< Previous40 East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk GETTING BACK ON TRACK aids that the government has introduced is the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS). Launched back in March, the scheme provides financial support to SMEs across the UK that are losing revenue, and seeing their cashflow disrupted, because of the outbreak. As the pandemic worsened and the financial situation grew bleaker for SMEs, the scheme was expanded, with changes to allowing more smaller businesses to access funding. CBILS will remain in place until the end of September 2020. But this may be extended by the government which has said there is no maximum limit set for total lending supported through the scheme. Announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak back in April and opening to applications in May, the ‘Bounce Back Loan Scheme’ aimed to get businesses back up and running and help the economy to, well, bounce back. As with CBILS scheme, it is delivered by lenders accredited by British Business Bank. The loans, ranging from £2,000 up to twenty-five per cent of the business’ turnover with a maximum loan of £50,000, are intended for small and micro businesses in all sectors. Crucially, it allows businesses to obtain a six-year term loan at a government set interest rate of 2.5 per cent a year with the government covering interest payable in the first year and no principle repayments required for the first twelve months. Another key financial support service offered by the government early into the pandemic, is the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. The scheme provided a lifeline to businesses who were forced to shut down during lockdown. It allowed the government to pay eighty per cent of furloughed worker’s salaries, up to £2,500, allowing bosses to avoid redundancies. New flexibility was introduced from August with the aim of getting employees back to work and boosting the economy and, back in May, the chancellor announced that the scheme will remain open until the end of October. With some 9.5 million UK workers from 1.2 million employers still on furlough, it’s even likely the scheme will need to be extended beyond this point. So far, we’ve touched on how businesses have – and are continuing – to aid in the battle against COVID-19, and explored the financial support open © Shutterstock /Jevanto Productions 38-41.qxp_Layout 1 05/08/2020 11:44 Page 3www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 41 GETTING BACK ON TRACK to businesses, but how are companies evolving in the wake of the coronavirus? One of the biggest, most obvious changes for a company’s day-to-day operations is the workplace itself. With many previously furloughed workers having returned to offices and other places of work, company bosses have put social distancing measures in place. Of course, many of these are no legal requirements, but some companies have fundamentally redesigned their workplaces. In some cases, many of these measures will likely become the new normal – especially in the retail sector where cough shields will almost certainly become a permanent fixture. As well as spacing staff further out, offices have also had to think about ensuring they have a rigorous and regular cleaning and hygiene in place, especially on contact surfaces and where multiple staff frequent – such as bathrooms – and supplying PPE. But not all workers have returned to offices. The lockdown meant that many companies had staff working from home for the very first time. Although it has no doubt brought a unique set of challenges, the advantages of digital technologies have shown that, in many cases, office-based companies can work from home. To preserve public safety, companies are welcoming some staff back to the office, with others still based at home, or, in some cases, changing shifts and staggering start times. This will, of course, depend on the company, though these measures are certainly worth exploring. Other companies have adapted by becoming delivery-friendly, predominantly in the retail and hospitality sectors. Indeed, lockdown saw some companies create an online presence for the first time as the pandemic has forced them to fully embrace the digital age in order to stay connected to customers and to remain afloat and competitive. Then, of course, construction and building companies have bene gradually re-opening sites once again with social distancing measures in place. Getting back on track means businesses are combining financial support from the government with their own initiative as the navigate the new normal and look towards a brighter future. As always, we’re all in this together. © Shutterstock /vetre 38-41.qxp_Layout 1 05/08/2020 11:44 Page 442 East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk AD & BIOGAS © Shutterstock /loraks biogas Making the case for Making the case for biogas 42-44.qxp_Layout 1 05/08/2020 11:46 Page 1www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 43 AD & BIOGAS Anaerobic digestion describes a process where biomethane is produced and captured when organic matter – such as food and agricultural waste – is broken down in sealed tanks. Once these tanks are entirely void of oxygen, the biomass is heated to blood temperature where it will react with the naturally occurring microorganisms and bacteria. Finally, the biomass is emitted, and a material called digestate is left behind – both of which can be utilised. For food and agri-businesses, this process is a viable and sustainable means of getting rid of organic waste whilst producing renewable energy for either themselves or for the grid. It might sound modern, but anaerobic digestion (AD) technology has been around in one for or another since the 1800s. Yet it’s only in the last decade or so that the technology has really entered the mainstream thanks to the growing demand for renewable solutions and the worsening climate crisis. Though still largely in its infancy on a commercial scale, the AD industry is rapidly expanding, with businesses keen to invest. At present, there’s around one hundred anaerobic digestors in the UK currently producing bioenergy. According to the Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Association (ADBA), the industry has the potential to be worth between £2 billion and £3 billion in the UK alone and employ some 35,000 people. This upsurge should be obvious for the reasons we’ve already touched upon, but the attraction extends beyond that. Indeed, the association said that AD is the only renewable that can be scaled up fast enough to enable the UK to reach its 2020 target. With the climate crisis now at fever pitch and parts of the world at breaking point, the time has never been more pressing for the widespread adoption and deployment of renewable energy solutions. Nuclear has been pointed to as a viable option to bridge the nation’s transition from fossil fuels to a greener, more sustainable energy grid, but, frankly, new nuclear plants simply can’t be built and scaled quick enough. The answer, therefore, may well lie in anaerobic digestion. Despite these many benefits, the industry hasn’t been without its hurdles, having struggled for several years now. ADBA head Charlotte Morton says the industry has been “operating in an environment of declining government support for renewable energy, with tariffs for renewable electricity and, until very recently, renewable heat steadily falling.” But the tide is turning on AD with changes to the Renewable Heat Incentive coming into effect a few years ago and bringing fresh investment to build more biomethane plants across the UK. With its concentration of food and agri- business, AD is an ideal option for our region. AD is well positioned to help achieve the government’s phasing out of coal plants as the nation moves Incorporating anaerobic digestion into a company’s energy mix can bring numerous benefits, as our article explores. 44 Á 42-44.qxp_Layout 1 05/08/2020 11:46 Page 244 East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk AD & BIOGAS away from fossil fuels. This summer, the UK went a record-breaking sixty-seven days without burning coal for power – the longest period since the Industrial Revolution. But perhaps the most widespread usage of AD is within the water industry, where the process has been used for years. In fact, the water industry currently treats sixty-six per cent of the UK’s sewage sludge in AD plants. It isn’t just major energy and utility companies turning their attention to AD, but businesses right across the industrial spectrum seeing the benefit. By using AD, businesses can slash the amount of waste they send to landfill. This is particularly prudent when it comes to the amount of food that’s currently wasted in the UK. Food that is still edible should be sent to food redistribution charities and schemes where possible, while by-product and foods no longer fit for human consumption should be sent to AD plants where they can be turned into biomethane. The UK currently produces over one-hundred million tonnes of organic material that is suitable for treatment by AD. This includes agricultural by-products including manure and slurry, domestic and commercial food waste, and dry sewage sludge. Most of this material is wasted, but it could be used to power the nation and help achieve its climate goals. As with any potential investment, there are drawbacks businesses should consider. As AD plants are twenty-four- hour operations, they must be fed regularly. Moreover, pumps and other machinery must also be maintained to ensure production is not interrupted. There can also be noise, dust and, if there are leaks, smells and environmental contamination can occur. It’s worth noting, however, that smells associated with AD are far less common and offensive than protestors seem to think. Waste is delivered in closed vessels and vehicles, received in a closed reception area, and the digestion process itself takes place in a sealed tank meaning smells are usually kept to a minimum. © Shutterstock /V isions-AD 42-44.qxp_Layout 1 05/08/2020 11:46 Page 3www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 45 SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT © Shutterstock /TMLsPhotoG Businesses must be able to guarantee the quality and security of products throughout the supply chain, from manufacturing, through the warehouse, to their final destination. With desires for increased traceability, efficiency and greener supply chains under consideration, deeper implementation of various technological developments throughout the supply chain is on the horizon. Digitising the supply chain, unifying corporate systems, and employing new digital technology are a priority in supply chain management, to create a smart, connected, responsive, transparent, and efficient system free from silos. The future is certainly in the cloud, with companies moving away from supply chain software involving potentially expensive computing infrastructure on premise. Offering flexibility, scalability, and a wide geographical reach, being accessible from almost anywhere, supply chain cloud computing, including Software as a Service (SaaS), is increasingly important. Provided over the internet, cloud-based systems allow easier information and data sharing with suppliers and customers in the supply chain. Though it is by no means new, the Internet of Things (IoT) is also seeing serious growth in supply chain management, in part thanks to falling costs of IoT devices. With the IoT and sensors, companies can boost visibility, keep track of equipment, inventory, and deliveries continuously in real time and automate stock replenishment. For example, sensors in transport can present live tracking updates on shipping, conditions and delivery, or on trucks themselves provide an understanding of driver behaviour and the impact of traffic on arrival time, while in warehouses one can gather more information on inventory management, see inventory levels at any time and prevent stockouts. It is when The importance of technologies such as AI, Internet of Things devices, and eco-friendly practices is clear in supply chain management. 46 Á supply chains The future of 45-47.qxp_Layout 1 05/08/2020 11:48 Page 146 East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT joined with cloud-based visibility and analytics platforms that tracking technologies like sensors are able to truly transform supply chains, to collect information without human intervention, and convert raw data into insights that analytics and data scientists can share with decision makers to monitor performance, improve productivity and operational efficiency. Helping make supply chains more transparent, IoT is enabling the sending of data in real time so that companies can identify process and equipment inefficiencies and incidents. Meanwhile, with supply chain visibility a priority for many, buzzword technologies like blockchain look set to be integrated into supply chains. A permanent decentralised ledger of transactions, blockchain can record transactions in a verifiable and permanent way with a database stored in numerous locations maintaining timestamped records linked to previous “blocks” in a manner that can’t be undone or changed once recorded. Blockchain is ready to create a more secure supply chain as products can be traced through a clear audit trail, providing the ability to, for instance, track materials, where they arrive, who handled them, and when and how they were moved to whatever the next stage may be. In combination with IoT devices, true visibility could be achieved through the supply chain, with IoT devices tracking goods and sharing this with a blockchain framework which is accessible by all participants. With digitalisation, the expansion of the IoT, and the subsequent heightened availability of data, firms are harnessing intelligence in a variety of areas, from gaining understanding of past performance to predict future trends, to uncovering customer preferences. AI and the AI technique machine learning are key in this being wielded in transport management, warehouse management, and forecasting amongst other areas. For example machine learning and predictive analytics are being utilised to bolster planning and decision making, highlighting patterns in purchasing, and automating warehouse processes and determining optimal transport routes for prompt order fulfilment, while learning from live weather and traffic data to produce accurate and dynamic routes. In the case of supply chain planning, AI can be used to analyse large datasets and offer an analysis of supply and demand trends. Additionally machine learning is creating forecasts from historical data, to calculate seasonal demand fluctuations, but also real time market trends. In conjunction with sensors, boosting their © Shutterstock /Aun Photographer 45-47.qxp_Layout 1 05/08/2020 11:48 Page 2www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 47 SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT capabilities, machine learning can be used in maintenance and aftercare to monitor equipment and machinery, to indicate when it may break down. Signals can also be sent prior to a machine breaking down, so that spare parts are acquired ahead of time to reduce shutdown or interruption, production losses and shipment delays. Other applications of AI can be seen powering robots and AGVs. Autonomous technology, from warehouse management systems to robots, within factories and warehouses continues to build its presence in conversation as firms look to become more agile and deal with labour shortages. Repetitive and labour- intensive tasks have been prime for autonomous robots, which are sorting, retrieving, and transporting products in warehouses, particularly as manual picking reduces. With machine learning technologies and sensors, to act with precise accuracy and traceability, more autonomous robots are expected in 2020 and beyond. From multifunctional robots to driverless vehicles, robotization can improve the efficiency and speed of warehouse processes. Moreover, collaborative robots are presenting flexibility and scalability, increasing picking efficiency and accuracy, by working with and guiding staff, and as robotics companies begin to offer robotics as a service (RaaS) solutions, their expanded use is more achievable. A further, continually growing, trend in supply chain management is sustainability, as customers clamour for eco-friendly processes, practices, and products. Green practices are vital and can be implemented throughout the supply chain whether that be in material sourcing, product design, manufacturing, delivery, or product disposal. These practices include minimising plastic packaging, making moves to be carbon neutral, employing alternative fuels and electric vehicles such as forklifts, utilising energy efficient lighting and energy management systems with timers and gauges to monitor electricity, water and heat in warehouses, and planning delivery routes that reduce fuel consumption. Embracing a circular supply chain has also been pinpointed, with steps being taken away from linear supply chains to those where manufacturers reuse and rework products, perhaps via recycling components into materials, for a product to eventually be reused again in manufacturing. This also reacts to government regulation and legislation, can lead to savings for companies themselves and generate a positive brand image. 45-47.qxp_Layout 1 05/08/2020 11:48 Page 3For the past four months now I have taken my events online into the digital space and I won’t lie it’s taken some getting used to. Nothing beats the atmosphere and benefits of face2face networking and events, however this is the next best thing and I’d say I’m embracing the change and actually would go as far as to say really starting to enjoy it too. Ever the optimist, I made a list of 13 benefits and observations of running and attending online events. We can... 1. Geek it up & wave at the end of zoom calls (ever noticed this?) 2. Sit in our casuals (bottom half at least) 3. Go barefoot or wear slippers 4. Get away with sitting in a messy room and our Zoom background will hide it all - transporting us anywhere in the world 5. Choose to turn off our camera whenever we need to pause, have a toilet break, tend to the kids 6. Mute people at the touch of a button 7. Manage our time more efficiently, especially if you have the basic Zoom package (40 min time limit) Online events are the new normal By Fiona Duncan-Steer, founder of RSViP Business Networking Agency. Fiona Duncan-Steer - Check out my brand-new online training hub for everything business networking, marketing, events - https://rsvip.vipmembervault.com/ www.rsvipnetwork.co.uk 48 East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk NETWORKING - an excuse to escape! 8. Put a wash load on at same time 9. Save £££ - petrol, parking, bar tabs - meetings are expensive 10. Stick the kettle on/pour ourselves a glass of (insert favourite tipple here) 11. Put our ‘little blue hand’ up to command attention 12. Give a running commentary as people talk via the live chat and get away with having an opinion on everything 13. Blame our internet went down when we get bored and head off to watch Netflix On a more serious note though, the world of online events is just beginning and opens up a whole plethora of opportunities for businesses to embrace the virtual world of communication. With the future still uncertain and various restrictions being put in place, experimenting with different platforms and integrating them into your marketing strategy sooner rather than later will give you a head start on what is seemingly the inevitable. Online events are the new normal. 48-49.qxp_Layout 1 05/08/2020 11:49 Page 148-49.qxp_Layout 1 05/08/2020 11:49 Page 2Next >