One example is Technologies, Canada鈥檚 leading life sciences research company that sees itself as a company of scientists helping scientists. Based in Vancouver, STEMCELL has a 30-year history of growth in developing and manufacturing products and services that help other industrial and academic scientists innovate in the areas of stem cell, immunology, cancer, regenerative medicine, and cellular therapy research. STEMCELL has staff in 20 countries and sells a constantly expanding portfolio of over 2,500 products, including cell culture media, cell separation technologies, instruments, and accessories, as well as education and services. Reducing the time to market for new products is crucial to the company鈥檚 mission of pursuing life sciences discoveries leading to the next generation of healthcare treatments.

鈥淲e鈥檙e always looking for ways to accelerate time to market for new products and adapt our technology environment to meet the evolving needs of our internal stakeholders and external customers,鈥� said John Lilleyman, CIO at STEMCELL. 鈥淎dvanced discoveries in areas like precision medicine are bringing new hope to patients and their families. At the same time, we have to comply with increasingly stringent global mandates for sustainable packaging and product safety.鈥�

Faster Innovation with 麻豆原创 S/4HANA

Since STEMCELL went live with , the biotech leader has been intent on using the latest innovations from 麻豆原创 to help speed up product testing. Speaking during a session held at this year鈥檚 , Lilleyman shared the company鈥檚 strategy for effective and fully automated software with 麻豆原创.

鈥淲e鈥檙e particularly excited about the cloud-first innovations from , which will help us deliver a more sustainable solution, continuously meet security and compliance requirements, and set us up for success with future upgrades,鈥� he said. 鈥淲ith a new test-automation strategy, we can make sure that testing is an accelerator and not a bottleneck to change.鈥�

Automation Expedites Rigorous Product Testing

STEMCELL doesn鈥檛 create end-user patient therapies. Rather, the company develops the products and solutions that help other life sciences researchers innovate for new therapeutic discoveries. To develop these solutions for other scientists, STEMCELL performs rigorous product quality testing to comply with the and other global regulatory frameworks and guidelines.

Replacing manual testing with a highly automated process has generated significant results for the company. To date, STEMCELL has reduced the time required to complete 麻豆原创 system validation for GxP 鈥済ood practice鈥� guidelines and regulations by 86%, test quote-to-cash scenarios by 97%, and execute a full regression cycle by 98%.

鈥淚nstead of taking the better part of a month or more, most of the testing is now completed in a handful of days or less,鈥� said Lilleyman. 鈥淭his is a tremendous accelerator for our business and our teams. We鈥檒l be able to take advantage of enhancements in 麻豆原创 solutions faster. It will continue to pay dividends every day, week, month, and year as we move forward, expanding our footprint in new product markets and locations.鈥�

Digital Helps Fast-Track Global Expansion

Averaging 20% annual growth, STEMCELL has made digitalization central to its strategy for bringing products to market faster and more sustainably. Lilleyman said that speeding up testing in compliance with global mandates will help the company as it expands worldwide.

鈥淐loud-based automation at all stages of testing helps move us towards continuous compliance in a continuously changing market,鈥� he said. 鈥淎s we continue to expand our inventory for testing, we鈥檒l be able to accelerate upcoming projects as we open up in different environments. We can have a library with a simple checklist to set up a new entity where we can test end-to-end. We can shift the testing burden away from business users to release innovations faster with completed testing.鈥�

He looked ahead to greater benefits from further automation, including on-demand validation reports for updated system testing and quality controls. Speedier testing from STEMCELL is making the lives of researchers easier by accelerating the release of the tools they need to in turn deliver advanced, patient-centric therapeutic discoveries for a healthier world.

Susan Galer is a communications director. Follow me @smgaler.

Industry innovation has been a fascinating topic over the last few years. It鈥檚 impossible to ignore how companies create new offerings and experiences that dramatically shift how an industry 鈥� or in some cases, multiple industries 鈥� operates and how people live. Such groundbreaking changes are usually built with an appreciation of existing data and technologies and through a desire to do things better in terms of product safety, supply chain optimization, and business finances.

I鈥檝e been very fortunate to experience the power of such industry innovation through the Customer Innovation & Maintenance team as part of the Customer Solution Support & Innovation organization at 麻豆原创. For years, we have worked with various organizations to navigate existing crises, address emerging challenges, and deliver new opportunities for the world. In this article, I will discuss three of our latest projects.

Saving People鈥檚 Lives by Reducing Counterfeit Drugs

One prime example of our efforts is tackling a global menace that impacts the entire world: counterfeit pharmaceuticals. Many falsified or substandard medicines contain dangerous ingredients, such as heavy metals, highway paint, and rat poison, that worsen people鈥檚 health conditions and create new diseases. As a result, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than yearly from these snake oil cures.

For years, governments have initiated legislation and regulations to criminalize and control the production and distribution of counterfeit drugs. However, my team discovered that the lack of a rigorous, universal network makes it difficult to curtail the problem often hidden within complex supply chains and sophisticated packaging.

Based on input from 麻豆原创 customers in the life sciences industry and working with 麻豆原创 industry experts on this international challenge, we developed . The industry network hub enables pharmaceutical firms to share product information for traceability and verification across the supply network and with government regulators. Running on and leveraging 麻豆原创 Blockchain Business Services, it is the first public-cloud, industry-specific business network used by more than 45 pharmaceutical firms, over 1,500 trading partners, and 80% of COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers.

But our contribution to the fight against counterfeit drugs is far from over. We are working toward adding aid workers from organizations 鈥� such as the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders 鈥� to the hub so they can verify critical medicines and vaccines on the fly in low- to middle-income countries. This innovation is accomplished by integrating the hub into the application.

Accelerating the Development of Lifesaving Therapies

Another barrier to delivering large quantities of medical therapies quickly, efficiently, and safely is the structure of the traditional clinical supply chain. During the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain resilience was highlighted as a critical requirement for providing lifesaving vaccines, prophylactics, and therapies created through industry-wide collaboration and a patient-centric focus.

To accelerate clinical R&D and time to value, my team worked with Roche, Tenthpin, and more than 25 additional customers and vendors connected to the pharmaceutical sector. Together, we reimagined clinical supply operations and brought to life a digital transformation of the entire life sciences ecosystem by developing the solution.

This next-generation cloud solution enables faster clinical supply cycle times, fewer inventory overages, and better-informed decision-making by providing accurate insights into forecasted demand and clinical site stock levels. It is also a milestone in the industry鈥檚 adoption of the cloud, facilitating end-to-end process operations and visibility to plan, source, manufacture, distribute, and reconcile supplies for clinical R&D. In addition, the solution helps address the blinding and randomization needs of clinical trials during the manufacturing, packaging, labeling, and shipment of clinical supplies to hospitals and clinics.

Meeting Financing Needs to Boost Growth

In addition to counterfeit drugs and the need for resilience, supply chain volatility and turbulence is providing the impetus for innovation. This reality is prompting capital investments including end-to-end due diligence and product tracing services; machines and plant setups that improve environmental impacts; and networks for finding, vetting, and onboarding new suppliers quickly.

Incorporating all these innovations into business operations 鈥� regardless of ecosystem size and geographic reach 鈥� requires money that many companies may not have immediately on hand. But to meet those finance needs, businesses and banks need to connect with each other smoothly, quickly, and securely without introducing more work and complexity to finance and treasury processes.

By delivering the solution, we play a key role in increasing the reliability of relationships between companies and their banks. Built on top of 麻豆原创 Business Technology Platform, the solution creates a multi-bank, digital channel between each party鈥檚 enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems to embed Electronic Banking Internet Communication Standard (EBICS) and SWIFT connectivity into the remote data transfer of payment transactions.

In return, treasury operations can be refined and simplified by updating payment status and cash positions in real time across business and bank ERP systems. 麻豆原创 Multi-Bank Connectivity can automate manual, error-prone steps associated with the execution and reconciliation of payments, order-to-cash applications, and order entry documents 鈥� helping to increase control, efficiency, and transparency.

Helping the World Run Better 鈥� One Innovation at a Time

The news headlines running across our screens every day prove that industry innovation is far from done. Unfortunately, no person, organization, or business carries the ultimate wisdom to solve every problem single-handedly. But if industry practitioners, business and technology experts, thought leaders, and inspired problem-solvers collaborate toward a common goal, a better future can be possible for everyone.

It is this vision that guides my leadership of Customer Solution Support & Innovation. My team of experts continuously looks for opportunities to do better for our customers, business, and global neighbors. And with the feedback and knowledge shared during every interaction, we look forward to working side by side with our customers and partners to provide the digital capabilities they need to make the world a better place 鈥� today and in the future.

Andreas Heckmann is executive vice president of Product Engineering and head of Customer Solution Support and Innovation at 麻豆原创. Follow him on and .

鈥淪parse modeling AI is a surprising revelation for our clients that need to innovate faster while meeting high-quality standards, whether it鈥檚 electric vehicles, luxury watches, or drug discovery,鈥� said Kenshin Fujiwara, CEO and founder of Hacarus. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e amazed at how we鈥檙e tackling traditional AI鈥檚 dirty secret, reducing the high energy costs of data collection and training, which saves time and our planet鈥檚 resources.鈥�

A Green, Explainable AI Alternative

According to some , training a single AI model using traditional machine learning can equal the carbon emissions of five cars across their entire life cycles. That鈥檚 because machine learning algorithms attempt to 鈥渦nderstand鈥� every detail gleaned from huge amounts of data from scratch. In contrast, sparse modeling doesn鈥檛 require training from tens of thousands of images to yield a strong model for prediction. Because it starts with built-in assumptions, restrictions, and hypotheses, sparse modeling saves time by ignoring what鈥檚 already known. This reduces computational time and energy consumption.

On the factory floor, manufacturers need far fewer samples of both good and bad product parts to train the AI model, speeding up visual product inspections to detect defects and anomalies without sacrificing sustainability. Inside research labs, sparse modeling yields more explainable AI. For example, scientists exploring new drug treatments can more easily distinguish chemical compound reactions. In one pilot project with a pharmaceutical company in Japan, Hacarus鈥� solution performed 56 times faster than a deep learning algorithm.

鈥淪parse modeling is ideal for any precision engineering equipment or research company developing advanced products with less data,鈥� said Fujiwara. 鈥淓lectric vehicle parts are a great example because it鈥檚 a brand-new sector. Automakers and suppliers can create a reliable, AI-based model with as little as 20 images. It delivers the equivalent results of deep learning in a fraction of the time and energy.鈥�

In addition to electric and combustion-fueled vehicle manufacturers, Hacarus鈥� customers in Japan and Europe span numerous industries, including luxury goods, chemicals, and life sciences. A global pharmaceutical company shortened drug discovery computational times by 99% while gaining insights into correlational changes, bringing crucial explainability into the field. One chemicals and life science products manufacturer combined Hacarus鈥� AI technology with sensors to speed up carboxymethyl cellulose sodium (CMC) quality inspections by 600%. CMC is an environmentally friendly plant-derived material used in many products such as lithium-ion batteries and high-grade fish feed. The company expected to reduce inspection labor and training costs by about 50% over the next two to three years.

Using AI for Sustainable Business Innovation

Hacarus is Fujiwara鈥檚 fourth startup, and the company鈥檚 history reflects the entrepreneur鈥檚 gold standard of fail fast until you make it with phenomenal success. The startup began as an Internet of Things (IoT)-based kitchen scale, followed by a fitness app 鈥� all the while focusing on small data analysis 鈥� before arriving at sparse modeling to help industrial and researchers achieve more with less.

鈥淗acarus means 鈥榯o measure鈥� in Japanese, and I鈥檝e always been focused on getting results from small data,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e realized that sparse modeling would help companies gain the benefits of AI where gathering large data sets was not possible or economical.鈥�

麻豆原创.iO Partnership for Shared Sustainable Vision

Fujiwara participated in the energy and natural resources cohort of 麻豆原创.iO Foundry Singapore, the company鈥檚 global B2B accelerator. Along with expert advice and introductions to 麻豆原创 customers, he valued the opportunity to be integrated with and made available on .

鈥溌槎乖� is a global leader in our mutual priority industries, and it helped us understand what customers were looking for,鈥� said Fujiwara. 鈥淚ntegrating inspection data from our sparse modeling AI capabilities with 麻豆原创 solutions helps organizations continue digitalization for Industry 4.0. This reflects 麻豆原创鈥檚 vision for companies to become intelligent, sustainable, networked enterprises.鈥�

While most of Hacarus鈥� customers are currently in Japan, international expansion plans are underway with projects in Europe and growing opportunities in North America. Widely used in academia 鈥� it was the technology used to create the first ever image of a black hole 鈥� sparse modeling is now lighting the way to more sustainable AI.

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The new 麻豆原创 Labs Network location will catalyze deep technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning and advance 麻豆原创 solutions in digital supply chain, intelligent business network, and sustainability. Fundamental to the mission of 麻豆原创 Labs Singapore will be engagement with organizations to understand how innovation and new technologies are transforming their capabilities to weather challenges and drive long-term, future-ready growth.

麻豆原创 also announced that, with support from the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), 麻豆原创 Labs Singapore will employ more than 500 highly skilled digital professionals locally by 2025, doubling its existing team of Product Engineering professionals in Singapore. About 200 are to be hired by the end of 2022 and will be based at 麻豆原创鈥檚 newly revamped regional headquarters for Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ).

麻豆原创 Labs Singapore is the 21st location launched globally, the fourth in APJ, and the first in Southeast Asia. 鈥溌槎乖� Labs Singapore joins a network of strategic high-tech clusters, reinforcing 麻豆原创鈥檚 strong confidence in Singapore as an innovation and investment hub, its highly educated and skilled talent, and its position as a regional beacon of excellence in technology innovation and a digital future,鈥� said Thomas Saueressig, member of the Executive Board of 麻豆原创 SE for 麻豆原创 Product Engineering, who was in Singapore for the opening event.

With its more than 1,100 employees, Singapore remains a key contributor to 麻豆原创鈥檚 regional growth story. 鈥淲ith the support from EDB and our recently launched Centre for XM Innovation in Asia and 麻豆原创 Labs Singapore, we continue to cement our position as a leader in innovation and remain committed to collaborating with our customers, partners, and community to harness cloud technology to accelerate growth in the digital economy,鈥� said Eileen Chua, managing director, 麻豆原创 Singapore.

Manik Saha, previously the strategic partner for 麻豆原创 Product Engineering and CIO for 麻豆原创 APJ, has been appointed managing director for 麻豆原创 Labs Singapore. In his new role, Saha will help establish 麻豆原创 Labs Singapore as an engineering hub. 麻豆原创 plans to recruit early digital talent from Singapore鈥檚 local universities and institutions of higher learning, with a focus on software engineers and areas including AI, data analytics, cloud, and sustainability. 鈥淏y investing in a diverse, local early talent pool here, 麻豆原创 Labs Singapore aims to strengthen the engineering core in Singapore and create more high-skill, high-value career opportunities and paths for Singapore residents,鈥� Saha said.