Recent News

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and Plant & Food Research have released their joint report: The evolution of plant protein – assessing consumer response. The report was commissioned to assess consumer responses to protein and highlight the potential impacts to the New Zealand agricultural industry. New Zealand’s social, environmental, and economic well-being is linked to New Zealand’s ability to supply the rest of the world with protein. New Zealand’s animal-based protein export revenue alone accounts for 60% of New Zealand’s total primary exports. This demand will grow as the global population is set to increase to 8.1 billion by 2025. “This is the very first exploratory piece of work MPI has done in this area. The report explores how consumers have become more aware of the long-term impacts of food production and signals change for traditional animal protein producers. “The findings will inform our work programme to support primary sector resilience in the face of these impacts and changing consumer habits. “The report also includes opportunities to create value through a point of difference for traditional New Zealand products,” says Jarred Mair, acting deputy director-general for policy and trade. “In order for New Zealand to retain a competitive edge in our primary exports, we want to ensure we are looking ahead at what the future consumer might demand in our products and what opportunities are available for our sector,” says Dr Jocelyn Eason of Plant & Food Research. To assess where markets are heading in the next 5 years the report analysed consumer responses to plant-based proteins released in the United States and consumer attitudes to proteins in China. Our research has shown that wealthy western economies such as the US will require an innovative product that meets consumer needs. Key findings of the report include: Progress towards new protein […]

Companies that deliver outstanding service and repair experiences include KONE or Fisher & Paykel. -Paul Baptist, Senior Director, Solution Engineering, APAC, Salesforce We’re seeing manufacturers increasingly invest in their customer service and field service teams as customers demand the types of experiences companies like Airbnb provide. Anytime, anywhere, frictionless and personalised experiences are what customers demand. The lines between B2C and B2B customers have also blurred, meaning your experience must match the very best that’s out there, no matter your end buyer. The stakes have never been higher. The Salesforce 2018 State of the Connected Customer report, revealed 66 per cent of buyers say they are likely to switch brands if they are treated like a number instead of an individual. Every touch point a manufacturer has with a customer has to deliver the best possible, personalised experience. In-between buying cycles, field service is often your most important and regular touch point with customers. That’s why we’ve seen our manufacturing customers like KONE, Schneider Electric and Fisher & Paykel invest in their customer service experience.   What’s the impact of field service workers in manufacturing? A good example of investing in your field service team is KONE. It is working towards a future where the operating condition of more than 1.1 million of its escalators and elevators is linked with real-time customer information and maintenance schedules. This will be provided to its team of 20,000 field service technicians around the world. By owning the quality of service and empowering its field service technicians, KONE is turning a service request or product break down into an opportunity to provide an outstanding customer experience. What is the ‘customer experience crisis’? Customers judge your business based on their most recent and best interaction. Think of the companies that deliver outstanding service and repair […]

Authored by Helen Masters, senior vice president and general manager, Asia Pacific, Infor   It’s the sound you dread: a bang, crash or shout heralding that one of your employees has been injured. In that moment, you know that many things have been lost — a person’s wellbeing (and possibly their life), the morale of other employees, and possibly, their confidence in the safety of their workplace. Underlying it all, the productivity, cohesion, and workflow you depend on to deliver a competitive, profitable product may also be impacted. The effects are a serious drain on companies and on the wider economy — work related injuries and fatalities cost the nation $61.8 billion in 2012, nearly 5 percent of GDP. Safer operations mean higher productivity The old line about prevention being better than cure has never been more important than when talking about workplace safety. A safe workplace is essential to ensuring reliable, uninterrupted operations. With strong safety programs, companies can significantly improve their productivity, while reinforcing their bottom line and not only boosting morale and wellbeing among their employees but also having a positive impact on the families and close friends of their employees. There are no accidents The question for many businesses is how to get from here to there. In the transport industry, there is an assumption that there are no accidents, just collisions that could have been prevented with foresight and planning. It is hard to think of a sector where that basic principle does not apply. An end-to-end approach to workplace safety begins with a dedicated effort to keep equipment in safe working order, develop workplace procedures and rigorous training plans, and deploy sensors that set off alarms or simply shut down equipment when it is being misused. A safer workplace with enterprise asset management Most companies have […]