Digital Innovation Magazine - October 2021 by iThink Media

e x c l u s i v e

Amazing Oriental The largest Asian supermarket chain in the Netherlands

Explains the importance of a data-driven approach when reaching smart factory maturity

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Welcome to the October edition of Digital Innovation. There has been a real sense of excitement in the air this month… The office diary is filling up with dates for interviews and there has been a noticeable return of in-person events. As such, check out pages 2 and 79 for food for thought! It was fantastic to interview Jens Fath, Partner Advisory Operations at PwC Germany, this issue (p6). Jens is responsible for topics related to smart manufacturing and smart factories, so it was interesting to hear his thoughts on how organisations can reach maturity. Speaking of big ambitions, we also talked to Patricia Sjauw-Eik, COO – Supply Chain at Amazing Oriental. Patricia was tasked with the job of putting systems in place to transform the company’s complex supply chain. You can read the full story on page 36. What’s more, we have an intriguing Q&A courtesy of cognitive procurement pioneer, Zycus. Find out more about the company’s services, solutions and success stories, as well as a snapshot of its flagship procurement event, Horizon, by turning to page 76.

e x c l u s i v e

Amazin Orientalg

The larg est Asian superm arket cha in in the Net herland s

Explains the imp approach ortance of a data-drive when rea n ching factory maturity smart

Danielle Harris Director d.harris@ithink.media

Tom Barnes Director t.barnes@ithink.media

Daniel May Senior Digital Designer design@ithink.media

Plus, whether it’s health (p64) or motoring (p54), space (p24) or politics (p82), we bring you the latest tech news to have made an impact across each market segment. Have a great month!

+44 (0) 203 890 1189 enquiries@digitalinnovationeu.com

Anna McMahon Editor editorial@ithink.media

All rights reserved. Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of material published in Digital Innovation Magazine. However, the company cannot accept responsibility for the claims made by advertisers or contributors, or inaccurate material supplied by advertisers. Digital Innovation is a product of iThink Media Ltd. Company Registration Number: 10933897. Company Registered in England and Wales

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Oxford Covid vac could revolutioni battle against can

Jens Fath, Partner Advisory Operations at PwC Germany, talks smart factories

How Edinburgh i exploring satellite technology to fig change

Patricia Sjauw-Eik on Amazing Oriental’s complex supply chain transformation

ccine ise the ncer

is e ght climate

We chat to the pioneer in cognitive procurement, Zycus

Estonian Government offers the opportunity for tech innovators to work with them

Mendi is October’s start-up of the month

AI camera technology tracks autonomous vehicle drivers to determine their response time 5

C OV E R STO RY

Jens Fath, Partner Advisory Operations at PwC Germany, explains the importance of a data-driven approach when reaching smart factory maturity.

Written by Anna McMahon | Produced by Jennifer Davies

JENS FATH JOINED THE AUDITING AND CONSULTING FIRM, PWC GERMANY, FIVE MONTHS AGO AS A PARTNER IN THE OPERATIONS TRANSFORMATION UNIT. ogether with his partner colleagues, he is responsible for topics related to smart manufacturing and smart factory. The 200-strong operations team consults customers end-toend on everything from the development and innovation process via purchasing and supply chain, to optimisation and manufacturing. So, how would Jens describe his smart factory approach? He answers, “We use the data that is available to a company or plant, analyse it, and try to implement data-driven use cases and data-driven processes. The starting point is always the strategy. Why

should a company transform the factory processes to reach smart factory maturity levels? The second step is finding the right use cases to quickly realise benefits that will have an impact on the bottom line of our customers. We want to combine connectivity and a full IT architecture with the selection of the right solutions and the realisation of the right use cases in order to process efficiency in the smart factory.” As the global supply chain is getting more and more connected, Jens argues that a smart factory can only be smart if it is using data around the factory, such as

delivery dates and information pertaining to problems in the delivery chain. He says, “To reach smart levels, the factory must be fully integrated in global supply chain. IT architectures seem complex at first, but the smart factory systems are now so developed that they interoperate and allow us to automate more. If you have the right data available, production planning can be digitalised and automated. So, the IT maturity level of factories is improving, but we have to trigger the mind change in people to show them that the data will bring huge benefits in the end.” Changing the mindset is one challenge for Jens and his team, whilst enabling the digitalisation

“To reach smart levels, the factory must be fully integrated in global supply chain” 10

of the end-to-end supply chain is another major focus. Jens explains, “I had the pleasure of advising a project in the past on algorithmdriven production, where the production system decides which product to produce next. To bring the right components to the right machines, you need to link the manufacturing and intralogistics processes. Digitalisation holds

the key because automation is not enough. We need the data to make the decisions in a flexible manufacturing approach.” Speaking of algorithm-driven production, Jens shares the analogy of two machines in the smart factory doing the same job. Based on the data, we know using machine A results in better quality

products than using machine B, whilst machine B is superior in terms of the maintenance aspect. Jens adds, “If we know that the process data we are collecting is changing for one of the machines, this will impact the algorithm that decides which product is next, so the algorithm can therefore level depending on the data and raise quality and output.” 11

In such digitalised and integrated manufacturing processes, a database as central platform, including all the routine information about the products, provides a base for calculations. Jens says, “If we have the chance to group back real production data into the direction of R&D, the data quality in the digitalised factory will increase, raising the maturity level of the smart factory.”

“Simulated processes based on AR and VR can help people in the plant to understand new changes”

So, what are the current and emerging technologies that Jens recognises as most prevalent? He answers, “In my opinion, AR and VR are increasing because of the training entity. Simulated processes based on AR and VR can help people in the plant to understand new changes. The second element is all the analytic tools in combination with RPA. Having real-time interaction based on AI, for example, is creating a lot of hype at the moment, and can improve the production planning processed dramatically. Last but not least, you need other delivery and manufacturing concepts between your machines. Autonomous Guided Vehicles (AGVs) can connect the 13

“ADAMOS is a good example of joining forces. Their goal is to bring services together on a platform that can be used by all companies in the network, as well as selling services to other companies in the market. ADAMOS is a strong corporation, focused on collaboration for the new business model”

different work centres, so many of our customers are now thinking about how they can use them effectively.” A well-shaped company’s IT architecture determines how successfully it can use, for example, AGVs, as Jens explains, “Most customers have small and large components. Where production is on one level, the hardware can have restrictions. It is hard to find one supplier that can deliver on all the different requirements; one may be better for smaller components, whilst

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“If you take our key IT platform provider and ERP system vendor, if they were unable to collaborate, the INTEGRATED IT landscape would not be realised. Key partnerships are not only relevant for large companies, but also the smaller ones” Jens Fath, Partner Advisory Operations at PwC Germany

another could be better suited to forklifts. If you want the best efficiency out of your plant, you need an independent supplier orchestration layer in your IT landscape that knows what every component is doing. Failure to do so means each AGV supplier will provide its own orchestration layer, and you might end up with 18

several orchestration layers that are not optimised end-to-end. That is the main risk in such AGV projects.” Sometimes a customer is uncertain as to whether they require an IoT platform, or if their Manufacturing Executing System (MES) can get to grips with what they are trying to achieve. With the requirement

“Everything is getting faster, so factories have to be more dynamic. A new product variant used to need a whole new production line, but with dynamic concepts and a strong R&D link, we can automate existing machines for variants”

sources into the IoT platform for analytics amongst other functions, helping to standardise the IT architecture.” for more analytics and greater integration, however, there is an increased need for an IoT platform. Jens says, “MES is responsible for the execution and control of the machines, along with the ERP system for the enterprise processes. The data is collected and then brought together with a lot of other data

The benefits of dynamic, datadriven operations are plentiful. Aside from the flexibility and resilience they offer, Jens says that dynamic factories, centring operation processes on machines, makes the jobs of the workers far more interesting. He continues, “Everything is getting faster, so factories have 19

“We are likely to give the heavy jobs to machines, so the workforce can handle processes in the production and ensure quality at the end of the day”

to be more dynamic. A new product variant used to need a whole new production line, but with dynamic concepts and a strong R&D link, we can automate existing machines for variants. This enables us to handle lot size 1, as well as special demands of our customers.” As for the question of whether human beings are likely to be replaced by robots in the future, Jens believes the key functions of a factory will continue to be managed by people. He explains, “There will be more management positions for workers to control the system and interact if there 20

is a problem. Some skills are hard to transfer from people to machines. We are likely to give the heavy jobs to machines, so the workforce can handle processes in the production and ensure quality at the end of the day.” PwC’s goal is to harmonise and standardise the IT architecture, 22

whilst combining the best functionality together, and enabling factories for efficient processes. But this means the key solution providers have to work in a more integrated fashion to be successful. Jens says, “If you take our key IT platform provider and ERP system vendor, if they were unable to collaborate, the integrated IT

“PwC’s goal is to harmonise and standardise the IT architecture, whilst combining the best functionality together, and enabling factories for efficient processes” our key roles at PwC, bringing the right partners together to build a scalable and flexible ecosystem.”

landscape would not be realised. Key partnerships are not only relevant for large companies, but also the smaller ones. If they have services that help our processes, they must be easily integrated, so all partners must be open. The next dimension is the hardware side. All devices should integrate easily into our IT landscape. This is one of

One such partner that has worked with PwC is ADAMOS. Jens adds, “ADAMOS is a good example of joining forces. Their goal is to bring services together on a platform that can be used by all companies in the network, as well as selling services to other companies in the market. ADAMOS is a strong corporation, focused on collaboration for the new business model.” For further information, visit www.pwc.de/en 23

S PA C E T E C H

Edinburgh is developing space technology that will provide powerful tools in the fight against climate change.

Creating a regional powerhouse for collaboration with industry partners, it works towards facilitating industry sectors to become more innovative through data. The University of Edinburgh is one such data-driven innovation ‘hub’. The Data SlipStream, hosted on the Edinburgh International Data Facility (EIDF), is a first step towards creating a system to enable the processing and analysis of large volumes of satellite imagery and other geospatial data. This will accelerate the speed of space research and product development happening in the Scottish capital. Crucially, this new infrastructure will give companies and organisations access to The

University of Edinburgh’s network of world-class scientists and data experts, facilitating the development of new algorithms that produce useful information from satellite data. The Bayes Centre, one of the core DDI hubs, continues to act as a catalyst for growth. It is funded owing to the growth of the Scottish space sector and is supported through mentorship and training. Dr. Murray Collins is the space lead at the Bayes Centre. He promotes and develops the space sector in the region, and coordinates space activity across The University of Edinburgh. He is also a DDI Chancellor’s Fellow, tasked with encouraging entrepreneurial staff and students, 27

supporting existing SME’s, and driving the developments of techbased start-ups across south-east Scotland.

from Earth Observation satellites, creating useful information for policy makers in Scotland.

Collins said, “Edinburgh aspires to be the Space Data Capital of Europe. Earth observation satellite data is crucial for monitoring earth system processes and also supporting decisionmaking for companies and governments investing in large scale conservation and restoration activity.”

The venture will primarily be used by organisations and companies involved in climate change mitigation activities. However, it could also be used to assist businesses and government in the agriculture, forestry, health and finance sectors. In addition, there is room for the venture to be used across several other sectors.

A key step on the road to delivering Edinburgh’s ambitions of becoming the Space Capital of Europe is the aforementioned Data SlipStream, led by Professor Matt Williams from the School of GeoSciences. This will be used to store, process and analyse large volumes of data

The SingleTree system, which is also part of the Data SlipStream project, is in partnership with Resilience Constellation Management. It will enable

the detection of small land use changes through space satellites down to the level of a single tree.

Kristina Tamane, space business development executive at the university, helps create collaborative projects between The University of Edinburgh and industrial partners. She also coordinates space activities for the overarching Space Innovation Hub. Tamane said, “Space gives Scotland the chance to lead the conversation on sustainability globally because of

the skills, expertise and end-to-end capability that we have here. “The EIDF and Data SlipStream will enable us to clean up data coming back from satellites and make it usable. It will save researchers time and speed up projects, as scientists will now have to spend days rather than weeks going through the data.”

Collins says he is hopeful that the EIDF will be harnessed as a university-wide resource for satellite and other geospatial data, surrounded by a team of experts in data analytics. By doing this, he hopes to create a “sandpit” of innovation. He said, “Five or 10 years ago, earth observation data had to be downloaded to your own server, but now it is routinely held in the cloud. This means we can take algorithms to the data, allowing rapid scaling of new technologies. 30

“The EPCC will create a sandpit for innovation where staff and partner companies come and experiment with new algorithms and new analytical processes. Students, such as those in the SENSE Centre for Doctoral Training, will benefit from working with leaders in big data computing and teams from industry. “The difference between this system and other cloud data providers is that Edinburgh has a network of world-class expertise in the analysis of big data that

can be brought to bear on new challenges.” Collins’ career trajectory epitomises the aims of the DDI programme in combining academia with entrepreneurship. Murray began his career in the jungles of Indonesia, measuring trees for the Gabonese Government, before embarking on a PhD in forest carbon measurement and management at the London School of Economics.

Murray worked on a post doctorate at The University of Edinburgh’s School of Geosciences with Professor Edward Mitchard, mapping out forest carbon using satellite data. He then undertook a NERC-funded RSE Enterprise Fellowship, before co-founding Space Intelligence, and then being invited back to The University of Edinburgh as a DDI Chancellor’s Fellow. This venture produces land cover maps for Scotland, using satellite data and machine learning 31

to illustrate how our forests, grasslands and meadows are changing over time. The maps are used by NatureScot, which works to improve Scotland’s natural environment, to quantify its natural capital asset index. The maps are also used by the Scottish Government to help shape policies.

Collins agrees with Tamane’s comments about Scotland being

well-placed to take advantage of the growth of the green and space economies, due to its universities and support from the government. The global space market is expected to be worth £400 billion by 2030, according to consultancy firm, London Economics, and there are more than 133 space companies in Scotland. Collins said, “By using these

technologies to map out forest carbon stocks and create decision-support tools, you can help companies invest in climate change mitigation; you can then also provide long-term monitoring of those assets. All of this means that you are generating highquality jobs. “These are jobs that require expertise in satellite operations, data analytics and connections to multiple sectors across the economy.

“We have a lot of highquality universities, a strong footing in the space industry and strong targets from the Scottish government on climate change. All of (this) means there is an opportunity here to create an export-driven sector of the economy based on the restoration of natural capital, and tackling the defining environmental challenges of our time: climate change and biodiversity loss.”

Source: www.scotsman.com 33

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

Where Supply Chain Management Meets Change Management Patricia Sjauw-Eik, COO – Supply Chain at Amazing Oriental, talks us through the company’s complex supply chain transformation of the last 15 months.

Written by Anna McMahon | Produced by Jennifer Davies

Amazing Oriental is the largest Asian supermarket chain in the Netherlands, as well as the biggest importer and exporter of Asian products in Europe.

he company has online and offline sales channels, a wholesale business, its own food brands, as well as a chain of restaurants/takeaways. Patricia Sjauw-Eik joined Amazing Oriental as COO – Supply Chain in November 2019. At this time, the company already had big ambitions for growth, but in order to do so, systems needed to be put in place to facilitate and enable it effectively.

their jobs well without the implementation of good systems for operation. I am responsible for the logistics operations and food production, but there was no system at all to enable these operations. Our starting point was to implement a WMS, but when we began looking at this, we needed to find the source of the master data i.e. the ERP system. The company did not have this either, so we made the decision to first implement the ERP and then the WMS.”

Patricia takes up the story; “There were issues with staff being unable to do

A logistics challenge at the time was the fact that there were products arriving

in the ports, and while the warehouses were full, the shop shelves were empty. Patricia remembers, “We needed to implement an ERP to interface properly with the WMS, but the ordering part was done by the shops. Up to this point, they had a customised POS system to enable them to place their orders. But, these days, a point of sales is no longer just a point of sales – it includes other functionalities. This became the third application. The company had intended to replace the POS, but it was not the initial plan to do everything together. However, without doing so, it would have put a lot of stress on the department to get orders from the shops.” Amazing Oriental overhauled its complex supply chain in just 15 months, with the implementation of the new ERP, WMS and POS systems. The company went live on 1st February with the ERP and WMS, as well as a number of POS systems in the shops. The roll-out of the POS in all 23 shops was completed five months ago. Patricia says, “Any time we have a new shop, we now have 41

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the foundations ready. With the new system, the segregation of duties is very clear. You know who is responsible for each task. We have initiated the change in the whole organisation. In a transformation, it is not just about the system, but also about the processes and the people. Before the implementation, people were carrying out jobs that were not supposed to be done by them. When you are driven by a system, with an SAP that has a very strict segregation of duties, you know who is responsible for which task, and whether it is being done well.”

“Locus from Centric was chosen for Amazing Oriental’s WMS solution, and according to Patricia, it is one of the best WMS systems in the supermarket industry” 43

“Supply chain is so varied, and there is never a dull moment. We should encourage by example, by being the first to hire women in these jobs”

Patricia explains how change has taken place across every level of the organisation, from the operators in the warehouse, to the executive layer. She says, “Even the executive management has changed in the sense of their responsibilities. These are very clearly defined now, so there is no question of who should take accountability for their respective areas. That has been the first major change, which, of course, filters down to the layers below. People understand that the way they used to work was very hard, and without many results. The implementation has been tough. It has not been an easy journey to

“In terms of what we need, they (Logres) are the best fit for us because the system is strict but flexible”

Ready for an ERP system that makes your software work smoothly together?

do everything in 15 months, starting from scratch with collecting all necessary master data and relearning the business process, but you can now see the results. In my operations, we have improved efficiencies and people are coming into work with a smile on their faces.” Change is something that takes time, as everyone has to get used to working in the way that the system wants you to work, as Patricia explains, “It is important because our design principle is that we do not want any accustomization, as it is tedious and expensive. You therefore have to do what the system wants you to do. It is a big change for a company that is 35 years old, where the starters then are the executives today, and many of our colleagues have been here for more than 20 years. They have only known the old way of working. So, you have to accept that it will take time and complaints will come, but the key is not to give in. If you know that what you are doing is right for the company, you should just push on. It takes time to grow an apple into the nice juicy fruit you can enjoy, so it is therefore a 48

continuous process for us to keep on improving.” For the ERP, Patricia and her team selected SAP Business One, along with implementation partner, Logres. She adds, “In terms of what we need, they are the best fit for us because the system is strict but flexible. They have a very clear of working, with room for configuration. You get a lot from one package, with a number of addons to choose from.” Locus from Centric was chosen for Amazing Oriental’s WMS solution, and according to Patricia, it is 50

“On 20th May 2021, w kicked off this new b with the logistics co architect and the co an amazing opportun logistics process be itself is designed. It challenging!”

we officially build project onsultant, the ontractor. It is nity to design the efore the building is very exciting and

one of the best WMS systems in the supermarket industry. She continues, “Locus is the WMS system we have selected for our ambient and conditioned facilities, totalling 25,000 square metres. We don’t want to reinvent the wheel ourselves, but learn from others. The approach of our partners is the reason why we have been able to undergo our transformation in 15 months. They know their audience and speak the same language, which means you do not waste valuable time.” So, how do you choose the right partners to accompany and support you on your transformation journey? 51

Patricia answers, “Experience is important, but also knowledge of the industry and a willingness to work with you hand-in-hand. Even when the going gets tough, they never give up. Everyone wanted to make the project a success because it was extremely challenging, not to mention the fact that we were in the middle of a pandemic. We kicked off on 4th March 2020, a week before the Dutch government asked everybody to stay at home to work. It was very tough, and our vendors had never previously implemented anything without visiting the customer. We did all the training online, across a huge group of different users from various departments. It is something that had never been done before.” Regarding Amazing Oriental’s growth plans for the future, Patricia’s lips are sealed, but she can tell us that the company is working on building an XXL warehouse including a new head office. She adds, “On 20th May 2021, we officially kicked off this new build project with the logistics consultant, the architect and the contractor. It is an amazing opportunity 52

to design the logistics process before the building itself is designed. It is very exciting and challenging!” Ending on the subject of gender diversity in supply chain, Patricia says, “We have to show how exciting and interesting it is to work in supply chain. My daughter Pearlsy graduated cum laude and with an honours distinction in mastering supply chain management at RSM, and is now working with me. If I couldn’t convince my own daughter it is interesting, how could I convince other people’s daughters? Women are absolutely capable of working in supply chain – in terms of their communication, their sense of responsibility, and their approach. We have great skills for pulling off big projects. There is so much we can participate in, from demand planning and sourcing, to production and logistics operations. Supply chain is so varied, and there is never a dull moment. We should encourage by example, by being the first to hire women in these jobs.” For further information, visit www.amazingoriental.com 53

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

A German research organisation has developed a system to track drivers’ activity, showing how quickly they could take control of an autonomous vehicle.

USING IMAGE DATA FROM TRACKED VEHICLES, GERMAN RESEARCH ORGANISATION, THE FRAUNHOFER INSTITUTE, CAN MONITOR DRIVER ACTIVITY TO MEASURE AND DETERMINE THEIR RESPONSE TIMES. his information can then help them to decide whether intervention is required in so far as taking control of the autonomous vehicle. Vehicles with limited autonomous functionality are already hitting roads in the United States, but the technology is not yet mature enough to completely do away with human drivers.

Current rules mandate that when using these semiautonomous vehicles, a driver must be ready to take control at a moment’s notice. While driver monitoring systems already exist, modern examples are typically limited to detecting driver fatigue, making minimal use of camera image data. Michael Voit, a Fraunhofer researcher, said, “Our technology not only enables

“THE ALGORITHMS CAN TELL WHETHER SOMEONE IS SLEEPING OR LOOKING AT THE STREET, HOW DISTRACTED THE PERSON IS AND HOW LONG IT WILL TAKE THEM TO FOCUS BACK ON THE ROAD” Michael Voit, a Fraunhofer researcher us to identify facial features, but also the current poses of the driver and the passengers. “We can then determine from these poses what the driver and passengers are currently doing.” The German team has developed machinelearning algorithms that can analyse the camera data in real time. The pioneering technology can find out whether the driver is on the phone, playing with children, or looking at a smartphone. It is capable of going beyond simple image recognition, and can interpret the activities in context. 59

The researchers first trained the system by manually annotating numerous camera shots with data, such as the location of people’s hands, feet and shoulders. The researchers then added the location of objects, such as smartphones, books and other items. The system abstracts images of the driver or passengers to form a digital skeleton, a basic stick figure that replicates the body’s poses. It then deduces a driver’s activity using the skeletal movement alongside object recognition. Voit explained, “The algorithms can thereby tell whether someone is sleeping or looking at the street, how distracted the person is and how long it will take them to focus back on the road.” The system supports both traditional video

“WE CAN NOT ONLY DETECT THE ACTIVITIES OF THE DRIVER BUT THOSE OF ALL PASSENGERS, TOO, BOTH IN THE FRONT AND BACK OF THE VEHICLE” cameras and infrared cameras that can see in the dark, as well as 3D cameras that measure the distance between objects and the camera. The system also gives interior designers freedom in terms of camera placement. Noting that the system is ready for pilot production, Voit added, “We can not only detect the activities of the driver but those of all passengers, too, both in the front and back of the vehicle.

“NEW EU REGULATIONS WILL SOON MANDATE DRIVER MONITORING IN AUTOMATED CARS, REGARDLESS OF THE LEVEL OF AUTOMATION” “We are already in contact with companies who want to use our technology.” Pascal Birnstill, a senior Fraunhofer scientist, said the system had always been designed to prioritise data protection and security. He said, “The camera data is analysed in real time, not saved, and does not leave the vehicle at any point. “Personalised models are also not needed for this, so no personal data is collected.” New EU regulations will soon mandate driver monitoring in automated cars, regardless of their level of automation. Furthermore, a new report from the Institution of

Engineering and Technology (IET) has recommended that a road crash investigations branch is created in the UK, as automation becomes more commonplace in the transport sector. It called on the Department for Transport (DfT) to establish a road crash investigations branch, like current practices in rail, air and maritime, in order to contribute to safety improvements. The automotive industry is very much on the move towards autonomy. Other recommendations to improve safety consider the use and storage of data collected by AI systems, such as Fraunhofer’s, as well as robust cybersecurity standards.

EIR

Source: eandt.theiet.org

H E A LT H T E C H

Scientists say the technology behind the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine could be harnessed to help fight cancer. 65

THE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPED B LAUNCH OF THE OXFORD/ASTRA TO USE IN TRIGGERING THE IMMU ACCORDING TO AN EARLY ST The study, carried out by the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, showed an 82 per cent greater reduction in tumour size after 36 days. The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine protects against Covid using a chimpanzee virus, which delivers a genetic code carrying the instructions for a protein on the virus. The goal is to get the

BY OXFORD UNIVERSITY IN THE AZENECA VACCINE COULD BE PUT UNE SYSTEM TO FIGHT TUMOURS, TUDY CONDUCTED ON MICE. body's cells to make that protein, training the immune system to recognise the virus and fight it off. Scientists believe the same technology found in this vaccine could be used to get the body to make two proteins often found on tumours. It flags up these proteins to white blood cells that can kill cancer cells.

Professor Adrian Hill, of the Jenner Institute at Oxford University, said, “This new vaccine platform has the potential to revolutionise cancer treatment.” A similar vaccine used on 23 men with advanced prostate cancer, alongside immunotherapy, showed the treatment is safe. It also significantly reduced levels of PSA, a protein produced by prostate cancer cells, in almost a quarter of them. The new vaccine targets proteins produced by a wide variety of tumour cells, so it could treat people with many different cancers, including breast cancer, lung cancer and bowel cancer. It helps to boost a treatment called antiPD-1 immunotherapy, which takes the brakes off immune cells called CD8+ T cells, so that they can destroy tumours.

“THE NEW VACCINE TARGETS PROTEINS PRODUCED BY A WIDE VARIETY OF TUMOUR CELLS” 69

THE INITIAL AN CARRIED OUT B INSTITUTE F RESEARCH, IN C WITH OXFORD WAS FOUND TO SUCCESS OF

NIMAL STUDY, BY THE LUDWIG FOR CANCER COLLABORATION D UNIVERSITY, O IMPROVE THE TREATMENT

This immunotherapy does not work for most people, often because they do not have enough of these important T cells to begin with. However, the vaccine, which shows the body proteins from the tumours to flag them up, helps to recruit those extra T cells. The initial animal study, carried out by the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, in collaboration with Oxford University, was found to improve the success of treatment. Mice had a 36 per cent chance of survival, up from 17 per cent, according to

the results published in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer. The two-dose cancer vaccine uses different viruses to transport the genetic code it uses. First, the chimpanzee virus used in the Covid vaccine, and then a modified vaccinia ankara virus, which is a weakened virus used primarily in the vaccine for smallpox. A clinical trial of the new jab will be used on 80 patients who have lung cancer, and that will be paired alongside immunotherapy. The trial is set to start this year.

Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

The COO at Sara Assicurazioni charts the company’s successful digital transformation journey

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Q& A

Produced by Jennifer Davies 76

Zycus discusses the synergy of Autonomous Procurement, Actionable Intelligence, and Interactive Insights. Q. Can you provide a brief overview of Zycus? A. Zycus is a pioneer in Cognitive Procurement software and has been a trusted partner of choice for large global enterprises for two decades.

Zycus helps enterprises drive real savings, reduce risks, and boost compliance, and its seamless, intuitive, and easy-to-use user interface ensures high adoption and value across the organisation.

Zycus has been consistently recognised by Gartner, Forrester, and other analysts for its Source-to-Pay integrated suite.

Q. What kind of services does Zycus specialise in? A. Zycus is a leading provider of AIpowered procurement solutions. The company creates cutting-edge technology that helps organisations transform their procurement department. Its integrated product suite includes solutions for eProcurement and invoicing, financial savings management, contract management, supplier performance, risk management, request management, project management, and spend analysis. The expert team hand-holds the customer through the implementation and integration process to make sure that the migration from their old systems to Zycus is seamless.

Zycus powers its S2P software with the revolutionary Merlin AI Suite. Merlin AI takes over the tactical tasks and empowers procurement and AP officers to focus on strategic projects; offers data-driven actionable insights for quicker and smarter decisions; and its conversational AI offers a B2C type user experience to the end-users.

Thomas Bioud, Vice-President Sales - Europe

Q. How is Zycus a pioneer in Cognitive Procurement software? A. Today, Zycus is a category creator of “Cognitive Procurement”, offering a holistic approach to using AI to help procurement and finance teams do more from less across the entire Source-to-Pay cycle. 77

“Horizon, Zycus’ flagship event, will bring together forward-looking executives and experts from the world of procurement and finance for the 15th time” Zycus follows a three-pronged approach of autonomous procurement, actionable intelligence, and interactive insights. Through autonomous procurement, the company helps organisations automate mundane and tactical tasks, so that procurement teams have more bandwidth to add strategic value. With actionable intelligence, insights are unlocked for faster and smarter

Laurent Probst, Principal Solutions Consultant, Europe 78

decision-making. With interactive intelligence, Zycus prides itself on increasing the efficiency of business processes. Q. Can you discuss the Procure-to-Pay solution and the Guided Procurement System technology? A. Every organisation needs to purchase materials for its business processes. This involves direct materials that are involved in the production process or indirect materials like stationery, electronics, etc. that are used by employees. The cycle of ordering an item, making a purchase, and paying the supplier is called procure-to-pay. Creating an intuitive and compelling user experience for requisitioners can be extremely challenging. Most automated procure-to-pay systems fail to encourage compliant user behaviour, leading to incorrectly classified transactions, ad hoc spends, and hence jeopardize the ultimate goal of leveraging technology to simplify processes. Zycus makes the buying experience simpler by providing a

A Global Virtual Conclave for Procurement & Finance Witness the industry maestros share their transformational procurement journeys and best practices.

REMI CHARACHON

Group Chief Procurement Ofﬁcer & Transform Air Liquide

MICKY KECK

Director Analyst Procurement Applications Gartner

RUSS MAJOR

Chief Procurement Ofﬁcer USAA

HERVE' LE FAOU

Chief Procurement Ofﬁcer Heineken

DUNCAN JONES

Vice President & Principal Analyst Forrester Research

Media Partner

...&

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October 19-21, 2021

Guided Procurement System (GPS) to ensure the best buying decisions every time. The GPS auto-classifies search terms to suggest relevant categories and ensure relevant results every time. It also steers users to preferred and approved vendors. This ensures that up to 95 per cent spends are at or under the line-item budgets, ensuring budget adherence and control.

“Zycus will continue to invest in Cognitive Procurement space to develop innovative and integrated products” Q. How do Autonomous Procurement, Actionable AI and Interactive AI combine? A. Autonomous procurement, actionable intelligence and interactive insights combine to provide synergies across business processes. Autonomous procurement is powered by Merlin. It reduces the effort of the procurement and finance departments by automating tactical tasks. This effort reduction can be up to 60 per cent. Zycus solutions provide actionable insights across the suite. Merlin Insight Studio, Merlin Community Intelligence (peer benchmarking) and Spend Analysis provide such insights directly to offer real-time data for accurate 80

decision making. The solutions have comprehensive dashboards for detailed insights. The interactive intelligence comes from Merlin conversational UI, Merlin Voice and Merlin Eye. These combine to transform your business. Q. Can you provide a couple of success stories? A. Yes, follow these links:

SUCCESS STORY NO1 SUCCESS STORY NO2 SUCCESS STORY NO3 SUCCESS STORY NO4 SUCCESS STORY NO5

Q. What can visitors expect from the upcoming Horizon conference? Can you tell us more about it? A. Horizon, Zycus’ flagship event, will bring together forward-looking executives and experts from the world of procurement and finance for the 15th time. This time, to discuss and deliberate how you can “Transform to Outperform”. Hear transformation stories from industry leaders such as Russ Major (CPO at USAA), Remi Charachon (CPO at Air Liquide), Hervé Le Faou (CPO at Heineken), Aubrey Edwards (Global Director at CBRE), Pim Willems (Global Director at Danone), and many more. Glean insights from leading analysts including Gartner, Forrester and The Hackett Group, and tune in to exciting sessions by Zycus’ leadership, including a keynote session by CEO Aatish Dedhia.

Q. What’s next for Zycus and the future of cognitive procurement? A. The pandemic and work-fromanywhere economy has definitely provided tailwinds for a faster transition to 100 per cent digitized procurement, and Zycus is positioned just right to help firms fully eliminate manual dependencies. Zycus will continue to invest in Cognitive Procurement space to develop innovative and integrated products. From a technology standpoint, the aim is to make P2P 80-90 per cent touchless in the coming years with Zycus’ Merlin AI capabilities. Also, conversations of sustainability will be brought to the forefront, helping firms embrace sustainable procurement faster with intelligent tech-based solutions. For further information, visit www.zycus.com 81

G OV T EC H

A global call-out is giving start-ups and innovators from around the world the chance to work with one of the most innovative governing bodies in Europe.

he collaboration will offer companies and innovators the ideal testbed for their products, without the usual hurdles they have to go through. In return, the Estonian Government will have the chance to improve their services and bring to life exciting new initiatives. Known as Digital Testbed Framework, this fresh collaboration model has been designed specifically by the Estonian Government to give start-ups and govtech innovators access to the technologies the state uses to build its own digital services. The government has a history of working together 84

with Estonian companies to develop solutions, and it is due to the success of these collaborations that Digital Testbed Framework came to life. Siim Sikkut, the Estonian government’s CIO, said, “We started thinking about three years ago about how we could somehow have a legal framework for that. Could we make it work, a bit more structured, systematically?” Users will have access to the government’s original tech stack to build new innovative web and mobile applications. They will be able to test them against a government framework and get proof of concept, before using them 85

“WE REALLY GIVE YOU A PLAYGROUND TO BUILD YOUR IDEAS WITH US, THAT’S THE ARRANGEMENT” Siim Sikkut, the Estonian government’s CIO

for their own commercial solutions. The Estonian government will get the solution for free, and it will be part of the publicly available source-code repository. Sikkut added, “If the outcome works, you’ll have a reference point and we’ll have the solution for free. “Now that we have a perfect legal arrangement, we thought, why don’t we invite partners from around the globe to come work with us?” As the arrangement with the Estonian government is made available free of charge, there are no contractual commitments or future obligations between the state and the partners. This means that companies are free to sell their products elsewhere once developed. Sikkut said, “We really give you a playground to build your ideas with us, that’s the arrangement.” The scope of ideas and proposals is unlimited, provided they add value to Estonia; whether it be a tech solution to complement the 87

“ESTONIA IS CONSIDERED ONE OF THE MOST INNOVATIVE COUNTRIES IN EUROPE, AND BOASTS THE CONTINENT’S HIGHEST NUMBER OF UNICORNS PER CAPITA. ITS FIRST UNICORN, SKYPE, HAS BEEN BRINGING VIDEO CALLING TECHNOLOGY TO EVERYDAY CONSUMERS SINCE 2003”

government, something to enhance their service portfolio, or simply something which will improve the life of the people. No initial proposals are off the table. Sikkut concluded, “We have not built in any exclusions or anything like that. We’ll agree on a roadmap with our future partner – and see that we 90

reach the milestones along the way. “We have left the delivery quite open, but we are looking to see what we can deliver quickly enough. We don’t want to take years to come up with a concept because that’s how regular policy planning works. We’d rather build fast.”

“WE DON’T WANT TO TAKE YEARS TO COME UP WITH A CONCEPT BECAUSE THAT’S HOW REGULAR POLICY PLANNING WORKS. WE’D RATHER BUILD FAST” 91

WHY ESTONIA? Estonia is considered one of the most innovative countries in Europe, and boasts the continent’s highest number of unicorns per capita. Its first unicorn, Skype, has been bringing video calling technology to everyday consumers since 2003. At government level, Estonia has been dubbed the most digitally advanced society on the planet, and that is proven by the fact that 99 per cent of the government services are online. Similar projects already completed before the Testbed Framework include open-source speech recognition software by TalTech, which is used by Estonian Parliament; HOIA, the official Covid-19 exposure notification app for Estonia; Texta by Texta OÜ, a text analytics tool used by the Ministry of Justice; and Neurotõlge, a translation engine developed by the University of Tartu. If you have an idea or proposal for Digital Testbed Framework, just click on the link, hit ‘apply now’ and fill out the short application form. Applications close on October 10th. APPLY HERE 92

Source: tech.eu 93

IN THE SP OTLIGHT

START-UP OF THE MONTH Mendi is a Swedish health-tech company whose goal is to improve brain health through neurofeedback. endi brings together the powerful combination of brain training, brain health and lifestyle recommendations, in order to better understand brain activity and allow someone to make lifestyle changes. The way Mendi does this is by using a headset and an app. The headset wraps around the user’s head comfortably and features non-

intrusive sensors, which measure oxygenated blood flow and neural activity. The app that partners the headset includes Mendi’s training game. The game works by the user focusing and making a ball on their smartphone screen rise. The higher the ball gets, the better their brain performance. The start-up began life back in 2018 in Stockholm, Sweden, when the innovators, Rickard Eklöf and Sammy Saldjoghi, were part of a neurofeedback clinic. They believed they could make the sophisticated headsets they used in the clinic smaller, as well as more affordable, so everyone could have the opportunity to use them. Eklöf said, “The idea behind Mendi grew from a desire

to use neurofeedback to improve our own mental wellbeing. My cofounder, Sammy Saldjoghi, ran a leading neurofeedback clinic in Stockholm, and this is where we both first met.

“We want to use cutting-edge technology combined with scientific collaboration to lead the way in the brain health space. The initial interest for Mendi has been overwhelming.”

“In the clinic, I saw the incredible benefits of this method, and we both felt this potentially lifechanging technology should be available to everyone.”

The way that Mendi improves mental wellbeing is both fun and engaging, with users being able to see results by doing five to 15 minutes of training, three times a week.

The start-up secured €3 million by crowdfunding on websites, Indiegogo and Kickstarter, selling 10,000 units. Within the first weeks, it became the most funded Kickstarter campaign in the brain and mental health category. CEO of Mendi, Moha Bensofia, spoke after the crowdfunding campaign had ended, saying,

People that have used Mendi have said it has helped to improve their mood, memory and sleep patterns. With the aim to boost the brain health of 10 million people by 2025, Mendi is certainly on the right track. The headset currently costs $299 and ships throughout Europe, as well as the USA and Canada.

For more information, visit mendi.io 95

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