Business Chief USA - April 2018

Keeping its head above the cloud April 2018 • USA EDITION

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FOREWORD WELCOME TO THE USA edition of Business Chief for April, In this month’s issue we catch up with ServiceNow CEO John Donahoe, as he looks at the challenges facing major cloud providers in a highly accelerated arena.

Businesses shouldn’t be afraid of AI adoption, as Foudner of ServisBOT and CEO Cathal McGloin recognises that we must embrace AI in better servicing customers, rather than fear it.

How can businesses and academic institutions work together to boost productivity? We called upon some of the industry’s leading players to find out the true value of these partnerships.

Helping major global brands manage customer relationships, Amradillo CRM looks at the value of retaining customers

and how technology like AI and machine learning can help.

Oyr exclusive features this month include Brightstar and how the company is leverationg procurement power to deliver adffodable communication worldwide.

We also speak with SAP Ariba, and how it continues to add true value in the ever-changing digital landscape of supply chain procurement.

Transporting food testing into the digital age, Merieux NutriSciences is ushering in a new era of innovation with state of the art food testing technologies.

We also explore how SUNY Downstate Medical Center is using digital transformation to emerge as one of the nation’s leading urban medical centers.

Enjoy the issue!

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TECHNOLOGY

Taking the fear out of AI

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Keeping its head above the cloud

PEOPLE

The mutual benefit of academia partnerships

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The value of customer retention

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April 2018

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118 State University NY at Downstate Medical Center Healthcare

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Keeping its head above the cloud Business Chief catches up with ServiceNow CEO John Donahoe on the challenges facing major cloud providers in a highly accelerated arena‌ Writ ten by KIERON BAIN

IT IS SOMEWHAT surprising to hear that ServiceNow CEO John Donahoe, a man undoubtedly at the top of his game, locates his footing within the cloud computing giant, as at the very base of the hierarchal tree…

“I am a servant leader,” he tells us.

“It’s a model I learned in business school at Stanford. As CEO, I don’t see myself at the top of the organisation.

I’m at the bottom, working to make everyone else successful, starting with our customers. Servant leadership demands constant listening and learning. I learn from everybody, from every encounter. I seek feedback and I strive to get better every day.

I’m also competitive. I like to win. So, I work hard to serve our customers, our employees and our company, and to be the best leader I can be.

It’s a never-ending journey.”

Donahoe joined the cloud-providing enterprise software company ServiceNow (based in Santa Clara, California) in April 2017 as President and Chief Executive Officer. He came with a robust CV, his previous role being CEO of eBay from 2008 to 2015, during which he oversaw the eBay, PayPal and eBay Enterprise businesses with revenues more than 12

April 2018

“Like any period of change, some jobs we know today will disappear – technology will offer better ways of doing that work, whether that’s automating routine tasks or making mobility driverless”

doubling to $18bn and market value increasing over 250% to $80bn.

Prior to eBay, Donahoe spent more than 20 years at Bain & Company, starting as Associate Consultant and rising to become the firm’s Chief Executive Officer. Donahoe still serves as Chairman of PayPal and is also on the board of directors of Nike and the Bridgespan Group, a nonprofit advisor for mission-driven organizations and philanthropists. We caught up with the Dartmouth College and

L E A D E R S H I P & S T R AT E G Y

Stanford Graduate to fully explore his ethos and how it has spearheaded success at some of the biggest companies in the world…

The cloud space is fast becoming a crowded market place, but ServiceNow is successfully managing to stand its ground…

ServiceNow is the fastest growing

enterprise software company above $1bn in revenue. We serve over 4,000 customers, including more than 42% of the world’s 2,000 largest publicly traded companies. We finished 2017 with our best quarter ever. We now have 500 customers doing more 13

L E A D E R S H I P & S T R AT E G Y than $1mn annually with us, and our biggest customer has topped $20mn.

We have a diverse global customer base and strong momentum. Our platform and products enable customers to streamline and simplify workflows across their organisation, creating easier, better, more intuitive experiences for their employees and customers.

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How can bigger companies overcome the inertia created by having to design and instill processes whilst dealing with an ever more rapidly accelerating business environment?

Good process should be an enabler, not a roadblock. All companies today must be agile, flexible, adaptive and responsive to changing customer needs and market dynamics. As companies grow, more process is necessary to ensure everyone understands how to get things completed efficiently. But process must not get in the way of staying close to your customers, listening, and responding to customers’ needs.

“Technology-driven innovation will continue to play a powerful role in the growth of the US and beyond, and in how we live and work�

- John Donahoe, CEO, ServiceNow

You have served big companies, but is there anything you can learn from small businesses on how to best serve consumers’ interests while remaining competitive in the marketplace?

Small businesses are incredibly close to their customers. They interact directly and personally with their customers every day. Their customers may be neighbours, friends, fellow church members or old childhood friends. Small businesses can be highly attuned to local market conditions and competitive issues. Small business owners and employees live and

work in the community in which they operate and compete. Staying close to your customers and intuitively understanding market dynamics can be challenges as businesses scale; customer intimacy and deep market knowledge are key to enduring success. Nothing replaces actual customer interaction and on-the-ground experience.

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What was it about the opportunity at ServiceNow that inspired you to make the commitment to this business?

ServiceNow is a very customerfocused company with great products and technology. We are making a difference in how people work. We make the world of work ‘work’ better for people. That’s our purpose, and that’s incredibly inspiring to me. We believe deeply in the vision of our founder Fred Luddy to help make work easier for regular people. And we are building on the great work my predecessor, Frank Slootman, did to grow ServiceNow and put us 16

April 2018

on the path we are on today. We are focused on helping our customers succeed, and on building a great, enduring company that will help shape the future of work for people.

This is my first time working in enterprise software. I’ve spent most of my first year listening to and learning from our customers. It’s been very gratifying to hear the passion people have for ServiceNow and what we can achieve together. I’ve also been struck by how startlingly consistent the conversations are regarding the challenges CIOs face. We are doubling down on customer success, making sure we are a valued strategic

L E A D E R S H I P & S T R AT E G Y

partner to help enable customers’ digital transformation and create new employee and customer experiences.

What do ServiceNow’s service and products mean to the customer base? What are some key benefits of your products?

Every customer I speak with is managing digital transformation and trying to provide better ways of working and better experiences across their organisation. Our customers understand that ServiceNow is a powerful cloud-based platform to better enable employee and customer experiences. Whether in

IT or customer services management, IT operations, HR service delivery or security operations, our products enable customers to streamline and simplify workflow, better manage data and issues and allocate resources, and create better experiences.

How does ServiceNow’s approach to AI differ from such leading competitors as Google and Amazon?

We are focused on using machine learning to enable better workflows and better experiences. Machine learning is native to our platform, making it accessible to all products 17

L E A D E R S H I P & S T R AT E G Y on the platform. This is a powerful way to streamline and simplify workflows, freeing up people to focus more of their time and energy on more meaningful work that creates more value than performing routine tasks.

What do you believe will be the greatest challenge to your AI strategy over the coming years and how do you plan to overcome this barrier?

In technology in general, the biggest challenge is always staying abreast of innovation and keeping up with the pace of change. AI will continue to evolve rapidly. Our focus will be on how to use AI effectively to solve practical problems for our customers and create better work experiences.

Where do you think AI will take ServiceNow over the next five to 10 years? What is your planned innovation roadmap and what notable developments are you already working on?

AI is just one aspect of the opportunities ahead. We are also evolving our systems and investing more in UX (user experience) and UI (user interface). We are also investing 18

April 2018

in mobile, ensuring our experiences are mobile friendly. We are focused on delivering best of class, ‘out of the box’ ideas to our customers.

What implications will AI have for the US economy and how should industry adapt to these changes?

Technology is fundamentally changing the nature of work. Like any period of change, some jobs we know today will disappear – technology will offer better ways of doing that work, whether that’s automating routine tasks or making mobility driverless.

Other jobs will be created that we can’t imagine today. That’s been true in every period of technologydriven change and innovation.

Everyone will need to learn how to work with technology in new ways, particularly AI. Everyone will need a core set of digital skills and competencies. In the 21st century, everyone must be digitally native.

That’s true in the US and globally.

We see this speed of change in our personal lives today. We are interacting with voice-activated AI in our homes in ways unimaginable just a short time ago, and we love

it; it’s convenient. We are adapting and learning. Similar changes are coming to the workplace at an accelerated pace. We will need broad-based, public and private collaborative efforts to help everyone navigate the transformation.

To what degree will the AI revolution create the need for fundamental social change and reform in the US? AI and other technology-driven innovation is accelerating rapid change in our personal and professional lives. All sectors of society must get better at understanding what these changes mean, how we should adapt and how we can ensure more people benefit from these changes and share in the opportunities ahead.

We face tremendous opportunities and significant challenges – we must tackle both. Technology-driven innovation will continue to play a powerful role in the growth of the US and beyond, and in how we live and work. We’re all in this together and ensuring positive outcomes will require public-private partnership, collaboration and shared vision. Get 19

L E A D E R S H I P & S T R AT E G Y smart – understand the technology and the opportunities it creates for your business. Don’t wait – don’t underestimate the speed of change.

Most importantly, understand how to harness data. AI will be ubiquitous.

Using your data effectively with AI will drive competitive advantage.

How are you shaping ServiceNow and how are you creating individual employee buy-in to your ethos and philosophy?

I am meeting with employees worldwide to share our purpose and culture, and our focus on driving customer success and building a great, enduring company. We call it our Global Purpose Tour, which we’re finishing up right now in Asia Pacific with stops in Sydney, Singapore and Hyderabad. Our purpose: we make the world of work ‘work’ better for people. Going forward, everything we do will be designed to activate and fulfill our purpose. We’re driving clarity and alignment about ‘why’ we are here (our purpose), ‘what’ we are doing (our strategies), and ‘how’ we will accomplish our goals (our culture). Investing in talent is a priority for me, and we are evolving 20

April 2018

our company brand to reflect our purpose. This is an exciting time for us and employees are responding enthusiastically to our journey ahead.

What is the most important lesson you have learned in business during your tenure at some of the biggest companies?

Success starts with a continuous commitment to learning and personal growth. I believe deeply that no-one cares more about your career than you do. Whatever your ambition, each of us must take ownership of our career development and our aspirations.

No one else will do it for you. Find meaning and purpose in your work. Be clear about your goals, about how you want to integrate your professional and personal lives. Find the right balance for you. Careers don’t unfold in straight lines. Often, the most meaningful experiences are the most unexpected.

If you do the hard work of managing your own career, I believe everything else takes care of itself. Yes, sometimes luck and circumstance will play a role in the opportunities you have, so be ready for every opportunity, and find satisfaction and meaning in every job you have.

“Good process should be an enabler, not a roadblock.

All companies today must be agile, flexible, adaptive and responsive to changing customer needs and market dynamics�

- John Donahoe, CEO, ServiceNow

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TAKING THE FEAR OUT OF AI Business Chief speaks to ServisBOT Founder and CEO Cathal McGloin about AI adoption and why businesses shouldn’t be afraid of it Writ ten by OLIVIA MINNOCK

TECHNOLOGY “NO TECHNOLOGY WINS because it’s a piece of technology: it wins because somebody figures out how to apply it to solve a particular business problem in a unique way.”

Cathal McGloin, CEO of artificial intelligence and automationbased customer service provider, ServisBOT, enthuses about the potential of AI, but warns businesses must apply it properly to their needs or risk being left in the dust.

McGloin, a self-confessed “software-addicted entrepreneur”, recently founded his fourth startup which utilises the latest in AI and automated technology to help businesses more easily manage their customer service needs. He’s passionate about making AI more accessible to a variety of businesses.

Certain elements of AI are nothing new, as McGloin is quick to clarify.

The idea for ServisBOT came about from experiences within the contact centre space, in which McGloin had co-founded Performix Technologies in 1998. “We created this idea of employee performance back in the late 1990s, with the rationale that if you give people a view of what their targets are and 26

April 2018

“AI will become table stakes in software going forward – anybody who doesn’t have it won’t even be in the race” Cathal McGloin, CEO, ServisBOT

how they are doing in real-time, they perform much better. We created, patented, and still own that, and every contact centre has employee performance software today.”

It’s clear our demands on technology are changing, and AI is key in both promoting and fulfilling that expectation.

“One of the big changes is we’ve moved away from a big screen onto mobile which is now a combination of touch and voice,” McGloin says. “My 16-year-old daughter will sometimes voice-text her friends, and won’t bother typing into Google… they can now just activate Siri, for example, to ask a question. The

interface is part of the conversation… that’s what’s interesting to me.

“One of the few areas that has not been impacted by digital transformation is customer service,” McGloin argues. “We’re still very much voice centric, waiting on hold. With live chat – which is 20 years old and has resurged in the past five years – you still have to have staffing, and 27

TECHNOLOGY so can only have your live chat work between, say, 8am and 8pm, often with a live chat agent handling several queries at once. That’s what gave rise to ServisBOT: the idea there had to be a better way of handling customer service with a conversational interface in a digital world that’s mobile-centric.”

The evolution of AI “AI has been around for 40 or 50 years now,” McGloin explains, “but a few things have changed. One is the abundance of data to create an AI system – because these are learning systems, you need large amounts of data for machines to know what to do. That’s fulfilled today by the data

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overload we have.” Another element, according to McGloin, is the major processing power required for AI. “You needed a lot of processing power to crunch that data and come up with the answers – the Android device we now carry in our pocket has more power than anything in the 1990s.”

In addition, open sourcing has made essential knowledge and skills available. “Amazon’s been using AI for 10 years for book preferences… they open sourced it and made it available,” he explains, saying that these tech giants are releasing APIs to carry out machine learning and as such making AI easier to use so that “ordinary developers are able

to get up to speed very quickly”.

These factors are set to make AI as much a part of life as the computer.

“As Andreessen Horowitz talks about, AI will become a feature of all software going forward. Software will have to have some self-learning capability, and some artificial intelligence. So, AI will become table stakes in software going forward – anybody who doesn’t have it won’t even be in the race.”

The application of AI McGloin is clear that “the difference between the winners and the losers is who knows how to apply AI. At ServisBOT, we’re trying to change the customer service experience

ServisBOT – changing the customer service conversation ServisBOT was founded in 2016 by brothers Cathal and Ray McGloin along with Chris Doyle. The company aims to transform customer service for businesses using technologies like AI and automation.

An army of “bots”, including Chat Bots and Service Bots, provide automated solutions giving customers “the service they want, any time they want”. In this way, the Massachusetts-based software company makes it easier and cheaper for businesses to implement AI.

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“The onus will be on application providers and vendors like ourselves to make it easy: we’ll build a solution that has an AI engine under the hood” Cathal McGloin CEO, ServisBOT

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by heeding trends. For example, millennials don’t like phone calls – they want to send off a text and hear back.

People are impatient and want instant answers. Applying AI and chat bots means we can respond immediately.

In addition, the way we’ve built it, a company can get this system up and running within hours and days.”

“Automation is key to what we’re trying to do,” McGloin emphasises.

“It’s not AI for AI’s sake… while chat bots can be used to hold a conversation, we then have service bots which perform a particular task. It could print your banking statement or help you manage a journey… and because we use serverless technology, you can scale up to millions of transactions in an instant. Service bots aren’t just about chatting, but about performing a task, and our platform allows a company to orchestrate

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TECHNOLOGY an army of service bots across different areas of their business.”

Why aren’t all businesses implementing AI? Recently, software giant Red Hat commissioned Vanson Bourne to survey IT decision-makers on the adoption of technologies like AI. Respondents expected to increase technology investment by 25% from 2017-18. However, only 24% stated they currently implement AI, with an additional 30% planning to implement the tech in 2018. What threats, real or perceived, have stopped businesses already adopting AI in a flash?

First, McGloin mentions fear of AI replacing jobs. “This was the same argument with computers in the 1980s, but you’re always going to need human involvement. For example, customer complaints can’t be handled

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by bots as they can’t empathise.

With certain transactions, people will always want to talk to someone, especially those to do with money.

What will happen is we’ll provide better service, automate mundane tasks, and take the repetition out for folks.”

He also argues that most businesses are already using AI even if they haven’t made a disruptive song and dance about it. “Even things like preference selection on websites, there’s AI technology behind it. I think there’s this fear: ‘I don’t have a data scientist, it’s hard to get these people, it’s too expensive for my budget, I can do without it…’ You’ve got the issue of barriers like skills, availability, costs and so on that are stopping people from trying it out. The onus will be on application providers and vendors like ourselves to make it easy: we’ll build a solution that has

an AI engine under the hood. As we make it more about the application and less about the technology, I think we’ll find it easier to embark on.”

So, is AI just the latest buzzword?

“It’s the bees and the honey: everyone swarms to the latest thing, but AI is just a piece of technology. If you don’t

apply it in a different way you don’t get anything out of it. Companies like ServisBOT are coming out and saying ‘don’t worry about the AI, we’ll solve that – this is about its application. Here are some easy tools to create a new work flow, or a new bot, to complete a new task… don’t worry what’s under the hood’. We’re selling it as a service.”

What’s next for AI? Customer service and AI, then, go hand in hand – but where else can businesses easily utilise the tech?

“Customer service is across all industries,” McGloin clarifies, “so it’s a horizontal layer. Where I see 33

TECHNOLOGY

“People are scared of AI, but if you just make it easy for them to embark on it, they will” Cathal McGloin, CEO, ServisBOT

AI going next is into back-office, becoming the new business process management and elevating back-end tasks. It’s a useful area to apply AI because it can learn about things as it goes, it can change and adapt…”

In terms of ServisBOT, McGloin adds: “We’re at a really exciting stage, the product-market fit phase. We think we’ve hit something really big. People are scared of AI, but if you just make it 34

April 2018

easy for them to embark on it, they will.

We see a huge opportunity in actually taking the fear out of it and making it easy and low-cost to get started.”

One can’t help but wonder whether the serial entrepreneur will stick with his business, but McGloin is focused on creating a solution that lasts. “The thing I am most proud of is the fact that every company I’ve been involved with on this whole journey, including

the first one, Performix, all the technology is still available and in use today for companies to benefit from.

What drives me is the idea of creating something new that has a purpose and is useful. That to me is success: regardless of how much revenue it’s generating, there’s somebody getting use out of it. It’s creating something out of nothing and having it live beyond when you’re involved.”

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The mutual benefit of academia partnerships How can businesses and academic institutions work together to boost productivity? Business Chief investigates Edited by OLIVIA MINNOCK

PEOPLE

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ACCESS TO TOP experts for R&D will benefit any company, and now more than ever recruiting bright minds is top priority for business. In addition, higher education institutes are constantly looking to offer their students and academics the chance to build relationships with top players in the business world. Business Chief gathered some insight on how these partnerships can be developed and who stands to benefit.

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Collaboration for a brighter future in the UK

Gary Davie, Partner and Head of Independent Providers at law firm Shakespeare Martineau, feels that in the UK, collaboration is the way forward to benefit those in education as well as potential employers. “Whilst competition may in many ways fuels creativity and innovation, for the education sector, closer collaboration between further education,

“ For employers, a more streamlined education sector could be vital in helping solve the UK’s productivity crisis” – Gary Davie, Head of Independent Providers, Shakespeare Martineau

higher education and private providers could be just what UK students and learners need. People looking to take up a place in education would be able to see a demonstrable path towards a job and career progression, and businesses would have access to a talent pool which is equipped across the full breadth of the skills gap.

“HE policy in recent years has centred on competition, but that approach is starting to be questioned. A recent

report by the Higher Education Commission, titled One Size Doesn’t Fit All, put the themes of collaboration and competition under the spotlight, suggesting that a culture within the education sector, which encourages both equally, would bring greater benefits for students and the wider business community.

“Learners navigating UK education are likely to encounter a variety of different providers; the linear model 41

PEOPLE “ There’s significant untapped potential for businesses to establish mutually beneficial partnerships with universities” – David Docherty, Chief Executive, National Centre for Universities and Business

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of traditional study is still popular, but by no means works for everyone. For those students whose educational outcomes are best delivered through different learning settings, for instance both vocational courses and academic qualifications, closer collaboration could be integral to their success.

“Educational institutions have been working together for a number of years in some form. For instance, colleges, universities and private providers have long collaborated to deliver foundation programmes, franchised or validated provision. However, there is the potential for much more.

“Greater collaboration would be beneficial in two main ways: access to courses offered by further education and private providers would increase, equipping learners with a more diverse skillset for the workplace; and universities would benefit from more streamlined progression to higher education and the more extensive talent pool it would bring.

“Particularly for those learners who may not have considered higher education as an option, this clear progression through a range of learning environments would be a confidence booster, with an end goal in sight from

the start. This could be a particular career or qualification, even up to Masters or PhD level.

“To achieve this, though, all providers must accept that they cannot do everything on their own and realise that working together while drawing on individual strengths is key.

“For employers, a more streamlined education sector could be vital in helping solve the UK’s productivity crisis. Jobseekers in the market currently tend to have a range of qualifications and with different roles requiring various accreditations, they may have to engage separately with a number of different providers. If a consortium model was set up which could support learners through the different stages of education or employment, the benefits to employers looking for candidates across the range of qualification levels would be great.

“As the world changes and Brexit looms on the horizon, students in the UK will no doubt be considering employment and education options overseas. With more educational institutions setting up foreign campuses and forging links with multinational companies, the options 43

PEOPLE are there for learners and facilitation within the industry to support outward mobility will certainly be beneficial.

“The solution to the productivity puzzle has collaborative education at its heart. If learners have better access to the courses and qualifications of their choice which will get them the right jobs, and if employers can tap into the best possible pool of talent, the benefits will be felt by all.”

Partnerships to foster innovation and success

Meanwhile, Professor Elena RodriguezFalcon, Provost Chief Academic Officer of new STEM-focussed university, NMiTE (New Model in Technology & Engineering), offers an academic perspective on this kind of collaboration.

She also has some advice on how we can make these important relationships work.

“Having partnerships between universities and businesses is not new; there is now a long and evolving history of collaboration and innovation.

“Whilst there has always been a keen interest in developing partnerships that enable universities to understand the challenges being faced by industry in order to inform the creation of knowledge, or from companies to 44

April 2018

identify the next generation of capable employees, in more recent times the trend is for businesses to increasingly become co-creators of knowledge. Businesses are increasingly active participants in the development and delivery of the student learning experience.

“This provides a huge win-win for businesses, students and academics, and the benefits such partnerships deliver to industry are now even more valuable in our age of tightening

“ The trend is for businesses to increasingly become co-creators of knowledge. Businesses are increasingly active participants in the development and delivery of the student learning experience” – Professor Elena Rodriguez-Falcon, New Model in Technology & Engineering R&D budgets and, seemingly, an everincreasing speed of innovation.

“For instance, a study by IBM in the US found that a majority of tech industry and academic leaders felt partnerships are essential to provide students with skills for these jobs. It noted that when comparing the past five years to the next, those involved expect such partnerships will help bring significant improvements in meeting industry demands and ensuring the employability of students.

“Certainly, I have seen from my own experience how having students work closely with businesses has had a positive and inspirational effect. One such example from Sheffield University, where I taught previously, a group of students started their own company Handy Fasteners after having input that included local manufacturing businesses such as Gripple and Kingkraft. In another, a collaboration with Crown and Sheffield Hallam University resulted in the development of easy-open packaging.

“Ensuring tomorrow’s graduates have the skills your business needs is one benefit from such partnerships.

Another, very sizeable one is that they enable companies to make breakthroughs through accessing the leading-edge research and analytical skills universities have and, of course, lots of bright and inquisitive minds.

“However, businesses and universities are very different beasts, and making such partnerships work so successfully is not always easy. I have been personally involved with very many, and from the start it’s important to create a joint vision that identifies clear purposes and goals for the collaboration.

It’s also important to mention the 45

PEOPLE importance of them being viewed as long-term at the highest level of all involved. Ultimately, there also needs to be a clear strategic “what is in it for me” for both parties if it is to survive competing calls on time and budget over the ensuing years.

“There are lots of basics that need to be in place early on: in particular, agreements regarding intellectual property must be agreed upon and transparent, without putting undue risk on either party. In my experience the partnerships that work the best do so because expectations from both parties are managed right from the start; this is because there is a clear benefit for all involved, but mainly because partners really want to make it work.

“My institution, NMiTE (the new engineering university being created in Hereford in the UK), is taking these principles up a level by boldly forgoing set textbooks, lectures and exams.

Instead we are focussing entirely on a curriculum based around teams of students solving practical challenges actually designed in association with engineering companies to reflect the technical and commercial challenges they currently face.

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“We are currently working with a range of engineering and manufacturing companies to help tackle the current shortage of suitable graduates that such businesses regularly report, and I am inviting all others that are interested to get involved.”

Academia for R&D — finding the perfect match

How might these businesses create the mutually beneficial partnerships they require in this day and age? One platform that’s helping them to do so is Konfer.

With a “trusted user group” that includes leading business groups and companies representing bioscience, commercial chemistry, cybersecurity, digital media, energy, food production, intelligent mobility and transport, land management, technology and textiles, Konfer aims to accelerate research partnerships with UK universities.

Founding members include Capgemini, National Tryst, and Unilever, and total members represent a collective turnover/income of over £48.6bn ($68.69bn). Konfer takes the form of a free online match-making tool, which connects businesses with research expertise and funding opportunities.

It is backed by 132 universities in the

“ The benefits partnerships deliver to industry are now even more valuable in our age of tightening R&D budgets and an ever-increasing speed of innovation” – Professor Elena Rodriguez-Falcon, New Model in Technology & Engineering UK and includes profiles of over 130,000 academics available for collaborative research.

As a not-for-profit resource, Konfer has been funded and developed by the National Centre for Universities and Business (NCUB), Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), Research Councils UK and Innovate UK. Since its beta launch in November 2017, Konfer has already helped big names like Jaguar Land Rover conduct vital R&D.

David Docherty, Chief Executive at NCUB, told Business Chief: “There’s significant untapped potential for businesses to establish mutually beneficial partnerships with universities… we were inspired by business leaders who said they would be better equipped to grow and exploit opportunities in the UK and internationally if they had better access and insight to academic research partners and innovation funding.”

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The value of customer retention Armadillo CRM helps major global brands manage customer relationships. We speak to CEO James Ray about the value of retaining customers and how technology like AI and machine learning can help Writ ten by STUART HODGE

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y AS LEGENDARY MANAGEMENT theorist Peter Drucker once remarked: “The purpose of business is to create and keep a customer”. Indeed, the art of creating new customers, as per the maxim, has been welldocumented by many business publications, but the challenge of keeping customers is not always given quite as much mainstream attention.

Research from Econsultancy a few years ago demonstrated that seven out of 10 businesses reckon it easier to retain a customer than acquire one. If this is the case, why is more attention is not devoted to this topic?

In recent years, customer relationship marketing (CRM) has emerged as a key means by which businesses can tap into their existing customer base to generate easy profit. To find out a bit more about the potential benefits of CRM, Business Chief spoke to James Ray, CEO of Armadillo CRM, a big player in the space which underwent a management buyout earlier this year.

Ray was part of the three-man team responsible for the buy-out, and has been with the company since 1996, previously serving as Armadillo’s Client Services Director, 52

April 2018

Armadillo CEO James Ray

Chairman and MD prior to the buyout.

We asked him exactly how CRM works.

“Data is our raw material,” Ray explains. “In our case our clients tend to be businessto-consumer (B2C) brands so we are usually working with consumer data, purchases, clicks, logins, browsing and so on.

We mine the data for insights – analysing patterns, trends and signals. That insight feeds a strategy to engage, influence or change the customer’s behavior in line with our client’s objectives – usually with KPIs and a business case attached. Then we bring that strategy to life with the right mix of data, creativity and technology to change the customer

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S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y experience and deliver the behavior change our clients are seeking.

That might be to get the customer to spend more, become more loyal, or even to feel more positively toward the brand. To complete the loop, we analyze the resulting data and optimize the strategy.”

Armadillo, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, lists McDonald’s, the BBC and Disney amongst its clients. The company claims to have run a number of CRM strategies as part of integrated

campaigns for clients which have driven double-digit uplifts in performance from the CRM channel alone. Impressive – but as companies embark on digital transformation and become more tech-aware, has CRM become more popular? “Yes,” says Ray. “The diversity of our client base points to this – digitally native brands like Hotels.com, where CRM is baked in to their DNA, as well as more traditional businesses like McDonald’s and Disney, where what started as a specialist channel is now core to their future plans.

“We often start working with businesses when they are consciously at a turning point in their approach to managing and using customer data.

We help them build the strategy for managing their customer relationships, which helps define the associated requirements for technology within the business. I think there’s a shift in client expectations going on, not only in CRM but in marketing services more generally, too. With the

“With the accessibility of powerful marketing technology and the empowerment it brings, clients’ needs are more fluid and varied than ever before” – James Ray, CEO of Armadillo CRM 54

April 2018

Armadillo CRM: data insight creative The launch of a new brand

accessibility of powerful marketing technology and the empowerment it brings, clients’ needs are more fluid and varied than ever before. Tailoring solutions and services to specific needs used to be a nice option to have – and a quirk of Armadillo – but now it’s an expectation.”

Armadillo is ambitious, and upon completion of the recent buyout, the new leadership announced the company now aims to double in size over the next five years. Integral to that is how it retains some of its

bigger clients, while ensuring it enables its clients do the same.

“We’ve been the retained CRM agency partner for McDonald’s in the UK since 2011, helping them develop a CRM capability, originally from a standing start, with a full service that includes analysis, strategy, data management, creative and campaign delivery,” says Ray. “We’ve been working with Hotels.com since 2015, supporting their in-house team on strategy, analysis and creative projects 55

“Where machines can automate and do tasks better than humans, it leaves more time for humans to do the creative and lateral things that create resilient and loyal connection between customers and brands” – James Ray, CEO of Armadillo CRM

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S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y that are tested in the North American market, and then rolled out globally.

And we’ve been working with The Walt Disney Company since 2007, currently helping them deliver eCRM campaigns across five key European markets.

“What I love about what we do is that every client is different.

For McDonald’s in the UK, who’ve had 48 quarters of consecutive growth, market share and sales are not a problem for them – the priority is building and sustaining customer affinity, so our approach is tailored to do that. That means eCRM programs that connect customers to new products and tastes according to their favorites and preferences, and driving them to use new convenience platforms like mobile ordering and delivery. For Hotels.com, who operate in a fiercely competitive and highly-commoditized market, it’s very different. Here, we work with the client to identify trends and patterns in customer behavior, and develop multi-channel CRM strategies to intervene with offers and messages in order to restore and

retain customer booking behavior.”

According to Ray, the key to Armadillo’s success has been “fundamentally about finding the right people” and the fact the team has an “obsession with service”. That, alongside the company’s capacity to change and evolve, has helped it navigate any choppy financial waters caused by major events such as the global financial crash.

The CEO recognizes that you always need to have an idea of where the next major disruption or industry innovation may be coming from, and Ray has already identified the key areas Armadillo will be keeping an eye on over the coming months and years.

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“We mine the data for insights – analysing patterns, trends and signals. That insight feeds a strategy, to engage, influence or change the customer’s behavior in line with our client’s objectives.”

– James Ray, CEO of Armadillo CRM

“For a while now, the big players in the marketing tech space have been sweeping all before them,” he adds. “We’re seeing quite a few frustrations on the client side as expectations have fallen a bit short.

Our tech teams are increasingly called on to develop additional tech to plug some of these gaps. I can see this growing: the creation of mini bits of bespoke tech as a service 58

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rather than an off-the-shelf product.

“As well as artificial intelligence and machine learning, in Europe there’s the new GDPR legislation. Brands need to re-permission some or all of their customers ahead of the May deadline. We’re helping brands to make a virtue out of the opportunity for customers to keep their investment in the data they give and what benefits they receive in return. Although it’s

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

been a long process for brands, it will also bring positive change in the long term, encouraging companies to talk to customers more openly about the value their data provides them.

“I think we’re still in the foothills of the potential for AI and machine learning, but it’s already changing the landscape. I think it’s a great opportunity not only for brands but for agencies like us – where machines

can automate and do tasks better than humans, it leaves more time for humans to do the creative and lateral things that create resilient and loyal connections between customers and brands.”

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CITY FOCUS

A look at Chicago, Illinois and recent developments in its energy strategy Writ ten by HARRY MENE AR

CAGO

CITY FOCUS CHICAGO, ILLINOIS IS the third-largest city in the United States, with a population of over 2.7mn people, according to a 2016 census.

The state as a whole consumes over 12,238 thousand MWh, which is 44% higher than the national per home average, an Energy Information Agency report found.

‘569,000

PEOPLE IN THE MIDWEST ARE EMPLOYED IN “GREEN” JOBS, ACCORDING TO A RECENT STUDY BY CLEAN ENERGY TRUST AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENTREPRENEURS’ 62

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The Chicago Regional Energy Snapshot, commissioned in 2014, stated: “Over the next 30 years, the Chicago metropolitan area will experience growth in population, and likewise, in energy consumption”. The city’s growing demand for energy, in the face of increased awareness of the dangers of climate change, has led to Chicago’s Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s announcement of bold legislative steps intended to meet those demands in a way that will reduce the city’s carbon footprint.

Chicago and its surrounding area “leads the nation in electricity generation from nuclear power”, the EIA claims, producing 12% of the United States’ total consumption.

Currently, renewable resources account for only 6% of electricity generated in the greater Illinois area.

Although this figure has more than doubled in the past decade, the City of Chicago is planning to accelerate this trend still further by 2025.

In April 2017, Mayor Emanuel announced the city’s commitment to transitioning its 900-plus municipal buildings and operations to “100% clean and renewable energy” by 2025, according to Chicago Tonight. This

announcement closely followed the announcement of President Trump’s 2019 budget, which proposes the slashing of investment in clean energy and renewables, and would dissolve the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy, Forbes reports. In response, Emmanuel said in a press release: “As the Trump administration pulls back on building a clean energy economy, Chicago is doubling down.”

Jack Darin, president of the Illinois Sierra Club, told CNBC: “By moving boldly to re-power its public buildings with renewable energy like wind and solar, Chicago is leading by example at a time when local leadership is more important than ever.”

The example set at a municipal level is also creating vibrant, disruptive new strategies in the private sector. The Clean Energy Trust is dedicated to accelerating the development of clean energy and renewable technologies across the Midwest. A recent press release stated: “We have awarded $3.7mn in funding to 33 clean energy startups. Startups benefitting from our programs have gone on to raise an additional $112mn in follow-on-funding – and have created over 300 jobs.”

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CITY FOCUS

ENERGY COMPANIES MAKING WAVES The CET (along with other clean energy investors like Marathon Capital and Invenergy) is actively working to grow the clean energy startup ecosystem in Chicago.

569,000 people in the Midwest are employed in “green� jobs, according to a recent study by Clean Energy Trust and Environmental Entrepreneurs. The trust announced in February 2018 the winner of its annual Clean Energy Trust Competition: Aerospec Technologies.

Along with the winner, here are several promising clean energy startups disrupting the energy market in Chicago, with an eye to provoke dramatic change to the US and global energy markets.

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‘THE CLEAN ENERGY TRUST IS DEDICATED TO

ACCELERATING THE DEVELOPMENT OF CLEAN ENERGY AND RENEWABLE TECHNOLOGIES ACROSS THE MIDWEST’ 65

Aerospec Technologies, founded by Lance Li, specialises in SaaS platforms, using AI data analytics to optimise and detect issues within renewable and clean energy systems, according to American Inno. The drones collect aerial footage, which is then parsed and analysed by Aerospec’s algorithms in order to quickly alert site owners to problems within their systems. Li told American Inno: “Through process automation, [site owners] can be more efficient and generate more electricity, knowing problems before they even happen.”

RedWave Energy is a startup focused on developing tech to return excess heat into an electrical grid. The company uses miniature antennas to capture lowtemperature heat (300 degrees Celsius) generated during the manufacturing process (like glass factories and electric power plants) and transfer it back into useable power to increase efficiency and sustainability, the Chicago Tribune reports. CEO Jim Nelson told the Tribune: “A huge amount of heat is wasted in industrial processes, and the reason it’s wasted is because it’s no longer hot enough to turn a turbine or be useful in any other application.” The company received $5.5mn in funding to develop new prototypes in July 2017.

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CITY FOCUS

NETEnergy, the brainchild of Said Al-Hallaj, a chemical engineering professor at the University of Illinois, aims to increase the efficiency of air conditioning systems. The company’s product ‘Black Ice’ is an artificial substance that is hailed as “more robust, more adaptive to air conditioning, more adaptive to the smart-grid interface and [able] to react fast,” Al-Hallaj told Midwest Energy News. The composite of graphite and wax is intended to integrate with existing air conditioning systems to store cold energy that can then be released at peak hours more efficiently than refrigeration units and traditional ice-cooling methods. “We can charge and discharge in less than two hours, whereas ice takes six to eight hours to charge or discharge,” said COO Mike Pintar.

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TOP 10

TOP 10 LARGEST COMPANIES IN THE US A LOOK AT FORTUNE 500’S LIST OF THE LEADING COMPANIES IN THE US, HIGHLIGHTING THE 10 WITH THE HIGHEST REVENUES Writ ten by SHANNON LEWIS

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FORD

$151.8BN WWW.FORD.COM In 1896, Henry Ford invented the Quardicycle, a four-wheeled bicycle with an engine. Five years later, the Ford Motor Company was founded, with a mere 12 investors and 1,000 shares. Currently, Ford pulls in a revenue of $151.8bn, with 201,000 employees, and a market cap of $44.7bn, according to Forbes. It is 39th on Forbes’ World’s Most Valuable Brands and 30th on America’s Biggest Public Companies.

The Motley Fool reports that Ford has recently poured money into the manufacturing of large SUVs, spending an additional $25mn this year after already recently investing $900mn in the industry.

It recently upgraded its means of production with 400 new robots and 3D printing capabilities.

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AT&T

$163.8BN WWW.ATT.COM AT&T is a telecommunications company founded in 1983. Based in Dallas, it provides internet, phone and television services across all 50 states of US, bringing in a revenue of $163.8bn, with a market cap of $249.3bn, according to Forbes. With 268,540 employees, according to Fortune 500, it makes 193 on Forbes’ America’s Best Employers for Diversity list, and 12 on Forbes’ Just Companies rankings. In 2016, AT&T announced an $85bn deal with Time Warner.

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GENERAL MOTORS $168.4BN WWW.GM.COM

General Motors is an automobile company that provides a variety of vehicles from full size trucks to electric cars under eight different brands: Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac, Holden, Baojun, Wulin and Jiefang. Founded in 1908, the company sells automobiles in 125 countries across 19,000 dealerships. According to Forbes, it has a sales revenue of $168.4bn, with a market cap of $50.8bn. With headquarters in Detroit, Michigan, it oversees 225,000 employees, and spans across six continents.

CNBC reports, however, that General Motors announced the closure of one of its four plants in South Korea, due to sudden rises in labor costs.

$177.5BN WWW.CVSHEALTH.COM The first ever CVS (Customer Value Store) opened in Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1963. Currently, CVS Health is a health service and pharmaceutical company that employs 250,000 people and brings in a sales revenue of $177.5bn, with a market cap of $79.8bn. It is 207th on Forbes’ Global 2000: Top Regarded Companies, as well as 26th of America’s Top Public Companies, and completed purchasing competitor Target’s 1,600-plus pharmacies and clinics in 2015. Fortune reports that this year, CVS raised employee pay by $2 an hour, while also now offering a month of paid parental leave.

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5 $196.5BN WWW.MCKESSON.COM

UNITEDHEALTH GROUP $184.9BN WWW.UNITEDHEALTHGROUP.COM According to Fortune, UnitedHealth Group is America’s largest health insurance provider, with 130mn customers around the globe. It provides coverage across the 50 states of the US, as well as across 130 countries, and has 260,000 employees (including 30,000 physicians and nurses). Forbes sets its revenue at $184.9bn, with a market cap of $160.2bn. Founded in 1974, it is based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, UnitedHealth is 16th on Forbes’ America’s Top Public Companies.

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Founded in 1833, McKesson is a pharmaceutical distribution company which provides both health services and information technology. According to its company website, it currently employs over 76,000 people, with two primary business sections: Distribution Solutions and Technology Solutions.

Forbes places its revenue at $196.5bn, with a market cap of $30.5bn. It ranks 73rd on Forbes’ America’s Top Public Companies list, and 188th on its Global 2000. According to Seeking Alpha, the price of McKesson stocks has recently decreased, from $240 per share in 2015 to $148 today. Seeking Alpha postulates this is a result of both Amazon rising in importance as a healthcare competitor, coupled with the uncertainty in legislature of American healthcare regulations.

4 $197.5BN CORPORATE.EXXONMOBIL.COM ExxonMobil is the largest publicly traded international gas and oil company in the world. Founded in 1859, when Edwin Drake and Billy Smith drilled an oil well in Titusville, Pennsylvania, it currently oversees 72,700 employees, according to Fortune. Forbes places its revenue at $197.5bn, with a market cap of $343.2. However, as the world moves more into the clean energy industry, ExxonMobil has had to make accommodations.

Its current CEO Darren Woods states ExxonMobil is investing $1bn in finding solutions to reduce emissions. This said, the company has also announced intentions to increase US oil production to 600,000 barrels a day by 2025.

3 APPLE

$217.5BN WWW.APPLE.COM/UK Founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Ronald Wayne, and Stephen Wozniak, Apple is a technology and software company that currently employs 116,000 people, and has reach in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Greater China, Japan, and Asia Pacific. It brings in $217.5bn in sales revenue, according to Forbes, with a market cap of $752bn. It is ninth on Forbes’ Global 2000 and first on Forbes’ World’s Most Valuable Brands.

Fortune reports that in February of this year, Apple released the HomePod, a smart speaker designed to compete with Amazon’s Alexa.

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2 BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY

$222.9BN WWW.BERKSHIREHATHAWAY.COM Berkshire Hathaway is a conglomerate of multiple segments including car insurance provider GEICO, Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance Group, railroad operator Burlington Northern Santa Fe, LLC, property and casualty insurance company Berkshire Primary Group, electrical and gas utility provider Berkshire Hathaway Energy, wholesale non-food grocery product distributor McLane Company, as well as manufacturing, service and retailing, and finance and financial segments. Founded by Oliver Chace in 1839, the company used to rely on Warren Buffet’s investment skills to turn a profit – nowadays, it is less reliant on Buffet and turns a greater profit due to its multiple holdings, according to Fortune. Forbes places its revenue at $222.9bn, with a market cap of $409.9bn. CNN reports, however, that in 2016 both Facebook and Amazon surpassed Berkshire Hathaway in market value for the first time ever.

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1 WALMART $485.3BN WWW.WALMART.COM

Set up as a sole discount store in 1962, Walmart has grown into the largest retailer in the world, with 260mn customers, 11,695 stores in 28 countries, as well as internet-based stores in 11 countries, according to its company website. According to Forbes, Walmart makes $485.3bn in revenue, with a market cap of $221.1bn. It is 17th on Forbes’ The World’s Biggest Public Companies, and ninth of America’s Top Public Companies. Madison reports that Walmart’s stock rose 43% in 2017, as the company has focused on combating Amazon’s retail ability with its own purchases in the ecommerce industry, including Jet.com, and express delivery service Parcel.

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DRIVING GROWTH with PROCUREMENT

POWER

ite Wh len by G |P rod uc ed an rm S tu ath eri ne by C Wr itte n

The consumer need to acquire the best wireless product or service on the market is one which is continually evolving. See how Brightstar Corporation’s procurement team has disrupted this market by delivering cost-effective, bespoke solutions for its customers

B R I G H T S TA R C O R P O R AT I O N

T

he use of mobile devices in the last 10 years has grown exponentially, influencing the way in which we live, work and communicate.

A recent report by the GSMA has shown that the number of people utilizing mobile services exceeded 5bn in 2017, and the number of unique mobile subscribers is also set to reach 5.9bn by 2025 which is equivalent to 71% of the world’s population.

Such growth has placed increased pressures on the telecommunications industry.

Owned by Softbank Group, Brightstar is an international mobile service provider that is a significant player in the wireless industry. The company simplifies the wireless world, making mobile technology accessible to everyone.

To do this, Brightstar looks after every stage of a device’s lifecycle, from the moment it’s manufactured to the moment it’s time to trade it in and re-market it around the world. Whilst it consistently competes with competitors to deliver exceptional, bespoke products and services amidst a complex minefield of consumer buying behaviors, the company has built a solid foundation from which to drive customer engagement.

Serving carrier, retail and enterprise customers across 80 countries, Brightstar’s integrated services have enabled it to deliver one of every 23 wireless devices across six continents, where it looks after every stage of a device’s lifecycle.

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TECHNOLOGY

Brightstar serves carrier, retail and enterprise customers across 80 countries

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Customer power Seamlessly linking with its customers’ businesses has seen Brightstar gain a significant edge over competitors to become the provider of choice on a global scale.

“Brightstar is known for innovation and helping customers solve problems. We listen to our customers to understand what kind of issues they’re facing in servicing their customers, and we innovate a solution to solve their problems,” explains Antony Harrat, Global Vice President of Indirect Procurement and Real Estate at Brightstar.

“It’s never been easier for customers to vote with their feet. Customers are researching and evaluating their purchase online before they step into a store and, in many cases, continue to do so within the retail estate.

Working with customers proactively to start to predict their customers’ next moves before they make it – potentially with another operator – is one way we’re enabling the industry to address these challenges.”

Universal appeal Witnessing the evolution of its customers’ demands, the millennial

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B R I G H T S TA R C O R P O R AT I O N

“IF WIRELESS CARRIERS CAN MOVE CUSTOMERS TO A LEASE MODEL, THE UPGRADE MENTALITY IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN OWNERSHIP” – Antony Harrat, Global Vice President of Indirect Procurement and Real Estate

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TECHNOLOGY

BRIGHTSTAR’S MOBILELIFE SOLUTION GIVES EMPLOYEES THE ABILITY GAIN ACCESS TO WIRELESS DEVICES, ANYTIME, ANYWHERE

generation in particular has created a raft of opportunities for Brightstar. The desire for choice and emphasis on budget remain strong drivers in the development of affordable and flexible buying or leasing options.

“Millennials have been associated with ‘Generation Rent’. They’ve been reluctant to buy items like cars, music and movies. Instead, they’re turning to new types of services that provide access to products and experiences without the burden of outright ownership,” notes Harrat.

“Millennials no longer want to own their device. They want to own

their data and photos, but they also want a new device as soon as it’s released. Generation Rent has given way to leasing plans where the buyer never owns the device and can return it for an upgrade after a contractual time. If wireless carriers can move customers to a lease model, the upgrade mentality is more important than ownership.

“We see opportunity in affordability solutions such as device leasing and financing through our Brightstar Flex service, for example, which gives consumers access to the latest devices and lower cost of ownership, and with device protection via our Brightstar Halo service.”

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Multi-use appeal There are approximately 80mn high-end used devices globally, and Brightstar manages up to 15mn of them. With such significant market share, the company has also transformed not only the way it collects devices, but the way in which it grades and returns them to market.

“Brightstar enables consumers to trade-in their used devices for a discount on a new smartphone, which makes devices more affordable. In turn, used smartphones are wiped clean and remarketed around the world at an affordable price,” says Harrat.

“We also offer innovative payment solutions so consumers can purchase or lease a device using affordable monthly payments. Making technology accessible also includes protecting consumers’ investments in phones by offering insurance, protection and warranty coverage.”

Its Echo service therefore grants the opportunity for buying back used devices in-store, online, via apps or over the phone, where customers can receive the best value on used devices through its global re-marketing network.

By looking deeper at the enterprise market, Brightstar analyzed all available statistics to further appeal to this segment.

Published research by Penn Schoen

ITS INTEGRATED SERVICES HAVE SEEN BRIGHTSTAR DELIVER ONE OF EVERY 23 WIRELESS DEVICES ACROSS SIX CONTINENTS

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A LEADER IN REAL ESTATE SOLUTIONS Newmark Knight Frank is leading the charge in commercial real estate innovation and client solutions. With a global presence of more than 400 offices and 15,000 professionals, NKF remains the authority in real estate advisory, data and technology. Our clients—corporations, property owners, investors and developers—benefit from NKF’s robust platform of services including: • • • • • • •

Leasing Advisory Global Corporate Services NKF Capital Markets Consulting Program and Project Management Property and Facilities Management Valuation and Advisory Services

Newmark Knight Frank is transforming businesses and properties— and exceeding client expectations.

Brightstar Corp. Account Lead: Daniel Katcher Senior Managing Director Newmark Knight Frank T 212.372.2012 dkatcher@ngkf.com

ngkf.com

TECHNOLOGY

Berland for Dell and Intel highlighted that 42% of 18-34-year-olds are likely to quit a job with sub-standard technology, in stark comparison with 25% of employees aged 35 and over.

82% of this category would also consider the use of technology on offer when considering whether to take a new job, the research found.

In light of such findings, Brightstar undertook its own research and identified that up to 40% of enterprises lack a strategy for mobile. The recent launch of its MobileLife solution seeks to close this gap. Built specifically for enterprises, it gives employees the ability gain access to wireless devices, anytime, anywhere.

“Companies are always looking to operate leaner and need to make difficult decisions around emerging workforce technology demands without the headache of managing allocation, in-life management and recycling in-house,” observes Harrat. “Another way we’re saving companies significant amounts of money is through selling or leasing certified pre-owned phones.

“Leasing also gives the end

consumer the device they really want for an affordable monthly fee.

This does not necessarily mean the ‘latest and greatest device, as even pre-owned devices can serve customer demand. The key to success in a saturated market is consumer choice, after all.”

Enhanced flexibility Brightstar has become increasingly innovative in its bid to deliver comprehensive, personalized mobile services, tailored specifically for its respective markets and customer demographics.

“Some trends are clear. There are different kinds of phones sold in different kinds of stores, but others are less so,” adds Harrat.

“Phones that perform better from a network coverage perspective do better in the metropolitan fringe areas where coverage may not be as good as in the central areas, and those areas are constantly changing. We develop algorithms to understand the choices people are making when buying a handset.

“It’s a very complex purchase

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“MILLENNIALS NO LONGER WANT TO OWN THEIR DEVICE. THEY WANT TO OWN THEIR DATA AND PHOTOS, BUT THEY ALSO WANT A NEW DEVICE AS SOON AS IT’S RELEASED” – Antony Harrat, Global Vice President of Indirect Procurement and Real Estate

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when consumers go and sign up to get a new phone. They choose the operator, pre-paid or postpaid plan, make a choice about what sort of store or retailer experience they want to have, online or through a call center,” he continues.

“At Brightstar, we use algorithms to train statistical models to make predictions about what an individual customer is likely to do so that retailers can understand and navigate all these nuances and reap the dividends.”

Procurement innovation Its vision to make mobile technology accessible to all is fully underpinned by its procurement division, where it has transformed outdated business models to drive a fully integrated, end-to-end customer service.

“We are not solely focused on indirect procurement, it is about supporting the business to operate wherever possible. From computers,

to software and office supplies and anything else of that nature – it is important to have an impact.

“The money we save by getting the best vendor not only helps us save money and improve our profitability, but we also get to find the best vendor for our clients.”

Internal cross-collaboration Looking at further areas of potential, Brightstar will continue working to provide exceptional value by launching innovative and products and services for employees. Its decision to centralize its use of travel agencies to one travel management company which will work across its global functions, is one such example.

“With the development of an expense management tool, not only did we reduce our costs and increase compliance as a result, but we reduced thousands of hours spent completing expense reports by scanning receipts that were taped to a piece of paper,” says Harrat.

Another important aspect of internal collaboration is working with champions.

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TECHNOLOGY

“The key is to work with ‘champions,’” cost, but also for procurement to “These are the experts and final users of bring its added value in becoming the services and/or products we need to more strategic in the way we spend buy,” Harrat continues. “Involving them our money and in our collaboration at an early stage helps us understand with the business,” explains Harrat. our requirements, the market and key The implementation of a new contract players. Then, it’s the communication management system, in addition to about the benefits for compliance and reshaping the approval process, has the benefits for our employees. provided Brightstar the ability to “We also benefit from retain all of its agreements, the expertise of our which will work to support shareholders, both its procurement some of whom are and legal teams. real technology “It makes us aware Brightstar was visionaries.” of the expiration established in Additionally, dates of these Brightstar promotes agreements, where we cross-collaboration can decide to renegotiate to enhance not only its or extend, avoid lapses in communication, but boosts services, and often use the same transparency across its divisions. master agreement,” reflects Harrat.

Both the procurement and legal “The legal team is tremendously team consequently work in tandem, important for procurement in providing a number of advantages particular. Many companies make for the business at large. the mistake to think about vendor “Our internal approval process risk management through the value for contracts includes the business of a contract, when in fact it is not owner and our procurement and about the value – it’s the liability for the legal teams. This was initiated not company that is most important.” only to have a better control over

1997

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Strategic partnerships “’Partner’ is a very important word and it’s extremely hard to find vendors that have a long-term goal to work with you. For example, thankfully we consider Newmark Grubb Knight Frank a partner for our real estate transactions,” he says. “Real estate is probably the most collaborative category and the one commodity where a procurement team needs the help of its broker on projects that can take many months to complete.

Our relationship is global and goes from disposition of asset(s) to leasing

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new space or even subleasing existing space. They have access to our existing portfolio and help us with market information and how to anticipate and make the best decision for our locations globally.”

Untapped potential Furthermore, Brightstar’s strategic sourcing capabilities have enabled it to reinvest increased capital, which will provide further room for innovation.

“When you become strategic and have opportunities that show real value, you are empowered to

TECHNOLOGY

transform the way you source your products,” comments Harrat.

“For example, you can’t get by for long with day-to-day buying without visibility. As a result, all of our IT teams across six continents buy computers through a single portal. Using consistent hardware and ordering processes saves our IT team a significant amount of time.”

The rise of platforms from other industries will also motivate Brightstar to seamlessly deliver products and services which consumers want.

“The rise of Amazon is a clear sign of the way people buy and how smooth that process should be for employees purchasing what they need for their respective offices,” observes Harrat.

“It should be easy, user-friendly and the internal approval process should be managed on the back end for managers to quickly and easily approve or disapprove purchase requests. We are looking for a platform, but what we’ve seen so

far is that providers are US-centric and not global, which will not work for a company as international as Brightstar, so we will continue looking.”

On the business development side, the company views untapped potential in countries such as India, China, Pakistan, Indonesia and Bangladesh, as well as Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, where it can gain a further foothold.

Nonetheless, by taking full advantage of its global reach, the company is now able to anticipate issues which may be emerging in one region that have already been addressed in another. This will no doubt provide a competitive advantage to Brightstar.

Fully enhancing the value of its services, and ensuring its products remain tailored to respective markets at affordable prices, will ensure Brightstar succeeds in its long-term vision to provide accessibility for all, both now and in the future.

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FROM

SOURCE

TO STORE

A company that undertakes the shipping of raw materials and finished products around the world for global manufacturers needs creativity and a culture of analytics. Here is a look at the process OIA Global CIO Jay Hemmady has developed within a company that offers clients a unique combination of global logistics, packaging and materials sourcing solutions Written by John O’Hanlon Produced by Andy Turner

OIA GLOBAL

O

IA Global was founded in 1988 as Oregon International Air Freight.

Today the company is a reflection of its success over the last 30 years in meeting the demands of industry for sophisticated logistical services. With over 1,200 professionals in 64 offices in 28 countries, OIA designs innovative solutions that optimise supply chains around the world. Household names in the global footwear, agri-industrial, healthcare, automotive, fashion, retail and athletic sectors outsource their supply chain functions, in whole or in part, to OIA. OIA’s three main lines of business are freight forwarding, third-party logistics (3PL), and distribution.

The first of these consists in arranging the collection and delivery of containers using air cargo or ocean cargo and extends to the paperwork and processing requirements for customs, all noncore functions for manufacturers and retailers alike. The distribution division, a vital part of the supply chain, comprises warehousing, cross-docking, and ecommerce fulfillment.

Increasingly though, companies that develop IP, design and manufacture goods in different parts of the world – like car makers or footwear brands – look for partners that can take all of the supply chain burdens off their shoulders, from raw materials right through to the customer’s door. A 3PL company like OIA may procure the raw materials for their factories, ship them to the factory, design the packaging the final product is sold in, and deliver

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“WE MOVED INTO THE CLOUD IN A BIG WAY” –Jay Hemmady, CIO, OIA Global

S U P P LY C H A I N

“THIS YEAR WE SET FUNDS ASIDE TO TAKE ANALYTICS TO THE NEXT LEVEL” the packaging to the factories. The client puts packaged goods into an outer carton that goes onto a pallet, and these are assembled into a cargo container, shipped to the destination country, ‘de-consolidated’ and sent to local warehouses for distribution. All of this is handled

by OIA on its customer’s behalf.

This saves the manufacturer from finding carriers for the goods it

Jay Hemmady | CIO In 2015 Jay Hemmady joined OIA as Chief Information Officer with responsibility for the company’s global information services, network and related technology. Prior to joining OIA, he served as a Senior Business Consultant helping a variety of West Coast Fortune 1000 organisations with technology strategies and implementation.

Hemmady earned his technical and consulting credentials at EDS (now part of HP) and holds an MBA in Finance and a Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering.

produces: and in any case the carriers, whether shipping lines or airlines, don’t want to do the consolidation and de-consolidation work once they have landed the container at its port of destination. For manufacturer, carrier and 3PL provider alike this is a virtuous circle – because of the volumes it handles, OIA can obtain bulk rates that give the client a much lower cost to market.

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OIA GLOBAL

Managing the data and the volume of units involved is the work of IT. Three years ago, OIA appointed Jay Hemmady as its CIO, giving him the brief of optimising its digital platforms to meet the realities of the present and future supply chain. “We have to find ways to stay ahead of the industry and these changes,” he says. “As CIO my fundamental responsibility is to keep the IT systems up – to ‘keep the lights on and the trains running’. But at the strategic level we are moving fast into the realm of information and data, and using it to give a reliable service to our clients. In all three of our main business segments I am responsible for maintaining the information systems that ensure there will be no disruption in their supply chain.”

The business OIA does with footwear clients is now 100% electronically executed. Footwear factories place orders on OIA’s self-service portal and all further transactions involving transportation of raw materials into that factory, and of finished goods out from it, are handled in the same way. Three years ago, Hemmady came into a

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company that was anxious about IT, not understanding the important job it was doing in keeping the systems up and running, let alone trusting it to lead the way into new territory. “There is a movement away from the old ways to a new way of doing business, and as CIO I have to be on top of that.

For example, when I came on board there was a certain fear of developing custom software applications.” The company had had a belief that the way forward lay in commercial off the shelf packages (COTS). But being available generally, these give no competitive advantage, Hemmady says.

He had to encourage the leadership that developing business critical platforms in-house would be a good idea but before that, he needed to show the business at large that IT was already doing a good job for it. “For any CIOs the key is to keep the lights on and the trains running. If they don’t get that right, they don’t get the chance to do anything strategic.” In the first year, Hemmady set out to improve visibility into projects and the performance of his department. “We began to

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OIA GLOBAL

“THE WHOLE NOTION OF GOING TO THE CLOUD BECAME A MUCH SIMPLER DISCUSSION BECAUSE THEY FELT COMFORTABLE AND THEY HAD CONFIDENCE THAT WE CAN DELIVER WHAT WE PROMISED AND THAT IT WOULD WORK” – Jay Hemmady, CIO, OIA Global communicate and provide status updates more frequently and candidly.

That took up a lot of time. Instead of updating the executives quarterly we started doing it with all stakeholders weekly. There was so much to communicate, and more frequently,

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that it required the IT staff to shift gears and speed up considerably, but the benefits were enormous.”

The result? The mindset in the user community quickly changed.

The relationship improved, and an appreciation for IT materialised. More

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importantly, there was much more for new customers, giving them the collaboration between IT and the supply chain and inventory visibility business units. “For example, the they require,” Hemmady adds. notion of going to the cloud became Over the development period, a much simpler discussion because the spadework of development they felt comfortable and they had was gradually distributed between confidence that we can deliver what the USA, UK, Ukraine and India. we promised and that it would work,” “In addition to delivering software Hemmady says. “The exercise also development, I was able to encourage gave us the confidence to expand us to look offshore with a twofold the use of agile scrum purpose. One is to decrease methodology across the the time to market by board and increase the using the timezones degree of software effectively, and the development other one, of course, initiatives.” is the lower cost Nevertheless, until of ownership.” For Number of employees the first product freight forwarding, at OIA Global was launched, even his teams are the board remained now developing OIA anxious. After a year of Connect, another selfphased development and release service portal that allows OIA to OptiLink, the self-service supply chain present its own and its clients’ data portal on which OIA customers now on a single web portal. “Freight place their orders, was launched forwarding, for example, represents without a glitch. It has since replaced a significant portion of our revenue two of five difficult to upgrade and and profit is operational on a package costly to maintain legacy systems called CargoWise One from the and on a roadmap to retire the rest.

Australian application software “We can now easily deploy OptiLink specialist Wisetech Global.”

1,200+

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OIA GLOBAL

OIA Global: Logistics Solutions, Creatively Packaged

Another thing that made the business leaders nervous was the idea of moving data and systems from data centres controlled by OIA into the cloud. But Hemmady was able to convince the CEO that this would not jeopardise the company’s IP and information. “We moved into the cloud in a big way. We have not finished the journey,” he elaborates.

“We still have equipment that has not fully depreciated that is still in our

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data centre. We are not reluctant to move everything to the cloud, but it makes economic sense to use both modes for now. We will think twice about buying new servers from here on in.” Going into the cloud is straightforward, he continues: “We signed up with the Microsoft Azure cloud, which provides all the tools and training you require. Though OptiLink is currently running in our data centre, it was migrated to the Azure cloud and proven out so we know it will works there. We haven’t decided yet whether or when we will make that the primary computing platform.” For now, the company continues to store its data at Atmosera, a co-location data centre at Beaverton, Oregon.

“We have racks and equipment in there that we manage. Before the advent of the cloud, companies like Atmosera were the best way to make use of third party colocation centres.”

On the distribution end of the supply chain, OIA has been using the Softeon warehouse management system (WMS). “It’s a sophisticated and advanced application package that allows us to run our ecommerce

S U P P LY C H A I N

warehouses,” says Hemmady.

The software is robust enough to span over a variety of industries.

Modules built into the WMS such as its slotting and loading functionality help add value for many clients.

Even more importantly, it provides visibility in a high-churn environment.

Companies need to know what is in the warehouses so they can control their manufacturing timing and demand forecasting. In a fast-moving warehouse, knowing how many things you have available is not a simple task. “We are now in a position to give our clients on-hand inventory details from moment to moment,” Hemmady adds. “Companies are trying to minimise their cost of manufacturing

and inventory is a cost to business.”

BI Analytics is one of the bigger initiatives for Hemmady and his teams in 2018. “We give our clients a spectrum of business intelligence (BI) graphics but we have not looked at the evolution of BI analytics in a strategic way, so this year we set funds aside to take analytics to the next level. We are looking holistically at the whole data model of freight forwarding, warehousing and the supply chain sector. We want to start looking at the data and the patterns to predict what is coming in the future. Trend analysis and other things is what the customer is looking for these days.

We understand that and will be giving them that in the very near future.”

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Flying the flag for New York’s healthcare provision and education SUNY Downstate Medical Center revolutionised medical education by bringing the teaching of medicine to the hospital bedside – now it is transforming the sector again through digital transformation

Written by Laura Mullan Produced by Andy Turner

S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y N Y D O W N S TAT E M E D I C A L C E N T E R

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he State University of New York Health Science Center, better known to locals as SUNY Downstate Medical Center, has consistently made its mark as one of the nation’s leading urban medical Centers.

“We are geographically located in an urban area and provide healthcare for an underserved community,” explains Dr. Dilip Nath, Assistant Vice President and Deputy Chief Information Officer.

“We are the only academic medical Center in Brooklyn. We provide education, research, and healing. We care about local people and we also offer students a world-class education in healthcare, nursing, and other medical related fields of study. Additionally, we offer leading research facilities and we house the first State BioTech incubator.

“Now the question is, how do we transform this and provide high-quality care that our community deserves?” he asks. “How do we maximise every dollar to provide excellent healthcare, training, and research?”

Healthcare for a digital age Nath’s answer is simple. SUNY Downstate Medical Center is leveraging technology to automate, modernise, and transform its healthcare services.

In doing so, the institution is the driving force for efficiency, business agility, and providing topclass healthcare to Brooklyn’s 2.6mn residents.

As an alumnus of the State University of New York himself, Nath’s devotion to the Institution is unquestionable.

The first of his family to relocate from Bangladesh to the United States, Nath has risen through the ranks from Director of IT, to Associate CIO, followed by Interim CIO, and finally to his current role today as AVP and Deputy CIO.

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Dilip Nath AVP and Deputy CIO

“It gives me an immense pleasure to give back to the organisation that I went to myself and which teaches and educates hundreds of thousands of students throughout the state�

A recognised technology leader known for driving a strategic plan to achieve business goals, Dilip Nath is an accomplished Higher Education and HealthCare industry executive with over 20 years of experience in driving IT solutions measured by successful ROI, operational improvement, and organisational development. As Deputy Chief Information Officer, he leads a high-performing and responsive IT department consisting of almost 100 employees, while aligning technology initiatives with business objectives.

Nath brings a unique background to any organisation through his bravery, commitment to community activism, continuous mentorship through 16 years of experience as an Adjunct Professor, to his unmeasurable success as an accomplished AVP & Deputy Chief Information Officer.

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As a result, he has an inherent computerized physician order entry appreciation of the institution’s digital (CPOE), enterprise resource planning capabilities and understands what is (ERP), cost accounting, revenue needed to take it to the next level. cycle, and ADT Systems. However, “It gives me an immense pleasure this is just the tip of the iceberg. to give back to the organization that I went to myself and which Data, cloud technology teaches and educates hundreds of and more thousands of students throughout SUNY Downstate Medical Center the state,” comments Nath. is now beginning the next Recognising the stage of its digital significance of digital transformation. transformation, Working with Nath has helped IT firm Presido, to design and the institution implement many is preparing to clinical and redesign its entire financial systems, network infrastructure Year Founded including financial to ready itself for the and statistical reports digital age of healthcare. which provided the hospital Such a modern network and academic administration needs a modern data Center and this with greater accessibility to is another technological feat which is patient’s financial records. going to help transform the healthcare What’s more, he also spearheaded and education enterprise, says Nath. the rollout of enterprise-wide Ensuring the uptime of missionapplications such as imaging critical operations is more important solutions and was instrumental in than ever with data Center downtime achieving meaningful use, rolling out costing around $8,000 per minute, electronic medical records (EMR), according to an in-depth study

1860

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by the Emerson Network Power and the Ponemon Institute.

This is something which SUNY Downstate Medical Center has taken on board and, as such, the medical Center is exploring the use of cloud technology.

“The next thing that we’re working on is taking the digital assets we currently have and morphing them into a private cloud solution,” says Nath.

“This will provide a private, encrypted

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connection from our campus to the private vendors that we are working with, such as GAVS Technologies.

“If the network goes down, almost everything is down. The whole productivity comes to a halt and so this cloud solution is vital for our transformation,” he adds.

Accessible medical records EMRs have become an up-andcoming trend in the healthcare

TECHNOLOGY

landscape and it is a modern innovation which SUNY Downstate Medical Center hasn’t overlooked.

More beneficial than a paper record, this tool allows healthcare providers to track data over time, identify patients who are due for visits and screenings, and monitor how patients measure against vaccination and blood pressure readings, with the ultimate aim of improving quality of care.

Most importantly, it allows a patient’s health record to move with them, but this only the start of its capabilities, says Nath.

“We’re also looking at how we can improve and optimise EMR,” he notes. “We’re working with another partner called Infinite and they are providing a solution whereby it doesn’t matter how many EMRs you have – when a patient shows up to your clinic, it will pull up their latest medical records. The whole goal is to modernise the healthcare we provide by automating our infrastructure and modernising our workflow.

“Then the next question is: what should we do with all of this data?” he continues. “We need strong

As the only academic medical Center in Brooklyn, SUNY Medical Center serves a large population –

over 2.6mn people

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analytics, and so we are actually in the process of deploying solutions such as Tableau to achieve this.

Then, in the future, we hope to use technologies such as artificial intelligence and predictive analytics so that we can not only provide reactive care, but also be predictive.

“There is currently a huge gap between the provider and the patient and all healthcare associates – that’s exactly why we are optimising our EMR,” he adds. “Integration is key in this. We need to integrate and exchange data amongst ourselves and with our patients and other care providers outside of our organisation.”

Challenges in the health tech space Bringing about a root-and-branch digital transformation is by no account an easy task, especially when the enterprise is partly responsible for the healthcare of Brooklyn’s 2.6mn residents.

However, this challenge is one the medical Center has taken in its stride.

“Delivery of care is a challenge as a whole, especially being an

“There’s no quick win. I am more interested in sustainable growth that brings added value to the organisation” – Dilip Nath, AVP and Deputy CIO

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urban area,” reflects Nath. “But transforming technology is much more challenging than in more developed areas because, for example, we can provide patient information through a portal, but when our patient goes home, some may not necessarily have a computer or wi-fi access.

“If we could change this, patients would not have to make a phone call or come and visit a clinic,” he adds.

“They would be able to communicate with their physicians through telemedicine and telehealth tools.

We could see more patients at home, rather than at our clinics. As much as we’re pushing this information as an organisation, there is a lot of work that we, and the government, need to do for the community itself.”

On top of the need to provoke deep change within communities, Nath says the healthcare space also needs to have a significant culture shift amongst healthcare staff.

“Employing these technologies is a challenge but it’s really about

understanding the needs of our staff and how we can provide the technological solutions for the puzzles they need to solve,” he says. “That’s the key to success.

“Once they see the value of technology, it becomes much easier to deploy. Therefore, we take smaller steps, to pilot the technology and roll it out slowly – that’s how you change the cultural barrier or shift to a success. There’s no quick win. I am more interested in sustainable growth that brings added value to the organisation.”

Nath’s pride for SUNY Downstate Medical Center shines throughout our conversation.

This admiration and commitment to both the institution, its staff, and students also transcends throughout the Center’s technology strategy, and it is this which is helping the medical Center become a leading player in the healthcare space and serve the residents of Brooklyn.

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Written by Laura Mullan Produced by Andy Turner

TRANSPORTING

FOOD TESTING TO THE

DIGITAL

AGE

With over 100 laboratories spanning 22 countries, Mérieux NutriSciences is ushering in a new era of innovation with state-of-the-art food testing technologies

MÉRIEUX NUTRISCIENCES

I

n a digital age saturated with data and information, transparency has emerged as the must-have ingredient for any successful consumer goods company. Whether its contaminants, pathogens, insecticides or pesticides, consumers are increasingly questioning what is in their food and consumer products.

This is where Mérieux NutriSciences fills a critical gap in the market.

As part of Institut Mérieux, one core mission drives operations at Mérieux NutriSciences – the desire to protect consumers’ health across the globe. To this end, the US-based company delivers a wide range of food safety and quality services to the food and nutrition, agrochemicals, pharma, and cosmetics industries.

Responding to transparency and globalization As companies are compelled to work towards a more globalized and transparent future, Agnès Houpiart-Dupré, Vice President Digital Solutions, says that digitization is helping Mérieux NutriSciences usher in a new era in the food

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“With social media, any event, especially negative ones, can spread quickly.

Yesterday it might be a local issue but tomorrow it will be global” – Agnès Houpiart-Dupré, Vice President Digital Solutions

testing and consulting sector.

“I would say investing in technology and digitization is even more important than ever,” says Houpiart-Dupré. “With social media, any event, especially negative ones, can spread quickly.

Yesterday it might have been a local issue but tomorrow it will be global.

FDF WORLD

Our Solutions to Ensure Food Safety & Quality

Auditing Services “Consumers want more transparency,” she continues.

“They want to know what is in their food. They want to know where it comes from and that’s where technology comes in because, without technology, you don’t have a clear vision of every single action that happens to your food throughout the supply chain.

“Our customers are also becoming

more global. They are selling their products abroad and have more suppliers abroad, but they want to ensure that they have the same level of quality. This is really a big challenge and one which you cannot overcome without technology.”

Recognizing the importance of digitization in the food testing space, Mérieux NutriSciences has embarked on an ambitious digital

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Edward Rybicki Global Chief Information Officer

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FDF WORLD

transformation journey which has seen a complete root-and-branch transformation of its capabilities.

“More and more we’re seeing technology at the forefront of, not just how we’re doing our tests, but how we’re tracking the results, the quality of the results, the analysis that we can provide, and at some point even the predictive analysis we can provide,” says Edward Rybicki, Global Chief Information Officer.

“For us, technology has definitely taken a leap beyond automating a process. It’s really at the heart of what we’re doing.”

Digital evolution Experiencing what Rybicki calls an “inside-out transformation,” this digital transformation is having a far-reaching impact on both employees and customers alike.

For customers who are moving away from a detection to a prevention model, Mérieux NutriSciences’ technologies are helping help them anticipate tomorrow’s challenges.

The company has accelerated its digital focus by creating a business

unit dedicated to Digital Solutions which offers three core strands of digital services - EnviroMap, QualMap and myMXNS. Featuring state-of-the-art technology, these platforms go beyond traditional testing to offer real time access to information, transparency and data management to clients which are helping companies protect their brands and the consumers.

In parallel to this, the company is also driving internal efficiency by using technological platforms such as Labware, Freshservice, and Leanix. As a result, all of these innovative platforms culminate to promote a consistent global level of food safety and quality.

Leveraging data analytics Perhaps one of the biggest areas of focus for Mérieux NutriSciences has been data analytics. By building an integrated data management platform, the company’s enhanced data analytics is helping it grow exponentially.

“Internally, data and analytics have certainly been an area of

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LABWARE LIMS and ELN together in a single integrated software platform. A laboratory automation solution for the entire enterprise.

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concentration, especially because it is revolutionizing the company’s we recognise that we don’t produce culture and the way it does business. a product, we produce information,” “We’re in the process of a major says Rybicki. “Now we’re taking architectural shift,” Rybicki states. that data and building a data “Like many companies, we’re shifting management platform which is to the cloud. We’re working on core at the core of our operations.” platforms that are helping us respond But data isn’t just about providing to changing needs quickly. In the past, numbers. It’s about providing data in we had a lot of structured, homegrown a digestible way that solutions that took a allows companies lot of time, effort and to interpret what this money to adapt. Now means for them on we’re able to shift a practical basis. much more quickly.

“It’s more about “I think we’ve Mérieux NutriSciences providing them with also seen a shift employs 7,000 people the right statistical in the way our and has over 100 analytics so that customer sees us,” laboratories spanning they can understand he continues. “In the 22 countries when, they have a food industry, things contamination, for are changing rapidly. example, where it Processes used came from, and what they should do to be done manually through older to fix it,” explains Houpiart-Dupré. technologies like Excel, and our customers realize that they can’t Transforming the customercontinue like that forever. They are employee dynamic happy to find a partner that has started This technological overhaul is this digital transformation because not only transforming Mérieux they can share with us, they can ask NutriSciences digital infrastructure, questions, and they feel supported.”

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MÉRIEUX NUTRISCIENCES

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IS A SUBSIDIARY OF INSTITUT MÉRIEUX, WHICH WAS FOUNDED BY MARCEL MÉRIEUX, A STUDENT OF WORLD-RENOWNED SCIENTISTS, LOUIS PASTEUR AND EMILE ROUX.

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Mérieux NutriSciences: Our Science, Your Innovation.

Responding to consumer needs As industries become more global and supply chains more intricate, more variables and concerns can arise in the food testing space. With its detailed data analytics, Mérieux NutriSciences is able to answer the very specific needs and requests of its customers, including those they may not have even considered yet.

“Thanks to our digital solutions, we are able to create an advisory

relationship with our customers because we have better visibility and a data-driven approach,” says Houpiart-Dupré. “It allows us to be much more proactive in understanding our customers needs.”

Attracting and retaining talent and expertise By all accounts, the company’s digital transformation journey has been an impressive one, which has

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“When our customers within the food industry ask themselves what partner they want to work with to protect consumer health I want them to think of us” – Agnès Houpiart-Dupré, Vice President Digital Solutions

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helped to protect consumers’ health across the globe. This technological transformation is just one element of the company’s 50-year journey.

The Institut Mérieux was founded in 1897 by Marcel Mérieux, a student of world-renowned scientists Louis Pasteur and Emile Roux. With a wealth of scientific expertise, the company commits its experience in industrial biology to serve medicine and public health services across the globe.

As a subsidiary of this historic

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institution, Mérieux NutriSciences recognizes that it owes its advancement to the expertise and talent of its staff. But with over 100 laboratories spanning 22 countries, how does the company ensure streamlined management and work culture?

“We try to have a federated approach, where there is one IT culture and one set of values that we try to live and act by as a team,” explains Rybicki. “However, we recognize the differences in the markets and work cultures because attracting and retaining a person in India is a lot different than in the US, for example. This approach makes sure that we’re attracting and keeping the right people.”

Close industry ties What’s more, the company also promotes strong cooperation within the industry by working with external partners which have the skills and competencies needed to work on new solutions.

“We have worked closely with Mirketa to help us develop our

customer portal and Centric is also helping us build our QualMap platform,” notes Houpiart-Dupré.

“We are also developing great partnerships with Amazon, Google and Salesforce as well,” adds Rybicki. “I think more of our services will migrate to these platforms.

We have good partnerships with some consulting firms, such as West Monroe Partners.”

A market leader By tapping into the latest industry know-how, revamping its digital infrastructure and realizing the potential of new technologies, Mérieux NutriSciences has firmly cemented itself as a leader in the food safety and quality landscape. Thanks to its strong bimodal IT strategy, the company has truly revolutionized how it interacts with employees and customers, and so both Rybicki and Houpiart-Dupré remain optimistic about the company’s future legacy.

“While we are already a leader in our industry, in a few years’ time, I see us as a strengthening our position in consumer product testing, with food

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Merieux 50th Anniversary

being at the forefront,” reflects Rybicki.

“I see us being a truly digital company leading the way in using data to offer better analysis and products. I see us helping global food and product companies make sure that what they are providing their consumers is going to be, not only sustainable and profitable but, of course, safe.”

“When our customers within the food industry ask themselves what partner they want to work with to protect consumer health, I want them to think of us,” Houpiart-Dupré concludes.

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The source of value

Procurement executives across the globe continue to see the potential they can unlock throughout the supply chain. They understand that business today is about engaging, collaborating, adapting instantly to evolving needs, and finding new sources of value. Getting that value, however, can prove a challenge.