Digital Innovation Magazine - December 2023 by iThink Media

DECEMBER 2023

DATA-DRIVEN TRANSFORMATION AND CONSOLIDATION AT GRÜNENTHAL EXPLORE THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF STREAMING VIDEO CONTENT

Pioneering transparency and accountability for patients with blockchain technology

Do you work with a disruptive and innovative company that’s going places?

We want to hear from you. Tell us all about the startup or SME by emailing enquiries@ithink.media and we’ll consider them for inclusion in an exciting project we have lined up in 2024. Subscribe and keep your eyes peeled. More to come soon…

december 2023

FROM THE EDITOR Welcome to the December edition of Digital Innovation Magazine!

ith the festive playlists in full swing and decorations adorning the office, Christmas is well and truly on its way here at iThink Media.

As our early Christmas present to you, we’re thrilled to bring you three exclusive interviews and a wealth of industry insights for this month’s instalment of Digital Innovation. For our cover interview, I speak to Alexandru Popa, Associate Director, Blockchain for Digital Supply Chain at MSD on pioneering transparency and accountability with patients in mind. We discuss how MSD has blazed a trail by deploying blockchain in the pharmaceutical industry since 2019 along with the technological innovation and strategic partnerships that have underpinned the company’s transformation (p6). Megan Reutin, Global Head of Data Science & Strategy at Grünenthal joins me to share insights into the company’s transformative data journey in recent years, driven by experimentation and innovation. Megan explains how Grünenthal’s data strategy is part of the company’s vision and purpose to change lives for the better and create a world free from pain (p34). I chat with Niko Hossain, CEO and Managing Director of logistics.cloud about how the company is building a collaborative logistics platform for global supply chain partners by sharing data seamlessly. Niko explains how logistics.cloud’s vision is to create the ‘Internet of Logistics’ – with maximum transparency and automation for all participants in the supply chain, in real-time (p60). In our tech features this month, we share four articles on the environmental impacts of streaming video content online (p24), a new open insurance ecosystem (p50), how smart implementation is crucial to successful AI innovation (p78) and five ways you can lower your energy bills with AI technology (p90). Last but by no means least, our Startup of the Month is fifty5north – the consultancy committed to driving the energy transition with its expertise (p102). While we might be winding things down before we close the office for the Christmas holidays, we are still looking ahead to 2024 with great excitement. We are launching a cracking project to celebrate startups and SMEs. If you work at or with a company that’s going to disrupt its industry with new technology or innovation – we want to hear from you! Tell us all about the company by emailing enquiries@ithink.media. We hope you enjoy our latest edition. As always, if you would like to be considered as an interviewee or if you have a story for us, please do get in touch. From all of us at iThink Media – we hope you have a relaxing Christmas and we wish you all the very best for 2024.

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Director

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Digital Innovation is a product of iThink Media Ltd. Company Registration Number: 10933897. Company Registered in England and Wales

Diving into the environmental impa video streaming

We speak to Alexandru Popa of MSD about deploying blockchain technology in the pharmaceutical industry

Megan Reutin discus Grünenthal’s transfo data journey

december 2023

Five AI-driven strategies for lowering your energy bills

Niko Hossain on sharing data seamlessly to build a global collaborative logistics platform

acts of

50 34

sses ormative

Deploying strategy and vision in AI innovation

102

Mia-Platform launches a new open insurance ecosystem

Meet fifty5north, our startup of the month 5

C OV E R STO RY

BLAZING BLOCKCHAIN PHARMA

G A TRAIL WITH N IN THE ACEUTICAL INDUSTRY Alexandru Popa, Associate Director, Blockchain for Digital Supply Chain at MSD on pioneering transparency and accountability with patients in mind.

WITH A HISTORY SPANNING MORE THAN 130 YEARS, MSD’S MISSION IS TO BRING HOPE TO HUMANITY BY DEVELOPING MEDICINES AND VACCINES THAT SAVE AND IMPROVE LIVES.

he company’s research-driven approach has kept MSD at the forefront of numerous medical breakthroughs, contributing significantly to the current state of the global healthcare sector. Since 2019, MSD pioneered the use of blockchain technology in the pharmaceutical industry with the

goal of protecting the patients it serves around the world. Here to shine a light on the transformational journey and technology involved in the process is Alexandru Popa, Associate Director, Blockchain for Digital Supply Chain at MSD. Alex’s role entails developing, prototyping and scaling blockchain

“OUR COMPANY'S MISSION IS TO SAVE AND IMPROVE LIVES” Alexandru Popa, Associate Director, Blockchain for Digital Supply Chain

solutions focusing on security and traceability related to MSD’s supply chain operations. Alex leads crossdivisional supply chain endeavours, serving as a project and delivery manager for the company’s latest digital solutions and platforms, and acting as the company’s SME (subject matter expert) on blockchain technology. He also works in collaboration with industry partners and stakeholders to form consortiums and write governance related to these partnerships. Before diving into some of the technological aspects of the deployment of blockchain and digital innovation at MSD, Alex emphasises the ‘why’ behind the company’s efforts since 2019. “One of the problem statements behind why we are doing what we are doing is that counterfeit products have become a real problem in recent years for the pharmaceutical industry,” 10

explains Alex. “The World Health Organization’s estimates are that one out of 10 pharmaceutical products are administrated wrongly, substandard, expired or counterfeit. The situation is worse in developing countries, where these issues affect one in three pharmaceutical products. “Our company's mission is to save and improve lives, so we questioned ourselves on what we can do better to combat and overturn this trend. Back in 2019, we reached the conclusion that blockchain was the best technology to create the first line

of defence for fully protecting our patients.” So how does your organisation at MSD design its roadmaps for digital transformation and strategy? “The way we operate, position ourselves and scale markets is centred around product, geography and capability – the latter binds in into the use case itself,” says Alex. “In terms of products, we focus on high-end flagship products, that distribute at a high volume. When it comes to geography, we centre our digital strategy around serialisation that

is serving as a digital anchor foundation for the specific market particularities we are serving. The capability aspect arises from the unique dynamics of problem statements and the feasibility of blockchain solution deployment within the supply chain. “Compared to the Fintech industry, where blockchain is approaching mature adoption, rolling out blockchain in the supply chain has its own unique challenges. Here we are creating a digital asset representation of moving, physical products. You have to close the gap between 11

the two realms and keep them on par, which we call the Last Mile gap. “Geography is a crucial factor because each market has a different flow in terms of how the physical product is passing through that region but also the administration and distribution to patients. The product has a different journey and a different model from market to market because of complicated supply chain and complex distribution models. It then becomes hard to scale or standardise the solution. So that's why this is a critical thing when we look into the geography as well, to understand where would

be easier to standardise a digital solution. “With regards to approaching digital strategy roadmaps in terms of capabilities, the way we see digital transformation is more of an orchestration of people, processes and technology. They all have critical roles in this process, but the most crucial dynamic focuses on people and their role in digital transformation.” According to Alex, the successful deployment of innovation and new technology hinges on team building, effective leadership strategies and collaboration.

“At MSD, we cover a very wide area of expertise and involve a diverse range of stakeholders in the solutions that we build,” explains Alex. “Typically, it involves several departments or teams, but I'm going to emphasise a few business functions. First, it involves supply chain management. Of course, you also must bring in IT-related or technology teams. Then there are also the regulatory, legal, financial, commercial and local market functions to consider as well.

“ONE OF THE FIRST PARTNERS THAT WE HAD ONBOARD WAS ZUELLIG PHARMA, A MAJOR DISTRIBUTOR IN THE ASIA PACIFIC REGION”

Back in 2019 when MSD decided to pioneer blockchain technology in the pharmaceutical industry, it embarked on its journey with partners by its side.

use the technology to prevent the distribution of counterfeits. We built a common infrastructure running Hyperledger Fabric as the tech stack, where we both had nodes into the network. We linked this with our mobile applications to allow the patient to verify their medicines package. We also enabled a full custody chain, so throughout blockchain inherited properties we then have the transparency that enables us as manufacturers to upload the serialisation data onto the blockchain. Then, when the goods are leaving our pack sites, both the product and supply chain events are timestamped throughout the entire journey as the goods are moving down the supply chain, all the way to the patient.

“One of the first partners that we had onboard was Zuellig Pharma, a major distributor in the Asia Pacific region,” recalls Alex. “We were both on the same page when it came to exploring how we could

“The same happens when the distributor receives our products and then when they dispatch them – all this movement is recorded onto the blockchain. Ultimately the patients or healthcare practitioners

“Ultimately, our vision is to connect these companywide departments by forging a digital trust highway, built on a backbone of blockchain,” summarises Alex. “People play a fundamental role in this endeavour, regardless of the innovative technology you use along the way, because you need understanding and consensus to execute integrated and impactful strategies effectively.”

Zuellig Pharma’s History of Innovation Making healthcare more accesible and improving lives Founded more than 100 years ago, Zuellig Pharma is one of Asia’s leading healthcare solutions companies, dedicated to the mission of making healthcare more accessible for the region’s populations. We strive to provide interconnected, customercentric healthcare solutions through a cohesive ecosystem powered by digital and data. However, as technology grows more sophisticated and supply chains grow more complex, so does the threat of counterfeit medicines, fragmented data and more. Zuellig Pharma wanted to reimagine supply chain resilience and greater compliance and transparency with true traceability and data analytics in mind. Our goal was to deliver a production-grade end-to-end traceability solution for the pharmaceutical industry with critical insights that matter.

Our Partnership with MSD Traceability in markets across Asia Zuellig Pharma and MSD share a common vision of putting patients at the heart of all that we do, and we are committed to harnessing the benefits of blockchain technology to drive transparency and visibility in the supply chain for greater product authentication and patient safety. Zuellig Pharma’s blockchain partnership with MSD began in 2020 to enable the traceability of vaccines in Hong Kong. Our longstanding partnership with MSD continues today – we have expanded the technology to other markets and products, and are committed to supporting MSD in ensuring greater traceability from plant to patient, tracking and tracing product and material movements across the value chain. We remain relentless in our joint pursuit of providing safe healthcare for all and will continue to build capabilities to support digitally enabled end-to-end supply chains, overcoming traditional data siloes.

How eZTracker Works as an Ecosystem Solution Built on Hyperledger Fabric (a distributed ledger platform), eZTracker strives to achieve industryleading standards as a supply chain traceability solution. It is capable of mapping the chain of custody down to the unit level to improve visibility through the provision of a digital identity, helping users make better decisions faster with granular insights via dashboards. As a dedicated ecosystem solution for the healthcare industry, eZTracker is one of the ways Zuellig Pharma leverages digital innovation to provide patient-centric and industry-enabling solutions for the pharmaceutical industry. Zuellig Pharma has also become a Patron Member of the PharmaLedger Association™ (PLA), a global not-for-profit based in Switzerland, with the vision to connect, protect, empower, build and sustain Healthcare 4.0 by enabling a Digital Trust Ecosystem in Healthcare (DTE-H). As part of our work with PLA, we are excited to define the future of healthcare with through next-generation digital solutions.

Manufacturer

Warehouse & Distribution

Patients & HCPs

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Track and trace solution: Scanning to update product data and movement

Scan code to verify if products are from authorised source. Report unrecognised products.

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• • • •

E-Product Information Treatment Traceability Solution Awareness and Education Referral Programmes

• Clinic / Pharmary Locator • Adherence Reminders • Cold Chain Monitoring

Find out more at www.zuelligpharma.com

can use a mobile app to verify and scan the 2D barcode printed on the packs. The pack serialisation data is verified on the blockchain. The custody chain also serves as a second layer of verification, clearly establishing if the product followed the legitimate supply chain. In some cases, the technology will alert patients if products are suspected of being illegitimate, or for instance when the medicines are diverted from the market authorised routes. The patients are notified whenever their medication cannot meet the verification criteria on the blockchain. 16

“These measures ultimately reduce the ‘cost of verification’ by providing a decentralised and transparent ledger, which eliminates the need for intermediaries and streamlines the validation process. We have global security teams investigating any cases where our protective measures are triggered. In this case, blockchain technology is tremendously reducing also the time they spend executing field investigations or understanding where and how products were falsified. “On top of these various protective measures, we have also built

partnership which make it such a strong collaboration,” says Alex. “First, our work together started with a common vision and the same thinking in mind: what we do, ultimately, is protect and safeguard the health of patients. Both companies are passionate about ensuring that the medicines patients use are legitimate, effective products. The drive to save and improve lives binds us together. “Second, our partnership allows us to close the gap between the upstream and downstream. We can offer them a partnership upstream and they become a partner to us downstream, offering a comprehensive end-to-end supply chain from the manufacturer all the way to the patient. business intelligence dashboards that collect information and data. The 2D barcode printed on the back of our products becomes the birth of its digital twin. It serves as a digital anchor for the real product, closing the gap between the physical and the digital world.” Elaborating on the importance of MSD’s partnership with Zuellig Pharma, Alex highlights the companies’ shared mission as a driving force for their combined endeavours. “There are three major aspects to the MSD and Zuellig Pharma

“Lastly, both of our companies are super open to innovation – we are both always looking into new ways for how we can foster collaboration and work towards common goals using innovation.” Alex explains that developing and deploying new technologies and digital strategies related to blockchain is only the first part of his role and the work of his team at MSD – it is then a question of scaling these innovations. “At MSD, our organisation operates as a Centre of Excellence for Blockchain and we are fortunate to 17

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Why Clients Choose eZTracker Protect patient safety and top-line Through just one scan, eZTracker provides peace of mind in real-time and improves visibility over product movement and highlights problematic hotspots or child codes.

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Elevate brand plans with an omnichannel Engage HCPs and Patients digitally to increase demand generation, encourage adherence and accelerate commercial growth.

Contact eztracker@zuelligpharma.com 18

www.zuelligpharma.com

have senior leadership support,” says Alex. “Our organisation is built around blockchain and supply chain management, but then we also partner with local markets and local divisions in order to be able to scale the projects in the regions where we are addressing the problem statements.” Since MSD embarked on its blockchain journey in 2019, the company has transformed its digital supply chain strategy

“EPCIS provides the standardisation framework for sharing information about the movement and status of the goods in the supply chain from manufacturer to consumer, ensuring transparency and traceability. This framework ensures that the events we record are understandable and readable in the blockchain and can be understood and replicated by all participants in the blockchain ecosystem.

“SINCE MSD EMBARKED ON ITS BLOCKCHAIN JOURNEY IN 2019, THE COMPANY HAS TRANSFORMED ITS DIGITAL SUPPLY CHAIN STRATEGY ALONG THE WAY” along the way and Alex highlights some new applications which are enhancing the company’s operations. “We have revolutionised our data access flow,” begins Alex. “Typically from our enterprise ERP systems, the serialisation data gets uploaded onto the blockchain. We achieve this through what we call message orchestration hubs. These hubs work as a plug-in adapter and can translate ERP serialisation data which is in GS1 EPCIS, which is an electronic product code information service.

“We're using APIs to do that and a key component to this is blockchain agnostic solution is the message orchestration hub we developed, that allows us to translate these messages. “We added an analytics layer where we plugged in dashboards with insight and diagnostic services, as well as an application layer where different companies or partners linking to the blockchain network can develop various applications on top of the network. This can include native mobile applications or Progressive Web Applications 19

that would support different processes while reading and writing the data onto the blockchain network. We use Hyperledger Fabric for opensource projects and we also have projects running on private Ethereum.” So, what does the future hold at MSD for blockchain? Alex explains that it all depends on how current technologies evolve and mature. “I think we are still fairly early in the blockchain space,” says Alex. “We are probably where the internet was in the early 2000s. Blockchain can evolve in several different directions from here. My personal take is that public blockchains are going to get more attention for corporate use moving forward. One interesting development centres around whether the confidentiality of transactions is going to be figured out or resolved by zero-knowledge proofs for public blockchains. Another aspect that might come to prominence is whether Layer 2 rollup solutions are going to be proven at 21

a large scale. I believe these will be some of the big topics in the next few years to come in terms of blockchain and enterprise-level deployment. “Lastly, what I predict is that AI and machine learning may be closing the gap when analysing all this data, in terms of optimising the product flows and supply chain routes. But before this can happen, first we need to have solutions of scale and be able to collect huge amounts of data and sort the data in order to make sense to apply AI on top of blockchains.” Wrapping up our discussion, Alex reiterates the importance of industrywide collaboration

and the role of consortiums in facilitating progress benefitting the entire digital ecosystem. “Building consortiums is a tremendously important part of my role,” insists Alex. “Blockchain doesn't make sense if you're doing it in isolation. If you're doing it just for yourself as a company, it doesn't bring value. The true value that it brings is through collaborating and building ecosystems with other participants, united by the idea that we can all benefit from the technology. “The main problem that blockchain solutions face in mainstream adoption is the lack of collaboration. We need faster,

more effective collaboration and the best way to do that is through ecosystem-driven consortiums, where everybody has an equal right to participate. The goals of consortiums should be, first, to close the gap of creating standards around the blockchain solutions that are going to be scaled and promoted. This is missing right now. Second, blockchain is getting traction but it's still in a tribalised manner, mostly. But through building consortiums, we can overcome these divisions. “The PharmaLedger Association consortium is a fantastic example of a project aiming to create a standard for blockchain solutions in the healthcare industry. It’s encouraging and great to see happening. “MSD is now part of the PharmaLedger Association consortium, and we are actively participating in the ecosystem to create and shape new standards for the industry. We were true pioneers of blockchain technology within the pharma industry back in 2019 and we are continuing that journey as part of the consortium to share the lessons we learned along the way and the expertise we’ve secured in the process.” To learn more about MSD, visit msd.com.

ON SUCCESS AND DIVERSE CURIOSITY Looking back over his career, Alex attributes much of his professional success to his curious nature. “I have various, diverse interests and I can go very deep into them,” explains Alex. “From technology, philosophy and history to competitive sports, I find tremendous value in cultivating a curious mindset. Maintaining these various interests helps me to understand the world better and have a more comprehensive view of it. This helps me in my professional life where I take this curiosity and apply it to developing, scaling, innovating and building digital products. Curiosity is an enabling force because it enhances the way you relate to different people and different environments, helping you connect the dots in a way that benefits your work no matter what industry you are in.” Connect with Alex 23

E N V I R O N M E N TA L

How does digital video consumption impact the global carbon footprint? Exploring the environmental impacts of streaming video content and how the industry might forge a greener future.

As video traffic flowing over public internet and corporate information technology (IT) networks explode at exponential rates, the technology community is coming to grips with the environmental implications of this resource-intensive category of traffic. ere, with Philippe Wetzel, CEO and founder of VITEC, a global technology leader in the IPTV space, we learn more about how video contributes to the global carbon footprint and how we can include ecosystem design and strategies to reduce the environmental impact in a business-savvy and rational manner.

The impact of digital video on sustainability and carbon emissions The internet contributes more than 3.7 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Within that, video represents over 80 per cent of the traffic that flows through this global network which is growing rapidly at about 25 per cent per year.

A similar dynamic is taking place over enterprise networks, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. A tremendous amount of video traffic is being managed by IT departments. This is why tracking the impact of digital video consumption across the business ecosystem is becoming increasingly important. Meanwhile, the number of screens consumers use — at home and work — is also multiplying at an astonishing rate. With all these devices in circulation, there is an increase in video and encoders to handle the exploding demand for video content, driven by the growth of video-heavy social applications — TikTok and WhatsApp, to name but a few. These factors drive high demand for encoders and decoders. It is in this context that it is important to focus on the details of video technology. Encoders, for instance, consume significantly more energy than decoders – 28

“User-generated video content for professional and personal purposes has skyrocketed. This is significantly elevating the carbon footprint of the video sector”

sometimes as much as 5 to 10 times as much energy, in comparison. In the past, there was an asynchronous relationship between these two categories of technology. Most video content was created — and encoded — by a much smaller percentage of the population compared to those who consumed – and therefore decoded video. Today, the gap between these two groups has narrowed significantly. User-generated video content for professional and personal purposes has skyrocketed. As a result, we not only have more traffic flowing through public and private networks, but we also have much more original content generation taking place. This is significantly elevating the carbon footprint of the video sector. As a result, industry executives are reevaluating how to balance sustainability with the ever-growing corporate and consumer demand for video content. This is why we — together as a video streaming community — must 29

take responsible steps to initiate an effort to reduce the carbon footprint on the entire value chain of this industry.

An industry-wide effort is required to reduce energy consumption Carbon footprint assessment must encompass all direct and indirect emissions within the value chain. This should include everything from the extraction of raw materials, design, manufacturing, transportation and even the final recycling of the devices. All key players will need to actively participate in reducing energy

consumption across their stage of the ecosystem. Optimising the energy consumption of each key player — and their products — can positively impact the planet. It can also be a good business practice, if done correctly, because it reduces costs for the key players in the long run. This makes it a win-win for everyone involved. In today’s market — across a growing number of geographic regions — environmentally optimised products and services are also more competitive. They reduce the raw material needed for production and consume less electricity upon deployment.

VITEC shares their commitments to sustainability and enlists their industry to join them VITEC has taken a leadership position in introducing a welldeveloped methodology, named GreenPEG, to move forward in a sustainable, measurable and accountable manner. This involves the implementation of a comprehensive strategy made up of five specific Initiatives. 1. Modern Facilities. In 2021, VITEC invested in photovoltaic panels and batteries to generate electricity for its manufacturing needs in

three separate facilities: one in Germany and two in the US (California and Georgia). In 2022, they built a facility in France that is up to the latest standards in energy efficiency. In 2023, the company has been working on upgrading its facilities in Scotland to include high-performance heat pumps. 2. Streamlining Logistics. In 2022, VITEC moved its US logistics centre from the West Coast to the East Coast to consolidate and reduce the surface area of its supply chain. This means fewer trucks have to travel fewer miles to meet logistical needs. By the

“The next step is to help guide the next video compression standard to ensure it is more eco-friendly and fast-enabled” end of 2023, they plan to achieve a similar outcome in Europe by moving to a single logistics centre. 3. Embracing energy-efficient design principles. VITEC has integrated eco-friendly requirements into their design control process and architecture. This has had a major impact on hardware and software designs. a. Software, for instance, is responsible for power management. Dynamically switching off — or into sleep mode — all hardware functions when not in use, can significantly reduce the impact on the overall energy consumption of products once they have been deployed into the market. One example is the VITEC SmartLink function for 32

ChannelLink IP Gateways. This feature can monitor video streams and detect if one is no longer being used. When this happens, the IP stream will automatically stop transmitting to save power. This showcases how to embrace energy-efficient design principles and illustrates how intelligent, sustainable software design directly impacts power consumption. b. On the hardware front, VITEC selects the least-consuming components and designs for optimal power. This leads to more compact products, fewer raw materials and less weight – thereby reducing production and transportation costs. 4. Product recycling. Whenever possible, VITEC uses raw materials with the best carbon footprints to ensure that the packaging and components on all products are easily recyclable. 5. Implementing real-time energy monitoring and controls. VITEC will begin integrating realtime energy monitoring and reporting on any future products. This will allow customers to assess their products’ overall power consumption and therefore be able to select the best mode for any specific application.

These steps have contributed significantly to VITEC’s ability to minimise its carbon footprint. The rest have been offset by financing United Nations-approved projects. More, however, needs to be done. It is not enough for a single company to engage in sustainability initiatives. An industry-wide effort is required. That is why VITEC is enlisting their key stakeholders, partner organisations and even competitors to join them in

creating sustainability initiatives across the entire ecosystem. The next step is to help guide the next video compression standard to ensure it is more eco-friendly and fast-enabled. To do so, VITEC is assembling a consortium of industrial and academic partners. They want to extend an open invitation to any other organisation willing to join them. Learn more at vitec.com. Source: Vitec 33

B U S I N E S S I N T E RV I E W

TRANSFORMATION AND CONS DOUBLING DOWN ON THE DATA AT GRÜNENTHAL Megan Reutin, Global Head of Data Science & Strategy at Grünenthal shares insights into the company’s transformative data journey.

SOLIDATION: TA JOURNEY

FOUNDED IN STOLBERG IN 1946, GRÜNENTHAL HAS DEEP GERMAN ROOTS BUT TODAY IT IS A GROWING GLOBAL BUSINESS WITH A VISION OF CREATING A WORLD FREE OF PAIN. rünenthal is a global leader in pain management and related diseases. As a science-based, privatelyowned pharmaceutical company, they have a long track

record of bringing innovative treatments and state-of-the-art technologies to patients worldwide. Their purpose is to change lives for the better, and innovation is their passion. They are focusing all

activities and efforts on working towards their vision of a world free of pain. In recent years, Grünenthal’s innovation has gone hand in hand with a journey of transformation and consolidation of the company’s data strategy. Here to tell us more is Megan Reutin, Global Head of Data Science & Strategy at Grünenthal. Megan joined the company two and a half years ago and her role covers a plethora of data aspects. These include oversight of Grünenthal’s commercial

data, use of data with regards to artificial intelligence (AI), advanced data science and analytics, data storage, sharing insights across the business as well as data literacy and education, adoption and enablement strategies – encompassing all sorts of analytics from omnichannel to content analytics. With all these complex moving parts to her role, Megan explains that Grünenthal’s data journey has evolved rapidly in the past five years, but it has been driven by experimentation and innovation.

“Grünenthal’s data journey has evolved greatly over time,” says Megan. “Originally, each of our individual markets had the responsibility of establishing their own data warehouse and over time they've developed their own data ecosystems. Some of these are incredibly intricate and complex. But around three years ago, Grünenthal made the decision to move towards a more centralised approach to data, where the goal was to enable easier and better analytics and reporting, and the company took the opportunity to introduce a data lake.

correct type of data for the insights that we would like to enable across the business, as well as making sure the data that we obtain from our partners is interpreted correctly. “Then there is Global Portfolio Commercialisation (GPC) in which our Marketing, Medical & Market Access teams sit: our asset teams (within GPC) are a cross-functional group that collaborate with our Commercial Excellence team across many initiatives whilst ensuring that everyone is aware if there’s a change in the market definition of either

“I LOVE THE WAY THAT YOU CAN BLEND DATA SCIENCE WITH TECHNOLOGY AND DATA TO REALLY FIND OUT THE INSIGHTS THAT YOU WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO DERIVE FROM SIMPLE REPORTING OR CALCULATIONS WITHIN AN EXCEL SPREADSHEET” Megan Reutin, Global Head of Data Science & Strategy “With regards to governance, each and every part of the business that creates and handles data has a role to play in the governance of the data itself. It’s not a single person, nor a single department's responsibility. There are always multiple teams involved. “We have the Commercial Excellence team, which is a team that I'm a part of, and we're in charge of driving insights, innovation and best practice for the business (amongst other things!), ensuring that we obtain the 38

the medicines or the molecules that are used themselves so we can ensure the definition is applied and reflected appropriately in the data structure. “Lastly, we have our Business Intelligence and IT teams that ensure the correct storage and the persistence of the data received from our partners, as well as enabling company-wide access to the data by the creation of highly streamlined and user-friendly dashboards.”

Despite the tremendous progress and advancements at Grünenthal in the past five years, Megan stresses that the company’s data journey is an ongoing, exciting process. “We have a real appetite in terms of exploring advanced analytics and data science,” says Megan. “We have a jam-packed project schedule that is super exciting. For instance, we're focusing on optimising the way that we're approaching omnichannel, with content analytics and we're also seeing where it's possible to identify potentially wasted effort in the company, so we can reinvest that effort elsewhere towards activities that really make sense to the business. “I love the way that you can blend data science with technology and 40

data to really find out the insights that you wouldn't be able to derive from simple reporting or calculations within an Excel spreadsheet. It gives data an edge that you won’t be able to find anywhere else. “Lastly, innovation, personally for me is key. I kickstarted my career by playing with bleedingedge technologies, which ignited a passion for challenging the norm and doing things a little bit differently with zero fear of the unknown in terms of new technologies. Thankfully, this experimental approach is welcomed with open arms at Grünenthal where we have a ‘fall fast’ culture, allowing the possibility to try things out without fear of reprisal. This attitude is incredibly important because it enables companies to have that

competitive edge: you learn just as much from failed experiments as you do from successful ones.” In the context of the company’s transformative data journey, Megan reiterates that a closely related priority for Grünenthal has been championing the responsible and ethical use of AI. “Grünenthal is championing the responsible and ethical use of artificial intelligence in a variety of ways,” explains Megan. “First and foremost, we have our Digital Ethics Charter, which outlines our commitments to digital trust and responsibility across a variety of areas, including artificial intelligence. “Secondly, our approach involves a collaborative effort behind the scenes, across a variety of departments. Our goal is to ensure that we're not only legally compliant, but also that those implementing or managing the implementation of solutions have the necessary guidance and education on important related dynamics, such as unconscious bias. “Thirdly, we're also actively increasing visibility on data and artificial intelligence, promoting transparency about how they are used within the company. Within this, combating data bias is also something that I'm incredibly

passionate about. Solutions are only as good as the data that's been fed in, and the good old expression ‘rubbish in rubbish out’ still stands strong today. All too often technologies are tarred with the brush of being awful, but data is what really matters – it is what makes or breaks a technology. If you don't have good data variety or good data quality, and bias is inherently present in the data, then subsequently this will be reflected in whatever solution is being created, whether you like it or not. A huge focus on the data prior to it being ingested elsewhere is absolutely of the utmost importance. “Lastly, I am, as are many people at Grünenthal, incredibly passionate about ethical artificial intelligence. I've presented several keynotes on this and one thing I would say is that it's everyone's responsibility to ensure that any technological progression, whether it's artificial intelligence or otherwise, is done ethically and without bias – right from the very beginning of ideation. It's not something you can just drop in at the end of a general release. It needs to be wholeheartedly included at the very beginning, with a concerted effort to ensure that the necessary attention is invested throughout the entire creation lifecycle, of whichever type of solution is being created. Without this, there's no trust and we fall back into that holding pattern of people being scared of technology, 41

“IN TERMS OF INNOVATION, DOMO HAS ALSO HELPED US ACCELERATE OUR DATA SCIENCE JOURNEY” with the notion of a sentient future just around the corner hanging over our heads, and people fearing that they've got no control over what's actually to come. “We need to absolutely obliterate any notion of this fear by increasing visibility on what is being created, how it’s being created and educating people about how to avoid the solutions that are not being created responsibly. So in other words, we must ensure artificial intelligence is explainable from the get-go.” On the topic of education and raising awareness about technology, Megan emphasises the importance of clear communication related to data science and ethical AI use because transparency is crucial to secure buyin across the company and beyond its walls. “First and foremost, good and frequent communication is key,” insists Megan. “Enabling visibility over what's happening, why it's happening and how it's been done is also incredibly important. There is a disparity between what needs to be done and how it's done with technology. Bridging that gap, so that it’s less of a black box for people, really seems to help. From the technical and statistical standpoint, there’s a 42

lot of language and terminology that people are not necessarily aware of. Increasing visibility on that vocabulary helps not only with the understanding of how things are done, but also alleviates the fear that might come with the unknown. Each person will have their own level of data literacy. Even within the same company, you’re not going to have the same level of awareness or comprehension across every single department. Certain individuals and departments will understand the value of data and the benefits quicker and easier than others, it’s only natural. But the goal is to bring everyone on that one single journey so absolutely everyone understands the value of data.” As Grünenthal embarked on its data journey in the past five years, Megan describes the importance of partnerships to the company’s innovation, operations and growth. “Partners are paramount to us,” says Megan. “Here at Grünenthal, partner relationships are built on open conversations, trust and respect. One such partner that we've been working with for over three years now is Domo. They have helped us accelerate our move to a centralised data lake, as we were able to prove rapidly that a

centralised data repository was indeed beneficial for the business. What's more, our collaboration with Domo actually allowed us to embark on accelerated experimentation with individual countries as our markets were, and still are, able to easily and rapidly blend local datasets with global datasets. This has enabled a plethora of interesting reporting and analytical capabilities that weren't possible before. “In terms of innovation, Domo has also helped us accelerate our data science journey, initially focusing on data science models that we borrowed from the CPG industry that also work really well in the pharmaceutical industry. In essence, these models allow us to look at our historical data to determine whether our communication channels are effective or not, for a specific brand or combination of markets, enabling the opportunity to dig down further or deeper into campaigns if we choose to do so.” Even though the transformational data journey has been underway at Grünenthal for five years, Megan describes how this is just the beginning. So what does the future hold for Grünenthal? “First and foremost, continuing our data journey is always 45

the objective,” says Megan. “Enabling better and more intricate or advanced insights is where I'd love to see the business moving. Another goal is to ensure that there is easier access to the company data across every department. As a passionate advocate of data and technology, I will always champion the increased use of data science in general, for a variety of different purposes and in a range of different departments. “Generative AI will also have a tremendous impact on things moving forward. There’s a tidal wave of change that’s coming and I firmly believe that there's tremendous potential for us to do things better and quicker, in ways that we never really thought possible before. In my opinion, we should welcome this opportunity with open arms. The way forward, for me, is artificial intelligence augmented human capabilities. So in other words, we will be using AI as a tool to help us in everyday life as well as in our working roles. And I can't wait to take things up a notch – bring it on!” For more information about Grünenthal, visit the company’s website grunenthal.com. 46

EMBRACING AI Megan highlights two resources related to artificial intelligence which have been particularly impactful for her that she highly recommends people check out. “The first is The A.I. Dilemma, a video by the same people that created The Social Media Dilemma,” says Megan. “It is definitely worth a watch and it's eye-opening. Parts are a little bit doom and gloom, but there are some positive messages in there. It actually gives huge insight into things that are happening and why it's so important that we play a role in ensuring that AI solutions are built out responsibly. “The second is titled 120 Mind-Blowing AI Tools. Each of these can help improve productivity, whether it’s in your professional or personal life. I've already started experimenting with some of these myself, just to see the kind of impact they can have – and it’s already helped reduce certain mundane and administrative activities that we all must do.” Connect with Megan 47

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INSURANCE

AN OPEN INSURANCE ECOSYSTEM Mia-Platform launches Open Insurance Hub as an end-to-end digital solution.

Mia-Platform, the London-based end-to-end platform builder and insurtech specialist, has announced the launch of the Open Insurance Hub to facilitate the integration of more digital services into the insurance ecosystem.

he Open Insurance Hub enables insurers and financial institutions to expand their product categories, enhance the customer experience, foster new partnerships and distribution channels, and shift to the Open Insurance model. This is achieved by making it easy to integrate the data of multiple different parties in the insurance

ecosystem through a single platform. In this way, more digital products and services can be adopted to improve the customer experience and differentiate insurers from their competition. “Customer expectations have evolved, and today’s policyholders demand seamless, personalised and convenient services similar to

“If insurers wish to remain competitive, relevant and capable of meeting customer needs, unlocking the value of digital technologies is a must” Federico Soncini Sessa, CEO and Co-Founder of Mia-Platform

those that they experience in other industries,” says Federico Soncini Sessa, CEO and Co-Founder of Mia-Platform. “Embracing the Open Insurance model will enable insurers to offer far more digital services, and all from one platform. Importantly, these new digital channels will generate 54

valuable data on customer behaviour, which can inform future product development and ultimately influence profitability.” McKinsey suggests the UK is at the forefront of a rapidly changing insurance landscape, leading innovation and growth within the 56

insurtech industry. For example, the UK has the highest density of insurtechs among major economies and the sector is worth an estimated $20bn. However, the insurance sector has traditionally been slower than other industries to adopt digital

“McKinsey suggests the UK is at the forefront of a rapidly changing insurance landscape, leading innovation and growth within the insurtech industry”

transformation due to specific challenges, such as combining multiple systems, changing user behaviour, the volume of data and how to process it effectively. The Open Insurance Hub comprises three primary layers to address these issues and bring

greater coordination of insurtechs. The first, data management, is a decoupling mechanism to aggregate data from multiple systems and third-party suppliers. The second is the composable insurance layer, which allows organisations to craft, reuse and enrich microservices that underpin 57

various functionalities within the insurance domain. The third is the digital experience layer, which orchestrates the aggregation of information and functions from different domains, preparing them for final touchpoints. “Traditional insurers who fail to adopt new digital solutions risk falling behind and losing market share in an increasingly tech-driven industry,” adds Federico. “The Open Insurance Hub will enable insurers to streamline operations, reduce administrative costs and enhance underwriting accuracy through advanced analytics and artificial intelligence. “If insurers wish to remain competitive, relevant and capable of meeting customer needs, unlocking the value of digital technologies is a must,” concludes Federico. To learn more about Mia-Platform’s Open Insurance Hub, visit www.mia-platform.eu Source: Mia-Platform 59

COMPLEXITY SIMPLIFIED: STEERING THE GLOBAL SUPPLY C BY SHARING DATA SEAMLESSLY Niko Hossain, CEO and Managing Director of logistics.cloud on providing a collaborative logistics platform for supply chain partners worldwide.

CHAIN

LAUNCHED IN 2018 AND BORN FROM MULTI-IND INNOVATION, LOGISTICS.CLOUD IS DRIVEN BY A THE FUTURE OF LOGISTICS WILL INVOLVE A SEAM EXCHANGE ACROSS ALL SUPPLY CHAIN PARTNER hampioning higher data quality, greater levels of transparency in the supply chain and easier connections among partners, logistics. cloud is powered by Lobster – offering a neutral logistics platform for shippers, carriers, customs, forwarders and third parties with low entry barriers. Joining us to share insights into logistic.cloud’s vision for building the ‘Internet of Logistics’ is Niko Hossain, CEO and Managing Director. Niko begins by explaining how logistics.cloud spans industries by offering a global and multimodal solution for exchanging transport data between all participants in a supply chain. The aim? Maximum transparency and automation: in realtime and across companies. “Logistics.cloud has been created to connect the whole world of logistics,” says Niko. “In logistics, you have a 62

highly fragmented environment with hundreds of thousands of different players, which of course use completely different software solutions. These might be for capacity bookings, transport management systems, logistics service provider search platforms, visibility, track and trace or control. “Logistics.cloud acts as a connection hub for all these different environments and enables customers – such as logistics companies, shipping companies and IT partners – to have an easy and standardised connection interface in terms of submitting data back and forth. “We are steering the data rather than hosting the data centrally. We are not the cloud on the top, where we receive all the data from everyone and hold it there as a kind of portal. Instead, we act as a steering system where we get the data infused by one company and

DUSTRY BELIEF THAT MLESS DATA RS.

we integrate and then generalise and forward the data to the output format of the recipient. “For example, we might identify a booking for DHL Express from a shipper, and then we directly steer it into DHL Express system – getting the

confirmation and sending it back to the shipper as well – so the companies know that everything is on track with the booking. “We built this steering solution as the first of its kind to address the gap in the market, with the goal of 63

connecting logistics providers around the world. As it stands, we are well established in the European market, with new connections emerging globally in China, the USA and other regions.

data exchange, while avoiding being locked into one connection with one company. We are trying to build the ‘Internet of Logistics’ by serving as a communications platform rather than an application platform.”

“For now, our major focus is still Europe because we are growing very fast but at the moment it is still a situation where most companies don’t even know that something like this exists.

Niko explains that one of the crucial benefits of seamless data exchange is the added value as each company or entity contributes new layers of information to the data, which has a compounding effect on the overall usefulness of the insights.

“Essentially, our clients can make use of logistics.cloud like a plugand-play solution for integration in logistics. The benefits are that it’s a much faster, cheaper and more flexible means of securing connected 64

“In days gone by, businesses knew it was beneficial to share data but there was a feeling that somehow you lost control of an asset in the process,” says Niko. “But nowadays companies

“WE ARE TRYING TO BUILD THE ‘INTERNET OF LOGISTICS’ BY SERVING AS A COMMUNICATIONS PLATFORM RATHER THAN AN APPLICATION PLATFORM” supply chain much more convenient and cost-effective.”

are realising it’s completely the opposite with data. The data will always stay with you, but if you share it, you see benefits because you create value for the other parties you share the data with but also your own organisation, adding value along the supply chain. “Imagine that you have up to 50 different touch points with multiple parties when you have a global supply chain for shipments, for example. It is a huge advantage when you share the data related to the shipment with all these parties. We have one of the most interesting business models today, but also for the future, because it makes coordinating logistics in the global

As logistics.cloud is entering an exciting phase of growth and worldwide expansion, Niko emphasises that the company’s service directly benefits the global supply chain by tackling some of the major pain points for the logistics industry, particularly for distribution by sea and air. “There are a lot of challenges in operating global supply chains because of the geographical implications when you have European or US companies who have suppliers in Asia or on the other side of the world,” says Niko. “You have the procurement departments which are ordering designated products from afar and, depending on the terms of trade, you then have to align if the forwarder is responsible throughout all the processes, which can be expensive. Or, if you are responsible 65

for the whole supply chain, and then you have to secure all the information and share it with the designated parties. “For example with maritime logistics, items must be collected from the plants, transported to the harbour, placed in the right container and allocated to the right ship. The ship might then travel for weeks, touching several harbours on its way to the final port of destination before unloading and distribution. Throughout the process, you need detailed information in real time to inform the relevant logistics parties and companies along the way. “Depending on the nature of the global supply chain in question, you might have at least 10, 20, or even 30 different parties involved because all the connected logistics companies will, in turn, also use their own suppliers for their services. There are a tremendous amount of potential touch points and many fragmented parts in the supply chain, which we are trying to connect at logistics.cloud to make it possible to have a flow of data information with clear visibility and precision. “With air freight, it’s a completely different story because you have incredibly short notice times so there’s even more urgency for real-time data and access to the 66

latest information. Typically, the value of the goods transported by air freight is very high as well, which only complicates things further because expectations increase accordingly.” According to Niko, a major driver and motivator behind building the ‘Internet of Logistics’ is helping its customers and partners have end-toend visibility and transparency across their entire supply chains – regardless of the size or scale of the companies involved. Niko explains that logistics. cloud helps users at the earliest opportunity to facilitate this goal. “Logistics.cloud steps in at the very beginning, right from the point where 68

we receive data from ERP systems or lead-in systems when a shipment or demand is created,” says Niko. “We retrieve the data from their systems and then we directly share it with all parties along the supply chain. That's a huge benefit because if you have already shared the data with an individual connection, for example, you will usually lose most of the information because in terms of data integration, much of the data which is not needed for that specific player will be erased or left unused. The loss of information passes onto the next actor in the supply chain and you cannot extract relevant insights further down the line.

“LOGISTICS.CLOUD STEPS IN AT THE VERY BEGINNING, RIGHT FROM THE POINT WHERE WE RECEIVE DATA FROM ERP SYSTEMS OR LEAD-IN SYSTEMS WHEN A SHIPMENT OR DEMAND IS CREATED” “So we step in at the earliest opportunity to get the data from the ERP and then share it to the TMS system. As a result, logistics service providers and all the parties along the supply chain which need this data can access it – but we also ensure that the seamless integration works in both directions. We share this data with the other logistics companies, shippers, suppliers and customers so that everyone handling and acting

with these shipments has the same information.” One of the challenges logistics.cloud reconciles is working with companies of various sizes, operating in dozens of languages, using diverse systems and bringing them together seamlessly and effectively. Niko describes how this is made possible by the company’s data model and system architecture. 69

“SO WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR THE DIGITAL SUPPLY CHAIN INDUSTRY? NIKO EMPHASISES FIVE MAIN DEVELOPMENTS: VISIBILITY, PREDICTION, SUSTAINABILITY, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) AND CONNECTIVITY” “We created a highly comprehensive data model which covers air freight, sea freight, road transportation along with courier and express transportation,” says Niko. “We analysed all of these different commodities of transport and created a generic data model for them. It's published on Swagger UI so anybody can examine the model. If we see a new requirement coming up, we just add that to our data model. In addition to our comprehensive data model, we have a decoupled exchange which means that we are not directly connecting one company with another. Instead, we have an outer core where we connect these companies individually with their systems. Within this, we integrate the data in an inner core of our system, which is then generically working with our data model. That means that we have a two-layered translator. So first of all we take the language of origin, say it’s English, and we translate it into a universal language internally. From this generic centralised language, 71

we send it to the data’s destination site and retranslate it into the specific language of the receiver. Our method means we can make all the global systems talk with each other seamlessly.” So what does the future hold for the digital supply chain industry? Niko emphasises five main developments: visibility, prediction, sustainability, artificial intelligence (AI) and connectivity.

and consumption are on the horizon so the environmental impact of an organisation’s operations will have to be considered just as carefully as their overheads and costs. “I think AI will help scale up the speed of connectivity across multiple industries and sectors. Today, we are in the early stages of its usefulness where we are analysing data, finding structures in the data and correlating or checking the insights

“WE HAVE WORKED TOGETHER WITH SOVEREIGN SPEED SINCE OUR EARLY DAYS BY COLLABORATING WITH THEM AND ALL THEIR CLIENTS VIA THE LOGISTICS.CLOUD PLATFORM” “The whole topic of visibility is still on the rise, so I think in the future all shipments will have to be completely visible,” predicts Niko. “But that's just the beginning. The logical next step will be prediction. Where's the demand? How can we analyse what’s happening and identify the best course for future action? How long should processes take and how can we keep customers accurately informed? These are the sorts of questions that will become increasingly important. “Sustainability is already a crucial topic, but it will become even more prevalent in the digital supply chain. New regulations related to emissions 72

accordingly. But I think we are approaching the stage where we will be able to execute these processes completely automatically, in seconds. It will then be a question of applying machine learning to the automated AI processes, which is where I see tremendous potential for driving value for businesses whether it's in planning, market analysis, pricing or applications. “Lastly, connectivity and integration are on the rise in the digital supply chain, enabled by companies like logistics.cloud, which will help businesses thrive by increasing tracking visibility and offering real-time insights but also by

a seamless and connected system which everyone in the supply chain could make use of. Sovereign Speed is a fantastic strategic partner for On the topic of collaboration, Niko us because they have been pushing emphasises the importance of logistics.cloud forward alongside embracing working with strategic our own internal efforts to build the partners at logistics.cloud since the company. Together, we have created company launched in 2018. a lot of success stories with their clients by exchanging data from “Sovereign Speed was one of our first different systems via one unified partners, which has really worked connection. Today, we are doing all for both of us,” says Niko. “We have worked together with Sovereign Speed Sovereign Speed’s data integration across Europe in various different since our early days by collaborating commodities, in everything from long with them and all their clients via the haul and last mile to warehousing logistics.cloud platform. They have an impressive range of large clients in operations. More and more companies are joining their business, logistics working as service providers so it’s been a terrific success story to for them. Sovereign Speed saw the work with Sovereign Speed.” value in using logistics.cloud to build fostering strategic partnerships and collaboration.”

“MYLEO / DSC CAN REALLY FOCUS ON THEIR FEATURES, APPLICATIONS AND CUSTOMERS WHILE WE COVER THE CONNECTIVITY TO THE LOGISTICS COMPANIES AND OTHER BUSINESSES. WE WORK TOGETHER AS A TEAM, IN CLOSE PARTNERSHIP” “Another valuable strategic partner we’ve relished the chance to collaborate with is myleo / dsc,” adds Niko. “Myleo / dsc was one of the first large software partners we had join us at logistics.cloud. They are a software-as-a-service company that is very much driven by empowering their customers by offering fast usage of the software they make available.

Myleo / dsc have a lot of customers in different industries and offer them a vast range of solutions. We partnered with myleo / dsc in an arrangement where they act as the application layer and we are the connectivity layer below it. The concept plays out fantastically because myleo / dsc can really focus on their features, applications and customers while we Your Digital Supply Chain

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cover the connectivity to the logistics companies and other businesses. We work together as a team, in close partnership.” Wrapping up our discussion, Niko lauds the upward trends of innovation

and collaboration in the digital technology field. “Having worked in this field for several years now, developments come and go but currently I really see a rising wave of exciting developments 75

related to digital solutions and automation,” says Niko. “In a context where we face labour shortages and uncertainty in the supply chain, it is reassuring to see a shift towards data, technology and innovation to deliver services the customer needs and wants. “AI is an enabling force accelerating this digital journey, adding energy to the drive for innovation. “Digital ecosystems built on technological connectivity and strategic partnerships among businesses are also on the rise, when we compare to the situation a few years ago. Back then, every solution provider and every player on the market tried to operate independently with a winner-take-all mentality. Fortunately, today there is an understanding that you have to work together in large digital ecosystems to survive and thrive. There are so many different players and solutions now, you cannot solve problems all alone. You have to play together to create value for the customer.” Visit logistics.cloud to learn more. 76

ADDED VALUE

RIDING THE WAVES OF INNOVATION Niko loves to surf and draws parallels between the sport and succeeding as a business. “It’s about finding the right wave, riding it and then paddling back to find the next one,” says Niko. “I’m totally convinced that the waves of innovation and the communities of companies driving digital technology will take things forward positively. “I’m incredibly proud and happy with what we’ve achieved at logistics.cloud so far. Our initial idea and inspiration has evolved into a wave of innovation and we are thrilled more and more companies are joining us as we grow as a business and expand into new regions around the world.” Connect with Niko

A RT I F I C I A L I N T E L L I G E N C E

SMART IMPLEMENTATION IS THE KEY TO SUCCESSFU AI INNOVATION Intentional strategy and vision are crucial for the future of artificial intelligence.

THERE’S NO DOUBT, AI HAS THE POTENTIAL TO TRANSFORM INDUSTRIES AND GOVERNMENTS ALIKE. BUSINESS LEADERS AND POLITICIANS ARE INCREDIBLY ENTHUSIASTIC. recent survey by digital consultancy Emergn suggests that 94 per cent of new digital products and services will be AI-powered by 2028, whilst the European Union has a substantial commitment of €1bn per year for AI development. But mere adoption isn’t the endgame. Without strategic foresight, critical evaluation of AI potential for business value and correct implementation, the surge can easily degenerate into a race

where entities rush to simply be part of the trend, regardless of its actual fit or value. Business leaders need to think carefully about what AI can deliver and how it should best be deployed in their organisations. If they don’t, at best we’ll see suboptimal results, and at worst we’ll see negative consequences that divert us from the path of principledriven, customer-centric and value-creating change. Last month’s global AI Security Summit in the UK gives us a clear example of

how this fundamental point is being missed. The Summit’s most concrete result was a plan to establish AI Safety Institutes to assess the potential existential threats of AI models. These long-term risks matter a great deal. But a more immediate threat isn’t discussed enough: the gap between the desire to unlock AI’s potential and a proper understanding of how to do this correctly. Alongside the well-documented medium- and long-term security 82

and safety concerns around AI, we also need to focus on best practices for now. Practically speaking, this means

1. Leaders need tools and methods to properly evaluate AI’s long-term growth and value-creation opportunities for their businesses. 2. Leaders must also be given the confidence to show patience. The rush to invest must not distract from the need to invest in the right way. They need to embed secure AIliterate infrastructures that can

harness the transformative power of AI in its most safe, ethical and sustainable way. This means employing experienced product development teams capable of creating and deploying the technological solutions sought by customers – alongside the cultivation of leadership, product management and agility skills within teams to optimise returns on AI investments. Ultimately, businesses must not simply jump onto the AI

bandwagon and embrace new technologies with no critical examination of AI use cases. Organisations must understand the genuine needs of their customers and evaluate whether AI is an appropriate solution for the most efficient delivery of a better product or service. For example, there remain concerns around increasing automation of certain jobs, or gender- and racially-biased algorithms, while online media and news have become even murkier with AIgenerated images and videos, AI 83

voice changers and deepfakes infiltrating political and social spheres.

The risks of premature or suboptimal AI deployment Barriers to the confident and successful deployment of AI remain to be overcome and require time and preparation. Few companies have evaluated and implemented risk and riskmitigation strategies as part of their AI development and deployment strategy – only 5 per cent according to KPMG’s Generative AI Survey 2023. This presents immediate risks. AI and deep learning models can be difficult to understand, leading to a lack of transparency and interpretability. This will have significant implications if, as the data shows, AI’s reach is set to accelerate product and service development of previously unconsidered arenas like critical infrastructure, healthcare, education and public services – which now seems likely. Pledges made at the recent political party conferences in 84

“For businesses, AI anchored in clari

Alex Adamopolo

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ous, Emergn CEO

the UK – Network North, NHS, National Grid overhaul – could all potentially harness AI, while the EU’s 2021–2027 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) has dedicated €2.5bn of investment in opening up the use of AI by businesses and public administrations. The societal cost of incorrect implementation, and thus failure, could be vast. For example, AI built on skewed data sets is already entrenching bias. Failure to secure sensitive patient data could limit rather than endanger access to healthcare. Automation in public services could reinforce rather than rebalance wealth inequality.

The right foundations to unlock AI’s value potential To understand how best to unlock AI’s value potential, companies must concentrate on key factors that underpin their success. The key factors were identified in Emergn’s research. 71 per cent of respondents agreed data privacy is critical, whilst 70 per cent highlighted accuracy as vital for delivering credible and reliable results. 60 per cent acknowledged scalability as a pivotal consideration, as it 85

“AI busi powe effecti a holisti

allows companies to expand and accelerate their operations while preserving product quality and service efficiency. These key pillars will lay the foundation for effective AI integration, empowering companies to navigate evolving technology whilst ensuring long-term success in the ever-changing business landscape. Addressing these key pillars, though, requires several fundamental structures to be in place. These include experienced professionals – digital consultancies such as Emergn being one example – who can provide experienced product development teams to build and deliver the technology solutions that clients demand. They can also help develop operating models and governance

is set to fuel the iness future. But for its er to be most safely and ively unleashed requires ic approach”

structures to drive accountability and foster AI literacy throughout the organisation.

The true value of AI lies in the wisdom of its application AI is set to fuel the business future. But for its power to be most safely and effectively unleashed requires a holistic approach. To deploy AI at scale, and in so doing scale up value, businesses must not just innovate, but innovate right. As Emergn CEO Alex Adamopolous commented: “For businesses, AI adoption should be anchored in clarity and integrity. Navigation of the AI landscape requires a two-pronged approach: first, leveraging AI for business automation and simplification; and second, doing so alongside programs that foster continuous learning, ensuring new practices not only align with technology but also challenge and refresh legacy thinking.” In essence, the true value of AI lies in the wisdom of its application. Source: Emergn

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5 WAYS AI HELPS YOU TAKE BACK CONTROL OF YOUR ENERGY BILLS Drive down costs this winter with smarter meters and the latest AI technology. household energy consumption is at an all-time high, with energy price hikes squeezing many Brits for more than they can afford this winter. And yet, most current smart meters are not quite smart enough to give consumers the level of understanding and insight they need in order to change the ways in which they use electrical appliances in their homes.

Thankfully, the latest artificial intelligence (AI) technology can now help anybody, with or without a smart meter, to take back control of their energy usage and bills. And make their homes more efficient, greener, reliable and safer. Here are five ways in which the latest AI-powered energy insights can help cash-strapped Brits to take back control of their energy bills and make essential savings this winter.

CURRENT SMART METERS NEED AIBOOSTED INSIGHT While existing smart meters can provide some insights into energy usage, they only report these after the damage to your wallet is done. Existing UK smart meter generations don’t even send more than data that is needed for billing, and definitely more weekly or monthly than in real-time. Integrating AI-driven sensors to energy monitoring is the key to filling in the gaps, so that consumers can make decisions in the moment rather than a week too late. Smarter, AI-driven options provide consumers with clear, user-friendly information in real time – helping you to better understand how to change your behaviour to make essential savings.

AI OFFERS YOU ACTIONABLE INSIGHTS AND CLEAR ADVICE Your current electricity bill doesn’t provide you with actionable insights and clear advice into what you need to do to save money. Most households need expert advice but don’t know where to look and who to trust. Consumers need clear, understandable information to improve their comfort and peace of mind, and insights into how to be more

sustainable with their energy usage. An electricity sensor supported by AI-driven insights is the additional step customers need to gain information for planning their next steps. This addition can help households feel that much more in control of their energy usage and bills.

99 PER CENT HAVE NO VISIBILITY OVER WHAT IS CAUSING DAMAGE TO THEIR WALLET Current energy meter displays show lump costs rather than a breakdown of what appliances are causing the most damage to your wallet. Well over 99 per cent of Brits still don’t have visibility on what contributes the most, and an understanding of how and where to cut back. AI-powered insight into the cost and usage of each appliance

in your home is the key to giving you complete visibility of your energy costs. Every appliance in your home has a very specific and identifiable ‘energy fingerprint’. Sensors backed by AI are able to track the real-time costs per appliance, so households can change the ways they use those appliances that are costing them the most.

KEEPING YOUR ENERGY DATA UNDER YOUR CONTROL Consumers need better ways of controlling and understanding the data about their own energy usage. AI-powered insights from a trustworthy source that isn’t your energy company enable this. It essentially offers households insights from an independent expert they can trust, and one that isn’t trying to take more of their household money for energy bills. Accurate, AI-driven energy usage insights offer you complete peace of mind. That’s because getting these insights yourself, and making any necessary adjustments to your behaviour based on these, gives you back more control over your bills and energy spending.

FUTUREPROOF YOUR HOUSEHOLD ENERGY USAGE With energy prices forecast to continue rising this winter and into 2024, future-proofing is needed in order for households to gain total visibility of, and to make essential changes needed to, their energy usage and spending habits. Investing now in a “smarter meter” powered by AI helps to safeguard household spending for the future and ensures that, no matter what energy prices continue to do in the future, you are one step ahead in regard to managing your household energy costs and carbon footprint.

Source: Voltaware 98

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IN THE SP OTLIGHT

Driving the energy transition with knowledge, expertise and passion ased in the Scottish Borders, our Startup of the Month is fifty5north – a consultancy with a wealth of systems integration experience within the energy sector. The fifty5north founders share a commitment to contributing to driving the energy transition through consulting in energy-related areas they see as critical to delivering net zero. Working with utilities, regulators, governments and local authorities, as well as citizen organisations, the company brings their passion, knowledge and experience to all its projects.

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By providing expert input into solving challenges around grid digitalisation, developing local energy systems and consulting on decarbonisation strategies, fifty5north is focused on helping organisations deliver upon their commitments, as well as innovating to pave the way for new solutions. The world is changing with every new solar array, electric vehicle and local energy system – and fifty5north’s ambition is to be an enabler for that change. The company believes it is important that energy consumers are not simply subject to the changes in our energy system – rather they should play an active part and share in the benefits economically as well as environmentally. To this end, the company applies its experience in the energy sector across various national markets to create innovative new business models to empower energy consumers and prosumers

“The world is changing with every new solar array, electric vehicle, and local energy system, and fifty5north’s ambition is to be an enabler for that continued change” Denver Rumney, CEO

to profit from providing flexibility to the grid. As with any energy sector area, knowledge of relevant evolving regulations is key, and this is a specialism the company offers insights and consults on. The operational leadership of fifty5north is made up of CEO Denver Rumney and CTO Jörgen Rosvall whose combined experience spans energy networks, IT/ICT systems, HVAC and low carbon technologies, with roles involving technical specification, project management and leadership. After a successful spell working together in a major utility, the pair have founded fifty5north along with Hiberion Group AB based in Sweden and cooperating with its Swedish sister consultancy Novion Technologies. The international aspect to the company doesn’t end there though, as fifty5north are already incubating projects and relationships in North America and the Caribbean.

Trajectory Fifty5north has an ambition to establish themselves as referent

consultants providing expert support to relevant stakeholders wherever their service is needed, be that Edinburgh, Vancouver or Barbados. Although the company was recently established, it is already engaged in consulting with a major utility, working with a grid solutions provider on an innovative new flexibility product and developing a pilot for a digital energy-sharing concept with a university. The company’s aim is to grow its consulting team further in 2024 adding additional expertise to support clients and partners. “The world is changing with every new solar array, electric vehicle, and local energy system, and fifty5north’s ambition is to be an enabler for that continued change,” says CEO Denver Rumney. “Our offer is our passion, knowledge and experience in both the energy industry and the technologies driving the energy transition. Our ability to combine these is what uniquely enables us to solve problems and create value in everything from the strategic to operational levels.” Learn more at fifty5north.com. 103

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