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For the last four years, Axis Communications Inc., Chelmsford, Mass., has hosted the members of its A&E program at an annual technology summit. This year, the Axis A&E Technology Summit 2011 begin at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort in Orlando, Fla., and then took to the high seas, as attendees enjoyed a three-day cruise to the Bahamas aboard the Royal Caribbean’s Monarch of the Seas vessel.
There was an interactive, invested mentality present in the nearly 100 architects and engineers (A&E’s) attending the event. The representatives of 14 technology partners participated in two technology panels and held an Axis partner exhibition and solution display to
complement all the information being shared at the summit’s workshops (some of which were eligible for ASIS credits) and general sessions. The Axis ecosystem partner participants interacting with the A&Es throughout the event included Allied Telesis, CommScope, Firetide, Iomega Corporation, Veracity, Video Insight, Salient Systems, OnSSI, NICE, Aimetis Corp., Exacq, Genetec and Milestone.
The conference featured keynote Domenic Flores, senior project manager for Royal Caribbean Cruise LTD, Miami. Floreshas participated in 18 newbuild, seven retrofit, and 45 drydocks, and managed a fleetwide security video upgrade project of 14,000 cameras across 32 ships. “We only install IP,” Flores said while discussing the cruise lines’ security philosophy. Any analog cameras on the ships (there are still about 6 to 7,000) are from original builds. The security video systems on the ships are not for active surveillance, rather they are “post event driven, designed to protect guests and employees from false accusations of wrong doing,” Flores describes. Flores’ presentation illustrated one simple message from Axis and its partners during the cruise – IP adoption is moving full steam ahead with stronger business a previously missing, now-attractive price tag that matches the added features and functionality of IP-based systems.
Watching the Super Bowl on the ship on a high-definition (HD) flat screen seemed only fitting. Axis Communications is highly invested in bringing HD from the consumer world into security, and according to IMS Research’s latest report, “The World Market for CCTV and Video Surveillance Equipment - 2010 Edition,” by 2014 more than 50 percent of all network cameras shipped will be HD or megapixel resolution. That makes the growth of HD video surveillance equipment one of the key trends shaping the video surveillance market. At the summit, the A&Es tapped HD as generally having more application possibilities than megapixel.
Standards and certifications are the mandatory wave of the future. They both came up in multiple sessions and in many conversations. More A&E’s are stressing that they won’t just specify the product anymore – they also will specify the certifications and professional designations an integrator needs to have to be eligible for the job. Also, they’re asking that companies no longer be certified, but the individuals actually performing the jobs be certified instead.
The Axis A&E Technology Summit 2011 touched on many current and upcoming trends and explored changes in the video surveillance industry, providing its attendees the opportunity to both listen to and participate in the conversation.
The Axis (Architect and Engineer) A&E program is open to qualified independent network architects, engineers, consultants and end users who design and specify IP-based security systems. It is a gateway to active support from Axis, and gives access tools such as A&E Specifications, Visio and CAD drawings, and continuously updated online information, as well as access to advanced education and other opportunities. For more information, visit www.axis.com.


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Colonial Properties Trust exits joint venture
- Lauren B. Cooper
Colonial Properties Trust said it has exited another joint venture, this time in its retail portfolio.
The Birmingham-based real estate investment trust (NYSE: CLP) paid $45.2 million to retire its debt on the 11-property joint venture with OZRE Retail LLC, of which it owned more than 17 percent, and for other related expenses, said a news release.
As part of the deal, Colonial received 100 percent ownership of Colonial Promenade Alabaster, a 612,000-square-foot shopping center anchored by Wal-Mart, Lowe’s and Belk.
The unwound portfolio included Colonial Promenade at Trussville I and II and Colonial Shoppes Clay in the Birmingham area, two properties in Houston, Texas, one in Athens, Ga., and retail properties in Punta Gorda, Orlando, Jacksonville and Tampa, Fla.
This is the second joint venture Colonial has exited in less than a month, as the company continues to simplify its business and eliminate near-term debt. In late November, the company unwound an office joint venture with DRA Advisors LLC, which released the company of 16 assets across the Southeast and gave it 100 percent ownership of an office property in Atlanta.
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Every week on The Dining Table podcast, host David Manilow shares his own experiences from some of Chicago's best places to eat, drink and shop. Crain's reporters bring expert insight into all aspects of the city's restaurant and food scene. And we welcome chefs, culinary experts, cookbook authors, bartenders, business owners and more to discover what makes them tick.
This might be the hottest fried chicken sandwich in Chicago
Here's what you'll find in the latest episode:
Putting the 'hot' back in Nashville hot chicken
The way Fry the Coop founder Joe Fontana sees it, most fried chicken spots in Chicago have shied away from real spice. "People have dumbed it down," he said on this week's episode of the podcast. "You order spicy or hot when you go somewhere and it's not that spicy."
That's not the case at Fry the Coop. The restaurant, which operates eight locations across the greater Chicago area, makes one of the hottest fried chicken sandwiches in the city.
"When you order hot at Fry the Coop, you are getting hot," Fontana said. "Get ready."
The restaurant offers five different spice levels, meaning diners can "choose your adventure in how hot you want it," Fontana said. "You can get really, really spicy."
Manilow recently challenged himself to try all five spice levels. "One through three, I was enjoying them," he said. "Four stays with you. Five . . . there was a time I thought, 'Is an ambulance necessary?' "
Level five — called "insanity" — was so hot that Manilow thought he was hallucinating. "It will mess up your head a bit if you go five."
As for what makes the spice so spicy, Fontana said the recipe calls for Carolina Reaper pepper, ghost pepper and Trinidad Scorpion pepper. "It is next level."
The restaurant, which recently opened a new spot in Lincoln Park, hopes to expand to 75 locations over the next 10 years. "We want to be like the In-N-Out burger of the Chicagoland area for fried chicken sandwiches," Fontana said.
Listen to more from Manilow and Fontana's conversation on this week's episode of The Dining Table. And never miss an episode — subscribe to The Dining Table on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Our host chats with the chef at Smyth and The Loyalist, who explains how the joy of becoming a 3-star Michelin restaurant soon gave way to pressure.
The host chats with the mastermind behind eight spicy chicken sandwich joints in the city and suburbs.


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MassRoots, Inc., traded under the ticker symbol MSRT, recently made headlines for its innovative partnerships with Headset and Flowhub. The technology company has also announced the recruitment of a talented team of engineers from some of the most prominent technology companies in the world. This recruitment is geared towards helping MassRoots expand its online platform to provide even more services in the rapidly growing cannabis industry. With the November 2016 election expected to yield significant progress for medical and recreational marijuana legislation, there will be an even greater demand for MassRoots’ services among dispensaries and consumers.
According to MassRoots CTO Lance Galey, the company “is progressing at a higher velocity than anyone else in the space.” This is in part due to three months of targeted recruitment of some of the most talented engineers in the world. These in-demand professionals have expressed interest in the growth of the cannabis industry, and particularly in MassRoots’ ability to combine social networking and helpful analytics.
Brian Bureson joined the MassRoots team as the Director of User Experience. Bureson previously held high-level positions at Motorola and Microsoft, where he specialized in interaction designing. MassRoots is also joined by JC Polanycia, the new Senior Reliability Engineer. Polanycia previously worked as a designer of infrastructure for companies such as Salesforce and Cisco.
Teagan Glenn joins the MassRoots team as a Senior Software Engineer after a diverse background in software engineering, physics, and mathematics. Glenn previously worked for a commercial real estate software company developing third-party integration. Prior to her career in real estate software, Glenn developed power plant monitoring tools for one of the industry’s leading companies. She also has extensive experience in data acquisition and database design, making her skills a great fit for MassRoots’ expanding dispensary database.
Kevin Shiuan is MassRoots’ new Project Manager, a position that will allow him to work on the company’s mobile and web apps. At the forefront of cannabis technology, MassRoots is known for its innovative online platform that allows consumers and dispensaries to connect on a local level. Shiuan’s strong background in engineering will help the company move forward and conquer any engineering hurdles that arise with growth.
The Aphria and MassRoots Partnership
MassRoots has announced an exciting new partnership with Aphria Inc., a leading Canadian producer of medical cannabis products. This is a natural partnership between two of the leading companies in the cannabis industry. MassRoots plans to spread awareness of Aphria as a brand and bring more Canadian users into the fold. The partnership will yield compensation for MassRoots for each patient it refers to Aphria, making this a win-win scenario for both companies. The MassRoots-Aphria partnership is expected to generate new revenue for both sides while expanding Aphria’s current patient base, according to MassRoots CEO Isaac Dietrich. Dietrich explains that MassRoots has a presence in all states and countries that allow cannabis production. This level of access and exposure will be an essential component of Aphria’s future growth.
Because MassRoots is a technology platform, it is in a unique position to grow without significant costs. Aphria will also benefit from MassRoots’ infrastructure, developing its presence online. Greater brand recognition is the key to success in the fast-paced cannabis industry. As the leading technology platform in the medical marijuana sector, MassRoots has access to a variety of distribution channels and can offer guidance as Aphria continues to develop. As of October 17, 2016, Aphria owns 500,000 shares of common stock in MassRoots. The company also has warrants to purchase another 500,000 shares at $0.90 each over the next three years. With Aphria’s low-cost production and MassRoots’ high-profile technology platform, this partnership is optimized to yield success for the companies involved as well as the consumers who benefit from their revolutionary products and services.
The Future of the Company
MassRoots is one of the largest cannabis-based technology platforms in the world, featuring more than 900,000 active registered users on its platform. Due to its digital framework, the company is poised to offer time-sensitive solutions to consumers and dispensaries in new cannabis markets generated by rapidly changing legislation. With a savvy team of recently recruited engineers and an exciting new partnership with Aphria, MassRoots is in an excellent position to take control over the thriving cannabis sector.
About the Author
Stuart Smith is the CEO and Founder of SmallCapVoice.com. SmallCapVoice.com. is a recognized corporate investor relations firm, with clients nationwide, known for its ability to help emerging growth companies build a following among retail and institutional investors. SmallCapVoice.com utilizes its stock newsletter to feature its daily stock picks, audio interviews, as well as its clients’ financial news releases. SmallCapVoice.com also offers individual investors all the tools they need to make informed decisions about the stocks they are interested in. Tools like stock charts, stock alerts, and Company Information Sheets can assist with investing in stocks that are traded on the OTC BB and Pink Sheets. To learn more about SmallCapVoice.com and their services, please visit https://smallcapvoice.com/blog/the-small-cap-daily-small-cap-newsletter/


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food and drink
The latest news on food and drink
There's often no need to spend a lot of money to find a bottle you will enjoy drinking.
Wine country can be a beautiful and affordable retirement.
Young adults who can drink others 'under the table' face highest risk, study finds
Teens' opinions of their driving prowess pose risks on the road, experts say
Mix in a thrill-seeking personality, and they're much more likely to be hurt than peers, study says
Those who don't use alcohol, drugs much less likely to be violent, study finds
Dutch study finds Web-based self-help site reduces consumption to lower risk levels
Mouse study finds those that crave alcohol are more likely to choose quick rewards
Study shows one to two drinks daily may lower risk of cognitive decline in older adults
Study finds half a glass each day boosts men's life expectancy by five years


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This story is available exclusively to Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.
- San Francisco-based HR startup Cleary has raised $4.5 million in a seed round led by Moonshots Capital.
- The startup aims to help distributed teams onboard, manage, and communicate with their colleagues.
- We got a look at the 18-slide pitch deck Cleary used to raise the fresh funds.
A US startup that has designed a digital platform to engage and connect remote and hybrid employees just raised $4.5 million.
San Francisco-based Cleary, which was founded in 2017, helps tech companies to optimize employees' onboarding and working experiences, by giving them a platform to manage their workflow and meetings, and contact fellow employees.
"We democratize internal employee engagement technologies previously only available at large enterprise organizations," said cofounder and CEO Thomas Kunjappu.
Cleary's platform integrates existing workflow tools in one place, from HR software such as Workday and Namely to security and communication platforms such as Okta, Gmail, and Slack. Each company can customize its workflow page, by including org charts, employee profiles, and even company branding with personalized logos.
Specific use cases include organizing all-hands meetings and adjacent questions in one dedicated space and moving away from spreadsheets and manual processes by using Cleary's communications tools.
"Beyond that, employees leverage our product every day to look up a colleague, send public recognition, or find organizational materials," Kunjappu told Insider.
The startup makes its money by deploying its SaaS platform to its client base, which largely consists of "mid-market to late-stage companies" such as DoorDash, Cadre, Dandy, and Shippo.
"This has undoubtedly been a challenging fundraising environment given the macroeconomic investment climate in Q4 2022," Kunjappu said. Despite this, he noted that there were some "key assets" that B2B companies such as Cleary offered, which gave the startup an edge when fundraising.
"With our all-in-one solution, we help companies cut costs by replacing software they have bought and don't use saving potentially hundreds of thousands in direct costs," he added.
The $4.5 million seed round was led by LA-based VC firm Moonshots Capital, which has previously backed verification platform ID.me, and e-commerce startup Cart.com. Additional participation came from Liberty City Ventures, Crosslink Capital, Seachange Fund, and Quiet Capital, and other investors. This follows Cleary's $3 million pre-seed raise, bringing the startup's funding to $7.5 million.
As workplace expectations shift, "companies that provide essential tools for remote work will thrive in the years to come," said Kelly Perdew, general partner at Moonshots Capital.
With the fresh funds, the startup will invest in product development and build out its go-to-market and customer success teams.
Check out the 18-slide deck used to raise the fresh funds.


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More than 200 employees of an apparel company from Bulacan received their separation pay through the help of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)’s Single Entry Approach (SEnA).
According to DOLE Central Luzon chief Ana Dione, the 290 displaced workers received a total of P11,031,403.82.
Of the total affected workers, 209 are direct-hires of the company and received a total of P9,327,075.53 while the remaining 81 who received P1,704,328.29 are from its service providers.
Dione said the management of Active Wear Apparel Corporation sought the DOLE’s help in the distribution of separation pay to its affected workers due to the company’s unexpected closure.
The firm’s service provider, Joblinked Trade and Services Company, was also assisted by the DOLE in the distribution of the separation pay.
“It is good to know that management recognizes the easy and inexpensive benefits of the SeNA in coursing the distribution of separation pay to its affected workers. We laud them for settling obligations to their workers,” Dione said.
DOLE Bulacan Field Office head May Lynn Gozun said that the company’s request for assistance include appropriate computation of separation pay, SSS deductions, overtime, and other unpaid monetary claims.


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Emmanuel Macron, President of France (in the center) listens to Jean-Marc Chery, STMicroelectronics CEO. Thierry Breton, EU Commissioner for Internal Market stands next to Macron. (Image: STMicroelectronics)
What’s at stake?
As shown this week when STMicroelectronics and GlobalFoundries revealed their joint 300mm fab project in Crolles, France, Europe is moving full-speed ahead with its CHIPS Act. At stake is the future not just of European chip companies, but its entire high-tech industry. We caught up with Jean-Christophe Eloy, CEO of Yole Group, to get his assessment of the E.U.’s ambitious strategy.
Few would have predicted that 27 disparate European states could unite to forge a strategy for resurrecting the region’s semiconductor industry.
This is great stuff. Let’s get started.
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CD Projekt RED has recently confirmed that it is working on a fix for the “accidental” inclusion of realistic vaginas in The Witcher 3 previous update.
A new update was recently added to The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt, which addressed various issues that appeared when the next-gen update was released. It was all good until some fans found credible evidence in the game that the female monsters actually have realistic vaginas now. Note that this was NOT part of the original game. Eurogamer spoke with CDPR to confirm that the accidental inclusion comes from using mods from the community. Mods actually influenced the update and now this specific part of the game has gone haywire.
“The next-gen version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt features several community-sourced mods not created by CD Projekt Red, on top of numerous enhancements created and implemented by the studio internally,” said the spokesperson.
“Merging everything together was a complex process and the textures in question are an unintended result present in the release version. This is something we are working to address.”
So, the funny sexy addition of realistic female genitalia in the game will be gone in the next update. Fans will have to say goodbye and the giggles will have to stop after this. Or not update at all. Or get a new mod to apply the bug again.
The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt is now available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.


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After the long summer holidays many parents are relieved to hear the school bell! But for many, ‘Back to School’ means back to searching for healthy ideas for school lunches and back to trying to get children to drink enough water during the day. And with heat waves affecting much of Australia, it’s especially important to keep young children hydrated.
The Australian Dietary Guidelines recommend drinking plenty of water and choosing plain water above other drinks, especially for children. Yet according to a 2017 NSW Government health report, nearly one in two children regularly drink sweetened drinks.
The report also revealed that almost two in three children drink four or more cups of water daily. Yet about one in 25 children drink one cup or less of water a day.
According to the report,
“The Nutrient reference values for Australia and New Zealand recommend a daily fluid intake between 1.2 litres and 1.9 litres for children (depending on age and sex), with the majority of this intake consisting of plain water.
However, too many children aren’t making water their drink. Only about 2 in 3 children (65.1%) drink 4 or more cups of water a day (1 litre or more), which suggests that too many children are choosing other, less healthy options.”
This research has sparked a number of initiatives that focus on creating a healthy water habit, including Finish with the Right Stuff – a program launched by NSW Health to encourage children participating in community sport to eat healthily and finish with water. And Make Healthy Normal, another NSW initiative, aims at creating healthy habits, including healthy recipes and choosing water as a drink of choice.
We highlight some of filtered water’s benefits and its long term health benefits for your kids.
There is a simple way to encourage children to drink more water and it involves your kitchen tap!
In Australia, we are lucky to have safe drinking water in our homes. But the trouble with tap water is that it often tastes of chlorine. Of course, we need chlorine to treat the water and guarantee that it’s safe to drink. But there’s an easy way to eliminate the taste by simply installing a water filtration system in your kitchen.
Many WFA customers have found that their children tend to drink more water once a water filter system is installed, largely because the taste of the chlorine is taken away.
With a WFA inline water filter, children can fill their own water bottles directly from the cold water tap. The water flow is four times faster than other filters so it’s just like filling it from your regular tap.
Of course, WFA water filter systems remove far more than chlorine but it’s the taste that makes all the difference. Improving the taste of water is one of the most important filtered water benefits, making your kids want to drink more water.
There’s a current trend of choosing bottled water instead of tap water but bottled water does not contain fluoride.
And did you know that drinking fluoride-free bottled water is contributing to half of all Australian children suffering tooth decay by the age of six?
Our WFA water filter systems take out potential ‘nasties’ but leave the fluoride in. Fluoride is important for the health of your teeth so if you are drinking filtered water it will mean fewer family trips to the dentist, a huge benefit of filtered water.
We’ve put together some ideas on how to get your children to drink more water. But the first step is to install a WFA water filter system. At less than one cent a litre it not only benefits your family’s health, it’s easy on your wallet too!
Browse our online store today or contact our friendly customer service team to discuss a water filter system to suit all the family. Discover the benefits of filtered water with Water Filters Australia.
Read more about fun filtered water activities for kids.


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Speed and risk minimisation look set to dominate 2017 supply chain agendas
According to a recent study, the top issues concerning global supply chains next year will be shorter lead times, time to deliver and risk minimisatiom.
In the Global Trade Management Agenda 2017, a survey from AEB, 72.9 percent of experts surveyed consider the trend toward faster and faster speeds to be an important or even very important challenge in the coming year.
Here’s what else we took away from the survey:
The transport and logistics sector also considers the speed in supply chain to be of significant importance, with 84 percent ranking it as important or very important.
Compare this to the chemical/pharmaceutical industry, which only 52 percent of respondents felt the same, it is clear that the need for speed is felt strongest in the logistics industry.
The report also surmises that a new forecast by McKinsey, a consulting firm, estimates that the volume of package shipments in Germany will double by 2025. Not only that, one in every five of those package shipments will be an express delivery.
Amongst the top global trade issues that will motivate companies in 2017, 65 percent of respondents feel minimising supply chain risks is considered the second biggest concern for businesses.
Minimising supply chain risks is an issue that has grown and grown and grown in relevance over the past 12 months. Two-thirds of those surveyed (65%) consider the topic to be very important. The majority of logistics and global trade experts feel that their companies are well equipped in this area as well – only 42% see a need for improvement or major shortcomings.
Implementing changes to customs laws remains an important or very important challenge in 2017 for 61.6% of respondents.
Interestingly, the Brexit vote did not produce any change regarding the assessment, nor did it heighten the perceived importance of this issue compared with the previous year’s study.
The British referendum took place during the survey period, and most respondents completed the questionnaire after the results of the vote were known. “It was not yet clear at the time, however, how foreign trade relations between the EU and UK would be managed and what impact the Brexit vote would have,” explains Dr. Ulrich Lison, Portfolio Manager and Member of the Executive Board at AEB who conducted the study jointly with Prof. Dr. Hartel.
You can access the full report to download here.
About the study
The study “Global Trade Management Agenda 2017 – Apps in global trade and logistics, and the top priorities in global supply chain management” is based on a cross-industry survey of 330 experts from the fields of logistics, global trade, and supply chain management. The participants work in companies of various sizes in different countries. Some 67% of respondents hold leadership positions as the head of a company, department, team, or project. The survey has been carried out annually by AEB and DHBW Stuttgart since 2013.
Follow @SupplyChainD on Twitter.
NTT DATA Services, Remodelling Supply Chains for Resilience
Joey Dean, the man with the coolest name ever and Managing Director in the healthcare consulting practice for NTT DATA and is focused on delivering workplace transformation and enabling the future workforce for healthcare providers. Dean also leads client innovation programs to enhance service delivery and business outcomes for clients.
The pandemic has shifted priorities and created opportunities to do things differently, and companies are now looking to build more resilient supply chains, none needed more urgently than those within the healthcare system. Dean shares with us how he feels they can get there.
A Multi-Vendor Sourcing Approach
“Healthcare systems cannot afford delays in the supply chain when there are lives at stake. Healthcare procurement teams are looking at multi-vendor sourcing strategies, stockpiling more inventory, and ways to use data and AI to have a predictive view into the future and drive greater efficiency.
“The priority should be to shore up procurement channels and re-evaluate inventory management norms, i.e. stockpiling for assurance. Health systems should take the opportunity to renegotiate with their current vendors and broaden the supplier channel. Through those efforts, work with suppliers that have greater geographic diversity and transparency around manufacturing data, process, and continuity plans,” says Dean.
But here ensues the never-ending battle of domestic vs global supply chains. As I see it, domestic sourcing limits the high-risk exposure related to offshore sourcing— Canada’s issue with importing the vaccine is a good example of that. So, of course, I had to ask, for lifesaving products, is building domestic capabilities an option that is being considered?
“Domestic supply chains are sparse or have a high dependence on overseas centres for parts and raw materials. There are measures being discussed from a legislative perspective to drive more domestic sourcing, and there will need to be a concerted effort by Western countries through a mix of investments and financial incentives,” Dean explains.
Wielding Big Tech for Better Outcomes
So, that’s a long way off. In the meantime, leveraging technology is another way to mitigate the risks that lie within global supply chains while decreasing costs and improving quality. Dean expands on the potential of blockchain and AI in the industry.
“Blockchain is particularly interesting in creating more transparency and visibility across all supply chain activities. Organisations can create a decentralised record of all transactions to track assets from production to delivery or use by end-user. This increased supply chain transparency provides more visibility to both buyers and suppliers to resolve disputes and build more trusting relationships. Another benefit is that the validation of data is more efficient to prioritise time on the delivery of goods and services to reduce cost and improve quality.
“Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) is another area where there’s incredible value in processing massive amounts of data to aggregate and normalise the data to produce proactive recommendations on actions to improve the speed and cost-efficiency of the supply chain.”
Evolving Procurement Models
From asking more of suppliers to beefing up stocks, Dean believes procurement models should be remodelled to favour resilience, mitigate risk and ensure the needs of the customer are kept in view.
“The bottom line is that healthcare systems are expecting more from their suppliers. While transactional approaches focused solely on price and transactions have been the norm, collaborative relationships, where the buyer and supplier establish mutual objectives and outcomes, drives a trusting and transparent relationship. Healthcare systems are also looking to multi-vendor strategies to mitigate risk, so it is imperative for suppliers to stand out and embrace evolving procurement models.
“Healthcare systems are looking at partners that can establish domestic centres for supplies to mitigate the risks of having ‘all of their eggs’ in overseas locations. Suppliers should look to perform a strategic evaluation review that includes a distribution network analysis and distribution footprint review to understand cost, service, flexibility, and risks. Included in that strategy should be a “voice of the customer” assessment to understand current pain points and needs of customers.”
“Healthcare supply chain leaders are re-evaluating the Just In Time (JIT) model with supplies delivered on a regular basis. The approach does not require an investment in infrastructure but leaves organisations open to risk of disruption. Having domestic centres and warehousing from suppliers gives healthcare systems the ability to have inventory on hand without having to invest in their own infrastructure. Also, in the spirit of transparency, having predictive views into inventory levels can help enable better decision making from both sides.”
But, again, I had to ask, what about the risks and associated costs that come with higher inventory levels, such as expired product if there isn’t fast enough turnover, tying up cash flow, warehousing and inventory management costs?
“In the current supply chain environment, it is advisable for buyers to carry an in-house inventory on a just-in-time basis, while suppliers take a just-in-case approach, preserving capacity for surges, retaining safety stock, and building rapid replenishment channels for restock. But the risk of expired product is very real. This could be curbed with better data intelligence and improved technology that could forecast surges and predictively automate future supply needs. In this way, ordering would be more data-driven and rationalised to align with anticipated surges. Further adoption of data and intelligence and will be crucial for modernised buying in the new normal.
These are tough tasks, so I asked Dean to speak to some of the challenges. Luckily, he’s a patient guy with a lot to say.
On managing stakeholders and ensuring alignment on priorities and objectives, Dean says, “In order for managing stakeholders to stay aligned on priorities, they’ll need more transparency and collaborative win-win business relationships in which both healthcare systems and medical device manufacturers are equally committed to each other’s success. On the healthcare side, they need to understand where parts and products are manufactured to perform more predictive data and analytics for forecasting and planning efforts. And the manufacturers should offer more data transparency which will result in better planning and forecasting to navigate the ebbs and flows and enable better decision-making by healthcare systems.
Due to the sensitive nature of the information being requested, the effort to increase visibility is typically met with a lot of reluctance and push back. Dean essentially puts the onus back on suppliers to get with the times. “Traditionally, the relationships between buyers and suppliers are transactional, based only on the transaction between the two parties: what is the supplier providing, at what cost, and for what length of time. The relationship begins and ends there. The tide is shifting, and buyers expect more from their suppliers, especially given what the pandemic exposed around the fragility of the supply chain. The suppliers that get ahead of this will not only reap the benefits of improved relationships, but they will be able to take action on insights derived from greater visibility to manage risks more effectively.”
He offers a final tip. “A first step in enabling a supply chain data exchange is to make sure partners and buyers are aware of the conditions throughout the supply chain based on real-time data to enable predictive views into delays and disruptions. With well understand data sets, both parties can respond more effectively and work together when disruptions occur.”
As for where supply chain is heading, Dean says, “Moving forward, we’ll continue to see a shift toward Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and advanced analytics to optimise the supply chain. The pandemic, as it has done in many other industries, will accelerate the move to digital, with the benefits of improving efficiency, visibility, and error rate. AI can consume enormous amounts of data to drive real-time pattern detection and mitigate risk from global disruptive events.”


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Cargo Business Newswire ArchivesSummary for August 3 through August 7, 2015:
Monday, August 3, 2015
Trucking Trends: Weathering the Summer
By Mark Montague, DAT Solutions
The largest truckload fleets have been commanding a bigger share of the freight marketplace in recent months, and for an unexpected reason: an improved driver turnover rate. During the first quarter, annualized turnover at truckload fleets with more than $30 million in revenue dropped 12 points to 84 percent, its lowest level in four years, according to the American Trucking Associations.
Another factor is that large fleets are replacing old trucks and adding new ones as driver incentives. Class-8 truck orders rose 42 percent to 380,200 net orders in 2014 and the number of tractors on U.S. highways is expected to rise 6 percent this year to 1.43 million, reports ACT Research.
The combination of better driver retention and fleets with newer, more fuel-efficient trucks is a boon to large truckload carriers. According to second-quarter financial reports, this group has generally done a fine job controlling operating costs and improving equipment utilization. Deadhead miles are down.
Where does this leave small truckload carriers? If you can put trucks and drivers in the right place at the right time, there is money to be made — even in a soft market.
For instance, reefer load availability increased 5.5 percent in June but capacity also added 6.3 percent compared to May. The overall load-to-truck ratio was stable (down 0.8 percent) at 5.9 loads per truck, month-over-month, but compared to the unusually high demand of June 2014, the ratio fell 49 percent. Load-to-truck ratios are important. They represent the number of loads posted for every truck posted on DAT load boards and they’re a real-time indicator of the balance between spot market demand and capacity. Changes in the ratio often signal impending changes in rates.
When you map load-to-truck ratios on a state-by-state level — see the June 2015 map of reefer load-to-truck ratios from dat.com/trendlines, for example — wherever the reefer load-to-truck ratio appears high (darker blue areas) signals an imbalance that favors the carrier.
You can drill down more closely. For example, the Cape Girardeau, Mo., market ships melons that came in season in late July. In a few weeks, markets farther north will come into play, boosting rates during the fall harvest season.
A strong load-to-truck ratio doesn’t necessarily mean that rates are high in the direction you want to go. But if you have a truck in the region, or you have an inbound load, it will tell you that those are some good places to start looking for freight.
Santa is Coming
It’s been a relatively slow first half of the year, marked by bad weather, labor issues at the West Coast ports, and a stronger U.S. dollar, among other things. This slump is a bummer but the data tells us that much of the slowdown is due to seasonal freight cycles. The rest is adjustment from the slowdown in oil and gas production.
Meanwhile, consumer confidence is up, and the non-manufacturing sector shows rising orders that should boost the economy and van freight availability, as retailers build inventory for the fall retail season.
Mark Montague is the senior industry analyst for DAT Solutions, which operates the DAT® network of load boards and RateView rate-analysis tool. He has applied his expertise to logistics, rates, and routing for more than 30 years. Mark is based in Portland, Ore. For information, visit www.dat.com.
GLP to buy $4.55 billion U.S. logistics properties
GLP, global provider of modern logistics facilities, has made a deal to acquire a $4.55 billion U.S. logistics portfolio from Industrial Income Trust. GLP intends to fold the portfolio into its fund management platform.
GLP expects to own 100 percent of the portfolio upon closing by November 16, 2015, and pare down its stake to 10 percent by April 2016. Demand from major institutional investors to invest with GLP in U.S. logistics real estate is strong, with GLP in negotiations with several new and existing capital partners.
"This is an accretive opportunity for GLP that allows us to strengthen our US market presence and growth prospects with minimal incremental overhead," said Ming Z. Mei, CEO of GLP. "The fund management platform is one of GLP's main sources of capital to fund our growth. The fund syndication offering for our first US income fund was significantly oversubscribed. Building on the positive momentum, we remain confident of injecting this portfolio into our fund management platform by April 2016."
With this acquisition, GLP says it becomes second largest logistics property owner and operator in the U.S. The portfolio, selectively aggregated through over 100 separate transactions over a period of five years, is one of the highest quality in the country. It is comprised of 58 million square feet of in-fill logistics assets spread across 20 major markets, the statement said. The largest markets include Los Angeles, Metro D.C. and Pennsylvania.
This transaction will enlarge GLP's US footprint by 50 percent to 173 million square feet, with GLP becoming the second largest logistics property owner and operator in the U.S. within a year of market entry.
GLP says it is also the largest provider of modern logistics facilities in China, Japan and Brazil. Subsequent to this transaction, GLP's global portfolio will encompass more than 500 million square feet valued at approximately $33 billion.
Farrell Harrison named Long Beach Harbor Commission president
The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners has elected Lori Ann Farrell Harrison as its new board president.
The five-member Harbor Commission, which oversees the Port of Long Beach, also selected Lou Anne Bynum as vice president and Tracy Egoscue as secretary, according to the press release. The commission selects from its own members the president and the other board officers for one-year terms each July.
Farrell Harrison, a 5th District resident, is the director of finance for the City of Huntington Beach and was previously CFO for the City of Long Beach. She was appointed to the Harbor Commission in 2013 by then-Mayor Bob Foster. The commission president chairs board meetings and represents the port to the public.
"I look forward to working with our customers, staff of the Harbor Department, the City of Long Beach and the community to further our goal of strengthening our Port so it continues to be one of the most competitive seaports in the world. Thank you for putting your faith and confidence in me," Farrell Harrison said.
Farrell Harrison and Bynum succeed Doug Drummond and Rich Dines as President and Vice President, respectively.
Under the City Charter, the mayor of Long Beach appoints city residents to the Harbor Commission for a six-year term, the statement said.
NOL posts profit after 6 quarters of loss
Singapore's Neptune Orient Lines swung to a tiny net profit in its second quarter after six straight quarters of losses on severe freight rate erosion.
"The group's container shipping business continued to face a challenging environment characterized by over-capacity and weak market demand," said NOL Group CEO Ng Yat Chung.
The container carrier, controlled by Singapore's state investor Temasek Holdings, reported a net profit of $3 million in the quarter ending June 30 versus a net loss of $54 million a year earlier.
People familiar with the matter told Reuters this month that Temasek had hired a bank to seek buyers for NOL. Temasek has declined comment, while NOL has said it not made any decision on a potential sale of the company.
NOL said that following the sale of its APL Logistics unit for $1.24 billion, it had used the proceeds to reduce its debt.
Matson Navigation, which spilled 233,000 gallons of molasses into Honolulu Harbor in 2013, will pay a $15 million settlement agreement with the state, Hawaii officials announced.
The 1,400-ton spill of the syrupy liquid from a Matson pipeline caused what has been described as the worst environmental disaster in Hawaii’s history, killing coral and more than 26,000 fish, crabs and other marine life.
The $15.4 million settlement is one of the largest payouts for an environmental violation in Hawaii’s history, Hawaii Attorney General Doug Chin said.
The settlement also required Matson to shut down all molasses operations in the islands.
The $706 million deepening of Savannah’s harbor is scheduled to start in September – three months earlier than expected.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Gov. Nathan Deal’s office said last week that workers will begin to dredge the outer edge of the 38-mile channel on Sept. 7 instead of December, when the project was initially expected to start.
The agency also announced it has granted a nearly $100 million contract to a Florida company to pump oxygen into the Savannah River harbor, which suffers from low oxygen levels. The work is part of an out-of-court settlement with conservationists and considered crucial to offset the project’s environmental impact.
Other work to set the stage for the dredging is well underway. Deal’s office said a key section of a weighty ironclad vessel called the CSS Georgia that defended the city during the Civil War is to be raised from the river’s depths on Saturday. That work will bring up a bulky casemate, which housed the boat’s artillery pieces, that remains deep beneath the water’s surface.
Deal said the developments are a sign that the dredging project is shifting into high gear. The project, which will deepen Savannah’s harbor and waterway from 42 feet to 47 feet, has been in the works for more than a decade and has united Georgia politicians of all stripes.
Shipping line Sealand, part of the shipping giant Maersk, is starting service to Broward County's seaport in late August.
Port Everglades expects to handle more than 20,000 TEUs per-year from Sealand's new North Atlantic Express route. The port will be its first U.S. stop on the way from Panama moving up the U.S. East Coast and its last U.S. stop on the way back to Panama.
The new route should boost cargo carried in and out of the port by Florida East Coast Railway trains and by trucks, too, port officials said. The seaport handled more than 1 million TEUs last year.
The route comes after Sealand opened its headquarters in Miramar last January, pledging to invest at least $350,000 at that 13,000-square-foot site. The company received government incentives that include grants for training employees, Florida officials said.
Maersk formed its Sealand line in 2014 to handle its trade within the Americas. It has other lines for trade within Asia and within Europe.
United Parcel Service confirmed rumors that it is buying Coyote Logistics, a smaller transportation and logistics provider, for $1.8 billion in cash.
UPS said that it expected to generate $100 million to $150 million of annual operational cost cuts from the deal, which is intended to help boost UPS’s presence in the freight brokerage business.
Private equity firm Warburg Pincus owns the nine-year-old logistics company, Coyote, which contracts with more than 35,000 trucking companies and posted $2.1 billion in sales last year.
"The brokered full-truckload freight segment is a high growth market and we expect it will continue to outpace other transportation segments," David Abney, UPS’s chief executive, said in a statement. "This high-quality acquisition significantly increases UPS full-truckload scale and we are uniquely positioned to take advantage of exciting new revenue growth and synergy opportunities."
Judge rules Seattle port can host Shell’s Arctic drilling rigs
A King County judge has affirmed Shell's right to park its Arctic drilling ships in Seattle. On July 31st, Judge Douglass North shut down an environmental coalition's challenge to the lease — thereby allowing that one of Shell's Arctic drilling rigs can return to Seattle in the fall.
The environmental coalition — including Earthjustice, the Sierra Club, the Seattle Audubon Society, the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, and the Washington Environmental Council — argued that the Port of Seattle pulled an illegal shortcut around a full environmental review for the lease at Terminal 5 that provides off-season space for Shell's Arctic fleet.
"The judge’s ruling confirms what we’ve known all along: Terminal 5 is properly permitted to tie up these vessels, sometimes for extended periods," Paul Queary, a spokesperson for Foss Maritime, said. "We look forward to the hearings examiner reaching the same conclusion."
The container ships Northern Democrat and MOL Empire collided in Westport harbor in Port Klang, authorities said.
The incident took place as one of the ships was maneuvering for berthing at the quay. The collision caused several containers to fall overboard and a shore crane was damaged.
The cause of the collision was attributed to high speed and strong wind, which led to the drifting of the MOL Empire over the already berthed Northern Democrat. Both ships were damaged, but not enough to cause any problems with stability and seaworthiness.
Even so, both vessels were detained for inspection and further investigation.
Drewry: Container market will slow on decreased China demand
The dry bulk market dropped due to a slowdown in Chinese demand, according to the latest issue of Container Insight Weekly from Drewry Maritime Research. Drewry researchers say the container market will also likely react to the slowed Chinese economy, but not as strongly.
Greater China represents approximately 30 percent of all container moves in the world, having nearly doubled its share since the start of the century when its expansion was given a boost following entry into the World Trade Organization.
Clearly, with such a large market share, the direction of the Chinese economy has a huge bearing on world port throughput growth. Although the IMF has kept its forecast for China with GDP growth pegged at 6.8 percent for 2015 and 6.3 percent in 2016, the slowing trend has prompted Drewry to downgrade its outlook for Greater China, and subsequently, world container traffic.
Drewry estimates that China container imports only grew by 1.6 percent last year, whereas exports rose by 9.1 percent. The net effect was that total volume growth was unchanged at 5.6 percent.
The latest WTO data suggests that China’s merchandise imports were down by 15.5 percent in the first six months of 2015, whereas merchandise exports managed a 1.0 percent rise.
Against this slowing inbound backdrop, Drewry has cut its 2015 growth forecast for Greater China port throughput from 5.8 percent to 4.9 percent, which represents a shortfall of approximately 1.85 million TEUs, or roughly 1 percent of world traffic in 2014.
In conclusion, Drewry said risks from a slowdown in Chinese consumption to container shipping are far smaller than for the dry bulk sector, but they are not insignificant and will contribute to slowing global container growth.
Minister: Suez Canal revenues to increase by 9 percent
Revenues from the Suez Canal should receive a 9 percent boost during the 2015/2016 fiscal year, thanks to a new shipping lane opening this week, according to minister of planning Ashraf El-Arabi.
El-Arabi added that around a million job opportunities will be created within 15 years through planned projects in the Suez Canal's industrial and logistics hub.
Egypt's revenues from the canal dropped 4 percent in June compared to May, according to official figures.
The waterway, which connects the Mediterranean and Red Sea, is the shortest marine route between Asia and Europe. It is one of Egypt's main sources of foreign currency, along with tourism and remittances from Egyptian expatriates.
Last year, president Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi announced the digging of a new $8 billion waterway to enable two-way traffic in the canal.
The 72-kilometer shipping lane will be officially opened in a ceremony on August 6.
Virginia Port Authority to buy property next to Norfolk terminal
The Virginia Port Authority is in the process of purchasing a strategically located piece of property on Hampton Boulevard, which backs onto Norfolk International Terminals.
The port board last week signed off on a resolution authorizing the purchase of the former Acosta building. Port officials have the okay to spend up to $3.15 million on the nearly 3-acre site, which includes an 84,000-plus-square-foot office/warehouse building, built in 1968.
The property, which as of July 1 was assessed at nearly $5.2 million, was auctioned off in a foreclosure sale last fall to an Ohio company that paid $1.8 million for it, city records show.
The building is zoned for commercial use, not industrial.
John Milliken, who chairs the port authority board, said the pending acquisition is a "short-term tactical thing," a way to move some of the uses now behind the security gate at NIT to a place where users don’t need to go through security first.
As the scale of global trade gets bigger, many small and midsize U.S. ports, such as the Port of Portland, face the prospect of falling off the map entirely, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Barges loaded with Idaho-grown produce used to regularly travel downriver to Portland’s port, the first leg in a journey that would end in supermarkets and restaurants across Asia and Europe.
But now Idaho’s farmers — along with Oregon’s grass seed growers as well as manufacturers and other exporters across the Pacific Northwest — need a new route to the global market.
The last major container shipping line ended its Portland run in March, leaving the city without regular ocean-bound container service for the first time in four decades. Exporters who relied on the port say their transportation costs soared overnight.
Fearing a similar slide into irrelevance, port operators from Newark, N.J., to Long Beach, Calif., are spending billions of dollars to dredge harbors, raise bridges and build larger terminals to accommodate megaships.
Portland’s woes have created hardships for farmers and other exporters who say they are paying much more to send their crops 150 miles north to the Seattle area. Portland officials estimate that an additional 1,700 heavy trucks are carrying cargo north on the main regional freeways each week, causing traffic snarls.
Some ports are taking steps to avoid Portland’s fate.
Over the next 10 years, the South Carolina Ports Authority and the State of South Carolina plan to spend a combined $2 billion at the Port of Charleston to build a container terminal, deepen its channel and expand road and rail access. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is raising the Bayonne Bridge connecting the states to allow larger ships to pass underneath. The goal in both cases: attract the business of mega container ships.
Four Chinese sailors fell into the sea Tuesday morning as rough waves caused their 50-meter-long cargo vessel to tilt to one side and sink.
The four mainland Chinese men were navigating in Hong Kong waters on their way to Dongguan, Guangdong province, when they were hit by big waves at about 5.15 a.m.
All four were plucked out of the water by marine police and then ferried to Tuen Mun Hospital, where they were discharged after treatment.
For more of the South China Morning Post story: www.scmp.com
Thursday, August 6, 2015
NOL sale a bargain with modern fleet
Photo credit: Andreas Spörri
Singapore’s Temasek Holdings' sale of Neptune Orient Lines offers potential buyers a modern fleet at a bargain — around $2 billion, according to industry and banking sources.
However, NOL has lost more than $1 billion in four years and may be up for sale at a time when the container shipping industry is in the grip of a severe prolonged downturn. The global sector's debt has nearly doubled to $86 billion over the past decade, said Rahul Kapoor, Singapore director of Drewry Equity Research, with spot Asia-to-Europe and trans-Pacific container freight rates near six-year lows.
Still, industry sources say NOL's new ships and 2.8 percent share of the global container shipping business will appeal to players seeking an edge over rivals. United Arab Shipping Company is expected to join Hapag-Lloyd and Hamburg Süd in running the rule over NOL, sources said.
Temasek, with nearly $200 billion in assets, reportedly hired Citigroup to seek buyers for the majority stake in NOL, bought in 2004 for $2 billion, triggering the sale of the whole firm under Singapore rules.
Buyers would need to offer at least 30 percent more than NOL's current market value of about $1.8 billion - the usual premium paid to acquire a publicly traded company, bankers said. Both Citi and Temasek declined comment.
The port commissions of Seattle and Tacoma voted unanimously Tuesday to form the Northwest Seaport Alliance, unifying the ports’ marine cargo divisions.
Both ports have faced increased pressure from British Columbia and Southern California, losing market share in the container business. The Seaport Alliance is an effort for the ports to keep their operations competitive.
"We have moved from fierce competitors to bold collaborators," Port of Tacoma commission president Don Johnson said in a statement. "We recognize how critical the maritime industry is to our state’s economy, and we are proud and excited to strengthen it even more."
While the ports remain separate organizations and retain ownership of their respective assets, they formed a port development authority to manage the container, breakbulk, auto and some bulk terminals in Seattle and Tacoma.
The alliance doesn’t include the airport; cruise business; marinas, such as Fisherman’s Terminal; grain terminals and industrial real estate.
French shipping giant CMA CGM said this week it would resume operations to Iran following the deal between Tehran and world powers over the Middle Eastern country's nuclear program.
"Following the recent positive developments involving Iran and the P5+1 Group - comprising the U.S., China, France, the UK, Germany and Russia - and with the conclusion of the joint comprehensive plan of action, CMA CGM Group has decided to resume service to Iran starting (at the) beginning August 2015," it said in an email.
Tyson cuts annual profit projections on W.C. port disruptions
Tyson Foods, the biggest U.S. meat processor, cut its full-year profit forecast after posting its slowest sales growth in nine quarters as customers overseas refused to accept shipments delayed by West Coast port disruptions.
During the disruptions, Asian buyers were importing meat from other countries and became overwhelmed with supply after the port issues ended in February, Tyson Chief Executive Donnie Smith said on a call on Monday.
Tyson was forced to cut prices and take a hit to margins in the third quarter to clear "significant" inventory, said Smith, adding that conditions had not improved much so far in the current quarter.
The company's shares, which have been trading at record highs over the past month, fell nearly 11 percent.
B.C. port truckers go to court over enforcement of agreement
When B.C. truckers went on strike in March 2014, it cost the local economy millions of dollars. As a result of the prolonged strike, reforms were made and a new port trucking commissioner was appointed.
But now, truckers are saying the commissioner, Andy Smith, has refused to enforce the new provincially-imposed minimum rates companies must pay.
"Drivers went back to work on the promise that they would be paid higher rates from April 3rd of last year," says Unifor B.C. area director Gavin McGarrigle. "The province eventually put that into law and now we’ve written to the commissioner to ask him to enforce the law and he doesn’t seem interested in it. So we’re left with no choice but to go to court to try to get the money that’s owed to the container truck drivers."
This week Unifor, the union representing container truck drivers, filed an application in court asking that truckers get what they are owed and also that Smith step aside as commissioner.
Along with being port trucking commissioner, Smith is also the president of the B.C. Maritime Employers Association, which represents employers at the port. Unifor says Smith’s role with the employers association is a conflict of interest.


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Photo Credit: Seoul Metropolitan Government
In celebration of one of Korea’s biggest holidays, Seollal (Lunar New Year), the Seoul Global Center will be holding a series of cultural events at the Seoul City Hall on February 7th.
The events, held annually to introduce and promote Seollal and other Korean holidays, features traditional music performances, hanbok (Korean traditional clothes), folk games, and traditional foods of Korea and other countries.
Participation in the events requires advanced reservations made via phone or email by February 6th.
Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government


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- News tagged "smartphone"
Friday, 14 Dec 2012
As listed on CES 2013 official website, ZTE will be unveiling its 5-inch full HD display flagship option, the ZTE Grand S, on January 8th at the major consumer electronics trade show.
Apple just unveiled its 2012 App Store Best of List where you can check out the most popular apps for the year.
Other phone vendors such as Samsung and Sony are expected to release smartphones with 5-inch full HD displays in the first half of 2013.
The Korea Times has now reported that Samsung is planning to launch a Samsung Galaxy Note III with a 6.3-inch OLED display in 2013.
It's been only a couple of weeks since the alleged Sony Xpera 'Odin' emerged on the web and there are already new leaks and rumors about another 5-inch Xperia 'phablet', the Xperia 'Yuga'. These devices have not been officially revealed by the company and by the looks of it, they might just very well be the same product due to the alarming similarities that they share.
Thursday, 13 Dec 2012
Instagram, Twitter and Snapseed aside, Flickr for iOS has ramped up the competition with some updates of its own, including the addition of 16 new filters and a revamped user interface.
Wednesday, 12 Dec 2012
Apple managed to capture a quarter of the world's LTE market share less than three months after the launch of its iPhone 5. Its arch rival, Samsung continues to lead the market for the seventh straight quarter with 40%.
Tuesday, 11 Dec 2012
RIM has already started teasing one of the two upcoming smartphones on its official website, slightly over a month before its scheduled launch on January 30th next year.
Monday, 10 Dec 2012
LG Electronics announced that it has sold over 10 million units of its Optimus L-series smartphones.
Friday, 7 Dec 2012
Acquired by Google in September, Snapseed, a popular photo-editing app, is now finally available for download on Google Play for free. Likewise, the iOS version of the app is also free for now (originally US$4.99), but has also been updated to include Google+ integration and some new filters.


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Intel will reportedly reveal how users can overclock SSDs with its Ivy Bridge-E platform for the first time as part of a session during its annual Intel Developer Forum on September 10th.
What do you think of Windows 10 Mobile?
Review: Alienware Steam Machine
Stay up-to-date with the latest software releases
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Memory maker Micron Technology on Wednesday introduced a line of solid-state drives (SSDs) and said it would plug the technology into portable storage devices by mid-to-end 2008. Micron's new RealSSD hard drive, announced at an...
Not many people have heard of Ritek, in comparison to its main competitor: Sandisk. If price is a critical factor, however, you'll want to listen up. The company announced that it will deliver RiDATA branded...


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Fresh Picks: Top 5 Stores Worth Reading
NYC Announces Local Food Procurement Guidelines
Last Thursday, New York City announced what could be far-reaching guidelines on city food sourcing. The administration has created a plan to promote spending on sustainable local and regional food, with a focus on food procurement from New York State suppliers, to encourage consumption of fresh, seasonal food and to bolster local economies.
Politicians, health advocates seek transparency, restrictions in food stamp program
Lawmakers in several states, including Illinois, have unsuccessfully pushed bills to make soda, chips and candy ineligible for purchase with food stamps, now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Others have suggested that the program, which is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, could be modified as part of the current farm bill negotiations in Congress.
Food industry is focus of science magazine series
Los Angeles Times
Multinational food corporations have a growing influence on the health of people around the world, including obesity, and their actions need greater scrutiny, according to an editorial Tuesday in the journal Public Library of Science Medicine. The editorial kicks off the journal’s three-week series looking at what it calls “Big Food.” The first articles, and the editorial, criticize not just the food companies but also officials charged with protecting public health.
In “Green Wheat” drive, Wal-Mart may transform farming
Wal-Mart Stores has long used its commercial might to forge a global supply chain with ruthless efficiency. It now has a new target: U.S. wheat fields. As part of efforts to reduce its carbon footprint and burnish its image as an environmentally responsible company, the huge retailer is sending senior employees into the fields for the first time ever, looking for ways to help farmers reduce their use of carbon-intensive fertilizer or improve logistics.
GMOs should be safety tested before they hit the market says AMA
The American Medical Association called for mandatory pre-market safety testing of genetically engineered foods as part of a revised policy voted on at the AMA’s meeting in Chicago Tuesday. Currently biotech companies are simply encouraged to engage in a voluntary safety consultation with the Food and Drug Administration before releasing a product onto the market.
News From the Region
Wine country attaches tendrils to food
After decades of producing pinot noir and pinot gris, Willamette Valley wine country is increasingly growing another crop: restaurants.
Local farms spread fresh food message to students
Fresno Business Journal
In a country where one in three kids is overweight and one in every 400 has diabetes, one program in California is bringing together the fruits of local farmers to promote healthy eating where children learn it best. Since 2005, thousands of school children throughout the state have taken a little time out each month to taste what the ground has to offer, many of them even learning to make new recipes using everything from peaches, apples and strawberries to broccoli, tomatoes and zucchini.
UC unveils how-to book on organic strawberries
Experts from the University of California want to teach people how to grow organic strawberries, which they say are booming in popularity. They have published a new Organic Strawberry Production Manual for growers, consultants, marketers and others.
Fairgrounds urged to spotlight local agriculture
Small farms experts from a state agency and the University of California want fairs to get back to their roots as the center of their region’s agriculture. Fairs were mostly centered around agriculture for more than 100 years, before entertainment became more of the focus in the last 30 years or so. They said the state’s fiscally strapped fairs could help themselves by doing more to highlight their region’s specialty crops, which are “just about everything we grow in California.”
Senate farm bill includes food safety study for specialty crop growers
McClatchy Washington Bureau
California fruit and vegetable growers might get a chance to insure themselves against a future food safety scare, under an evolving Senate farm bill poised for passage late Wednesday or sometime Thursday.
News From the Nation
Alabama law drives out illegal immigrants but also has unexpected consequences
For years, most poultry workers in Albertville, Ala., were Mexican immigrants, including some who were in the country illegally. But last fall, after a tough state law against illegal immigrants took effect, many vanished overnight, rattling the town’s large Hispanic community and leaving the poultry business scrambling to find workers willing to stand for hours in a wet, chilly room, cutting up dead chickens.
Hawaii Governor enacts bills supportive of local farmers
Governor Neil Abercrombie today signed a number of measures into law including two bills that are aimed to benefit local farmers who want to sell their products and/or establish agricultural-based commercial operations. Senate Bill 2375 authorizes agricultural-based commercial operations in agricultural districts which will increase our farmers’ability to sell their products and promote food sustainability for the islands. Senate Bill 2646 is intended to promote and support diversified agriculture by exempting certain nonresidential agricultural buildings that are on commercial farms from county building permit requirements.
Bee Swarms Startle New York
This spring in New York City, clumps of homeless bees have turned up, often in inconvenient public places, at nearly double the rate of past years. A warm winter followed by an early spring, experts say, has created optimal breeding conditions. That may have caught some beekeepers off guard, especially those who have taken up the practice in recent years.
Local farmers cultivate customers on assistance
Pittsburgh Post Gazette
The idea of helping food assistance dollars go toward buying local produce has widespread support, yet making it happen has been a challenge — and it isn’t clear if local growers will ever be able to serve that audience in a significant way. For farmers and farm market operators, there are issues with the costs, the technology and the paperwork involved in accepting benefits.
Some towns looking to ordinances to make local farms exempt from state regulations
Towns in several states are adopting local ordinances that exempt farmers from state and federal regulations if they sell their products directly to consumers, despite warnings that the ordinances are invalid.


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The USDA recently approved Monsanto’s genetically engineered Bt sweet corn which will be sold on the ear in the produce section of grocery stores. This is the agri-giant’s first GMO corn product made available directly to consumers.
Natural News claims Monsanto first unveiled this new variety of GM sweet corn back in August, which rivals Syngenta’s GM sweet corn that has already been on the market in limited form for the past ten years.
Monsanto’s GMO Bt sweet corn will also be used in canned and frozen foods, and will be indistinguishable from natural corn because the FDA does not require genetically altered food products to be labeled.
According to Food & Water Watch, Monsanto’s genetically engineered Bt sweet corn will debut in Walmart stores across the country as early as Summer 2012, unless there is massive public outcry in opposition.
Some Of Us.org claims consumers are fighting back. “Thanks to consumer pressure, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and General Mills have all agreed to not use Monsanto’s GM sweet corn in any of their products. But Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest organic retailer, is holding out.
“Monsanto’s GMO sweet corn containing Bt toxin is designed to protect the plant by rupturing the stomach of any insect that feeds on it. Monsanto claims the toxin will break down before the corn makes it to your dinner table, but rats fed with the GM corn showed organ failure, and the toxin has been detected in the bodies of pregnant women.”
Please add your name to this petition.
Food And Water Watch will be delivering petition signatures to Walmart, demanding they reject genetically engineered sweet corn by April 1st, before it’s widely planted in order to help make sure genetically engineered sweet corn doesn’t reach your plate.
More from Food and Water Watch: “Whether you shop at Walmart or not, they are the largest U.S. food retailer, and if they won’t sell genetically engineered sweet corn, it’s likely that farmers won’t plant it. Monsanto’s GE sweet corn hasn’t been tested for human safety, and it contains three different genetically engineered traits that have never been used in food eaten directly by people.”
France Wants GMO Corn Banned in EU
The French government has asked the European Commission to suspend Monsanto GM corn known as MON 810. The French government says the GM plant, MON810, is an environmental hazard.
The French banned the crop in 2008 despite losing court rulings against Monsanto. MON810 is the only GM plant approved by the EU. In a statement the ecology ministry said its request is based on latest scientific studies which show that the use of GM crops poses a significant risk to the environment.
The ministry referred to a recent study by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) that raised concerns with another form of GM crop, BT11, that it said could also be applied to MON 810.
“If the European Union does not act, we can invoke the safeguard clause” which allows EU nations to independently restrict or prohibit the sales of products, it said.
Last November President Sarkozy said he would seek new legal measures after the European Court of Justice and France’s highest administrative court overturned a French ban on Monsanto GM crops.
New Research: GMO Food Highly Dangerous
GreenMedInfo.com, a website providing free access to biomedical research and alternative toxicology information, claims disturbing new research published in the Journal of Applied Toxicology indicates that genetically modified (GM) crops with “stacked traits” are likely far more dangerous to human health than previously believed, due to their synergistic toxicity.
Stacked traits are multiple traits such as glyphosate-herbicide resistance and Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) insecticidal toxins engineered together into the same plant.
Resistance to glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup, has been engineered into many GM plants so the herbicide can be sprayed without destroying the crops. But GM glyphosate-resistant plants contain residues of glyphosate that present a significant health threat to the public.
According to the referenced latest study:
“The glyphosate-containing herbicide Roundup was tested on human embryonic kidney cells at concentrations between 1 to 20,000 parts per million (ppm). It was found that concentrations as low as 50 ppm per million, which the authors noted were ‘far below agricultural dilutions,’ induced cell death, with the 50% of the cells dying at 57.5 ppm. The researchers also found that the insecticidal toxin produced by GM plants known as Cry1Ab was capable of causing cell death at 100 ppm concentrations.”
The authors concluded: “In these results, we argue that modified Bt toxins are not inert on nontarget human cells, and that they can present combined side-effects with other residues of pesticides specific to GM plants.”
GreenMedInfo adds that these findings follow recent revelations that Roundup is several orders of magnitude more toxic than previously believed.
On February 14, the journal Archives of Toxicology reported that Roundup is toxic to human DNA even when diluted to concentrations 450-fold lower than used in agricultural applications.
“This effect is likely due to the presence of the surfactant polyoxyethyleneamine within the Roundup formulation which may dramatically enhance the absorption of glyphosate into exposed human cells and tissue.”


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For those of us who eagerly await the dazzling fireworks display at Medano Beach every New Year’s Eve, there’s a bit of a bummer this time around. The association of Medano beach business owners has announced a change in plans – there will be no fireworks show to ring in the new year. While it’s a letdown for fireworks enthusiasts, there’s a pretty valid reason behind this decision.
The ocean, in its natural ebb and flow, has decided to claim more territory along Medano Beach. Because of this, there simply isn’t enough safe space to set up and launch the fireworks. Safety first, as they say, but it’s hard not to feel a little disappointed.
Remembering the spectacular display from last year only adds to the nostalgia. Those bursts of color lighting up the night sky were truly a sight to behold. But even without the pyrotechnics, Medano Beach will still be a fantastic place to welcome the new year. The sound of the waves, the festive atmosphere, and the company of friends and family – these are things that fireworks can’t overshadow.


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Nov 17, 2020, 15:00 ET
SUNNYVALE, Calif., Nov. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Tact.ai, the human-friendly CRM company, today announced it has been named as a Voice Driven Sales App Sample Vendor in Gartner's Hype Cycle for Life Sciences Commercial Operations, 2020. Tact.ai was also named as a Sample Vendor for three up and coming technologies – Voice-Driven Sales Apps, Sales Bots, and Mobile Sales Productivity – in Gartner's Hype Cycle for CRM Sales Technology, 2020.
A Gartner subscription is required to access these reports.
"Life Science companies are facing unprecedented commercialization model disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This has forced companies to rapidly shift their digital initiatives from planning to execution, highlighting the need for agility over completeness," Gartner reports.
For Tact.ai customers in pharmaceuticals, already scarce in-person meetings with physicians have become nearly impossible to get because of restricted access to doctor's offices and hospitals. As a result, advanced planning and follow up on virtual visits and digital interactions with physicians has become more important.
Tact.ai puts people first with human-friendly CRM solutions that are prescriptive, omnichannel, and frictionless. Powered by our patented Edge AI platform, Tact improves engagement, sales behavior and effectiveness for your reps, customers and account teams.
Gartner says that, "the COVID-19 pandemic will accelerate the pace of adoption of sales technologies that can help improve digital engagement efforts with buyers". The Gartner Hype Cycle for CRM and Sales Technologies, 2020 report says that, in general, "Sales organizations can no longer expect the extended face time afforded to their reps in on-site meetings and must reevaluate technological investments to prepare for a strategic shift in how they will sell in the near term and long term."
Within the Hype Cycle for CRM Sales Technology report, Tact is referenced in three categories:
- Voice-Driven Sales Apps: "When effectively deployed, such implementations can improve individual productivity by offering a more accessible alternative for documenting sales activities and outcomes, thus freeing up more time for selling."
- Sales Bots: "This technology has broad application to all B2B, B2C and indirect sales use cases, ranging from automating data capture with vocal user interfaces, or parsing telephone calls for contextual meeting."
- Mobile Sales Productivity: "Mobile sales productivity apps will increase sales adoption and improve data quality by using a less intrusive approach to collecting sales data."
"Commercial teams have experienced massive transformation due to restricted access to HCPs, with today's new normal meaning limited in-person appointments and the need for more digital and omnichannel engagement," said Chuck Ganapathi, founder and CEO of Tact.ai. "We're thankful to work with pharmaceutical and medical device leaders to reimagine the commercial and HCP experience, delivering new ways for them to work with their customers and nurture more meaningful conversations."
Gartner "Hype Cycle for CRM Sales Technology, 2020," Adnan Zijadic, Theodore (Tad) Travis, Melissa Hilbert, 16 July 2020
Gartner "Hype Cycle for Life Science Commercial Operations, 2020," Animesh Gandhi, Michael Shanler, 6 August 2020.
Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's Research and Advisory organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
Tact.ai is on a mission to make enterprise software more human-friendly. Tact.ai puts people first with human-friendly CRM solutions that are frictionless, omnichannel, and prescriptive. Powered by our patented Edge AI platform, Fortune 500 sales organizations -- including Honeywell, Cisco, and one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world -- use Tact to change sales behavior and digitally transform how sellers work with customers every day to achieve new levels of productivity and collaboration. Founded by Chuck Ganapathi, who has built three generations of CRM products, Tact.ai Technologies, Inc. is a privately-held company backed by Accel Partners, Redpoint Ventures, Upfront Ventures, M12 (formerly Microsoft Ventures), Comcast Ventures, Honeywell Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, and the Amazon Alexa Fund.
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The HVAC industry is continuing on its consistent path of ever-changing innovation and development. From company culture models and changes brought on by COVID-19 to the emergence and popularity of geothermal systems, keeping up with the latest trends is proving to be essential to running a successful business.
What are the emerging trends in the HVAC market?
As the industry develops, so does the need to be up to date constantly. For a business owner, this is of the utmost importance. In the following article, we take a look at six trends that are reshaping the industry.
The HVAC industry is growing
The future of HVAC lies in its continued growth. According to various surveys, companies in the HVAC industry are experiencing steady business growth, with trends showing a promising future in the years to come.
Healthy company culture is essential
The industry's rapid growth pace, coupled with the inevitable retirement of older and experienced specialists, brings the need for a younger generation to take their positions. For millennials, and younger people in general, company culture and a healthy atmosphere are crucial to their working experience. Therefore, it's important not to overlook this aspect of your business model and find ways to enhance performance, boost employee morale, and create a positive working environment.
Employees are starting to prefer mobile communication
A healthy working environment doesn't necessarily mean bonuses, awards, or team-building events. In this day and age, implementing various tech tools to make communication easier and more accessible is key to running a streamlined form of business. Long gone are the days when emails were the standard and only accepted form of communication among employees as well as customers.
Instead, nearly half of today's workforce prefers texting over email or phone calls. Increase the productivity of your employees by reducing phone calls and installing dispatch boards that can instantly send a text to technicians in the field.
The Internet of things is here to stay
From refrigerators and TVs to stereo systems and lighting fixtures, "smart home" tech devices are on the rise with no sign of stopping. The Internet of Things (IoT) has become an integral part of modern living. It's inevitably impacting business across industries, providing more flexibility with online platforms, interconnectivity, and new and improved software. It's having a major effect in the HVAC marketplace, with more and more companies turning to cutting-edge wi-fi-enabled products.
Geothermal is coming up fast
Geothermal heat pumps have long been an eco-friendly solution for warming and cooling houses. Still, they don't seem to get the praise that solar panels and other technologies are receiving. But, judging from experts in the know, this is about to change.
Across the US, there are nearly 50,000 geothermal heat pumps installed every year. With Congress reinstating a tax credit for HVAC systems, the forecast is a positive one for geothermal heat pumps.
COVID-19 has changed everything
Despite a solid start to 2020, the HVAC, much like other industries, came to a screeching halt brought on by the global pandemic. Along with it came a need to adapt and implement various forms of safety precautions. As a result, many companies made the inevitable transition from office to working from home. With the pandemic showing no signs of winding down, remote work and safety protocols will be in place for the foreseeable future.
The Larson Company can provide advice for a successful launch
Keeping up with the latest innovations in an ever-evolving industry means you are serious about your work. Whether you’re in the midst of starting up your HVAC business or looking for new and innovative ways to deliver a top-quality service to your customers, utilizing all the valuable information is integral to a booming business.
However, there’s something else that leads to success – partnering with the Gustave A. Larson Company. We’re constantly following the latest developments in our industry, which allows us to keep creating new and modern employee training programs, as well as offer a selection of cutting-edge HVAC software solutions to contractors. We’re here to help you advance your business and provide any additional assistance you require. Contact us today!


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Redbarn Pet Products is voluntarily recalling it's Redbarn's 7-inch Bully Stick three pack, because it has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.
They are now investigating six complaints of illness and death in animals that have eaten the recalled products.
One child became seriously ill with septicemia (blood infection) and osteomyelitis, a painful and serious bone infection, FDA reported. The agency identified the bacteria while testing products made by the Minneapolis-based company. Bully Sticks chews for dogs manufactured by Redbarn Pet Products (Long Beach, Calif.) were recalled after a sample tested positive for salmonella.
PetSmart is also pulling Redbarn's bully sticks, officials said.
Similarly, Raws for Paws and Smokehouse pulled product due to the risk of salmonella contamination.
The FDA encourages consumers to report complaints about this and other pet food products electronically through the Safety Reporting Portal or by calling their state's FDA Consumer Complaint Coordinators.
In addition, lab analysis of closed packages of Darwin's pet food obtained by FDA from Judy on January 24 found Salmonella in the product.
"Raw pet food is more likely than other types of pet food to contain salmonella and listeria monocytogenes".
United Kingdom aid chief warns charities after Oxfam sex scandal
SINCE news broke of the sex scandal in Haiti Oxfam has been working hard to retain vital funding from government and supporters. Seven percent of staff in South Sudan - four people - witnessed or experienced rape or attempted rape involving colleagues.
ZooLogics Duck Meals for Dogs, 2-pound, lot number 41957, and manufacture date of Nov 16, 2017.
Arrow Reliance/Darwin's Natural has notified its customers directly of the recalls via email, but so far has not issued any public notification announcing February 10 or any previous recalls.
As a result of an earlier product contamination, a kitten died.
Salmonellosis is the food poisoning caused by the Salmonella enterica bacterium, which is mostly caused by eating food contaminated by salmonella.
"While dogs' and cats' digestive systems are created to be able to process pathogens, such as salmonella, with no impact on them, at Darwin's, we take this situation very seriously", the company said on its website. There were instances of illness in connection with Raws for Paws, which pulled its 5-pound and 1-pound chubs of ground turkey pet food, and none for Smokehouse, which recalled 4-ounce bags of its Beefy Munchies dog treats.
"We believe this was an isolated incident".
For more information about returns, customers should call the company at 612-465-0372.
In a letter sent to customers, the company said it's confident this was a one-time occurrence. Date 112120ABC. Full refunds can be received from the store where the food was bought. Those with questions may call the company 877-699-7387 weekdays 10 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.


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WTO rules in favor of U.S. in a Chinese chicken duty case
A World Trade Organization panel ruled this week that China has not reduced its punitive tariffs on U.S. chicken imports as required by a previous ruling, Reuters reported.
China could appeal the ruling within 30 days.
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December 12, 2022
Icelandic low-cost carrier PLAY selects MOST's end-to-end payment solution
MOST solutions deployed on December 6 across PLAY’s fleet
Custom hardware will protect crew devices and reinforce airline branding
Passengers can pay with their cards or e-wallets on board without friction or frustration
December 12, 2022 – Reykjavík, IS & Dublin, IE: PLAY, the Icelandic low-cost carrier, has selected MOST, makers of technology for a world on the move, to provide it with onboard retailing and payment solutions, including software, hardware and payment gateway services. Working with MOST will allow crewmembers to accept secure payments quickly and easily from passengers onboard the aircraft.
Starting December 6, PLAY upgraded from its existing card readers on board and implemented three of MOST's modular payment solutions: most.Retail, most.Pay and most.Onthego. The deployment covers PLAY's entire fleet of A320 family aircraft.
As the launch customer for three of MOST's products, PLAY is paving the way for a future of frictionless inflight payment technology. MOSTs cutting-edge digital retail platform, payment sled hardware and payment gateway technology will mean that PLAY passengers can look forward to a more convenient and streamlined travel experience, and crew can efficiently complete transactions in the cabin.
With PLAY already serving 24 destinations in Europe and the United States from its hub in Keflavik, Iceland, MOST's end-to-end payment solutions enable passengers on both sides of the Atlantic to use their preferred payment option. PLAY's passengers will be able to tap and pay with all major cards or digital wallets worldwide in currencies including EURO, US Dollars and ISK when ordering inflight food and beverages. A sophisticated special offer engine and forecasting tools will also help PLAY to maximize inflight sales opportunities as it grows.
MOST will also supply the airline with customized and company-branded mobile payment accessories. PLAY's crew will be using smartphones paired with payment modules from MOST to complete transactions, track onboard inventory and perform other tasks, such as delivering eco-friendly e-receipts to passengers. The crew devices will sit in a custom casing, designed ergonomically with crew comfort in mind and manufactured in PLAY's signature brand colors. The cases provide increased physical protection for crew devices and feature a detachable payment peripheral that can be removed to get closer to the cardholder.
"We are delighted to be working with an energetic airline brand such as PLAY as it continues to expand its fast-growing route network across North America and Europe," said MOST CEO Jan Blanchard. "This airline is hungry for success, and they have plenty of room to grow. Our solutions will help PLAY deliver on its low-cost model and bolster ancillary revenues by simplifying inflight sales and removing barriers to payment on board."
PLAY CIO Georg Haraldsson added: "This is an exciting time for our airline as we continue to invest in innovative solutions that will help us boost ancillary revenues and enhance the travel experience for our passengers. Technology and service are key to our strategy as a low-cost carrier, and MOST has delivered an excellent combination of specialist hardware and software. We trust them to help us achieve our goals."
Sveinn Ingi Steinþórsson, co-founder, Director FP&A and project manager for implementing the new devices at PLAY and Jan Blanchard, CEO at MOST
For media inquiries, please contact:
MOST, email@example.com or Birgir Olgiersson firstname.lastname@example.org
MOST is a payment technology solutions company at the intersection of fintech and travel retail. With offices in Dallas-Fort Worth, Chicago and Dublin, MOST serves customers operating in fluid retail environments worldwide. With an agile team and advanced technology, MOST offers a modular suite of products and services for the mobility sector, including software retail platforms, a secure payment gateway, adaptive mobile payment peripherals and intelligent recommendation tools. MOST was formed to help retailers move away from legacy payment and retail platforms to thrive using more innovative methods designed for a world on the move.
PLAY is a new Icelandic low-cost airline operating flights between 24 destinations in North America and Europe from its hub in Keflavik, Iceland. PLAY offers low-cost flights and a safe and pleasant journey in its new and comfortable fleet of Airbus A320 aircraft.


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"There was a metric that defined success before COVID - that metric no longer exists."
Quote from Airbnb advisor Chip Conley in an article on PhocusWire this week on leadership and opportunities post-coronavirus.
Each Friday, PhocusWire dissects and debates an industry trend or new development covered on our site that week.
"Some companies are more in pain and suffering than others," says hospitality guru and ex-Airbnb exec Chip Conley in the same speech as the metric reference noted above.
He's not wrong, obviously, but perhaps the industry is not going through such straightforward times as those when Conley says the success metric that his businesses used was market share.
There is currently no actual market to share - that's perhaps the most downbeat assessment that many might use.
But if where a business ranks alongside its competitors, even during a crisis such as now, is important, then so must be other factors.
Customer service is one, especially in a situation where thousands (maybe millions) of a company's travelers have been impacted, when they've required refunds or vouchers, perhaps need repatriation or, indeed, countless other forms of intervention.
Another could be product development. How has a company used its "downtime" to examine the code base for issues, or tighten up a particularly annoying bit of user experience that gets complaints but is never quite important enough to be addressed.
As others have mentioned, staff (re)training could be an massively important element that gets a brand out of the quagmire of a crisis, whether it's technical, business development, accounting or customer service.
These are just three practices that a company should evaluate itself on during such times, even if the measurement scales are difficult to determine.
PhocusWire's regular editorials


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According to industry sources, several small and medium-sized businesses involved in the local supply chain for electronics components and other devices have seen closures of facilities and layoffs in southern and eastern China.
Numerous small and medium-sized companies in southern China that are a part of the local supply chain for electronics accessories, parts, and other products have relocated or closed due to a bleak outlook for the Chinese consumer electronics market. In response to declining orders, the factories still operating have also imposed layoffs, salary cutbacks, and unpaid leave, the sources reported.
According to the sources, the southern region of China, where manufacturing is the primary industry, is in a severe economic scenario despite the country’s gradual easing of COVID lockdowns and restrictions. Domestic demand in China is cautious, and intense market competition drives up the cost of raw materials. According to the sources, more Southern Chinese electronics manufacturing enterprises may shut down.
For example, Shenzhen’s industrial supply chain focuses mostly on the toy and electronics industries. The sources indicated that the global economic downturn and declining market demand have already impacted the local manufacturing operations in Shenzhen.
Since 2022, there has been an increase in the number of industrial closures in southern China, according to the sources, with huge electronics plants that have been in existence for more than 30 years announcing their closure one after the other. During the city’s lockdown, some factories in Shenzhen were shut down. The inability to begin work was caused by issues with production, orders being received, and delivery needs not being met.
Consumption hasn’t recovered even though the epidemic has subsided. Although the present surviving factories avoided bankruptcy, the electronics supply chain’s orders continue to be poor. According to the sources, industrial employment is still subject to rigorous regulations to reduce costs, leading to a labor shortage in southern and eastern China.
According to the sources, one reason why the layoff phenomena may continue is that most businesses are pursuing industrial transformation, upgrading technology and equipment, and ultimately replacing labor with artificial intelligence (AI) and automation equipment.
Additionally, rising geopolitical tensions force companies to diversify their manufacturing bases. The sources said that the strategy for using China as a manufacturing base has changed, impacting the electronics sectors in southern and eastern China.