Digital Innovation Magazine - September 2022 by iThink Media

Andreas Senior

Golze,

Vice President – Quality Engineering & Assurance, on the importance of quality assurance in IT Prioritising ESG & sustainability in future modelsbusinessCreatingacultureofinnovation

Orbico GroupA digitally solutionssupplysynchronisedoperationallyandchainprovider

27 - 29 September, 2022 | Hyatt Regency Barcelona Tower, Spain The Flagship Procurement Event to Benchmark Your Strategy with the World’s BIGGEST Companies BACK IN PERSON Early confirmed sponsors include: Visit: procureconeu.wbrsearch.com Or simply scan the QR Code Going as group? Discover our special group prices and SAVE UP TO 50% Get 10% OFF ticket price using our code PCEU10DI Your Best Opportunity to Learn From and Network With CPOs and Heads of ProcurementProcureCon 200+ ProfessionalProcurementtonetworkwith 60+ Thought-LeadingSpeakers 12+ Hours of NetworkingInvaluableTime 3 Days of ContentInsightful

Danielle Harris Director

Company Registration Number: 10933897. Company Registered in England and Wales

SeniorDanieldesign@ithink.mediaDirectorTomt.barnes@ithink.mediaBarnesMayDigitalDesigner

It was party time in the office last week, as we celebrated five years of iThink Media. We enjoyed team games, birthday cake, and, of course, a glass of fizz or two! It has been a privilege for me to edit Digital Innovation for the last five years, and I’m so proud of what we have achieved. Looking forward to the next five years!

After a relaxing summer break, it’s back to school for our DI team, with four exclusive interviews this issue from Cognizant (p6), North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) NHS Trust (p40), PwC (p62), and Orbico Group (p88).

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editorial@ithink.mediaAnnaMcMahonEditor

What’s more, don’t miss our start-up of the month (p102), together with must-read features on the latest European tech news (p28), sustainability (p78), and start-up support in Germany (p54). Thanks for reading!

First up is Andreas Golze, Senior Vice President – Quality Engineering & Assurance, at Cognizant. Andreas highlights the importance of quality assurance in IT, something that IT has overlooked for many years. Next, we have our interview with NWAS’ Jonny Sammut and Matt Dugdale. It was intriguing to learn how the team is harnessing new technologies and fostering a culture of innovation to provide a better service for its users. We also chatted to Jens Fath and Jasmin Pennicke from PwC Deutschland about ESG and sustainability. How can future business models be adapted to prioritise ESG commitments? Jens and Jasmine tell us more. Plus, last but not least, turn to page 88 to hear from Orbico Group’s Piotr Sedziak about the company’s plans to be the leading operationally synchronised supply chain solutions provider across Europe. Our thanks to all interviewees for their valuable contributions this issue.

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We talk to Jonny Sammut and Matt Dugdale of West Ambulance Service (NWAS) NHS Trust Germany has set up to support technologyoriented start-ups 54 Cognizant’s Andreas Golze highlights the importance of quality assurance in IT 6

5 SammutofNorthService 40 PwC’s Jens Fath and Jasmin Pennicke on prioritising ESG and sustainability 62 Procurence is our start-up of the month this issue 102 Orbico Group’s strategic ambition to be the leading logistics provider in Central and Eastern Europe 88 up a technology-fund Greece’s infrastructuredigitalis given a €150 million boost 28Danish agtech Agreena has acquired HummingbirdUK-basedTechnologies 78

COVER STORY

Andreas Golze, Senior Vice President –Quality Engineering & Assurance, at Cognizant, waxes lyrical about the importance of quality assurance in IT. ognizant is an American servicesinformationmultinationaltechnologyproviderwith a global presence. Andreas Golze is Senior Vice President – Quality Engineering & Assurance at Cognizant, which is recognised as one of the best-valued quality assurance teams worldwide.

Quality Determines YourSuccessBusiness

Andreas takes the example of a smartphone, which receives updates on a regular basis. Any

So, why is quality assurance in IT important? Andreas answers, “If you are buying any consumer goods, you look for functionality and experience that meet your expectations. For many years, this has not been a concern for IT solutions. Quality in IT simply meant that the user is not complaining. With widespread digitisation, we are using IT enabled or enhanced solutions more than ever before. Consequently, IT must meet the same quality standards as every other component of the final product or service.”

upgrade should not negatively impact your ability to operate the device because it has a quality level you are happy with, and you expect the provider to maintain that quality level throughout the device lifecycle. Andreas continues, “To efficiently maintain the established quality, a continuous and intelligent fully automated test platform is required. Continuous quality assurance is the key to success for modern businesses. We are helping our customers to build, maintain and operate these platforms, using the latest technologies. With this, we can guarantee and maintain defined quality levels over time.”

10 Andreas believes the investment in quality assurance is a business decision. He explains, “At the airport, you go through a security check. You could argue that we have safer flights because airport security is doing a great job. The other way of looking at it is that mankind has become better, and we do not need airport security. If you want to compromise, you could decide to only check every second person. The big question is where your comfort level lies, whether you would prefer everyone to be checked, or every second or third individual. At the end, the time and cost of checking are only justifiable if nothing

“Quality assurance has become integral to product or service experience”

ANDREAS GOLZE, Senior Vice President –Quality Engineering & Assurance

“Quality assurance has become integral to product or service experience. If you take energy suppliers, for example, they are now moving into what they call smart grids. The energy supplier is making the provision smarter, which will save you money, but at the same time, you expect it to always work. The basic assumption when you sign any contract is that the service level will be maintained. With software, the likelihood of something going wrong if you don’t establish quality happens. So, if the cost for doing quality assurance were to become too high, there would be no business case.” To remain economical, Andreas says you must innovate, improve productivity of your quality engineering and assurance team, and keep the cost level low enough that it makes business sense to do the quality assurance. He

quality would have on the business in the broader sense.”

14 continues, “We try to establish commercial thinking with all our customers. For example, with an application that is used by millions of people on the planet, if it has a small problem and users cannot connect to the server, the business impact would be massive. Spending a little more on quality assurance is justifiable because the return would be significant. There is no point in taking the risk. This is what drives the business case of quality assurance – it depends on the impact that lack of

In a world that is becoming increasingly digitalised, software is changing much more during the lifespan of an application. With people depending on software to go about their everyday lives, Andreas explains that this is what is driving the heightened demand for quality assurance. He says, “My job is to help providers of services that are using IT to make sure their customers are getting the service they expect without a glitch”

17 assurance in the right way is very high, and that is why its importance is going up.”

assurance“Quality is like the airbag in the car, providing a safety net for IT and the end user”

Service providers are required to always meet the expectations of the end user. Failure to do so could result in the customer going elsewhere or requesting their money back. Andreas explains, “My job is to help providers of services that are using IT to make sure their customers are getting the service they expect without a glitch. In many business processes, software becomes the bigticket item because if it is not working, you have nothing. The weakest link determines the strength of the chain. In nine out of 10 cases, software is the weakest part

“We continue to help our clients around the globe to improve business outcomes with our next generation QA approach!”

ANDREAS GOLZE, Senior Vice President – Quality Engineering & Assurance

20 and has the highest likelihood of failure. It is also changed continuously whilst everything else remains the same. The likelihood of introducing failure through software into perfect working processes is therefore very high.”

The focus on quality is also increasing because new legislation requires companies to now do testing. Andreas continues, “Whether you are a bank or a medical device supplier, by law, you cannot use software that is not tested. You must prove it has

1. People with a testing mindset

3. Partnerships with tool providers to help the tester be more effective. Cognizant has partnered with Tricentis on the automation side.

Andreas explains, “Tricentis is an excellent automation tools provider. Efficiency and productivity are key for the economy of quality assurance.

Automation helps to increase the productivity and hence drive down “Tricentis is an excellent automation tools provider. Efficiency and productivity are key for the economy of quality assurance”

21 been tested and keep the records of the testing. As the number of regulations are going up, more quality assurance is needed. For all critical systems, it is essential that IT is flawlessly operating, and that can only happen with quality assurance. Quality assurance is like the airbag in the car, providing a safety net for IT and the end user.”

Andreas highlights three key components needed to carry out quality assurance:

2. Industry-scale products to help the tester get their job done efficiently e.g. tools for automation and robots for device testing

ACCELERATE YOUR TESTING

— Chaim Frenkel, Vice President of Strategic Alliances, Tricentis

Your end-to-end testing likely includes a combination of both enterprise applications – such as SAP – and custom-developed, customer-facing applications. Testing across a complex set of disparate systems makes it difficult to know if something does go wrong. By introducing advanced test automation tools, organisations can test all of the necessary workflows within an application, including the connection points with other applications.

“The number of SAP updates has increased in recent years, and enterprises are finding traditional, manual testing methods can’t keep pace with rapidly launching new products and services. Our alliance with Cognizant means that, together, we’re positioned to help clients address this challenge with a simplified and flexible approach to testing and speed their releases.”

Get your free guide A powerful partnership: Cognizant and Tricentis deliver world-class solutions for modern testing challenges

End-to-end testing isn’t easy. Today’s applications evolve at a rapid-fire pace and are often highly connected with other systems across an enterprise IT landscape. But success is simply about understanding the challenges, identifying the best ways to overcome them, and introducing the right processes and technology to help put those plans into action.

Discover how today’s leaders boost speed, maintain quality, and reduce costs with enterprise test automation in Tricentis’ Executive Guide to Accelerating Digital Transformation.

Pulling in production data and anonymising it for security purposes, adding another layer of complexity for testers, and creating risks in the case of any kind of audit. Introduce a test data management tool to automate the creation of synthetic test data, which mimics production data but doesn’t carry the same risk since it is not actually real user data.

For an SAP S/4HANA migration project to proceed on time and on budget, organizations need fast feedback on whether each round of changes achieves the desired result. Cognizant and Tricentis offer a first of its kind integrated testing solution that ensures a seamless transition of critical business applications from SAP Enterprise Core Components (ECC) to SAP S/4HANA.

4 SOLUTIONS TO END-TO-END TESTING CHALLENGES

Accounting for difficulties with test maintenance because every time a component of the application’s user interface changes, the test needs to get updated along with it. Combat frequent updates by prioritising certain workflows over others based on risk, so QA teams aren’t overwhelmed with writing and rewriting end-to-end tests for every possible workflow. Handling an ever-increasing volume of connected apps (on average, 33 different systems!) means a lot of dependencies on web services and third parties that may have costly simulations. Use a service virtualization solution that can mock external systems for end-to-end testing and avoid paying for expensive simulations or relying on a live version of the system, which can contribute to test flakiness.

The alliance combines Tricentis’ automated, AI-enabled tools for continuous testing with Cognizant’s expertise in implementing enterprise-wide SAP projects. The addition of AI transforms business processes by utilizing intelligent automation and introduces changes faster and with more frequency. The success of this partnership initiative led to recognising Cognizant as a Tricentis SAP Transformation Partner of the Year in 2020.

CHALLENGE SOLUTION

OVERCOMING SAP S/4HANA MIGRATION TESTNG CHALLENGES

Ensuring end-to-end testing alignment when testing is distributed rather than centralised, leading to duplicate work, building custom integrations between tools, and communication breakdowns. Align on a solution that synchronises information across the variety of technologies each team uses to create a single source of truth and make the hand-off from one team to the next more efficient. 1. 2.4.3.

Moresupplier.people are using digital devices that depend on IT processes that are working properly, so the demand for testing is increasing. Andreas says, “The biggest challenge for us is to improve our capabilities when it comes to productivity. Testing will become much more the cost for the test execution. At the same time, it improves documentation and quality of the test execution as it eliminates human errors. This follows the same logic that we already know from automation in mass production. Production lines, if set up in a smart way, produce more at a lower cost with a higher quality.”

Cognizant and Delphix have been partnering since 2017, creating solutions in the test data management. In the SAP business area, Tricentis, Cognizant and Delphix provide a strong combination for testing; Tricentis being the officially preferred SAP test software provider, “Delphix is the industry leader for DevOps test data management. Cognizant and Delphix have been partnering since 2017, creating solutions in the test data management”

24 Andreas shares the example of a bank that used to do two system updates every year, with each update taking a team of 20 people about a month to complete. They now carry out updates every six weeks, and the execution time is only a couple of hours. Andreas adds, “The productivity of the test teams is improving because of smart automation. We use AI to reduce the number of test cases with virtualisation and automation to execute the needed test cases in a shorter timeframe.”

Delphix is the industry leader for DevOps test data management.

Cognizant as Tricentis’ preferred implementation partner, and Delphix as Cognizant's preferred test data management software

26 industry specific. It will be different if you are testing entertainment software from the media industry versus logistics software for a large steel company. As a quality assurance expert, you will need a better understanding of the underlying business to do a proper job. We are using robots for the physical interaction involved in testing devices. For example, a robot can test an ATM machine. We have been doing this for the last few years, now it is scaling up considerably. For us, this will be a major area of research, development and Theimprovement.”marketgrowth for digital quality assurance is estimated at between 15 and 20 per cent year on year. Andreas concludes, “We continue to help our clients around the globe to improve business outcomes with our next generation QA approach!” For further information on Cognizant, visit www.cognizant.com

TECH A INFRASTRUCTUREDIGITALNEW-GENERATIONEBRDBOOSTSDIGITALISATIONINGREECEWITH€150MILLIONFORTELECOMMUNICATIONSOPERATOROTE.

THE EUROPEAN BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT (EBRD) IS SUPPORTING GREECE’S DIGITAL TRANSITION WITH A €150 MILLION INVESTMENT IN HELLENIC TELECOMMUNICATIONS ORGANISATION S.A. (OTE), TO PROMOTE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION, GREEN TRANSITION, AND REGIONAL INCLUSION.

he project is the first under the EBRD’s Greek Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) Co-Financing Framework, and will be implemented as part of the ‘Greece 2.0’ National Recovery and Resilience Plan, funded by the European to connectivity and highspeed broadband, and promoting regional Theinclusion.project aligns fully with the RRF transformationdigitalpillar, while FTTH technology is nearly 40 per cent more energyefficient than traditional copper network cabling technology (ADSL) per unit of data transmitted. The transaction will therefore lead to technologyandintegratedpaybroadbandandincludingproductsofferscompanytheTelekomParteconomy.transitioncontributegasreductionssignificantingreenhouseemissionsandtothegreenofGreece’softheDeutscheGroup,OTEislargesttechnologyinGreece.Itawiderangeofandservices,fixed-linemobiletelephony,services,television,andinformationcommunications(ICT)solutions.

cities,outsidebusinesses371,000tobroadbandtoofOTEThemillion.contributionwhichGreekandfinanced€93.75resources,frommillionconsistsTheprogramme.NextGenerationEUUnion’s€150millionloanofa€56.25trancheprovidedtheBank’sownaswellasamilliontranchebytheEU’sRRFchannelledviatheMinistryofFinance,complementsOTE’sof€37.5fundswillenabletofinancepartitsrolloutof‘fibrethehome’(FTTH)infrastructureapproximatelyhouseholdsandin12regionsofGreece’smajorimprovingaccess

Dirk Werner, Director of the EBRD’s Telecommunications, Media and Technology team, stressed the importance of the transaction to the Bank: “I am delighted to be signing this important deal with our long-standing partner OTE today. Our investment will help the Greek economy in its digital and green transition, while bringing reliable and energy-efficient broadband technologies to areas outside of major Andreeacities.”Moraru,

“THE EBRD, WE ARE PROUD TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE IMPLEMENTATION AND ARE WORKING WITH OUR PARTNERS, THE EUROPEAN UNION AND FUTURE FOR THE PEOPLE OF GREECE”

EBRD Regional Head of Greece and Cyprus, commented, “At the EBRD, we are proud to contribute to the implementation of Greece’s ambitious Recovery and Resilience Andreea Moraru, EBRD Regional Head of Greece and Cyprus

Plan and are working with our partners, the European Union and the Greek Ministry of Finance, to build a better future for the people of MinisterGreece.”ofFinance for Greece, Christos Staikouras, stated, “The loan agreement signed today between OTE and the EBRD confirms the crucial role of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan ‘Greece 2.0’ in implementing investments for digital transition, which will have concrete results in improving citizens’ everyday life, and which will significantly contribute to promoting regional growth and innovation. Through this specific investment, which will OF AMBITIOUS RECOVERY AND RESILIENCE PLAN AND THE GREEK MINISTRY OF FINANCE, TO BUILD A BETTER

IMPLEMENTATION

GREECE’S

give access to the FTTH fibreoptic network in 12 regions of the country in the coming years, digital infrastructure is reinforced and the country’s competitiveness and investment attractiveness are strengthened. Despite adverse circumstances caused by successive and overlapping crises, the Government will continue working methodically and efficiently, in cooperation with financing institutions and businesses, to take advantage of Next Generation EU funds in the best possible way and to achieve high, sustainable and inclusive Alternategrowth.”

Minister of Finance for Greece, Theodoros Skylakakis, noted, “Through the National Recovery and Resilience Facility ‘Greece 2.0’, an important investment for the digital growth of the Greek region, is on track for implementation. Of the €150 million of the loan agreement signed today between OTE and the EBRD, the lion’s share, approximately €94 million, comes from the Recovery and Resilience Plan and €56 million comes from the EBRD. The benefit of implementing the investment is great since approximately

“TO DATE, THE BANK HAS INVESTED MORE THAN €5.7 BILLION IN 92 PROJECTS IN THE CORPORATE, FINANCIAL, ENERGY, AND INFRASTRUCTURE SECTORS OF THE GREEK ECONOMY”

OTE Group Chairman and CEO, Michael Tsamaz, added, “The financing from the EBRD is an important milestone. It is the first in the country in the digital investments pillar, with the use of Greek Recovery and Resilience Facility loans. The agreement is a vote of confidence in the company and its potential. At the same time, it contributes significantly to the rollout of OTE’s FTTH network other than in major cities and thus to Greece’s regional inclusion,

371,000 households and businesses in 12 regions of the country will gradually, over the next few years, gain access to the FTTH fibre-optic network of OTE. ‘Greece 2.0’ is in full development and contributes, with the loan programme and subsidies it provides, but also with the implementation of reforms, to the investment development achieved by our country, despite the difficulties created by external factors.”

digital transformation, and green transition. Equal access to new-generation digital infrastructure is necessary in order to create a better world for Theall.”EBRD is working with the government of Greece to support implementation of the country’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan and the subsequent deployment of funding to the Greek economy.

The EBRD started operating in Greece on a temporary basis in 2015 to support the country’s economic recovery. To date, the Bank has invested more than €5.7 billion in 92 projects in the corporate, financial, energy, and infrastructure sectors of the Greek economy. For further information, visit www.ebrd.com OTE”

“APPROXIMATELY 371,000 HOUSEHOLDS AND BUSINESSES IN 12 REGIONS OF THE COUNTRY WILL GRADUALLY, OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS, GAIN ACCESS TO THE FTTH FIBRE-OPTIC NETWORK OF

BUSINESS INTERVIEW

KEYTODIGITALISATIONIMPROVESERVICES

Jonny Sammut, Chief of Digital & Innovation and Deputy CIO, and Matt Dugdale, Head of Clinical & Digital Innovation at North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) NHS Trust, share how they have worked towards creating a culture of innovation.

Jonny Sammut, Chief of Digital & Innovation and Deputy CIO

“We took on some of the pirate mentality and developed our own pirate code to tackle issues such as social equality, driving cooperation, and preventing conflict”

42 he North thatjourneybeen(NWAS)AmbulanceWestServiceNHSTrusthasonanexcitingofdiscoveryhasseenit explore new technologies and innovate from the ground up in recent years.

Jonny Sammut, Chief of Digital & Innovation and Deputy CIO, is responsible for all things digital at NWAS, be it the IT services, business intelligence or innovation services, while Matt Dugdale, Head of Clinical & Digital Innovation, has worked in the innovation space for the last three to four years, looking at new ways of working and bridging the gap between the clinical workforce and the digital teams. Jonny takes up the story. He begins, “Our starting point was to ‘be more pirate’. Pirates were the world’s first innovators. In 1718, Captain Blackbeard held a blockade in the port of Charles, as he knew a single pirate can steal a purse, but you need a crew to take down more than that, so he held everyone in the port to ransom. In this way, he used co-operation so a small crew could succeed. “We took on some of the pirate mentality and developed our

44 own pirate code to tackle issues such as social equality, driving cooperation, and preventing conflict. Setting out our pirate code led to us towards making some small bold actions in the first instance, whether turning off our emails for the day, or working on a radical project that was not in any corporate plan. There’s no shying away that pirates were thieves and murderers, but their approach did stand out because of their innovations.” These initial steps resulted in the creation of NWAS’ Digital Design Forum. A range of people from different disciplines and backgrounds, from technical and clinical teams, to operational and corporate staff, meet on a weekly

The project was tested at the ambulance station in Millom in Cumbria. Matt continues, “We first needed to understand what the user requirements were across the trust, so we engaged with staff to find out what they wanted out of a digital system. We then built the platform and took it to a minimum viable product over a six-week period, before testing it with the team at Millom. They provided feedback and we made improvements to the platform, and it grew from there. The team at Millom felt part of the process. It was the first co-designed product with our clinical staff that we implemented at the trust. I think that having that clinical co-design right from the start helped with the success of the product because

“Technology presents further opportunities, but how do we sustain the pace and make sure that as technology develops, we can keep up? That will be the challenge, but there are certainly very exciting times ahead”

45 basis to discuss their issues and present their ideas. Jonny says, “It is a safe space in which to attempt to solve any problems and test new ideas. This has allowed us to move from being less pirate and more pioneer, by embracing new technologies and breaking out from the norm.” Matt continues, “There was no safe space for people to innovate prior to the creation of our Digital Design Forum. You would have staff facing problems on a daily basis and they would have ideas for new ways of working, but changes could only be achieved on a small scale. It is great that they now have the opportunity to take their ideas into this safe space, and test and develop them with the right people around the SafeChecktable.” was the first project that NWAS worked on around the trust’s vehicle check books. Matt explains, “Every vehicle has to have a number of safety checks completed, which were previously done on paper. Thick books had to be stored and collected, and there were many issues that typically come with any paper process. We wanted to turn this into a digital process, and rather than buying a product off the shelf, the clinical and digital teams worked together to make sure we had something fit for purpose.”

Matt Dugdale, Head of Clinical & Digital Innovation

“We partnered with Sony to develop a digital wallboard product, allowing us to take all paper noticeboards down. It has a live news feed, live vehicle information, and cuts out the wastage in terms of staff having to update things manually and multiple times”

We partnered with Sony to develop a digital wallboard product, allowing us to take all paper noticeboards down. It has a live news feed, live vehicle information, and cuts out the wastage in terms of staff having to update things manually and multiple times. It also keeps staff posted on information such as road closures etc.”

partnered with Deister to develop a secure electronic key cabinet. Previously, we had four or five different cabinets dotted around the station, and now we have a single secure cabinet, which records who is accessing the keys at any given Digitalisationtime.”hasalso played a key role in installing smart devices around Kendal ambulance

Another partner that has been key to the success of NWAS’ digital key cabinets is Deister. Matt says, “We it was those members of staff that would be using it after it was Thereleased.”platform has since been scaled across the entire organisation and has been used 16 million times. It has been a massive achievement for NWAS. Jonny adds, “I must say that the partners we work with are really vital in this space. We explore ideas with our partners that we wouldn’t have traditionally worked with before.”

Following the success of SafeCheck, NWAS started asking how they could take this data and present it on a digital wallboard. Matt explains, “We engaged with the team at Kendal and quickly came up with the concept of our Smart Station. It is a collaborative piece of work around how we can use technology in a meaningful way to deliver real value to the staff working in the ambulance station.

Outdated technology and processes can have a major impact on our energy and productivity levels. That’s why we’ve created TEOS – a complete workplace management solution. Whether you’re a large enterprise looking to implement wayfinding, automated check-ins and interactive displays, or a growing start up wanting to simplify your room booking process, TEOS is the solution for you. Discover more at pro.sony/teosTEOS workplacetransformingsolutionsthe

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49 station that monitor occupancy, temperature, humidity, waste, and stock room levels. Matt adds, “Working with our partner ISTL, we switched to to energy-efficient lighting and smart monitoring, which has reduced the energy usage at Kendal station by as much as 76 per cent. That is a huge figure, especially in current times when energy prices are rising and we are making the push towards net-zero. This model is the first of its kind and something we are very proud of. We are now seeing it being rolled out across other trusts in the UK.” When embracing new technology, Jonny says that the foundation is always an understanding of what NWAS is all about and who it serves. He explains, “We look after over 7 million people across the north west, with 1.3 to 1.4 million calls taken by our 999 service and 1.5 million journeys taken by patient transport every year. Our two use cases. The first is around surveillance and getting eyes in the sky. As we have such a disperse patch, it is important for a central dispatch and control team to be able to have eyes on the scene in order to deliver the right care at the right time, in particular rural areas. “The other interesting use case is around delivery drones. We have large rural areas with challenging country roads, so we thought it would be great to have drones

organisation is made up of around 7,000 people and we have over 1,000 vehicles, so our patch is huge and clearly very important to us. Our aim is to look at where we can make a genuine difference to that service.” The purpose of the organisation is to deliver the right care, at the right time, in the right place, every time.

Jonny continues, “It was our mission statement that got us thinking about drones, where we highlighted

“We partnered with Deister to develop a secure electronic key cabinet. Previously, we had four or five different cabinets dotted around the station, and now we have a single secure cabinet, which records who is accessing the keys at any given time”

“We have done a lot of work around usercentred design and in creating the safe space, as well as encouraging people to get hands-on with the new technology and get a feel for what does and doesn’t work” delivering emergency medical equipment such as defibrillators to give patients a better chance of survival. We have collaborated with different organisations to explore how we could look to start changing regulation and policy to allow the delivery of defibrillators, trauma packs, and medication via drone. Our innovation space allows us to test at a small scale, whilst trying to break down barriers.” There are between 10,000 and 13,000 cardiac arrests and between 20,000 and 30,000 overdoses in the area covered by NWAS each year. Jonny continues, “They might just seem like numbers, but they are people – people with lives and families that deserve a better chance. For us, that is the driving force behind our culture of Asinnovation.”farasVR and AR are concerned, Jonny says the trust has explored use cases in paramedic training. He explains, “With augmented reality, we can give new paramedics exposure to major incidents. We have installed two immersive reality rooms to create a realfeel environment, with built-in distractions at an incident, just like the ones you would have in the real world. We are also working on a virtual reality piece around road traffic collisions from the patient’s point of view, so you are able to sense their feelings and emotions,

Last but not least, Jonny expounds the virtues of artificial intelligence. He says, “We are aiming to automate manual processes within the trust in an intelligent way. For example, AI can listen to natural language on a real-time basis. As our call takers are on a 999 call, the system provides prompts and detects tones of language to save vital seconds, assisting teams in having an easier journey towards delivering the right care to the patient at the right time. It would not be possible if we weren’t able to test our pieces of innovation. We are not afraid to try new things, and it comes down to having the right people who will push boundaries in this safe space. They understand the pain points and will look at how technology can help to solve them.”

By testing on a small scale, it mitigates the risk of failure of engagement. Matt explains, “By engaging the teams with our co-design projects, it helps to overcome any barriers and bring other staff along with them. Doing something new will take people out of their comfort zone, but having the opportunity to feed into the process and contribute to the changes means they can see the benefits for themselves.”

51 giving a deeper understanding of what they are going through.”

NWAS has adopted an agile methodology, so Jonny, Matt and their teams are able to redevelop small sections of technology to make it purpose-fit for the user. Jonny continues, “We use a framework that allows us to think wider than just the technology. How is it embedded into the system? How is it embedded into the organisation? But, perhaps most importantly, how do we help people adopt it through training, use, and interoperability? You don’t want to simply throw a load of technology at the organisation. You want to make it meaningful and drive benefits. Our framework allows us to understand the value proposition of what we are trying to deliver, and for us, that is so important. We will always have challenges, but we are open to managing them because we are transparent in our approach.” Matt says NWAS is lucky to have some fantastic people in the

Jonny adds, “Without the user engagement piece, you won’t have the adoption. You could spend lots of money on technology, but if the users don’t buy in, it is a waste of time. We have therefore done a lot of work around user-centred design and in creating the safe space, as well as encouraging people to get hands-on with the new technology and get a feel for what does and doesn’t work.”

53 team, coupled with the ability to reach out to a number of different partners to tackle any issues the organisation may be facing. As for fostering an innovation mindset going forward, Jonny enthuses, “Digital is the future and the challenge for us will be innovating whilst still maintaining a safe day-today, considering the increase in cyber-threats, for example. I am keen to continue the innovation piece, keeping the constant stream going of exploring new things. I want to maintain that hunger. We are on the right tracks in terms of looking at AI, ML and drones, and it is set to grow, as we partner with more people both in and outside of the industry. There is lots still to come, so watch this space!” With UK ambulance services under immense pressure, Matt believes it is a real opportunity to innovate and utilise digital to improve the service offering. He concludes, “Technology presents further opportunities, but how do we sustain the pace and make sure that as technology develops, we can keep up? That will be the challenge, but there are certainly very exciting times ahead.” For further information on NWAS, visit www.nwas.nhs.uk

START-UPS

Germany aims for 30 billion euro investment to support homegrown start-ups. A FORSTRATEGYFOSTERING INNOVATION

GERMANY IS PLANNING A 30 BILLION EURO ($30.4 BILLION) FUND TO HELP ORIENTEDTECHNOLOGY-START-UPS. It was approved by the German cabinet as part of a broader strategy to make the country a more attractive location for start-ups and Theinnovation.government will work with private investors and tap into 10 billion euros of public money from the stateowned lender KfW to raise the ‘Future Fund’, prioritising companies investing in deep tech and climate solutions, including artificial intelligence, hydrogen technology, quantum technology, and sustainable Whilemobility.venture capital investment is rising in Germany, Europe’s largest economy is still lacking international peers.

Anna Christmann, the government’s special envoy

Most of Europe’s largest ‘growth companies’ are financed by US investors, which lure many successful start-ups to relocate. The strategy aims to encourage them to remain in the EU long

Theterm.government is also looking to lower hurdles for foreigners seeking work in the country’s tech sector, as well increasing the tax-exempt amount for employee stock options. It will review issues around remote work, including taxation and labour law, so that companies can hire talent overseas without requiring relocation.

THE GOVERNMENT IS ALSO LOOKING TO LOWER HURDLES FOR SECTORTHESEEKINGFOREIGNERSWORKINCOUNTRY’STECH

Christian Miele, Chairman of

the German Startups Association

TO MAKE GERMANY THE WORLD MARKET LEADER FOR START-UPS, WE NEED MORE COURAGE AND DETERMINATION

on start-ups, said that the new strategy gives “a clear signal that venture capital can also be an interesting investment for public funds and that already a small share could have a big influence on the venture capital market.”

Chairman Christian Miele stated, “A strategy is only as good as its implementation. The German government must not hide behind commitments to review things. To make Germany the world market leader for start-ups, we need more courage and determination.”

Source: www.bloomberg.com

The German Startups Association praised the strategy for highlighting the importance of start-ups to Germany’s long-term competitiveness, but said that it fell short on the issue of taxation.

JensPROCESSESE2EOPTIMISATIONACCELERATESSUSTAINABILITYTHEOFOPERATIONFath

BUSINESS INTERVIEW

and Jasmin Pennicke from PwC Germany discuss how future business models need to be adapted to prioritise ESG and sustainability.

64 ens Fath is one of the responsible partners for the operations transformation team at PwC, and has a keen interest in how top floor and shop floor play together in exploring possibilities for digitalisation, plus how integrated and businessled end-to-end architecture can support sustainability, as well as digitalisation and IoT. Besides the product complexity and structure, Jens believes processes and how to define them is having a direct impact on sustainability questions. He also considers that we need to prioritise the organisation, people mindset and IT architecture, with strong core and systems of differentiation, to form a stable foundation for sustainability.

Jens Fath

Jasmin Pennicke is Manager in the Operations team and looks after PwC’s sustainability offering in the operations practice, coordinating and bringing together all operations functions in terms of sustainability. She explains, “Looking at our service offering, how can we leverage that in terms of ESG? It is applicable to the entire value chain, so you cannot look at ESG in a silo. It is important to link all the functions in order to reach your goals. My role is to bring all the people together, and link our services offerings to our colleagues’ offerings, so we can have a full view.”

“WE ARE IN A LEARNING CURVE BECAUSE ESG AND SUSTAINABILITY IS SUCH A NEW – BUT HIGHLY RELEVANT – TOPIC. IT FEELS SIMILAR TO DIGITALISATION WHEN IT FIRST CAME TO THE FORE. THE IMPORTANT POINT TO REMEMBER IS THAT WE WILL ONLY ACHIEVE SUCCESS IF WE ARE DOING IT END-TO-END AND INTEGRATING PRODUCTS, PROCESSES, ORGANISATION AND IT”

Jens and Jasmin believe it is essential for companies to address the topic of ESG and sustainability

66 in order to be successful and future-ready. Jasmin says, “Sustainability appears to be the next big trend, but we think it is more than that. Companies need to address it because it is mandatory for us as a society. On the regulatory side, following the European Green Deal, there will be a lot coming up in the next few years. Also, customers want to have sustainable products, and investors want to see green investments. A lot of companies see it as their responsibility to create new business models and new solutions, gaining new market fields, because there are new possibilities arising from So,that.”what does Jasmin anticipate will be the impact of ESG and sustainability on businesses in terms of their future business models? She answers, “ESG and sustainability will have a big impact on how decision making will be carried out in the next few years. Before sustainability, you had to address costs, time and quality in your processes. Now, you have to consider new factors and how to apply them. It is more than just putting a sustainability label on your products, but reshaping your business model, because you can only be successful in terms of sustainability if you reshape your business in total. It is not only the reporting part, but rethinking how your products work, how you want to introduce them to the market, and how you balance ESG factors with previously relevant factors such as costs etc. It is a big opportunity for new business models.”

Jens adds, “In my opinion, ESG and sustainability are an accelerator for the optimisation of operation processes – considering customer, suppliers, and internal operations processes the same way – especially how to engineer and build a product. If we were to combine production and logistics with sustainability, the result would be that the sustainability story would be accelerated. Whether talking about the external business model or the internal ways of working end to end, they all go PwChand-in-hand.”outlinesfive essential pillars in the area of operations as far as the entire value chain is concerned in the context of ESG. Jasmin continues, “First of all, when talking

2. Automation speeds up green initiatives. Although Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is not the only way to reach sustainability goals, it can help accelerate the process through innovation and enhanced efficiencies. RPA can be easily deployed to: Streamline auditing procedures Collect data from various applications and systems Support data management and simplify complex data through automating data visualisation tools, dashboards, and reporting Track and report on progress against specific environmental targets, such as carbon emissions

•

1. Automation helps organisations reach environmental, social and governance (ESG) objectives. To accelerate such goals with automation, organisations should: Identify goals and metrics related to environment and sustainability Pinpoint processes that can be automated Tweak processes to support ESG goals Gather data and track progress to aid in overall ESG reporting

•

Automation is not only a solution for accelerating digital transformation and boosting operational efficiencies. It can also be used for good, and to enhance sustainability. how: Visit UiPath’s website to download the 2022 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Robotic Process Automation.

Here’s

•

3. Automation solutions reduce carbon footprints. With process mining, software obtains available data about what is occurring in a process, and then transforms the process data into visual workflows. From there, companies can accurately view where there are bottlenecks that can be streamlined. Companies can also reduce their carbon footprints by: • Decreasing computing energy • Saving paper by restricting excessive printing Automating and streamlining supply chain operations • Digitising purchase orders and invoice processes

•

The calls to organisations to cut their waste will not be going away any time soon. By leveraging Automation for Good, companies can accelerate their commitments to building and maintaining a cleaner, greener planet. Get a personalised assessment Answer six quick questions from our Automation for Good assessment tool to get your free IDC report with tailored guidance for your organisation.

Automation Enables Companies to Meet Sustainability Objectives

•

69 about the entire value chain, it is important to look at your footprint transformation, not only in terms of climate change, but your network – your suppliers, your production locations and supply chains – because they have so much implication on ESG factors. There is the strategy part concerning all operations functions, but you need to look at your research and development functions in terms of sustainable how can you collect all the data, establish the required IT architecture, and perform the right analytics to drive and optimise operations in terms of JensESG?”mentions

In this way, architecturebusiness-ledisplayinga key role in successful ESG. Jens elaborates, “It is playing a key role for ESG, for digitalisation, and, not least, for developing sustainable “I THINK ALL COMPANIES ARE CURRENTLY UNDERGOING COMPLEX TRANSFORMATIONS. THE FIRST IS TRIGGERED BY DIGITALISATION, THE SECOND BY THE MARKET AND POLITICAL SITUATIONS, AND THE THIRD IS TRIGGERED BY ESG AND SUSTAINABILITY” Jens Fath

a sixth and crossrelevant pillar in architecture management. He adds, “For me, business-led, integrated architecture management is important because ESG needs products. How do you perform a circular product lifecycle portfolio management and product design for sustainability? You really need to consider your supply chain, how it is connected, and how to optimise it in terms of efficient transport management and sustainable value creation – building sustainable factories, optimising production processes, and gathering all the information from the value chain. On the technology enablement side, data and transparency. If we are not collecting the right data out of the right processes and analysing it with the right technology, we will not have the transparency that we need for developing our sustainability topics.”

70 towards making it more sustainable, with integrated processes and transparent data.” So, how can thefirstcomplexcompaniesjourney?managementtransformationsupporttheESGJensanswers,“Ithinkallarecurrentlyundergoingtransformations.Theistriggeredbydigitalisation,secondbythemarketand companies, together with our customers. New innovations need an integrated architecture that is business-led, and not only IT-driven. It should be based on the business capabilities that companies have today and will need in the future. If you know that the world must be more sustainable in the future, one of the key capabilities for architecture is therefore helping

71 political situations, and the third is triggered by ESG and sustainability. Transformation means things are moving, and one of the main topics we should not forget is the people dimension. Transformation management means we need a clear, structured program that is organising the transformation journey and helping the enablement of change for taking our people with us, raising their understanding of what is behind the topics. Visible value is the key to Ifsuccess.”youwant to have people acting on sustainability topics, you first need to convince them by telling them the goal and why the change of behaviour is needed. If you cannot convince the people, there will not be the required acceptance. Jasmin adds, “A lot of people already know the goal of sustainability in total, but the next step is understanding what they can do in a company to take positive action. They need to be able to fully participate and feel their impact in order to motivate them to follow these PwCambitions.”hasits own ambition to lead in ESG efforts. For instance, through the validation of PwC’s targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 per cent by 2030 through the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

Jasmin continues, “We are providing transparency on our own sustainability activities and leading by example. We are developing and enhancing a lot of our existing service offerings, as well as developing new

“SUSTAINABILITY APPEARS TO BUT WE THINK IT IS MORE THAN NEED TO ADDRESS IT BECAUSE AS A SOCIETY. ON THE REGULATORY THE EUROPEAN GREEN DEAL, COMING UP IN THE NEXT FEW

72 service offerings, to help our clients derive strategies and set up roadmaps in terms of ESG. We have created many of our own digital solutions to enable companies to gain transparency on their footprints and KPIs. Together with our partners, we have a lot of solutions available, and every project in our landscape has an ESG aspect, even if it is not labelled as such. The topic is Iseverywhere.”digitalisation the key to achieving the targets companies have set in terms of ESG and sustainability? Jasmin says, “It is important to collect data and create transparency along the value chain, giving a baseline foundation. The next step is then to set up ESG KPIs or measurements that are important to make production plans and build strategies and corresponding roadmaps. By connecting data from different systems, decision making processes are facilitated, as well as supporting management and reporting processes, so it all goes hand-in-hand.”

Jensprocesses.”highlights the fact that we should not take ESG as a separate entity. He explains, “Companies have to do digitalisation, and if we combine ESG topics, the initial investment is not as high as it might seem. In our opinion, ESG saves money, raises efficiency, supports lean operation processes, and the payback besides Jasmin Pennicke NEXT BIG TREND, THAT. IT IS FOR US REGULATORY SIDE, FOLLOWING DEAL, YEARS”

MANDATORY

Jens adds, “I think the back loop of the data is key. If we are collecting data automatically and analysing it, it is our chance to push it back to the shop floor, logistics or engineering where people need a signal, such as a view on the transparency, or a change in the product due to reoccurring problems. By using the data and looping it back into other departments and systems, you can then talk about use cases like considering energy management in production planning, for example. Digitalisation is therefore helpful in collecting and analysing the data, but the main value comes from looping it back into other

COMPANIES BECAUSE

THERE WILL BE A LOT FEW

TO BE THE

THAN

74 reaching sustainability KPIs will be very quick.” Jasmin elaborates, “We have a lot of clients that focused on energy efficiency some time ago. They wanted to have their own energy supplies, and estimated a payback of between five and 10 years. In these times, it is paying back in just one or two years. Times are changing, and the payback periods are getting shorter and Jasminshorter.”shares a couple of use cases to illustrate how sustainability strategies are gaining momentum. She says, “We are setting up roadmaps with a lot of Tier 1 automotive suppliers and manufacturers in terms of ESG. You need to focus on what is important for your company, your clients, and find the right topics. We are now looking at Scopes 1, 2 and 3 in terms of CO2 emissions, deriving roadmaps for how companies can be CO2 neutral in 2050. Having a roadmap with dedicated measures on fuel switch and the change of energy mix, for example, is now becoming even more prominent. Furthermore, we are working with a lot of companies from the process industry because of the greater focus on Scope 3 emissions, deriving strategies focusing on their raw materials, how they are sourced, their supplier network, and how they can integrate their suppliers into their strategy. It is absolutely a combined effort with your suppliers.”

For further information on PwC Germany, visit www.pwc.de when it first came to the fore. The important point to remember is that we will only achieve success if we are doing it end-to-end and integrating products, processes, organisation and IT.”

Finally, Jens stresses that sustainability must be one of the main topics when developing business strategies for companies and their customers going forward. He concludes, “We are in a learning curve because ESG and sustainability is such a new – but highly relevant – topic. It feels similar to digitalisation

Officer at Giganet, the best extensive NetherlandscontinuedITandefficiency

"A highlyapproach"professional Andy Brierley, Vice President, Cloud Application Modernisation at IBM "Digital innovation Magazine is a very flexible and professional team" Kim Larsen CTIO, T-Mobile Netherlands

"Absolute pleasure working with the Digital Innovation team" Mun Valiji, Chief Information Security Officer at Sainsbury’s "The team were professional and diligent throughout" Leigh Feaviour, CTIO for BT’s Supply Chain

SUSTAINABILITY

Danish agtech Agreena has acquired UK-based Hummingbird Technologies, reflecting the influence of tech on sustainability across Europe.

CARBON OFFSETTING AND THE SUSTAINABILITY AGENDA HAVE BECOME INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT FOR THE FARMING AND AGRICULTURE SECTOR, ONE OF THE LARGEST POLLUTERS OF CARBON.

Hummingbirditshasbasedopenhagen-AgreenaannouncedacquisitionofTechnologiesin a move to fuel the European green Agreenatransition.is one of Europe’s pioneering platforms facilitating the issuing and trading of carbon certificates, whilst Hummingbird Technologies provides advanced remote sensing analytics to improve the sustainability of the agri-food sector. With this new partnership, Agreena puts key resources –financial and commercial – into the development of Hummingbird’s MRV (monitoring, reporting & verification) technology, a crucial innovation that helps create

trustworthiness around soil carbon iscertificatesandEuropeofhasdemocratictotradingstartedFoundedcertificates.in2018,Agreenalifeasadigitalplatform,intendedmakegrainstradingmoreandefficient.Itgrowntobecomeonethefirstplatformsacrosstofacilitateissuingtradingofcarbonforfarmers,andnowserving13countriesin of farmers being able to take necessary and relevant climate action, each doing their part to help Europe’s green transition. Agreena is supporting farmers’ transition to regenerative agriculture – made by farmers and fintech experts for TechnologiesSincefarmers.2016,Hummingbirdhasbeen Europe. The AgreenaCarbon programme follows the crop year, and thus allows the farmers to reap the value of their climate efforts on an annual basis. Having access to carbon reporting tools and certificates is a crucial part enabling agri-businesses.insightstowithvisionlearningSaaSscience.agricultureregenerativethroughdataTheAI-basedplatformusesdeepandcomputertechniquesalongproprietaryalgorithmsprovideactionabletofarmersandItprovides “HUMMINGBIRD AND AGREENA WERE EARLY PIONEERS IN WHAT IS NOW A THRIVING REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE ECONOMY. OUR COMPLEMENTARY TECHNOLOGIES HAVE ENABLED THIS MARKET TO TAKE OFF, AND AS SUCH, THIS IS THE PERFECT MATCH” Alexander Jevons, CEO of Hummingbird Technologies

advanced remote sensing data to help farmers identify early problems in crops, such as crop health, disease risk and detection, weed mapping, yield prediction, and more. It is therefore able to give the agriculture industry much-needed tools to optimise processes whilst minimising environmental impacts. In short, the platform was developed to alleviate the climate burden of intensive farming and food production through Alexandertech.

Jevons, CEO of progressionmarriagepartnership-turned-match.asthistechnologiesOuragricultureapioneersAgreena“HummingbirdTechnologies,Hummingbirdsaid,andwereearlyinwhatisnowthrivingregenerativeeconomy.complementaryhaveenabledmarkettotakeoff,andsuch,thisistheperfectOurcompanies’isanaturalinamaturing

Merging the two companies’ technology capabilities and bringing Hummingbird’s AI-based verification in-house to Agreena is just the beginning, and jointly, the teams will be delivering innovative new tech solutions for the agriculture industry and soil carbon markets.

Simon Haldrup, Co-founder and CEO of Agreena, added, “Agreena

and fast-growing industry, and a great step forward for society and farmers, who can sell the certificates and thus finance their green transition.” The merger is set to strengthen Agreena’s value chain, underlining the company’s international leading position within the agricultural sector for soil carbon certification.

Simon Haldrup, Co-founder and CEO of Agreena

Source: www.eu-startups.com

is on a mission to enable an international regenerative agriculture movement, and this market-leading MRV solution can deliver a massive scalable impact. We have been thoroughly investigating advanced technology solutions and working towards enhancing our protocol since day one – and with this acquisition, we are not only scaling, but also adding new tech perspectives to the development of Theagriculture.”purchasewill result in a company with more than 80 combined employees, building its operational capacity to serve the Americas and Australia. For further information on Agreena, visit www.agreena.com IS ON A MISSION TO ENABLE AN INTERNATIONAL REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE MOVEMENT, AND THIS MARKET-LEADING MRV SOLUTION CAN DELIVER A MASSIVE SCALABLE IMPACT”

“AGREENA

BUSINESS INTERVIEW

Piotr Sedziak, Supply Chain Director at Orbico Group, discusses his company’s vision to be a digitally and operationally synchronised supply chain solutions provider across Europe. be the Leading Logistics Provider in Central and Eastern Europe

90 rbico Group is a leading distributor of a diverse range of products, as well as being a 3PL provider, working across 20 different countries. Headquartered in Croatia, the company primarily focuses on the regions of Central and Eastern Europe. Piotr Sedziak, Supply Chain Director at Orbico Group, explains, “The distribution part is divided into two main streams – the first is related to FMCG goods, and the second relates to beauty products. We offer 3PL logistics services across all our geographies, with our main markets of Poland, Romania, Croatia, Bulgaria, and Slovenia, and with the aspiration to grow in the future. We are a three billion euro turnover company, spanning over 200,000 square metres, with more than 2,000 people inside our logistics organisation, and over 1,200 vans and trucks in our network.”

91 From a supply chain perspective, Orbico Group’s mission is to be a digitally and operationally synchronised supply chain solutions provider across Europe. Piotr continues, “Our vision is to deliver efficient supply chain solutions for our internal and external customers, supporting both distribution and development of the 3PL service. We have three strategic ambitions including excellence of the supply chain solutions for our internal and external customers, significant growth of the 3PL service scale, and development of the transport services across our organisation. This is the direction in which we are Ongoing.”the contract logistics development side, Orbico Group works across a number of different industries, from FMCG, beauty, tech and electronics, to tobacco, food and beverages, fashion and toys. Piotr says, “We

92 specialise in providing inventory management, value-added services, transport management, ecommerce, and complete supply chain solutions across these sectors. All services are supported by our IT solutions and reverse logistics solutions. If a customer does not have their own IT infrastructure, we can provide the complete IT infrastructure needed to realise their transport and logistics services. Combining the role of distributor and contract logistics provider for both internal and external customers is one of our challenges, but at the same time, it allows us to have synergies. A good distribution network, sharing the costs between distribution and with our 3PL customers, gives us the opportunity to offer our new customers a more competitive Asproposal.”farasautomation and infrastructure are concerned, Piotr elaborates, “It is important to understand that we have different levels of automation –we have software automation and we have hardware automation. The former has a high level of integration across the systems, with at least three different types of software including WMS, TMS and extended automation systems inside the warehouses. In the last year, we have launched solutions supported by automated software in both Poland and Bulgaria. Automated hardware includes conveyor systems, pick by cart,

93 and cargo systems. We are also looking into autonomous mobile robots and voice picking solutions to support the picking efficiency of our “Forwarehouses.me,thesoftware should be determined by well-designed process flow and act like the nervous system of the overall logistics. It must work efficiently and react quickly to any changes. The distribution part is more predictive than contract logistics, so the software must be flexible enough to support the changes Orbico Group supports its overall business strategy through five main pillars of development: orientationCustomer-centric1 Cost effectiveness2 People3 Automation infrastructureand4 Sustainability5

Piotr Sedziak, Supply Chain Director

“For us, it is important to get full profit from our regional presence. My vision is that we will be a leading logistics provider in Central and Eastern Europe, supporting any distribution request whilst providing general solutions based on the country or region”

orientation refers to Orbico Group’s 3PL distribution role, finding the right formula for supporting both streams of the business. Piotr says, “It is necessary to support different business models, as illustrated by the Covid situation, which saw huge pressure for the transformation of the logistics function from B2B to B2C. The challenge now is to create one network supporting B2B, B2C, wholesalers, modern trade, traditional trade, and

97 expected by the contract logistics customers. It is about creating a digital ecosystem, making sure all our systems across Europe are standardised and talking the same language, without the need for any manual transfer of data. We are working hard on extending our warehouse network, with new distribution centres in Poland and Bulgaria, both with automation in place. We are also planning a new site in Croatia, and implementing automated solutions, so it is fair to say the network is Customer-centricgrowing.”

98 all the different types of product. On top of the adaptation of the supply chain network supporting the different business models is quality management. This refers to the visibility of the operations for customers, and the consolidation of the software that is used to support Thethis.”main streams of activities related to cost effectiveness include operational excellence, productivity increase, and implementation.innovationsThelatter involves looking at what is available on the market, testing it, and implementing it if it has proven to have value. Furthermore, people is about making the workplace a safe place for Orbico Group’s employees, creating a culture of high performers, the feeling of being part of a team, and developing the reputation of being a competitive employer in the Themarketplace.finalpillar, but perhaps one of the most important, relates to sustainability. Piotr explains, “There are three reasons why sustainability is important right now. The first is the fact that we can all see climate change is happening and we need to react. We need to have some sustainability ambitions to meet ESG targets. The second point is that legislation is changing, which is imposing new regulations either now or in the future, so companies must be prepared to adapt. The third reason refers to customer expectations. Customers increasingly want companies to respond to sustainability challenges.”

“We encourage cooperation, and we are currently in talks with Stamh on how we can work together on other projects in the future”

We automate your business for growth Warehouse Proﬁling | Warehouse Data Analysis | Warehouse Processes (Receiving, Put-away, Order picking, Replenishment, Shipping) Warehouse Layout (Storage Equipment, Material Handling) | Project Management System Integration | Service Support & Maintenance | Software Related Services w w w . m a c h . r o

“Mach played a role in designing the acentredistributioninRomaniafewyearsago”

As a final point, Piotr shares Orbico Group’s vision for the future. He concludes, “For us, it is important to get full profit from our regional presence. My vision is that we will be a leading logistics provider in Central and Eastern Europe, supporting any distribution request whilst providing general solutions based on the country or region. Our future supply chain must be well-recognised in this part of Europe and synchronised, so as to be able to support the needs of the customers which expect a regional approach. We will create a strong logistics network comprising transport and warehousing, which will support our distribution activities and increase the 3PL part of the business.” For further information, visit www.orbico.com

Two of Orbico Group’s partners include Stamh and Mach. Stamh was responsible for the implementation of the solutions in Orbico Group’s new logistics centre in Bulgaria, whilst Mach played a role in designing the distribution centre in Romania a few years ago. Piotr adds, “We encourage cooperation, and we are currently in talks with Stamh on how we can work together on other projects in the future.”

101

Piotr says the five pillars are helping to create a resilient, operationally and technically efficient supply chain for Orbico Group. The projects underpinning the pillars are now in their second year of execution, with several larger projects planned within this phase. So, how important is it to work with partners to maximise success? Piotr answers, “It is very important to work with partners given the demands of the marketplace. We are all facing shortages in the supply chain, longer delivery times, and greater costs. The right selection of partners and long-term cooperation are key to achieving the right level of support. Having a relatively extended network of partners can therefore help in realising the business strategies.”

THE SPOTLIGHT

innovative

largealternativefield,currentsolutionscompanies).DAXcorporationsinternational(including30andFortune500Procurence’sarebasedonthebestpracticesintheandareanaffordableformediumandenterprises.

rocurence is an IT services and IT consulting company, founded in 2009. Specialising in tactical and strategic SaaS tools for Procurement, Quality Management and Compliance/ HSE departments, its core product is sold under the brand Meercat®.

In the most generic terms, Procurence helps companies create transparency in their supplier base, decrease supply chain risk, and streamline internal supplier management and communication processes. The company was established by a group of consultants and academics with extensive experience in implementing supplier management and risk management processes at large

Introducing B2B software company, Procurence.

To find out more about Procurence, visit www.procurence.com “As consultants, we constantly strived to provide our clients with best-of-breed risk management solutions – drawing on our experience, newest industry trends, and latest research in the field”

The company’s software has been recognised by Germany’s biggest organisation for procurement professionals (BME –Bundesverband Materialwirtschaft, Einkauf und Logistik e.V.). As a company, there is just one aim in mind – to offer simple, intuitive and business-oriented software for the procurement and supply chain Adepartments.spokesperson for Procurence said, “As consultants, we constantly strived to provide our clients with best-of-breed risk management solutions – drawing on our experience, newest industry trends, and latest research in the field. We soon discovered that there was no software in the market that would support the ideas and processes we wanted to Consequently,implement.wewaitedand waited for the right tools until we said, ‘Enough! Time to take matters into our own hands!’.”

103

104 www.sustx.co.uk/technology www.sustx.co.uk/technology/agenda/ www.sustx.co.uk/technology/pricing/