CRM Archive

McKinsey: The economic potential of generative AI

Posted in: CRM, Firmy, Informatyka w Firmie, Inkubator Menedżerów, Innovation, Zarządzanie Finansowe

Generative AI is poised to unleash the next wave of productivity. We take a first look at where business value could accrue and the potential impacts on the workforce.

AI has permeated our lives incrementally, through everything from the tech powering our smartphones to autonomous-driving features on cars to the tools retailers use to surprise and delight consumers. As a result, its progress has been almost imperceptible. Clear milestones, such as when AlphaGo, an AI-based program developed by DeepMind, defeated a world champion Go player in 2016, were celebrated but then quickly faded from the public’s consciousness.

Generative AI applications such as ChatGPT, GitHub Copilot, Stable Diffusion, and others have captured the imagination of people around the world in a way AlphaGo did not, thanks to their broad utility—almost anyone can use them to communicate and create—and preternatural ability to have a conversation with a user. The latest generative AI applications can perform a range of routine tasks, such as the reorganization and classification of data. But it is their ability to write text, compose music, and create digital art that has garnered headlines and persuaded consumers and households to experiment on their own. As a result, a broader set of stakeholders are grappling with generative AI’s impact on business and society but without much context to help them make sense of it.

The speed at which generative AI technology is developing isn’t making this task any easier. ChatGPT was released in November 2022. Four months later, OpenAI released a new large language model, or LLM, called GPT-4 with markedly improved capabilities.¹ Similarly, by May 2023, Anthropic’s generative AI, Claude, was able to process 100,000 tokens of text, equal to about 75,000 words in a minute—the length of the average novel—compared with roughly 9,000 tokens when it was introduced in March 2023.² And in May 2023, Google announced several new features powered by generative AI, including Search Generative Experience and a new LLM called PaLM 2 that will power its Bard chatbot, among other Google products.³

To grasp what lies ahead requires an understanding of the breakthroughs that have enabled the rise of generative AI, which were decades in the making. For the purposes of this report, we define generative AI as applications typically built using foundation models. These models contain expansive artificial neural networks inspired by the billions of neurons connected in the human brain. Foundation models are part of what is called deep learning, a term that alludes to the many deep layers within neural networks. Deep learning has powered many of the recent advances in AI, but the foundation models powering generative AI applications are a step-change evolution within deep learning. Unlike previous deep learning models, they can process extremely large and varied sets of unstructured data and perform more than one task.

More in the McKinsey Report: The economic potential of generative AI

Authors
Michael Chui
Eric Hazan
Roger Roberts
Alex Singla
Kate Smaje
Alex Sukharevsky
Lareina Yee
Rodney Zemmel

Demand for alternative fuels is growing in ports. LNG is making a comeback

Posted in: Artykuły, CRM, Logistyka, Makroekonomia, Nowe Technologie

By Marek Grzybowski

Lower LNG prices have resulted in greater demand for gas in ports. In Rotterdam, LNG sales increased by almost 109% quarter-on-quarter, reaching 266,000 tonnes in the second quarter. m³. In Singapore, shipowners in June bunkered 17.9 thousand. m³, and in July 18.3 thousand. m³ of LNG. It is predicted that there will also be a demand for methanol, which may become the fuel of the future.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has disrupted global LNG markets and pushed LNG prices to over $2,500 a ton in Rotterdam and over $2,000 a ton for a bunker in Singapore last year. However, prices have dropped significantly since then and LNG has been available at big discounts for several months now. Gas on ships again became more attractive than VLSFO, which was quickly seen in the world’s major ports, where bunker turnover reaches significant volumes.
In Rotterdam, LNG sales amounted to 112,069 m³ in Q2 2022. LNG sales in Q2 were also the highest quarterly sales volume since Q3 2021 (212,719 m³). In the first half of 2023, LNG sales amounted to 265,892 m³. For comparison, in the same period of 2022, 214,648 m³ were fueled on ships. Ship operators or ship management companies were concerned about price volatility and the possibility of using regular gas supplies.

Economic activity and bunker prices
The Port of Rotterdam Authority announced that the total sales volume of the bunker in Rotterdam (excluding lubricants) fell by 10% in the second quarter of 2023. Low sales of VLSFO were decisive.
Demand fell in the second quarter of this year. by 8% to 906,368 tonnes, which is 15% lower than in the previous year. In Q2, traditional marine fuels continued to dominate the demand, as their share reached 38% of total sales.
HSFO sales increased by 5% in the second quarter, and the share of this fuel in sales increased from 30% to 35%. Total sales volume also increased during the year, reaching an 18% increase compared to 2021 levels.

This year, for the first time, owners of dual-fuel LNG ships have an economic justification to benefit from investments in innovative power systems for new types of ship engines.
However, since for most of the 1920s the price of LNG was too high, the vast majority of operators of dual-fuel vessels used traditional marine fuel.

Gasum will reduce carbon dioxide emissions
As soon as gas became cheaper, it was also profitable to introduce a bunker to the market. In June, the tanker Kairos returned to operation as part of Gasum. It is an LNG bunkering vessel owned by Gasum. From October 2022, the shipowner directed it for use on the open market outside the company.

It is assumed that the biogas offered by Gasum will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by an average of 90 percent compared to traditional fossil fuels. “Increasing the use of bio-LNG is one of the concrete actions that will lead the shipping industry towards a low-emission future,” the company said.
“Gasum’s strategic goal is to market seven terawatt hours (7 TWh) of renewable gas annually by 2027. Achieving this goal would mean an annual cumulative reduction of 1.8 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions for Gasum customers,” the company explained.
this summer the operator carried out the first LNG bunkering operation at the port of Reykjavik, Iceland. Coral Energy’s LNG bunker supplied LNG and liquefied biogas (LBG) for the engine room of the PONANT Le Commandant Charcot cruise ship.

Time for a Polish LNG tanker bunker
The introduction of such tankers as Coral Energy and Kairos into operation in Poland was discussed on the occasion of the launch of the LNG terminal in Świnoujście. For many years, dual-fuel engines with the possibility of burning gas began to dominate the portfolios of orders for ships.
According to the latest estimates by the classification society DNV, the number of ships with dual-fuel engines and LNG systems that are in service and on order has exceeded 900 units. Kairos is a good example for a potential operator of a Polish LNG bunker.
The tanker has been designed so that it can deliver LNG to ships of various types and sizes in all possible bunkering locations in North-West Europe. The vessel can deliver LNG at pumping rates from 60 m³ per hour to 1,250 m³ per hour. Perhaps it is time to introduce the Polish LNG bunker to the Baltic market.

Building Resilient Economies: Empowering Governments through Digital Transformational Strategies in Global Trade!

Posted in: Artykuły, Branże, CRM, Makroekonomia, Prawo, Raport z Rynku

Discover some of the industry leading speakers you’ll get to connect with and ask questions to as they join us for the discussion on Building Resilient Economies: Empowering Governments through Digital Transformational Strategies in Global Trade!

Featured Speakers

Solomon Raj Joseph
Senior Product Director
CrimsonLogic

Experienced techno-business leader with 20+ years in IT, Trade & Logistics, Telecom, and Banking. Expertise includes Product Direction, Project Management & Chief Architecture roles. Over the past 13 years, Solomon has spearheaded mission-critical Trade Facilitation systems in 15+ countries across Asia, Africa, Middle East, and Americas.Solomon possesses in-depth knowledge of Trade & Logistics, Supply Chain Processes, Compliance, and Regulatory procedures. Experienced in Cross Border Trade, Supply Chain Risk Management, Customs policies, National Trade policies, and Free Trade Agreements.

Ninan Oommen Biju
Sr Port & Maritime Transport Specialist
The World Bank – Transport Global Practice

Ninan Oommen Biju is the Senior Port & Maritime Transport Specialist at The World Bank Transport Practice based in Singapore, engaged in the preparation and supervision of projects, sharing of knowledge and experience and technical assistance for maritime infrastructure development. Prior to joining The World Bank, Ninan was the CEO of a short-sea container ship owner and operated services in consortium with global container shipping lines from Singapore hub port to the main gateway ports in South-East Asia & South Asia.

Gregory Smith
Head of Exploration and Digital Transformation
UNDP Trinidad and Tobago

Gregory joins the panel with over 10 years’ international experience in financial analysis for mergers and acquisitions, e-commerce product management, IT systems implementation, strategic planning, and market analysis. Gregory holds a BSc. in Mechanical Engineering, an MBA from Howard University, and a MPP in Public Policy Analysis and Economics from the University of Chicago. He is passionate about working collaboratively and applying a rigorous analytical approach towards developing sustainable, courageous, innovative solutions that directly improve the lives of everyday people.

Explore the strategies and opportunities that can empower developing nations to optimize their government processes, leading to remarkable efficiency gains. By embracing these insights, you’ll be able to reduce operational costs and navigate trade regulations more smoothly, all while revolutionizing how your business engages with government entities.

Register Now

Thursday, September 28th 2023 – 1:30 – 2:45 PM (EDT)

If you’re unable to attend live you can still register and watch the webinar back in your own time via On-Demand.

Kind regards,
The Port Technology International Team

CrimsonLogic In partnership with Port Technology International

BCG – Most Innovative Companies 2023

Posted in: CRM, Innovation, Logistyka, Makroekonomia, Marketing, Raport z Rynku, Zarządzanie Firmą

For the third straight year, the evidence is mounting: companies that both prioritize innovation and make sure that they are ready to act are widening the gap over less capable competitors. The leaders at these firms are consistently delivering new products, entering new
markets, and establishing new revenue streams. The laggards struggle to make headway beyond incremental improvements.

This year, the findings from our global innovation survey dovetail with other new BCG research showing that companies
built for the future share a common set of attributes that enable them to exhibit superior performance, be more resilient to shocks and disruptions, and exploit innovation faster for value-creating growth. In addition to people and technology capabilities (including, importantly, AI), one of these attributes is an innovation-driven culture.

In this year’s Most Innovative Companies report, we examine what innovation-ready leaders (those that are ready to develop product, process, and business model innovations that can deliver sustainable impact) are doing to pull ahead and how innovation is building their resilience to economic uncertainty and fueling their pursuit of lower emissions. In “A Downturn Ups the Stakes in Innovation,” we explore how a potential downturn in 2023 is evoking a much different response than did the 2009 financial crisis, especially among leading firms. In “How Early Winners Are Unlocking AI’s Potential,” we dig into the critical role of artificial intelligence (AI) in innovation as in many other areas of business today.

More: BCG Publications 2023

Innovation has never been more important—and leading innovators are showing why. The top 50 companies in the 2023 Most Innovative Companies report outperform the MSCI World Index on shareholder return by 3.3 percentage points per year.

How Leaders Are Demonstrating the Advantages of Innovation

In this year’s Most Innovative Companies report, we examine what innovation-ready leaders (those that are ready to develop product, process, and business model innovations that can deliver sustainable impact) are doing to pull ahead. We also discuss the importance of innovation in terms of how it helps leaders build their resilience to economic uncertainty.

Download the 2023 Most Innovative Companies report

The Formula for Innovation from Leading Companies

Leaders are consistently delivering new products, entering new markets, and establishing new revenue streams, while laggards struggle to make headway beyond incremental improvements.

Read chapter one

Explore the interactive rankings

A Downturn Ups the Stakes in Innovation

Times have changed. During the 2009 downturn, only 58% of companies planned to increase spending and almost 15% expected to cut innovation investment. Today, a growing number of companies are beginning to recognize the advantages of innovation, with 79% ranking it among their top three priorities (15 points more than in 2009) and 66% planning to increase spending (42% by more than 10%).

Read chapter two

How Early Winners Are Unlocking AI’s Potentials

The question is not whether AI can have an impact, but rather if companies are using AI properly and for use cases with the potential to drive real business value.

Read chapter three

Building Resilience and Advantage Through Innovation

Once again, we see the most innovative companies producing greater shareholder returns and building resilience and advantage through innovation. BCG’s 2023 global survey highlights the advantages of innovation and how leaders are outpacing others by using tools whose importance is climbing fast, such as M&A, portfolio planning, and AI.

Our 2023 survey found a near-record high level of innovation importance: 79% of companies ranked innovation among their top three priorities, up from 75% in 2022, and more than 40% expect to significantly increase spending this year, a jump of 16 percentage points over the last economic downturn in 2009.

But there is also an emerging group of companies that is going much further and putting innovation front and center in their future growth strategies. While all companies on average expect to allocate more money toward incremental innovations close to the core, this small group of innovation-ready companies is allocating fully one-third of spending toward developing breakthrough innovations.

These companies use a wide array of strategic tools to strengthen their innovation platforms and practices and are much more aggressive in their use of M&A, targeting innovative technologies or processes, or acquiring leaders and employees with a demonstrated ability to innovate. They also are more likely to orchestrate or participate in ecosystems, engaging with external partners—and even competitors—on innovations. They drive digital innovation with a clear bias toward new digital products, agile teaming, and improving customer and marketing insights. They leverage the power of innovation in AI, and regularly review the performance of innovation units or vehicles and shift resources toward centers of success. They understand that effective portfolio governance and management, especially with respect to data transparency, are key to driving impact.

Explore 17 years of the 50 most innovative companies

Authors: By Justin Manly, Michael Ringel, Amy MacDougall, Will Cornock, Johann D. Harnoss, Konstantinos Apostolatos, Ramón Baeza, Ryoji Kimura, Michael Ward, Beth Viner, Jean-Manuel Izaret, Wendi Backler, Vladimir Lukic, Sylvain Duranton, and Romain de Laubier

Manufacturing activity falls further – EY ITEM Club comments

Posted in: Anti-equilibrium, Branże, CRM, Opinie, Zarządzanie Finansowe

The manufacturing downturn deepened in July, with the sector’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) heading further into contractionary territory. And with the impact of higher interest rates on household and corporate budgets growing, the EY ITEM Club doesn’t expect a significant uptick in manufacturing activity this year.
The S&P Global/CIPS survey also pointed to another fall in input cost inflation in the goods sector, adding to other leading indicators showing growing evidence of disinflation. But given the Bank of England’s focus on inflation in the services sector, this probably won’t have much bearing on its next interest rate decision later this week.

Martin Beck, Chief Economic Advisor to the EY ITEM Club, says: “July’s final S&P Global/CIPS manufacturing survey reported another decline in activity, with the PMI falling to 45.3 from 46.5 in June. The index was dragged down by a significant decline in production, with survey respondents suggesting that mounting uncertainty from rising interest rates had led to a softening in demand both at home and from abroad.

“But the fall in the PMI balance looks to have been exaggerated by some overstocked firms choosing to cut purchases amid improving supply chains, leading to a further fall in supplier delivery times. The PMI is also prone to being affected by sentiment, so the weight of recent bad news about rising mortgage rates may have depressed the outlook of survey respondents and dragged on the PMI.

“Beyond the survey’s disappointing set of backward-looking balances, its forward-looking indicators didn’t offer much positivity either. Respondents reported a large fall in new business, suggesting that manufacturing output is likely to remain weak in the near-term. Goods producers are likely to struggle over the rest of this year as rising borrowing costs and still-high inflation continue to squeeze household and corporate budgets.

“One area where the survey did offer some brighter news was on costs. Input cost inflation fell outright for the third consecutive month as pressures on transport and energy prices eased. But manufacturers appear to be attempting to rebuild margins rather than pass lower costs onto consumers, with factory gate charges remaining flat. Falling cost pressures should be welcomed by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), but the committee is unlikely to place much weight on the results of today’s survey. Instead, the MPC’s attention is likely to be focused on the much bigger services sector, where inflation has come down recently, but remains uncomfortably high. Therefore, the EY ITEM Club still expects the MPC to raise Bank Rate by 25bps later this week.”

More: EY