INNNOVATE - Mars Announces US$100M Fund

Leap Ventures and the Companion Fund are Supported by US$100 Million Venture Investment from Mars Petcare

Mars Petcare unveiled two new programs to support startup innovation and the next generation of disruptors in the pet care industry. Leap Venture Studio (Leap) in partnership with Michelson Found Animals and R/GA is the first accelerator focused on the future of pet care, and Companion Fund is a $100 million venture capital fund in partnership with Digitalis Ventures. 

"We're excited to support entrepreneurs and innovators in creating new products and services that deliver on our purpose: 'A Better World for Pets,'" said Poul Weihrauch, President, Mars Petcare. "The extraordinary opportunities of connected technology and data are open to all. Match them with the expansive reach, resources and core capabilities of a company like Mars, and together we can create a powerful force for change."

These programs are new ways of reaching innovators and entrepreneurs whose companies are at various stages, from ideation to execution to scale.

"Our ambition is to become a partner of choice for everyone willing to change the rules of the game in pet care. Mars Petcare is leveraging our own success stories, Whistle and Wisdom Health, to identify and support the next wave of industry disruptors," said Leonid Sudakov, President of Connected Solutions, the global ventures, consumer technology, data and analytics division of Mars Petcare. "Mars Petcare's unique global scale and network of connected businesses will support the founders in taking their ideas from whiteboard to pets and their owners' homes."

About Companion Fund
Companion Fund is a $100 million venture capital fund managed by Digitalis Ventures. Companion Fund will provide startup capital and support to entrepreneurs addressing the needs of pets, pet owners and vets. The fund will focus primarily on the investment opportunities in Digital Health, Diagnostics, Nutrition and Services, but is excited to explore new areas of need with exceptional entrepreneurs. Digitalis Ventures has offices in New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles and London.

About Leap 
Leap is the first startup accelerator focused on pet care innovation, led by Mars Petcare, R/GA and Michelson Found Animals. Leap is based in Portland, Oregon, at R/GA's office in the heart of the innovation-centric Pearl District. Leap is targeting early stage startups and will be split into two cohorts of six companies each. A customized team of R/GA's award-winning strategists, technologists, designers and consultants will collaborate with the startups to help execute their business plans and prepare them for future milestones, including fundraising, pitching and business development. The startups will receive mentorship from industry executives and access to world-class partners.

INNOVATE - Amazon Targets Counterfeit Merchandise

Amazon's Transparency Program to Prevent Counterfeit Merchandise Seeks to Add 1,000 brands in 2018

Amazon Transparency Program

In the spring of 2016, Amazon began trialing a new approach to eliminating counterfeit product. The program was tested on Amazon products for the first year. It expanded to a few select vendors in mid 2017 but in 2018 Transparency is expanding to hundreds of other brands.

According to Amazon, there are three types of brands that need this protection:

1. Brands that value the authenticity of their products and can be negatively impacted by counterfeit merchandise.
2. Brands with product manufactured through “3rd shift” or secondary factories.
3. Brands launching new products likely to attract counterfeit copycats.

This cool program uses the Amazon app to provide consumers with information about where the product was manufactured and other details that validate the  authenticity. The consumer uses the Smartphone app to take a picture of the 2D barcode and automatically sees the information associated with that SKU.

Transparency Label

The Transparency Program identifier label looks like this:

Amazon provides a unique 26 digit alphanumeric code related to the authenticity information for each product enrolled in the program. The manufacturer applies the code to the product prior to delivery so the Amazon fulfillment centre is able to validate authenticity during the product acceptance phase. The manufacturer receives global protection by applying the code to each product no matter which channel it sells through. Consumers use the code to verify the product no matter where it is purchased, but will be assured of accredited merchandise when they acquire the product through Amazon.

According to Amazon, the program will add between $0.01-$0.05 to the cost of each item depending on the volume. Amazon product acceptance protocols are expected to discover most counterfeit merchandise, however, consumers may also report vendors selling counterfeit product. Once registered, Amazon will notify all sellers that Transparency codes are required and will not accept product whether sold by the brand, a third-party seller or Amazon Retail.

Amazon Marketplace features millions of independent vendors across the globe who list hundreds of millions of items. Since the launch 10+ years ago, Amazon Marketplace accounts for over half the company's e-commerce volume. This rapid expansion has forced Amazon to deal with a surge in counterfeits and unauthorized selling.

CNBC recently told the story of Wee Urban owner Holly MacLean. After reaching a peak of $500,000 in baby clothing sales on Amazon Marketplace in 2016, she saw revenue plunge 80 percent in 2017 because of counterfeit and copyright infringement issues. 

According to CNBC, Amazon has invited "early adopters" to trial the Transparency program for their products. Bang & Olufsen, Victorinox Swiss Army and 3M are said to be among those invited. 

Amazon Transparency Program Frequently Asked Questions

Amazon plans to roll Transparency out across all Amazon marketplaces and any brand by the end of 2018. Those interested in learning more can email Amazon at:

 Transparency-busdev@amazon.com

INNOVATE - Alberta Treasury Branches Support Entrepreneurs

ATB Encourages Diversity and Development with E-Centers and a 14 Week Business Accelerator Program

The digital economy is demanding new approaches to banking and financial relationships. Alberta Treasury Branches has taken an innovative approach which could be a model for other financial institutions and provinces.

Entrepreneurial Centers in both Edmonton and Calgary are providing new business developers and innovators with a collaborative space and services that are designed to solve the issues they face. The 14 week ATB-X Business Accelerator Program helps new business owners at the market validation stage to sharpen their skills with an intensive program of curriculum, connections and community.

ATB X Cohort 4 is completing the program and Cohort 5 is gathering for a launch later this year. Bravo ATB!

Perhaps this investment will give rise to the kind of diversification needed in Alberta. Perhaps ATB will be able to integrate these programs with entrepreneurial activities already under way at the University of Calgary to encourage new business development in the province.

INNOVATE - Tyson's US$150M VC Fund Completes First Year

Tyson New Ventures LLC Invests in Sustainability and the Internet of Food

Tyson is the top producer of edible protein in North America. 

As part of Tyson’s commitment to grow bolder, the company set up Tyson New Ventures LLC in the 2016, a venture capital fund with an initial investment of US$150M. 

Tyson Ventures has a mandate to make minority stake investments in promising entrepreneurial food businesses that are pioneering breakthrough products and technologies, as well as disruptive business models. All of these investments will add sustainably to feeding a growing world population.

During first year of operation, Tyson invested in the plant-based protein business Beyond Meat with a 5% equity interest in the company and recently increased that stake in the latest financing. Tyson Ventures has also invested in Memphis Meats a producer of cultured meat products that intends to transform the way meat is made, and Tovala a company that combines an internet-connected steam oven with fresh meal deliveries.

According to company literature, Tyson Ventures quickly saw the benefit of strong connections with entrepreneurs and investors in the venture capital industry. It believes a strong integration with the core Tyson businesses could pay significant dividends.

In 2018, the second year of operation for Tyson Ventures, the firm intends to focus on building stronger bonds between Tyson Ventures’ key investment pillars and Tyson Foods’ core business units to meet the strategic long-term goals of the corporation.

Tyson Venture has focused on two core pillars: The first is those ideas and products that will add sustainability and the second is something they call the Internet of Food.

Sustainability:
Tyson behaviors show they are committed to a holistic approach to sustainability. Activities in this pillar are focused on the environment, the animals, the communities they serve, their team members and the products they provide to consumers. Tyson Venture intends to invest in emerging companies that can enhance sustainability to expand this corporate strategy.

There are four lenses used to enhance the sustainability pillar:

• Alternative proteins – companies that are focused on engineering innovative and sustainable methods of supplying a growing global population with delicious and nutritious protein
• Food waste – companies that are focused on mitigating or eliminating food waste up and down the supply chain, from the farmer to the end consumer
• Food safety – companies that are focused on ensuring food safety including pathogen testing or supply chain logistics
• Food deserts – companies that are focused on innovative ways to sustainably feed a projected world population of 10 billion by 2050

The Internet of Food:
Tyson Ventures recognizes that technology has and will continue to impact all  industries and wishes to understand and invest in those technologies that will impact the agrifood ecosystem. Tyson already makes significant investments in technology every year to improve team member safety and drive innovation across its businesses. 

Tyson Ventures intends to augment existing strategies and tactics in seven areas:

• Big Data – companies that facilitate the analysis of consumer and manufacturing information to better inform the food supply chain as to demand and consumer preferences
• Sensors – companies that provide technology-enabled sensor systems to monitor the supply chain
• Disruptive revenue models – companies that develop new methods of obtaining customers and delivering product leveraging digital channels and social marketing 
• The connected kitchen – companies that are developing technologies to change the way food is prepared in both a commercial and residential setting
• Precision Agriculture – companies focused on technology-enabled tools to enable growers to more efficiently develop crop plans and apply water and nutrient resources
• Traceability –  companies that are developing software and processes to allow for deeper insights into the food supply chain, enabling tracking, tracing, recall and recapture capabilities
• Automation – companies focused on software and hardware tools to create safer, more efficient workflows in our processing facilities

Evidence the agrifood ecosystem is being disrupted is unassailable. When a company like Tyson makes significant changes that will allow it to be at the center of disruption, it is time to ensure you have 'The Right Think' no matter where in the ecosystem you sit. One wonders if primary producer associations and those who support them are taking disruption seriously.

INNOVATE - Canadian Government Unveils Winners of the SuperCluster Competion

Innovation Minister, Navdeep Bains, Announced Five SuperClusters in Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Manufacturing, Oceans and Proteins Who Will Share C$950M

And the winners are:



Digital Technology Supercluster: 
This British Columbia based consortium will boost competitiveness in precision health, manufacturing and resource and environment technologies by advancing data collection, analysis and visualization.

Protein Industries Supercluster:
This Saskatchewan based consortium will harness technologies to help Canada become the world leader in supplying plant-based proteins and related products.

Advanced Manufacturing Supercluster:
This Ontario based consortium will drive collaboration between the tech and manufacturing sectors, using technologies like Big Data, intelligent machines and the so-called "internet of things" to scale up production and improve efficiency.

SCALE.AI Supercluster: 
This Quebec based consortium will define a global supply-chain platform that will boost artificial intelligence and data science in Canada, particularly in the retail, manufacturing and infrastructure sectors.

Ocean Supercluster: 
This Atlantic Canada based consortium will maximize the potential and sustainable development of the ocean economy. It would invest in digital technologies for industries such as aquaculture, fisheries, offshore oil and gas and clean energy.

INNOVATION CANADA

INNOVATE - Moonlite to Bring Cryptocurrency Mining Ops to The Land of Fire and Ice

Blockchain Research Institute (BRI) Brought This Cryptocurrency Mining Plan to our Attention

The Moonlite project plans to locate a bitcoin mining operation in Iceland and so to take advantage of the low cost green power and abundant cooling infrastructure available.


Here's a 2.5 minute National Geographic Video to refresh your knowledge of  Iceland. 

We were able to find a number of reviews of the plan and there seems to be a number of cryptocurrency and blockchain analysts following the company. The timeline for the development according to the ICO Examiner looks like this:



Digital Trends published an article looking at the Moonlite plan earlier this month. It was this article as referenced in the BRI newsletter that drew our attention to the idea of locating a mining operation in Iceland. 

The idea of solving the power and cooling requirements with innovation was also referenced in a January InfoStream article about the Myera Group in Manitoba. This Canadian company hopes to eliminate the 'energy deficit' of mining operations using the heat for an Agrifood operation that could market fish and other products to offset the cost of energy.

The research at that time showed a great deal of attention and potential relocation of very large mining operations currently located in China as that government moves to shut down or restrict cryptocurrency activity.

Business Insider published an article out of their London bureau that says Canada is attempting to lure these cryptocurrency mining operations to areas of the country where low-cost energy is available. According to the Business Insider article:

"bitcoin miners are thinking of moving to Canada after lobbying from the country's energy industry. Quebec specifically has been wooing bitcoin miners in the hopes of boosting local economies." 

Reuters added:

"Bitmain, the world's biggest blockchain mining company, is looking at moving operations to Canada and said utility company Hydro Quebec is in talks with around 30 large cryptocurrency miners about potential moves". 

BTC.Top, another major cryptocurrency miner, is also rumoured to be seeking to set up shop in Canada. If Canada is considered to be a good commercial and regulatory environment, Manitoba may show an advantage for cryptocurrency mining because of the low cost hydro power it also has available. 

Back to the Moonlite Project and Iceland.  InfoStream research suggests there are questions that need to be answered about this project. Charles Custer wrote an interesting article for Coin Review in January, that asked important questions. His article titled "Moonlite Review – Tokenized, Earth-Friendly Crypto Mining", ends with:

"As with any ICO, the big question about Moonlite is whether it can deliver what it promises. The company boasts an experienced team and advisor board, heavy on cryptocurrency and management expertise but perhaps a little light on experience setting up international data centers. And while it has big plans for its high-tech data centers, its important to remember that at the moment that's all theoretical – the company has no operational mining centers yet, although it says it has already established relationships for the bulk purchase of industrial mining hardware".

Custer provides this conclusion:

"Of course, that's the case with almost any ICO – you're buying into an idea and a team more than an existing product. Moonlite looks like it has a competent team, and the idea – giving everyday investors a way into mining cryptocurrency without destroying the planet – definitely seems worth pursuing".

If you aren't sure what cryptocurrency mining is, or you're wondering how to get involved, there is an article in Business Insider by Antonio Villas-Boas entitled: 

"How to make money mining bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies without knowing anything about it". 

InfoStream quotes Antonio who says, "Turns out, it's absurdly easy".

INNOVATE - Intel is Much More Than a Chip Manufacturer

Intel No Longer Just Inside - The 2018 CES Keynote That Blew Everyone Away!

Put on your headphones, turn-up the volume and learn how the world is changing right before your very eyes. 

This presentation was streamed live one week ago today from the Park Theater in the Monte Carlo hotel in Las Vegas.

Highlights of the presentation included:

• The power of data: “Data is going to introduce social and economic changes that we only see perhaps once or twice in a century.”
• Learn what a 'Voxel' is and how it will replace the 'Pixel' in everything.
• Professor Amnon Shashua, senior vice president of Intel and CEO/CTO of Mobileye, arrives in one of Intel’s first autonomous cars.
• Volocopter CEO, Florian Reuter, demonstrates the fully electric, vertical takeoff and landing aircraft designed for passenger transport.
• Intel unveils “Tangle Lake,” a 49-qubit superconducting quantum test chip.
• Set a new Guinness World Records title for Most UAVs airborne simultaneously from a single computer indoors when intel flies 100 Intel Shooting Star Mini drones to wrap up the Intel presentation.

Here's the News Service B Roll highlights 

Here's the full Presentation.

INNOVATE - Hightech Health Device Intervenes in Falls

For Seniors, a fall can be devastating, a hallmark event that often precedes death

One of the most useful intervention technologies at CES 2108 was the Hip'Air belt.

This story has a personal connection for one InfoStream contributor who, in March of 2012, lost a father who fell and broke his hip nine months earlier. That this injury could unleash a sequence of health issues that would ultimately kill an otherwise healthy mobile man in less than a year was troubling.

Hip'Air is a lightweight belt that incorporates an airbag to protect a person's hips and pelvis in the event of a fall. This device is similar to the protection vests and neck wear used to protect riders and other athletes. Because a lanyard or similar initiator can't be used, the technology uses accelerometers to detect precursors of a fall  developed from fall research.

Within the first 280 milliseconds of a fall profile detection, the airbag deploys from the belt and directs energy away from the hip and pelvis. This shielding reduces the risk of injury and immobility of a person falling. Within 30 seconds the air shield deflates, allowing the person free mobility. 


The Hip'Air belt is fully automatic, rechargeable (15 day battery) and ships with an extra washable mesh cover. Replacement energizer gas cartridges are also available. 

Clipping the belt fastener together automatically turns the system on and lights a small green led indicator. Low battery signal includes an audible signal and lights a small red led indicator.  

The impact of fall injuries are often very severe. Surgery, protracted  recovery periods, infection, permanent loss of mobility, the end of independent living and even death are possible outcomes. The cost of fall injuries to healthcare systems is very high especially in seniors over 65. In this particular cohort, falls are a 'hallmark' event meaning a predictor of other serious medical conditions or even death which can occur within twelve months of a hip or pelvis fracture.

The Hip'Air device is expected to make this type of injury 94% preventable. Preventing these injuries would have an immediate impact on the wellbeing and health of seniors as well as on the billions of dollars spent in the healthcare system resulting from falls. 

A Dutch company Wolk is also testing a similar device that it hopes to introduce to the European market during 2018. 

The prices for this device are expected to range between US$500 to US$800 for the belt and between US$90 to US$120 for the energizer gas cartridges.

INNOVATE - Heat From Bitcoin Mining Operation Tapped for Agrifood Production

The Bitcoin Energy 'Deficit' May Have a Solution.

Lyzaville Sale/CBC News

According to a story by Samantha Samson, at CBC News, a Manitoba company has found a solution for the waste heat developed in Bitcoin Mining. They transfer the heat to a greenhouse and fish farming operation operation to grow various plants and Artic Char.

Bruce Hardy, the CEO of Myera Group has been mining Bitcoin for two years but realized they needed to find a use for the heat produced by the computers. About a year ago, Myera  opened this operation in the old Tin Lizzie Auto Museum on the grounds of the former Grey Nuns' Convent located on Highway 26 just west of Winnipeg​.

Lyzaville Sale/CBC News

Dwayne Clark is the Reeve of the Rural Municipality of St. Francois Xavier. According to the story, he was happy to see a developing eyesore in the community being restored and repurposed.

The Myera project is a Proof of Concept (POC) project that may be a solution for the Bitcoin energy 'deficit' as it scales.

In a brief conversation with Myera Group yesterday, it was evident the Innovation Campus being developed in St. Francois Xavier in Manitoba and the Myera Group have much broader aspirations. A future story may feature some of these elements as the POC project develops.

In the meantime, a Mashable story by by Stan Schroeder last month, gives more detail to the Bitcoin energy issue and suggests the problem may not be as large or as unsolvable as reported. The Mashable story is worth reading. 

The Myera Group project is also worth following.

INNOVATE - Consumer Electronic Show (CES) 2018 Opens in Las Vegas Tomorrow

You Know Change Has Arrived when the Largest Consumer Show in the World taps Ford for the Opening Keynote

Hackett, Ford Motor Company

Under the leadership of Bill Ford and Jim Hackett, Ford is strengthening its automotive business and accelerating a strategic shift to capitalize on opportunities during a transformative period for the auto industry and the broader mobility space.

In March 2016, Hackett was named chairman of Ford Smart Mobility LLC, a subsidiary of Ford formed to accelerate the company's plans to design, build, grow and invest in emerging mobility services.

The early press shows a huge number of product introductions in the areas of transportation, intelligent homes and technology integration. A ramp up in the war between Google and Amazon for control of the intelligent home is expected. Here are some links if you want to follow along:

CES Channel

Engadget's Live Coverage

The Verge Coverage

TechRadar Coverage

INNOVATE - InfoStream's Video Saturday

Video Saturday brings you three short films:

Engineering the HIV virus to kill cancer cells (4m)

IBM's Watson brings cognitive computing to big data (8m)

Ideas are Scary! (2m)

INNOVATE - Operational Technology (OT) Merges Minds and Machines

Video Saturday - OT Improving and Augmenting Human Activities 

Operational Technology (OT) is as Gartner explains: “Hardware and software that detects or causes a change through the direct monitoring and/or control of physical devices, processes and events in the enterprise.”

Gathering lots of information as Information Technology (IT) traditionally produces is of little value unless it can act in real time to change something in the enterprise or ecosystem. Here 2 examples of OT curated by InfoStream staff:

GE's Tumbler Ridge project shows OT being used to manage a large scale wind farm that can produce enough electricity to power 54,000 homes:

Amazon now employs more than half a million people and uses OT to augment and improve the performance of them in each of the Fulfilment Centers:

INNOVATE - Gates Report Shows 4 Ways Progress is Being Made on Climate Change

Be Encouraged by the Accelerating Innovation for Climate Change

Four signs of progress:

• More partners are chipping in on clean energy.
• Partners are working together like never before.
• US$1 billion clean-energy investment fund is up and running.
• Small farmers are getting more help.

Read the Gates Report

INNOVATE: - Canadian Agri-food Supercluster

Agri-Food Supercluster Lead by Agrium Announces Board and CEO

CALGARY, AB – The Smart Agri-Food Supercluster (SASC) is pleased to announce its interim board of directors. The board will be chaired by Doug Beever from Agrium and has appointed Rob Davies as its interim CEO. Davies brings more than three decades of leadership experience in the agribusiness sector, with the bulk of that time as the CEO at Weyburn Inland Terminal. 

Superclusters are seen by the federal government as key to bringing together the right mix of industry players, post-secondary institutions and other sector players to drive collaboration and innovation. SASC is one of the nine groups shortlisted out of more than 100 applicants for access to federal government's $950-million innovation fund. 

SASC is a pan-Canadian effort that has drawn together groups bound by common objectives for significantly improving the ways Canada grows, raises and processes food while targeting key environmental goals. SASC expects to create more than 300,000 jobs, generate $30 billion in increased economic growth and reduce 40 mega tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions (20% of the Canadian commitment to the Paris agreement) through its sustainable innovation model, which creates scalable solutions.

The solutions SASC proposes will have a meaningful impact domestically and reinforce Canada as a global agri-food leader, noted Beever:

“SASC will provide a backbone to connect farmers and ranchers to consumers in a sustainable way that meets the business needs of all value chain participants. We are open to all members of the value chain to ensure that the outcomes are durable and drive value far into the future, making Canada a global leader in connecting the farm to the consumer’s plate.”

The power of the collective knowledge horsepower behind SASC is substantial, noted Davies:

“The broad scope of Canadian and international participants, from large companies such as General Mills and Cargill, to emerging companies such as BIXSco and Farmlead, to post-secondary institutions such as Lakeland College and the University of Manitoba, SASC is building a network of contributing organizations that represent the entire value chain.  This isn’t about individual winners and losers; it is about creating a structure that benefits all system participants. “

SASC’s success will stem from how creatively and effectively it invests in the right innovations at the right time, with the right players for the right results, said Davies. That includes a key focus on how data is turned into useful information:

“If you look back 20 years, auto-steer in farm machinery was a novelty, like self-driving cars today. Now farm operations across Canada rely on this technology. We see data management and the connection to the consumer as another major step change in Canadian agriculture, and SASC is designed to facilitate a consistent, cost-effective way to allow the entire value chain to work together in building this future. “

SASC's organizing group took a scalable systems approach to its application, establishing four innovation communities via which specific initiatives will be undertaken. Those communities focus on digital technologies, sustainable livestock, genetics and processing and the bio-economy. More than 80 organizations, including some the largest value chain and sustainability consortiums, and 17 post-secondary research and institution partners are already working within these communities to build on Canadian innovation strengths through anchor projects and working collaboratively to create “roads and bridges” between the silos that have historically resulted in stranded innovation and lost opportunities.

“All along, our objective has been to make room for other projects and initiatives. We communicated and collaborated with other applicants throughout our process in order to ensure the entire value chain is represented; going forward we can then focus on the science and technology gaps and issues, which when addressed will help us make the system function more effectively,” noted Beever.

With its formal application now submitted, SASC's transition board and Davies and Olds College, the “secretariat” for SASC, will work to build out governance tools and processes, in addition to advancing stakeholder engagement. Full funding announcements are expected from the Federal Government in early 2018.

For more information contact: Rob Davies, Interim CEO, 1.780.781.1735

The interim board of SASC will be composed of:
Doug Beever, Agrium; Rob Saik, Agri-Trend/Trimble; Andrea Brocklebank, Beef Cattle Research Council/CCA; Stuart Cullum, Olds College; Rod Snyder, Field to Market; Mary Moran, Calgary Economic Development; Joy Romero, Clean Resource Innovation Network (CRIN); Helle Bank Jorgensen, Global Compact Canada; Bill Whitelaw, Weather Innovations & Glacier Farm Media; Laura Kilcrease, Alberta Innovates; and, Bryan Walton, Alberta Cattle Feeders Association.

INNOVATE - Blockchain Explorers - Adding Trust to the Ecosystem

The IBM Institute for Business Value global survey of nearly 3,000 executives uncovered a unique group - Blockchain Explorers. One of the biggest ways Blockchain Explorers are setting themselves apart is by embracing a platform business model. Find out what else they're doing differently:

Join members of the Blockchain Research Institute and explore a blockchain Proof of Concept (POC) activity that will add trust to your ecosystem.

INNOVATE - Adopting New Data Strategies for Better Marketing

Last month Google produced an essay on data you need to read

As the essay says, "the volume and variety of data has exploded. Data is no longer rare and hard to gather. It's everywhere and many brands can't keep up".


There is a wealth of information in this essay, and some good survey data too. If you manage a program, identifying the top three things most data programs lack is most important:

• Lack of confidence. Data storytelling is an art; it’s hard to learn and hard to do. Your team may hesitate to even attempt it. But if technology can begin to find and surface insights automatically, you're halfway to a good result.
• Lack of trust. "Why should I stick my neck out?" That's the eternal human question. Emphasize to your team that you'll back them up, and encourage them to keep a clear trail of the data that led them to a particular decision or hypothesis for an experiment. Succeed or fail, that data trail will be a valuable learning tool for the next go-round.
• Lack of time. Making the most of data takes daily time and commitment. Yes, finding free time is always a problem in business. But people who have zero time are guaranteed to ignore valuable data.

Here's the LINK

You may think you can't afford data analysis. You do so at your peril.


WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
There are many ways to gather data about your online business and customers. Constant Contact gives you a cost effective way to survey your clients. Hootsuite and Google Analytics provide data about your online and social media activities. This is an investment that will pay for itself many times over.

INNOVATE - Loblaws, Walmart and J B Hunt have Purchased the Heavy-duty Telsa Trucks

A Need to Reduce Carbon Emissions is driving Tesla sales

Loblaws has pre-ordered 25 of Tesla's new heavy-duty electric trucks called the Tesla Semi to join Walmart in adopting the new technology.

“It’s part of our commitment to electrify our fleet,” spokeswoman Catherine Thomas said. The company has committed to have a fully electric fleet by 2030. To accomplish this goal Loblaws would need to add 350 zero-emission tractors and more than 2,000 zero emission trailers to its fleet.

The Ontario-based grocer says removing diesel from its transport trucks and refrigerated trailers could reduce more than 94,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually, the equivalent of removing more than 20,000 cars from the road.

Reuters is reporting that Walmart and J B Hunt Transport Inc a major US hauler have also placed firm orders for the Tesla Semi. 

Wal-Mart said it plans to order a total of 15 Tesla trucks, five for the United States and ten for Canada. The company operates a fleet of about 6,000 trucks in the United States.

JB Hunt Transport Inc is the first major U.S. trucking company to announce an order for Tesla’s new “Semi” electric trucks, saying it has reserved multiple vehicles for use on the U.S. West Coast.

According to Reuters, about 260,000 Class-8 trucks are produced in North America annually, with a value of about $28.6 billion. The first deliveries of the Tesla Semi trucks are expected in 2019. Tesla has not identified any other buyers for the truck but claims it will be faster, easier and safer to operate than comparable diesel trucks.

Tesla claims that a fully loaded Semi consumes less than two kilowatt-hours of energy per mile and has a range of about 800 kilometres. That could save owners at least US$200,000 in fuel costs over 1.6 million km.

Some analysts believe China will also be an early adopter of this technology.