Our COO & Co-Founder, Sukhi Jutla, recently wrote an article about supply chain traceability for Jewellery Focus.
She talked about trust, transparency in the supply chain, how to solve the traceability conundrum, what challenges is the industry facing and what’s coming next.
Read the full article here.
Author: Caroline Hoffmann
Last week our Co-Founder & COO, Sukhi Jutla, attended the London Asian Business Awards.
As a reminder, Sukhi was nominated a finalist in the ‘Disruptive Entrepreneur’ category.
Some of the best professionals and businesses received an award for their achievements over the last year at the 3rd London Asian Business Awards 2019. 32 finalists across London were crowned winners. The event took place at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel in Kensington on Friday 11th of October.
The event personified the spirit of London’s South-Asian community. The night was one of inspiration with the range of finalists reflecting the sheer number of London industries with Asian impact and presence. Categories included Rising Star, Young Entrepreneur of the Year and International Business of the Year.
The London Business Journal were official media partners for the Awards. Charity partners were The Asian Women’s Resource Centre who provides specialist domestic violence support services to women and children across London.
The London Asian Business Awards 2019 sponsored by Gatehouse Bank and presented by Greenleaf Catering, are organised by Oceanic Consulting – the UK’s leading ethnic awards company. CEO Irfan Younis said “I’d like to congratulate all winners and finalists awarded at the 3rd London Asian Business Awards 2019. The evening was one of absolute talent and inspiration. London’s Asian Business community are the perfect role models for future generations of aspiring entrepreneurs.”
Congratulations to all the finalists and winners!
Official press release here.
Our COO Sukhi Jutla was invited to a private event to moderate a roundtable discussion on the topic of ‘’Success in the data-driven supply chain’’ at City Social, Tower 42 on the 10th of October.
Sukhi has extensive experience in digitising supply chains and has also written numerous articles on this topic. Her experience enabled her to lead an engaging discussion with 20 hand-selected high profile people who work as chief digital officers and supply chain experts from FTSE 250 companies.
Topics focused on the rise of artificial intelligence, the need for more entrepreneurialism within supply chain systems and the use of blockchain in shipping products on time.
The official writeup and pictures will be released in due time by National Technology News, who hosted the event.
See below for the topics that were discussed.
Topics:
Whilst the UK’s global trading routes face unprecedented political uncertainty in the form of Brexit and trade wars, the manufacturing sector is also tackling widespread digital disruption.
With digitised supply chain technology and an influx of new data rapidly gaining ground over outdated systems, businesses are turning to the Internet of Things (IoT), Electronic Document Management (EDM) and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) to ensure they can track this proliferation of new data sources and ensure compliance with changing customs and trading rules during and after Brexit.
However, as they attempt this, fragmentation, manual processes and legacy infrastructure have meant that many businesses are failing to harness the commercial potential locked within their data.
As a result, they are struggling to keep up with their supply chain partners and competitors in an increasingly connected world.
But global supply chains are also coming increasing regulatory pressure as well as board demands to do more with leaner infrastructure. As a result, it has never been more urgent for manufacturers to view their data in real time, and drive efficiencies from factory to shop floor in order to stay ahead.
This roundtable explored how companies are using new technologies to digitise their supply chains and overcome Brexit-related disruption by tracking orders across borders and improving overall business performance.
Topics for debate:
- How can predictive analytics and alert systems help flag potential risks and forecast changes in supply and demand?
- What role will IoT, machine learning and blockchain play in supply chain transformation?
- How can integrated information systems help maintain compliance with changing customs and trading regimes after Brexit?
- What are the risks involved in implementation of RPA?
- How can data-driven supply chains help businesses prepare for Brexit-related disruption at the border?
- What is the benefit of real time visualisation of data to track supply chain processes?
- How can automated data flows improve communication between supply chain partners?
- What are the challenges around integrating data management systems with existing EDM infrastructure?
- How is merger and acquisition-related disruption holding up supply chain connectivity and digitisation?
Our Co-Founder & COO, Sukhi Jutla, was recently quoted in E-Crypto News articles “Now That Bitcoin Is Below $10,000 What Do We Do About It? Industry Leaders Share Their Opinion (Exclusive!)” and “Cryptocurrency Crystal Ball: Predictions For The Next Decade (Exclusive!)”
She said: “Though the price of Bitcoin has fallen of late this could be due to lower investor confidence fueled by the ongoing issues with Libra and the slow progress of Baakt. However, I predict this is short term and that the price will steadily increase again as we head towards the end of the year”.
And: “The crypto space is approaching the teenage years being just a decade old. In this time, just like a child growing up, it has had to spend time to figure itself out and understand itself and its place in the world.
Crypto is also undergoing this change. It has successfully become a mainstream term in a decade, with more and more people understanding what cryptocurrencies are and more importantly, understanding that they now have a choice as to how to make payments.
Within the next decade, I predict that crypto will move even further into the consciousness of mainstream media and become a more acceptable term. We will see the rise of a new generation of people who will use crypto first and fiat second.
I also predict there will be more outlets and businesses that adopt the use of crypto as valid payment types.
We will also see countries leapfrogging straight into crypto and digital payments via their mobiles rather than using desktop/laptop online banking and we will see this change predominant in nations where there are a large number of people underserved or unbanked by their current financial institutions. This is the key fertile ground for cryptocurrencies and FinTechs to flourish and find their customers.”
Read the first article here
And the second one here.
Our Co-Founder & COO, Sukhi Jutla, was recently featured in CEO Blog Nation articles “28 Entrepreneurs Share Their Tips and Tricks of Staying Motivated” and “12 Entrepreneurs Explain How They Shatter Their Business Goals”.
She said: “Being an entrepreneur often means there is no clear roadmap laid out as most entrepreneurs are doing something which has never been done before. This also means it can be hard to see if you are making progress and you need to be able to keep yourself motivated in order to stay focused on your goals and not give up which is one of the biggest reasons for failure in the start-up world. One of the ways I stay motivated is to schedule in periods of time on a weekly basis where I can treat myself to something that is not related to work. This can include things like a day trip to the beach, a massage or a trip to the theatre. Sometimes it can be as simple as spending the afternoon in my favourite park. Scheduling in treats like this keeps me motivated as it motivates me to get tasks done knowing that once I have completed something important I can treat myself to something fun and it acts a reward for important tasks done. These ‘mini-rewards’ help to keep my motivation levels high.”
In the second article, she said: “Unrelenting focus on your goal and not wavering from it helps you smash your goals. Doubt and insecurity can seep in so you have to continually remind yourself why you do what you do and refocus on the progress you are making and looking forward. I keep a log of things I’ve achieved and we share all our progress and success with our investors and customers in our monthly newsletter. Keeping track and seeing this progress keeps me motivated! An example of when we smashed a huge goal was crowdfunding. We never gave up hope or courage right until the end of the campaign when we pushed even harder and gave it all we had to smash our goal, which resulted in us overfunding on our target. We used all the resources we could possibly think of to help us reach our goal. Our team, our family and friends, and our network. Never underestimate the power of your network!”
Read the first article here
And the second article here.
Our Co-Founder & COO, Sukhi Jutla, was recently quoted in CCN article “Bitcoin to Shine Once Liquidity Crisis Gets Triggered”.
She said: “Bitcoin has the advantage of being relatively easy to acquire and exchange. Cryptocurrencies are also highly portable compared to market-resistant assets like real estate and gold.”
Read the full article here.
Our Co-Founder & COO, Sukhi Jutla, was invited to speak about career progression as a panelist during the Inclusive Boards: Executive Leadership Programme.
This programme was aimed at senior women leaders who came from companies including Deliveroo, Draper Espirit, HSBC, MoneySuperMarket Group and Lloyds Banking Group.
It was run as a residential programme at the Mallory Court Spa at Leamington Spa with 2 days of facilitated learning.
Inclusive Boards is the UK’s leading executive search agency specialising in diversity and inclusion at governance level. They support organisations to develop more diverse boards, senior leadership teams, and improved governance structures.
Sukhi was joined by 2 other panelists including Tamara McMillen, Executive Director of Sales at Virgin Media Business and Namrata Sarmah, Senior Director at Viacom.
Topics discussed included:
- Climbing the career ladder
- How to get board roles
- Personality and leadership style
- Balancing work/family life
- Building and using your network
- Continuous development and upskilling
- Unconscious bias and overcoming challenges
Sukhi shared her personal story of how she navigates her career progressions, from being an employee to becoming an entrepreneur and board member.
The event was a huge success and Ellen Partridge, Campaigns Officer for Inclusive Boards left this review for Sukhi:
‘’Sukhi was an inspiring panelist during the Inclusive Boards: Executive Leadership Programme, having a huge impact on senior women leaders in the room. She captured the attention of the room with her story and offered interesting perspectives on career progression, personal development, and work-life interface.’’
A few other reviews also include:
MarketOrders COO, Sukhi Jutla, was recently quoted in Cointelegraph article “Crypto Rating Council Is Out to Help Change US Regulatory Landscape”.
She said: “The SEC should welcome the creation of the CRC as it shows key players in the industry making an effort to create more clarity in this industry. With more clarity, it will make more people more comfortable in using cryptocurrencies which will undoubtedly help local crypto markets to thrive and flourish. People need to feel more confident before they jump into this area and not feel worried they could be penalised.”
Read the full article here.
Cointelegraph is the N°1 digital media covering blockchain technology and crypto assets, having over 8 million monthly visits.
MarketOrders was recently portrayed in Professional Jeweller as the newest B2B jewellery marketplace to get to know!
Our COO & Co-Founder, Sukhi Jutla, was interviewed about her journey in the jewellery industry, how MarketOrders works and benefits retailers, suppliers and customers.
She also shared her thoughts about the Indian and Arabic markets and gave her reaction to the numerous awards she’s received.
The article got a double page in the September issue of Professional Jeweller magazine as well as an online article.
You can read the full online article here.
October 3, our Head of PR & Communications, Caroline Hoffmann, was invited to The Economist conference in London.
A day of learning, debating and networking, organised in the heart of London at the Royal Institute of British Architects.
One topic particularly interested Caroline: “The Psychology of Innovation”, run by Dr. Brian Marien, Founder & Director at Positive Group.
Here is her outtake (keep in mind that everything is scientifically proven):
Being emotional hacks your thinking
When we are emotionally affected by a subject, a situation, it changes the way we feel, think and behave.
Why? Because emotional regulation shifts when we are stressed.
Emotions drive all the thinking and can prevent us from thinking rationally, clearly and being open to other people’s opinions.
Stress changes the circuits of the brain and drives negative emotions. It can make us doubt, feel unconfident, incapable, worthless.
You’re never too old to change the way you think
Good news, you can change the way your brain thinks, it is not as it is forever!
Thinking differently can be taught. If your brain is more amenable when we’re young, it remains amenable throughout your life. It means that no matter how old you are, you can teach your brain to think positively and regulate your emotions.
Be optimistic and you’ll live longer
Optimists live longer – it’s proven!
I remember seeing a documentary about the power of smiling. Some scientists experimented how smiling could change our moods and, in a nutshell, they found out that smiling was obviously, a result of feeling happy, but that also smiling, as a cause, could result in making you feel happy. Indeed, if you make yourself smile more often, you’ll feel happier. It can feel weird at first, but actually smiling and laughing “easily” is like any other exercise; it takes practice!
Don’t wait to spread some good vibes and from now on, always see the glass half full and laugh at your colleagues’ jokes!
What does it have to do with innovation?
All kinds of innovation are stressful. Whether it is a new product, a new technology, a new management process or new hiring, stress can easily make us feel uncomfortable.
Here are a few examples:
A new product can lead us to be close-minded: “We’ve done it this way in my family for generations, why should we change now?”. Another way of seeing the situation would be: “Maybe this new product could make us more efficient, productive, profitable, and starts a new air of our family finally embracing technology.”
A new management process can make us feel upset and think negatively: “The company has been acquired by this big group. They’re going to merge our teams. I don’t want to talk to these guys who think they are better than us and impose us their ways of working.”. Another way of thinking would be: “I’m glad we’re merging the teams. We’re going to have even more incredible talents, learn new things and will smash our annual goals!”
New hiring could make you feel insecure: “Why did they hire this woman? She’s already got some of my missions and it’s only been a week. What’s next, taking my job?”. Another way of looking at the situation would be: “I’m glad they hired her! She’s doing some of my work so now I have more time to focus on innovative ways to improve my processes.”
MarketOrders’ opinion
The last decade has seen companies coming up with many ways to improve employees’ happiness at work. Free food, gym, parties, stunning offices, and team building activities; it all sounds lovely, but isn’t it a bit superficial? Is that really improving employees’ fulfilment?
At MarketOrders, we believe that people can only feel comfortable and thrive in a company if they feel they matter. What does that mean? It means being able to speak openly, being listened to, having their voice heard. It also means having your work and efforts recognised and praised, and your successes and achievements celebrated, no matter how small.
Innovation always brings downsides. We should be able to understand them, monitor them and take actions.
Understand how the brain functions and reacts to innovation will help it flourish. Leaders have to be aware of the psychology of behaviour and make sure their employees are feeling comfortable, listened, and happy.
Do you have an opinion? Anything you’d like to add? We’d love to hear it in the comments below!