Recently the Head of Corporate Development of a leading glass solution provider, within the construction industry in Europe, wanted to talk to me about omnichannel: a typical project-driven business, where no solution is like the other. I was somewhat confused, since omnichannel, for me, is a typical “retail topic”, mainly related to the B2C customer…
Productivity in the UK has slowed and the future is uncertain for many businesses in the manufacturing sector. From attracting and retaining talent to managing processes, suppliers, and logistics: the uncertainty caused by Brexit has left a lot of questions but a scarcity of answers. But the UK doesn’t have to lag behind Europe in…
One of the hottest topics today is the skills gap, executives are worried about being able to acquire the right skills for their business, but should they be worried? Skills shortages in manufacturing are not new. Why were skills shortages in the past, less of a problem than they are today? Primarily it is because…
One day AI systems will predict what is currently impossible, to allow us to overcome the inefficiencies in our lives and in our factories. In a previous blog, I discussed the reasons why we humans do not trust artificial intelligence. In this blog, I would like to look at the potential of AI and what,…
The old-fashioned chore of clocking in and out is the last thing you think about in a modern digitized business environment. Yet the recent ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ), enforcing the recording of hours worked and breaks taken by each employee each day has reawakened such thoughts. Federacion de Servicios de Comisiones…
Over the past few years, the highly unstable prices on raw material and the increased lead time from suppliers on components have put financial pressure on many manufacturers as they experience challenges to quickly respond to the market volatility. Of course, the overall planning of optimized inventory levels relies on accurate demand planning and forecasting,…
In my last blog i talked about the use of artificial intelligence to help process manufacturers uncover the holy grail – accurate forecasting. In this blog i will explain why we might be the barrier to that happening. In my last blog I talked about how artificial intelligence might help manufacturers discover the holy grail…
Amazon recently announced record profits of $3.03bn, breaking its own record for the third consecutive time. However, Amazon appears to be at a crossroads as to where it heads next. Beyond pouring additional energy into Amazon Prime, many have wondered whether the company may decide to enter an entirely new sector such as manufacturing to drive future…
A new generation of point AI solutions will prove themselves in 2019. They’ll build new trust, urgency and understanding of what ‘AI’ actually is, and just how much it can deliver. Voice-driven solutions will lead the charge. And we’ll see pick-and-place robots in smart warehouses delivering a major competitive edge, as companies advance their use…
I can’t help but feel inspired after a day of inspirational presentations and conversations with manufacturing companies, including ABB, Atlas Copco, and BillerudKorsnäs who were all amongst the speakers at the Industri 4.0 event, covering digitalization, AI and IoT. I want to share with you my key take-aways from the event. As Björn Jonsson from…
