Acer today announced refreshes of its Predator Orion 9000 and 5000 gaming desktops, all featuring new 9th Gen Intel® Core™ desktop processors, giving gamers a leap in performance for smooth, seamless gameplay — even while streaming and recording.
“With the new 9th Gen Intel Core processors delivering up to 8 cores and 16 threads, the Predator Orion series desktops provides gamers with an arsenal of PCs that can withstand the most demanding gaming scenarios today,” said Jeff Lee, General Manager, Stationary Computing, IT Products Business, Acer Inc. “The refreshes are in line with Acer’s longstanding commitment to empower users with the latest technological breakthroughs, and provide them with best-in-class user experiences.”
“The new 9th Gen Intel Core desktop processors, featuring our flagship Intel Core i9-9900K, deliver the industry leading real-world performance that gamers demand,” said Anand Srivatsa, Vice President of the Client Computing Group, Intel. “The new Acer Predator Orion series desktops are incredible machines, and by harnessing the gaming performance delivered with the latest Intel Core processors, together we’re delivering premium gaming experiences.”
Powered by 9th Gen Intel Core desktop processors, the Predator Orion series gaming desktops are performance PCs designed for the serious to hardcore gamer. The Predator Orion 5000 is a gaming powerhouse for users who need an exceptional gaming rig, while the Predator Orion 9000 is a gamer’s dream machine aimed at the most demanding users, with top-of-the-line NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 2080 Ti GPUs1.
Predator Orion 9000 Series: The Ultimate Gaming Machine
With up to 9th Gen Intel Core i9-9900K processors and planned support for the new Intel Core X-series processors, the Predator Orion 9000 is the ultimate gaming PC. It features up to the latest NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti GPUs, and supports over 8K UHD graphics. A black and silver chassis gives it a spacecraft-like casing that glows with customizable ARGB (Addressable RGB) lighting bars and RGB LED fans. The prominent side window showcases the impressive interior with a design that keeps electromagnetic interference (EMI) levels in check despite the size of the opening. Acer’s IceTunnel 2.0 expels heat through an advanced airflow management solution that separates the system into several thermal zones, each with an individual airflow tunnel.
The Predator Orion 5000 gaming desktop features up to 9th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-9900K processors and up to the latest NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 GPUs. Just like the Predator Orion 9000, the Orion 5000’s chassis has the signature transparent side panel to show off its powerful internals and includes the IceTunnel 2.0 airflow management design to keep the system cool.
1 Specifications may vary depending on model and region
Acer Inc. (TWSE: 2353) announced today its consolidated revenues for the third quarter at NT$65.33 billion, up 7.8% YoY, and up 11.7% over the previous quarter. It also reported revenues for September at NT$22.92 billion, up 2.5% over the previous month, and up 2.5% year-on-year (YoY).
Acer’s gaming line1 and Chromebook line were key contributors to the growth. The gaming line grew by 93% YoY year-to-September, and 74% YoY in Q3, while the Chromebook line grew by 30% YoY year-to-September, and 49% YoY in Q3.
In the third quarter, Acer saw YoY revenue growth across all three regions (Pan-America, EMEA, and Pan-Asia Pacific), with outstanding year-to-September sales in the US, Russia, and Southeast Asia.
1 Acer’s gaming line includes notebooks, desktops and displays
The Consumer Technology Association (CTA)TM today announced that AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) President and CEO Dr. Lisa Su will deliver a keynote address at the upcoming CES® 2019. Dr. Su’saddress is scheduled for Wednesday, January 9 at 9:00 AM in the Venetian Palazzo Ballroom. Owned and produced by CTA, CES 2019, the world’s largest innovation event, will run January 8-11, 2019 in Las Vegas.
In 2019, AMD will catapultcomputing, gaming, and visualization technologies forward with the world’s first 7nm high-performance CPUs and GPUs, providing the power required to reach technology’s next horizon. During her CES keynote, Dr. Su and guests will provide a view into the diverse applications for new computing technologies ranging from solving some of the world’s toughest challenges to the future of gaming, entertainment and virtual reality with the potential to redefine modern life.
“AMD is transforming the future of computing in our ever-expanding digital world, with innovative solutions that will revolutionize markets and solve many of the world’s most pressing issues,” said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, CTA. “We look forward to Dr. Su’s CES keynote as she paints a picture of the next-generation of computing that will redefine the industry and our world.”
Dr. Lisa Su is AMD president and chief executive officer and serves on the company’s board of directors. Previously, Dr. Su held executive leadership and engineering positions with AMD, Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. and IBM after receiving her bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 2017, Dr. Su was named one of the “World’s 50 Greatest Leaders” by Fortune Magazine and the “Top Ranked Semiconductor CEO” by Institutional Investor Magazine. Under Dr. Su’s leadership, AMD has introduced two completely new chip architectures and more than ten different product families, resulting in double-digit annual revenue growth in 2017.
Dr. Su’s address marks the first CES keynote from AMD in show history. She joins IBM CEO Ginni Rometty as confirmed CES 2019 keynote speakers. Additional CES keynotes will be announced in the coming weeks. Visit the CES Keynote page for the latest updates.
CES is the largest and most influential technology event on the planet, featuring 4,500 exhibitors across 2.75 million net square feet of exhibit space. The 2018 event attracted 182,198 attendees, including a record 63,784 international attendees, according to the official show audit. The show provides access to the very latest transformative tech such as 5G connectivity, artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, smart home, smart cities, sports, machine intelligence and more.
Registration for CES 2019 is now open. Download or subscribe to the CES Tech Talk podcast, back for a second season to explore all the emerging tech trends attendees will see and experience at CES 2019. For the latest exhibitor news and show announcements, visit CES.tech.
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About CES:
CES® is the world's gathering place for all who thrive on the business of consumer technologies. It has served as the proving ground for innovators and breakthrough technologies for 50 years-the global stage where next-generation innovations are introduced to the marketplace. As the largest hands-on event of its kind, CES features all aspects of the industry. Owned and produced by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)TM, it attracts the world's business leaders and pioneering thinkers. Check out CES video highlights. Follow CES online at CES.techand on social.
About Consumer Technology Association: Consumer Technology Association (CTA)™ is the trade association representing the $377 billion U.S. consumer technology industry, which supports more than 15 million U.S. jobs. More than 2,200 companies – 80 percent are small businesses and startups; others are among the world’s best-known brands – enjoy the benefits of CTA membership including policy advocacy, market research, technical education, industry promotion, standards development and the fostering of business and strategic relationships. CTA also owns and produces CES® – the world’s gathering place for all who thrive on the business of consumer technologies. Profits from CES are reinvested into CTA’s industry services.
For more than 45 years AMD has driven innovation in high-performance computing, graphics and visualization technologies ― the building blocks for gaming, immersive platforms and the datacenter. Hundreds of millions of consumers, leading Fortune 500 businesses and cutting-edge scientific research facilities around the world rely on AMD technology daily to improve how they live, work and play. AMD employees around the world are focused on building great products that push the boundaries of what is possible. For more information about how AMD is enabling today and inspiring tomorrow, visit the AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) website, blog, Facebookand Twitter pages.
AMD, the AMD logo and combinations thereof are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the US and other jurisdictions. Other product names used are for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective companies.
“With the launch of the South District of the Republic in SM Mall of Asia, we aim to further solidify our stance as the number one gaming brand in the country as we open the first ROG concept store in the country that adapts an open-floor layout. This is the first store outside Taiwan that will embrace an experiential floor plan, similar to our ROG premium store in Syntrend Electronics Mall in Taipei, and gives current and prospective ROG end-users with a better experience in trying out the latest ROG devices to help with their decision to Join the Republic,” said ASUS Philippines Systems Group Country Manager George Su.
ASUSRepublic of Gamers (ROG) opened its most daring store yet in the Philippines at the SM Cyberzone, SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City. With its opening, ROG strengthens its forts in south Metro Manila and ensures that end users who visit the store get nothing but the best gaming experiences.
(From left to right) ASUS Philippines Systems Group Country Manager Mr. George Su, Villman Computers Philippines Inc. Chief Executive Officer and President Mr. Manuel Villaroman Jr. and Chief Financial Officer and General Manager, Ms. Girlie Villaroman led the official ribbon cutting during the opening of the ROG MoA Concept Store in SM Mall of Asia
End-users can engage with powerful ROG machines in these built fixtures, giving them more immersive experiences with the products.
This milestone opening of the first-ever ROG store boasting an open-floor layout was attended by VIPs from ASUS Philippines, executives from partner dealer and distributors, premier DoTA 2 Shoutcaster Nico “KuyaNic” Nazario, and top local female streamer and ROG Ambassador Ann B. Mateo. End-users got a chance to play together with their e-sports and gaming idols in a head-on battle between Team Hero and Team SCAR spearheaded respectively by the gaming personalities.
Premier DoTA 2 Shoutcaster Nico “KuyaNic” Nazario and ROG Ambassador Ann B. Mateo battled together with their teams to determine who dominates the South District between Team Hero and Team SCAR.
ROG started fortifying its Districts back in 2016 by opening the Capital of the Republic in SM Megamall – the first ever concept store in the country, followed by the (2nd) North District in SM North EDSA in the same year. ROG continued to grow its territories, expanding its market to the Visayas Region by opening its 3rd District in SM City Cebu in 2017.
“With these districts of the Republic, ASUS ROG has dominated as the number one gaming brand in the country. In fact, we are happy to share that we are still the Number 1 gaming brand today, with a 53 percent market share based on market data as of June 2018,” said Su.
“However, our efforts don’t stop there. As we aim to expand our market share in the country, members of the Republic can also expect to get the same experience when they visit present and upcoming ROG districts near them,’ Su concluded.
Powerful machines to watch out for in the New ROG Concept Store
Designed for both first-person shooter (FPS) and multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA), these powerful successors feature a more compact design and a new front RGB light bar with customizable Aura Sync lighting. Both the SCAR II and Hero II laptops feature the world’s first 144Hz ultra-narrow-bezel display which allow for hyper-immersive visual performance. Both editions come with an 8th Generation Intel Core i7-8750H processor and 16GB of DDR4-2666MHz RAM. The Strix GL504 SCAR II comes with a 256GB NVMe PCIe SSD, a 2.5” Firecuda 1TB SSHD, NVIDIA GTX 1070 with 8GB GDDR5 VRAM; while the Strix GL504 Hero II comes with a 128GB NVMe PCIe SSD, a 2.5” Firecuda 1TB SSHD, NVIDIA GTX 1060 with 6GB GDDR5 VRAM.
The ROG Huracan G21 takes desktop gaming into a whole new level with its features that fits a supreme gaming machine. It unleashes its true potential as it improves the airflow when the side cover is opened which enables CPU and GPU performance boost. Maintenance and upgrade of key components are easier with its slide-open chassis design. This small-form factor desktop houses the latest 8th Generation Intel Core i7-8750H processor and up to NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 graphics for an extraordinary gaming experience. Huracan G21 also comes with up to 512GB NVMe PCIe 3.0 x4 SSD and up to 32GB DDR4 VRAM. It also comes with Aura Sync which shows off your gaming colors with synchronized light effects with other Aura Sync-compatibles devices.
According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Philippines' Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, smartphone shipments reached 7.8 million units in 1H18, posting a 5.6% growth year over year (YoY) and allowing the market to bounce back from the -6.6% decline experienced in 1H17. The smartphone market showed growth compared with last year because of the increase in shipments of midrange smartphones. Although the ultra-low-end smartphones still have the biggest market share, the average selling price (ASP) of a smartphone grew to US$192 in 1H18 compared with the US$127 before in 1H17.
“The higher ASP indicates that end users are willing to invest in a phone with better specifications and features to suit their latest needs. Use of phones have become heavier, aside from end users being accustomed to using smartphones as a platform for capturing, sharing, saving content, and streaming videos, engaging in higher form of mobile gaming has also been emerging” says Polyne Gallevo, Market Analyst, IDC Philippines.
The availability of payment options has continued to make purchasing higher priced smartphones less taxing for end users. Financing companies such as Home Credit and Flexi Finance, and in-store retail credit allow customers who do not own credit cards to get installment plans to make payments lighter.
"Keeping in mind that Filipinos remain to be price conscious and want to ensure they get the best value of their money, brands now highlight not only the quality of cameras but also features that make smartphone usage experience better such as near bezel-less screens, high-speed processors, quality speakers, AI features, and long battery life to ensure the customers that the brand is the bang for their buck,” Gallevo adds.
Top 5 Vendors of 1H18
Cherry Mobile continues to lead the smartphone market in terms of unit market share but experienced a slight decline as it faces price competition with international brands and their strong marketing.
Samsung remains at the second spot as it continues its approach of being present in most price points with the J and A series for low-end to midrange and its flagship phones S and Note series for the premium, combined with celebrity endorsements.
Vivo climbed up a notch to third place in a year with its aggressive marketing efforts and tapping of popular local celebrity endorsers in launching V9. Shipments for their Y series increased with the launch of Y71 and Y85. X21 was also launched as the first in-display fingerprint smartphone and the official smartphone of FIFA.
OPPO slips into fourth place as Vivo becomes more aggressive. The vendor maintains its presence through mall ads and promodisers. It launched OPPO F7, A71, and F7 Youth. OPPO also tapped local celebrity endorsers who have a high reach among the millennials and masses.
Huawei shows significant growth. The vendor increased its marketing activities with noticeable in-store display in retail, online ads, and celebrity endorsements.
IDC announced today the winners from the Philippines of the second IDC Digital Transformation Awards (DXa) at the IDC DX Awards 2018 Philippines held at Makati Shangri-La Hotel. Union Bank of the Philippines was named 2018 “Digital Transformer of the Year” with ALLCARE, Manila Electric Company (MERALCO), Asian Hospital and Medical Center, Unilab Inc and PhilCare also recognized as the category winners for Digital Disruptor, Talent Accelerator, Information Visionary, Operating Model Master and Omni-Experience Innovator, respectively. The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation was also awarded for displaying great masteries under the Information Visionary and DX leader categories.
IDC DXa recognizes organizations that have significantly disrupted the market or have transformed
it, using digital and disruptive technologies. All the seven winners from the Philippines will represent
the country to go head-to-head with winners from other Asia Pacific countries at the regional finals
in Singapore on 25th October. These winners have distinguished themselves in terms of business
transformation initiatives across one or more of the five DX masteries to transform and disrupt the
market in the Philippines.
“This year’s nominations have proven that all industries are keen on improving their business
processes and client engagement. We have seen interesting projects on cognitive computing/AI, Big
Data and Analytics, IoT, robotics and robotics process automation being utilized across vertical
industries, among others. This signifies that DX has achieved a macroeconomic scale and has
become an important tool for Philippine businesses to achieve success,” said Jubert Alberto, Head
of Operations, IDC Philippines.
“The Philippine businesses are commonly working in silos. As they commit to transform their
businesses, these organizations have been establishing an enterprise-wide digital strategy that
could help address IT challenges across all business units. IDC believes this is the main priority for
the local enterprises, as it will help them in crafting out a unified digital roadmap and strategy that
will provide an overall holistic change in the culture, people, and business processes. Constant
engagement and strong collaboration between IT and Line of Business (LOB) are needed for this
initiative, therefore, awareness of emerging technologies such as cloud, Internet of Things (IoT), and
big data and analytics (BDA) should continuously grow for digital transformation to take place,” said
Sudev Bangah, Managing Director, IDC ASEAN.
The winning organizations in the Philippines for the 2018 IDC DX Awards and their outstanding DX
initiatives that distinguished them are:
• Union Bank of the Philippines’ Union Bank of the Philippines Digital Transformation named
as Digital Transformer of the Year: Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) is
relentless in its pursuit to transform into a Digital Bank, with a culture of innovation and
experimentation changing the way how the UnionBank engages with clients and employees
alike. Digital transformation is evident in all aspects of the business with projects including
the use of artificial intelligence in customer-facing chatbots, deployment of an open API
strategy for its partners, and implementation of Robotic Process Automation in centralized
backroom operations for the creation and submission of financial reports and in other tasks
leading to a decrease of up 80% in processing time. The bank has also given focus to
improving customer experience through the launch of its new mobile app and website, which
has driven customer interactions from 26% to 98% of all total customer interactions since
2017. Its most recent initiative is The Ark, UnionBank's first fully digital lifestyle branch. The
Ark champions an interactional experience rather than a transactional space, with features
that allow customers to open new accounts in less than 10 minutes with virtual telling
machines and apply for home and auto loans with augmented and virtual reality
experiences.
• ALLCARE’s ALLCARE named as Digital Disruptor of the Year: ALLCARE addresses the
compensation gap where the alternative workforce, composed of freelancers, solo
entrepreneurs, professionals, and other informal workers do not have access to care and
welfare that traditional employees have. ALLCARE aggregates freelancers’ benefits
demand around the world and uses economies of scale to make benefits affordable and
accessible to them. Utilizing blockchain technology, ALLCARE helps open this new and
underserved market to providers without sacrificing operational costs through the usage of
fully automated transactions in smart contracts. By incentivizing both workers and benefit
providers through real-world value and utility, ALLCARE has grown to be a major disruption
in the workforce technology space.
• Philippine Health Insurance Corporation’s Data-driven Transformation of PhilHealth led by
Jovita Aragona, Senior Vice President and CIO named as DX Leader of the Year and
Information Visionary of the Year: PhilHealth is the sole administrator of national social
health insurance for all Filipinos, which makes effective data management a vital to achieve
the mandate of providing financial risk protection to the entire population. Led by Jovita
Aragona, Senior Vice President and CIO, PhilHealth’s data management strategy
commenced in 2016 with business intelligence and cloud technologies. As it broke down
traditional barriers to efficiency, information accessibility-availability, and collaboration, data
became a strategic asset for PhilHealth. With integrity of mission-critical data, system- and
process- harmonization, and standard data report-analysis-mining techniques, PhilHealth
has improved its programs and services for Filipinos through a comprehensive analysis of
health insurance claims over time periods, diseases, social classes, national-LGU
geographical areas, demographics, benefits programs, payment schemes, and other
insurance-health dimensions. With advanced analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine
learning, PhilHealth has also initiated a framework in detecting fraud and abuse in insurance
claims. Finally, data on hand has also empowered PhilHealth to support the Department of
Health in the creation of health programs, control of real-potential epidemics and emerging
health conditions and trends, and synchronization of Universal Health Care initiatives.
• Traci of Manila Electric Company (MERALCO) named as Talent Accelerator of the Year:
After discovering a growing talent pool on social media, MERALCO launched its chatbot
TRACI to support the Talent Resourcing team's initiative to optimize and streamline the job
application process and establish an additional medium for engagement. TRACI enables
users view job vacancies and submit applications via Facebook Messenger. TRACI is
integrated with Google's artificial intelligence platform, which serves as the foundation for
the chatbot’s Natural Language Processing, allowing MERALCO to provide timely feedback
on job inquiries and application status. All backend services are hosted and supported on
the cloud with a document management system that holds all applicant submissions. Data
about job vacancies posted are populated using Robotic Process Automation, which runs
daily to support the process. With TRACI, MERALCO leverages digital technology to efficiently communicate to a younger generation of talent, positively impacting brand equity
and recruitment capabilities.
• Asian Hospital and Medical Center’s Asian Hospital Hopprlab Power Bi Analytics named as
Information Visionary of the Year: The Asian Hospital and Medical Center (AHMC) is
committed to data-driven healthcare and has leveraged advanced analytics provide better
services to its patients while lowering the total cost of care. Through the integration of digital
technologies and modern medicine, AHMC is better equipped to deliver quality healthcare
to it is patients. The hospital began digitalization in 2016, with its integrated information
system delivering real-time insights on daily operations. AHMC has also gained the ability
to understand historical trends, with such as month-on-month patient surges and ER
overflows, and at the same time, learn about changing risk factors and new infectious
diseases. AHMC has been able to make strategic data-driven decisions to make further
improvements on its infrastructure, facilities, and manpower utilization, which includes
nurses and specialists. Having also digitized the hospital’s lab information, the AHMC
Medical Informatics department is now working with the hospital's pharmacy module to
provide further support to doctors in their clinical decisions. AHMC has also implemented a
Patient Flow System, which allows doctors to understand the end-to-end patient journey,
lowering the average Emergency Room to exit time to three hours, exceeding international
standards.
• Unilab, Inc.’s Unilab Implements NetSuite OneWorld to Transform B2B Operations named
Operating Model Master: Unilab, the largest pharmaceutical company in the Philippines is
the first in its industry to leverage cloud ERP to standardize and stabilize its distributor
management program through its iSERV 2.0 project. With NetSuite OneWorld, Unilab has
helped power its 21 distributors by setting them up as individual partners. By upgrading to
a unified cloud ERP system, Unilab has enabled its distributors to easily manage inventory
and billing processes of over 10,000 trade accounts, such as drug stores, clinics, and grocery stores. Unilab has also used this system for sales and data consolidation and multi-subsidiary management. Since the completion of this transformation in January 2017, Unilab has streamlined operations for its distributors and has gained greater visibility into the channel, contributing to its US $1 billion revenue.
• PhilCare’s HeyPhil App named Omni-Experience Innovator of the Year: To assist members who need immediate consultation but must go through long queues and slow turn-around times to acquire a Letter of Authorization (LOA) forms required in medical services ailment, Philhealth Care, Inc. (PhilCare) has developed HeyPhil, a mobile application utilizing Artificial Intelligence technology. A first in the local HMO industry, PhilCare has incorporated Artificial Intelligence with the function of a virtual agent to help obtain information using natural language processing. Through the HeyPhil App, members can generate the LOA at their own convenience and avail of medical services directly without queuing at a hospital or clinic concierge. From the usual average handling time of 6 minutes
at a medical partner or via the contact center and 30 minutes queuing at a hospital concierge, members can now get their own forms in less than two minutes. HeyPhil also provides the nearest physician, hospital, or clinic based on patient symptoms and location.
Aside from LOA generation for consultations and laboratory procedures, members may also
validate their eligibility and standard medical benefits. Finally, the app features a PhilCare
Digi-Card, BMI and calorie calculators, and medical health bulletins and offers digital
consultation with an online doctor.
IDC’s DX Awards follows a two-phased approach to determine the country and regional winners.
Each nomination is evaluated by a local and regional IDC analyst against a standard assessment
framework based on IDC’s DX taxonomy. All country winners will qualify for the regional competition, which will be decided by a regional panel of judges comprised of IDC Worldwide analysts, industry thought leaders, and academia.
Winners from all around Asia Pacific will join the Singapore winners at IDC's DX Summit and Digital Transformation Awards (DXa) Gala Night, where the regional winners will be announced for the categories of Digital Transformer of the Year; Digital Disruptor of the Year; DX Leader, Omni-
experience Innovator, Talent Accelerator, Information Visionary, and Operating Model Master.
The regional awarding ceremony will happen on the 25th October 2018 at JW Marriott
Singapore. For more information on the awards and judging criteria, please visit the IDC DX
Awards website HERE.
Businesses in Asia-Pacific face what is arguably the most critical customer experience imperative in the world. This is because here, 71 percent of consumers make online purchases[1] and investment is e-commerce is on the rise. Meanwhile, consumers are becoming more demanding: 76 percent of consumers in the Asia Pacific region now say that customer service should be a company’s top priority[2]. Businesses across Asia must, therefore, do all in their power to raise the game and create winning customer experiences that keep people coming back for more.
Business leaders in the region today are challenged with delivering differentiated customer experiences; leading many to rethink the way they design their supply chain operations. These organizations must cope with exponential demand, and supply chains need to become much faster and precise.
As businesses in Asia set out to meet these challenges, 2018 looks set to be a critical year, with 94% of supply chain leaders saying that digital transformation will fundamentally change supply chains this year[3]. Moving quickly, business leaders in Asia are investing in digital tools to obtain real-time demand data, shorten replenishment cycle times, optimize deliveries and predict future demand. The rest will be left behind.
Who exactly are these leaders? There are many to choose from: the Asia Pacific market brings together the right combination of logistics and e-commerce expertise required to drive breakthrough innovation. Where this innovation happens, customer experiences are taken to a new height.
Supply chain transformation in action
Take SpeedFactory by Adidas: a concept that’s making its way to Shanghai and Tokyo. SpeedFactory uses advanced 3D printing technology from Carbon, Adidas’ supply chain partner. The printers allow athletes to order hyper-personalized running shoes with unique soles that are tailored to individuals’ weights, foot contours, and running styles. The shoe design even incorporates data that takes account of conditions in different cities, thereby meeting the needs of runners in the exact environment in which they’re running.
By rethinking its supply chain, Carbon has enabled something special: marketing on a truly individual level. In part, it has been able to do this through advanced cloud applications for areas such as customer service, procurement, inventory, order management, manufacturing, and supply chain. The cloud has made it easier for Adidas to interact with a global supply chain in an economical way – essential as it ramps up production with global brands.
But it’s not only consumer brands that are enhancing the customer experience through supply chain transformation. Take Bac Ky Logistics. This Vietnamese logistics company has embraced automation to deliver a stronger overall customer experience. The company has completely automated the scheduling of transportation and delivery management; in the process enhancing transparency and speed of service for customers. The company has also used advanced, data-driven cloud applications to better visualize its supply chain, logistics, and trade information in real-time. This has helped it optimize resourcing and reduce the number of empty containers.
Other organizations are looking at the power of supply chain transformation to play an integral role in the move to digital. Thai company Tipco Asphault manufactures and distributes asphalt products servicing road construction, maintenance, and paving industries. Having launched its ‘iChange’ strategy to transform the organization to respond to the imperatives of digital and industry 4.0, it needed a cloud specialist to help modernize its supply chain and thereby enhance the customer experience. Tipco’s strategy centres on overhauling its IT system across key business units including management, purchasing, production process, transportation, distribution, sales, and after-sales services.
Adrian Johnston is the Senior Vice President of Cloud (SaaS) Applications at Oracle Asia Pacific
Supply chains in the digital age
These companies are disrupting the supply chain to drive innovation. They are doing this by using data to better join up their back- and front-offices, influence product, and service development enable hyper-personalization and drive efficiency.
According to Bain & Co, companies that integrate digital technologies into their supply chain can quickly improve service levels while cutting costs up to 30 percent[4]. Agile supply chain operations are, therefore, critically important to ensuring front-office innovations are a success – but most companies are not yet rebuilding their back-office functions at a fast-enough rate. In fact, according to research from Accenture and HfS, over 50 percent of enterprises say it takes months or even years for their support business functions to make changes in response to evolving business needs[5]. The reasons given for this include siloed internal processes, which approximately 80 percent of organizations cited as barriers preventing them from achieving their business goals.
Successful companies build a short-term roadmap with concrete initiatives that will start delivering benefits quickly and provide flexibility in reaching long-term supply chain goals.
We believe the cloud roadmap, with Software-as-a-Service for supply chain operations as the core, answers. The cloud brings together the disparate data, systems, and partners that comprise supply chains and facilitates their integration across the enterprise. As such, the cloud provides the basis through which back-office operations can be made agile rapidly, and with minimal disruption to the business. When you start adding AI and IoT led business applications to the supply chain operations, this transforms businesses into intelligent enterprise further fuelling innovation and customer experience differentiation.
Act now
Begin by debating questions at your next board meeting - What will business in Asia look like in five years, and what supply chain capabilities you need? Organisations that are leading the way in the adoption of cloud and data technologies are making e-commerce faster and more personalized than ever. Other innovators are using data from manufacturing and post-sales to iteratively improve their services and create additional revenue streams through new business models. The supply chain is a fundamental driver of success in the digital age and all organizations need to act now by looking at how their own supply chain is set up and whether it is still fit for purpose
