Monthly Archives: January 2022

News

Retail trade body The Direct Selling Association appoints new Chair of the Board

The UK trade body for direct-to-consumer retail, the Direct Selling Association (DSA), has appointed Simon Bowler as the new Chair of its Board following the end of a nine-year tenure by Amway UK & Ireland General Manager Andy Smith.

Simon Bowler, who has been a member of the DSA Board since 2015, takes on the Chair role alongside his position as Vice President, Global Partner Relations at The Juice Plus+ Company, where he has worked with for 31 years.

The DSA is the recognised trade body for the direct selling industry in the UK and is committed to upholding standards and promoting and encouraging best practice. Brands under the DSA umbrella include Avon, The Body Shop and Usborne Publishing.

The appointment comes as direct selling enjoys a renaissance in the UK, with many of the DSA’s 53 member companies reporting significant growth through the pandemic. In 2021 the DSA reported an average 45% year-on-year increase in retail sales across its membership, one of one of the strongest annual growth periods on record since the 1970s. Part of the growth is attributed to a 12% rise in the number of people joining the sector as independent sales representatives, as more people look to maintain the benefits of flexible and remote working enjoyed during the pandemic. 

 Susannah Schofield OBE, Director General of the Direct Selling Association comments: “Simon brings with him a wealth of experience from an international career specialising in the direct selling channel of retail. I am delighted to be working with him as Chair moving forward. 

“Together with the Board, I express my sincere thanks to Andy Smith for his dedicated service to the DSA over his nine years as Chair. During that time, he has helped to oversee a range of important improvements to the industry’s Codes of Conduct and undertaken much work to nurture the next generation of talent in this area of retail.

“At a personal level, I am particularly grateful for the guidance and support that Andy has given to me since I became Director General in 2019.”

Andy Smith will remain on the DSA Board, alongside other key leaders in the sector such as Matthieu Comard, Managing Director of Avon Western Europe, and Peter Kropp, Global Director of The Body Shop at Home.

Simon Bowler initially started working with Juice Plus+ as a field sales representative in 1990, aged 28. His potential was quickly spotted, and he went on to work in variety of roles within the business, including Regional Director UK, Ireland, Benelux, Italy & Spain, as it expanded across Europe in the 1990s. His current appointment to Vice President Global Partner Relations was made in 2020, and is focused on managing and nurturing the company’s global Sales Directors/Managers across the 27 countries worldwide that Juice Plus+ operates in. Simon Bowler is based in the company’s London head office in Hammersmith.

Simon Bowler, Chair of the Direct Selling Association, comments: “Direct-to-consumer is the channel to watch in the retail world at the moment, offering greater relevance to a new generation of consumers who are looking for hyper-personalised shopping experiences. Direct selling is perfectly placed to fulfil that demand.

“I am greatly looking forward to working with the DSA team, and with member companies, to further develop best practice and continue to educate key stakeholders about the benefits of direct selling as a direct-to-consumer retail strategy.”

About: Direct selling is a channel of retail where products are sold directly to consumers outside of a fixed retail environment. This could be via social events, ‘Tupperware-style’ parties, digital social sharing or through brochure distribution. Individuals act as independent representatives and earn through commission paid on product sales. 

Direct selling operates in a similar manner to a franchise, but start-up fees are considerably lower, and it is often free to get started.

Construction, News, Property

The best strategy for first-time developers

Written by Ritchie Clapson CEng MIStructE, propertyCEO

If property is an area that interests your entrepreneurial side, you could go for a quick flip, but that isn’t where the real profits lie. That doesn’t mean you jump in and build an entire housing estate. Something between the two will be a good fit, but wherever you decide to place your efforts, consider profit and risk.

 

Profit

Assuming you are looking for a 20% return on each project’s selling price, if you want to make £100k, you will need a project where the units sell for £500k. Similarly, if you’re going to make a million, your project will need to have a sales value (a.k.a. gross development value or GDV) of £5m. Most people we train would be looking to create a profit of between £100k and £500k from each project, which places them firmly in the small-scale development category.

 

Risk

You want to be able to avoid as much risk as possible for a whole host of reasons, not least your ability to sleep soundly at night. Similarly, you will want to make sure you are able to get your projects completed quickly.

 

How do you achieve this?

My first recommendation is to stick to small-scale developments rather than thinking that doing a project ten times the size would be a good idea. Yes, the bigger project will involve less than ten times the work on your part, but it can easily involve ten times the stress and ten times the risk.

My second recommendation would be to avoid having to apply for full planning permission. You will be relieved to know this does not mean building a block of flats and hoping that no one at the council notices. Instead, it means using permitted development rights (PDRs) to change the use of an existing building without the need to apply for full planning permission.

PDRs are rights granted by the government that allow us, among other things, to convert commercial buildings to residential use without the need for full planning permission. Since 1st August 2021, it has been possible to convert a much wider range of properties into residential without the need to apply for full planning permission. To give you some idea, you can now convert shops, cafes, restaurants, banks, financial and professional services buildings, gyms, light industrial buildings, offices, doctors’ surgeries, medical or health services buildings, creches, day nurseries, and indoor sports centres. That gives us a vast number of small-scale projects to aim for since many of these buildings will be way too small for larger developers to bother with.

 

Where to look

There are two basic rules to remember when it comes to understanding how to win good property deals:

  1. Avoid as much competition as possible by looking where other developers aren’t.
  2. Know how to make more profit from a property than the other people looking at it.

The sweet spot for my money is light industrial. Buildings that house industrial processes and are located in a residential area have an obvious benefit as you don’t want to convert properties that are in the middle of nowhere or on an industrial estate. Many of these properties are little more than four walls and a roof, the idea being to create a large open-plan space that can house whatever business is being run there: printing works, MOT centres, workshops, car repairers, etc.

Most light industrial buildings will be built on a thick concrete slab. This slab will typically extend across the entire floor plate and should be more than sufficient to support a residential building. This means that wherever you want to build a wall, you already have a nice firm base in place.

And most light industrial buildings are open plan, unlike office buildings which tend to have supporting pillars and stairwells dotted around. This makes for far fewer constraints in terms of the layout of your flats. It is relatively straightforward to upgrade the walls, floor, and roof to residential specification, plus your contractor will love you since they can do most of the work inside, under cover (rain isn’t much fun to work in and can even stop play).

The ability to convert to residential using permitted development rights and a lack of competition make these buildings an attractive proposition, plus the small-scale nature of these projects make them ideal for the first-time developer.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ritchie Clapson CEng MIStructE is a veteran property developer of almost 40 years and co-founder of propertyCEO, a nationwide property development and training company that helps people create a successful property development business in their spare time. It makes use of students’ existing life skills while teaching them the property, business, and mindset knowledge they need to undertake small scale developments successfully, with the emphasis on utilising existing permitted development rights to minimize risk and maximize returns.

https://propertyceo.co.uk/

 

Accounts and Accountancy, Midlands News, News

Derbyshire Institute of Sport gives a warm welcome to new board member, David Nelson

PKF Smith Cooper’s David Nelson – who has a huge love of sport – has been appointed to the Derbyshire Institute of Sport’s board.

Keen cyclist and golfer David Nelson is Senior Partner at leading Midlands-based accountancy and advisory firm PKF Smith Cooper and has joined the board as the institute enters a new stage of sustained growth.

David has a long association with amateur sports having spent seven years as finance director at UCI Professional Cycling Team Raleigh GAC – later known as Vitus Pro Cycling – as well as running local Under 13s football team Allestree Romans FC.

David said: “Both myself and PKF Smith Cooper have been supporters of DIS for some time and have watched with great interest the success they have had over recent years.

As a gold sponsor, I am proud that we have helped fund vital training for young athletes in the region. Having been involved in amateur sport for many years, I know the dedication and commitment it takes both by the athletes themselves and the support teams around them.

With a passion for sport, I look forward to working alongside Chloe and the board at DIS to see where we can take the Institute over the coming years. With the Commonwealth Games coming up just down the road in Birmingham, there is no better time for businesses to come together to support our local athletes.”

DIS board chair Michael Kirkland said: “I am absolutely delighted David Nelson from PKF Smith Cooper is joining our board.

David brings a wealth of financial and operational experience with him which will be invaluable as we push on to our next period of growth.

Both myself and my fellow board members wish David a very warm welcome to the DIS and we look forward to working with him through 2022 and beyond.”

DIS managing director and founder Chloe Maudsley said: “A warm welcome to David Nelson, who I know will make a huge difference to us as we plan our commitments for the next few years.

I’m proud of the resilience the board members and staff have shown through the pandemic. We are now working on our plans to raise more money in 2022 and help even more athletes in Derbyshire.”

The links between PKF Smith Cooper and DIS are strong. The DIS’s Dr Phil Clarke has held sports psychology sessions for PKF Smith Cooper staff to encourage high achievers and improve wellbeing.

Also on PKF Smith Cooper’s payroll is elite athlete and trainee accountant Alex Knibbs, aged 22, from Duffield, who became 400m British champion at the 2020 British Athletic Championship.

Alex said: “DIS has helped me greatly since I was 15 and I’m now back in Derby after studying at Loughborough University and on the DIS ambassador program, focusing on my strength and conditioning.

I have enjoyed my first few months at PKF Smith Cooper and the team’s hard work and driven ethos reflects my attitudes on the track. I can’t thank the firm enough for supporting me in achieving my goals in athletics and starting my accounting career off the track.

DIS have been a huge part in my development as an athlete so far and I wouldn’t be the athlete I am today without them.

Hopefully, with their continued support, I can work to achieve my Olympic dreams and beyond. The opportunity they give local young talented athletes is perfect for the development to reach elite level within their sports.”

* DIS had ten athletes represent Team GB at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021 and is aiming for a bumper turnout at next year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

Its latest initiative is the Performance Prep squads at three Derbyshire schools for youngsters aged nine to 11.

Accounts and Accountancy, Midlands News, News

PKF Smith Cooper announce latest promotions

Starting the year on a positive note, and effective from 1st January, the award-winning accountancy and business advisory firm announces a string of promotions across a number of divisions.

PKF Smith Cooper’s promotions across their Derby, Nottingham, and Birmingham offices follow a period of sustained, strategic growth for the Midlands firm, not only signalling its aim to continue expanding but also the focused investments in team members, which Managing Partner James Bagley cites as their “most important asset”.

Within the Corporate Finance division, Tom Joy has been promoted to Corporate Finance Manager, which acknowledges the integral nature of his role in a number of deals for the team throughout 2021. His talents have already earned him a nomination for Insider Media’s ‘Emerging Dealmaker of the Year 2021’, marking him as ‘one to watch’.

The Audit and Tax teams have also been strengthened by promotions, with Beckie Furniss and Charlotte Martinazzoli being promoted to Assistant Managers in Derby, while Jessica Richardson has become Assistant Manager in the Nottingham office.

Stacey Sykes, who joined the firm in 2018 as an Assistant Manager, has continued to climb the ranks and has now been promoted to Senior Tax Manager, recognising her role in developing and growing the tax compliance service in Derby.

Meanwhile, Charlotte Smith has been successfully promoted to Senior Executive within the marketing team, a move that celebrates her fundamental role in shaping the firm’s marketing strategy.

James Bagley, Managing Partner comments: “Nurturing and growing talent is something we pride ourselves on here at PKF Smith Cooper, which is why I am particularly proud to announce these latest promotions. These team members have been with us since very early in their careers – with the majority initially joining us as an apprentice or graduate – and have worked their way up through the ranks.

All six promotions are really well deserved, and I wish Tom, Stacey, Jessica, Beckie, Charlotte, and Charlotte all continued success in the future.”

News, South West

Contractor appointed to complete conversion of historic Exeter school into luxury flats

A NEW building contractor has been called in to complete the conversion of historic school buildings in the centre of Exeter into luxury apartments.

Award-winning Stonewood Builders, which specialises in working on listed buildings, has been engaged by developer Grenadier to complete the work on 37 one, two and three-bedroomed apartments and four town houses at the former St Margaret’s Girls School in Magdalen Road.

The firm, which was crowned Britain’s Master Builder at the Federation of Master Builders Awards last year, is seeing its work expanding into Devon and Cornwall with an office in Exeter its next target. The company is likely to be on site for another 12 months working on the final 22 apartments at the prestigious Grade II and Grade II* listed development.

The contractor, which celebrates its half century this year, won the Master Builder Award for its stunning restoration of Codrington Court, a medieval hall house in South Gloucestershire.

The company began as a family firm in 1972 and has steadily grown, escalating that growth after chief executive officer Matt Aitkenhead and chief operating officer Ben Lang bought out his father Neill in 2009. The company is now part of the Stonewood Group, which has a turnover of almost £60 million and employs 350 people.

The group comprises Stonewood Partnerships and Stonewood Homes, groundworks arm Earthstone and architects Stonewood Design, based in officers in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Oxford and soon Exeter.

Director Andre Le Hunte Youe said Stonewood’s experience in dealing with historic buildings is just what is needed to tackle the challenges posed by restoring the school’s crumbling Georgian buildings to their former glory.

“It’s an absolutely fabulous collection of buildings with some stunning original features but they have been very badly maintained for a long time so the work needed to bring them back to their original glory is enormous,” he said.

“There are some beautiful window shutters, fireplaces and staircases but there are an awful lot of modern additions that had been cobbled together over a long period of time that need to be carefully removed and redone properly.”

Stonewood’s first task has been to complete work on seven units within Wynlaton House, which includes the old gym, teachers’ offices, library and refectory. This building is particularly rich in original features including ornate cornice, exposed timber trusses, panelling and mouldings. The previous contractor had already completed the show home and five other apartments in Newbury Lodge.

Design work is in its final stages on the 12 units in School House and Morford House. Eight in Cresswell Court and two in Little Green are expected to be complete by the summer. The town houses within Music Rooms have been completed with one unit still available. Westhall House was bought by a private owner when it was completed and Newbury Lodge, which contains the show apartment, also has units available.

Mr Le Hunte Youe said among the many challenges are adding modern fire safety features and conveniences while protecting the site’s heritage. “The buildings have had some structural work that needs to be improved on as well so there is quite an engineering challenge,” he said.

“Some of the roofing needs to be re-engineered and insulated to modern standards without compromising its historical value. There are trusses that have sheared and snapped that have to be propped and plated because you don’t want to take anything out if you can avoid it.”

He said there is huge interest in the site. “I meet so many people who went to the school, they are always stopping to ask questions about what’s happening. We share their desire to see as much of the history preserved as possible which is why we are working very carefully with Grenadier to complete their design and to make the most of these wonderful buildings.”

The school, which closed in 2011, was founded by Bessie Jago in 1902 when she bought two houses in Southernhay West. She sold them and moved into Wynlaton House and as the school expanded it bought more of the neighbouring buildings.

“It’s a fantastic location, you would be hard-pressed to get a better one really,” said Mr Le Hunte Youe. “It’s very exciting to be involved with this project to breathe life back into these quite severely dilapidated Georgian buildings.”

Find out more about Stonewood Builders at stonewoodbuilders.co.uk.

Marketing, PR and SEO, News

SEO work by Superb Digital drives dramatic growth at CBD and vape wholesaler

Spectacularly successful SEO work by a Bristol-based digital marketing agency has played its part in triple-digit growth over two years for a major vape kit and cannabis oil stockist.

Superb Digital and JM Wholesale have been working together since mid 2019, when JMW’s CEO Logie Rajan approached the marketing agency’s managing director Paul Morris.

Since then a strategy of commercial search engine optimisation (SEO) work, website audits and content marketing has contributed to a dramatic rise in turnover.

With overall turnover more than doubling during that period, revenue from organic search traffic has risen by 170% since the two companies started working together.

The Leicester-based wholesaler has moved into new 50,000sqft premises on the edge of the city and is looking for 30 new staff to add to the current workforce of 43.

Paul, who has worked in the digital industry since 2000 and, alongside content director Joe Cox, now leads a team of six based at Spike Island in Bristol’s Harbourside, said he was pleased to have enabled JMW to maximise new opportunities.

“JM Wholesale started life in 2017 and Logie had already built a very successful business in a very short space of time, by any measure,” he said. “However very little of the business’s income was coming from organic search traffic and the company was missing out on significant potential revenue.

“We knew this was a challenging market to work in, with strict restrictions on advertising vaping and CBD products on Google Ads, Google Shopping and most major social media platforms.

“So we had to rely solely on organic SEO, which meant demonstrating the expertise and authority of JM Wholesale by creating a comprehensive knowledge base of expert content and product information.

“We’ve optimised the website, implemented some quick differentials, helped with the design and user experience of the website, and deployed a thorough link building strategy.

“And we’re delighted with the results – JMW represents one of our greatest success stories to date.

“They’ve enjoyed a whopping 186% increase in organic search traffic on a website that was already doing really good business in this space, representing a huge increase in revenue for JM Wholesale.

“This has in turn allowed Logie to expand his business and product selection, especially in the burgeoning CBD sector. It’s great to see.”

Logie said: “There’s no doubt that the growth of the business comes off the back of changing attitudes – socially, culturally and medically. But still, Paul and the team at Superb Digital have done an amazing job for us.

“Our success story is thanks in no small part to their efforts. We’ve become the UK’s largest wholesale supplier of vaping and CBD kit, supplying a huge number of physical and online shops.

“We’re looking forward to continuing to ride the wave in this market and our digital marketing strategy is crucial to our ongoing growth.”

News

MQL5 Cloud Network reaches the capacity of 34,000 cores

Over the course of 10 years of MetaQuotes distributed network existence, it has seen the successful completion of 12,137,187,332 tasks.

MQL5 Cloud Network was launched on October 14, 2011 to arrange the exchange of computing resources between those who need them, and those who can provide idle CPU time on their computers. Over the 10 years of operation, the network has reached a unique capacity of 34,000 test agents (CPU cores available online for testing trading hypotheses). Anyone can sell the capacities of their agents and thus earn money for their MQL5.community account.

MQL5 Cloud Network is used in conjunction with MetaTrader 5 Strategy Tester in the MetaTrader 5 client terminal. The Strategy Tester is used to optimize trading systems developed in the MQL5 programming language with the help of backtests — running trading strategies on historical data before using them in real trading. In total, the network has successfully completed 12,137,187,332 tasks since its launch.

MQL5 Cloud Network distribution by CPU type and RAM

Among other things, tests on historical data are used by analysts of quantum investment funds, in which human intervention is gradually decreasing, in order to increase the number of trading deals closed with the highest possible profit. The unique feature of the MQL5 Cloud Network is the ability to conduct multiple backtests. The execution speed of all passes is reduced from several days and hours to a few minutes.

In addition to the cloud network, MetaQuotes has been developing a unique community of professional algorithmic traders for 17 years. MQL5.com has a marketplace featuring 21,000 ready-made trading robots and technical indicators, as well as a freelance market, where professional developers have completed more than 83,000 application development orders.

About the MQL5 Cloud Network

  • By participating in the MQL5 Cloud Network, users are able to earn profit while providing the processing power of their PCs. This requires MetaTrader 5 Strategy Tester Agent: installation takes no more than 2 minutes;
  • The power of MQL5 Cloud Network is supported by high-performance CPUs, including AMD Ryzen 9, Intel Core i9, and Intel Xeon;
  • The cloud network can be used not only for financial tasks but also for any computing assignments, including scientific research;
  • The project website shows additional real-time MQL5 Cloud Network statistics, including the network distribution by CPU type;
  • MetaQuotes is one of the leading developers of software applications for financial markets. Apart from MQL5 Cloud Network, the company has developed a number of popular software products, including the MetaTrader 5 trading platform used by more than 1,500 brokerage companies, hedge funds, and banks from all over the world.
News

GermErase 24hr simplifies front of house cleaning and sanitising protocols at Nordic-inspired London restaurant

Established in 2018 by Danish-born restauranteur, Søren Jessen, Ekte (meaning ‘genuine’ or ‘real’ in Norwegian) brings an authentic taste of the Nordic regions to the city of London. Situated in the heart of London’s Bank district, Ekte Nordic Kitchen’s food offering is overseen by Swedish-born Chef, Robin Freeman, and constantly changes to embrace seasonal and local produce.

In the context of managing staff and guest’s safety through the Covid-19 pandemic, Ekte was looking to simplify the front of house cleaning and sanitising protocol by replacing surface disinfectant and hand sanitiser with a single product. The restaurant selected GermErase 24hr – a powerful, new, scientifically-proven disinfectant that destroys bacteria, viruses, and fungi, including the SARS-CoV-2 virus (which causes Covid-19) – killing it in under 30 seconds. The product offers up to 99.999% efficacy against pathogens, and delivers a residual effect for 24 hours on surfaces and between washes on hands.

The principal objective was to find a product that offered maximum efficacy while being pleasant to use, kind to skin and entirely odourless so that it would not impact the customer’s experience in any negative way. It was also important to Ekte to maintain its high environmental standards therefore they wanted a product that would minimise the chemical footprint and the use of virgin plastic.

Ready-to-use reassurance

“My top priority is to ensure that our guests have a wonderful experience and enjoy delicious food and wonderful service in a convivial environment without having to worry about anything else,” says Ekte proprietor Soren Jessen. “Using GermErase 24hr, we can all relax and stay focused on all the things that make Ekte and our sister restaurant, 1 Lombard Street, so special.”

The restaurant staff were trained on how to use the product in a trigger spray on all touchpoints and surfaces including tables, chairs, and door handles, and how to dispense from a foamer pump to sanitise hands. The product was delivered ready-for-use in convenient, stackable five litre bottles, which could then be decanted into refillable 750ml trigger sprays for surface use and 600ml bottles with foaming heads for use by customers and staff on their skin.

The 24-hour protection offered by the product meant that it only needed to be used once before the restaurant opened as part of the preparation for the day. Each morning, surfaces were sprayed, wiped to ensure even distribution of the product, and allowed to dry. This ensured that every treated surface could be guaranteed free of germs for the following 24 hours.

Between customers, tables could now be sprayed and wiped with either water or a mild detergent solution to remove debris, instead of requiring further sanitiser product. This minimises the use of chemicals and ensures odours do not interfere with the customers’ enjoyment of Ekte’s exceptional food.

Foamer pumps around the restaurant and in the washrooms allowed staff and customers to sanitise their hands and protect their skin between washes. Customers liked the non-sticky feeling of the sanitiser and felt comforted by the notices informing them the restaurant was thoroughly cleaned, while staff preferred the simple cleaning procedure and felt safer. Moreover, they did not suffer from the problem dry skin they had when using alcohol gel continuously.

Meanwhile, management felt that they had done as much as possible to make customers and staff safe and were delighted to have found a product with a lower environmental impact as well as offering the efficacy and protection they needed

“I have been delighted with the new product, which simplifies our cleaning routine and has made such a difference to the staff, who were not keen on having to use drying alcohol gel on their skin all day,” says Ekte General Manager Fernanda Crestani Vargas. “We can offer our customers total confidence that Ekte is free of Covid and any other germs without having to spray constantly or use unpleasant, dangerous chemicals.”

GermErase 24hr from P-Wave

“For over a decade, P-Wave has built an enviable reputation as a respected innovator in the air freshening industry,” says P-Wave Sales and Marketing Manager Mark Wintle. “As a direct result of the Coronavirus pandemic, health, hygiene and above all safety is now at the top of everyone’s agenda – and in premises, people need to feel as safe as possible. So, P-Wave has evolved, and our message now is ‘Protect and Refresh’.”

 

News

The Smart Cube announces 40% revenue growth and strong outlook for 2022

Stellar growth across analytics business as need for data-driven insights soars

The Smart Cube, a global provider of strategic research and analytics solutions, today announced it has grown revenues by more than 40% and doubled its advanced analytics business in 2021. Over the year, The Smart Cube strengthened its position in the market, addressing the evolving analytics and insights needs of businesses worldwide and across industry sectors, through its unique AI+HI (Artificial Intelligence + Human Intelligence) approach.

The doubling of the company’s analytics business was driven by increasing client demand for data-driven business performance improvements, across procurement, supply chain, sales and marketing functions.

Key highlights

  • Grew revenues from existing client base by 117% and by almost 50% from new clients
  • Client base now includes four of the top five global CPG companies and three of the top five Life Sciences companies
  • Achieved 95% revenue retention
  • Recruited 326 new team members worldwide

Solution investments

The Smart Cube’s solution portfolio has continued to evolve based on market and client feedback. Recognising the market need for increased visibility, the company launched a major update to its Supplier Risk Intelligence solution including partnering with Bureau van Dijk to strengthen this solution with robust data. Demand for supplier risk analysis experienced a 167% spike in demand in the previous year.

The Smart Cube also rolled out significant updates to Amplifi PRO, the free, on-demand digital procurement intelligence platform – including 80 brand new sourcing destination dashboards, 3,800 new commodity price indexes, and a 25% increase in category insight reports. Access for procurement professionals was extended through a partnership with Coupa, making Amplifi PRO available via Coupa’s Business Spend Management platform. Overall, the active subscriber base has doubled.

The company has also invested in its Revenue Growth Management Solution, in particular strengthening modules on assortment planning, pricing and promotion, demand forecasting and market mix modelling, in response to client work, feedback and evolving market needs.

Industry recognitions

The Smart Cube secured industry recognition throughout the year, being listed on the inaugural ProcureTech 100 list of procurement technology providers, and the Spend Matters 50 Providers to Know.

The company also gained recognition from Analytics India as a Great Place to work for Data Scientists and moved into the ‘Growth’ segment of the PeMA 2021 quadrant.

Recognising the company’s ongoing commitment to creating a diverse workforce and an inclusive workplace for all, The Smart Cube was named as both a Great Place to Work® in India for the 4th consecutive year and as being among the Top 50 – India’s Best Workplaces™ for Women 2021 (Mid-size Companies Category) in its inaugural year.

“We’re proud to be able to partner with our clients, providing the data, visibility and counsel needed to navigate the uncharted waters that have disrupted functions from procurement to marketing, across multiple industries, over the last year,” said Gautam Singh, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer. “As our clients’ businesses and their needs continue to evolve, we’ll continue to provide the forward-thinking solutions needed to enable their success.”

 

News

Visa partners with Detected to tackle KYB compliance

Detected, the critical infrastructure component for next-generation KYB compliance, today announced that it has joined Visa Fintech Partner Connect Program in their Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa Region.

Through a new collaboration with Visa, companies will be able to use Detected’s Connected Compliance API to search and locate business credit, corporate and director information from around the globe in seconds. From there, ID verification, UBO information and company documentation can all be gathered and linked to the business’ profile.

Detected fills this critical KYB gap in the payments technology stack with its ‘Find Company’ algorithm – the ability to find any registered company globally with minimal information – API-first technology for seamless deployment, and advanced capabilities to ease customer onboarding.

Liam Chennells, CEO at Detected, said: “Where money moves, compliance is a problem – especially when trying to validate the credentials of a business. If a company, anywhere on earth, is registered with its local authority or government, Detected can find it with less data input than any other solution. We are excited to be working with Visa and its partners to pioneer this category.”

“Businesses want a simpler experience onboarding sellers so they can offer their customers a more diverse range of products from around the world,” said Alex McCrea, Head of Fintech Partnerships – CEMEA at Visa. “Detected offers businesses a seamless compliance solution that enables them to grow and remain competitive. We are delighted to welcome Detected into Visa’s Fintech Partner Connect program.”