Planes, No Boats, and Trains Á Global Compact – Still Pretty Loose Á
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05 2014 EK: Sustaining the family business á Which way Ukraine? á Trade fraud doesn’t aid Africa á ‘planes, no boats, and trains á Global Compact – still pretty loose á 05 2014 Brand Finance is a consultancy that quantifies the value of brands. Editor For the third year running it has named Emirates as the world’s most Simon Keeble valuable airline brand worth US$5.5 billion. [email protected] The airline says it aspires to “become a top global lifestyle brand”. Assistant Editor Perhaps it should take note of a new survey of aspirational consumers who represent 38 percent of the world’s shoppers. This group wants Louise Robertson to support companies that deliver exceptional products and services, [email protected] inspire personal relationships, support community initiatives and protect the environment. Correspondents “Aspirationals are looking for companies they can believe in, and they Keri Stephens-Forsythe want brands to stand for something bigger than a product or service,” [email protected] says Raphael Bemporad, co-founder and chief strategy officer at brand Karen Thuermer innovation consultancy BBMG. [email protected] Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Samsung, Tata, Unilever and Nestlé top the list of Neil Madden the world’s most responsible companies according to the Aspirationals [email protected] who are defined by their apparent love of shopping (93 percent), desire for responsible consumption (95 percent) and their trust in brands to act SALES in the best interest of society (50 percent). Other favoured brands include BMW, Carrefour, Ford, Google, Honda, Executive vice-president Hyundai, IKEA, McDonald’s, Natura, PepsiCo, Petrobras, Target and Tesco. Richard Broom No mention of responsible airlines by this group of shopaholics. [email protected] Sales & marketing manager Sanch Lawrence [email protected] Sales manager CONTENTS Charles Phillips [email protected] 4 e-tailing: the new name for Mail? – Hard to ignore the musings of a company that employs 480,000 people in 220 countries. DIGITAL PRODUCTION Zai Khan Advertising 10 Trade fraud encourages aid dependency African countries [email protected] have lost between US$597 billion and US$1.4 trillion in net resource transfers in the last three decades. WEB PRODUCTION Quick Chilli 14 Which way will Ukraine turn? Will Russia allow “Mr. Chocolate” to turn West? Telling the story of Ukraine has never been easy. [email protected] 17 Viewpoint: Mentoring is a fast track to the job interview ADMINISTRATION Corporate Social Responsibility has become the key for Hunt, Ford & Co corporations to fulfill their ethical and philanthropic duties. [email protected] 18 Global Compact – still pretty loose The queasy relationship PUBLISHING PARTNER between business and society is at a crossroads. SCLG PO Box 34253, Dubai, UAE 22 Sustaining ‘planes, no boats, and trains Bombardier says http://www.sclgme.org/ it will achieve 100 percent recoverability of all the content in its new products by 2025. HEAD OFFICE HU Digital Media Ltd. 26 Logistics key to M&S e-tailing The UK retailer seems set on 143-145 Stanwell Road, leveraging a dominant home market presence to build a Ashford, sustainable global business presence. Middlesex TW15 3QN, UK 30 EK: Sustaining the family business Sustainability can mean http://www.freightweek.org/ different things at different times to different people. 32 Stories from the Heart: Typhoon Haiyan – gone but not forgotten. e-tailing: the new name for Mail? It would be hard, and arguably foolish, to ignore the musings of a company that employs 480,000 people in 220 countries, generates US$75 billion in annual revenue and produces a pre-tax profit ofUS$4.0 billion. 5 e-tailing: the new name for Mail? However when the ubiquitous DHL looks into Tomorrow is its corporate crystal ball to see how the world’s consumers will be shopping for stuff in 2025, one already here, but question the company doesn’t answer is its own role in shaping, rather than merely servicing, future it disguises itself buying habits. as harmless, it Instead the authors of a new 124-page report say their object is to “spur people’s imagination… is masked and and invite the reader to consider the risks and opportunities involved, as well as the strategies and exposed behind possible courses of action.” Their starting point is a 1952 quote from the Austrian author and futurologist the familiar. The Robert Jungk who reportedly said: “Tomorrow is already here, but it disguises itself as harmless, it future is not utopia, is masked and exposed behind the familiar. The future is not utopia, cleanly replaced by the relevant cleanly replaced by present: the future has already begun.” the relevant present: So the DHL Global E-Tailing 2025 study outlines four possible scenarios for online retailing and the impact the future has these will have on logistics: B already begun. 6 When the ubiquitous DHL looks into its corporate crystal ball to see how the world’s consumers will be shopping for stuff in 2025, one question the company doesn’t answer is its own role in shaping, rather than merely servicing, future buying habits. Scenario 1: different communities, while large Against a background of moderate online retailers and platforms take economic growth, the achievement- care of the mainstream market. oriented society has been firmly Stationary retailing is principally established worldwide. In many of focused on ‘experience’ shopping. the developed economies, such as So-called ‘wearables’ are a standard Australia, France or the United feature of everyday life. One of Kingdom, social contrasts have the main purposes of this portable increased. technology is to measure and Graham Inglis optimize one’s own actions – in CEO Europe for DHL Supply Chain Technological progress has only relation to nutrition or fitness, been moderate. Smartphones and for example – and to continually tablets are still people’s constant exchange information and experience companions. They have flexible within the community. As a result screens that can be rolled out, of the boom in online retailing, the folded and flipped up. Interactive volume of goods transported by the displays are ever-present in city logistics companies has increased streets, serving as interfaces to the substantially. To prevent complete virtual world. gridlock, a number of conurbations have brought in stricter regulations Retail companies offer their goods for the delivery of goods. online and in stationary stores – multichannel retailing has become Scenario 3 established. In many cases stores The main driving-force behind the merely have the function of global economy is the dynamism showrooms where customers can and innovative flair of information “experience” the goods. Prompt technology. People are living in a delivery to any specified location highly developed digital culture. is a standard service. Data glasses, smart contact lenses and other wearables have become For all who can afford it, indispensable parts of everyday life. convenience is a decisive factor as Intelligent avatars serve as virtual far as shopping is concerned. But shopping advisers. Often they for the vast majority of people, it act independently and “purchase” is still price that ultimately matters everyday goods, for example. most. Web shops adapt their offerings Scenario 2 to customer profiles in real time; People are prospering. For the first the avatars present supposedly time in history, a middle class with interesting products to their users a comparatively strong purchasing in “personal shopping hubs”. power has developed worldwide. Stationary retailing and the This has been accompanied by a showrooms of the online shops also shift in values, with the focus operate with simulations that are on leisure time rather than on tailored to customer’s requirements. work. Self-fulfillment and individual lifestyles are more important than Same-day delivery is standard success in one’s job. practice in major cities. Retailers and logistics companies can often Trends are mainly set by predict requirements on the basis international lifestyle communities. of precise customer data. They They have a strong influence on the send off the goods – in some cases shopping habits of broad sections via automated solutions such as of the public. Small, innovative drones – even before the customer online retailing platforms serve the has ordered them. B 8 Scenario 4 The global economy is stagnating. Trade barriers and high energy and raw material prices have led to economic regionalization. People buy locally, as a rule. Sustainability and energy efficiency are the pivotal factors in shopping. Leasing and sharing models are therefore very common. The importance of personal possessions has diminished significantly for many people. Availability is what really matters. Major online portals are mainly involved in the leasing business. At regional and local level, a large proportion of swapping transactions are organized via smaller online platforms. Electronic equipment and consumer goods are modular in design so that their useful life can be prolonged. This facilitates both repair and maintenance. In addition to traditional delivery solutions, the majority of logistics companies offer spare parts logistics as well as repair services tailored to customer’s requirements. Whichever scenario eventually manifests, Graham Inglis, CEO Europe for DHL Supply Chain thinks by 2025 logistics companies will have to respond to increasingly empowered consumers: “When even low-involvement products are being shopped online, competition will be fierce among retailers. What is seen as innovative today will be standard tomorrow.” Lee Spratt, CEO of DHL’s e-commerce business in the Americas expects online retail to continue growing at double-digit rates at least until 2018: “It’s now more than 10 percent, compared with two percent of total retail in 2000, and most projections see it exceeding 15 B 9 percent by 2015. The real question is: Meanwhile given the cost of research, it’s How far can it go? Opinions differ.