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Email: consulting@duvalunion.com

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18/02/2019

Digital Digest

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Duval Union Consulting
Friday, 15 February 2019 / Published in Digital
Digital Digest

Duval Union Consulting – Digital Digest

On a weekly basis we’ll highlight 4 articles that caught our attention while doing our research. We’ll show you key events or trends in the digital world that you shouldn’t have missed this week. All articles were gathered and processed in our Trendbase tool.


When will we have flying cars? Maybe sooner than you think.

Flying Cars

In the coming few years nearly 20 small airborne vehicles are supposedly hitting the market (see table below). Some are drone-like, with anywhere from four to 18 rotors keeping them aloft. Most are fixed-wing craft with propellers that point upwards for vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL), and tilt forward for flight.

Some are also more realistic than others. While both Airbus and Boeing have projects under way, a raft of smaller companies are pushing aggressive time lines as well. Germany’s Volocopter plans to start trials this year of a flying taxi in Singapore. Uber has claimed it will start test runs next year for a service between Frisco, Texas, and the Dallas–Fort Worth airport,and that it plans to start commercial flights in 2023; it has five flying-car makers as partners.

Read more about the upcoming flying cars here


Silicon Valley has a fresh take on a new movement that could be the future of medicine

Forward

It’s a type of doctor’s office that’s similar to direct primary care, a small but fast-growing movement of pediatricians, family-medicine physicians, and internists. This group doesn’t accept insurance, and instead charges a monthly membership fee that covers most of what the average patient needs, including visits and prescription drugs at much lower prices.

Direct primary care practices are growing at a time when high-deductible health plans are on the rise – a survey in September found that 51% of workers had a plan that required them to pay up to $1,000 out of pocket for healthcare until insurance picks up most of the rest. For more on direct primary care, here’s a snapshot of how it differs from a traditional doctor’s visit. Instead, he said Forward is to healthcare what the iPhone is to communications.

While the Blackberry phone initially gained traction because companies supplied it for their employees, consumers ended up opting to get their own smartphones that were easier to use. In his mind, the existing employer-backed healthcare system is the Blackberry, and Forward’s model is the smartphone.

Read more about Forward here


Amazon’s NYC educational investments will continue despite cancellation of New York HQ2

Amazon Education

Amazon’s plans to invest in New York-area engineering training programs and other local educational initiatives are not being canceled, despite Amazon’s announcement today that it will no longer open one of its HQ2 locations in New York City. The retailer decided to end its plans for the New York headquarters after significant backlash from local politicians and citizens alike who, as Amazon put it, “have made it clear that they oppose our presence.”

The deal Amazon had brokered with New York politicians had included up to $1.5 billion in grants and tax breaks in the state, in exchange for bringing 25,000 new jobs to the NYC area.

But Amazon jobs weren’t all the company was investing in — the company had also recently said it would fund educational programs and training at New York-area high schools and colleges.

Read more about Amazon’s education here


Lego launches 8 AR focused sets

Lego AR

LEGO’s long been a leader among traditional toy companies when it comes to embracing tech trends, from mobile apps to robotics. The toy maker’s been talking up its plans to embrace augmented reality since a couple of WWDCs ago, and now it’s finally ready to go all-in with the launch of eight AR-focused sets.

All are part of Hidden Side, a new series of sets designed to skirt the line between the physical and virtual. All are haunted buildings that tell a larger story about a couple of kids tasked with using a ghost-hunting app to uncover mysterious goings-on in their hometown.

The sets range from $20 to $130 and offer experiences that adapt as the story continues to roll out. The addition of a digital component gives the company a bit of leeway here when it comes to building out things over time. Those who don’t buy a set can also use the app to play a standalone game from the point of view of the ghosts — though obviously the whole thing is more heightened if you own the physical LEGO.

Read more about the AR Lego story here


About Trendbase

Trendbase LogoAll trends were gathered and processed in Trendbase. Trendbase is a tool that helps you to gather and categorize industry trends, identify those trends and add context to them and to share that knowledge within your organization to inspire and educate people.

About Duval Union Consulting

We are new-style management consultants focusing on transforming and growing organizations in a digital-first world with offices in Europe and the Middle East. New-style? Co-created business strategy, custom-made transformation trajectories and actual experienced business advisors are only some of our differentiators and why clients love to work with us. We design the future of your business together.

Click here to find out more on how we can help you make your company future proof

Geert Reyniers joins Duval Union Consulting as Global Head of Healthcare.

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Duval Union Consulting
Monday, 11 February 2019 / Published in Press Releases
Geert Reyniers Duval Union Consulting

Duval Union Consulting, the breakthrough company specialising in Business Transformation with presence in Europe and the Middle East has announced the recruitment of Geert Reyniers to head up its global healthcare practice.

Following the recent appointment of former Unilever CEO Nils van Dam as Global Head of Food and Retail and Hendrik Bærentsen as head of MENA venturing, Duval Union Consulting has made another key appointment by onboarding Geert Reyniers.

Geert Reyniers, who has an exceptional track record in business excellence, digital health and innovation, will in his new role guide a diverse range of public and private healthcare organizations to transform in order to become future-proof in a digital-first world.

“During my different assignments and interactions with diverse corporations and care givers in the healthcare market, it has become clear that many of them are asking for help to better understand how the healthcare landscape is changing and how they can develop a sound strategy and take concrete steps to create and capture value in this exponentially evolving world.”, said Geert Reyniers. “I believe Duval Union Consulting has a unique Digital Transformation framework to address these needs.” By onboarding Geert Reyniers, Duval Union Consulting will expand its focus and expertise within the healthcare sector, an industry that has encountered ever increasing digital disruption and digitalization over the past years. Geert’s 25+ years of international expertise in healthcare, combined with his entrepreneurial and problem-solving attitude will be an invaluable asset to help reshape the healthcare industry of the future.

‘After the successful launch of our food & retail practice with Nils van Dam we are very proud to take a deep dive in the healthcare sector together with Geert Reyniers. We truly believe there are a lot of opportunities in this area for those who are ready to embrace the future. Geert’s thorough expertise will allow us to assist healthcare organisations in their transformation journey to thrive in this digital world. We are really looking forward to what is to come’, commented Dado Van Peteghem, Founding partner and co-CEO at Duval Union Consulting.

Before joining Duval Union Consulting, Geert held the position of Vice-President, Digital Health at Novo Nordisk, a global healthcare company with more than 90 years of innovation and leadership in diabetes care, based in Copenhagen. Prior to that he has worked in leading pharma and medical technology companies such as AbbVie, Stryker, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Janssen Pharmaceutica (Johnson & Johnson).

Contact Geert Reyniers:

Geert Reyniers

geert.reyniers@duvalunion.com
+32 468 06 66 30
Twitter: @GeertReyniers
https://www.linkedin.com/in/geertreyniers/

About Duval Union Consulting

We are new-style management consultants focusing on transforming and growing organizations in a digital-first world with offices in Europe and the Middle East. New-style? Co-created business strategy, custom-made transformation trajectories and actual experienced business advisors are only some of our differentiators and why clients love to work with us. We design the future of your business together.

 

Digital Digest

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Duval Union Consulting
Friday, 08 February 2019 / Published in Digital
Digital Digest

Duval Union Consulting – Digital Digest

On a weekly basis we’ll highlight 4 articles that caught our attention while doing our research. We’ll show you key events or trends in the digital world that you shouldn’t have missed this week. All articles were gathered and processed in our Trendbase tool.


Apple Is Planning 3-D Cameras for New iPhones in AR Push

Apple 3D Camera

Apple Inc. plans to launch iPhones with a more-powerful 3-D camera as soon as next year, stepping up the company’s push into augmented reality, according to people familiar with the plans.

The rear-facing, longer-range 3-D camera is designed to scan the environment to create three-dimensional reconstructions of the real world. It will work up to about 15 feet from the device, the people said. That’s in contrast with the current iPhone 3-D camera system, which points toward users and operates at distances of 25 to 50 centimeters to power Apple’s Face ID facial-recognition feature.

Apple’s new system uses a laser scanner, rather than the existing dot-projection technology which doesn’t work as well over longer distances, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing unreleased features. That’s just one of many new features — including a third, more advanced camera, enhanced photo-capture tools and a more powerful chip — that Apple plans to include in coming generations of iPhones, the people said.

Read more about Apple’s 3D camera here


By 2025, a lot more people will be tracking their blood sugar, predicts doctor

Diabetes meter

Let’s start with a prediction: By 2025, everyone with diabetes will be tracking their blood sugar with devices called continuous glucose monitors, and it will be common for many people without diabetes to dabble in tracking, too.

The technology has improved dramatically. Two of the newest devices, the Dexcom G6 and Abbott Freestyle Libre , no longer require fingerstick calibrations, are FDA-approved for people to make insulin-dosing decisions, and are much easier to insert.

The next five years will be an incredible time, as fingersticks disappear from diabetes, prices fall and the increasing ubiquity of blood sugar tracking opens new opportunities to understand, avoid, or treat disease.

Read more about blood sugar tracking here


Uber just added public transportation to its app

Uber

Uber customers who live in Denver may notice something strange when they open the company’s app today: a tiny train car with the word “transit” next to it, sitting atop the list of usual ride-hailing options. A quick tap produces a list of bus or train routes as well as the expected fare price and end-to-end directions. It’s the first example of Uber’s year-long effort to integrate public transportation options into its app.

According to the company’s transit team, the goal is to discourage people from using their personal vehicles by offering more transportation options, whether that’s a bike, scooter, or now, a bus or train. It’s no secret that Uber wants to become the “One Ring” for transportation, the app that brings all other modes together and, in the darkness, binds them.

Read more about Uber and public transport here


Same-day delivery: The next evolutionary step in parcel logistics

Delivery

Same-day delivery has the potential to fundamentally change the way we shop. It integrates the convenience of online retail with the immediacy of bricks-and-mortar stores. In recent years an increasing number of companies have started piloting and operating new models of same-day delivery, including incumbent logistics providers such as DHL, DPD, FedEx, and UPS. Demand is expected to increase significantly given the compelling value proposition of same-day delivery for consumers.

Online retailers are expected to benefit from reduced delivery time as almost immediate product access improves their position versus stationary retailers, and makes the greater choice, higher convenience and often lower prices of online shopping even more appealing. Bricks-and-mortar retailers in turn have a unique opportunity to combine their existing local infrastructure with an e-commerce channel to offer same-day delivery on a broad scale. A multichannel approach could enable them to win back customers who are becoming increasingly focused on online shopping.

Read more about next day delivery here


About Trendbase

Trendbase LogoAll trends were gathered and processed in Trendbase. Trendbase is a tool that helps you to gather and categorize industry trends, identify those trends and add context to them and to share that knowledge within your organization to inspire and educate people.

About Duval Union Consulting

We are new-style management consultants focusing on transforming and growing organizations in a digital-first world with offices in Europe and the Middle East. New-style? Co-created business strategy, custom-made transformation trajectories and actual experienced business advisors are only some of our differentiators and why clients love to work with us. We design the future of your business together.

Click here to find out more on how we can help you make your company future proof

Duval Union Consulting – Digital Digest

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Duval Union Consulting
Friday, 01 February 2019 / Published in Digital
Digital Digest

On a weekly basis we’ll highlight 4 articles that caught our attention while doing our research. We’ll show you key events or trends in the digital world that you shouldn’t have missed this week. All articles were gathered and processed in our Trendbase tool.


Whim, the all-in-one mobility app for ridesharing, public transit and rentals is coming to the US

Whim

MaaS Global, the company behind the all-in-one mobility app Whim, which offers a subscription service for public transportation, ridesharing, bike rentals, scooter rentals, taxis or car rentals, will be making its U.S. debut later this year.

The company will choose its American launch city from Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas and Miami, according to Sampo Hietanen, the company’s chief executive. The Whim app is currently available in Antwerp, Birmingham, U.K., Helsinki and Vienna, according to Hietanen, and offers a range of subscription options. The top of the line version is a €500 per month all-inclusive package giving users unlimited access to ride hailing, bike and car rentals and public transportation.

Read more about Whim here


DeepMind’s AlphaStar AI Crushes Pro StarCraft Players

AlphaStar

The artificial intelligence platform recently shut out two professional StarCraft players in a 5-0 defeat. Considered one of the most challenging real-time strategy (RTS) games, Blizzard’s StarCraft is also one of the longest-played esports of all time.

“Although there have been significant successes in video games,” the DeepMind team wrote in a blog post, “until now, AI techniques have struggled to cope with the complexity of StarCraft.” Enter AlphaStar, a deep neural network trained directly from raw game data via supervised learning and reinforcement learning.

Read more about Deepmind’s strategy here


Uber’s Massive Data Play – Member Feature Stories

Uber

After replacing Travis Kalanick in August 2017, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi is shifting the company’s focus. Though the company has always sought to become a world-class transportation platform, it has recently begun to describe itself as “Amazon for transportation”?—?an ambition which indicates the company is making a monopolistic data play.

Amazon has always been an inspiration for Uber’s leadership, but the form of that inspiration has shifted over the course of the company’s growth. Kalanick wanted to emulate Amazon’s strategy of pursuing market share and growth at the expense of profits?—?or, more accurately, with massive losses before using scale to reduce the marginal cost of expansion to turn a profit. Unfortunately for Kalanick, that strategy didn’t translate to Uber’s ride-hailing business.

Read more about Uber’s data play here


China’s next retail disruption: end-to-end value chain digitization

China retail

This shift from Digital Retail to “New Retail” is being characterised by data-driven and customer centric approach, further enabled by digitalisation through the entire value chain. As we saw with eCommerce, China’s internet giants are the primary drivers of this trend pushing traditional retailers into a new period of disruption through rapid capability building strategies via build, partner and acquisition models.

As the world’s biggest and arguably most important consumer market, China is now home to 784 million smartphone users and now social media, mPayments and eCommerce are ubiquitous parts of the shoppers journey5.

Read more about China’s retail strategy here


About Trendbase

Trendbase LogoAll trends were gathered and processed in Trendbase. Trendbase is a tool that helps you to gather and categorize industry trends, identify those trends and add context to them and to share that knowledge within your organization to inspire and educate people.

About Duval Union Consulting

We are new-style management consultants focusing on transforming and growing organizations in a digital-first world with offices in Europe and the Middle East. New-style? Co-created business strategy, custom-made transformation trajectories and actual experienced business advisors are only some of our differentiators and why clients love to work with us. We design the future of your business together.

Click here to find out more on how we can help you make your company future proof

 

What if Waze were evil?

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Duval Union Consulting
Tuesday, 22 January 2019 / Published in Digital
WAZE

I enjoy using the Waze navigation app. More often than not, Waze gets me to my destination faster than any other solution. Especially compared to my in-car navigation system, Waze is making smarter choices. In real-time. And it’s free.

This morning, however, Waze made some weird choices. I sincerely doubt that I was shown the fastest route. Let me apologize to the nice people of the city of Tervuren. No clue why I was driving in your street at 7 in the morning.

It made me think. What if Waze were evil?

What if Waze is not a free navigation app, but a freemium app. But a very secretive freemium app. Secretive as in: you and I do not have access to the premium service. What if Waze is offering a premium solution to a very small, exclusive, elite group of users. Super VIPs. Super secretive.

This morning, without me knowing so, I will have crossed the route of one of these super VIPs. In order to get this super VIP to their destination, fast and effective, Waze needed to clear the roads nearby, and so Waze decided to navigate me out of the way. Not so difficult to do for Waze, because, let’s be honest: when you’re using Waze, you stop thinking that you know the way, you simply start following instructions. In 300 meters, go left. Ok.

We have to remind ourselves: if you do not pay for a product, you are the product. The more ‘free users’, the easier and the more effective Waze can manipulate traffic. Much like that scene in the movie ‘The Truman Show’, where ‘the eye in the sky’ needed to create a traffic jam preventing Jim Carrey’s character from reaching his destination. And so could Waze. It would not even be that difficult. In real-time Waze knows the traffic at any location. So simply steering a few additional cars into a narrow street in Tervuren would create a traffic jam. In no time. What if that then would reduce the number of cars on the route of one of those super VIPs?
Traffic

I live in Linter. A small city, close to Tienen, about half way between Leuven and Liège. And at least once a week, I make the unusual commute to Ghent, undoubtedly one of the most beautiful cities in Belgium. But quite a distance from where I lay my hat. On average a 1h30 commute. Not on Sunday morning, however. Then it only takes about 45 minutes. On any Sunday morning, the center of Brussels is only 25 minutes away.

What if Waze could offer me a premium service, guaranteeing those ‘Sunday morning commute times’ at any given moment in time.

How much would I be willing to pay for that service? 500 EUR per month? 1.000 EUR? Probably much, much more. And that’s just me. Just imagine what successful captains of industry and their 1% friends would be willing to pay. They are buying private jets to save on travel time. No, Waze premium would be more a 25K per month type of deal. Probably even the type of service that you cannot simply buy, but that you have to apply for. Especially because the number of super VIPs has to be limited for the model to work.

I started this blog with the question ‘What if Waze were evil?’. But, come to think of it, Waze would not even be considered evil if they would launch such a super VIP service, at least if they could promise two things. First, emergency services are non-paying super VIPs. Giving back to society. Second, on average, you and I will need to get to our destination faster than any other alternative. We will not mind losing some time in benefit of one of your super VIPs. After all, we are the product.

My apologies if this blog was a bit too much ‘Black Mirror’ for your taste. And don’t worry if you are a Waze super VIP. This blog is only a figment of my imagination. Or is it?

Porsche red light
About Waze

Owned by Google, Waze is the world’s largest crowdsourced turn-by-turn GPS navigation application with over 90 million active monthly users globally. Waze is 100% free and uses real-time data from their drivers to optimize their routing algorithms. By simply driving around with the Waze app open on your device, you share real-time information that translates into traffic conditions and road structure.

About Geert Martens

Geert MartensGeert helps companies deliver superior customer experiences through 18 years of management consulting expertise. With his deep focus in automotive and similar sectors, he sees the impact and pressure on the industry. He uses these insights to help transforming organisations in an ever changing digital environment.

 

 

About Duval Union Consulting

We are new-style management consultants focusing on transforming and growing organizations in a digital-first world with offices in Europe and the Middle East. New-style? Co-created business strategy, custom-made transformation trajectories and actual experienced business advisors are only some of our differentiators and why clients love to work with us. We design the future of your business together.

Click here to find out more on how we can help you make your company future proof

 

Duval Union Consulting – Digital Digest

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Duval Union Consulting
Friday, 18 January 2019 / Published in Digital
Nike_smartsneaker

On a weekly basis we’ll highlight 4 articles that caught our attention while doing our research. We’ll show you key events or trends in the digital world that you shouldn’t have missed this week. All articles were gathered and processed in our Trendbase tool.


Nike debuts self-fitting smart-sneaker technology as business model of future

Nike Debuts Self-Fitting Smart-Sneaker Technology As Business Model Of Future

Nike isn’t so much trying to do away with the shoelace, but rather taking on fit and customization in a completely modern way. The company debuted the Nike Adapt BB performance basketball shoe, a system that combines an advanced power-lacing system and an app to create a custom fit—and a fit that works with the athlete while creating a fresh approach to business.

“We picked basketball as the first sport for Nike Adapt intentionally because of the demands that athletes put on their shoes,” says Eric Avar, Nike vice president and creative director of innovation. “During a normal basketball game, the athlete’s foot changes, and the ability to quickly change your fit by loosening your shoe to increase blood flow and then tighten again for performance is a key element that we believe will improve the athlete’s experience.”

Read more about the self-fitting smart-sneaker here


Giant Food Stores rolling out googly-eyed helper robots nationwide

Giant Food Stores rolling out googly-eyed helper robots nationwide

Employees at Giant Food Stores will soon have a new googly-eyed robot coworker.

Marty, a tall grey robot assistant, will take on the aisles of all of Giant Food Stores’ 172 locations, the company said Monday. The robot can identify and report spills to customers and employees.

Marty roams the store unassisted to flag spills and other hazards using image capturing technology, according to The Washington Post. When it finds them, the robot will reportedly alert customers by saying “caution, hazard detected.” It’ll also announce the incident through the store’s public address system to notify employees, the Post said.

Read more about Marty here


How banks can turn millennials into lifelong customers

Smart banks know that the future generation of growth depends on a very specific group of consumers – Millennials.

As a group, Millennials are lost at sea when it comes to managing their personal finances, with 34 percent reporting they are unsatisfied with their current financial situation, and over 60 percent burdened by debt.

Unfortunately, while Millennials need the support of financial institutions and leaders, this generation has traditionally shown disdain for big banks, and a skepticism about financial wellness in general. Only 27 percent of Millennials have sought professional financial advice in the last five years, and four of the leading banks were ranked by Millennials as a least loved brand.

Read more about this strategy here


Our meatless future: How the $90B global meat market gets disrupted

Will a meatless food industry featuring lab-grown meat, seafood substitutes, and insect protein be the future of food? Food giants from Tyson to Cargill are working to navigate a future where protein isn’t dominated by traditional animal sources.

At the moment, meat is still king. By some estimates, 30% of the calories consumed globally by humans come from meat products, including beef, chicken, and pork. Approximately 95 pounds of meat per capita have been consumed every year over the last few years, a number that has grown by 44 pounds since 1961.

That translates to a staggering number of animals grown for food: there are over 30 million beef cows in the US, and 21 million pigs in Iowa alone. Global meat production has grown 4-5 fold globally since 1961 — all to meet the growing demand for animal products from a growing global population.

Read more about our meatless future here


About Trendbase

Trendbase LogoAll trends were gathered and processed in Trendbase. Trendbase is a tool that helps you to gather and categorize industry trends, identify those trends and add context to them and to share that knowledge within your organization to inspire and educate people.

About Duval Union Consulting

We are new-style management consultants focusing on transforming and growing organizations in a digital-first world with offices in Europe and the Middle East. New-style? Co-created business strategy, custom-made transformation trajectories and actual experienced business advisors are only some of our differentiators and why clients love to work with us. We design the future of your business together.

Click here to find out more on how we can help you make your company future proof

The restructuring at Proximus is only the beginning.

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Duval Union Consulting
Thursday, 17 January 2019 / Published in Digital, Jobs, Future Proof Organization
Restructuring Proximus

The Proximus Group (previously known as Belgacom Group) is the largest telecommunications company in Belgium, headquartered in Brussels. Proximus Group is primarily state owned, with the Belgian state holding 53.3% + 1 share. The Group offerings include fixed line and mobile communications through the Proximus brand and ICT services to the professional market under the Telindus brand.

Last week, the announcement of Proximus’ digital transformation plan sent shockwaves throughout Belgium. The company’s CEO, Dominique Leroy, announced that she would terminate the contracts of 2000 employees, and – at the same time – fill 1250 of these vacant positions with new digital talents. While the reaction of the public was intense, the restructuring at Proximus shouldn’t have come as a surprise. The waves of Digital Disruption have been growing bigger over the years, but still, many people were unprepared for this tsunami. Those who figured they had the time to gradually transform their organisation are now faced with such rapid changes that drastic measures are required.

If our Belgian companies want to keep on competing, they will have to transform internally as well, and that’s where it hurts most. – Jo Caudron in De Tijd

Proximus’ announcement shows that the management team is aware that the market is changing and that they have a clear vision on what their digital future should look like. It shows that they are preparing their battle plan to make them future-proof. Instead of criticism, Dominique Leroy deserves praise for steering Proximus into the 21th century. Proximus is making sure that they will be ready for the waves of change ahead. This should be a wake-up call for all companies: those who have seen the future should act upon it or brace themselves for impact.

7de dag

Watch Jo Caudron’s (Dutch) debate on ‘De zevende dag’.

The first wave: digital transformation

Understanding how digital customer behaviour is transforming industries and how organizations can stay relevant.

Digital disruption is holding entire industries in a chokehold. Moreover, while the terms “disruption” and “digital transformation” have been buzzing over the past years, at present, we see that disruption goes beyond digital.  Companies such as Netflix, WhatsApp, Google, Airbnb, Uber and Amazon have completely transformed customer expectations by offering convenience, speed & efficiency. This has drastically altered customer expectations and behaviour.

The age of the new customer

Consumers today expect top notch service, quality products, speed, convenience, flexibility and affordable pricing. Customers have become more digital-savvy than ever before and – by consequence – they are more demanding. And this goes far beyond the above-mentioned qualities: conscious consumers expect corporates to take the lead in social responsibility and change the world for the better. This has put entire industries’ business models under pressure. Hence changing the way corporates must do business.

The world is changing, can you keep up the pace?

Now more than ever, it is of vital importance for corporates to listen to their market and to innovate, pivot or tweak their business model and strategy. They must keep their finger on the pulse if they want to survive the waves ahead. Digital disruption was only the beginning, it was the catalyst for the current and future changes. Customer expectations are an inherent part of what will steer companies in a new direction.

We tend to forget that the corporate impact on society is immense. They are one of the biggest contributors in regards to employment, economy (through taxes), and more. But, apart from that, corporates help form so many aspects of society as we know it. For example, there is a case to be made for Alibaba’s surge in China, its use of AI and the Chinese Government adding Artificial Intelligence into the high school curriculum.

If we want corporates to keep contributing to society we have to make sure that they can proactively tackle the challenges at hand in order to stay relevant. We should encourage and support them to move forward and adjust themselves to market changes to become future proof organisations.

The second wave: artificial intelligence, automation and the future job market

Companies acting in the name of progress impact the employment market to such a degree that the concept of “traditional careers” has come under pressure. This is the second wave: artificial intelligence and automation are technologies that will transform the nature of work and our workplaces profoundly. Machines will be able to carry out more complex tasks and perform them beyond what humans can do. As machines will complement the work that humans do, we will all need to acquire new skills and learn to work alongside the increasingly capable machine in the workplace to reap the benefits. Some traditional careers will decline, other new roles will grow and many more will disappear. But this is not doomsday. Professions have been disappearing for decades now, long before technology was at its peak. Remember the lamplighters and switchboard operators? Or librarians, travel agents, shoemakers and blacksmiths? It’s not all bad news. Over the past decade, dozens of new professions saw the light, such as social media managers, app developers, data analysts and more.  A recent report of tech giant Dell, claims that 85 percent of jobs that will be available in 2030 have not even been invented yet. Many of the traditional careers will be redefined as opposed to eradicated. A lot of skills can and will still be valuable and transferable to other roles.

Corporates have a social responsibility to invest in their employees through trainings and guide them towards new job roles. Flexibility and willingness to change careers will be key for employees as will be lifelong learning. Just like corporates who are responding to the fast market changes, employees will have to adjust and sharpen their skills to stay in the game. No profession has the certainty of eternity. Inevitably, professions disappear, sometimes gradually, sometimes at lightning speed. Be it due to globalisation, new technologies, automation or whichever evil disruptor you’d like to point the finger at.

About Duval Union Consulting

We are new-style management consultants focusing on transforming and growing organizations in a digital-first world with offices in Europe and the Middle East. New-style? Co-created business strategy, custom-made transformation trajectories and actual experienced business advisors are only some of our differentiators and why clients love to work with us. We design the future of your business together.

Click here to find out more on how we can help you make your company future proof

Proximus

Duval Union Consulting – Digital Digest

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Duval Union Consulting
Friday, 11 January 2019 / Published in Digital
Digital Digest

On a weekly basis we’ll highlight 4 articles that caught our attention while doing our research. We’ll show you key events or trends in the digital world that you shouldn’t have missed this week. All articles were gathered and processed in our Trendbase tool.


Albert Heijn first Dutch supermarket to start offering hot meal delivery

Albert Heijn

Supermarket chain Albert Heijn will start offering hot meal delivery from Friday – the first Dutch supermarket to do so. Initially Albert Heijn will only deliver freshly made meals in a certain area in Amsterdam. Deliveries will be handled by Thuisbezorgd.nl and Deliveroo, NU.nl reports.

“We see an increasing demand among our customers for good meals, like you would make yourself, without having to go into the kitchen”, said Marit van Egmond, Albert Heijn’s director of commerce. The company described this as the next step in food service.

Read more about the hot meal delivery by Albert Heijn here


Meet Caper, the AI self-checkout shopping cart

Meet Caper, the AI self-checkout shopping cart

The Amazon boogie-man has every retailer scrambling for ways to fight back. But the cost and effort to install cameras all over the ceiling or into every shelf could block stores from entering the autonomous shopping era. Caper Labs wants to make eliminating checkout lines as easy as replacing their shopping carts while offering a more familiar experience for customers.

The startup makes a shopping cart with a built-in barcode scanner and credit card swiper, but it’s finalizing the technology to automatically scan items you drop in thanks to three image recognition cameras and a weight sensor. The company claims people already buy 18 percent more per visit after stores are equipped with its carts.

Read more about Caper here


What are smart cities?

What Are Smart Cities?

Over half the world’s population currently lives in urban areas. By 2050, that number is expected to jump to 70%.

Along with a growing population, new challenges are emerging as cities look to improve everything from infrastructure to connectivity. Many see this as a viable business opportunity, developing technology to help cities efficiently provide proper foundation, energy, transportation, resources, jobs, and services to their residents.

As a result, cities are undergoing a digital transformation — that is, they are turning into “smart” cities.

Read more about the cities of the future here


Neutrogena will 3D print custom face masks based on buyers’ skin measurements

Neutrogena will 3D print custom face masks based on buyers’ skin measurements

Last year at CES, Neutrogena introduced an iPhone accessory — the Skin360 — that scans users’ faces to assess their skin condition and moisture levels. At this year’s show, the company is building off that device to create custom face masks through a new iOS app called MaskiD.

The Skin360 isn’t necessary to use the app, although Neutrogena says it’ll give a more accurate assessment of users’ skin needs. However, the app does rely on the TrueDepth camera in the iPhone X, XS, and XR to take a 3D image of users’ faces, the idea being that every mask is customized to fit each person. The eye slits match up with an individual user’s eyes, for example, as does the mouth opening.

Learn more about The Skin360 here


About Trendbase

Trendbase LogoAll trends were gathered and processed in Trendbase. Trendbase is a tool that helps you to gather and categorize industry trends, identify those trends and add context to them and to share that knowledge within your organization to inspire and educate people.

About Duval Union Consulting

We are new-style management consultants focusing on transforming and growing organizations in a digital-first world with offices in Europe and the Middle East. New-style? Co-created business strategy, custom-made transformation trajectories and actual experienced business advisors are only some of our differentiators and why clients love to work with us. We design the future of your business together.

Click here to find out more on how we can help you make your company future proof

Duval Union Consulting – Digital Digest

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Duval Union Consulting
Friday, 04 January 2019 / Published in Digital
Digital Digest

On a weekly basis we’ll highlight 4 articles that caught our attention while doing our research. We’ll show you key events or trends in the digital world that you shouldn’t have missed this week. All articles were gathered and processed in our Trendbase tool.


Amazon reportedly to expand Whole Foods stores

Amazon reportedly to expand Whole Foods stores

Amazon.com is planning to expand its Whole Foods Market portfolio by adding more stores to put more customers within its two-hour delivery service range, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing sources.

Whole Foods employees have visited regions of Western North America for potential retail spaces in parts of Idaho, southern Utah and Wyoming where it currently has no stores, the Journal reported, citing a source.

Read more about the expansion here


This clever AI hid data from its creators to cheat at its appointed task

artificial intelligence

Depending on how paranoid you are, this research from Stanford and Google will be either terrifying or fascinating. A machine learning agent intended to transform aerial images into street maps and back was found to be cheating by hiding information it would need later in “a nearly imperceptible, high-frequency signal.” Clever girl!

But in fact this occurrence, far from illustrating some kind of malign intelligence inherent to AI, simply reveals a problem with computers that has existed since they were invented: they do exactly what you tell them to do.

Read the whole article here 


This is how electric cars will transform our lives

A Tesla Model X vehicle is taken for a test drive at a Tesla electric car dealership in Sydney, Australia, May 31, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Reed - RC120BBF07D0

China, the world’s largest car market, is working on a timetable to stop the production and sale of vehicles powered by fossil fuels. India has declared its intention to make all new vehicles electric by 2030. Like Britain and France, these two markets are looking to phase out the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles over the next 20 years or so.

Vehicle manufacturers, the oil industry and governments are starting to wake up to the disruption that vehicle electrification could bring about. Even automakers recognise that they cannot afford to be legislated out of these lucrative markets.

Volvo, Jaguar and Land Rover, Volkswagen, Mercedes, Audi and BMW have all promised to roll out electric models over the next decade. Electro-mobility now seems inevitable, but the impact this shift will have on jobs, the oil economy and even national tax systems will be profound.

Read more about the impact of electric cars here


Automation will be the end of banks as we know them

bankclosed

The unbundling of the bank has begun.

Just 10 years ago, the average consumer had very few financial relationships and interacted with just one or two institutions to fulfill all of their financial needs. But fintech companies are breaking up the old guard by focusing on specific things that banks have done and simply doing them better. As a result, the average consumer now has numerous financial relationships, each with a clear-cut purpose.

Read more about the fintech revolution here


About Trendbase

Trendbase LogoAll trends were gathered and processed in Trendbase. Trendbase is a tool that helps you to gather and categorize industry trends, identify those trends and add context to them and to share that knowledge within your organization to inspire and educate people.

About Duval Union Consulting

We are new-style management consultants focusing on transforming and growing organizations in a digital-first world with offices in Europe and the Middle East. New-style? Co-created business strategy, custom-made transformation trajectories and actual experienced business advisors are only some of our differentiators and why clients love to work with us. We design the future of your business together.

Click here to find out more on how we can help you make your company future proof

•• 2018 in review ••

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Duval Union Consulting
Thursday, 03 January 2019 / Published in Digital
New Year Review

We at Duval Union Consulting wish you a happy New Year and may you realise all your goals and ambitions in 2019. Check out our year in review!


Food and Beverage BannerWith Nils van Dam on board we gathered brand new insights about the ever changing and heavily disrupted Food and Beverage industry. We summed them up in an ebook containing 9 key trends that define the future of Food and Beverage. If you’ve missed it, it’s still downloadable for free via this link.

We have some more ebooks in the pipeline for 2019, so stay tuned and follow us on our socials to stay up to date.


Christmas Card

There are 8 new additions to the team! We’re expanding and we plan on hiring some more people this year. Our main goals for 2019 are happy clients and  motivated employees.

This team of great minds and wonderful people is something we will continue to cherish in 2019!


Corporate Venturing bookNext to our ebook on food and beverage, we also launched a physical book called Corporate Venturing. Dado Van Peteghem teamed up with Omar Mohout from Sirris to launch their book worldwide. Over 1 500 copies were sold across the world and if you couldn’t get your hands on one yet, you can still order yours here http://corporateventuring.co/. Did you miss the official launch event? Check out the aftermovie here.


Dubai Chalhoub

Launching a brand new branch in Dubai was no easy feat, but Nick Vinckier and his team, Martial Dahan and Maelle Basselot, were able to successfully pull it off.

2018 was a great year, but there’s a lot more to come. Stay tuned to learn about our international adventures!


Banner Trendbase

In 2018 we made Trendbase happen. Trendbase is a tool that helps you to gather and categorize industry trends, identify those trends and add context to them and to share that knowledge within your organization to inspire and educate people. Send us an email if you want to know more about Trendbase or check out the website https://www.trendbase.io/

 

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