Digital Transformation Project: Schenk Tanktransport

Our digital transformation project is based on Schenk, a big international tank transportation company. The headquarter is located in Papendrecht, the Netherlands and the company has subsidiaries in Belgium, Germany, Poland. Austria and Luxembourg. Schenk started off as a family business and nowadays the third generation of the Schenk family is running the business. Schenk shifted from the sand and travel transportation to tank transport services that includes Oil products, Lubricants, Liquid gases, Cryogenic gases, LNG, Intermodal transport, Bitumen (ATV), Aviation services and Liquid Fertilizers (Schenk Tanktransport B.V., 2015).

First we started with analyzing the company in general. Based on our interviews with the head management of Schenk, our own observation and research and our in-depth analysis we found out that there were a few main processes in the daily business of Schenk that needed some crucial improvements. These main processes were related to documentation and especially the importance of the Proof-of-Delivery (CMR), which is really important in the industry where Schenk is operating. The main issues regarding this are as follows:

• The trip administration department spends at least an hour every day in order to retrieve information in order to provide the customer with some details about the transaction and answering CMR related questions. This is an inefficient way of arranging employee-working hours and makes order handling unnecessarily expensive.
• The invoicing process for the customers of Schenk is really slow and unstructured. Because invoicing can only happen upon receiving of the official delivery confirmation (CMR), this process will be delayed by sometimes more than a week.
• The dissatisfaction of the customer leads to tensions with respect to the relationship between Schenk and the customer.
• Within the processes of Schenk there is a lot of redundant paperwork involved. This will cause problems such as problems regarding missing important documents and spending a lot of time on handling hardcopy documents (such as CMR).

After observing these problems, we were trying to find the optimal solution for Schenk. Therefore, we came up with the solution called TransFollow. TransFollow is an online platform based on the new digital CMR (e-CMR) that can be submitted, exchanged, signed and traced. No hardcopy documents have to be exchanged anymore. The e-CMR replaces the traditional hardcopy version that has been around for over 80 years. TransFollow will help organizations save time, money and energy (TransFollow, 2015).

By implementing this technology of TransFollow, Schenk will be able to solve the above-mentioned solutions. The new technology must enable Schenk to make their logistic process more efficient and enables Schenk to save time and money. We assume that with this technology, Schenk is able to improve client relationships, and make the administration process more efficient. TransFollow will make sure that Schenk can remove all the redundant paperwork and make the whole business more efficient and effective. Schenk will be one of the first tank transportation companies that will change the status quo and start the digitalization of the logistic industry.

Group 48

Precision Farming

In this blog I want to introduce the concept of Precision Agriculture (PA). The traditional process of growing of crops has been replaced by complex systems monitoring and regulating the agricultural processes. This revolution has led to a new agricultural form: precision agriculture. Which is “a farming management concept based on observing, measuring  and responding to inter and intra-field variability in crops” (Wikipedia, 2015). This definition is still growing because technology changes and the idea of what is achievable changes accordingly (McBratney, et al., 2005).

Farmers need to change their way of information processing. In the past, human experience and knowledge was the main ingredient of a successful agricultural business. Nowadays intelligent systems become more and more important, and so does advanced information management. As argued in by Fountas (2015)“Precision farming requires an increasing amount of information in order to be sufficiently managed”.  An example of this is given in Precision Agriculture in Potato Production where the farmer uses spatial and temporal variability of soil conditions and also crop growth for documentation. This information is then used to analyze and manage the crops (Cambouris, et al., 2014). This approach leads to increased production and the reduction of environmental impact of agricultural activities

There are however, several drawbacks to be addressed in order to fully benefit from PA.  First, Precision Agriculture may lead to information overflow for farmers. Second, the collection of data is costly and data intensive. Last, there is a lack of technology transfer channels (Zhang, et al., 2002). For this it is important that correct systems are in place that effectively collect, store and analyze the data.

When looking at the existing literature and practices, it might very well be possible that in the future, a farmer won’t have to be physically present to inspect the crops. Farming will be about having the right measurement and data-collecting systems end the ability to analyze those data.

358455

Chris Stam

References

Cambouris, A., Zebarth, B., Ziadi, N. & Perron, I., 2014. Precision Agriculture in Potato Production. Potato Research, 57(3), pp. 249-262.

Fountas, S. et al., 2015. Farm machinery management information system. Computer and Electronics in Agriculture, Volume 110, pp. 131-138.

McBratney, A., Whelan, B. & Ancev, T., 2005. Future Predictions of Precision Agriculture. Precision Agriculture, Issue 6, pp. 7-23.

Wikipedia, 2015. Precision Agriculture. [Online]
Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precision_agriculture
[Geopend 10 October 2015].

Zhang, N., Wang, M. & Wang, N., 2002. Precision Agriculture – A worldwide overview. Computer and Electronics in Agriculture, 36(2-3), pp. 113-132.

Platform Mediated Networks

Helpling vs Work Hard Anywhere

For our report we made an analysis on platform mediated networks and chose to compare Helpling and Work Hard Anywhere (WHA). Below a short summary is written, where we describe the business models of each platform and will then shortly discuss their differences.

Helpling is an online platform where people can find a cleaner in a fast and relatively cheap way. Helpling is a closed platform, meaning that a company controls and limits the services that can work with the system (Sherr & Totty, 2011). They are also offering insurance in case things go wrong. One of the main values is quality; Helpling checks every new potential cleaner. Helpling’s service is based on customers’ reviews and feedback. Their platform is growing fast. Besides their original service they also want to offer healthcare solutions and cleaning services in the business world.

In the upcoming years Helpling will still be able to expand. Many households prefer hiring a cleaner and Helpling’s services make it easier to find someone for a good price (van Noort, 2015). At the moment the main competitive forces the company experiences are coming from the black economy and professional local companies that are part of the offline market. But their most direct competitor is another platform ‘ikzoekeenschoonmaakster.nl’.

To fight there forces and turn them into an opportunity or strength Helpling needs to make sure that switching costs stay high for the customers and network effects on both sides will add value.

WHA is a free online platform in the form of an app which provides a community directory of workplaces. WHA enables the user to have access to a large database of reviewed workspaces. Already 2500 locations are scanned on attributes such as loudness, Wi-Fi speed, outlets availability, crowdedness etc. Also, WHA posts good looking photographs of the workplaces. The app increases informedness and lowers search costs of the users. Word Hard Anywhere is an open platform, meaning that there are no restrictions placed on participation and when there are restrictions they are reasonable and non-discriminatory (Eisenmann, 2006). WHA is a pioneer in the industry but still needs to take into account the threat of competition. For example competitors in the offline market that offer workplaces like HNK (www.hnk.nk) and other platforms like ShareDesk. Besides the easy access for users (no paid subscription), WHA takes advantage of positive word-of-mouth/mouse.

If we compare these two platforms we can say that both are very young and fast growing networks. This implicates the possibility to grow even more, for Helpling this could be globally as well as in different markets such as the cleaning for businesses. For WHA this means connecting more workspace per area and also expending globally. A difference between the two platforms is the price. Helpling has a fixed price while WHA offers it services for free. For the future we think that both companies have great possibilities to  grow as customers will keep creating value for each other with the means of these platforms.

Technology of the Week  Group 48

Bibliography

Eisenmann, T. P. G. a. V. A. M., 2006. Strategies for Two-Sided Markets.. Harvard Business Review, 10(84), pp. 92-101.

Ikzoekeenschoonmaakster.nl, 2015. Ik zoek een schoonmaakster. [Online]
Available at: http://www.ikzoekeenschoonmaakster.nl/?gclid=CjwKEAjwp56wBRDThOSZ3vqGzmESJABjNaj9dCKLR2jVCdfzPVLVXLtBhuq4Zvczz1E69D6eaYgM3BoCgCLw_wcB
[Geopend 28 September 2015].

Li, T. & Pavlou, P., 2015. What drives users’website registration. Issue Working Paper.

Sherr, I. & Totty, M., 2011. Is It Better for Businesses to Adopt Open or Closed Platforms?. [Online]
Available at: http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204554204577023994194742720

Tiwana, A., 2014. Platform Ecosystems: Aligning Architecture, Governance, and Strategy. Morgan Kaufmann.). In: Platform Ecosystems: Aligning Architecture, Governance, and Strategy. sl:Morgan Kaufmann.

van Noort, W., 2015. Schoonmaak-app Helpling krijgt investering van 43 miljoen. [Online]
Available at: http://www.nrcq.nl/2015/03/25/schoonmaak-app-helpling-krijgt-investering-van-43-miljoen

Work Hard Anywhere, 2015. About. [Online]
Available at: http://workhardanywhere.com/community2/

Ethics and Information Strategy

Business nowadays are, with an accelerating pace,  gathering online data of individuals,  thereby creating powerful databases containing sensitive information. From a business perspective, this behavior enables firms to offer more tailored products and services to their (potential) customers. This phase of the Information Revolution, as Richards and Kings write, will result in a larger scale in social change at an even higher speed. Almost all human activities are becoming increasingly influenced  by big data predictions and, while of great value to firms, this collection of individual data also raises concerns.

We need balance the use of big data with human values like privacy, identity, free choice and transparency. In order to address this issue, Richard and King (2014) established four principles, or so-called big data ethical norms.                                                                                                                       First, the word “privacy” should be replaced by “ information rules”. In contrast to what many believe, privacy is not dying, but we should change our expectations and the boundaries of privacy. Privacy is not about how much is a secret but about what rules exist to use information.      Second, online trust should be restored. People don’t use technology, they don’t trust. When we share private information, we share in confidence. This, however, does not mean that this information is not ruled by privacy law. Users should trust on law and regulation for their information to remain confidential.                                                                                                                          Third, together with confidentiality, transparency should be in place in order for individuals to regain trust. However, there is a fine line between openness and secrecy with respect to transparency, also called the Transparency Paradox. In short, this paradox describes how too little information leads to a lack of trust and how too much transparency could harm privacy. Thus, there should be a balance in in privacy for individuals and privacy for institutions.                                                                     The fourth and last principle is about how big data can compromise identity. Our identities are being increasingly influenced by big data and the companies that control them. This phenomenon will only geow as big data will continue to be adopted by institutions. Because the development of big data is not natural, we should gain a deeper understanding and set clear boundaries to deal with its implications.

While big data offers great opportunities to firms and institutions, we should not ignore its challenges with respect to human values. Old regulations may not apply which urges debate on new laws and boundaries on information collection and handling.

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Chris Stam

Sources

Neil M. Richards, J. H. K., 2014. Big Data Ethics, Washington: s.n.