Insights

Insights to read to lead & succeed in 2024

To kickstart your thinking for 2024, we've prepared a list of our top 10 insights from the past year.

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Happy reading from ORTEC’s Insights team

DateJan 8, 2024
Best reads of 2023

Practical examples to apply machine learning to improve your logistics

There is a lot of buzz around AI and Machine Learning, but how can you apply them in a practical way to improve your logistics? How can you create the bridge between theory and practice? In this blog, we explain four practical examples based on various use cases with customers, which can be applied in various industries. Two of them are pre-operations, used to simulate alternative scenarios and generate input for daily operations. The other two are post-operations, where we learn from the execution to continuously improve your business. By combining pre- and post-operations, you create a learning loop to improve your efficiency and service.

Learn how to apply Machine Learning

Digital magazine on Resilient Supply Chain

No matter the mission of a company, it’s clear that supply chains are undergoing a rapid transition.

Get inspired by leading companies such as DHL, Heineken and Peapod/Ahold Delhaize on how they’re going beyond maximizing supply chain efficiency.

Explore the magazine
DAB5 magazine

Jointly for Social Impact | Partner stories

We have all seen the tremendous value of data analytics on the success of commercial organizations. Now, how about humanitarian and societal challenges? As one of the founders of the Analytics for a Better World Institute, ORTEC believes that analytics can also contribute to solving major challenges facing humanity - from hunger to deforestation and the extinction of flora and fauna, among others. For our ‘Jointly for Social Impact’ series, we sat down with various nonprofit partners to hear from them how data analytics contributes to a better world. Below you'll find a recap of this series, highlighting the impact stories of Analytics for a Better World, Amref, 510/Red Cross, The Ocean Cleanup, and Force For Nature.

Discover our impact stories

Four scenarios for optimized pallet and load building in SAP Transportation Management

Many organizations use SAP ERP to manage replenishment and customer orders. Typically, they extend SAP ERP with SAP Advanced Planning and Optimization (APO) for forecasting purposes, and SAP Transportation Management (SAP TM) to plan freight units and freight orders. Often, they also use the Transport Load Builder (TLB) module (part of APO), which builds transportation loads based on pre-defined parameters such as weight and volume.

Explore the scenarios

‘Businesses need detailed scenarios to evaluate various transition options’

Shell has been generating scenarios for over half a century, and Energy Fundamentals Manager Martin Haigh has played a significant part in that for the last eighteen years. “Scenarios came to fame during the OPEC oil crisis of 1973. The capability of modelling has moved on tremendously over time, with computing power and the availability of data. Nonetheless there’s been a continuous debate: to what extent can modelling play a role? There has always been a role for quantification. A company runs on numbers in a lot of ways. But there is a danger in putting too much emphasis on numbers in scenario work. It may cause you to lose sight of what is driving change in a system. There is a tension, but also a balance to strike.” Hence the distinctive, holistic Shell approach.

Explore the scenarios
Shell Martin Haigh

ORTEC's Women in Tech

Numerous research shows the benefits of having a diverse workforce. Within the technology (tech) industry, women have been a vital part since the beginning, yet they are still underrepresented. In fact, women make up barely a third of workers in tech according to a report by The World Bank. The number has even been declining in the past decades. A report by Accenture attributes much of this decline to a lack of inclusivity for women in the industry.

‘ORTEC’s Women in Tech’ is a series highlighting some of our amazing women. At ORTEC, we value a diverse and inclusive workforce. Nonetheless, with about one third of our workforce identifying as female, we would like to increase this number. By launching ‘ORTEC’s Women in Tech’ series, we aim to inspire women to enter the tech industry – we can tell from experience that it’s a great environment to be in!

Meet our Women in Tech

Four must-know trends and proven tips for optimizing finished goods logistics in manufacturing

The manufacturing industry has been experiencing a growing complexity in the logistics of finished goods, posing significant challenges to companies seeking to reduce costs, improve efficiency, and meet the ever-changing market demands. In this article, we will examine the key trends and challenges faced by finished goods logistics in the manufacturing industry, with a focus on sustainability, process efficiency, employee and quality engagement, and digital transformation. We will also explore how data and mathematics can be leveraged to navigate these challenges, gain a competitive edge, lower costs, and improve sustainability.

Discover the key trends

The energy trilemma: balancing security, affordability and sustainability

Lucia van Geuns, Strategic Energy Advisor, focuses on energy security and the geopolitics of energy at independent knowledge institute The Hague Center for Strategic Studies (HCSS). In her expert opinion, the energy market will be facing volatile and uncertain 10 to 15 years: “Developing future scenarios and storylines are crucial in strategic thinking, both for companies and countries. Though, it is important to realize that there is no predicting the future. The path toward a new energy system will be a messy one, requiring a joint program allowing for a more strategic, coherent, and coordinated approach from governments and the industry.

The way to energy security

Streamline your logistics chain with optimized shipments

As a manufacturer, you need to deliver all types of products (SKUs) with their own delivery and demand patterns to your customers, such as retailers or other manufacturers. How do you determine the right amount of each product to deliver at a specific moment in time, maximizing load utilization and minimizing handling time, while also meeting requirements like transport restrictions, demand, inventory levels, and service agreements? Add to that the added complexity of customer requirements, warehouse picking and loading strategies.

In this article, we'll explore the opportunities to create shipments with high load fill through order optimization and the significant benefits it brings. By doing so, you can revolutionize your shipping policy to your customers. Although optimizing on demand level may not be feasible for all your customers, you can start by implementing it internally for inter-company replenishments.

Explore more

The ultimate guide to dynamic workforce management for warehouses

Automation has made a home in the workflows of many warehouses, reducing labor costs via advanced technologies (such as robots, Internet of Things (IoT), RFID tagging, machine learning, deep learning and AI), raising the need for productive workers to oversee such technologies in the warehouse.

Despite these technological advancements, due to e-commerce fulfillment skyrocketing in recent years, the demand for warehouse workers to fulfill orders is still increasing. Moreover, processes within the warehouse are evolving as we move toward a 24/7 economy favoring direct fulfillment. Optimizing workforce management with advanced software ensures warehouse staffing is always proportional to need while giving employees the flexibility they crave and relieving managers of their manual employee scheduling burden.

Transitioning to dynamic workforce management

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