Monthly Archives: March 2022

Packaging

5 Current Trends in Packaging Design

With the world slowly inching back into ‘normalcy’, many businesses are also rising from the ashes. They bring new ideas to attract new and old customers in their wake. One area of continuous innovation is packaging design, which protects a product and entices people to buy the product.

A wise entrepreneur knows when and how to follow specific trends, especially for packaging. Updating your regular packaging is an investment you shouldn’t miss. Imagine how many customers you could win over with a simple change in how your product looks.

If you’re fascinated with the idea of upgrading your packaging, check these top trends to try out:

 

1. Sustainable Materials

Eco-friendly packaging has been the rage for a few years now, but it could pick up steam in 2022 and beyond. Businesses worldwide are now doing their part in lessening their carbon footprints. With more people yearning for more sustainable products, entrepreneurs are going to great lengths in answering their needs. 

Many companies like Packaging World now provide packaging options made of raw materials. Boxes, bags and wrappers are made with sustainably-sourced materials and often lack laminations or coatings that slow the degradation process. Many of these kraft containers retain their original texture and are highly customisable too.

Additionally, some packages are also produced to be recyclable or reusable. Take, for example, reusable cups from certain coffee shop chains. Instead of purchasing a different one-time-use cup at every visit, stores may sell tumblers intended for multiple uses. This encourages less waste from both the store staff and the customers.

 

2. Vintage Designs

Bring back the beauty of retro art through your packaging. You can draw inspiration for your designs from the roaring 20s to the psychedelic 60s. These designs often incorporate rubber hose characters like Betty Boop and Mickey Mouse’s old design and typography popular from the era. It’s an excellent way to evoke nostalgia towards customers, especially if you want to attract an older audience to your product.

The vintage feel of a product may also give off the company’s image as trustworthy and reputable. Older designs often mean that a brand has been around for years. So, if your business existed before the global health restrictions began, you could use vintage designs for your packaging for a change.

 

3. Minimalist Designs

There is a growing interest in minimalist packaging where simplicity takes centre stage. Less is more, so say some brands leaning towards minimalism. If your current packaging’s various colours and elements overwhelm you, your customers might see it that way, too. 

Minimalism brings monochromatic colouring and typefaces to the forefront. As a result, you’ll get cleaner-looking packaging and relief in your customers’ eyes. Furthermore, a minimalist design elicits a sense of luxury because of its elegance and classiness. People may even second-guess throwing out such pretty packaging, lessening unnecessary waste.

4. Interesting Typography

Simple yet well-thought-out designs don’t work for everyone. Some might think it’s too plain for specific products. Sometimes, eccentricity works best, especially for merchandise aimed at the younger generation.

You can incorporate loud colours and modern fonts into the packaging to catch people’s attention. This method is most appropriate for food and drinks. Bold and clear typography can also help buyers find your products on a shelf. So, busy folks on their weekly grocery run are likely to add your items to their trolley when they see them.

The trick to the proper use of typography to your advantage is choosing the right, readable fonts. Your packaging can have the most exciting design yet can also be ignored by people who can’t read what’s on the label. A carefully-created design can also replace images on the label and build an identity for your brand.

 

5. Artworks And Illustrations

If you can’t let go of the images on your packaging, there’s no harm in keeping them. But take this opportunity to give them an upgrade. You can start by using personalised stickers to decorate and provide a personal touch to your items.

Consider 3D designs for a more modern take. It’s eye-catching and innovative, making your product fit more contemporary tastes. However, it’s deemed more effective for food, beverage and cosmetic products. 

You can still use flat illustrations, though. This type of artwork is an excellent partner to minimalist designs, whether you put it outside or inside. Why not commission local artists to create your packaging illustration? You’ll put the spotlight on someone with potential and your product. It’s a win-win situation.

 

In Conclusion

Consumers prefer buying products that meet their needs and are pleasant to the eyes. Business owners also risk upgrading their packaging to make their merchandise stand out. 

While people are looking for a change in scenery after the health restrictions, take this opportunity to redesign your brand. Take one of these current trends to ensure a positive transformation of your products, profits, and the environment.

 

Gambling

Starting your own online gambling site – here’s four things you need to think about

While traditional gambling revenues have fallen since the high of 2019, the same cannot be said for online operators.  You may look at online casino DrBet and think it looks easy – but it’s much harder to set up in practice and there is so much you need to do before you can welcome your first customers.

Here we discuss four things you maybe hadn’t thought about that you will definitely need to consider:

 

1. Getting the appropriate licences

In the UK, you can’t just set up as a gambling operator, you will need to obtain the appropriate licences from the UK Gambling Commission.  If you are outside the UK, you will still need to hold a remote operator licence if you want to target and attract UK players.

The UK Gambling Commission list all the licences required on their website, however depending on what you plan to offer, you may need several licences to operate an online casino.

Licences don’t come cheap, and the cost varies according to how much you expect to turn over.  However, in addition to the cost of the licence application fee, there are also annual fees to be paid  30 days from when the licence starts.  At present, for the smallest level up to £550k, the remote casino licence application fee is currently £4224 and the annual fee of £4199 will be due 30 days later – and that’s before you have invested a penny in creating the site.

This can be a complex area of law and if you are a novice, you will almost certainly need to engage a specialist law firm to check you are compliant and have purchased the correct and most relevant licences.

2. Developing the site

Developing a site can be easy or difficult, dependent on what you want to offer, however bear in mind that competition in the industry is fierce.

It’s possible to buy an ‘out of the box’ gaming site solution, and it’s certainly appealing for start ups, however to really stand out from the crowd you are likely to want to engage a team of developers sooner or later to create your own unique games, and increasingly you’ll be looking to have an app too in order to compete.

Developer talent doesn’t come cheap and is hard to find, although these days many people will outsource this to overseas.  However, managing a remote coding teams has it’s drawbacks too, so you’ll want to ensure you can work with an experienced team.

3. Customer Services

While you may operate remotely, when it comes to money, your customers will expect to be able to contact you if they run into problems, especially when claiming their winnings.  This is something you should put in place from the get-go, even at a basic level, or bad reviews will quickly scare off the customers.

Having a good customer services solution from the word go will help you establish trust and build your reputation.  It’s important too to think about the steps you will take to support problem gamblers and not view them as ‘easy revenue’.  Having plans in place to support customers and prevent them from gambling more than they can afford is about more than legal compliance – doing it well and with care will build trust from both customers and the UK Gambling Commission.

 

4. Branding and Marketing

Often new operators have thought about getting the software right and the games right but you also need to think about how customers will find you.

Investing in a qualified, experienced marketing team will bring dividends in the long run, from achieving better search results, having a more professional appearance which appeals to your target audience, and ultimately getting you more customers.

Yes, you can get cheap online freelancers, but ultimately you get what you pay for and if you pay cheap, you may wind up paying twice.

 

Hopefully we’ve give you some things to think about before you get started – there’s one last thing you need to succeed – the thing your customers want too – just a little luck!

News

Welsh businesses urged to attend event and chase £124bn nuclear procurement bonanza

BUSINESSES can capitalise on future decommissioning opportunities within the nuclear industry at an event powered by leading names in the sector.

Organised by Menter Mon and hosted by Enterprise Hub at M-SParc in Gaerwen, Anglesey, the event takes place on April 7 from 3pm to 6pm.

Speakers will explain and discuss nuclear decommissioning business opportunities at Trawsfynydd in Gwynedd and Wylfa on Anglesey, in addition to the skills development needed to maximise local and regional business benefit.

Changes to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s (NDA) Strategy will see decommissioning work accelerate in the coming years, particularly at Trawsfynydd.

The Welsh Government and Menter Mon want to raise the profile of these opportunities to businesses across North Wales and the whole of the country.

They want to hear from engineers, civil engineers, tradespeople and anyone with a company that could be of value to the nuclear decommissioning supply chain going forward, with reports suggesting the cost of cleaning up Britain’s 17 historical nuclear sites might last around 120 years and be worth an estimated £124 billion in procurements.

Bethan Fraser-Williams, Menter Mon Projects Director, said: “The decommissioning of both sites will lead to many long-term, sustainable roles for years to come.

“At both Trawsfynydd and Wylfa there will employment opportunities but also the chance to develop skills, in partnership with the private and public sectors, as well as developing business collaboration.

“We hope people will engage and attend the event and get in touch to find out more because there will be significant contracts on offer that could be pivotal from an economic and environmental perspective for this and future generations, and it will also be an excellent networking session.”

Among those presenting on the day will be Dafydd Gruffydd, Managing Director of Menter Mon; Paul Walsh, Head of Procurement at Magnox; Rhianwen Edwards, Director of Commercial and Work-Based Learning, Grwp Llandrillo Menai; Harvey Johnson, Nuclear Decommissioning Manager, Assystem, and DNA Ltd Director, Gareth Davies.

Anglesey-based industrial manufacturer Mona Lifting will also be sharing their experiences of working in the nuclear decommissioning sector.

Director Steve Jones urged other companies to explore the wide range of prospects open to them, adding: “As a multi-discipline organisation, we have worked UK-wide and internationally in the nuclear energy sector and taken on projects of all sizes that demand our experience and expertise.

“For SMEs in North Wales, and independent contractors, whether it be in civil engineering, waste management, design or many other industries, there will be work for you to bid for.

“This event will shine a light on what is a critical time for the nuclear industry and give companies across North Wales and beyond a platform to secure their futures while having a positive impact on the economy.”

To register for free, visit IN PERSON – Cyfleoedd Dadgomisynu Nuclear Decommissioning Opportunities Tickets, Thu 7 Apr 2022 at 15:00 | Eventbrite.

If you’re interested in hearing more about the potential opportunities for your business in the nuclear sector in North Wales, email post@hwbmenter.cymru or call 01248 858 070.

Fashion, North of England, Retail & E-commerce

6 Factors To Consider When Opening A Boutique Clothing Shop In Manchester

Owning a business is a dream for many Mancunians. Manchester has become a hub for independent, boutique shops and is a shopping destination for many in the North of England and beyond. There’s no better time to open a boutique in Manchester, but there is still significant risk involved in the venture.

If you want to open your own boutique store in Manchester, you need to have a plan that helps you stand apart from the crowd. You should also be fully prepared for the hard work that launching a business can be.

Decide Who Your Customer Is

When launching a business, the first thing you should consider is who your customers will be. There are so many types of fashion out there that trying to cater to everyone will be far too broad for a small boutique. Instead, you should look for a niche market that will be popular enough to ensure your success. Avoid catering to demographics that already have significant offerings in the Manchester area.

Choose The Right Storefront Location

The location for your boutique can make all the difference to how successful your business will be. You will need a storefront in a central location, with good travel links and foot traffic. Finding premises near a major train station can be beneficial as you will be seen by those coming and going throughout the week.

Sell Online

While you can make good money selling in a physical store, it is best to sell online as well. Selling your wares online can make a big difference to your business’s reach and help generate hype around your storefront in Manchester.

You should ensure you have a suitable e-commerce capable website that displays your products professionally. It should suit the aesthetic of your business and be intuitive to use. Visionsharp is a web design agency Manchester that can help you build the perfect website to drive sales and boost brand recognition.

Find Responsible Manufacturers

You’ll need to find manufacturers that offer quality products at reasonable prices. It is also vital to use responsible suppliers who source their fabrics ethically. There is increasing backlash against retailers who source from unethical manufacturers that use exploited workers, so it is best to choose quality, ethical suppliers for your boutique to help protect your brand’s reputation.

Secure Funding

You’ll need funding enough to get your boutique started, including buying inventory, renting or buying premises, hiring staff, and renovating your store. There are bank loans available to new business owners, but you should ensure you can comfortably afford the repayments. You could also look for angel investors or governmental grants, though these can be harder to qualify for and obtain.

Throw A Launch Party

When you have everything ready for your business, the only thing left is to launch it officially. Hosting a launch party can be a great way to get your business off to a strong start. You could consider inviting some local Manchester influencers who can hype up your business before the big launch. Ensure the guest list is carefully curated to the type of customers you want to see in your store.

Business, Finance and Banking

Alternative Investment Options For New Investors

These days, it seems like certainty is a hard thing to come by. The last couple of years have been something of a rollercoaster, to say the least, and anyone looking to make investments in the months ahead may have some serious questions. A lot of the things that we took as a given back in 2019 have changed drastically. We have seen a wave of inflation across several different markets, and we have also seen a wide array of new technology hit the market. If you are choosing an investment option, here are a few things that you need to consider.

 

Is This The Right Time For That Investment?

It is a fact of life that the market may not be at its strongest point when we are personally ready to invest. This is particularly tricky for anyone who has been thinking about investing in property, for example. We have seen the property market go through a historic rate of inflation over the last couple of years. While experts are predicting that things will go back to something more closely resembling normal, there is no guarantee of when. If you are investing in a new business, you must take the market instability into consideration. So, if you are looking at an investment, it is always a good idea to think carefully about whether this really is the right time or if you should hold back for now.

 

Talk To An Investment Manager

We are sure that we are right in saying that you are probably not blessed with an abundance of spare time right now. We do not all have the time that we would like to comb through the different investment opportunities available, and sometimes we need a helping hand to find the right fit for our needs. There is no one-size-fits-all investment strategy, which is why it is so important to find an investment manager that is right for you. For example, finding the right Enterprise Investment Scheme to invest in can be a complicated process. Oxford Capital is a great example of an investment manager that understands the needs of its clients and offers a portfolio of EIS qualifying companies.

 

Do Your Research

If you are making an investment, any kind of investment, then it is absolutely crucial that you understand the risks you are taking and what you are putting your money into. Not doing your due diligence is the kind of mistake that could lead to you losing out, or not anticipating market trends that you should have known about. For example, one of the most popular investment trends right now is in cryptocurrency. However, you need to remember that cryptocurrency is incredibly volatile and constantly in the news, especially with the recent closure of crypto ATMs. Remember that crypto is as prone to drastic downturns, as it is to dramatic increases.

 

Does It Suit Your Needs?
Finally, you need to think about what you want from a return on your investment. Are you looking for a slow, steady increase as part of a retirement plan? Are you gain access to tax reliefs through the Enterprise Investment Scheme? Or are you looking for a big return as quickly as possible? The answer to this question will determine what the best investment solution for you is. Whatever it is, it is worth remembering that spreading your investment across a portfolio of assets is always a good idea to minimise potential losses.

News, Tech

Entrust Helps Enterprises Prepare Now for Post Quantum Security Journey With New PQ Testing and Development Solutions

New suite of PQ testing and development toolkits, services, and cryptographic consulting help enterprises to bring crypto agility and resilience into their organizations today to get ready for the post quantum world

Entrust, a leading provider of trusted identities, payments, and data protection solutions, has announced four new solutions aimed at helping organizations prepare for the security challenges and opportunities presented by quantum computers.

While not powerful enough to do so today, advances in quantum computing threaten the integrity of traditional asymmetric encryption algorithms, with the potential to empower brute force attacks that will succeed in minutes rather than years. Post quantum (PQ) cryptography is the development of new cryptographic approaches that can be implemented using today’s computers, but will be impervious to attacks from tomorrow’s quantum ones.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has published a short-list of PQ safe algorithms which will be resilient to these attacks. Although these algorithms are undergoing review from academics and industry, security-conscious organizations need to start work now in order to be fully prepared for a post quantum future. This includes carrying out due diligence by investigating the adoption of the short-listed algorithms in their cryptographic ecosystem.

To help organizations start preparing for this future now, Entrust is making available four new products designed to help organisations to assess their cryptographic stance and integrate quantum resistant algorithms into their encryption workflows and services. The new offerings are:

 

Cryptographic Center of Excellence Expands to Support PQ Preparedness

The Entrust Cryptographic Center of Excellence consulting portfolio – which provides actionable recommendations to remediate identified risks in crypto systems – is evolving to help organisations prepare to manage the challenges of PQ.  The upcoming updates to the Crypto Agility Maturity Assessment will help organizations identify their readiness to manage the introduction of PQ algorithms and provide a roadmap to achieve the required level of crypto agility.

 

Entrust nShield Post Quantum Cryptography Option Pack

For customer wishing to prepare for a PQ world and are looking to evaluate the use of NIST PQ shortlisted algorithms running within a representative Entrust nShield Hardware Security Module (HSM) environment, Entrust offers an advanced preview of a new option pack that provides a software development suite of cryptographic functions based on NIST PQ shortlisted algorithms running within a representative Entrust nShield Hardware Security Module (HSM) environment. This sandbox environment supports a range of PQ cryptographic operations including key generation, encrypt, decrypt, sign, verify and key exchange. It enables developers to test PQ algorithms, invoke crypto operations via Java calls and execute code within a secure test environment underpinned by a quantum safe root of trust.

 

Quantum Java Toolkit

Available as a beta release, this pluggable Java toolkit provides a way for organizations to integrate quantum safe algorithms into their digital certificate generation workflows. It is being made available to organizations who want to start building secure applications with PQ cryptography and supports composite certificate draft standards and traditional single algorithm certificates. Entrust has developed this toolkit to support the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) post quantum development and is a round 3 signature finalist in the NIST competition.

 

PKIaaS for Post Quantum

In a PQ environment, Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) providers will need to issue hybrid or composite certificates combining classical and quantum safe algorithms. By providing a cloud-based PKI as a Service offering, Entrust can provide customers with composite and pure quantum Certificate Authority hierarchies. PQ via PKIaaS is expected to be available to applicants as a beta in April 2022 and will give organizations the ability to test multi-certificates or composite certificates with their applications, with the added benefit that these will be underpinned by Entrust nShield HSMs.

“Post-quantum computing is an inevitable threat to cybersecurity. While it is unclear when exactly the post-quantum threat will become real, it is generally expected to occur within the decade. The migration to quantum-safe algorithms can take several years, so the time to prepare for post-quantum is now,” said Anudeep Parhar, Chief Information Officer at Entrust. “Entrust is at the forefront of post-quantum cryptography. We are participating members of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), and we are also participants in the NIST PQ competition. Through growth initiatives and investment in solutions like those announced today, we are helping our customers today to prepare for tomorrow.”

 

Additional Information:

Web page: Post Quantum Security

Blog: A bridge to post-quantum cryptography

 

About Entrust

Entrust keeps the world moving safely by enabling trusted identities, payments and data protection. Today more than ever, people demand seamless, secure experiences, whether they’re crossing borders, making a purchase, accessing e-government services or logging into corporate networks. Entrust offers an unmatched breadth of digital security and credential issuance solutions at the very heart of all these interactions. With more than 2,500 colleagues, a network of global partners, and customers in over 150 countries, it’s no wonder the world’s most entrusted organizations trust us.  www.entrust.com

Sustainability

Moneypenny Identifies Four Corporate Sustainability Typologies in New Report Produced with WORKTECH

A new report commissioned by Moneypenny and WORKTECH Academy has identified four different types of corporate approaches to sustainability, to help firms establish just how green they are, along with key guidelines on how they can contribute further to their ESG credentials and wider society.

ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) strategies have risen to the top of the agenda in all organisations globally, and employees and investors are demanding greater sustainability.

The new Moneypenny/Worktech report launched today, highlights the key challenges of sustainability, outlining how new ways of working are driving change in sustainability.  To help organisations evaluate their ESG status and goals, the report identifies four green corporate typologies:

  1. PLACEMAKERS:Placemaking organisations use their office building as the canvas on which to display their green credentials and aims.  They’re more likely to occupy green buildings, adopt smart technology, install recycling facilities, employ energy-efficient design, and introduce sustainable transport provisions, to improve their environmental impact on the world.Companies adopting this approach frequently build new buildings, such as Google’s  new campus in London’s King’s Cross, that has provision for more than 600 bicycles compared to just four car parking spaces.
  1. CHANGEMAKERS:This group, while still largely office-based, understands the value of influencing green behaviour through social support and peer-to-peer encouragement. In the context of the post-pandemic workplace, change-makers will use the ‘return to office’ window of opportunity to encourage employees to modify behaviours in the workplace. These organisations, which include Coca-Cola, Intel, and eBay, empower employee-led initiatives in the workplace and have ‘green champions’ to drive that change.Pharmaceutical giant Genentech has aptly named its green team the ‘Green Genes’. In its goal to educate and empower employees to be more sustainable, the company sponsors monthly guest speakers, holds movie nights focusing on sustainability issues, and hosts an annual eco-party.  It also introduced composting to its cafeteria, and saved $200,000 a year by replacing plastic water bottles with filtered water machines.

 

  1. CHOICE-GIVERS: Choice-givers are organisations that use new ways of working and flexible work policies to give employees the autonomy to work anywhere and make green choices for themselves, including outside of the office – such as working from home to reduce their carbon footprint through reduced travel.  For example, printing giant Xerox  Design allowed 8,000 of its 27,000 employees to work remotely full-time, resulting in its employees driving 92 million fewer miles and saving 4.6 million gallons of fuel, cutting CO₂emissions by almost 41,000 metric tons annually.Similarly, US-based computer company Sun Microsystems has allowed 24,000 employees to work from home since 2008, and calculates that office equipment energy consumption at a Sun office was twice that of home office energy consumption, and that the average commute for an employee into the office accounted for 98% of their carbon footprint.

 

  1. ARBITRATORS: Arbitrators are the organisations extending sustainability beyond the office building, to the wider community on behalf of their workforce. These organisations understand that even if fewer people work from the office every day, they still have a degree of corporate responsibility for their employees – and they are likely to offer subsidised transport and smart home energy solutions for employees, as well as to run community-minded green initiatives.For example, companies such as Google, Apple, Facebook and Johnson & Johnson provide subsidised sustainable transport for their employees via bike travel, group shuttle buses, and public transport. Other organizations, such as Goldman Sachs, have supported smart home energy solutions for employees, or subsidised residential recycling bins.

 

Moneypenny tips on how to calculate whether outsourcing will help reduce a company’s carbon footprint

 

  • Start by calculating how many fulltime equivalent (FTE) team members are employed to undertake communications tasks such as answering the phone, handling live chat, or reception duties within your business? FTE is calculated as 8 hours per day  x 5 days per week x 52 weeks per year = 2080 hours. If your team is a general admin team, are you able to total how much of their time is spent working on these tasks? For example, with 4 team members allocated to this type of work, spending 25% of their time answering customer questions, you would have 1 FTE employed on these duties.
  • Look at where your team members are based? If they’re in the office, use Moneypenny’s standard office carbon measurement to work out how much carbon each FTE is using: total carbon emissions of the office running costs per year divided by total FTEs divided by 12 = Carbon Use per FTE by month. Commuting: The Carbon Trust calculates that, on average, the typical commuter uses 36.67kg per month dependent on the journey time, with a journey of only 4 miles from home by car, resulting in significant savings from home working.
  • If your team members are at home, use Bulb’s handy home working calculator to measure their carbon impact, including: laptops & lighting = 6.14kg of CO₂per FTE per month (40-hour week), Home heating = 87.26kg of CO₂ per FTE per month (40-hour week), No commuting = 0kg carbon

Due to outsourcing companies like Moneypenny’s location, efficiency and carbon neutral environment, the number of personnel needed to handle your comms tasks will be lower, and the consequent emissions will be lower.

Joanna Swash, Group CEO of Moneypenny comments, “Through working in close partnership with organisations large and small, we’ve been witnessing a growing requirement for sustainability in the workplace. We commissioned the WORKTECH Academy report to explore how our services can support and nurture this valuable business need, but what we discovered is important for all organisations to consider.

“What is important to recognise is that the four typologies of a sustainable organisation are not mutually exclusive. Moneypenny, for example, has traits in all four. A placemaker because our HQ was built with environmental goals in mind, a changemaker because of our eco-pennies employee-led sustainable living group, which shaped our HQ and so much more since then. We are also classed as a choice-giver as we invested in technology to make hybrid working a viable and successful option, and also an arbitrator, as we are engaging with the wider community and choosing to offset our UK carbon emissions.”

To find out more about the four green typologies of the post-covid workplace as well as the changing parameters of ESG responsibility and how Moneypenny outsourcing services can help shape sustainable change, download the Moneypenny and WORKTECH Academy report ‘From Place to People’, here: 

 

 

ABOUT MONEYPENNY:

Moneypenny is a global leader providing telephone answering, outsourced switchboard, Live Chat and customer contact solutions and is the most trusted partner to large and small businesses. Moneypenny has an award-winning culture and over 1000 staff based in the UK and the USA. It handles over 20 million calls and live chats for 21,000 businesses. It blends brilliant people superpowered by leading edge tech solutions to deliver seamless customer engagement outcomes.

News

Elsevier selects Conga to transform its global quote-to-cash processes

Global research publisher and information analytics provider optimises contract lifecycle and reduces contract generation time from days to hours

Conga, the global leader in commercial operations transformation, today announced that Elsevier, part of the RELX Group, and a global research publishing and information analytics provider, has implemented the Conga Contracts for Salesforce solution to optimise its global quote-to-cash processes and workflows.

Founded in 1880, Elsevier is headquartered in Amsterdam, with offices worldwide in the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, Middle East and Africa. With 8,000 employees, 470,000 articles published and 1 billion downloads annually, Elsevier has grown significantly in recent years, expanding from its roots in research publishing – which includes 2,600 journals published across a wide range of research disciplines – to delivering analytical solutions and digital tools that allow researchers to manage and share papers, discover new data and collaborate online.

With huge growth and multiple acquisitions in recent years, Elsevier’s global quote-to-cash processes and workflows – comprising the multiple interlinked steps taken from when sales teams configure a quote and draft proposals for clients, through to when payments are received for services rendered – were becoming increasingly complicated. With contracts being created, negotiated and executed in different regional locations, Elsevier’s sales team was finding that complex and manual processes were leading to a number of roadblocks across the contract lifecycle.

“The fragmented quote-to-cash process was resulting in version control issues, contract mistakes, long processing times and a lack of insight into contract status,” said Matt Cumberlidge, Head of Quote to Cash programme at Elsevier. “Our sales team would have to step outside the Salesforce CPQ system to complete their work, which was adding turnaround time to the contract lifecycle. This was ultimately impacting customer satisfaction and was being flagged as an issue in our surveys.”

With the tender process beginning in 2019, including a field of five companies and two rounds of selection, Elsevier chose Conga Contracts for Salesforce, due to its functionality, seamless user experience and compatibility with Salesforce.

Conga set out to connect the interdependent, customer-centric tasks that Elsevier’s sales team had been conducting manually, into a smooth revenue operations, or quote-to-cash, process that is facilitated by technology. Since implementing Conga, Elsevier has reduced its contract creation time from days to hours. Elsevier now has complete control of its quote-to-cash processes, enabling it to create, negotiate and execute contracts through automation. Its sales team can stay in Salesforce, so all contracting information is accurate and all actions get recorded. It maintains an automated audit trail of changes and versions in Salesforce, even down to the individual clause level. Conga removes the headache for the legal department, by ensuring Elsevier is protected through pre-approved supply language and clauses, so the sales team can concentrate on negotiating and executing contracts, while still remaining compliant with policies and procedures.

“Our customers were at the forefront of our mind when selecting a technology solution,” concluded Cumberlidge. “Our aim was to get contracts into the hands of our customers within 24 hours – Conga has enabled us to achieve that goal. In recent months, we’ve also faced the added pressure of the current pandemic forcing our sales team to work remotely. However, the online, seamless workflow of the Conga Contracts for Salesforce solution has enabled our business to continue operating as normal, while maintaining compliance.”

“Businesses will often find after a significant period of growth that it will add complexity to their contract lifecycle,” said Lee Mills, Director of Customer Success EMEA at Conga. “With the right technology solutions that help to streamline businesses processes, that complexity can be drastically reduced. We are delighted that we have been able to support Elsevier in its project to transform its contract lifecycle, leveraging both Conga and Salesforce – the results speak for themselves.”

To read more about Conga Contracts for Salesforce, please visit: https://conga.com/workflow-automation-software/contract-management-system/conga-contracts-for-salesforce

Digital Transformation, News

New Study Reveals How Desktop Delivery is Evolving in the Post-Pandemic Era

The Liquidware and IGEL sponsored study shows how the rapid migration to work-from-home during COVID-19 created a paradigm shift in how digital workspaces are delivered, supported and secured

UK, Reading. March 24, 2022 – Liquidware, the leader in digital workspace management and IGEL, provider of IGEL OS, the endpoint operating system designed for VDI and DaaS, today announced the results of a study authored by independent analysts Freeform Dynamics that shows how the rapid migration to work-from-home (WFH) during the COVID-19 pandemic made it harder, more complex and costly to deliver, support and secure digital workspaces, while at the same time creating new opportunities to turn disruption into transformation, today and in the future.

The report, “Modernizing the Digital Workplace” looks at what organizations are doing today to prepare for the future of work with new desktop delivery models and a set of platform and management solutions designed to accommodate change quickly and efficiently.

Key findings from the study confirm that the short-term success of the switch to WFH came with longer-term costs – technical and governance ‘debts’ that must now be ‘repaid.’ Yet, IT departments that choose to adopt modern desktop delivery models and platforms are more likely to see better outcomes in areas such as user satisfaction, cost of ownership, manageability, and security.

Need to Act Quickly Drove Most WFH Transitions

The COVID-19 pandemic, according to the report, created a ground swirl of activity for enabling WFH that was significantly influenced by the following factors:

  • The need to act very quickly to keep the business running – 80%
  • Pressure to keep additional costs and overheads to a minimum – 73%
  • Supplier shortages of equipment limiting options – 72%
  • Need to minimize end user training requirements – 72%
  • Keep things as simple and supportable as possible – 70%
  • Short-term pragmatics trumping long-term strategy – 68%

Majority of Organizations Today Are Adopting or Planning Modern Desktop Delivery Solutions

Additionally, the report explores the different ways organizations delivered digital workspaces to users and what stands in the way of progress today, including technical debt, employee resistance to change and senior managers priorities lying elsewhere.

The vast majority of respondents (>65%) are either considering or are implementing the following tactics to move their end user computing environment forward:

  • Reduce dependency on ‘fat-client’ computing model
  • Automate more of their delivery, monitoring and management activities
  • Adopt platforms designed to support modern desktop/application delivery.

“Our research confirms that the rapid shift to hybrid working has left IT teams – and especially desktop admin teams – more over-worked and stressed than ever,” stated Bryan Betts, Principal Analyst at Freeform Dynamics. “It also shows that if you carry on trying to do desktop delivery the old way, but in a hybrid world, there are clear risks that you’ll see higher costs, increased security challenges, decreased flexibility and agility, and ultimately lower user satisfaction. Fortunately, when we dug into the data, our research also suggests a potential solution: use the hybrid transition and the need to pay back technical debt as an inflection point – as the opportunity to transform and modernize the desktop delivery process. There’s a whole raft of ways to do this, such as thinner desktops and automated user management, but essentially they boil down to using modern technologies to build in greater consistency, flexibility, and security.”

IGEL and Liquidware will be hosting a webinar on Tuesday, April 12 at 11am (CST) with Bryan Betts, Principal Analyst at Freeform Dynamics; Simon Townsend, Chief Marketing Officer, IGEL and Jason E. Smith, VP Products and Alliances, Liquidware; to discuss the findings from the report, lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, and opportunities created by the WFH, work-from-anywhere (WFx) and hybrid working revolutions. Register at: https://info.liquidware.com/2022-04-12-Modernizing-Digital-Workplace_Registration-Page.html

Business News, News

Love Your Employees Promotes a Key Solution to National Insurance Increase

Employee benefits marketplace provider Love Your Employees has heralded salary sacrifice as a key solution to help businesses and their employees mitigate the effects of the forthcoming national insurance increase.

From 6th April 2022, national insurance contributions will increase by 1.25%, a move that has been criticised in the midst of what has been dubbed the cost-of-living crisis.

To help people with increased outgoings, Love Your Employees is encouraging businesses to use salary sacrifice as a solution. The scheme has been running for over 25 years and is used by 87% of the world’s FTSE 500 companies.

Salary sacrifice allows employees to contribute to their pension from their gross pay, meaning they will be taxed at a lower level of salary. This scheme will not only allow employees to contribute to their pensions in an affordable way, but it also means they and their businesses will pay lower rates of national insurance.

Elliott Smith, co-founder of Love Your Employees, commented: “The national insurance increase is coming at a time when consumers are seeing their purse strings tightened by inflation and increased household bill costs.

“We know it’s going to have a huge impact on millions of households, and we’re committed to helping both businesses and employees mitigate these costs. By implementing salary sacrifice, businesses will reduce their national insurance contributions and could increase their employees’ take-home pay, all while encouraging them to pay into an essential pension pot.

“At a time of rising living costs across the board, we’re here to help businesses and their people to tackle further increased living expenses.”

The national insurance rise has been criticised because it will have more of an impact on lower earners. Workers will pay 13.25% on their earnings between £9,800 and £50,268, up from 12% but this will disproportionately affect those on the lower end of the scale.

Love Your Employees is the UK’s first employee benefits and wellbeing marketplace, designed to help employers source benefits for their people and assess their existing perks and benefits with its healthcheck service. By using the healthcheck, businesses can identify gaps in their wellbeing and benefits strategy and understand how they can improve it. Love Your Employees is offering a free review to employers who are interested in salary sacrifice, which will show business how much they could save on national insurance.

Get in touch with Love Your Employees today to find out how much you could save: https://loveyouremployees.co.uk/#contact