Tag: consumer

Crane Consumables plans expansion after years of growth

Crane Consumables plans expansion after years of growth

The Cranes, father-and-son Rod and Robert Crane who helm the business. How many companies have culture offi cers? How many of
those culture offi cers are canine? At Crane Consumables,
three: Charlie Crane, Sherman Crane and Archie Crane.
With tail wags, happy barks and even tricks for treats, the pups take their job very seriously.
The Cranes, father-and-son Rod and Robert Crane who helm the business, credit the pups with brightening faces and enlivening the workspace to support their high employee retention rate amid a nationwide labor crisis: over 50 percent of the workforce has been with the converter for […]

Dockworkers’ Union Suspends Strike Until Jan. 15 to Allow Time to Negotiate New Contract

DETROIT (AP) — Some 45,000 dockworkers at East and Gulf coast ports are returning to work after their union reached a deal to suspend a strike that could have caused shortages and higher prices if it had dragged on.

The International Longshoremen’s Association is suspending its three-day strike until Jan. 15 to provide time to negotiate a new contract. The union and the U.S. Maritime Alliance, which represents ports and shipping companies, said in a joint statement that they have reached a tentative agreement on wages.

A person briefed on the agreement said the ports sweetened their wage offer from about […]

Dockworkers’ union suspends strike until Jan. 15 to allow time to negotiate new contract

Dockworkers' union suspends strike until Jan. 15 to allow time to negotiate new contract

DETROIT (AP) — Some 45,000 dockworkers at East and Gulf coast ports are returning to work after their union reached a deal to suspend a strike that could have caused shortages and higher prices if it had dragged on.

The International Longshoremen’s Association is suspending its three-day strike until Jan. 15 to provide time to negotiate a new contract. The union and the U.S. Maritime Alliance, which represents ports and shipping companies, said in a joint statement that they have reached a tentative agreement on wages.

A person briefed on the agreement said the ports sweetened their wage offer from about […]

Enterprise Connect AI: Practitioners Advise Approaching AI With Caution

Enterprise Connect AI: Practitioners Advise Approaching AI With Caution

AI_AdobeStock_230441943_81221.jpeg

Image: Tierney – stock.adobe.com During day two of Enterprise Connect AI , presenters with Deloitte shared their perspectives on how their clients are approaching the integration of AI into existing technology and systems. Later that morning, another pair of presenters spoke about the potential impact of AI on contact center employment and provided some thoughts about how to possibly mitigate the risk associated with implementing Gen AI. The Deloitte Keynote: Profitability and Performance Are Not Always Straightforward

Two speakers from Deloitte , Vinita Kumar, Business Development, and Dexter Zavalza, Conversational and Generative AI UX Design Lead, shared […]

Yes, America Should Automate Dock Work

Yes, America Should Automate Dock Work

As the global economy has grown in recent decades, so too have the container ships that transport cargo to and from the world’s ports. They are growing both in numbers and in size . And to keep up with all those containers, ports have introduced advanced automation. In fact, the world’s first fully automated port terminal—the Delta Dedicated North Terminal operated in The Netherlands by Hutchison Ports ECT Rotterdam (ECT)—is now more than 30 years old. ECT has used technologies such as automatic guided vehicles and automatic stacking cranes to whisk containers to and from the port’s quay in […]

Is advertising still a viable career for young people?

Is advertising still a viable career for young people?

Seldom a week goes by without one of the global advertising groups announcing a new merger or that they’re seeking efficiencies by making job cuts. Combined with the threat of AI, it’s safe to say that a career in advertising certainly doesn’t offer the security it once did—but is it still a viable career path for young people and for how much longer?

Lesley John, managing director at Virtue APAC, says a career in advertising remains an exciting option even in the face of industry shifts.

“Traditional roles may be changing, but new opportunities are emerging, especially in areas such as […]

How AI Is Rewriting Business Rules—Just Like Globalisation Did in the ’90s!

How AI Is Rewriting Business Rules—Just Like Globalisation Did in the ’90s!

The business world is no stranger to transformative waves of change. In the 1980s and 1990s, the rapid globalisation of markets reshaped how companies operated, introducing new efficiencies (do you remember JIT or just in time?), expanding opportunities, and forcing adaptations that fundamentally altered the corporate landscape. Fast forward to today, and we are witnessing a similar revolution—this time driven by artificial intelligence (AI). Much like globalisation, AI is ushering in profound changes in business operations, strategies, and workforce dynamics. The parallels between the rise of AI and the globalisation era are striking, as both have or will change […]

McDonald’s touchscreen kiosks were feared as job killers. Instead, something surprising happened

McDonald's touchscreen kiosks were feared as job killers. Instead, something surprising happened

Self-service kiosks at McDonald’s and other fast-food chains have loomed as job killers since they were first rolled out 25 years ago. But nobody predicted what actually happened.

In one of the earliest mentions of kiosks in fast-food settings in 1999, now-defunct trade industry publication Business Information said that McDonald’s was working to “develop an electronic order-taking system that may eventually replace some of its human equivalents.”

Instead, touchscreen kiosks have added extra work for kitchen staff and pushed customers to order more food than they do at the cash register. The kiosks show the unintended consequences of technology in fast-food […]

The future of work: How AI will transform the job market

The future of work: How AI will transform the job market

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer a futuristic concept; it is here, and it is transforming the world around us. From chatbots and virtual assistants to sophisticated machine learning algorithms that predict consumer behaviour, AI is already reshaping industries. As it continues to evolve, its impact on the job market is inevitable. This raises a critical question: Will AI create more jobs than it destroys, or will it leave a trail of unemployment in its wake?

The dual-edged sword of AI

AI’s influence on the job market can be viewed through two lenses—job displacement and job creation. Both aspects are critical […]

How Robots Damaged the American Dream

How Robots Damaged the American Dream

grechsantos/Adobe Stock A study looks at the effects of automation in the 21st century.

CBR – Economics

The populist earthquake that has rocked the United States over the past decade can be linked to automation, the kind that transformed the manufacturing sector and negatively affected millions of workers, research suggests.The findings come from an analysis of résumés that spanned 16 years, from 2000 to 2016. Barcelona School of Economics’ Maria Petrova ; University of California at Los Angeles’ Gregor Schubert ; Bledi Taska of SkyHive, a workforce-management software company; and University of Pennsylvania’s Pinar Yildirim tapped into the […]