by Fronetics | Aug 1, 2019 | Blog, Current Events, Supply Chain
Its disruptive data-recording and -securing technology begs the question: Could blockchain change the supply chain fundamentally and for the better?
Highlights:
- Blockchain offers the ability to record, track, and verify any transaction.
- Potential benefits include greater transparency and security.
- Supply chain operations could record, track, and share information more accurately and easily.
Ever since blockchain technology emerged, experts and industry analysts have been making various predictions for how it will impact their sectors. The supply chain, in particular, has been popularly theorized to be impacted by the technology.
It’s becoming increasingly clear that blockchain has transformative potential when it comes to the future of the supply chain. Here is a summary of what we’re seeing so far.
What is blockchain?
First conceptualized in 2008 by a programmer or group of programmers operating under the name Satoshi Nakamoto, blockchain was originally part of the implementation process of the cryptocurrency bitcoin. Essentially, it’s a distributed database — and it’s special because it keeps records of digital data or events in a way that makes them resistant to being altered or tampered with.
[bctt tweet=”Blockchain allows data to be accessible to many users, even allowing them to add to it. But the original information is immutable, and it leaves a permanent and public chain of transactions.” username=”Fronetics”]
Blockchain allows data to be accessible to many users, even allowing them to add to it. But the original information is immutable, and it leaves a permanent and public chain of transactions. SupplyChain247 uses the following helpful analogy:
If the entire blockchain were the history of banking transactions, an individual bank statement would be a single “block” in the chain. Unlike most banking systems, however, there is no single organization that controls these transactions. It can only be updated through the consensus of a majority of participants in the system.
Writing for Forbes, early-adopter researcher Dan Woods describes blockchain as “key for creating an unalterable, trusted record of certain types of transactions.”
Experts are starting to see the potential for blockchain’s use in other arenas, particularly the supply chain. The blockchain ledger “can be used to record, track, and verify trades of virtually anything that holds value,” says Jon-Amerin Vorabutra, VP of Process and Technology at Nova Molecular Technologies.
How will blockchain change the supply chain?
The ability to track any type of transaction securely and transparently is huge for supply chain applications. “Every time a product changes hands, the transaction could be documented, creating a permanent history of a product, from manufacture to sale,” writes Vorabutra. Imagine the reduction in time delays, wasted costs, and errors.
Syncsort, a company building the infrastructure necessary to support the modern data supply chain, has detailed predictions about how blockchain will impact the supply chain, reported by Woods. The company’s CTO, Dr. Tendü Yoğurtçu, identifies blockchain as falling under one of four larger “megatrends” that Syncsort is monitoring: data governance.
“We have some products that we will announce that are blockchain-ready, and data governance will continue to be the umbrella theme for us with blockchain because it’s an evolving data platform and data architecture,” says Yoğurtçu.
Experts and analysts across the industry believe that blockchain can improve the supply chain in the following ways:
- Recording the quantity and transfer of assets — like pallets, trailers, containers, etc. — as they move between supply chain nodes (Talking Logistics)
- Tracking purchase orders, change orders, receipts, shipment notifications, or other trade-related documents (SupplyChain247)
- Assigning or verifying certifications or certain properties of physical products; for example determining if a food product is organic or fair trade (Provenance)
- Linking physical goods to serial numbers, bar codes, digital tags like RFID, etc. (SupplyChain247)
- Sharing information about manufacturing process, assembly, delivery, and maintenance of products with suppliers and vendors (SupplyChain247)
The benefits of blockchain for the supply chain
Blockchain technology is ideal for supply chain management. Supply chain companies frequently struggle with lack of transparency, particularly those with complex supply chains. This makes it difficult to isolate errors. This is where blockchain comes into play.
“Because of the way transactions are recorded and tracked using blockchain technology, it makes it much easier to see everything happening in real time,” says Miranda Marquit, of Investopedia.
Additionally, blockchain will allow for increased scalability in the supply chain. Since data cannot be changed or added to, essentially any number of participants can access data from any number of touchpoints. The technology also allows for greater security, since a shared, immutable ledger keeps data from being tampered with.
Finally, blockchain can open the doors for greater innovation in the supply chain. According to Vorabutra, “Opportunities abound to create new, specialized uses for the technology as a result of the decentralized architecture.”
What ways are you predicting blockchain will change the supply chain?
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by Fronetics | Jul 31, 2019 | Blog, Current Events, Marketing, Social Media
Also this month in social media news: Facebook strives to attract content creators, and Pinterest debuts new video tools for brands.
Highlights:
- Less than a month after Facebook released details of its new cryptocurrency, the project has met a stumbling block from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell.
- Newly released statistics highlight key growth metrics and lay out expectations for digital marketing in the second half of 2019.
- Pinterest’s new video tools as well as updates from Facebook are geared to content creators and brands.
It’s hard to believe it’s already July and 2019 is at its halfway point. It’s a time when organizations are evaluating their performance thus far, and setting goals for the second half of the calendar year. To that end, both Mobile Marketer and Marketing Dive published key digital marketing growth statistics, and we’ve got the highlights for you below.
Last month, Facebook made news by releasing details of its new cryptocurrency, Libra. Now the social media giant has hit a roadblock, in the form of Fed Chairman Jerome Powell calling for a halt until serious concerns are addressed. Facebook is also making news this month by taking a page out if its competitors’ books in its attempt to attract more online content creators. Read on for details on these social media news items from July 2019.
Fed Chief Calls for Facebook to Halt Libra Project Until Concerns Are Addressed
Following closely on the heels of Facebook’s releasing details of its planned Libra cryptocurrency, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said that the project “cannot go forward” until serious concerns are addressed. “Libra raises many serious concerns regarding privacy, money laundering, consumer protection, and financial stability,” Powell said before the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee.
The Fed chief’s tough comments not only underscore the regulatory hurdles facing Libra, but put pressure on the project, and dented the price of Libra’s forebear, bitcoin. The price of bitcoin fell by around 7% during his 3-hour testimony. Powell also called for regulatory review of the project to be “patient and careful,” while pointing to the fact that existing rules don’t adequately fit digital currencies.
“It’s something that doesn’t fit neatly or easily within our regulatory scheme, but it does have potentially systemic scale,” said Powell. “It needs a careful look, so I strongly believe we all need to be taking our time with this.”
Facebook spokeswoman Elka Looks responded to the testimony in an email to Reuters: “We are very much aligned with the Chairman around the need for public discourse on this,” wrote Looks. “This is why we along with the 27 other Founding Members of the Libra Association made this announcement so far in advance, so that we could engage in constructive discourse on this and get feedback.”
2019 Key Digital Marketing Growth Statistics Released
The midyear release of statistics from Marketing Dive and Mobile Marketer are important for brands and marketers to pay attention to. In the ever-shifting world of digital marketing, these statistics and trends offer valuable insight into where resources and time are best devoted.
Highlights from the reports include:
- Global online advertising spend is on track to grow 7% this year. That’s up from the 4% forecast in December 2018.
- Location-based marketing will likely grow 14%, reaching $24.4 billion in advertising spending by the end of 2019.
- 43% of all advertisers plan to increase spending on influencer marketing by April of 2020.
- Social referral traffic to retail ecommerce sites has grown by 110% in two years.
Facebook Strives to Attract More Content Creators
In an effort to attract more content creators to its platform, Facebook is giving videos more ways to make money. Observers have noted that the reigning social media giant is “pulling inspiration from other platforms to let you throw cash at your favorite video creators in the form of subscriptions or tokenized ‘stars’ that pay them a penny.”
Facebook’s announcement of its new video developments comes just ahead of VidCon, the world’s biggest conference for online video creators. It follows on the heels of three years of investments in the network’s video services and is in line with consumer trends toward video consumption.
Pinterest Debuts New Video Tools for Brands
Image-curating platform Pinterest is ramping up its video capabilities, in line with a larger consumer shift in viewing habits and a boost from advertisers in spending on social video. New video features include an improved uploader, video tab, lifetime analytics, and Pin scheduling.
The updated video uploader “enables businesses and creators to seamlessly upload video directly to Pinterest to engage with new and existing audiences, and access latest metrics,” according to the announcement.
Pinterest’s announcement points out that unlike on other platforms, videos don’t disappear (as they do on Instagram and Facebook Stories after 24 hours). To that end, their video analytics tool will allow businesses to gain insight into a video’s performance over its lifetime.
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by Fronetics | Jul 17, 2019 | Blog, Content Marketing, Current Events, Logistics, Marketing, Supply Chain
Here are four ways the Amazon effect is shaking up supply chain trends – and why it’s a net positive for the industry.
Highlights:
- More companies will start to tap into the gig economy in the last mile, and Uber-style delivery companies will emerge.
- To meet growing customer demand, same-day delivery will become increasingly standard.
- Supply chain leaders will be increasingly evaluated according to customer experience.
Here’s the thing about adversity: it has a tendency to test our strength, and, more often than not, it brings out the best in us. There’s no doubt that the meteoric ascendency of Amazon has created plenty of adversity for the retail, transportation, and supply chain industries. But as the corporation continues to shake up supply chain trends, it’s actually giving the industry an opportunity to sharpen and refine its practices.
Amazon’s dominance has already influenced supply chain trends in big ways. Industry-wide, companies have been compelled to reflect how they do business. In many cases, it’s been a painful process: businesses have had to reinvent, in everything from what and how processes are implemented to the choice of new technologies to purchase. But despite the difficulty, the reinvention process has the potential to pay big dividends in the long term.
Experts are predicting that there are four major ways in which Amazon will continue disrupting supply chain trends going forward.
4 ways Amazon will keep disrupting supply chain trends
1) Uber-style delivery companies
If you think e-commerce sales are high, you haven’t seen anything yet. Recent data from Statista predicts that e-commerce sales will grow as much as 25% by 2022, meaning that retail delivery will undergo analogous growth. As postal service prices rise, FedEx and UPS will likely need to make more deliveries themselves. Meanwhile, Amazon’s 3PL business is booming, putting pressure on the competition.
While these retail delivery services have not yet tapped into the gig economy, largely thanks to opposition from labor unions, it’s only a matter of time according to Convey CEO Rob Taylor. Taylor predicts that a deal will be “brokered between unions and 1099 labor, following in the footsteps of Uber and the taxi and public transportation industries’ unionization efforts.”
2) Same-day delivery
Same-day delivery, once a novelty, is increasingly a subject of consumer demand. PwC’s Global Consumer Insights Survey 2019 found that 40% of online shoppers are willing to pay extra for same-day delivery. To meet the demand retailers are investing in on-demand warehousing and other solutions for increasing localized inventory.
In addition, there’s the rise of drone delivery. Back in 2017, McKinsey estimated that the value of drone activity would reach $1 billion. More recent estimates, including one from ResearchandMarkets, set the value at $11.2 billion by 2022. It’s not long before same-day delivery will be necessary for businesses to compete.
3) Customer satisfaction metrics
As supply chain trends go, the type of metrics used to evaluate personnel may not seem particularly revolutionary. In fact, this type of shift is an indicator of sweeping cultural change. Writing for Fortune, Elementum CEO Nader Mikhail predicts that “tomorrow’s CEOs will come from an unlikely place: the supply chain.”
Customer expectations have been redefined, thanks to the Amazon effect, and businesses need leaders who are skilled at transforming overarching goals into many smaller variables. Where better to find such skills than among the ranks of supply chain leaders?
As a result, in addition to more traditional supply chain key performance indicators (KPIs), Taylor predicts that “net promoter score (NPS) and customer satisfaction (CSAT), which are leading indicators of customer happiness and loyalty, will play a greater role in the supply chain scorecard.” Essentially, supply chain and marketing goals will increasingly intersect.
4) Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is among the most widely discussed supply chain trends in recent years. AI is helping supply chain leaders collate and analyze operational data, and “automating the ability to predict customer demand, forecast product availability, optimize routes for delivery, and better target and personalize communication with customers,” according to Taylor.
Amazon has invested heavily in AI technologies including order optimization, blockchain, warehouse robotics, and the Internet of Things. To keep up, Taylor predicts that “a new generation of supply chain leaders will likely require skills in AI that empower them to translate this highly technical information into business decisions and profitability.”
Navigating the Amazon effect on supply chain trends
When it comes to managing Amazon’s disruptive effects on supply chain trends, the industry will do best to look on them as opportunities. Amazon’s success is, according to Taylor, “pushing brands to modernize and align their teams around the central goal of improving customer experience.” The bottom line is that thanks to Amazon, supply chain companies need to be primarily focused on the customer in order to compete.
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by Fronetics | Jul 16, 2019 | Blog, Content Marketing, Current Events, Logistics, Marketing, Supply Chain
With the ubiquity of mobile phones and the ease of SMS messaging, text-based marketing holds plenty of potential for supply chain marketers.
Highlights:
- Many of marketers’ hesitations about text-based marketing are based on misconceptions.
- Research shows that text outperforms email in open and click-through rates.
- Currently, there’s a competition vacuum as business have been slow to adopt this channel.
Text-based marketing presents something of a quandary for supply chain businesses. Many marketers are understandably reluctant to make use of this communication channel, fearing the possibility that it will be perceived as intrusive and cause leads to turn away.
But, in fact, many of the fears about text-based marketing are actually misperceptions. As Ardath Albee, CEO of Marketing Interactions, Inc. puts it, “When done strategically, respectfully, and in a contextually relevant way, the profitable benefits of SMS marketing easily supersede the most common pitfalls of this unique channel.”
Here are some common misconceptions about text-based marketing.
4 popular misconceptions about text-based marketing
1) SMS marketing means sending out unsolicited text messages.
Most of us have gotten them: the text from a random number — perhaps advertising health insurance, warning of a compromised bank account, or congratulating you on winning a gift card. This kind of spam is what many marketers think of when they hear “text-based marketing.” No legitimate business wants to be associated with this sort of tactic.
You may be surprised to learn that legitimate text-based marketing doesn’t work this way at all. According to Justin Mastrangelo, founder of JA.TXT text message marketing software platform, “Not only is sending unauthorized text messages terribly ineffective, it’s illegal and could lead to lawsuits and penalties.” Instead, your contacts will need to opt in to receive text messages, so they will be expecting them.
2) I need my own shortcode.
Many small and mid-sized businesses shy away from text-based marketing based on the hassle and expense of obtaining their own shortcode. While it’s true that for large brands, obtaining their own shortcodes can be worthwhile, most moderately sized businesses don’t actually need a shortcode of their own.
Most SMS marketing providers furnish their clients with their shared shortcodes, meaning that your business would likely not need to spend the time or money to obtain and set up a shortcode.
3) Text-based marketing doesn’t engage leads.
When many of us think of text-based marketing, we imagine it to be a one-way street, with businesses seeking to grow a massive list of numbers and blasting them with texts. Because we all have experience with SMS spam, we naturally assume that texts from businesses will be ignored.
But the reality is that since prospects need to opt in to receive texts from your business, they are quite likely to engage with them, as texts are immediate and easy to react to. Businesses “often overlook the two-way capabilities of SMS,” says Mastrangelo. “Many organizations have captured email addresses, ZIP codes, survey responses, product numbers, and more through text message.”
4) My audience doesn’t want texts from my business.
Because text-based marketing inherently feels more intimate and immediate than other forms of digital marketing, marketers are often leery of taking the leap, believing that prospects will just be annoyed to receive texts.
But, as it turns out, text-based marketing is not unlike other forms of digital marketing: your audience absolutely wants to receive it, on one condition – you need to be providing value.
7 reasons to consider text-based marketing
Now that we’ve cleared up some of the most widespread misperceptions about text-based marketing, here are six reasons why we think you should consider it.
1) Your audience prefers it.
You’ll probably be surprised to learn that recent research shows that 85% of mobile device users prefer a text from businesses over phone calls or emails.
2) Texting is what people do most on their phones.
While email and social media marketing generally capture most of the buzz, users actually spend more time texting than doing anything else on their mobile devices.
3) Get ahead of the competition.
Since B2B businesses have generally been hesitant to integrate text-based marketing, there’s currently a competition vacuum.
4) It works throughout the buyer’s journey.
As with email marketing, text-based marketing can be effective at every stage of the buyer’s journey, and the highly personal nature of the medium fosters better relationships and customer experience.
5) SMS marketing is interactive.
Text-based marketing is actually an excellent way to promote engagement, since users opt in to initiate it, and responding to and interacting with texts is extremely easy.
6) It’s an ideal precursor to chatbots.
We’ve written a lot about chatbots, and how they can be a great tool for the supply chain. Text-based marketing is the perfect testing ground to see how your content will fare with chatbot marketing.
7) Text-based marketing outperforms email.
You read that right. By two of the most important metrics, open and click-through rates, text-based marketing actually outperforms email. While email has an average open rate of 22% and a click-through rate of 6%, texts have a whopping 97% open rate and a 36% click-through rate.
The bottom line: give text-based marketing a try
Digital marketing is a many-headed hydra, with new channels opening up all the time, like text-based marketing. This channel holds tremendous untapped potential for businesses, thanks to the immediacy of the medium, the ubiquity of mobile devices, and the high engagement rate. Savvy marketers will jump on text-based marketing now and get ahead of the competition.
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by Fronetics | Jul 11, 2019 | Blog, Content Marketing, Current Events, Logistics, Marketing, Social Media, Supply Chain
Here are our most-viewed supply chain and logistics blog posts from this year as of July 1, 2019.
Throughout the year, we regularly write blog posts to help our readers stay on top of the latest news and trends happening in the supply chain and logistics industries, particularly in regards to digital marketing. We hope these posts provide insight, tips, and insider information on how to stay ahead of your competitors with the consistent publication of quality content.
We’ve covered some great stuff this year, from new trends in automation to the best places to distribute your videos. Here’s a look at our most popular posts so far this year.
Top supply chain and logistics blog posts from 2019 (so far)
1. Top 3 Logistics and Supply Chain Blogs of 2019
You voted, and the results are in! Cerasis is your number one blog of the year, with Women in Trucking and Hollingsworth coming in second and third. Read more
2. Digital Marketing for the Supply Chain and Logistics Industries
Today’s B2B buyers are researching, evaluating, and coming to conclusions about companies without a single contact with a team member or salesperson. This kind of B2B buying landscape requires cutting-edge marketing strategies to showcase nut-and-bolt industries that have survived without them for many years. Read more
3. Send in the Drones: How PINC & Amazon Have Optimized Inventory Management
It’s been five years since Charlie Rose interviewed Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on 60 Minutes about new innovations that Amazon was working on. Bezos revealed that Amazon was on the brink of a supply chain revolution involving octocoptor drones transporting parcels: Amazon Prime Air. Read more
4. 4 Examples of AI for the Supply Chain
Artificial intelligence is not simply affecting supply chain management; it is revolutionizing it. With the power to drastically increase efficiency in all areas of the supply chain, McKinsey estimates that firms could gain $1.3 trillion to $2 trillion a year from using AI in supply chain and manufacturing. Read more
5. Infographic: 10 Companies that Are Getting Instagram for B2B Marketing Right
Instagram now boasts over 1 billion monthly active users, making it one of the most popular social media platforms out there. It’s a tremendous opportunity for businesses. In fact, recent research has shown that 66% of brands now use Instagram. But many B2B marketers are still struggling to find their footing on this highly visual platform. Read more
6. B2B Digital Marketing Trends, Budgets, and Benchmarks: Highlights for 2019
The Content Marketing Institute has published its ninth annual survey, giving insight into the most significant digital marketing trends and priorities for 2019. We’ll get into some key takeaways in detail, but perhaps the most striking finding was one that we’ve been talking about for years. Read more
7. Video: 4 Best Channels for Video Distribution
Knowing the right video distribution channels can go a long way toward driving traffic and getting your content to your target audience. Bottom line is using the right distribution channels helps you get the most out of your video marketing efforts. Here are the 4 best channels for distributing your videos. Read more
8. Video: 6 Digital Marketing Trends for the Supply Chain 2019
Digital marketing has become essential for creating brand awareness, educating audiences and building trust and credibility with your customers. Supply chain and logistics companies increasingly see the value in digital marketing. They’re increasing their budgets, and it’s important to understand what the trends are for the upcoming year. Read more
9. How Rogue Ales is Leveraging IoT to Revolutionize the Beer Brewing Industry
Rogue Ales believes that its “Ground to Glass, Grow your Own Revolution” is a key tenet to its success. The company leverages the Internet of Things (IoT) to ensure that the supply chain is able to deliver the highest-quality ingredients to its breweries just in time. Read more
10. 6 Content Marketing Trends for the Supply Chain in 2019
Content marketing is no longer optional. It’s essential in creating brand awareness, educating audiences, and building credibility. Here’s a look at the biggest digital marketing trends for 2019. Read more
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by Fronetics | Jul 10, 2019 | Blog, Content Marketing, Current Events, Marketing, Social Media
Knowing when and how often to tweet is just as important what you post. Here’s how often your business should be tweeting.
Highlights:
- Be consistent with your tweeting frequency, while keeping content fresh.
- To determine how often to tweet for your business, experiment with different posting frequencies, and use analytics tools to track your results.
- As with any digital marketing endeavor, quality is more important than quantity.
It’s a perennial question we get from our clients: how often should business be posting on social media? The answer varies widely from platform to platform, and the answer for how often to tweet has proved a controversial one.
Back in 2016, in response to a Socialbakers study that suggested that posting to Twitter three times a day is an ideal frequency for brands, Fronetics conducted a study of our own. We determined that for our business, tweeting around 40 times a day is optimal.
What these radically divergent results demonstrate is that the answer to how often to tweet is not a simple one. While the bottom line is that optimal tweeting frequency is unique to every brand, there are 5 best practices your business should be aware of.
5 best practices concerning how often to tweet for your business
(Made with Canva)
1) Consistency is key
Whether you’re tweeting once a day, or a hundred, being consistent about posting frequency will serve you best. Keeping your posting frequency relatively consistent lets your followers gain confidence that you will set and expectation and meet it. As social media algorithms become less friendly to businesses, it’s all the more important that you bring your followers to you.
2) Keep it fresh
It’s important to point out that consistency is key only when it comes to how often to tweet – not the content you’re publishing. Particularly on Twitter, varying your content is the best way to keep your audience engaged. Use images, GIFs, and videos to make your posts stand out, or ask questions to promote conversation and engage your followers.
3) Experiment
When it comes to how often to tweet for your business, you’ll find all kinds of divergent ready-made answers. But the truth is, there’s no magic number. Your business or your marketing partner needs to determine what works for your unique brand and audience. The best way to do this is to experiment with posting at different times and keep track of your results. In addition to Twitter’s internal analytics, these five tools can help you track and evaluate the results of your experiment.
4) Engage
As with any social media platform, publishing content shouldn’t be your only focus. Engaging with your followers, from comments to retweets, is crucial for generating an active and loyal audience.
In addition, using social media to interact with your audience can help inform your decisions about how often to tweet. When are your followers most active? What kind of content do they want to see from you? Having a conversation with your followers is one of the best ways you can answer this question.
5) Quality matters
There’s no amount of posting frequency that makes up for posting poor quality content. If your content is bad, you’d likely be better off not posting at all. Publishing content that doesn’t interest your audience will lose you followers and leads. No matter how often you’re tweeting, your content needs to be relevant, timely, and engaging.
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