By Carlos Osuna, Head of R&D, Panasonic Connect Europe.

The retail industry is at an inflection point. Booming e-commerce volumes and changing consumer behaviour on the back of economic pressures are making customers more price-sensitive and less brand loyal.

Specialist recruitment firm, Robert Half, has warned employers that stereotypes could hinder access to, and the development of, critical Gen AI talent in the immediate future.

In a move set to transform the landscape of voice analytics and recording, Micro Plus Software Ltd, operating as Tollring, has entered a strategic equity alliance with Amity Solutions. 

Calabrio, the workforce performance company, has announced the enhancement of its Call Recording capabilities for greater integration with Webex Calling —part of Cisco’s cloud-native, unified communications and collaboration solution.

An alarming 60% of the UK’s retail, hospitality, catering and leisure workers say they have been underpaid, according to new research by workforce management and HR services company UKG. 36% have also experienced late payments, and 23% report not receiving a payslip at all.

Sealey Tools has optimised its picking productivity and accuracy since going live with its Dakota voice-enabled solution. When the company experienced an unexpected, significant and sustained increase in orders during the Covid pandemic lockdown, its warehouse was under extreme pressure to keep up with such an unprecedented upturn in demand

Wincanton has deployed VersaTile, a new modular automation solution, at its Northampton shared user facility to further enhance its high-volume e-Fulfilment offering for customers.

Switching to managed print services (MPS) could represent a five-figure saving over three years, when compared with traditional printer ownership, according to new analysis from Brother UK.

At drupa 2024 (Messe Düsseldorf, 28 May – 7 June 2024, Hall 8a), Canon is showcasing its full capabilities as a leading provider of end-to-end digital production print solutions and services. Under the banner of ‘The Power to Move’, Canon is demonstrating how, in collaboration with partners, it works closely with customers to deliver the transformative technologies...

Business technology solutions provider Brother UK has launched a compact range of mono laser printers for businesses, helping resellers to support customers with downsized offices and decentralised workforces.

Business technology solutions provider Brother UK has upgraded its professional labelling line-up, launching two new devices to help make compliance easier for electricians and network installers.

This research is a quantitative and qualitative assessment of the characteristics that explain a vendor's success in the supply chain demand planning space and helps assess its current and anticipated performance in the marketplace.

During the pandemic, the foundations on which retailers, brands and Consumer Products companies rely to determine trade volumes, pricing and promotions have been shaken and, in some cases, broken.

AI developers DataRobot and Palantir Technologies Inc have entered into a new partnership designed to create unique, agile and real-time solutions to help solve the most pressing demand forecasting problems.

PredictHQ has announced its Demand Impact Pattern for severe weather events, with data sets to help businesses prepare for major weather events and mitigate overall impact by integrating into machine learning models for demand forecasting.

Digital Transformation experts SolutionsPT launch a campaign to show why a combined approach simplifies the value of manufacturing intelligence.

Kinaxis a leader in supply chain management software, has announced that Infineum has selected Kinaxis to drive increased efficiency and reduce waste across its supply chain with improved navigation of supply and demand in today’s increasingly volatile business environment.

TSA's proposed cybersecurity regulation aims to ensure "higher-risk" pipelines and railways are defended from cyber attacks.

The post TSA proposes cybersecurity requirements for pipelines, railroad operators first appeared on Federal News Network.

Baker Hughes, an energy technology company, has launched CarbonEdge, powered by Cordant, an end-to-end, risk-based digital solution for CCUS operations that provides support for regulatory reporting and operational risk management.

Optimised supply chain management benefits extend well beyond the bottom line. More and more companies across various sectors are turning to Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems to keep up with market demands and maintain a competitive edge.

By Alex Edwards, Head of Communications EU, Protolabs.

It’s fair to say that the past five years have stress-tested the UK manufacturing sector. Not only have manufacturers had to deal with a global pandemic, but they’ve also faced geopolitical uncertainty, a cost of living crisis and the after effects of Brexit.

CJ Lang & Son Ltd, the wholesaler for SPAR in Scotland, and the major Scottish convenience store franchise with over 300 stores across the country, has selected RELEX, provider of unified supply chain and retail planning solutions, to automate and optimise its supply chain processes.

Brand Evangelists for Beauty (Be for Beauty) was created 5 years ago by Colette Laxton & Mark Curry. Over the last couple of years, the company has faced strong growth.

The ecommerce funding and planning platform 8fig has announced the launch of “Freight with 8fig”, a new service that helps ecommerce sellers manage freight workflows within the platform. A critical pain point in the ecommerce arena, 8fig’s latest addition helps sellers source competitive freight quotes and credit terms.

o9 Solutions, the enterprise AI software platform provider for transforming planning and decision-making, has announced that Perfetti Van Melle has selected the o9 Digital Brain platform to transform its supply chain planning capabilities and accelerate its digital transformation journey.

The new partnership between supply chain software provider EPG and route planning solutions provider Greenplan has already reached a significant milestone, with the news that time-critical logistics specialist DANX is rolling out Greenplan in its Denmark operations.

Logility, Inc., the prescriptive supply chain planning solutions provider, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Garvis, a visionary SaaS startup that combines large language models (ChatGPT) with AI-native demand forecasting.

Blue Yonder, the supply chain solutions provider, has released its largest product update in the history of the company, launching what it describes as the first set of interoperable solutions across the entire supply chain – from planning to warehouse, transportation, and commerce – delivered on the company’s Luminate Cognitive Platform.

Manhattan Associates has introduced Manhattan Active Supply Chain Planning (SCP), claimed to be the industry’s first unified business planning platform that enables bi-directional collaboration between supply chain planning and execution systems. 

Peter Waterman is the director of the cloud security program, known as FedRAMP, after stints with USDS and the Technology Modernization Fund.

The post FedRAMP has a permanent director for first time in 3 years first appeared on Federal News Network.

"There is power in quantity, but how we talk about our return on the nation’s investment is an area I’m looking to try to work on," Michael Sulmeyer said.

The post Pentagon’s first cyber policy chief targets better metrics for cybersecurity success first appeared on Federal News Network.

DHS Secretary Mayorkas activated the federal employee volunteer force “due to the anticipated frequency and severity of extreme weather this season."

The post DHS activates Surge Capacity Force as Helene batters southeast US first appeared on Federal News Network.

By embracing work-life integration, we can unlock the potential for our work to foster connection, purpose, and meaning.

The post Beyond balance: A call for work-life integration in the federal workplace for Suicide Prevention Month first appeared on Federal News Network.

President-elect Donald Trump is starting to fill key posts in his second administration, putting an emphasis so far on aides and allies who were his strongest backers during the 2024 campaign. Among his picks are Fox News personality Pete Hegseth for secretary of defense, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to oversee homeland security, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee for ambassador to Israel and John Ratcliffe for CIA director.

The post Here are the people Trump has picked for key positions so far first appeared on Federal News Network.

Forter, the Trust Platform for digital commerce, has released findings from its 2024 Consumer Trust Premium Report, which explores the evolving relationship between consumer shopping habits and brand trust, based on 2,000 survey respondents in the US and UK.

GreyOrange Inc. has introduced SoftFence, a virtual shielding technology from its retail software as a service (SaaS) platform, gStore. Designed to enhance store execution through real-time inventory management and intelligent tasking, gStore is already trusted for implementing over 250 overhead RFID-enabled stores, which is a global first.

It has recently emerged that consumer habits amongst Gen Z are changing, with many now turning to social media for retail therapy. Weighing in on this growing phenomenon of social media shopping, Nick Drewe, founder of the online discount platform Wethrift, offers his insights:

The team at fulfilmentcrowd – a global fulfilment provider, driven by technology, for high growth omnichannel brands - shares common pain points for retailers as peak season approaches, offering advice on how retailers can salvage a bad peak, including considerations for switching fulfilment provider during mid-season.

By Philipp Pfister, Chief Customer Experience Officer at Transporeon (a Trimble company)

There’s no denying that the transport sector is a prominent cog across most global industries. As the saying goes, “There is no production without procurement logistics, and no trade without delivery traffic.”

A silent crisis of ‘serial returns’ is eroding retail profit margins as uncovered in the Annual Returns Benchmark Report 2024* conducted by returns specialist ZigZag, in partnership with Retail Economics, accounting for 1 in 10 (11% of) online shoppers that make returns, are generating a quarter (24%) of all online non-food returns.

22 October 2024 – Established trims, packaging, RFID*, and variable data solutions provider Trimco Group announces the launch of its exclusive new FSC™-certified (FSC C137962) and plastic-free RAIN RFID inlay** series – Trimco Group PaperMark. The inlays replace the PET substrate usually used in the RFID inlays with an FSC-certified paper substrate.

As we look ahead to the next year, retailers are focusing on strategic priorities that leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance operational efficiency and elevate customer satisfaction as Rory O’Connor, founder & CEO of Scurri, explains.

While the buzzword of 2024 may be artificial intelligence, or some derivative like generative AI or large language models, the biggest challenge and focus for federal IT community will continue to be the people.

The post Buzzword for 2024: AI; Biggest concern for 2024: Workforce first appeared on Federal News Network.

Clare Martorana, the federal chief information officer, said the Technology Modernization Fund invested more than $177 million in 18 projects in 2023.

The post Federal CIO Martorana’s top 3 priorities for 2024 first appeared on Federal News Network.

The Great South West Partnership has released its anticipated report on the region’s high value manufacturing sector, positioning the area as a key player in the UK's renewed Industrial Strategy.

Lancashire-based Rainbow Dynamics has launched RackBot for intralogistics goods-to-person order picking. Due to its streamlined design and straightforward build process, RackBot can be installed and up and running in one-third of the time that it would take to construct a traditional tote-shuttle system.

When it comes to solving inherently joint problems such as command and control at large scale, the OSD is a “partner to the services and not an opponent.”

The post When it comes to joint efforts, OSD seeks collaboration over ‘sixth service’ role first appeared on Federal News Network.

The CIC was mainly focused on satellite communications. Its mission areas have expanded to include satellite imagery and space domain awareness.

The post Space Force’s commercial integration cell adds more companies first appeared on Federal News Network.

Dakota Integrated Solutions Ltd, the real-time data capture, printing, mobility, support and voice-directed solution specialist, has formed a partnership with Waizu, the provider of solutions designed to reduce lost and missing mobile devices.

NTT DATA, the IT services provider and industry consultancy, has announced the end of a project that used quantum computing to optimise genome assembly processes. This is claimed to be a milestone in the use of this technology in the Healthcare and Life Sciences industries.