Issue 3 2022 The Innovative Company That’s Changing TheWorld Blue Beat Digital has evolved greatly since its founding in South Africa. Backed by inspirational figures like Elon Musk, it serves as no surprise that the company is on a mission to make a global impact, all the while serving clients with enthusiasm and integrity. The accolade of Most Outstanding Mobile Distribution Specialists 2022 – California is simply another title for the company to add to its flourishing inventory as it continues to expand and blossom.
Welcome to the March issue of Corporate Vision Magazine. A monthly publication dedicated to delivering the latest insight and news from across the corporate landscape. With a wide variety of businesses looking to make their mark on their industries, we take a closer look at the expert work that they do as they win some prestigious awards. At this point in the year we are still seeing the tone of 2022 unfold before our very eyes. It has been a rollercoaster ride so far – with many ups and downs. However, here are some auspicious businesses that are switching up the pace to create a more positive, sustainable, and optimistic world for all of us. One company that we’d love to mention here is our cover, Blue Beat Digital. Winning Most Outstanding Mobile Distribution Specialists 2022 – California, Blue Beat Digital has gained even more recognition for its efforts and unrivalled digital marketing and e-commerce in California. Offering the highest standard of service, Blue Beat Digital has truly made a name for itself and will continue to collect further awards in the future. This year will be particularly important for businesses as it will be a test to find the most resilient, respected, and innovative collectives that will lead us all to a more balanced life. The team at Corporate Vision wish you a very happy month ahead and we look forward to seeing you again for the next issue. Sofi Bajor, Editor Website: www.corporatevision-news.com AI Global Media, Ltd. (AI) takes reasonable measures to ensure the quality of the information on this web site. However, AI will not assume any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, correctness or completeness of any information that is available through this web site. If errors are brought to our attention, we will try to correct them. The information available through the website and our partner publications is for your general information and use and is not intended to address any particular finance or investment requirements. In particular, the information does not constitute any form of advice or recommendation by us or any of our partner publications and is not intended to be relied upon by users in making or refraining from making any investment or financial decisions. Appropriate independent advice should be obtained before making any such decision. Any arrangement made between you and any third party named in the site is at your sole risk and responsibility. Editorial Team Sif Brookes, Senior Editor | Sofi Bajor, Editor Daniel Long, Writer | Rebecca Scotland, Writer Gabriel Muers, Writer | Ashley-Francis Cox, Writer Amelia Walker, Writer Design Team Daniela Levinte, Graphic Designer Lauren Baldwin, Junior Graphic Designer
Issue 3 2022 3 Contents 4. News 6. Blue Beat Digital: The Innovative Company That’s Changing The World 8. Marvelution: Software For A Marvellous Future 10. Meotec: Motivation For Change 11. Boardsi: A Perfect Corporate Match 12. Advanced Commerce: The eCommerce Experience 13. JM Finn: Managing the Future 14. New Fruit Productions: Delivering Exceptional Video Production Solutions and Services 15. LocoMobi World Inc.: Moving the World 16. ZE PowerGroup Inc.: Best Data Management Software 2022 17. Progressive Air Group: Best Piston Engines & Parts Distributor 2022 18. nVIAsoft Corporation: The Epicentre of Biometric Technology Advancement 19. 3AI Ltd.: Intelligent Investing 20. Perfect Corp: Producing Perfection 21. SpryLyfe: Breath Of Life 22. Paracosma Inc: Visions Of The Future 23. CoSourcing Partners: Redefining HowWork Gets Done 24. emotion3D: Part Of The Solution 25. Winners’ Listings
4 Activeops Insights And Innovation Lab Delivers Ground-Breaking Research To Change The Future Of Workforce Optimisation The exciting, cutting-edge lab and experiments are set to rewrite the future of business operations by incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) into real-time operational data analysis. ActiveOps PLC, the leading provider of management process automation solutions, has announced the first output from its pioneering Insight and Innovations Lab. The lab has produced an algorithm that paves the way for true management process automation (MPA) by automating the way companies understand tasks and activities. The purpose of the Insight and Innovations Lab is to develop new MPA opportunities that will enable enterprise-level organisations to supercharge their operations. In this way, MPA allows organisational leaders to eliminate time-consuming data gathering and analysis, enabling them to focus on managing teams and deliver greater productivity and performance than ever before. ActiveOps established the Insights and Innovation Lab through a Knowledge Transfer Partnership with Henley Business School and Innovate UK, ‘Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency, part of UK Research and Innovation, a non-departmental public body funded by a grant-in-aid from the UK government. The work at the lab involves designing experiments and prototypes that analyse operations trends to challenge assumptions and find new ways of understanding operations, making it easier for operations managers to make decisions and take action. The research will contribute to improving technology that will boost employee productivity – such as the new prototype that has been developed to help organisations easily identify standard times of core tasks. Thanks to the innovative new algorithm the lab has created, ActiveOps customers will soon be able to establish standards for core work more effectively, so that they can forecast and plan with greater confidence, leading to even better results. Stuart Pugh, Chief Customer Officer, said, “Our first results from the lab are extremely exciting. Operations management is complex and, in turn, carries the bulk of the costs in a business. This new algorithm will eliminate the need for older time and motions studies, meaning our customers will establish the standards needed for core work more effectively. It will also mean that team leaders will have forecasting, planning, and even automation data. Only ActiveOps has the relationships, technology, and data to create these opportunities for enterprises to lead the future of operations.” ActiveOps is testing the prototype algorithm with a view to incorporating AI and ML into its software, enabling real-time analysis of operations data. Ian Carter, ActiveOps’ Product Director for ControliQ, said, “This is a really exciting development that will help improve the decisions managers make. Building this algorithm into our Workware+ suite of solutions means we can take data from many different places to get a complete view of the time it normally takes for people to complete an activity” Richard Jeffery, CEO and Founder of ActiveOps, said, “The work from the lab will address the demand we’re seeing for real-world AI analysis in business productivity. We are delighted to have had this opportunity to bring together a team of experts on this journey, helping us to continue to identify new efficiencies for our customers.”
Issue 3 2022 5 News Tech Tools Needed To Support Female Entrepreneurs As Three In Ten Struggle To MaintainWork Life Balance • Three in ten female business owners struggling to maintain work-life balance, despite 58% setting up their own business to make more time for their family and improve their work life balance. • Care commitments for dependents increased disproportionately for women during the pandemic when compared to male counterparts. • Three quarters of female entrepreneurs (74%) think tech tools – such as accountancy software or cloud software – would help them save time and free up thinking space, but 46% feel overwhelmed by choice available. • Free advisory services such as Mastercard’s Strive UK programme are crucial in supporting women access digital tools and free up time to focus on growing their business. New research with small business owners fromMastercard has found that female entrepreneurs felt the impact of the pandemic more acutely than their male counterparts, but despite this are more optimistic about the future, provided they have the right digital tools to help their business grow. The Strive Business Barometer found that female entrepreneurs are twice as likely to have started a business within the last two years during the pandemic (18%), compared to men (9%). Out of all the female entrepreneurs we surveyed, 58% said they were motivated to start a business to create a better work life balance and make more time for their families. Women were 19% more likely than men to cite this as a reason. Despite this, data shows that women have been more impacted by the pandemic when it comes to balancing their work and home lives. The Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurship 2021 found that women are almost three times more likely to be balancing care and home commitments than men, and this was exacerbated during the pandemic as the additional barriers of school closures and lockdowns meant that the care time of dependents rose significantly on a day-to-day level for women. It is perhaps no surprise then that three in ten (29%) female entrepreneurs say they are struggling to maintain a work-life balance, compared to 17% of men, and one in five (22%) say the stress of work during the pandemic has put a strain on relationships with family and friends. When considering the future success of their business, 32% of female entrepreneurs consider new technologies to be crucial and 74% believe they would help them save time and free up thinking space. But there are barriers that prevent them accessing digital tools, including uncertainty about which is best for their business (43%), too much choice when it comes to selecting which tool to use (46%), and security concerns (22%). There is a clear opportunity to support female entrepreneurs to access and use technology in a way that will help them to reach their full potential. When asked what support would most help them grow their business, one in five (22%) said support in accessing digital tools while four in ten (38%) said free advisory services. Mastercard is hoping to address both these points with Strive UK – a programme designed to help the UK’s micro and small businesses access the support and tools they need to succeed in the digital economy. The programme has a particular focus on supporting female business owners through free guidance, helpful tools, and personalised, one-to-one coaching. Kelly Devine, Division President, UK & Ireland at Mastercard, comments: “As history has proven time and time again, the perseverance, determination and grit of women – particularly women entrepreneurs – can never be underestimated. While the events of the past two years have been challenging for everyone, female business owners have had more to juggle than most. Despite this, they remain fiercely optimistic for the future, and it is crucial that we support them to reach their goals and fulfil their potential.” If female entrepreneurs have the tools to succeed, they will be able to reach their £1.2 billion* growth aspirations. Women are already feeling optimistic about the future – more so than their male counterparts. More than four in ten (43%) say they will grow their business in the next five years (compared to 34% of men), while they are around 30% less likely than men to plan to downsize or close their business. Karen Licurse, Managing Director at Digital Boost, comments: “Female business owners recognise the importance of digital tools when it comes to increasing productivity and achieving growth ambitions. But finding and implementing the right solutions can be time consuming and confusing, and end up adding to day-to-day pressures rather than lightening the load. Through the Strive UK programme, we’re delighted to provide personalised 1:1 expert support to help female leaders make the right choices for their business and seize the enormous potential that digital can bring.”
The Innovative Company That’s Changing TheWorld Blue Beat Digital has evolved greatly since its founding in South Africa. Backed by inspirational figures like Elon Musk, it serves as no surprise that the company is on a mission to make a global impact, all the while serving clients with enthusiasm and integrity. The accolade of Most Outstanding Mobile Distribution Specialists 2022 – California is simply another title for the company to add to its flourishing inventory as it continues to expand and blossom. Stemming from humble beginnings in South Africa, Blue Beat Digital has since become a leading digital marketing and e-commerce company based out of the United States. Be it selling some of the world’s most recognized mobile accessory brands, distributing SIM cards, or developing its own innovative mobile phone accessories, the company strives to provide quality. It is efficient, creative, and highly-skilled in marketing and sales, with the company’s founder Barry Taitz describing it as, ‘Thriving on the opening of digital doors, whether it be third party e-commerce sites or your own digital platform with the application of very different and unique marketing techniques. The objective is to capture the customer, and the brand essence on all the different platforms.’ Serving as a leader in the mobile distribution industry, Blue Beat Digital is constantly on the edge of market transformations. Indeed, it is simply a matter of ‘innovate or die,’ a phrase often used by Barry Taitz. This mindset has ensured the company’s success, allowing it to grow from a one-man, door-to-door sales company in South Africa to an industry titan. It infuses each aspect of the company, motivating the team to push for something more – for more success and, ultimately, a bigger and better future. As such, this has been further bolstered by Taitz’ philosophy on business, ‘it’s best not to be an oil tanker, but rather the tugboat. An oil tanker is heavy, slow, and hard to change its course in comparison to a tugboat which is small, nimble, fast, and very powerful and therefore able to change the course of its direction very quickly.’ In essence, this implies that in order to adapt and navigate an internationally-known business, it is best to be the tugboat. Within this analogy, Blue Beat Digital is, of course, the tugboat, adapting to industry changes and global crises to ensure its survival. Taitz, as the CEO, almost serves as a ‘tugboat’ within the wider ‘tugboat’ of the company. The well-recognized entrepreneur, innovator, and change agent guides Blue Beat Digital, evolving his leadership style in accordance with the company’s adaption, as these are interlinked to guarantee seamlessness and harmony. Henceforth, he no longer sees mistakes as errors, but as learning opportunities that have the potential to inspire and foster growth. Taitz, when talking about the challenges of his role, comments that, ‘As a CEO you are often in the limelight and expected to show direction, guidance, and inspiration therefore the margin for error is small.’ It is with this firmly in mind that he has implemented numerous boundaries that have allowed for the freedom of energy and time to tackle the company’s priorities and, consequently, remain ahead of the curve of innovation. Behind the company’s success lies multiple sources of inspiration, primarily Elon Musk, a fellow South African entrepreneur and inventor. Labelled as ‘challenging’ and a ‘daydreamer’ as a child, Musk has since become one of the richest people on the planet, founding companies such as Tesla, SpaceX, and The Boring Company. His inventions and investments have changed the world for the better, be it through promoting electric cars, or the exploration of the universe. In turn, Taitz found inspiration within Musk’s story, and endeavoured to expand his global business visions for the telecom industry based upon Musk’s success. Indeed, he recognised that Musk started out just like him and that if he can transform the world then anyone with grit and determination absolutely can. Consequently, this has become the company’s overarching mission – to change the world and acquire wealth. Whilst at first this may sound self-serving, Taitz believes that wealth is for the greater good. Through Blue Beats Digital, he has found an outlet to be creative and a game-changer, which then results in a steady income stream. In turn, he holds the opinion that having wealth amplifies the person that you are, and that if you live with abundance, you can share and distribute your wealth and services. As a result, having the ability to give and decide who you help everyday makes you a better person, and is the true measure of success. Henceforth, Blue Beat Digital is an entirely client-centric business. It places the customer as the number one priority, as they are the driving force behind the business, and are the ones that guarantee the company’s longevity. Searching for common ground between itself and the client, Blue Beat Digital intends on forging relationships with each and every client that uses its services. Additionally, it takes customer feedback to heart, viewing it as a way to positively change and enhance the company. In certain cases, the initial impulse can be to react, yet the company chooses to step back and evaluate before offering a response. It is imperative for the team to demonstrate gratitude and appreciation for the feedback, as this often results in a revitalised performance mindset for our dealers who are the custodians for the company’s distribution network. This is an exceptional benefit in such an industry. Complimented by efficiency and quality, Blue Beat Digital has cultivated a method to capture and hold the attention of its customers. Further, it does this through understanding and recognising how to communicate to its market and, in turn, evolving them from a once off purchase to a loyal customer. This ability has enabled Blue Beat Digital to thrive within a busy and overly-saturated market as it can effectively cut through the noise to strike the minds of clients. On the contrary, the Covid-19 pandemic threatened businesses around the globe, forcing many to enter periods of closure. It was Blue Beat Digital’s devotion to adaptation that kept the company afloat through this turbulent time – it turned towards selling and distributing PPE across the United States. Furthermore, Blue Beat Digital launched a “million mask contribution challenge,” which received a great amount of support and was a success. As an immigrant with a plethora of global connections, Taitz viewed this crisis as an opportunity to benefit the lives of American people. 2022 is set to be a fruitful year for Blue Beat Digital. Numerous plans are coming to life over the next year, namely the empowerment of more individuals in order to secure a wider range of deals. Moreover, the company hopes to continue its efforts within the sponsorship of events, with one of its current ventures being the sponsorship of drifting race events across different continents. However, the company’s guiding mission – the one that it truly hopes to pursue – is to share and distribute resources and knowledge with as many businesses as possible. Contact: Nicky Slom Company: Blue Beat Digital Web Address: https://bluebeatdigital.com/
Issue 3 2022 7 Is 3
Software For A Marvellous Future Marvelution is a software company that simplifies Jenkins Integration in Jira and is predominantly focused on saving time for its clients. Built by Mark Rekveld, the firm has gone from strengthto-strength recently, culminating as it is recognised as 2022’s Leading Open-Source Software Development Specialists –Netherlands in the Corporate Vision Awards 2022. Based approximately 20 kilometres outside Amsterdam, Marvelution is a software development shop that grew from an open source software hobby project and focusses on the Jenkins Integration for Jira app. The goal of the app is to make the integration of Jenkins in Jira as easy as possible whilst providing insight into the results of Jenkins and its relation to Jira issues. Jira software is used for issue tracking and project management by more than 180,000 customers in around 190 countries, and Mark’s pioneering app has seen approximately 3,000 installs, and counting, to date. Some of the organisations that have used Jenkins Integration for Jira at some point in time have used it for bug-tracking and project management. These include big names, such as IBM, Dell, Fujitsu, Hewlett Packard, and the National Bank of Canada. “I built Jenkins Integration for Jira initially to solve my own problem,” explains the firm’s Founder, Mark Rekveld. “I felt the integration process between Jenkins and Jira was inefficient and I thought there must be an easier way to work with Jenkins builds in Jira. Turns out I was not alone.” Mark has a senior software engineer background as well as being an experience designer and solution architect, creating and building from small open source software to large enterprise applications. Mark initially focused on Java software development following gaining a Bachelor’s degree in informatics and his company started out as a way for Mark to share his coding work with the world. What began very much as an interest for Mark has since grown into a small, yet highly successful, company that provides software development consulting and development of its own software be it open or closed source. “It has never been one magic thing,” he elaborates. “It is many little things I have added over time which I have learned with the help of the Jenkins and Jira communities.” Thanks to the help of the Jenkins community of Jira users, Mark has steadily improved Jenkins Integration for Jira. What began very much as an umbrella open-source project in 2007, has led to a journey of success stories. The initial app for Jira for Hudson integration, one of Mark’s very first projects, launched on the Atlassian Marketplace in 2009 then, in 2013, Jenkins Integration for Jira went live on the Atlassian Marketplace. Such was its overwhelming success that Mark was able to establish Marvelution as a company in its own right in 2015. Regarding clientele, Mark tells us that anyone that develops software using Jira and Jenkins is a potential customer. This can be from the smallest one-man hobbyist to the largest international corporations, banks, and governments. “I try to be as open, honest and direct as possible with customers and treat all of them the same no matter the revenue they generate,” Netherlands-based one-man band Mark elaborates, “I still do all the development and customer service myself. I’m active in the open-source community and, more generally, I enjoy coding to solve problems. “This is a reason I personally deal with all support requests; I like helping users as they help me build things I’m happy with.” By putting his customers first, he has developed software that truly helps those around him. He has become a shining example of what it means to be client-focused. Recently, Mark’s company was recognised for its hard work by being bestowed with the prestigious accolade of 2022’s Leading OpenSource Software Development Specialists – Netherlands by Corporate Vision and, whilst Mark’s biggest challenge is making sure the cloud app, Jenkins Integration for Jira, can accommodate the ever-growing demand. He has no definite plans regarding the future other than to keep having fun developing new features and assisting his dedicated customer base. Mark concludes, “I shall just continue to focus on turning my hobby into a company and keep providing software development services, next to supporting the existing open source projects, that have made Marvelution into what it is today.” Contact Details Contact: Mark Rekveld Company: Marvelution Web Address: https://marvelution.com Jan22181 “I built Jenkins Integration for Jira initially to solve my own problem,” explains the firm’s Founder, Mark Rekveld. “I felt the integration process between Jenkins and Jira was inefficient and I thought there must be an easier way to work with Jenkins builds in Jira. Turns out I was not alone.”
Issue 3 2022 9 2
Jan22429 Motivation For Change MEOTEC is an operational consulting firm that assists its clients in the management of their projects and transformations. MEOTEC secures the success of projects by providing method and operational resources, adapted, and committed. We talk to its CEO and Founder, Richard Caron, to find out more about the company as it surpasses its competitors and wins Best European Operational Consulting Firm 2022. As operational relays between management committees and the various technical professions, our consultants assist our clients in translating strategic decisions into operational action plans and then in project management. “I created MEOTEC in 2005, driven by the desire to make it a unique and recognized player in the consulting market. Since then, MEOTEC has been developing its activity with its customers in France and abroad,” says Richard Caron CEO and Founder of MEOTEC. “Our offer has found its place in an increasingly competitive market that is undergoing profound transformation. It has demonstrated its relevance in all sectors of activity, with structures of all sizes and companies of all cultures. It has managed to retain many customers who have detected an effective tool to serve their objectives at a very early stage.” Thanks to selective recruitment, a strong service culture and rigorous management, MEOTEC’s business model has proven its robustness in the face of ups and downs, cycles, and market downturns. It has also made its mark in the various professions the firm practices in, from PPM to Purchasing, from logistics to management control, from quality to IT project management. Finally, the company attracts both young and experienced managers who find demanding projects in a variety of environments to develop their skills. MEOTEC’s consultants have the possibility to take initiatives to develop internal projects, but also new offers or new locations. Thus, MEOTEC now has six branches, two sector brands, SOWING and LUCA, four business brands, CRISTAL DECISIONS, MASAI, ADVEN Transition Management, and CADELE HR Consulting. And it is not over, its DNA is entrepreneurial. Key figures: • 50 M€ in sales • + 4 000 completed projects • 33 average age • +240 active clients • 500 collaborators MEOTEC has a team of 500 close-knit, passionate, and determined employees, overflowing with projects and who are living its transformation in France and abroad. Its character and strength are based on: • A high level of requirement and professionalism in an atmosphere that is nevertheless resolutely relaxed and human, • The proximity of the employees combined with a lot of energy, support, and mutual help, • The development of staff talents, listening to their desires and ambitions, • The pride of participating in this project that makes the team grow together. • Undertake, grow and flourish The source of motivation is to be found in action, based on six values: • The culture of growth that drives it to investigate new horizons. • The search for progress both within the company and with its customers. • Team spirit, collective intelligence, caring and recognition. • The will to undertake and to give oneself the means to transform oneself, permanently. • A taste for good and beautiful things, conviviality. • The commitment to succeed with dynamic and talented teams. The proposal of three modes of intervention: • In consulting for the realization of diagnoses and the formulation of recommendations to improve the performance of customers on MEOTEC’s trades. • In operational assistance to strengthen customers’ operational system with the contribution of a competent, equipped and committed team. • In outsourcing or BPO to take charge of all or part of a client’s operations, whether in a “project platform” organization, service center, or even on a time-sharing basis. “Our business model had proved its robustness; all we must do now is to deploy this solution in other places around the world. It can mean other cities in countries we are already exist such as Strasbourg, Bordeaux, Toulouse in France, or in new countries such as Canada, Germany, Morocco, Luxembourg, or the Netherlands.” The year 2021 saw MEOTEC reach maturity levels and Richard explains that it has now entered a stabilization mode in both revenue and growth. The main objective for the firm now is to stay true to its expertise but to diversify its source of income around the world meaning that France will only count as 40% of the overall revenue. “Meotec is like a family, I still remember the days it used to be a baby, then when it learned to walk on its own,” enthuses Richard as he elaborates on his journey to success. “I even remember the time when it went through the adolescence crises in 2012/2013 where we had fast growth and change and needed order and maturity.” Now, the firm’s focus for the future is to attain a critical consultant number of 1,000 and Richard’s plan involves reaching this target before 2025 purely based on organic growth, however with external growth thrown into the mix Richard foresees this number being attained in much less time. Contact: Richard Caron Company: Meotec Web Address: www.meotec.com
Issue 3 2022 11 Contact: Lisa Williams Company: Boardsi Web Address: https://boardsi.com/ Jan22410 A Perfect Corporate Match Board Member Recruitment does not have to be complicated. Indeed, Boardsi is simplifying the board recruitment process, making the process quick and easy for both board member seekers and companies. From start-ups to Fortune 500 companies, Boardsi is there to offer support, taking over the recruitment process so that companies can get to the important stuff. Here we take a closer look as it wins Most Outstanding Executive Board Recruitment Platform – 2022. Boardsi is revolutionising the way companies think and communicate, and through its innovative methods is providing executives with advisory and corporate board positions. Moreover, through utilising ground-breaking technology, human connection, and Boardsi exclusive private network, Boardsi is aiding companies with their growth, aiming to be a solution provider, no matter the size of the company or the industry. Whether the company is looking to expand their board of advisors, directors or are trying to acquire funding, Boardsi is there to provide step-by-step guidance, expert advice, and recruitment options. Working with a diverse range of clients, Boardsi focuses upon executives and companies. For example, the company’s work with executives aims to simplify the recruitment process, making it easier for executives to be able to search for job roles, apply for positions that are the right fit, and connect with thousands of prestigious companies. The company’s Boardsi works with, range from start-ups to mid-size and Fortune 500 companies. Furthermore, Boardsi updates the available positions on a daily basis and currently hosts over 8,300 opportunities. In terms of the services available for companies, Boardsi reduces the recruitment process down to three easy steps – filling out a form, undertaking a 20-minute phone call, and the opportunity being advertised on its platform. Within such a company, transparency is vital. Boardsi prides itself on its openness, honesty, and clear communication, believing that these are vital traits for a successful recruitment company. It is with this firmly in mind that Boardsi has designed its internal culture to promote efficiency, and the team is expected to work together effectively, prioritising collaboration and innovation. Respect, of course, is a key theme within the company – not only for each other, but also with the clients. Indeed, the company takes a client-centric approach, which is reflected through Boardsi’s numerous testimonials and reviews. As Karen L. Founder of Birthways mentions “Building an advisory board was a new step for me as a founder. After many years as an expert in my industry, I am building an industry innovation and rapidly growing our reach and impact. I credit my advisory board for supporting me in establishing the foundation I need as an expanding leader, and for contributing valuable insights that informed our strategic plan. We’ve only begun to utilize the incredible talent and experience of our board members and already I can see how intregal they will be to maintaining our momentum. Boardsi made it easy for us to find exceptionally qualified and experienced leaders to round out our team and their support was extremely helpful and ‘hands on’.” Unsurprisingly, the company has attracted executive talent from companies like Virgin Hotels, Starbucks Coffee, Southwest Airlines, 24 Hour Fitness, Micron, Microsoft and many others – a feat which can only be attributed to the excellent service it provides. The upcoming year sees major growth plans for the company, including the opening of new offices and the hiring of new staff. In turn, this growth will aid Boardsi as the demand for its services continues to grow. However, the company’s key goal for 2022 is to continue helping executives connect with companies, optimising the recruitment process.
Jan22273 The eCommerce Experience Merchandising platform, GrapheneHC by Advanced Commerce, uses revolutionary new software that allows clients to control product sequencing, searching, and recommendations within its online store. André Brown of Advanced Commerce tells us in his own words what has led the company to winning Best End-to-End Online Merchandising Platform – 2022. The paradox of choice states the more choice we have as consumers, the harder it is to make a decision. As we have entered the digital age, there has been an explosion of choice – the physical boundaries and constraints of floor space in a shop are removed online and in a bid to offer great service and grow revenues, more and more choice have been offered, and this is making it harder and harder for consumers to make decisions. Merchandising in the online world is really about controlling the product display sequence. This is a retailer’s way of helping shoppers navigate the paradox of choice by showing relevant products that a customer would like instead of trying to show every product in the catalogue. Let’s face it, if you have a product catalogue of 3,000 products we know there is no chance of a customer viewing all of them. “Shoppers’ attention spans are short, so the decisions we make about what to show first in any and every part of our online stores is becoming increasingly important,” explains André Brown. This type of merchandising happens all the time in a brick and mortar store. They are carefully laid out making sure the right blend of products based on price, stock level, popularity etc are displayed throughout the store, and the last 18 months have really emphasised the need for this kind of merchandising online. André says with regards to the pandemic and to the influx of custom, “We have had a monumentally seismic event in COVID that has driven online sales with lockdowns preventing store visits, and then ongoing restrictions all adding to consumers deciding to shop online instead. I saw some statistics that stated there has been something like 40% year on year increase in online orders and that has driven attention to online merchandising as retailers realise they are taking a lot more money online and they need to manage the customer experience effectively or lose the sale. And retailers are finding as they merchandise their online store and they take control of their product curation it has a waterfall effect on things like conversion rate, average order value, volume of orders, and even returns and cancelled orders.” Most merchandising platforms work on a one dimensional ‘boost or bury’ logic - boosting items that are popular to the top of the page and ‘burying’ unpopular items, but this logic makes the assumption we all like the same thing and it makes it extremely difficult for new items to gain popularity. “Our platform allows retailers to use a blend of attributes such as popularity, margin, availability, trending, price etc to determine their product sequencing. It is computationally complex to do this quickly in real time, which is why most technologies out there use really simple merchandising techniques like boost or bury, but we have solved the complex nature of this and are able to do it really quickly, giving average page load speeds of below 100ms. I think that the question ‘how do we offer better online experiences to our customers’ is really accelerating the growth in eCommerce technologies and headless commerce is allowing retailers to connect the best technologies to their current eCommerce platform which is why GrapheneHC has been built to connect with any eCommerce platform,” André adds. The question ‘how do we offer better online experiences’ also drives right to the solution of the paradox of choice. Merchandising our online stores is a start, but it doesn’t solve the paradox of choice, it merely changes the products that are displayed to the customer. The solution to the paradox of choice is using merchandising to show customers the products they want. Those that are really navigating the paradox of choice, those that are truly giving the best online experiences ensure their online stores and brick and mortar stores treat their customers the same and have a merchandising strategy taking into account everyone is different, using personalisation tools to change the product display sequencing based on the user, or user decisions. Ultimately, this is what GrapheneHC does. It gives retailers all the tools they need to visually merchandise their online store and provide a curated product display sequence that is personalised to the shopper, meaning customers find the right product quickly and easily, which in turn has a waterfall effect on increasing conversions, average order values and revenue. We have built GrapheneHC to become the gold standard of online merchandising and it outperforms competition in speed, breadth of functionality and price. GrapheneHC is a merchandising Rolls Royce for the price of a motorbike and with this – amongst many other things – is driving the company forward. Contact: Martin Adams Company: Advanced Commerce Web Address: https://advancedcommerce.io
Issue 3 2022 13 Jan22077 Managing the Future Finding a wealth management firm you can trust is no small feat. However, JM Finn is a leading wealth management firm, with offices across the UK. Its focus is on delivering a highly personalised wealth management service for their clients, which has been evident since its initial foundation in 1946. Here we take a closer look as it wins Best Wealth Management Firm 2022 – United Kingdom. Founder John Finn, a commodities broker, recognised that company ownership as an investor would likely become more widespread, so he bought a stockbroking firm with roots dating back to the 19th century and instilled in the firm a legacy of client service, trust and foresight. These traits are still integral to the business and have been instrumental in shaping today’s wealth management service and go some way to explaining the exceptional client satisfaction they recieve. In 2021, after 29 years managing portfolios, with the last 14 at JM Finn as an investment director managing over £500m of client assets, JM Finn appointed Hugo Bedford as CEO. An area of focus for Hugo has been on growing the business and he is keen to emphasise that JM Finn will not grow for growth’s sake and taking a measured approach is essential to ensure the firm’s extremely high service levels are not compromised. During his first year at the helm, Hugo has made some changes to the leadership team and has overseen a reorganisation of the investment management supervisory structure. In addition, he has implemented a successful tariff review across the client base, overseen the firm’s office move and the implementation of its agile working policy. Staff play an integral role in the success of JM Finn with a very clientfocused approach to each and every member of the team’s day-to-day working lives. In terms of recruitment, the company looks for relevant industry experience, a good academic background and enthusiastic, motivated characteristics. Additionally, it measures candidates against its values of accountability (standing up for actions and encouraging independent thought), integrity (maintaining moral principles when striving for success) and respect (looking at the impact of decisions on staff and clients). When the Covid-19 pandemic began, the team wanted to emerge stronger from the lockdowns by adhering to the core company values and continued vision of being the trusted investment manager of choice for private clients and their advisers. Focussing on what it does best, living up to its clients’ expectations and ensuring the well-being of its people, allowed JM Finn to increase assets under management, the key metric of its success over the course of the pandemic, to £11.8 bn (surpassing £11 bn for the first time) as of December 31st, 2021, bringing in more than £750 m of new business. JM Finn have continued to provide their clients with insights into market commentary. They held two conferences in 2021, with over 600 attendees and with options to attend both in person and virtually. Recently, JM Finn was recognised in the Corporate Vision Awards and named Best Wealth Management Firm 2022 in the United Kingdom. This prestigious accolade is testament to the commitment and hard work that Hugo and the team put in during such testing times. Regarding the future, the company is looking to broaden its client proposition by enhancing its wealth planning proposal and aims to do this by continuing to embed it into its core offering, reviewing its risk profiling, identifying more effectively which clients may benefit from advice, making its wealth planning offering more scalable and broadening the existing advice offering. Contact Details Contact: Katie Deacon Company: JM Finn Web Address: www.jmfinn.com
Client centricity too plays a role – as it must do for all those operating in this highly competitive arena. With over a decade of experience and an extremely impressive network of media talent, New Fruits has the background, resources and expertise to recognise the vision behind blue-sky and fully-realised ideas equally. The team also work diligently to understand the brand behind the company, allowing for video productions that feel, top to bottom, like the organisation it represents. That is something that is so often overlooked by many others in the industry – driven by big ideas that miss the mark, regardless of production value or talent. In this way, New Fruits remains ahead of many others in the industry – a pacesetter, leading the way for others to follow. New Fruit Productions Website: https://newfruit.co.uk/ Telephone: 0117 369 0556 Jul21813 Delivering Exceptional Video Production Solutions and Services Following New Fruit Production’s well-deserved recognition in the Media Innovator Awards as the Best Video Production Agency in Southwest England, we endeavoured to explore how this company has secured an almost peerless reputation in the sphere. Visual media is a potent tool for those that know how to use it. Indeed, in the world of social media, viral content is overwhelmingly visual, shared from person to person for maximum exposure. On top of this, video production is an artform, with the very best in the industry adhering to extraordinary quality productions that exceed all expectations. It’s safe to say that New Fruit Productions has certainly secured such a reputation. Born on a solid foundation defined by creativity, innovation and smart solutions, New Fruit has built a client base of large corporations, such as GE, LUSH, EY and GlaxoSmithKline, among many others. This is also in part to the company’s strong belief in cost-effective results, adopting a lean approach that ensure that extra hands are only brought in should the project need it. This adaptability has long been considered a trademark, allowing New Fruit to take on projects and clients of all sizes and in all industries. Because, above of else, the company is driven by that all too important “outside the box” thinking. They do things differently, to put it simply. “We create videos that sell, teach and inspire.” - New Fruit Productions “Our content is always aligned with your goals”
Issue 3 2022 15 Jan22619 Moving the World LocoMobi World Inc. (LWI) is a smart tech company specialising in intelligent and secure automated vehicle management and monetisation solutions, and its goal is to move people and vehicles more efficiently and frictionlessly via its WorldStream platform as part of any carbon reducing and environment targets. Recognised by Corporate Vision as Most Innovative Smart City Solutions Provider 2022 – Canada, we take a closer look at the company. LocoMobi World Inc. reads vehicle DNA, including license plates and smart phones as vehicles drive through smart cities, and moves them to its transportation infrastructure, of which the WorldStream platform is the epicentre, where services are provided for parking, tolling, transit, storage, asset tracking and threat management. Helping clients to reach their vision is LMI’s main goal, and to do this, it partners with companies and organisations with similar goals. Among its clients are Tridel (largest national builder in Canada), Aspen Ridge, Minto, ADI, Saroukian Group, Sher Corp, and many more developers, Casino Niagara for parking management and hospitality, Prince Rupert, BC and city of Ventura, CA for municipal parking and vouchering, and smart building solution providers such as SmartOne and CityLink. These companies benefit from live real-time digital audit, reporting, alerts, and auto-dispatch/enforcement. Users can manage every vehicle application from tenants to office to deliveries to shoppers to parkers. Seamless handsfree access for tenants means ease for admins to manage and maintain, and enables re-authorisation/reservation of visitors with the ability to monetise parking with built-in credit yield management, as well as captures and enforces tailgating, and provides the ability to verify vehicles during a patrol from any smart device instantly. From algorithms and analytics to deep thinking and artificial intelligence, LMI’s innovative cloud solutions are industry-leading. This begins with ALPR, where the company boasts having the highest read rates of 99.9% on compliant plates. Built-in comprehensive redundancies provide the convenience of a single touch to one’s phone for vehicles with unreadable plates. LMI’s virtual intercom solution eliminates the need for a physical intercom, providing greater convenience and security for the driver. LMI’s “computer vision” continues to “learn” and develop additional DNA so users can access double or triple authentication as far as identifying the make, model, year and colour of the vehicle. This creates true peace of mind for the tenant, ease of operation for security/property management, and the optimal customer experience for visitors. The company matches this with its award-winning payment systems where revenue management is needed from Pay by Phone to payment kiosks. Within the company, it’s all about its people. They are the talent that takes the vision to reality. When LMI recruits, it looks for the entrepreneurial spirit, knowledge, good core values, and excitement about life in general. Its internal culture is its biggest asset; the team is a family and pushes each other to be the best and meet the visions and demands of partners and clients. And like any disruptive technology company, its team faces big challenges in making the potential client understand the company’s vision and mission. CEO, Grant Furlane commented, “My only anxiety is, are we staying ahead? Will some super intelligent entrepreneur release a new programme working out of his home that is truly a reality? So, we act the same: each day, we review and look at what we can do for our customers, as well as see what social media is saying. “In the end, you must be ahead of the game. This needs more than an entrepreneur; it needs a creative team that have experience both in best development practices and an understanding of the marketplace.” With regards to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was indeed a tough situation for everyone, so LMI had to look first at how to keep its own people and others safe, and then what to do in terms of its growth strategy in a very difficult environment. Given the world was looking for “frictionless” technologies, the company realised that it had what people wanted already by using license plates and handsfree mobile platforms. It had the ability to interact with locked down tenants and businesses and to move them seamlessly in and out of their homes and businesses. Now focused on the future of LMI, Grant told us, “I think many of us who are using quantum computing development will advance as we figure out how to protect and capitalise on the whole quantum galaxy. This will no doubt determine how blockchain is secured and grows. We have robots, wearables and other great introductions coming in 2022. It never stops.” Grant will also continue to host LMI’s podcast, The SmartCity.Blog, alongside infamous radio personality/media broadcaster, Alan Cross, where they discuss topics relating to smart cities. Grant concludes, “Our story and how we transform Toronto/GTA beyond the building and assist with connecting and moving not just vehicles but people in a more effective yet rewarding method… our story is just beginning! We see this as a template for every city in Canada, USA, and Mexico, where we are now active.” Company: LocoMobi World Inc. Contact: Grant Furlane Email: [email protected] Website: www.locomobiworld.com
Feb22154 Best Data Management Software 2022 Established in 1995, ZE’s sole purpose is to help organisations that are data-driven to be more efficient through end-to-end data automation and superior services with ZEMA™, a comprehensive platform for data management, automation and integration for energy and commodities markets. ZE also provides a full range of support and professional services ensuring success across all data needs. ZEMA is available on premise, as a cloud solution, Software as a Service, or Data as a Service. ZE is internationally recognised as a leading software development and professional services organisation in data management. With the company enjoys a global presence in the broad spectrum of energy, commodities, and finance companies. ZE serves clients of all sizes including significant representation amongst Fortune 500 corporations. The ZEMA software developed by ZE serves traders, risk managers, business analysts, operators and back-office staff that have critical dependency on accurate, timely data and the complex associated workflows. ZE stands out from the competition due to the breadth and scalability of ZEMA. The company maintains its best of breed advantage by focusing relentlessly on assisting clients to maximise their return on investment, mitigating data associated risks, improving time to market and ensuring actionable insights. ZE is very much customer centric and places emphasis engagement and support. ZE has built a wondrous and diverse team of over 200 employees who harmoniously work together, collectively speaking 24 languages, to serve clients across the globe. The company’s leadership strategy and vision and have led to achieving continued success within the high-tech community and accolades within the industries served. With the COVID-19 pandemic, ZE was one of the first in British Columbia to implement a work from home environment for all employees globally. The success of the remote working environment at ZE has given the ability to roll out a hybrid workplace, or an option to work remotely, thereby transforming the company’s culture to greater connectivity, collaboration, and increased employee engagement. Alongside ZE having to adapt its own working environment due to the pandemic, it also had to accommodate its product to client in response to accelerating data in the cloud plans and data-driven organisations adopting or ramping up multi-cloud strategies while placing more workloads and data into the cloud. ZE undertook initiatives and expanded the high-performance ZE Cloud and ZEMA hosting solutions to address clients’ increased needs for cloud solutions. In this time, we added two new highly performant European data centres in Germany and the Netherlands whilst upgrading the infrastructure of the Canadian data centres. The refreshed and new hardware in all data centres is the latest available and highly scalable for growth. Resultantly, ZE has experienced record sales wins, upsell to the cloud, and new opportunities for 2020, 2021 and 2022. The ZE Cloud has also been recognised in awards as best in private cloud technology for two years in a row. By using ZE Cloud and ZEMA, the company’s clients can realize 50%-70% in license and operations costs and are able to undertake missioncritical informed decisions in seconds, as opposed to hours or days. Speaking about their experience of using ZE Cloud and ZEMA, Puget Sound Energy said, “ROI revealed with the implementation: Although it is hard to put a price tag on the benefits, the rough estimate is about 200% per year from eliminating manual and non-standardised process. More importantly, it provides efficiency, reduces human error, standardises methodology, and provides the data security that any client would like to have.” To support in providing the best experience possible, ZE created a Customer Advisory Board (CAB) where the overall mission is to help direct product roadmap aligning ZEMA and ZE’s service strategy to customer requirements and market trends. CAB is comprised of ZE clients who share their “real world” experiences and provide feedback on where their organisations are moving and how they see ZE products and services growing to meet their needs. ZE is built on the foundation of trust and transparency. The company has taken great efforts to ensure that client, data vendor and technology partner information and data are fully protected by adopting a posture that SOC 1 Type 2 compliant. ZE staff are required to take security and governance online tutorials on a regular basis to maintain their knowledge. Having been immensely successful thus far and with a future that looks equally as bright, ZE has laid out an ambitious multi-focused growth strategy for 2022. This includes continually growing its customer base for the energy and commodity sector, as well as capturing new markets such as mining and metals, renewable energy, supply chain, shipping and maritime in Europe and Asia. Ultimately, ZE is committed to remaining the absolute leader in data management. Company: ZE PowerGroup Inc. Contact: Michelle Mollineaux Email: [email protected] Website: www.ze.com
www.cv-magazine.comRkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTQxNTg3MQ==