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The Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded Wednesday to David Baker, Demis Hassabis and John Jumper for their work with proteins. The awards continue with the literature prize on Thursday.

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Just months after cyber security giant Kaspersky closed up shop in the US, the company has announced its UK office will also be closing, laying off dozens of workers.

In a statement, Kaspersky confirmed it will be ‘reorienting’ its business towards its partner channel in the UK. It added it has ‘(fewer) than 50 employees’ in its London office, and that it will begin a ‘wind down’ of its operations.

In June 2024, the firm was banned from selling its products in the US after being accused of having ties to the Russian Government - something it has always denied - insisting it maintains independent from any outside influence.

Staying efficient

Kaspersky's statement confirmed the business will continue in the UK through use of partner channels, but the Kaspersky office itself will close.

“This step will enable our company to harness available business opportunities in the U.K. market in a more efficient manner, strengthening overall business prosperity,” spokesperson Francesco Tius said.

“Our customers and partners in the U.K. will maintain full access to the company’s European team and its strong and well-established partner network, through which we will continue distributing Kaspersky´s industry-leading cybersecurity products and services,”

After the firm was forced to close in the US, some Kaspersky customers were alarmed to find their antivirus forcibly uninstalled and replaced with new software UltraAV. The update was pushed without giving customers any option to accept or decline, which garnered some criticism for the security company.

However, Kaspersky insists email notifications in the weeks leading up to the update gave customers sufficient notice, and that the transition allows users to maintain access to their VPNs, identity theft protection, and password managers.

Via TechCrunch

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We’re possibly now only a few months away from the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S25 series, so it’s no wonder these phones are seemingly leaking, and the latest leak appears to show all three models side by side.

A photo shared by reliable leaker @UniverseIce on X shows the front of phones labeled as the Samsung Galaxy S25, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus, and the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.

It’s not clear whether these are functional phones or dummy units, but this far from launch we’d guess the latter. Either way though, they provide our first look at all three handsets next to each other.

S25，S25+，S25 Ultra pic.twitter.com/x7TupwE1GJOctober 9, 2024

From this, we can see that – if the details in this image are right – the Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus is significantly larger than the Samsung Galaxy S25, but only slightly smaller than the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.

That’s not too surprising, since the same was true of the Samsung Galaxy S24 line, and leaks suggest that the Samsung Galaxy S25 will have a 6.17-inch display while the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra might have a 6.86-inch one.

So that would make the Ultra substantially larger than the standard model. And while we haven’t heard what size the Galaxy S25 Plus’s screen will be, its predecessor has a 6.7-inch display, and since the S25 Plus doesn’t look much smaller than the S25 Ultra here, a similar screen size again is likely.

Curvier corners and slimmer bezels

Beyond the sizes, you can also see that all three phones unsurprisingly have a single-lens punch-hole camera, like their predecessors, and that the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra has more rounded corners than the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.

That’s in line with other claimed leaks, and while they still don’t appear quite as rounded as the corners on the other two Galaxy S25 models, they do leave the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra looking like it’s part of the same series, rather than a completely unrelated phone. So there’s more uniformity here than with the Galaxy S24 line.

Finally, all three phones look to have slimmer bezels than their predecessors, though if these are just dummy units then the bezel size might not be representative of what we see on the actual handsets.

The overall design may well be accurate though, since dummy units are often used by accessory makers to craft cases for phones ahead of their launch, so dimensions and other design details need to be correct.

That said, since we don’t know where this photo originated, you should definitely take it with a pinch of salt.

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Gravity, Children of Men, the best Harry Potter movie—and now a seven-part miniseries? With Disclaimer, director Alfonso Cuarón has set out to conquer TV in the name of cinema.

The philanthropist is spending $1 billion — and leveraging her ever-growing celebrity — to call more attention to the systemic problems facing women and girls. Now she's focusing even more on women's health.

(Image credit: LUDOVIC MARIN)

The rumors about a OnePlus 12 successor are picking up pace, and we could see the OnePlus 13 arrive as soon as this month – with a new clip shared by chip maker Qualcomm perhaps giving us our first official look at the upcoming handset.

The clip, which was posted to Chinese social media platform Weibo (via Notebookcheck), is apparently showcasing the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 processor first and foremost. However, there's also a glimpse of the chip inside a phone that's giving off strong OnePlus 13 vibes.

There's the off-center camera island, for example, which is a bit of a giveaway. Plus, with previous rumors suggesting the OnePlus 13 would be the first phone to carry the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, there's a good chance that's what we're looking at.

That said, the name of the processor isn't explicitly mentioned in this clip – though Qualcomm does flag up the use of Oryon cores, which we've already seen in Snapdragon X Elite processors. So it's possible that this isn't actually the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 at all.

A chip off the new block

The teaser clip does build up the hype quite nicely, with talk of a breakthrough in performance and next-generation silicon, but the chip isn't identified by name. 

According to well-known tipster Digital Chat Station, this is actually the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset. That's a chipset we really don't know much about – it's possible that it's just a rebranding of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, or something else entirely. It means we're still guessing when it comes to which processor will be powering the OnePlus 13.

Other rumors to appear to date suggest that the OnePlus 13 will get a display that's curved around all four sides, as well as a massive 6,000mAh battery (up from 5,400 mAh on the OnePlus 12). The camera setup may be a little underwhelming, however.

We should know more when the Qualcomm Snapdragon Summit takes place, from October 22-24 – as trailed in the teaser clip above. Qualcomm will be telling us what it's next-gen chipset is called, and quite possibly the phones it's heading to as well.

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Nvidia’s RTX 5080 graphics card will supposedly be loaded with faster video memory than expected, in a new twist in the tale of rumors being spun around Team Green’s next-gen GPU.

Wccftech has heard from sources (engage skeptical mode now) who claim that the RTX 5080 is set to be equipped with 16GB of GDDR7 VRAM (as previously rumored), but that this RAM will be running at 32Gbps, a faster speed than the 28Gbps memory that speculation suggested in the past. (Samsung has 28Gbps and 32Gbps GDDR7 modules available initially, as you may recall).

With a 256-bit memory bus and 32Gbps VRAM, as Wccftech points out, the total bandwidth in this case will (just) exceed the magic 1TB/s mark (1024GB/s to be precise). To put that in perspective, the RTX 4080 offers a total memory bandwidth of 736GB/s.

Another interesting wrinkle here is the assertion that the RTX 5090 is set to use 28Gbps memory, but it’ll have a way wider memory bus at 512-bit, meaning its total bandwidth will still far exceed the RTX 5080 as you’d expect (it’ll be closing on double, in fact – plus the 5090 will supposedly offer 32GB of VRAM).

Eventually, the likelihood is that the RTX 5090 will also use 32Gbps video RAM, but initially, this is going to be the domain of the RTX 5080 – assuming this info from the grapevine is correct (and all the other past rumored specs, for that matter – add seasoning as ever).

(Image credit: Nvidia) Analysis: Memory matters – some compensation from Nvidia?

Okay, so assuming this is on the money, why would Nvidia make this VRAM speed choice for the RTX 5080, then? Well, in case you didn’t notice, there’s already been quite the reaction to the (purported) memory loadout with the RTX 5080. Firstly, with the choice to use that 256-bit bus (sticking with the same as on the RTX 4080, and not upgrading there), and more recently, the 16GB of VRAM configuration has left many PC gamers displeased.

Nvidia likely anticipated this, and so perhaps this is Team Green’s way of compensating for these shortcomings to some extent, and ensuring overall memory bandwidth is suitably peppy. At 1TB/s, or just over, you can’t really complain – this represents an almost 40% generational uplift for video memory speed.

Another positive bit of chatter is that while the 16GB loadout of RAM has been widely viewed as Nvidia cheaping out on video memory – once again – there could be a 24GB version of the RTX 5080 launched down the line.

Worries still remain about the RTX 5080 overall, though, with its rumored core count representing a big drop compared to the RTX 5090. The former will have fewer than half the CUDA Cores of the next-gen flagship, supposedly, a larger gulf than seen in the RTX 4080 pitted against the RTX 4090 (where the difference is more like 40%, rather than 50%).

Are we going to get a nerfed xx80 series graphics card for the Blackwell generation? That’s what some are suggesting, but in all honesty, such speculation is rather meaningless until we know what Nvidia’s pricing plans are for the RTX 5080. Is the idea to angle the GPU a bit more affordably than the RTX 4080?

The trouble is, though, it’s difficult to envisage Team Green pinning a more reasonable price tag on a 5080 given past form – it’s just feels like this is seriously wishful thinking. Still, all we can do is wait and see. In theory the RTX 5090 and 5080 could be unleashed together, with an initial revelation at CES 2025 (we might even see Blackwell laptop GPUs, too).

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What's going on with Fallout season 2? Six months after Amazon's TV adaptation of Bethesda's beloved videogame franchise broke records on Prime Video, it seems that everyone is being kept in the dark about its development – including its lead stars.

Speaking to DiscussingFilm, Ella Purnell, who plays Lucy MacLean in the hugely successful Prime Video series, admitted she "doesn't know anything" about the status of the show's next installment. It doesn't sound like progress is moving as fast as Amazons executives have made out in the past, then.

"I'm excited," Purnell replied when asked about season 2. "I really cannot wait [but] I don't have anything – I don't know when we're going to do it, I don't have a script, I have literally nothing.

"I don't even know if I'm in it," she jokingly added. "I hope I'm in it. I think I'm in it. I'm probably in it. But no, I don't know anything. I'm excited, I really want to get going. I need to start practicing my accent again and getting back into the Lucy headspace."

Apocalypse (not) now

Fallout season 2 is still being worked on at Amazon MGM Studios (Image credit: Amazon MGM Studios)

Purnell's comments don't instil confidence of an imminent return to the world of Fallout – from a production standpoint anyway – but it seems odd that Amazon hasn't informed its cast about when filming may begin. It's even more curious when you factor in comments made by Amazon officials since season 1 of its Fallout TV show emerged from its vault and, as I mentioned, took the world by storm in April.

Speaking to Variety in July, Prime Video's Head of TV Vernon Sanders said "we’ve already gotten scripts in hand" – a pleasing update that came 24 hours after Amazon MGM Studios chief Jennifer Salke told Deadline: "We’ve got a plan that we’re moving very fast on. I can’t tell you an exact date, but I think everyone will be happy with how quickly we’re able to get back with season 2."

We won't be reunited with Lucy any time soon (Image credit: Prime Video/JoJo Whilden)

If, as the pair suggest, script work has been completed and principal photography will get underway sooner rather than later, wouldn't they have told Purnell and company when work on one of the best Prime Video shows' second seasons will begin? Okay, script rewrites and/or treatments are usually required to improve the quality. Additionally, the volatile nature of the entertainment industry means that a studio's best-laid plans can change at the last minute. After all, a production as big as Fallout needs its cast and crew's schedules to line up perfectly before filming can start. Other important details, such as securing permits to shoot in certain locations, sourcing equipment, and ensuring a months-long shooting schedule is locked in, need to be sorted before work can get underway, too.

Regardless of the fact that Purnell isn't aware of how far along Fallout season 2 is on the development front, then, it doesn't mean progress has stalled. So, desperate though I am to see what happens next, I'm happy to wait if it means that Fallout's return on one of the world's best streaming services is as good as, if not better, than its debut. 

That all said, I'd be surprised if Fallout's sophomore season is released before late 2026, which means we'll have a long wait on our hands if my prediction proves correct. As we *ahem* stand by for more news on season 2, find out about the "really cool" plans that director Jonathan Nolan has for Fallout's next season. Alternatively, if you haven't watched it yet, read my review of Fallout season 1 to see why it's one of 2024's unmissable TV shows.

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When Mary Ann Roser and her husband moved to Asheville four months ago they introduced themselves to neighbors as “climate refugees from Austin.” After Helene, she has thoughts on “climate havens."

(Image credit: Sean Rayford)

The National Hurricane Center predicts the storm surge could get as high as 15 feet in some places, and rainfall totals could reach 18 inches.

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People who are in jail and haven't been convicted of a crime — and even many who have been convicted — retain their right to vote. But it's often challenging for them to exercise it.

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In a state where every vote matters, both Democratic and Republican campaigns are not only trying to win in counties where they’re strongest, they’re also trying to lose by less.

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Richard Glossip has had nine execution dates set over the years. He's eaten his last meal three times. He was tried twice and has had multiple appeals, including one at the Supreme Court.

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Google has upgraded its coding assistant for enterprise developers using the power of its Gemini AI platform.

Gemini Code Assist Enterprise is a new service designed for businesses, making writing code much more straightforward, boosting productivity and efficiency for developers everywhere.

It will also offer boosted code customization options, offering suggestions on how to improve code based on your organization's best practices and internal libraries - making sure code is more relevant and more accurate.

Gemini Code Assist Enterprise

Google first announced Code Assist in April 2024, harnessing the company’s Gemini 1.5 Pro AI model, to quickly analyze large amounts of code and provide complex changes, including the ability to use natural language prompts to analyze, refactor, and optimize code.

The new Enterprise platform looks to go "beyond AI-powered coding assistance in the IDE", the company says, allowing developers to generate or transform code that’s more accurate and relevant to their applications.

This includes utilizing Gemini's large token context window, giving developers more insight, and allowing for the specifics of a development session as well as local codebases.

Code Assist Enterprise assistance will be available in Firebase, Databases, BigQuery, Colab Enterprise, Apigee, and Application Integration, with no extra purchases required - and users of BigQuery can also take advantage of SQL and Python code assistance.

"Software development is the engine of the modern economy," noted Ryan J. Salva, Senior Director, Developer Tools and Operations. "However, creating great applications across the tech stack is complex because of an increasing number of abstraction levels, integrations, vendors, and a dearth of experienced developers."

"Google Cloud believes that the best approach to address development challenges lies in providing an AI-powered application development solution that works across the tech stack, to provide better contextual suggestions, enterprise-grade security commitments, and integrations across our cloud that allow for developers to be more versatile and work with a wider set of services faster."

Developers can access Gemini Code Assist Enterprise for $45 per month per user, or $19 monthly with a yearly subscription until March 31, 2025.

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As businesses navigate an increasingly complex and competitive landscape, the role of supply chains has evolved drastically. Consumer expectations are always rising, and the modern supply chain has had to undergo significant adaptations in response, becoming more agile, responsive, and innovative. But if supply chains are to meet the ever growing demands of customers and market dynamics, then there’s one problem that needs solving, and that’s how to boost productivity.

For years, companies have been trying to make their supply chains more efficient and productive. For example, giants like Amazon have revolutionized their networks with advanced technology and rapid delivery services. But despite these efforts, overall supply chain productivity has seen limited progress. A recent Gartner report indicated that, whilst there has been a slight increase in productivity from 40% in 2019 to 41-44% today, it is not a big enough increase to boost overall supply chain value. This stagnation poses a risk of inefficiency, increased waste, and frequent disruptions and reinforces the fact supply chains need to become more efficient.

As the demand for faster, more reliable supply chains grows, companies which fail to improve productivity risk falling behind. A more productive supply chain is not just about cost-cutting; it’s about creating systems which are resilient and responsive to unforeseen challenges – whether that’s a global pandemic or a cargo ship blocking a vital trade route. Building more productive, adaptable, and agile supply chains for future generations isn’t just an opportunity; it’s a necessity, and that building process starts by focusing on a few key areas.

Enhancing employee engagement

Employees are the cornerstone of driving productivity in any business but investing in the workforce means so much more than just retaining staff – it means enhancing employee engagement and motivation to help boost their output.

When it comes to supply chain productivity, making sure employees have time for innovation and upskilling is crucial. It enables them to develop new skills, adapt to changing technologies, and contribute fresh ideas to streamline processes and improve overall efficiency. This investment in employee growth not only enhances individual performance, but also drives collective advancements in supply chain operations, leading to a more agile and resilient system.

One way to ensure employees have the time to focus on this growth and development is by investing in the right technologies to free up their time. Recent statistics highlight that nearly three-quarters of warehouse staff are more likely to accept a lower paying job at a company offering advanced technology to make their jobs easier and allowing them to advance other skills. These statistics highlight a shift in employee priorities, reflecting a trend towards valuing technological support, career advancement and improved working conditions. It emphasizes just how important it is to invest in employees if you want to create a more dynamic, skilled, and motivated supply chain team.

Balancing technology with effective governance

Whilst companies need to ensure they’re leveraging the benefits of advanced technology to improve supply chain productivity, they also need to maintain an effective oversight and risk management of the technology being implemented. In other words, supply chains need to strike a sense of balance between technology and governance. Though technology, like AI tools and robotics, promises significant productivity gains, it also introduces new challenges around data integrity, security, and ethical use.

A recent forecast indicates that 30% of generative AI projects might be abandoned in 2024 due to issues with balancing innovation and governance. It highlights how crucial it is for companies to develop robust governance frameworks which evolve alongside technological advancements to ensure data is protected, ethical standards are upheld, and productivity gains are sustained.

By establishing clear guidelines and monitoring mechanisms, businesses can fully harness the power of technologies. For example, AI can assist predictive analytics and real-time visibility, streamline processes, reduce inventory costs, and make data-driven decisions that enhance supply chain agility and, ultimately, productivity.

Preparing for future productivity

Looking ahead, the path to a more productive supply chain is filled with both challenges and opportunities. Fluctuating demands, driven by digital transformation, market volatility, and geopolitical disturbances, require robust and flexible supply chains.

Future-proofing supply chains is more than just adapting to current trends but anticipating and preparing for future disruptions. This could mean investing in scalable technology platforms, fostering a culture of continuous improvement, and building networks which quickly adapt to changing circumstances.

As organisations continue to face rapid technological advancements and evolving workforce dynamics, embracing next-generation productivity strategies will be crucial. It’s time to start effecting change now to secure supply chains for years to come.

We list the best Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software.

This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

The annual Fat Bear Week honors bears that have sufficiently bulked up in the months before entering hibernation.

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Much like Adam Smith’s often criticized “invisible hand,” the best proxies also play a nearly imperceptible, but influential role in the business world. Almost all of us interact with proxies on a daily basis, yet few people understand the far-reaching implications of the technology.

Some skepticism regarding proxies is understandable – they’ve historically been used for niche applications, some of which wouldn’t have been considered to be of the highest ethical caliber. While the skeptical public perception continues to follow proxies, the best proxy servers are now considered to be an essential part of many business models.

A simple technology with far-reaching benefits

In the simplest possible terms, a proxy is an internet-connected device that can relay traffic for another machine. Much of the same technological foundation is used for a better-known type of product – a virtual private network (VPN).

VPNs, however, come laden user experience benefits that make the service easy to use for consumers and businesses alike. Many of them nowadays grant lots of additional services such as cyber threat protection.

Proxies would be considered a bare bones product by many consumers. After all, most proxy products are a set of IP addresses, ports, and some basic configuration options. Yet, the same bare bones nature of proxies makes them more modular.

Due to the way networking has been established, any IP address brings with itself some additional information such as the predicted location – something that is of high importance in some business applications.

All of these aspects create unique business applications for proxies. But they also make the same product largely irrelevant for day-to-day consumer use, leading to an environment where the general public never notices them while businesses are reliant on the product.

That may be why proxies have an air of skepticism surrounding them. When they are operated properly, consumers never notice that proxies are being used.

When something goes awry, however, proxies will receive a lot of media attention. Since most of that attention will be negative, such a news cycle leads to an unintentionally pessimistic outlook on proxies.

Uncovering proxy procurement practices

Another area that’s veiled under a curtain of mystery is the procurement process. Since every proxy is acquired from a device someone owns, specific software has to be installed into that machine.

Procurement practices differ based on the proxy type, since they are largely defined by the nature of the device. Two of the most common and widely used types are datacenter and residential proxies.

Datacenter proxy procurement has never been controversial. Data centers are business-owned collections of servers. All a proxy provider needs to do is sign a business agreement with the company.

Residential proxies, however, are acquired from consumer-owned devices such as personal computers or mobile phones. Practices for residential proxy acquisition differ across the industry.

We perform our residential proxy procurement through our sister-company, where users can voluntarily turn their device into a proxy and get monetarily rewarded. Some proxy providers have used other means such as implementing software development kits in popular mobile applications.

An important aspect of any proxy is that it only serves as a traffic relay. No control over the device itself is provided to the buyer and only the absolutely necessary information about it is granted (such as the type and location).

Once an IP address pool is established, a proxy provider will generally perform cost analysis to determine the proper pricing for the product. Typically, proxies will be sold per IP or per GB of bandwidth.

Businesses that purchase proxies will then get access to a set amount of IPs or the entire pool (if bandwidth is used). It should be noted that, in a technical sense, proxies are sold as a service, not as a product. Ownership, management, and many other aspects remain on the side of the proxy provider.

Part of the reason is that proxies are just a means to an end. They can be used for legitimate, consumer-centric purposes, but they can also be misused. As such, proxy providers will often implement strict controls, restrictions, and risk management practices to minimize abuse.

Consumer-centric applications

Travel fare aggregation: Fare aggregation is one of the most lauded and well-known applications of proxies. Most of us have used these services to plan a business trip or vacation.

One of the primary challenges is that travel fare data is location-based. Since there’s users from all over the world, a travel fare aggregator would have a hard time acquiring accurate data for every possible location. Proxies allow them to completely circumvent the expensive process.

They can use a proxy, matching your location, to collect accurate data with automated tools. The process is then repeated as many times as necessary, all of the data is aggregated, compared, and provided to the user.

Without proxies, it’s unlikely that such a business model would be at all viable. Yet, as I’ve alluded to above, the usage of proxies is completely hidden from the consumer.

Brand protection services: Counterfeit goods are a surprisingly common occurrence. Online and peer-to-peer marketplaces make it hard for businesses to keep tabs on everyone who might be attempting to sell counterfeit items.

Automated data collection and monitoring processes are used to discover potential offenders across a wide array of websites. Since some of these websites may be geographically restricted, only serving customers within a specific region, proxies become a vital part of data collection. Proxies also allow them to circumvent unintentional bans caused by automation.

Conclusion

No one intends to keep proxies a secret. Yet, as they form the very foundational layer of many practices and business models, consumers never get to interact with them directly.

All of the practices outlined above are a small sample of the various ways in which proxies are used, most of which ultimately benefit everyone. It’s definitely one of the most interesting industries in various ways – treated as something suspicious while being beneficial to everyone.

We've reviewed the best business VPN.

This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

Setting up a new iPhone can be confusing and time consuming. Here are the best ways to transfer everything from your old phone.

In the year since the devastating Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed. Even more have been injured or displaced. Still, many Palestinians across the diaspora feel that they aren't allowed to share their stories — that the fullness of their humanity is too often reduced to a few soundbites on the news, or images of people dying. So on this episode, we're revisiting conversations with Fady Joudah and Tariq Luthun — two Palestinian American poets who have tried to carve out space to expand the kind of stories that Palestinians are allowed to tell.

Before the pandemic, many companies prioritized efficiency and lean supply chain models, focusing on minimizing inventory and ensuring products were available just in time to meet customer demand. This approach was aimed at reducing costs and maximizing operational efficiency, with limited buffers for unforeseen disruptions. 

Operations were centered on reducing waste and increasing efficiency, striving to deliver maximal value to customers while using resources in the most effective way. Operations managers continuously analyzed tasks, processes, and personnel to eliminate non-essential activities and ensure seamless communication across each step of the workflow. Digital transformation played a key role in this optimization, centralizing data and increasing visibility, enabling senior leaders to have greater control over operations.

However, the turmoil caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the more general international instability over the last few years has changed the game. These carefully optimized systems, which had gone through iterations of minimal changes in order to function as efficiently as possible were suddenly hit with a wave of unpredictable problems. 

Lockdowns across the globe meant that certain materials or components were in short supply, quarantine times led to transportation delays when crossing borders and the change in people’s everyday lives led to shifts in the demand curve. Furthermore, the rise of remote working meant that internal processes were forced to adapt, and new methods of communication and collaboration became necessary.

Optimization was no longer the priority as the gains from this approach became negligible in the face of significant potential losses. Instead, the focus was shifted to operational resilience. The organizations which came out on top were those with the capacity to withstand, adapt to and recover from disruptive events. 

In real terms this means flexible logistics routes which are able to adapt to geopolitical situations, agile multi-source management and tactical buffer plan implementation. Those organizations which implemented these structural changes successfully were able to avoid the cancellation of customer orders and keep revenue stable.

The disruption caused by the pandemic taught us an important message: When you spend too much time resolving predictable challenges, you’re left with no time and resources left for unpredictable ones.

A trade off: efficiency or resilience

Since the pandemic, we’ve seen some degree of normalization across industries. Most organizations are no longer faced with large-scale disruption on a daily basis. However, the impact of these extreme events has not been forgotten. While operations managers return to seeking out small gains from lean supply chains, the prospect of chaos caused by unpredictable, uncontrollable events looms large in their minds. The question is, how much time should be allocated to daily challenges, and how much should be assigned to predicting the bigger picture? Limited resources mean that there is often a trade-off between efficiency and resilience – both of which are necessary if an organization is to succeed.

The Solution

Automating responses to predictable challenges is the solution to this problem. Advances in technology are allowing organizations to automate more complex tasks than ever before. Tasks that previously would have had to have been done manually by employees can now be completed by machines. Not only does this reduce human error, it allows staff to focus on more complex and fulfilling tasks and leave the mundane to AI or machine learning models.

In the context of the tradeoff between efficiency and resilience, automation can be used to resolve predictable challenges, maximizing the efficiency of operations by reducing waste and increasing short-term flexibility. AI can handle processes such as sales and operations planning, (S&OP), coordinating different areas of the business to meet customer demand with the appropriate level of supply. Reporting measures such as demand forecast accuracy (DFA), measuring how well a forecast matches actual demand can also be automated, reducing the burden on team members.

AI chatbots can be used to communicate with key stakeholders and improve the flow of information internally and externally for an organization. These models can sift through and analyze massive amounts of data, compiling comprehensive information that can be used in decision-making. For instance, a chatbot could instantly give availability of stock inventory and plans to partners and clients, as well as to the sales team, reducing the need for manual research and back-and-forth email interactions.

Automation assumes regular and uninterrupted processes, meaning it’s not equipped to deal with irregular events such as pandemic and its effects. Material shortages, longer transportation times and demand instability have an unavoidable impact on entire ecosystems. That’s where the human element comes in.

Technology like AI and machine learning means staff can spend their time predicting unpredictable challenges and using these predictions to create accurate solutions. The number of possible scenarios means that complex models alongside human judgement and creativity are necessary if an organization is able to come up with reactive strategies in advance, allowing them to navigate through obstacles on a geopolitical scale. This may mean developing relationships with alternative suppliers, building up a stockpile of key components or working with clients to suggest a staggered delivery schedule in times of turmoil.

Moving Forward

Instability is a fact of life, and the modern world will always present us with challenges that seem impossible to predict. The tradeoff between efficiency and resiliency is not something that we will see the end of anytime soon. Organizations need to innovate and adapt, using automation to deal with the daily challenges of optimization, leaving employees free to spend their time and resources predicting the unpredictable. That way when the next obstacle emerges – we’ll be ready.

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