Optimas uses data analytics throughout its operations | Wakefern to test shelf-scanning inventory robot | Walmart ups pay for truckers, adds 12-week training
Optimas OE Solutions has found applications for data analytics internally, externally and with suppliers, says executive Mark Korba. "Data analytics has helped us gain visibility throughout the organization, even in places we never imagined such as better accuracy with our cash conversion cycle, ranking supplier responsiveness, analyzing time to task, or evaluating capacity of both our customers and Optimas," Korba says.
Wakefern Food will test a shelf-scanning robot from Simbe Robotics to assist with inventory management at select stores. The robot, referred to as Tally, will roam aisles and scan products as often as three times per day to ensure proper placement and pricing.
Walmart is increasing salaries for long-haul truck driving employees, who now will be able to earn as much as $110,000 during their first year of work, the retailer said. Walmart, which is working to navigate retail's trucking labor shortage, will also launch a 12-week training program for new truck drivers, where they will be able to earn commercial driver's licenses.
Artificial intelligence and machine learning are poised to improve warehouse robots by enabling them to handle more complex tasks, Matt Kohler of Bastian Solutions and Kevin Reader of Knapp say. "[T]here is consensus that the future of robotic design is not just driven by AI, but that 'cloud is the enabler, data is the driver, and AI is the differentiator,'" Reader says.
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The average business-to-business buyer consumes 13 items of content before making a purchase or contacting a sales executive, writes marketing research analyst Liudmila Klimusheuskaja, who provides a 15-step guide to creating B2B content. That process starts with creating buyer personas, building content ideation and structure and generating content that tells a story.
Middle managers must serve as a bridge between executives and front-line workers, pushing compassion and reducing pressure in both directions, write Heidi Gardner of Harvard Law School and Mark Mortensen of INSEAD. "It's our experience that most executives would be willing to demonstrate more compassion and better support their employees if they understood their problems better," they write.
