business efficiency Archives - Page 3 of 4

7Apr

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Business, South Africa News

How cost cutting can help SMEs grow

Reducing the cost of supplies, inventory or business operations is common practice amongst many small business owners. Not preserving enough cash could land a business in deep waters and in need of a lifeline. For business owners, curbing your expenditure is a practical way to improve your cash flow without incurring risk to your business. According to Trevor Gosling, Co-founder and CEO of Lulalend – financing partner to South Africa’s small- to medium-enterprises (SMEs), spending countless hours worrying about your business finances is time wasted and could be best spent strategizing realistic solutions. Gosling explains that by creating a well-documented plan to engage in a cost-reduction strategy is essential. “Map out any areas in your business that could do with an overhaul or cost re...

6Apr

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Business, Medicine, South Africa News

Clean Air Crucial for Curbing COVID-19 Spread and Upping Productivity in Workplaces. Four Ways Clean Air is Better for Business

South Africa is bracing itself for a third COVID-19 wave. According to scientists, this is due to the slow start to the vaccination programme and relaxed level 1 restrictions. Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has stated that: “If that third wave comes, it should be managed (in such a way) that we keep the economy going and protect lives.” “To this end, employers need to ensure that they fulfil their moral and legal obligation of providing a safe and healthy workplace for their staff,” says Koen Van Wynendaele, Daikin South Africa Managing Director. He continues: “There is growing evidence that COVID-19 infection can occur from airborne exposure to the virus, particularly in enclosed spaces with poor ventilation[i]. With this in mind, employers need to consider the air quality of their workpla...

17Mar

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Business, Tech

AVEVA and SHELL Provide Perspective on How Industry 5.0 Will Connect Human Elements to Smart Production

Shell’s Veteran Strategist, Brent Kedzierski Advocates Mass Personalization and Greater Workforce Collaboration as Keys to Industry 5.0. Leaders from AVEVA, a global leader in engineering and industrial software, and the Shell Oil Company joined forces to discuss the future of Smart Production recently. Brent Kedzierski, Head of Learning Strategy and Innovation at Shell and AVEVA’s Vice President for Process & Simulation Ian Willetts explored how more personalized solutions will empower workers to take greater control over their work experiences creating, more adaptive, on demand experiences which will increase worker confidence, resulting in greater workforce creativity, autonomy and performance. According to Kedzierski, “Industry 5.0 will be characterized by mass personalization and...

2021 will demand continued user experience and change management focus according to e4

9Mar

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Fintech, Tech

2021 will demand continued user experience and change management focus according to e4

A dogged commitment to change execution is how businesses will survive in 2021, according to Grant Phillips CEO of fintech specialist, e4. He says the Covid-19 pandemic wreaked industry-wide havoc, the headwinds of which will continue to blow for years to come, leaving businesses in an almost permanent state of evolution and change. “Despite the negative impact of Covid-19 we have seen several unique responses to the extraordinary challenge it created. This has led to many new opportunities and with it, ingenuity and creativity across several sectors. Macro-economic responses like interest rate management, changes in consumer buying behaviour, reduced local and global mobility, and a worldwide shift to low/no touch engagement all have very different, but marked impacts on many industries g...

Cisco Small Business Partner Summit to Explore Growth Opportunities Across MEA

1Mar

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Events, Tech

Cisco Small Business Partner Summit to Explore Growth Opportunities Across MEA

Changing Market Conditions and Strategic Priorities for the Sector to be Showcased During Regional Event Cisco’s Small Business Partner Summit is taking place virtually this week, outlining the importance and growth potential of the small business sector across the Middle East and Africa. Small businesses account for 44% of all IT spending and continue to outpace traditional enterprise growth. On Tuesday 2nd March, summit attendees will be provided with insights into Cisco Designed – a tailor-made portfolio which delivers simple, secure and flexible products, available at competitive price points to help small businesses to thrive. Participants will also learn about Cisco’s Partner Programs, incentives and rewards to expand their own business offerings, while simultaneously empowering smal...

16Feb

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Business, South Africa News, Tech

Avoiding common mistakes while crafting the ultimate customer experience

Creating a memorable customer experience is fast becoming a top priority for businesses – and for good reason, says Reynhardt Uys, Chief Experience Officer, Immersion Group. He notes that customers no longer base their loyalty on price or product alone. Instead, they stay and spend, with companies based on the overall experience they receive. “Quite simply, organisations who fail to adopt a customer-centric approach risk lagging behind competitors who have already become customer-obsessed.” While research shows 86% of buyers are willing to pay more for a great customer experience, Uys says there are several common mistakes that can derail efforts at personalisation and the customer journey. “Developing an unmatched customer experience involves applying the most appropriate methodologies an...

Business Leaders Underscore Technology as a Key Driver for Delivering Organizational Sustainability Goals

9Feb

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Events, Tech

Business Leaders Underscore Technology as a Key Driver for Delivering Organizational Sustainability Goals

AVEVA Hosts Influencer Panel Session to Outline Why Digitization is Driving the Growth of Sustainable Practices in the Industrial Sector AVEVA, a global leader in engineering and industrial software, convened leaders from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Schneider Electric, PETRONAS and Verdantix in a virtual press panel session recently, to discuss how digitization is driving the sustainability business agenda for industrial organizations. Participants highlighted how in the past year, the world had faced a challenge that is unique in history, in its scale and scope, and industries have been adversely affected in many ways. The key takeaway from the session was that 2021 is set to be a year of resiliency and renewed rebuilding, and Industry 4.0 will enable employees and co...

Inclusive design is transforming the customer journey as digital accelerates and expectations skyrocket

29Jan

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Tech

Inclusive design is transforming the customer journey as digital accelerates and expectations skyrocket

Embracing inclusive design is a pathway to innovation that organisations ignore at their peril says Reynhardt Uys, Chief Experience Officer, Immersion Group. “Before now, it was common for the industry to see accessibility and inclusion as a box to tick somewhere within the design or process, but as Covid-19 has accelerated the digital world, inclusive design has now moved up the list of priorities for many organisations. We’re still seeing a huge emphasis on USSD functionality for customers with feature phones or phones that don’t have an active internet connection. Whilst services are made available on other channels like an app or a website, the functionality also exists on USSD to create an omni-channel experience to different user types. Something as simple as changing the font size a...

20Jan

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Business, South Africa News

How to make your business more ‘circular’

Something is made, it’s used and then disposed of. Read that again. Something is made, it’s used and then disposed of. We go to all the effort of manufacturing objects, only to discard them as rubbish. Worse still, they end up as trash in landfill or incinerated. After some thought and repetition, the entire process sounds absolutely nonsensical, doesn’t it? But that’s what has traditionally happened to the things we buy. They come to the end of their useful life (to us!) and are simply thrown away. However, the good news is that this can and will change – organisations and businesses all over the globe are thinking differently and taking a new approach to their operations as a means to being more ‘circular’; looking at the goods and services they provide and innovating for sustainable suc...

How Optimized Energy Management Delivers Reliability, Efficiency and Sustainability at the Fekola Mine in Mali

18Jan

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Energy, Mali News

How Optimized Energy Management Delivers Reliability, Efficiency and Sustainability at the Fekola Mine in Mali

Op-Ed By Luke Witmer, General Manager, Data Science, Wärtsilä Energy Storage and Optimization Since B2Gold first acquired the Fekola gold mine, located in a remote corner of southwest Mali, exploration studies revealed the deposits to be almost double the initial estimates. A recent site expansion has just been completed, and while the existing power units provide enough power to support the increase in production, the company sought to reduce its energy costs, cut greenhouse gas emissions, and increase power reliability. The addition of a 35MWp solar photovoltaic (PV) plant and 17MW/15MWh of energy storage to the existing 64MW thermal engine plant was decided. This new energy mix is anticipated to save over 13 million litres of fuel, reduce carbon emissions by thirty-nine thousand tons pe...