How 14 organizations are using intelligent connectivity to boost operational efficiency, improve the customer experience and create new business models for revenue growth.

For utilities organizations, providing a digitally enhanced customer experience and journey is essential to remain competitive in the world of new age energy prosumers.

Artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and the Internet of Things are gaining momentum across enterprise environments. By incorporating these technologies into their strategic agendas, organizations industry-wide can streamline processes, anticipate customers’ needs and behaviors in real time, stimulate profitable growth, and deliver experiences that live up to the promise of digital.

Using blockchain's distributed ledger, synchronized database and powerful encryption capabilities, along with its ability to generate smart contracts, retailers can gain early-mover advantage to more effectively collaborate and enhance trust across the value chain.

Digital platforms, applications and processes are rapidly changing how shipping and transportation companies operate. Our primary research study confirmed that while acknowledging the importance of a Web-based business model, many shipping companies are proceeding cautiously. Based on our analysis of the e-commerce market and the approaches that some companies are taking, we have defined a maturity framework to help shippers better assess their current capabilities and plan ahead.

For institutions in higher education, including those that rely on grants, procurement is traditionally a complex, decentralized process that consumes time and resources. By establishing an automated, integrated procurement platform (e-procurement) as part of an ERP-based supply chain, institutions can maximize the time and value of professors and principal investigators, make more funds available for research, and provide students with the level of education they seek.

The Work Ahead is a research series providing insight and guidance on how business – and jobs – must evolve in an economy of algorithms, automation and AI.

By eliminating intermediaries and by enabling smart contracts with embedded, trusted business rules, blockchain offers extraordinary opportunities for manufacturing on every level of the supply chain.  To profitably ride this wave of disruptive innovation, any stakeholder in the manufacturing value chain should be familiar with the basics and guidelines for proceeding.

Internet of Things (IoT) analytics presents manufacturers with a vast opportunity to drive revenues and enhance operations, from real-time analytics at the edge of technologies (consumer products, instrumented devices, manufacturing machines, etc.) through systems to evaluate and act on the plethora of detailed insights IoT provides. We offer a roadmap for manufacturers to pursue this crucial monetizing analytics opportunity.

As technology demands on logistics services providers (LSPs) become more intense, organizations are seeking to integrate or consolidate their third-part logistics (3PL) providers' solutions for tasks such as warehousing, inventory management, shipment management, cross-docking, order management, bar coding, analytics and far more. We offer a roadmap for selecting whether to make such a transition in logistics systems via a big bang or phased/pilot approach.