sMEnews June 2017
Spotify Investor and Fin-Tech Fund Back Business Banking App Tide, the mobile-first SME banking service has raised ÂŁ11m in one of the largest Series A investment rounds closed by a fintech company this year.
In this issue...
UK Entrepreneurs Will Give ÂŁ171m Morea Month to Charity if Their Businesses Grow UK Business Leaders Reveal They Are Less Aware of Digital Risks Than European Counterparts Enabling the UK Video Games Industry to Access Talent after Brexit Business Summit Helps Welsh Businesses Capitalise on Heathrow Expansion
Editor’s Note
, Welcome to the second edition of SME News Magazine, which takes a look at the latest news, announcements about enterprises from across the UK. In this edition, we learn how Cloud X Partners (CXO) is not a force to be reckoned with in cloud computing for both small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). In recent news, on the 28th June gnTel, a rapidly growing cloud-based telecom service provider to small and medium sized businesses in the Netherlands, selected Oracle Communications technology to better scale their operations. Elsewhere in this edition, we discover how a banking app has raised a staggering $14m in one of the largest Series A investment rounds closed by a fintech company this year. I truly hope you thoroughly enjoy reading this informative edition. Jessica Daykin, Editor Phone: +44 (0) 203 725 6842 Email: j.daykin@aiglobalmedialtd.com Website: www.sme-news.co.uk AI Global Media, Ltd. (AI) takes reasonable measures to ensure the quality of the information on this web site. However, AI will not assume any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, correctness or completeness of any information that is available through this web site. If errors are brought to our attention, we will try to correct them. The information available through the website and our partner publications is for your general information and use and is not intended to address any particular finance or investment requirements. In particular, the information does not constitute any form of advice or recommendation by us or any of our partner publications and is not intended to be relied upon by users in making or refraining from making any investment or financial decisions. Appropriate independent advice should be obtained before making any such decision. Any arrangement made between you and any third party named in the site is at your sole risk and responsibility.
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Contents
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Spotify Investor and Fin-Tech Fund Back Business Banking App 9Spokes Announces Royal Bank of Canada to Become First North American Channel Partner UK Entrepreneurs Will Give ÂŁ171m More a Month to Charity if Their Businesses Grow ICT Retail Spend in SA Is on the Increase, despite Struggling Economy Cloud X Recruits Former Amazon Senior Product Manager John Swiderski The Small-to-Medium Business Market Supply and Demand Chain Transformation gnTel Selects Oracle Communications to Scale Cloud Based Hosted Services Enabling the UK Video Games Industry to Access Talent after Brexit Commerce Report Reveals Gap between U.S. Retailers and Prime-Centric Online Shoppers Seven Major European Banks Select IBM to Bring Blockchain-Based Trade Finance to SMEs Global Tokenization Market to Reach $2.25 Billion by 2022 Bank of the West Appoints Joe Chasteen as National Small Business Banking Manager
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Spotify Investor and Fin-Tech Fund Back Business Banking App Tide, the mobile-first SME banking service has raised $14m in one of the largest Series A investment rounds closed by a fintech company this year. Tide is a one-stop shop for eliminating the administration which blights the professional lives of business owners, to make running a successful business easier. The round has been led by specialist fintech investor Anthemis, alongside Creandum, the Scandinavian fund that has backed global leaders including Spotify and iZettle. The new money will be used to expand Tide’s workforce at its central London headquarters and develop more features to help the UK’s small and mediumsized businesses manage their finances quickly and efficiently. Existing investors Passion Capital and LocalGlobe have also participated in the round, which follows the $2m seed investment last year. The fundraising coincides with the announcement of a partnership with online lender iwoca, which will offer Tide’s members loans of up to £100,000 from later this summer. iwoca’s risk engine makes instant lending decisions based on complex data sets. This allows it to assess the millions of small
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businesses currently neglected by the banks, offering them fast and flexible access to finance. Speed is paramount for Tide: Users can set up a fullyfunctioning business current account within five minutes using their passport or driving license. Alongside banking and payment facilities, Tide provides invoicing and bookkeeping services which aim to ease the administrative burdens faced by thousands of small companies. New features under development include multi-user access to accounts and service availability in multiple currencies. George Bevis, Tide founder and CEO, said: “Our investors believe there is a real opportunity to support and champion small and medium-sized companies in the wake of Brexit. Britain’s smaller firms have been let down by traditional banks, which often charge vulnerable companies eye-watering fees and keep them waiting weeks to open a business account. By providing our members an instant, transparent business credit facility, which for some was difficult to obtain on the high-
street, we’re also making it easier for small and medium-sized companies to get the finance they need to grow.” Tide’s chair, Eileen Burbidge, said: “Tide is solving a problem which is a pain point for far too many businesses in Britain. Access to financial services on demand has become a basic expectation of businesses, which until now has been unrealised. With Tide, that has changed.” Christoph Rieche, CEO and co-founder of iwoca, comments: “iwoca’s innovative tie-up with Tide will enable small businesses to access finance without ever having to leave the Tide app, making the process fast, simple and hassle-free. Tide have built the integration on top of iwoca’s new Lending API, an industry first solution which opens up our award-winning platform to partners allowing them to fund small businesses directly.”
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UK Business Leaders Reveal They Are Less Aware of Digital Risks Than European Counterparts UK business leaders identify far fewer risks affecting their businesses, when compared to Germany and France, according to research from the Gowling WLG Digital Risk Calculator, which launched on 18th July. This new free tool allows small and medium size businesses to better understand their digital risks and compare these to other businesses and industries.
Research informing the Gowling WLG Digital Risk Calculator was gathered from 999 large SMEs in the UK, France and Germany. Findings revealed an overly optimistic picture among UK business leaders, with UK respondents identifying far fewer digital risks as a threat to their business; when compared to the views of their European counterparts. UK respondents consistently identified between 2 and 25% less than non-UK respondents for each risk area analysed. Commenting on the research Helen Davenport, director at Gowling WLG, said: “The recent wide ranging external cyberattacks such as the Wannacry and Petya hacks reinforce the real and immediate threat of cyber-crime to all organisations and businesses. However, there tends to be an “it won’t happen to me” attitude among business leaders, who on one hand anticipate external cyber-attacks will increase over the next three years, but on the other fail to identify such areas
of risk as a concern for them. This is likely preventing them from preparing suitably for digital threats that they may face.” Respondents revealed that external cyber risks (69%) are thought to be the most concerning category of digital threat for businesses across all countries surveyed. This risk is anticipated to grow even further, with 51% of respondents believing that it will increase within the next three years. Other digital risks of concern to participants include customer security (57%), identity theft / cloning (47%) and rogue employees (42%). More than a third of respondents (40%) also believe that the lack of sufficient technical and business knowledge amongst employees is a risk to their business. Additionally, one third (32%) of UK businesses feel that digital risks related to regulatory issues have increased during the past three years. However, less than a third (29%) believe that regulatory issues are a risk to their business.
Data protection Risks related to highly sensitive/ valuable data are the second most prominent risk to businesses (55%), according to respondents. However, when asked about the GDPR, which represents the most significant change to data protection legislation in the last 20 years, only one seventh (14%) of UK businesses were aware of the fines they may face for failing to protect their data. In comparison, 26% of respondents from Germany and 45% from France were aware of the maximum fine, placing UK business leaders at the back of the pack when it comes to understanding the risks posed by failure to comply with the GDPR. Despite the identification of data risks, only 52% of UK businesses do regular data back-ups, compared to 66% in Germany and 67% in France. Moreover, only 32% of UK businesses and 39% of businesses in Germany open to using off-site storage for sensitive data today, compared to 50% of French businesses.
Legal support Given the changing nature of the digital world, most business leaders (70%) involve IT support in their digital risk management. However, in comparison the number that say they involve legal support drops significantly down to an average across the surveyed nations of just 31% (46% UK, 23% Germany and 23% France, respectively). When asked about how prepared they feel for their digital risks, only 16% of all respondents stated that they are fully prepared. Patrick Arben, partner at Gowling WLG, comments: “When affected by a cyber-attack or any other digital threat, the immediate focus is to work with IT professionals to understand what has happened. However, it is always worth taking internal or external legal advice, before commencing an investigation and as circumstances change. The essence for all business leaders is to stop ignoring the digital risks their companies face. By doing this, they can easily and proactively work to prevent future attacks from happening.” gowlingwlg.com
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UK Entrepreneurs Will Give £171m More a Month to Charity if Their Businesses Grow A YouGov survey of small business owners, commissioned by wealth manager Kleinwort Hambros, has revealed that charitable organisations would benefit from an additional £171m a month, if small businesses achieve their goals and grow by 15%. The survey, which questioned over 1000 small business owners throughout Great Britain, also revealed that male entrepreneurs intend to donate more than female small business owners. When questioned, 44% of small business owners claim they give money to charity organisations every month. On average these give £126 which works out to be £300m a month. If their businesses grew by 5% in turnover, 14% of owners claim they would increase the amount of money they give to charity (this works out as 730,050 businesses). On average, these businesses would increase the amount by £73.30, which works out to be an additional £53m a month. If their businesses grew by 10% in turnover, 15.05% of owners claim they would increase the amount of money they give to charity (this works out as 827,750 businesses). On average, these businesses would increase the amount on average by £100.21, which works out to be an additional £82m a month.
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If their businesses grew by 15.15% in turnover, 15% of owners claim they would increase the amount of money they give to charity (this works out as 833,250 businesses). On average, these businesses would increase the amount on average by £205.38, which works out to be an additional £171m a month. The survey shows that millennial entrepreneurs, or small business owners under the age of 35, also have generous intentions if their businesses become more profitable. Only around 2 in 5 (39%) of small business owners aged under 35 said they would not increase the amount they give to charity if their businesses grew by 5%. In addition, 14% of small business owners aged between 45 and 54 said they would increase the amount they give to charity if their businesses grew by 5%. Male entrepreneurs proved more generous than their female counterparts with 16% of male entrepreneurs who said they would increase their charitable donations saying they would give up to £100 to £200 more a month if their profits rose by 15% compared to just 10% of female
business owners. However, when asked what they currently give to charity, 45% of female small business owners said they gave monthly compared to 43% of men. And 65% of millennial entrepreneurs give between £1 and £20 per month to charity compared to 41% of over 55. However, when it comes to big money, older entrepreneurs lead the way with 2% of over 55 and 3% of those aged between 45 and 54 who give to charity every month giving over £1000 a month to charitable causes. Rebecca Constable, head of philanthropy at Kleinwort Hambros, said: “People may be surprised to discover how much small business owners are thinking of giving to charities as their businesses become more profitable, but we see it as an exciting development that entrepreneurs are more likely to consider their charitable obligations. In our experience, entrepreneur and business owner clients are placing much more emphasis on philanthropy and impact investing than they would have done ten years ago. It is increasingly an important part of business culture, is more
visible and attracts and connects employees.” She adds that this is because the climate of charitable giving has changed. “We have seen the emergence of new charities which are being run more commercially than perhaps the larger charities were in the past. Today’s business owners can have a direct involvement in the management of their chosen causes and can see the impact of their investment. We believe this is a trend which will continue to grow.” Partnership agreement In the meantime, Kleinwort Hambros has signed a partnership agreement with Global Philanthropic to help clients donate wealth effectively. The new partnership, which brings together Kleinwort Hambros’ wealth management experience and Global Philanthropic’s expertise in philanthropic giving and fundraising, is aimed at helping philanthropists and non-profit organisations achieve their philanthropic vision. The service will involve helping clients invest, manage and give their wealth to worthwhile causes.
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Commenting on the partnership, Rebecca Constable, head of philanthropy at Kleinwort Hambros, said: “We are seeing more of our clients taking their charitable giving as seriously as their investments. There is a growing requirement to help clients evaluate the strategic challenges around giving, and work with them to devise long term strategies which ensure their giving is as impactful as they want it to be. We’re delighted to be able to offer them access to Global Philanthropic’s advice and support in how to focus their philanthropic activities to make a lasting impact.’ Ben Morton Wright, Global Philanthropic’s president and group CEO, added: ‘Financial sustainability is absolutely critical to our clients’ ability to make a difference, whether they’re philanthropists or non-profit institutions. It is at the top of their lists of concerns. Our partnership with Kleinwort Hambros ensures that they can get the highly skilful, expert technical support they need to effectively invest and manage their financial resources, alongside the strategic philanthropy advice and resources we provide.’
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Business Summit Helps Welsh Businesses Capitalise on Heathrow Expansion Economy Secretary, Ken Skates welcomed the Heathrow Business summit to Wales for the first time in early July, describing it as vital in ensuring Welsh businesses benefit from the construction of a third runway. Around 90 Welsh businesses have gathered in Cardiff to learn more about the existing supply chain opportunities and future associated with the Heathrow expansion, which is expected to deliver up to 8,400 new skilled jobs and £6.2bn in economic growth in total.
significant growth opportunities across the UK. We want to work constructively with Heathrow and their tier 1 suppliers, to ensure that Welsh businesses have every opportunity to play their part in delivering this huge project, which is expected to create up to 8,400 new skilled jobs and £6.2bn in economic growth.
The aim of the summit is to help Welsh based SMEs better understand the needs of Heathrow and its supply chain and help them explore the associated opportunities for their businesses.
“The summit is a great platform for Welsh SMEs to get a foot in the door and capitalise on the business opportunities available at Heathrow, while also gain a better understanding of the needs of the airport and its supply chain. It is this kind of pro-active and collaborative partnership approach that will ensure we spread prosperity to communities right across Wales.
In March this year, the First Minister and Lord Deighton, Chairman of Heathrow Airport, signed a Statement of Intent aimed at improving collaborative working opportunities between Wales and Heathrow. The Cardiff summit is as a direct result of that statement. Ken Skates said: “A third Heathrow runway will be Europe’s largest privately-funded infrastructure project, creating
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“I am also delighted that Cardiff Airport will have a presence at the summit, which will allow Welsh SMEs to understand the needs of our own national airport and ensure that we maximise the Welsh supply chain opportunities, for future projects there.”
Emma Gilthorpe, Heathrow’s executive director for expansion said: “We’re keen to sustain a diverse supply chain and embrace innovation to help achieve new standards of delivery which includes Heathrow’s commitment to our statement of intent, with the Welsh Government. To do this, we need more SMEs from Wales to deliver innovative and affordable solutions for Britain. “That’s why I’m excited to be hosting the Heathrow Business Summit in Cardiff this year, so that we can tap into that pipeline of expertise and strengthen our new partnership with the Welsh Government and welsh businesses.” gov.wales
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Cloud X Recruits Former Amazon Senior Product Manager John Swiderski For anyone who thinks Cloud X Partners (CXP) isn’t a force to be reckoned with in cloud computing for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), think again. At the helm are an elite band of financial technology, investment, and IT-as-a-service entrepreneurs committed to architecting innovative technology that solves the biggest pain points SMBs face. Now, John Swiderski, former Senior Product Manager at Amazon, joins them. Swiderski will be Head of Product at CXP. This latest recruit comes on the heels of CXP’s announcement that Google Senior Engineer Robert McFrazier joined its Board of Advisors. John Swiderski will work closely with the executive team and Board of Directors, as CXP continues to focus on transformative innovation, re-engineering, and expanding the scope of its cloud software solutions. “We are very excited that John is now an integral part of the Cloud X leadership team. The addition of a true leader and champion of our product suite represents a milestone in our organization’s natural progression and rapidly accelerating growth,” CEO Elliot Luchansky said. “Our value proposition to advisors, SMB owners and leaders, as well as a growing ecosystem of partners will continue to crystallise in a more meaningful way given John’s very strong commitment to delivering results, navigating the increasing complexities of the technological landscape, while also providing almost instantaneous vision and clarity.”
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“Cloud X Partners puts customers first by building products that empower them to work better. This is a core value product managers love to work with and I am extremely excited to be joining the awesome talent assembled under one roof,” states Mr. Swiderski. “CXP is on the forefront of an amazing technology revolution in the workforce.” The parent company of Insynq and CloudRunner, CXP unifies cloud, application, and data management for SMB IT administrators and business advisors. Leading cloud provider Insynq hosts accounting and business-critical applications for SMBs and enterprises. Its extensive application library includes QuickBooks, Sage, Lacerte Tax, Drake Tax, Wolters Kluwer CCH ProSystem fx Suite, Thomson Reuters CS Professional Suite, Microsoft Office Suite, and over 1,000 other software applications. CloudRunner simplifies administrative tasks ranging from infrastructure to end-user support across distinct platforms with customers spanning the enterprise, mid-market, and SMB. “John comes to CXP with a twenty-year track record of transformational software development and product management spanning companies of all sizes, including start up software businesses to global enterprises like
IGT, Disney, and Amazon,” COO Michael Mazzeo said. “Swiderski’s appointment as Head of Product reiterates CXP’s commitment to placing top talent in key leadership roles to not only enhance our competitive advantage but also, continue to drive the entire cloud computing industry forward for all participants.” CXP develops partnerships through its marquee subsidiaries, Insynq and CloudRunner. It invests in companies operating small and large verticallyintegrated services covering public, private, and hybrid cloud deployments. CXP collaborates with business owners to maximise their cloud assets in new, creative ways and transform the companies from local leaders to regional forces. Elliot Luchansky added, “Cloud X, along Insynq and CloudRunner subsidiaries, is committed to driving fundamental changes and improvements to the way that SMB organisations and their respective advisors operate. As an organisation, we have made big strides in this direction and feel very optimistic about the future as we continue to add critical members to the leadership team here like John.” www.cloudxpartners.com
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The Small -to-Medium Business Market Untangle® Inc., a leader in comprehensive network security for small-to-medium business, on June 29th announced that Gartner, Inc. has named Untangle to its 2017 Magic Quadrant for Unified Threat Management (SMB Multifunction Firewalls), for the second consecutive year. Gartner defines the unified threat management (UTM) market as multifunction network security products used by small or midsize businesses (SMBs). The full report is available at no charge from the Untangle website. The report evaluated 14 security vendors on a range of criteria, placing Untangle in the Niche Players quadrant. “We believe that Untangle’s placement on the quadrant is a validation of our
ability to meet the ever-changing needs of the small-to-medium business market,” said Scott Devens, chief executive officer at Untangle. “With the addition of ScoutIQTM threat intelligence and Command Center centralised management, we’ve demonstrated our leadership in delivering cloud-based, valueadded security services that take a software-first approach to providing today’s agile businesses the flexibility they need to rapidly deploy network security.”
Untangle believes that recognition by Gartner for the second consecutive year is a reflection of its ability to address the needs of SMB customers and distributed enterprises with network security solutions that are easy to buy, easy to deploy and easy to use. Untangle NG Firewall delivers a comprehensive solution for content filtering, malware and threat protection, secure Wi-Fi, application control, bandwidth optimisation, virtual private networks and more. Untangle combines Unified Threat Management (UTM)—to address all of the key network threats—with policy management tools that enable administrators to monitor, manage and shape internet traffic. NG Firewall’s fully customisable, industry-leading reports provide administrators an unprecedented level of insight into what’s happening on their networks across all applications by user, group, time of day and more. Access to the full report of the June 2017 Magic Quadrant for the Unified Threat Management (SMB Multifunction Firewalls) market is available at: http://www5.untangle.com/ gartnermagicquadrant2017
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Supply and Demand Chain Transformation PINC, the #1 provider of yard management system (YMS), finished vehicle logistics and inventory robotics solutions to the world’s largest brands, is proud to be nominated by Supply & Demand Chain Executive magazine, the executive’s user manual for successful supply and demand chain transformation, as a recipient of an SDCE 100 Award for 2017. The SDCE 100 is an annual list of 100 great supply chain projects. These projects can serve as a map for supply chain executives who are looking for new opportunities to drive improvement in their own operations. These projects show how supply chain solution and service providers help their customers and clients achieve supply chain excellence and prepare their supply chains for success.
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“Our goal with 2017’s Top 100 is to shine the spotlight on successful and innovative transformation projects that deliver bottom-line value to small, medium and large enterprises across the supply chain,” says Ronnie Garrett, editor of Supply & Demand Chain Executive. “The selected projects can serve as a roadmap for supply chain executives looking for new opportunities to drive improvement in their own operations. We congratulate all of our winners for a job well done!”
“Recognitions such as SDCE 100 great supply chain projects reinforce the importance of our commitment to helping organisation to cost effectively locate, identify, and orchestrate inventory and assets across the supply chain,” says Matt Yearling, CEO of PINC. “Our customers are investing in PINC’s solutions to stay competitive, drive superior performance, and better serve their customers.” Learn more about PINC at www.pinc.com
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gnTel Selects Oracle Communications to Scale Cloud Based Hosted Services gnTel, a fast-growing cloud-based telecom service provider to small and medium sized businesses in the Netherlands, on June 28th selected Oracle Communications technology to better scale their operations and lay the groundwork for the evolution of their network to NFV. Replacing their existing solution, gnTel will use Oracle Communications Session Border Controller (OCSBC) running on Acme Packet 4600 purposebuilt hardware platforms to immediately create a new scalable access and peering infrastructure for their customers. This solution will allow gnTel to not only jumpstart their services but because of the close interworking between physical and virtualised OCSBC instances, and a flexible licensing scheme, also preserve this investment while they migrate to NFV.
gnTel also chose NetAxis Solutions, an Oracle professional services partner, with deep technology competencies and experience, to design and implement their new service infrastructure.
Oracle Communications Session Border Controller is one of the industry’s leading border control solution that operates with most major IP-PBX, unified communications, and application server providers - reducing risks associated with commercial production level installations. Available on both purpose-built physical and commercial-offthe-shelf virtualised platforms, and coupled with a perpetual network-wide licensing scheme, OCSBC provides maximum flexibility to operators.
“Oracle’s cloud-ready session delivery solutions coupled with their extensive interoperability with third-party equipment and with our network monitoring software makes it simple for us to size, configure, deploy, and maintain the complex multi-vendor solution that gnTel requested,” said Bart van de Kar, NetAxis. “This project will further cement our expertise and relationship with Oracle.”
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“At gnTel, we recognise the fast pace of technology evolution in the telecom industry. We wanted to invest in a proven solution from a company that brings together expertise in cloud, virtualisation, IT, and telecommunications,” said Onno Speekenbrink, gnTel. “Oracle’s solution and NetAxis Solution’s implementation will position us well for future growth.”
“In today’s marketplace, operators are looking for longterm, cost-effective and verified solutions that can improve their agility, streamline operations and accelerate time to market,” said Doug Suriano, senior vice president and general manager, Oracle Communications. “Oracle Communications SBC provides CSPs, such as gnTel, the unconstrained flexibility that supports their efforts now and in the future.” To learn more about Oracle Communications solutions, please connect on Twitter @OracleComms and at www.youtube.com/user/ OracleCommunications, or visit oracle.com/communications. To learn more about NetAxis Solutions, please visit www. netaxis.be For further information about gnTel please visit www.gntel.nl/ en. For more information about Oracle (NYSE: ORCL), please visit us at cloud.oracle.com
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Enabling the UK Video Games Industry to Access Talent after Brexit TIGA, the network for games developers and digital publishers and the trade association representing the video games industry, on June 28th said that if the UK video games industry was to succeed post-Brexit, then we need to continue to develop a well-educated and highly skilled domestic workforce and enable studios to recruit highly talented workers from the EU and the wider world. TIGA made the comments as it set out proposals for how the UK video games industry can continue to access talent after Brexit. Dr Richard Wilson, TIGA CEO, said: “TIGA’s vision is to make the UK the best place in the world for games development, games education and games service providers. If we are to achieve this goal following Brexit, then we need to retain the highly skilled EU workers who currently make up 15% of the industry; enable studios to recruit highly talented workers from the EU and the wider world; and develop a well-educated and highly skilled UK workforce.” The UK video games industry already contributes £1.2 billion to UK GDP. This contribution will increase if we can create a favourable business environment, which includes continuing the development of a highly skilled domestic workforce while enabling employers to hire the most talented personnel from around the world. The UK should ensure that EU workers already working in the UK are protected so that they can continue to work in the UK with the confidence that they are not going to be asked to leave the UK in the future and
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clarify the status of EU workers who enter the UK following the EU referendum and prior to the UK’s exit from the EU. Brexit negotiations between the UK and the EU began on June 19th 2017 and the government set out its offer to the EU concerning the status of EU workers in the UK on June 26th: www.gov. uk/government/publications/ safeguarding-the-position-ofeu-citizens-in-the-uk-and-uknationals-in-the-eu TIGA proposes that the UK government should consider the following options: • negotiate a general reciprocal freedom of movement rights for workers with a job offer; • negotiate an agreement which retains reciprocal freedom of movement rights for workers in the video games industry; • provide approximately 500 Work Permits per annum for the UK video games industry; • add roles (e.g. Games Analyst and Engine Programmer) to the Shortage Occupation List where there is a specific skills shortage so that employers can recruit the employees they need without undue delay and; • ensure that any new immigration arrangements are not complex or costly for business.
The advent of Brexit increases the importance of developing a well-educated and highly skilled workforce. The UK government could consider: • making up any short-fall in funding following the UK’s departure from the EU and ensure that any new visa system governing migration does not impair the ability of UK universities to recruit either academic staff or students from the EU; • conducting a cost/benefit analysis of extending the life of the Skills Investment Fund to maximise investment in skills in the creative industries; • allowing the proceeds of the Apprenticeship Levy to be available to fund a variety of good quality courses and not solely apprenticeships so that employers can choose the right training programme to benefit their employees and their businesses; • working closely with industry to increase diversity within the sector so that studios can access the widest possible range of skills and; • examining the case for the introduction of a pilot Training Tax Relief for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to offset expenditure on training against corporation tax. www.tiga.org
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Commerce Report Reveals Gap between Retailers and Prime-Centric Online Shoppers Temando, a leading shipping and fulfilment software platform for commerce, today announced the retailer and consumer survey data from its annual research report State of Shipping in Commerce. The survey polled 270 small and medium (SME) and enterprise retailers and nearly 1300 consumers about a range of shipping-related challenges they face. “The State of Shipping in Commerce report shows the increasing significance of shipping and fulfilment, and highlights the continued gap between retailer capability and consumer expectation. The missing piece for many retailers is a solution that balances CXfriendly shipping experiences with automation and efficiency,” said Carl Hartmann, co-founder and CEO of Temando. “Shipping is truly the last frontier for commerce, and retailers who master the use of technology to optimize the process are giving themselves the best chance to not only survive, but thrive in these trying times.” 2017 brings unprecedented competition for retailers. Not only has Amazon set the standard for how to do retail well, it’s set the new consumer standard on shipping. Prime-like shopping
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is the new benchmark with Americans demanding ultimate convenience and immediacy at a low cost. Temando’s 2017 State of Shipping in Commerce report uncovers the evolution of the American retail landscape in the last twelve months, and highlights where retailers need to be today to reap the rewards of tomorrow. Key findings and supporting data below. Consumers want and retailers need better control of shipping Multiple shipping options are critical to CX. Consumers want more options to control their deliveries – they want to dictate how, when and where products are shipped. • The survey revealed that 41% of consumers want hyperlocal delivery and 38% would pay for it. However, only 24% of retailers offer it now and 18% of retailers would like to offer it in the
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next 12 months; 40% of consumers expect to access Amazon-prime style memberships in the next 1-3 years vs. 25% of retailers who plan to introduce these services in the same period and; Almost 10% of shoppers would like delivery date estimates but currently over half of retailers don’t offer this feature.
Shipping causes shopping cart abandonment. Compared to Temando’s 2016 survey, shoppers have a more genuine intent to purchase in 2017 but high shipping fees combined with lengthy wait times is still a serious issue. • 73% of consumers are loyal to brands and return if they have a positive experience, while 50% of consumers won’t buy again if it’s a negative experience; • 54% of shoppers abandoned
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their carts due to expensive shipping, while 39% abandoned their carts due to no free shipping, and 26% abandoned their carts due to slow shipping and; 47% of shoppers will abandon their carts and buy from a competitor’s site when a premium delivery option is not available.
Shipping ambitions tempered by rising business costs There is a major disconnect between retailers and consumers when it comes to shipping expectations. While retailers understand that consumers want free shipping, they’re grappling with the rising costs of shipping online orders. • 59% of shoppers will opt to buy from a bricks and mortar store if they perceive that the delivery fee for buying the same item online is too high; • 66% of shoppers think that the high cost of shipping is not relative to the experience provided and; • Whereas, 51% of retailers listed the rising cost of carrier services as a key challenge. Retailers are haemorrhaging costs from premium delivery
services. While retailers are experimenting with premium delivery services, they have limited knowledge of how much these services cost and/or are held back by operational barriers. Temando’s research highlights that retailers are struggling to find a profitable model for premium delivery services, and thus, retailer adoption has slowed down. • 53% of retailers offered same-day delivery in 2016 compared to only 29% this year; • 40% of shoppers wanted hyperlocal delivery in 2016, but only 24% of retailers offered it this year and; • 34% of retailers in 2016 offered weekend/afterhours delivery in 2016 compared to only 25% this year. Retailers who succeed in shipping win big Some retailers are getting it right and turning shipping into a profit centre, according to Temando’s research. While many retailers are struggling to put in place a profitable shipping and fulfilment model, there are savvy retailers reaping measurable rewards from innovating their supply chains and offering better shipping choices.
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43% of retailers found that offering better shipping choices created more revenue. 33% of enterprise retailers reduced their cart abandonment rate when offering more shipping choices, while 50% of midmarket retailers experienced increased sales. 27% of small retailers reduced carrier costs and 47% of micro retailers improved customer service with new shipping choices.
Hartmann concluded, “Competition in e-commerce is not going to subside - in fact, the scale and speed of it is accelerating with the continued growth of Amazon and international shopping. It’s not only consumers shopping abroad more, the number of cross-border shoppers globally is increasing. The retailers who can cross borders and use this changing landscape to evolve will be successful at e-commerce.” Additional survey highlights A major point of difference for retailers is the total experience they offer to consumers – from providing multiple delivery options to better tracking to a seamless returns process. Temando’s study reveals retailers can profit from introducing good shipping experiences to shoppers and grow basket size with delivery campaigns. Shoppers are willing to pay up to £18 for same-day delivery and £19 for international shipping, and 65% would increase basket size to qualify for free premium shipping. Tracking is an area for improvement with only 31% of retailers offering email tracking updates today, despite demand from 78% of shoppers. Returns influence conversion with 43% of Americans stating they would shop more online if offered free and easy returns. The full report is available here: www2.temando.com/ research-2017 For more information, please visit www.researchnow.com
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Commerce Report Reveals Gap between Retailers and Prime-Centric Online Shoppers
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Seven Major European Banks Select IBM to Bring Blockchain-Based Trade Finance to Small and Medium Enterprises IBM on June 26th announced that it has been selected by a consortium of seven of Europe’s largest banks to build and host a new trade finance platform based on IBM Blockchain powered by Hyperledger Fabric. The platform is designed to simplify and facilitate domestic and crossborder trade for small and medium enterprises in Europe, while helping to increase overall trade transaction transparency. Through a global competitive bidding process, IBM was selected by the Digital Trade Chain Consortium which consists of Deutsche Bank, HSBC, KBC, Natixis, Rabobank, Societe Generale and Unicredit. The Digital Trade Chain solution will run in the IBM Cloud and is designed to connect the parties involved in a trade transaction, both online and via mobile devices. It is designed to simplify trade finance processes by addressing the challenge of managing, tracking and securing domestic and international trade transactions. “To make the Digital Trade Chain network a reality and enable it to serve potentially thousands of the consortium’s banking clients, we turned to IBM in enterprise blockchain to help us quickly bring this highly scalable system into production,” said Rudi Peeters, CIO, KBC on behalf of the Consortium.
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“Their blockchain and banking industry expertise will help us create a new platform for small and medium businesses in Europe that can enable them for faster, easier and cheaper trade transactions.” By addressing the financing gap of small and medium enterprises (SME) – a traditionally underserved market segment – the solution is anticipated to help open new revenue streams and initiate new trading relationships and foster trade growth. According to the World Bank, 50% of SMEs do not have access to formal credit. * The platform will also increase access to financing by infusing cross-border trade transactions with accountability and transparency. The highly scalable platform can support customers from all banks in the consortium and helps equip SMEs to initiate trade with new partners domestically or in other European markets. With the Digital Trade Chain, SMEs will have access to an easy to use platform that provides a consolidated view of trade transactions. This in turn helps promote accountability in transactions, gain access to capital and contributes to
reducing some risk. The Digital Trade Chain also optimises some administrative tasks for SME customers by digitising the entire supply chain process from order to settlement, and allows trading partners to track and trace transactions as they are processed. “In working with hundreds of clients around the world on a diverse range of blockchain projects, trade finance has emerged as one of the strongest use cases for the technology,” said Marie Wieck, general manager, IBM Blockchain. “By addressing the SME market, which faces challenges in data sharing and access to capital, the Digital Trade Chain Consortium is pioneering a unique blockchain solution with the potential for widespread impact.” The Digital Trade Chain network will be built on Hyperledger Fabric v1.0.0, an open source blockchain framework and one of the five Hyperledger projects hosted by The Linux Foundation, and hosted on the IBM Cloud. The Digital Trade Chain is expected to go into production by end of 2017. The consortium started in January 2017 with seven European banks and
is expected to grow to include additional banks from other countries and as well as trading partners such as shippers, freight forwarders and credit agencies. The Digital Trade Chain concept has already won two industry awards: EFMA-Accenture award for ‘best new product or service in banking’ and the Global Finance award for ‘Innovator in Trade Finance.’ Hyperledger Fabric is an open source blockchain framework and one of the five Hyperledger projects hosted by The Linux Foundation. For more information about IBM Blockchain, visit www.ibm.com/ blockchain * www.worldbank.org/en/topic/ financialsector/brief/smes-finance
g Seven Major European Banks Select IBM to Bring Blockchain-Based Trade Finance to SMEs
SME NEWS / June 2017 27
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Global Tokenization Market to Reach $2.25 Billion by 2022 Research and Markets has announced the addition of the ‘Tokenization Market by Solution, Service, Application Area, Deployment Mode, Organization Size, Vertical, and Region - Global Forecast to 2022’ report to their offering. It is expected that the tokenization market size to grow from $823.0 Million in 2017 to $2,258.6 Million by 2022, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 22.4%. The constant pressure of managing sensitive data of consumers, along with the need to manage stringent compliances, has led enterprises of all sizes to adopt tokenization solutions for critical information protection. Moreover, cloudbased deployment is gaining high traction in the market, as it requires less capital investment, helps decrease the operational and maintenance costs, and reduces the management’s efforts. Cloud tokenization solutions are available according to customer’s demand, wherein a customer can start or stop any service, at will. Tokenization solution replaces the payment card data with a unique token and helps organisations comply with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance.
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Tokenization solution can be used for payment security, user authentication, and compliance management. The payment security application area is expected to dominate the tokenization market and contribute the largest market share during the forecast period. It is expected to play a key role in changing the tokenization market landscape and grow at the highest rate during the forecast period, as the need for payment security is increased due to growing eCommerce sector and digitisation in the healthcare industry. Cloud deployment is the fastestgrowing deployment mode in the tokenization market, as it benefits organizations with increased scalability, speed, 24/7 services, and enhanced management capabilities. Small & Mediumsized Enterprises (SMEs) have opted for cloud deployment, as it can help them avoid costs pertaining to hardware, software, storage, and technical staff. North America is expected to have the largest market size and would dominate the tokenization market during the forecast period. Increasing penetration of the Internet and growing payment frauds have led to the growing payment security needs.
Furthermore, rapid economic growth in the developing APAC countries, along with improving regulatory reforms and economic stability is driving the growth of the tokenization market in this region. In Latin America, SMEs as well as enterprises belonging to a range of verticals, such as Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI), government, retail, healthcare, and IT and telecom, are expected to increase investments in tokenization solutions. For more information about this report visit www. researchandmarkets.com/ research/hwk6wj/tokenization
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Global Tokenization Market to Reach $2.25 Billion by 2022
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Councils Get Recognised in Awards for Small Businesses Support On Friday 14th June, local councils in the UK were recognised for their support for small firms as part of the annual Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) local authority awards. At FSB’s annual ‘Small Business Engagement’ lunch all councils in Coventry, Warwickshire & Solihull were asked to make known any project or initiative that promotes and champions local economic development. There were four awards which focused on small business friendliness: • Best ‘Small Business Friendly’ Campaign; • Best ‘Small Business Friendly’ Procurement Policy; • Best ‘Small Business Friendly’ Regulation Policy and; • Best All Round ‘Small Business Friendliness’. The awards form part of FSB’s lobbying activity to ensure that at every level of government, entrepreneurs are viewed as potential wealth, growth and job-creators of the future. Small businesses account for 99.3% of the private sector in the UK, so it’s vital that FSB makes it easier for them to thrive. This year’s winners were Warwick District Council for both the best procurement and regulation policies, Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council for the best campaign and joint winners for best all round small business friendliness went to Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council and Warwickshire County Council.
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Paul Miles Rogers, FSB Warwickshire and Coventry Chairman said: “We are delighted that Warwick District Council won two awards this year. Their application showed how they are finding solutions to the ongoing problem of small firms accessing public procurement, and looking at simple innovative ways of tackling the issue. They also showed a specific regulatory campaign that focused on support and guidance to improve standards by the food and safety team, by offering practical help, rather than enforcement.” “In Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough Council’s application they highlighted how they had delivered an innovative and inwardly focused project that brought the needs and the value of small businesses to the forefront of all council employees, encouraging them to think local first.” “The overall best small business friendliness award was a difficult category to judge, with very little between two councils. This is why it was agreed to award both Warwickshire County Council and Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council. Warwickshire County Council are continually coming up with new ways to respond on the ongoing issues of small firms – this is particularly evident in their support to tackle broadband and skills. And Solihull Council offer ongoing practical support for new and
growing businesses and can always demonstrate excellent partnership working for the benefit of SME’s.” Councillor Ian Courts, Cabinet Member for Managed Growth and Deputy Leader of Solihull Council said: “Receiving this award again is very special to us, gaining recognition for our efforts in supporting small businesses by the Federation of Small Businesses. Helping to grow our small business community is a key priority for Solihull, recognising their critical importance to the local economy. We will continue to develop programmes to respond to small business needs, working in partnership with FSB.” Councillor Dennis Harvey, Leader of Nuneaton & Bedworth Council commented: “It’s great to be recognised for our work in supporting local business. This is the fourth year we’ve won an award within the FSB’s ‘small business friendly’ awards, showing our commitment in this area. As a council, we do all we can to support existing businesses and attract new companies, large and small. I hope that this latest award demonstrates our continued commitment. We have a fantastic track record of supporting small businesses; they are so important to the economy of the borough, not just in terms of growth, but also for job retention and creation.”
Councillor Peter Whiting, Finance Portfolio Holder at Warwick District Council said: “The access for small businesses to the purchasing power of Local Authorities is really important for the local economy and something that we have been working on for some considerable time. It is therefore truly excellent news that Warwick District Council have won this award and is testament to this Authority’s accessibility and proactive business attitude.” Councillor Noel Butler, Business Portfolio Holder at Warwick District Council remarked: “I’m delighted that the two awards received from the FSB recognise the work done to encourage growth amongst the small businesses within Warwick District. We are committed to delivering a vibrant and diverse economy, and these awards show that we are on the right path. We look forward to continuing our work with our small businesses and organisations like the FSB.” Councillor Andrew Thompson, Health & Community Protection Portfolio Holder said: “Our food team here have taken a proactive and innovative approach to ensure that small businesses are given the very best chance to establish and thrive. For this to be recognised by the FSB is a fantastic endorsement of the team’s approach, and one that we hope other authorities will look to adopt.”
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Councils Get Recognised in Awards for Small Businesses Support
Councillor Peter Butlin, Deputy Leader of Warwickshire County Council commented: “We are delighted to be recognised for our support to small business. Economic growth and facilitating a prosperous Warwickshire is a key priority for the County Council and we fully recognise the significant role that small business plays in maintaining a successful and sustainable local economy. We look forward to continuing to work with the FSB and other partners in supporting small businesses to thrive in Warwickshire.� www.fsb.org.uk
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