We all know the power of compelling images. According to LinkedIn infographics are shared three times more on social media than documents. Why? Because visual information is processed faster than text, sticks in the mind and is often far more effective in creating perceptual understanding. This last point, in particular, is why so many businesses have embraced visual analytics. Often, this is in the form of BI software, however, more […]

The basics of graph technology are that each entity (e.g. person, place, object) is characterised by a node, which is connected by an edge to another entity. The edge represents the relationship between them. Each node can be linked to many others and always at least one because there are no broken links. Therein lies the beauty of graph. The acknowledgement that data does not exist in isolation but requires […]

Many blogs comparing point solutions with platforms have been written by someone linked to a platform-based company – as is this one. Evidently, there’s an inherent bias, which I’d like to address up front. Relatively speaking, we’re not comparing similar cold beverages here: are you a Coca Cola or a Pepsi fan? In this case, they both serve the same function, so it’s down to personal preference. Nor are we […]

Regardless of sex, as a supply chain manager you need to be the ultimate mother at all times. You need to know everyone’s schedule (and not just your kids’!); ensure that everybody and everything is where they need to be and when; clean up (more often than not) unpleasant messes; plan for every contingency – even the incredibly unlikely; change it all at the drop of a hat; and carry […]

  A production manager’s headache As a production manager in manufacturing, there is increasing pressure from the executives higher up to increase efficiency, reduce costs and provide feedback on measurable outcomes such as CPUs and KPIs. Whilst you may have sensors on your equipment and some data available, it’s a schlep to bring it all together, analyse it and generate reports that provide a comprehensive view of your facility in […]

In 1929, Hungarian author Frigyes Karinthy proposed the concept of six degrees of separation: “that any two individuals could be connected through at most five acquaintances”. This idea grew from a belief that the modern world was “shrinking” due to advances in travel and communication, which meant that friendship networks were expanding. And this was decades before Facebook! Academics, from mathematicians to psychologists have explored this hypothesis in relation to […]