Operations

Technology investment is an essential component of most strategic growth and operational efficiency initiatives. Technology comes in two parts. There’s the front-end technology that customers experience. There’s also the back-end technology that other stakeholders (i.e., agents, brokers, underwriters) leverage, enabling the company to effectively facilitate relationship-building. But equally important is technology that sits in corporate […]

This is the second post in a series on the TransCelerate Shared Investigator Platform (SIP). For background information on TransCelerate, see the initial post in the series. Very few doctors serve as clinical investigators (approximately 3%), which means many investigators work with multiple sponsor organizations. Each sponsor organization has its own site-facing IT systems and […]

Respect Driven Development is not an attempt to add to the Agile alphabet soup of X Driven Development like TDD, BDD, DDD or FDD. I consider it to be more of an attitude than a process. The idea started to germinate the more I worked on Big Data projects, which have not always turned out to […]

Cutting unnecessary costs and investing in technology (e.g., digital, planes) to support the business is a complex task, but certainly a requirement for long-term growth. Fuel costs – the number-one non-labor expense for airlines – can only be hedged to the degree the petroleum market allows and that is by and large outside the control […]

In our new guide, we discuss the background of the SEC’s Investment Company Reporting Modernization Rules and the potential effects on individual financial institutions. While you can check out the full guide here, the snippet below shares some of deadlines that the new rules present. Form N-PORT If you are a larger entity with net […]

Similar to mobility, connected car technology (e.g., telematics) has been around for some time, but only recently has the car rental industry truly exploited the massive opportunity it presents. The Internet of Things (IoT) has allowed companies to leverage new technology that better manages their fleets of cars. It’s also helping businesses, such as those […]

In an industry that has historically been siloed and secretive, the nonprofit collaboration known as TransCelerate BioPharma, Inc. (TransCelerate) is a clear indicator of change. It was formed in 2012 by a group of innovative thinkers and doers from a handful of leading life sciences organizations, with the mission to “collaborate across the global biopharmaceutical […]

M&A is always on the table, as it can provide quicker access to more customers through geographic expansion, as well as new business lines and capabilities. It’s also a way to reinforce a company’s innovation strategy. Zurich’s acquisition of Bright Box, a company which provides telematics solutions “that link drivers to their vehicles, and the […]

Customer satisfaction is always top of mind for airlines. Unhappy or disengaged customers naturally mean fewer passengers and less revenue. It’s important that customers have an excellent experience every time they travel. On-time flights, good in-flight entertainment, more (and better) snacks, and more legroom might be the obvious contributors to a good experience and more […]

The strategic vision of the manufacturing and automotive treasury function is to deliver efficiency, control, and scalability. The logical structure for this transformation includes several key components: business events, centralized demand deposit accounts with banking connectivity, and a reporting data warehouse. A comprehensive finance and treasury transformation program can help improve cash and liquidity management, […]

Editor’s Note: This guest blog post comes courtesy of Gail Cole with Avalara.  Like many years, 2018 is shaping up to be a big year for sales tax changes. In addition to run-of-the-mill activities like expanding sales tax to new goods and services and exempting or reducing rates on others, states are pushing ahead with attempts to […]

In a new guide, we discuss the background of the SEC’s Investment Company Reporting Modernization Rules and the potential effects on individual financial institutions. The snippet below shares the rules’ objectives and expectations. The SEC wants to improve: The quality of information that funds report to the Commission The Commission’s risk monitoring and oversight, examination, […]