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Huawei’s European factory to boost supply chain efficiency

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Huawei's European factory to boost supply chain efficiency

The China-based tech giants, Huawei, is set to build a factory in France to produce 4G and 5G wireless equipment to accelerate supply chain efficiency.

According to analysts, the new facility will allow Huawei easier access to its telecommunications carriers in Europe, while also easing concerns over alleged spying for China’s government.

Stéphane Téral, executive director of telecommunications research at IHS Markit, commented: “At this stage of the mobile industry, it is critical for Huawei to have a radio communications factory somewhere in Europe to relieve the pressure on the existing ones in China. “We clearly see firsthand the disruption the coronavirus crisis is creating.”

It is expected that the factory will produce €1bn worth of products annually, while also creating 500 jobs.

It is thought that the company chose France due to the country’s ideal geographic position, mature industrial infrastructure as well as its highly educated talent pool. Peter Liu, vice-president analyst at Gartner, said: “The European facility will improve Huawei’s efficiency because the company will be able to integrate itself into the supply chain in Europe.”

The news follows Huawei’s launch of its 5G Innovation and Experience Centre in London which encourages increased collaboration between businesses and innovators in the development of 5G ecosystems. Victor Zhang, Vice-President of Huawei, added: “With the opening of our 5G Innovation and Experience Centre in London we, as a leader of 5G, are taking another important step. What we have opened today will enable true collaboration amongst UK businesses and technologists and showcase the huge potential of 5G applications for both the private and business sectors.”

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EU Launches Estimated €400M Blockchain, AI Fund to Avoid Lagging US, China

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A new fund has been set up with the aim of preventing the EU falling behind nations like the U.S. and China on blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) innovation.

The European Investment Fund (EIF) and the European Commission have together put up €100 million (over $110 million) for a dedicated investment scheme that will make capital available to AI and blockchain projects via VC funds or other investors, EIF, an EU agency set up to indirectly fund SMEs, said in a blog post on Wednesday.

With the “cornerstone” funding in place, the EIF said private investors are expected to bring up to €300 million ($331 million) into the fund, while the total could rise further from next year, with national promotional banks being able to co-invest under the scheme.

Sifted reports that the fund could ultimately raise up to €2 billion ($2.2 billion) under the InvestEU Programme.

According to the post, the EU already spends plenty on blockchain (expected spending for 2019 is $674 million), but that is mostly directed toward research and proof-of-concepts.

The U.S. is the biggest spender, with a $1.1 billion expected spend, and China is second with $319 million, according to cited numbers from the International Data Corporation.

The new fund is aimed to address the fact that not so much is spent in the EU on developing “larger scale projects.

“Investing in a portfolio of innovative AI and blockchain companies will help develop a dynamic EU-wide investors community on AI and blockchain. By involving national promotional banks, we can scale up the volume of investments at a national level,” the EIF said.

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Comment: Industry 4.0 is disrupting the supply chain for good

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The impact of Industry 4.0 could easily be identified as a threat and a disruptor to the traditional supply chain. The truth is that, when deployed correctly, this dynamic combination is the antidote to supply chain disruption.

In 2016, global supply chains were impacted by a series of unfortunate natural disasters including earthquakes and typhoons that ravaged nations throughout Asia. In 2015, analysis by insurance firm Allianz Global Corporate and Specialty found that between 2010 and 2014, the top five causes of business interruption loss globally were fires and explosions, storms, machinery breakdowns, faulty equipment or materials, and workforce strikes.

Current events that are continually unfolding must also be considered, such as the economic nationalism propelled by the election of Donald Trump and the UK’s impending exit from the European Union. However, there are less dramatic situations that can cause supply chain disruption on a more frequent basis – small acts than have a large impact, such as human error causing delays on the production line. This creates an obvious knock-on effect that directly impacts the rest of the supply chain.

It is clear that the supply chain is vulnerable to disruption. The traditional supply chain ecosystem is built around a rigid process that does not provide supply chain organisations with the flexibility to adjust to disruptions that will impact the bottom line, or the opportunity to predict or prepare for those disruptions.

The traditional process is typically governed by inaccurate analysis of the market that dictates supply chain operations in order to meet the predicted sales. A digitised reinvention of the supply chain will replace this inaccurate, siloed process with a flexible and agile solution that utilises data to severely diminish the impact of disruption.

Industry of Things

The moniker Industry 4.0 represents the fourth industrial revolution which in turn refers to the rise of data exchange and automation in manufacturing technologies. ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT) is a similar term that supports the same notion of the world becoming more connected and is widely used to describe connected devices used in both industrial and domestic environments. In theory, connected devices, whether in a factory or in the home, bring all of these environments together to create one interconnected eco-system.

Disseminating the data

From the shop floor to the factory floor, each connected device provides important data that can be fed into the digitised supply chain. To be of true value, this data must be tracked and visualised. Visibility is a key area of focus in leveraging data in the evolution of Industry 4.0, and it’s equally as important in the supply chain. Once the data is feeding into the supply chain and clearly visualised, the organisation can begin to think about disruptions before they occur. This can be achieved by manipulating the data in three key areas; supply chain design, event simulation and decision support.

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Global supply chain threatened by terror and flow of migrants

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Supply chains are suffering a rise in costs and multiple disruptions due to the reintroduction of border controls in Europe and the rise of radical Islam in the Middle East.

The Charted Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) – with a presence in 150 different countries – confirms that ISIS activity and Russia’s rigid attitude in world politics have contributed to the heightened risk.

Meanwhile, the migrant crisis is making some European countries close their borders, as is happening in Hungary, Croatia and Slovenia. Crossing the border in these countries can take up to 90 minutes, while other activities such as the transport of livestock have stopped entirely for several days in the past month.

This supply chain issue has caused the delivery prices for some German companies to rise by as much as 10 per cent and has increased the risk of the supply chains in other several countries of the Middle East and North Africa, such as Kuwait, Bahrain, Turkey and Tunisia.

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Six trends changing the face of supply chain finance

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Six trends changing the face of supply chain finance

Supply chain finance is revolutionising the way companies buy and sell, but its full potential has yet to be realised.

The amount of cross-border SCF conducted today is just a tenth of what could be done say European banks. One reason is the complexity of SCF. However innovations in both developed and emerging economies promise to change that modest uptake in the coming years.

Making SCF easier to use and understand is essential if it is to become the norm in financing global trade. Several trends should speed that process:

1. SCF is becoming widely accepted in cross border trade

Bankers expect the European and US crossborder markets to grow 10-20 per cent a year for the rest of this decade. Already some banks have seen annual growth of 30-40 per cent andin the UK and Germany that figure is closer to 70 per cent, according to Demica.

2. More buyers are financing their suppliers

SCF has traditionally focused more on the relationship between suppliers and their banks. This is changing. New technology is helping buyers use SCF to help their strategic suppliers at better rates than they might find elsewhere, thanks to often higher credit ratings.

3. Non-bank players are emerging as an alternative source of SCF

New entrants, including peer-to-peer lenders, dynamic discounters and early payment marketplaces help buyers and suppliers exchange purchase orders, invoices and accelerate cash transfers. Private investors, financial institutions or even buyers provide funding for these new solutions to invest in their own payables.

4. Providers unite to offer a global service

Fragmented banks are recognising the need to partner logistics companies, local banks, export credit agencies and other transaction banks to offer corporates solutions across the supply chain. That is a change from the more fragmented approach until now.

5. Technology is replacing the paperwork

Electronic documentation is playing an ever greater role in international trade business as corporates automate trade supply chains toimprove speed and efficiency. That means corporates who use a number of banks require them to deliver electronic solutions on a common platform.

6. Countries are getting involved

Governments around the globe are paying more attention to supply chain finance. The UK for instance has initiated an SCF programme with some of Britain’s leading companies and banks. In the US, the Treasury’s Invoice Processing Platform uses electronic invoicing to ensure that suppliers are paid on time or even early.

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