, automated, robotic, and hybrid autonomous transportation systems, we can make tremendous strides in the overall utility and value of complete global supply chain assets.

“Jim Blom is an incredibly talented, multi-dimensional systems thinker and visionary. I have worked with him over the past two decades in maritime cargo security, transportation performance logistics, and supply chain visibility, relying heavily on his guidance and mentoring. After years of incubation, CakeBoxx Technologies has matured to a stage of development where Jim’s abilities can be fully incorporated and will have a profound effect on our growth.

“It was an easy decision for the Board and I to ask Jim to join our team to scale our business model and growth strategy. By adding Jim as our CRO, we will accelerate our FY22 -FY25 revenues with new shipping solutions and third-party logistics platform offerings that provide unprecedented advances in performance, automation, and artificial intelligence.”

CakeBoxx Technologies has evolved its intrinsically simple, incredibly effective two-piece shipping container design for over more than a decade, providing safe transport for numerous specialised assets of strategic importance. This includes an increasingly complex array of both out-of-gauge and in-gauge cargos, superloads such as wind turbines and gearboxes, jet engines, uncrewed systems, and sensitive communications and sensor systems. CakeBoxx solutions offer the industry’s strongest and lightest weight customised shipping decks and platforms, with or without CakeBoxx’s protective lid.

“CakeBoxx Technologies has built a strong base of government and Fortune 500 customers by developing innovative solutions to overcome some of the world’s most challenging shipping issues while also meeting the highest standards of performance, security, and sustainability,” said CakeBoxx Technologies Board member, Michael Quinn. “Jim Blom is a seasoned operations leader, and subject matter expert in the shipping, transportation, and logistics industries – his addition to the executive leadership team is a very strategic move for the company.

“His technology expertise and supply chain experience applying cloud computing, blockchain, artificial intelligence, and edge computing to address global supply chain disruption, port congestion, and last-mile logistics delivery will enable CakeBoxx Technologies to scale its revenue operations and expand the company’s growth into new marketplaces and ecosystems.”

As CRO, Blom will lead revenue operations focused on CakeBoxx’s product development, sales, and field operations, overseeing CakeBoxx’s GTM, technology partnerships, and strategic alliances.

Blom’s mandate will include growing market share in environmental sustainability, focusing on the renewable energy and regenerative food systems industries. Blom will also take on CakeBoxx’s pioneering work for Boeing and Lockheed Martin, evolving its defence and aerospace portfolio and revenues in C4ISR and the uncrewed and autonomous transportation industries.

Blom commented: “Re-imagining the modern shipping container and re-architecting intermodal and last-mile delivery supply chains helps industries accelerate attainment of their global climate and Net Zero sustainability targets. Thanks to our distinguished reputation as a tier-one systems engineering firm, we have an unprecedented opportunity to provide value. Addressing sustainability and carbon reduction initiatives has never been more important. CakeBoxx Technologies’ ability to combine adaptive automation, intelligent, connected, and high-performance systems design with SAFETY Act level security is a defining capability for shippers and 3PLs with sustainability goals.”

CakeBoxx products and advanced supply chain systems engineering services are available to companies, governments, NGOs, and other organisations worldwide seeking to transform their transportation efficiency, lower total cost of ownership, build resilience, and improve safety, security, and sustainability in their supply chain operations.

 

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