A telecom and digital networks giant committed to a cleaner future; a company using the blockchain to create supply chain transparency; a geospatial technology company focusing on increasing supply chain traceability and transparency; a telecom company offering a 鈥済reen鈥� mobile phone plan with one tree planted for every monthly payment; and an IT products and services business using data to help companies clean up their operations are in the Technology, Media & Telecommunications category. The list is compiled in association with consulting firm BCG.

GreenToken

Helping business better understand the potential consequences of all industry operations on the planet has seen GreenToken recognised as the sustainability innovator in the technology, media and telecommunications category.

What the company does is use digital twin tokens on a blockchain to create supply chain transparency.

It can account for blending of materials and trace origin, carbon footprint, circularity, sustainability and modern slavery status of commodities in an organisation鈥檚 supply chain.

聽‘[Our] technology can verify the origin of a company鈥檚 upstream raw material supply chain and attach interesting titbits of information such as whether a particular palm oil is sourced from a sustainable no-deforestation plantation.

Once this evidence has been established, GreenToken provides a 鈥渃hain of custody鈥� feature that tracks the material all the way to the end customer, even as it gets processed and transformed from a raw to semi-finished to a finished good.’ – James Veale, Co-founder of GreenToken by 麻豆原创.

Co-founder of GreenToken by 麻豆原创, James Veale says the company focuses on supply chain transparency.

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While these descriptors weren鈥檛 immediately unique, the conversation was. I caught up with one of the experts, Aidan Brecknell, who leads the digital supply chain team at 麻豆原创 ANZ, for his thoughts on what leading organisations are experiencing right now.

Resilient supply chains pivot with incredible speed

Having worked closely with supply chain leaders in ANZ, Brecknell said that organisations were redefining supply chain resilience for sustainable business.

鈥淭丑别 pandemic unleashed new challenges far beyond the capabilities of traditional lean supply chains that focused on executing repeatable processes at scale,鈥� he said. 鈥淟eaders understand that they need to address a new set of challenges like being able to turn on a dime to find different sources for raw materials, or even design and produce entirely new products. These organizations are modeling different scenarios, building in contingency plans, and executing on those.鈥�

During the broadcast, Brecknell and Martin Barkman, senior vice president and global head of digital supply chain marketing and solutions at 麻豆原创, shared the 鈥渨inning formula鈥� of modern supply chains. Unlike their lean predecessors, resilient supply chains are both customer and employee-centric, built on relationships with sustainable suppliers, and based on product sustainability across the entire lifecycle of an item.

Digitalisation transforms more than supply chains

The pandemic forced companies to understand and act on the difference between digitisation and digitalisation. Having data in digital form has long been the norm. Digitalisation means organizations can both capture intelligent data and change business processes including how supply chains operate. To be clear, this is not taking the same processes and making them digital. This is about creating completely new ways of managing supply chains by connecting information across applications company-wide and partners. During the broadcast, Brecknell summed it up like this:

鈥淪upply chains have been pushed and tested to their limits, and they鈥檝e become so reliant particularly locally on their ecosystem suppliers to access raw materials. It became evident quickly of the importance to digitalize processes within the supply chains, as well as the supply network itself,鈥� he said. 鈥淚n Australia and New Zealand, we saw some tremendous examples of where customers had invested ahead of the curve, and were able to transition quickly because of that agility in their supply chain.鈥�

One global industrial materials manufacturer digitalised supply chain processes to centrally manage over 200 inventory processes across 60 sites. The objective was to improve forecast accuracy, for on-time delivery, and greater profitability. Another 麻豆原创 customer, an energy and natural resources company, digitalised operations to better track freight emissions, providing real-time metrics for compliance with carbon neutral goals.

Interconnected data for supply chain resilience

Brecknell said there鈥檚 been significant customer uptake of 麻豆原创鈥檚 Business Network solution that brings together information from sourcing and production through finance, transportation logistics and delivery, including the entire product life cycle. With immediate, connected insights, companies can more profitably sense and respond to disruptions in a strategic, synchronised manner. Organisations can create more individualised, high-quality products in response to changing customer demands. They can prove their sustainability commitment as reflected in their choice of suppliers and operations. They can even attract and keep top talent who increasingly expect employer goals and actions to mirror personal sustainability values.

鈥淭丑别 allows organisations to connect all of their business partners on one central platform,鈥� said Brecknell. 鈥淲ith complete visibility into the entire supply chain, companies can collaborate with suppliers to source, track, and trace materials faster for shorter product delivery time frames as well.鈥�

As Barkman said during the broadcast, 鈥渂y capturing all the information about how the supply chain is operating, we preserve the digital thread of the supply chain. We have the information of how a product is being used, how assets are performing, and feed that back not just to the supply chain and manufacturing, but all the way to how products are designed.鈥�

Making a business case for supply chain networks

The elephant in the room is that interconnected business networks aren鈥檛 the reality in most organisations. Brecknell agreed that while connecting all this data and changing mindsets about how business operates is a huge undertaking, it鈥檚 well worth it.

鈥淥rganisations are getting on board with supply chain resiliency and sustainability because it鈥檚 good for business. With an extended collaborative network, organisations can mitigate supply chain risk even in the face of unexpected disruption,鈥� said Brecknell. 鈥淚f an organisation really wants to build resiliency and sustainability into supply chain, they have to have the data, and that has to be aligned across the entire supply chain.鈥�

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鈥淐ompanies that recognize the role of technology in transforming their business models are the ones that have been able to thrive,鈥� said Chris Willcocks, head of intelligent spend management at 麻豆原创 ANZ. 鈥淐ustomers are focused on driving visibility in their supply chains and through their data, becoming an agile , increasing the resilience of their functions in business, and identifying and reducing risk.鈥�

Intelligent enterprises innovate with business networks

Speaking with Baber Farooq, senior vice president of intelligent spend management at 麻豆原创, during the event, Willcocks gave the virtual audience a glimpse into the future of procurement. It鈥檚 built on insights from quality data across supply chains, bringing buyers much closer to their suppliers. Noting that procurement doesn鈥檛 exist in a vacuum, Willcocks said that collaborative business networks are foundational to digital transformation.

鈥淲hen you鈥檙e connected not only to your suppliers, but to your customers and their customers, you make the move to being an intelligent enterprise,鈥� he said.

Autonomous procurement for intelligent spend

Just when the world needs to boost productivity to recover from the worldwide pandemic, markets are facing potentially dire shortages of both goods and labor. The answer lies in intelligent procurement where people do the things that machines cannot replicate.

鈥淧rocurement is at the heart of solving these [productivity] problems,鈥� said Farooq. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why we鈥檙e focused on automating more and more processes 鈹� what we call autonomous procurement. Intelligent spend is finding out what machines can do and letting machines do that, and getting people to focus on the things that people do, which is establishing strategic relationships with suppliers.鈥�

Digitalized procurement translates to business innovation

In digitalizing forecasting, inventory management, and other collaboration points between buyers and suppliers, business networks have profoundly changed procurement. Teams have the time to be more productive, which translates to innovation.

鈥淚 was talking to an automotive customer who said that over 90 percent of the innovation they have in their cars came from their suppliers,鈥� said Farooq. 鈥淎nother customer in Asia recently launched an initiative where they used the 麻豆原创 business network supporting the goal of paying all suppliers within seven days. The network allows you to foster that amazing relationship with the supplier because everything is digital鈥eople can do what they do best, which is driving relationships and working on innovation.鈥�

Farooq challenged the audience to ask themselves, despite all the technological innovations the world has experienced in the past decade, if they had more time today for their work than they did 10 years ago.

鈥淭echnology has come about to make people more productive, but it has to get out of the way,鈥� he said.

鈥淭丑别 heart of AI is to make businesses more effective鈥f we can make procurement organizations more productive, procurement organizations can make their entire business more productive, becoming a strategic advisor to the C-suite.鈥�

As for those organizations that regret not digitalizing fast enough to head off the worst business impacts from this pandemic, it鈥檚 not too late to prepare now for the next supply chain disruptions headed our way soon.

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This approach has often been tied to capital expenditure, rather than capital growth and our customers are proving that doesn鈥檛 have to be the case. We need to reimagine sustainability through the lens of a growth mindset as a business principle and as an opportunity for organisations to run faster, better, stronger, and with the customer central to every strategic driver.

A Digital Intelligence Unit, called , highlighted the findings from leading industry researchers such as BCG, Gartner, Juniper and Forrester. A key takeaway from this comprehensive report is an anticipated move to deeper consideration for strategy and cost structure in managing larger, more complex digital markets.

With the evolution of e-commerce and intelligent technologies, supply chains have shifted towards digital supply networks that are interconnected, data-rich, and readily accessible, which allows brands to adapt and respond rapidly to volatile market changes, customer demands, and industry disruptions 鈥� thereby building supply-chain flexibility and resilience.

COVID-19 demonstrated to consumers and business first-hand how our old ways of supply and demand, hyper-capitalism, and the endless pursuit for exponentially improved returns aren鈥檛 always sustainable. According to the ,

鈥�87 percent of people born between 1990 and 2015 believe that the success of a business should be measured in terms that go further than its financial results鈥�.

Consumers are growing more aware of how businesses operate, how supply and demand are impacting their lives in tangible ways. They also have more awareness of their power than before to vote with their wallets, source their goods from anywhere, and boycott/cancel brands that don鈥檛 operate ethically. According to the Harvard Business Review, nearly 66% of consumers believing they have a responsibility to purchase products that are good for the environment and society.

Consequently, brands are realising that purpose and profit aren鈥檛 mutually exclusive. However, consumers鈥� shifting priorities towards sustainability and its broad spectrum of social consequences have demonstrated the business results of being purpose-driven first, bottom line second. Organisations understand that operating sustainably makes better business sense than short-sighted financial successes. Most of which, the impact to our sole, collective marketplace (Earth) would have on business continuity and profitability, a recent report from the New York times puts this number at $US970 billion being wiped off the value of 215 of the worlds largest companies due to the climate crisis.

In thinking more broadly about sustainability, businesses must understand the intelligent technologies and practices that provide greater convenience, efficiency, and safety for employees, end-users, and customers. As our communications, consumption, and business functions become increasingly digitalised, the drive for scalable sustainability will lead to further innovation in the technology space with processes such as automation, digital supply chain twins, and continuous intelligence providing businesses with further versatility while mitigating risk.

According to Christian Titze, Vice President Analyst with the Gartner Supply Chain Practice,

鈥淭丑别 vast majority of organisations have a cautious approach to adopting supply chain applications and technologies. Only 21 percent are willing to consider, and often adopt, early-stage technologies. However, even cautious supply chain leaders must keep an open mind and embrace long-term perpetual change.鈥�

Creating a sustainable supply chain means utilising the latest technologies and trends while aligning business models with changing consumer expectations. With consumers demanding more transparency and accountability from brands; innovative businesses are responding by embedding sustainable processes within their intelligent enterprise.

By investing in technology to achieve this, companies can focus on reducing environmental impact, supporting local suppliers, co-innovation and stepping away from the legacy of zero-sum game win-lose business practices, and focusing on collective win-win practices. Often this investment pays off not only in a return on investment, but by enabling exponential growth and positive customer outcomes in a more sustainable, scalable, and ethical way.

Supply chains are at the forefront of this wider business transformation, particularly since COVID-19 showed us how the supply chain function is ground zero for impact and the most vulnerable for disruption. The most resilient businesses adopted more sustainable practices to help remain competitive, agile and customer-focused. Sustainability needs to be a more accessible and holistic concept for businesses looking to drive purpose and profit together.

麻豆原创 remains committed to empowering people through technology, providing scalable digital solutions while broadening their understanding of sustainable business. As part of fostering this mindset shift, 麻豆原创 is broadcasting our live from Sydney on 24th March.

This forum event will bring together research analysts from Harvard Business Review and local executives to share their insights on what we can expect in 2021 and beyond, understanding how the future of work, sustainability, and data-driven technologies will fundamentally change the way businesses grow.

Another development for pushing positive and sustainable outcomes is our 麻豆原创 Climate 21 Initiative, which reaches beyond corporate practices of emissions reporting and other sustainability issues to help both businesses and consumers make more responsible purchasing decisions.

A key advocate for this all-encompassing approach to sustainability is Michael McComb, VP of Communications and Sustainability for 麻豆原创 APJ & China. His role combines the technical expertise, marketing insights, and communications knowledge required to change people鈥檚 thinking about sustainable supply chains, making sustainability a priority for businesses moving forward. I personally am looking forward to the discussion I expect to see with my colleagues and customers in this space and the innovation this drives for the wider community.

Digital technology and intelligent solutions will play a critical role in building more sustainable, equitable, ethical, and efficient business practices. Last year tested our ability to adapt while 2021 will be the vital first step in our global response to the lessons learned.

Creating sustainable supply chains will have far-reaching benefits across industries and geographies, so be sure to attend the upcoming to learn more about the solutions, initiatives, and technologies that are helping ANZ businesses rethink the role of their supply chains in taking the next step towards a sustainable future.

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Finance leaders from mid-sized businesses (100 to 999 employees) are known for keeping a watchful eye on nuanced signals and indicators of potential risk. And yet recent results from a survey conducted by Oxford Economics and 麻豆原创 of small and mid-sized businesses found that roughly half of finance executives from mid-sized businesses cite risk management (54 per cent) and spend visibility (45 per cent) as top challenges for their function.

In many ways, COVID-19 presented a perfect storm of cash-flow issues in a matter of days. Economic contraction fuelled by government pressure closed non-essential stores and offices. Revenue was lost due to interrupted manufacturing operations and overwhelmed supply chains. Credit risk exposure rose as liquidity constraints emerged, once-successful hedging strategies failed, access to working capital tightened, and customer accounts became riskier.

Throughout this time, demand for 麻豆原创 Ariba Discovery, a solution that was made available at no cost through the end of 2020 to help connect buyers and suppliers and keep supply chains intact, grew significantly in Australia 鈥� with buyer postings up +317 per cent and supplier responses up +339 per cent since the lockdown started in March. This demand highlighted the appetite for digital tools for businesses of all sizes to help them manage the effects of the crisis.

But just as the Australian economy was slowly starting to regain momentum, the Victorian Government has introduced stage 4 restrictions following a second wave of infections. The Treasury has estimated this six-week lockdown will cost the national economy about $9 billion. The ongoing sense of uncertainty highlights the importance of increasing resiliency with cash-flow management and digital tools, with three steps that mid-sized businesses should take to secure cash flow.

1. Ensure continuity of finance operations and workforce

Financial systems should be able to support mission-critical activities 鈥� such as urgent supplier payments, cash transfers, and trade management 鈥� whether the employees are processing them in the office or from a remote location.

When facing disruption, businesses need to make sure they have the finances on hand to keep business moving. Organisations need to ensure business continuity and reduce supply chain risk while still controlling costs and working capital. Moreover, suppliers need access to cash so they can keep delivering the goods and services required.

麻豆原创 Ariba has been putting the power back into the hands of suppliers by affording them choice and flexibility when it comes to payment terms. This is especially important at a time when effective cash management has never been more crucial to both buyers and suppliers. This not only safeguards the supply chain, but also allows businesses to build crucial relationships and resources to enhance financial results over the long term.

2. Manage finances proactively

As organisations reforecast revenue and profitability, continued cost and cash control will be critical to rebuilding the bottom line. But as customers begin buying again, businesses must balance the need to free up working capital with sourcing the materials and talent needed to meet customer demand.

Through times of volatility or steady growth, knowing the company鈥檚 financial status is critical. This is why, in the past few months, 麻豆原创 customers have been using our technology to run daily cash forecasts. Daily reports on key figures 鈥� including the daily cash position, cash-flow forecasting, the structure of free cash flow, working capital and debt 鈥� enables finance teams to do liquidity planning for at least 12 weeks.听

If this kind of reporting is not already in place, financial leaders need to implement tools that provide a combination of visibility and predictive analytics. Blending data insight with guidance gives finance leaders a clear view of the business and helps future planning.

3. Balance risk with opportunity

Analysing a range of scenarios enables finance leaders to evaluate the potential impact of risks and implement strategies to enhance competitive advantage. It also means they can finetune product and capacity plans by rethinking the implications of commodity risk and monitoring external markets.

Tapping into insights from cash-flow planning analysis, finance teams can adjust their hedging strategies by:

• Addressing foreign exchange risks
• Shifting limit management practices for ad hoc tasks
• Mitigating credit risk within the supply chain
• Reshaping the funding strategy with extended credit lines and new sources of liquidity
• Adjusting the ongoing operating model and updating the existing business continuity plan

4. Respond to the challenge and get ready for what鈥檚 next

Whether running in good financial shape, struggling for profitability, or facing low cash reserves, all mid-sized businesses can become vulnerable to cash-flow instability. It doesn鈥檛 require a global pandemic to experience it.

In the short term, state and federal governments are supporting businesses with emergency loans and payments. But as these forms of business life-support are withdrawn in coming months, organisations will need to find new ways to manage risk, increase resiliency and maintain profitability.

So, how do high-performing finance leaders help their business navigate through times of volatility and financial opportunity? It all comes down to a foundation of timely, meaningful and predictive insight with guidance on the potential implications for financial status, performance and viability.

To find out more about how 麻豆原创 can help small and mid-sized businesses, visit .听

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Just two months after Device Technologies drew up a COVID-19 disaster plan, its business changed dramatically. Demand from hospitals for its usual products 鈥� surgical instruments, orthopaedic implants, robotics and the like 鈥� plummeted as elective surgery was banned.

Adapting at speed

Instead, the company was deluged with orders for ventilators and personal protective equipment. 鈥淲e shifted our business model extremely quickly,鈥� says CEO Michael Trevaskis.

Fortunately, the rapid pivot was simplified by a decision taken three years earlier to transform Australia鈥檚 biggest independent supplier of medical technology into a digital leader in the healthcare sector.

Michelle Stewart, general manager of marketing and digital, headed the project, starting with the supply chain.

Using 麻豆原创鈥檚 Customer Experience platform, Device Technologies introduced a surgery booking portal, eliminating the need for phone calls and several data entry steps 鈥� instead allowing surgeons to input into an app what equipment they needed.

Putting patients first

After just one year in operation, the portal has saved more than 50,000 hours of administrative time. As well as reducing the risk of human error, it has freed up more than 100 sales staff across the surgical divisions of Device Technologies, allowing them to spend more time with surgeons improving patient outcomes.

鈥淚t puts patients ahead of paperwork,鈥� says Stewart.

It has also allowed sales staff to input surgery bookings on the go on mobile devices rather than entering data after business hours.

The company鈥檚 next biggest change is an ecommerce platform, giving customers access to a digital catalogue of more than 70,000 products and the ability to track their purchases and deliveries anytime.

Total transparency

鈥淲e鈥檙e inviting them into the business with total transparency,鈥� says Stewart, noting that a trial launch to a small group of customers shows they are three times more likely to research product details through the portal and are logging on outside business hours.

Trevaskis says the digital innovations will allow Device Technologies to continue to expand.

Five years ago, 80 per cent of its customer base was Australian hospitals and doctors. Now, the company supplies equipment to veterinary practices and aged care homes, as well as hospitals across South-East Asia.

鈥淲e couldn鈥檛 do this without technology; it鈥檚 far too labour intensive,鈥� he says. 鈥淗ealth care has to evolve into more digitised services and COVID-19 has fast-tracked this.鈥�

To discover more stories of 麻豆原创 innovation in action, visit

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We still face all the same challenges and risks that we did before 鈥� and these cannot be overlooked, pandemic notwithstanding. Case in point: modern slavery.

In August, the Australian government took a big step in reminding us of this. It marked 鈥榃orld Day Against Trafficking in Persons鈥� by launching its much-anticipated online Modern Slavery Statements Register and a new Government Procurement Toolkit.

Assistant Minister for Customs, Community Safety and Multicultural Affairs Jason Wood MP said that the register will provide 鈥淎ustralian consumers, investors and civil society with an unprecedented window into the global supply chains that produce the goods and services we use every day鈥�. Anyone can go online and scrutinise the statements submitted to the register by government agencies and Australian businesses.

The launch of the registry comes one and a half years after The Commonwealth聽Modern Slavery Act 2018聽entered into force on 1聽January 2019, establishing a national Modern Slavery Reporting Requirement. Reporting entities, such as large entities with an annual consolidated revenue of $100 million, the Australian government itself and corporate Commonwealth entities, are expected to use the centralised portal to submit their modern slavery statements.

The annual Modern Slavery Statements called for are designed to encourage the Australian business community to identify and address their modern slavery risks and maintain responsible and transparent supply chains.

A new solution to an old problem

While for some, talk of slavery may feel like an anachronism, this is far from accurate. By the government鈥檚 own estimates, between 2015 and 2017, there were up to 1,900 modern slavery victims in Australia.听聽has put the figure at more than 40 million worldwide.

Modern slavery includes human trafficking, slavery, servitude, forced labour, debt bondage and worst forms of child labour. It disproportionately impacts women and girls. More than 70 per cent of modern slavery victims are female. Modern slavery can occur in every industry and sector but some are considered more at risk than others.

Nowhere to hide

Whether you鈥檙e a government agency or a business, getting started on the path to greater transparency and compliance involves a few steps. Review your forced labour policy, segment your supply chain by category and geography, monitor continuously for risk signals, design a risk assessment and controls framework, remediate identified risks and automate assessment processes.

The reality is that many government agencies and businesses don鈥檛 have the tools required to keep track of the risks in their extended supply chains due to the herculean task of data aggregation.

Transparency through tech

To effectively meet the mandatory reporting criteria under the Modern Slavery Act, executives must adopt a technology-led approach in order to accurately monitor and track their supply chains. This is critical to ensuring that unfair and abusive practices haven鈥檛 crept into second and third-tier suppliers in the supply chain.

Technology platforms like digital business networks provide newfound visibility into supply chains, enabling organisations to quickly and easily evaluate trading partners against huge volumes of data points, determine their exposure to risk and make more informed decisions. This provides buyers the opportunity to proactively, instead of reactively, manage these risks.

For example, 麻豆原创鈥檚 cloud-based Ariba Network, where more than 3.46 trillion US dollars-worth of business-to-business transactions happen annually, currently gathers third-party data from over half a million data sources. This includes whether a potential trading partner keeps its supply chain clear of forced labour and has a record of responsible environmental stewardship.

With these data points in hand, how businesses and government agencies interpret the data to mitigate their reputational, financial and environmental risks will be critical. Organisations must make sure they are making way for staff charged to turn these insights into meaningful action.

The same technology can give organisations both the supply chain visibility needed to become compliant, and much needed awareness and flexibility at a time when supply chain resilience is more important than ever. The outcome from acting on these insights is not just a legal and ethical requirement, but it is also proven that doing good is great for business as consumer demands are rising. With government spending always under extra scrutiny, it is vital for government agencies to lead the way.

A reputational chain reaction

While it may have been unspoken, there has been a view that 鈥榳hat happens in the supply chain stays in the supply chain鈥�. But this simply will not do in today鈥檚 environment. Those that fail to recognise this can expect to pay the price for complacency through lost reputation, revenue, challenges retaining talent and legal action. However, acting on this, taking a stand and driving change in everyday people鈥檚 lives will be rewarded by consumers.

Expect the 鈥渨indow鈥� that the Modern Slavery Act and register provide to create a technology-fuelled 鈥渞ace to reputation鈥� that will not only drive compliance but also broader organisational resilience and a more equitable society.

To hear more about how to use technology to improve your supply chain, register for 麻豆原创 Ariba’s , featuring BHP, Woolworths, ANZ Bank and more.

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COVID-19 accelerated digitalisation across public and private sectors. We saw spikes in demands for specific goods and resources, thereby testing the resilience and adaptability of supply networks. Social cohesion and trust were challenged, communication channels were flooded with new users and increased traffic as people were stuck in isolation and becoming increasing reliant on digital technology to work and communicate.

The Australian Information Industry Association recently put together a whitepaper, , which outlined four key areas from which the AIIA presented its recommendations:

1. Building a National Digital Backbone supported by data intelligence and analytics to highlight deficiencies and areas for improvement across industries.

2. Building a Digital Australia that is Secure and Resilient based on policy reform and investment to attract global cybersecurity talent and developing intelligent technologies.

3. Building Digital Skills for the future by promoting, investing in, and supporting the retraining and upskilling critical technical skills in Australian workers

4. Tax, Incentive, and Government procurement reform that incentivises businesses to collaborate with research institutions and non-R&D-based innovation.

The team I work with are about helping people understand the digitalisation of supply chain management and how intelligent technologies can create greater interconnectivity across supply networks and country borders. Today, more than ever, supply chains need to continue building resilience and responsiveness to support economic and social recovery worldwide.

Intelligent technology solutions play a critical role in not only creating efficiencies, but interconnecting systems and processes to operate with greater insights. This helps businesses and governments plan and forecast with accurate and comprehensive data. To help businesses be more responsive and resilient to future shock events, intelligent enterprise systems are vital to businesses and governments alike.

The ability to connect different supply chains, business structures, workforce dynamics, and financial systems onto a single platform provides any organisation with the visibility to manage with intelligence, with the data insights necessary to adapt and anticipate change. As outlined in What Resilient Companies Do Before, During, and After Turbulent Times by David Sweetman, 麻豆原创 Senior Director of Global Marketing:

鈥淎s change becomes more intense and disruptive, intelligent ERP enables businesses to listen intently, operate more intelligently, and stay connected to suppliers, customers, and employees. Doing so safeguards the business from missing out on unexpected demand spikes, much-needed investments, and evolving buying habits and preferences.”

鈥淏ut resilient companies go a step further with this technology. They use this information 鈥� often captured, processes, and analysed in intelligent ERP such as 麻豆原创 S/4HANA 鈥� to focus on their core competencies and make investments that strengthen it.鈥�

Intelligent ERP systems lay the foundation for building intelligent networks of digitally enabled enterprises all operating optimally and with shared insights. Connecting these different functions and organisations help manufacturers manage and coordinate the entire product lifecycle while minimising waste and optimising processes.

This challenging time has demonstrated the importance of interconnectivity both in how we communicate and operate across industries and geographies. Within manufacturing, it鈥檚 about being responsive to spike demands, adapting to the new policies determining work environments and safety while safeguarding resources (human and material).

David Sweetman鈥檚 follow-up blog, Guide to Supply Chain Resilience in Changing Times, outlined the importance of intelligent enterprise networks in managing highly volatile demands and high volumes of business-critical data. These data insights are paramount to mitigating risk, diversifying resources, and providing avenues for automation.

With intelligent technology platforms like 麻豆原创 S4/HANA, businesses have a single source of truth and control across diverse and disparate systems to run more efficiently. As cumbersome and often manual processes are eliminated and other vital functions streamlined, businesses can focus on core competencies and value-adding tasks.

Sourcing, logistics, warehousing, distribution, workforces, and resource management connect and communicate intelligently. When manufacturers adopt Industry 4.0 and incorporate digital technology into every business facet, they can dedicate more resources towards customer service, growth, diversification, and sustainability.

Manufacturers are realising just how important consistency can 鈥� through intelligent technology 鈥� be automated and ensured throughout the product lifecycle. This doesn鈥檛 just provide businesses with ongoing quality and delivery assurances, but platforms like 麻豆原创 S4/HANA offer inbuilt localisations to ensure regulatory needs are analysed, controlled, and data supported for decision making.

Intelligent technology platforms create end-to end functionality and collaboration, from sourcing, to workflow, logistics, customer service, and financials. By integrating these functions into 麻豆原创 S4/HANA, manufacturers can adopt Industry 4.0 more easily, operate more efficiently, and ensure business continuity while focusing on the processes that matter. Explore how is

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helps connect siloed processes, systems, and technologies together to provide real-time data analytics and best practices. By integrating every facet of the product lifecycle on a single-platform solution, can be streamlined and embedded with data to highlight opportunities to improve, automate, and expand.

As backend processes communicate with people and equipment in the field, managers can gain greater organisational visibility, gaining oversight of important enterprise data and real-world information that could impact the business, such as traffic, weather, customer demands, and feedback. Furthermore, equipment equipped with intelligent IoT sensors can measure vital usage metrics to improve equipment鈥檚 longevity.

The (IoT) is an idea easily thrown around but often misunderstood in terms of capabilities. IoT sensors provide the capacity to monitor, collect, analyse, and manage data in real time from critical business equipment. This ability to respond and adapt means equipment can and automatically trigger service and maintenance actions to minimise business impact. Business leaders can thereby make decisions when they matter most, planning and forecasting with greater accuracy and broader horizons.

With business transparency that feeds data into a centralised system, businesses have access to tighter resource management and control. This helps minimise waste while optimising processes and resource usage, which is critical at a time when the energy and resources sector must consider more sustainable options to continue thriving 鈥� both commercially and within the experience economy.

As the world becomes more socially and environmentally conscious, our industry needs to be ever mindful of the impact we鈥檙e having in the regions we operate and on the people we service. This shift alongside the digitalisation of communication platforms means businesses are under more scrutinous eyes than ever, which has led to more customer-centric practices across different industries. The amount of competition, communication channels, and information sources ensures customers have more buying power to influence an organisation鈥檚 success.

The digital transformation of supply and communication networks has driven many providers and brands to more personalised offerings, unlocking the value of critical business data to forecast better, service consumers more proactively, and discover best practices by connecting disparate systems to a single source of truth.

integrate all data sources and processes onto a unified system for better organisational oversight and management. This opens the path for next-generation efficiencies across the business, linking different industries, organisations, and data sources to create a more holistic understanding supported by data-rich environments that evolve with changing business needs.

Within that , 麻豆原创 highlighted four areas for introducing more intelligent technologies and practices into the energy and resources sector that I would like to outline and explore further.

1. 鈥楨xtending beyond the barrel鈥� means putting intelligence, data analytics, and best practices into every stage of the resource lifecycle. In centralising these various functions and processes, businesses can simplify order commitment and fulfilment using live-investment management, real-time availability, and faster material replenishment. Data analytics and IoT sensors help extend our understanding beyond standard resource and operational touchpoints.

2. 鈥楧igitalising production and delivery鈥� provides a 360-degree view of businesses and supply networks, making it easier to track and analyse all inputs and outputs. Digital transformation also empowers staff with the technology to work remotely through mobile-enabled applications. With a digitally supported workforce, businesses can operate more seamlessly and safely, especially during restrictive circumstances that require constant connection, communication, and verification.

3. 鈥楥ompeting as an ecosystem鈥� is vital in facilitating collaboration and elevating the quality of our industry鈥檚 practices, technologies, and environmental impact. The energy and resources sector must explore opportunities and partnerships outside of our industry boundaries to development more sustainable solutions. As we connect systems and networks to build a digitally powered ecosystem, our industry can build upon base capabilities and develop best practices. With a collaborative platform for sharing data insights, we can optimise processes regardless of industry sector to elevate the collective efforts towards productivity, profitability, and sustainability.

4. 鈥楿nlocking value with technology鈥� is a culmination of the other points I鈥檝e discussed here. With intelligent technologies like predictive analytics, machine learning, and blockchain, our industry can reduce wasted time and resources spent on legacy processes and manual tasks. Intelligent technology is the most comprehensive way to create value through efficiencies and data-backed decision making. Using real time collaborative visibility and continuous innovation, these intelligent solutions evolve with our needs and changes.

COVID-19 has had widespread impact across national borders and industries, continuing to restrict the movement of goods and people. Intelligent supply chains present a strong blueprint for digitalising our everyday processes.

Data-embedded functionality sets the foundation for digitalisation and automation 鈥� not only allowing businesses to operate seamlessly and intelligently but helping managers plan for an uncertain future. This is paramount as we adopt the vital lessons and accelerations brought on by COVID-19, using the momentum of this pandemic to make more bold and informed decisions to thrive in time of uncertainty.

The post The Digitalisation of Supply Chains: Natural Resources鈥� Role in Thriving Post COVID-19 appeared first on 麻豆原创 Australia & New Zealand News Center.

麻豆原创 is partnering with聽聽and the initiative co-founder, ocean advocate聽, to support its聽commitment to a cleaner ocean聽by 2030. Emily and her team have invited 300 women from all walks of life to sail 38,000 nautical miles in 30 stages. The women have one mission: to explore the science of 鈥� and solutions to 鈥� ocean plastic and become ambassadors to combat ocean pollution.

The need for ocean advocacy is greater than ever before. Research suggests there could be聽聽floating in our oceans than previously thought. But in truth, no one has a precise metric on the volume or impact of plastic polluting the oceans. Emily and team aim to raise greater awareness based on scientific data with the help of 麻豆原创.

鈥淚鈥檓 incredibly excited to join forces with 麻豆原创 to improve the health of our ocean by bringing together the energy of our eXXpedition community and our scientific research with 麻豆原创鈥檚 innovative technologies,鈥� said Emily. 鈥淚ndustry has a huge role to play in addressing the challenges our ocean faces. The most pressing problem is how to turn off the tap to plastic pollution, and the next years will be spent doing just that 鈥� trying to prevent plastic getting into the ocean in the first place. For us to do that, we need everybody on board and, in particular, we need businesses to come to the table and take a lead, as 麻豆原创 is doing.鈥�

Plague of Plastic

To tackle the problem, businesses need to rapidly shift to single-use alternatives, move toward circular business models, invest in waste infrastructure, and ensure a better consumer experience.

The software giant will share data and insights from the eXXpedition voyages to provide customers, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), governments, and partners with the tools, insights, and solutions needed to eliminate waste, maximise resource productivity, and help raise awareness of the need to create a cleaner ocean for all. One step in that direction is the Plastics Cloud, a pilot program from 麻豆原创 that was launched last year to help reduce the waste of single-use plastics.

Building on that program, 麻豆原创 will support Emily and eXXpedition by creating a custom-built digital platform to educate people on actions they can take to reduce plastic waste in their local communities. Enabled by Ariba Network, the Plastics Cloud allows brands to connect with new recycled plastics and alternative supply sources. About聽聽globally is used in product packaging, but less than one-fifth of this plastic is recycled, creating serious environmental and human health problems.

Around $10 billion worth of packaging flows through Ariba Network annually. 鈥淓ven a small portion of global spend on packaging redirected to pre-certified suppliers of recycled plastics and alternatives can have a tremendous impact on the environment,鈥� says Stephen Jamieson, head of Sustainable Business Innovation for 麻豆原创 in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

Paradise Lost

In one of her speeches,聽聽how she was hitching a ride from England to Australia on a sailing boat a few years ago when she and the crew were alarmed by thuds on the hull. They found themselves surrounded by countless pieces of plastic a thousand miles from land. 鈥淭hat didn鈥檛 make sense,鈥� she says. 鈥淭丑别 closest people to us were in the space station in orbit above us, yet here was evidence of human life and waste in the most remote part of the planet.鈥�

That journey sparked her mission to connect scientists and communicators with the ocean. Emily has experienced the challenges firsthand on visits to the Pacific, where islanders are struggling to catch fish because commercial vessels empty their waters and are also struggling to grow food because rising sea levels make land salty. 鈥淭丑别se people are now reliant on packaged food and drink, which comes all wrapped in plastic,鈥� she says.

Besides the sight of plastic in the ocean, the worst thing for Emily was the knowledge that burning plastic releases chemicals that lead to cancer and disrupt human hormones.

Why Women

Women are still only聽, but that is not the only reason eXXpedition is taking an聽.

Historically, studies on the effects of chemicals on human health have focused on聽聽simply because they make up the majority of the workforce in areas where occupational hazards have been studied. As a result, research on female-specific diseases has had a low profile. This imbalance is becoming increasingly important as the incidences of non-communicable diseases, such as cancers, are increasing.

Emily had her blood tested for 35 chemicals and discovered she already has 29 in her body. This is alarming because phthalates, which are present in personal care products, cleaning products, fragrances and cosmetics,聽, and plastics and epoxy resins, which are found in food containers, have been found to聽聽in females.

Takes Problem Solvers

One of the 300 women joining Emily on a leg of the journey is Natasha Pergl, global sustainability lead for Innovation Services and Solutions at 麻豆原创. Natasha has never sailed before, but she will join the Galapagos-to-Easter Island Pacific leg of the all-women ocean voyage.

For Natasha, this is an opportunity of a lifetime. As a child, she was always curious. Historical expeditions fascinated her, and she was intrigued to find out how things work. As a born problem solver, she is confident the team can solve challenges like plastics, but only with the right knowledge and by working together. She understands that researchers and scientists like Emily need data in order to share insights with the business world and help impact changes further upstream.

Creating circular manufacturing and supply chain processes is one way to help solve the problem. Natasha plans to record her experiences and take part in the science on board. Mostly, she is looking forward to learning as much as she can from her fellow crew members, who include a fashion activist, a legal adviser to refugees, businesswomen, and artists.

After the eXXpedition trip, Natasha will share her insights with business leaders and NGOs and help shape the solutions and services being developed at 麻豆原创.

This article first appeared on the Global SustainabilityNews Centre.听

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