Monthly Archives: April 2020

Building and Scaling a Network of Task Workers in the New Economy

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Building and Scaling a Network of Task Workers in the New Economy

Let’s look at a small business that has about 25 employees managing about 1,000 independent professionals (agents) making deliveries. Do they grow this model to 10,000 or 100,000? Do they bring in VC money and shoot for the moon?? Ultimately, it is a function of their customer base and their revenue projections. They can choose to build/grow their own network, leverage a partner network (fuel station or bank kiosk) or outsource it to another company. 

When we look at the notion of scaling your own network, there are several factors that should be considered. 

Customer projections:

Having insight into customer growth is going to be a primary factor as the company plans for growth. Are customers going to grow nationwide, regionally, or in very specific segments? There is a very specific model that will have to be built – merging together the growth of existing customers and future prospects. 

Geography:

It is a whole lot easier to grow in one state or region. Having nationwide or global presence requires significant resources to monitor, maintain and run the network across multiple time zones. 

Capital:

Hiring, training, and maintaining agents will consume a lot of ongoing resources, and the company needs to be able to monitor its capital requirements. Ideally, there need to be at least 12 months of cash in the bank to support this plan. 

Technology:

In a world of managing large teams, technology can play a huge role. AI/ML models can take the ongoing load off employees’ shoulders. In addition, the core software stack needs to be able to scale rapidly as the number of agents grows. 

Employee team:

This is one of the largest investment areas. Employees are needed to recruit, train, and support these independent professionals. There needs to be a clear role definition to ensure success. In addition, there needs to be a significant investment in the knowledge base that the employees use to build and run the network.

Agent wages:

The independent agents that are making deliveries get paid when they complete a task – they make a delivery or get a document signature and get paid $1 to $25. As the company builds out the network, there has to be a very clear path for each of these agents to make the wages that they expect. There is no point in investing in recruitment and training if there is inadequate customer revenue to support the team. 

When dealing with large groups of people, and supporting their livelihoods, it is critical to ensure that growth is measured. Analytics can help in architecting the right model for every company. There are software solutions like TraQSuite from TraQiQ that can help in building the right distribution platform for the new economy.

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Building a Successful Last Mile Delivery Engine

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Building a Successful Last Mile Delivery Engine

How does one build out an awesome distribution engine for the company – specifically focused on Last mile delivery? Most responses would include words like “great people”, “route optimization software”, “Supply chain logistics”, etc. However, as we explore the new economy and the independent professionals who are driving the growth in these segments, there are a variety of factors to keep in mind. 

Given the rapid pace of innovation in this space, there are clear elements that stand out. 

People:

The human factor is critical. Getting the right people to deliver/pickup is important. They need to be able to follow instructions, be punctual, and follow instructions. In most cases, they will interact with customers, so they need to present the right image of the company. 

App experience:

When you have thousands of employees, agents, and customers using the app, it is critical that it be easy to use, require minimal training and work on the opulthear (and lower-end) mobile devices. A lot of folks who are looking for entry-level jobs are not likely to have the latest iPhone. Effortless onboarding is critical – the absence of which will result in huge training and support costs.

Payments (collection/disbursement):

Will the agents be collecting/disbursing funds? This is a significant feature to consider. In addition to payments via credit/debit cards, how does the system handle payments by the unbanked? Does the customer or agent have a wallet that they can use? If they are picking up checks what sort of processes need to be followed? There is a significant amount of financial liability involved, so the system needs to be able to document every element and provide proof at every step. 

Real Time data:

The need to track the agent is critical. This allows the customer to estimate the time of delivery. Geo tagging of the delivery agent at the customer site is an essential element of the “Proof of delivery”. The best scenario is all that plus watermarking of the documents that were picked up in a manner that cannot be duplicated. All elements of a winning system.

Communications:

How do people communicate – agents, customers, and system admins. In the edge cases where there are delays or weather issues, or roads are blocked, there have to be open channels of communications to ensure that everyone’s expectations are met. Ideally, this communication needs to be inside the app, and not just texting – sometimes devices have to be replaced. However, the persona on the app remains the same. 

Dashboard:

How many admins do you need to manage a field agent force of 10,000 people? 1, 2, or 100. That is entirely a function of the capabilities of the dashboard that these admins are using. This is where the right AI/ML tools can be powerful in automating most functions. Human intervention should only be needed as an extreme escalation.

Analytics:

Optimizing routes, accepting business where the agents are active, using past data in predictive models – these are all elements of using analytics to build a better distribution model. In addition, there have to be multiple levels of feedback on the agents, employees and the app.

Programmability:

The right software platform has to conform to the product or service that is being offered. It is important to set up SLA’s. However, how does a system prioritize life-saving medicines being delivered over routine paperwork? Similarly, meeting delivery commitments like “Pizza in 20 minutes” have to be factored in.

There is a lot of innovation in this segment right now. A variety of companies are offering technical solutions and services. TraQiQ offers the TraQSuite product which is a category-leading solution for distribution services. Companies like Mimo offer leading-edge last mile services in India, with a nationwide network of people. 

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The Value of Gig Economy Independent Professionals for Your Company

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The Value of Gig Economy Independent Professionals for Your Company

What is a gig? A term that originated in the music business now represents a form of employment that has been impacting scored of business (and employment) models around the world. We have all used contractors in some form. We have hired people for a couple days to make a modification to our house, and we may have hired someone to build a website or write some software. These “contractor” type of employment models has been around for a long time – some last for hours, and some for months. 

Let's look at 2 very specific scenarios where this flexibility is powerful.

One example comes from the Technology universe. Amazon’s EC2 elastic computer service lets their customers rapidly add/reduce capacity depending on their needs. No need to buy servers, etc. Press a button and you have a few hundred more boxes (or equivalent) instantly! 

The second example comes from the people universe. When millions of people hit Las Vegas at an event Like CES, thousands of Uber and Lyft drivers supplement the conventional taxi service. 

Companies like Uber have become the poster child for this, even though Taxi services have existed for a long time. The same thing applies to office space – WeWork made some economic and management mistakes, however, their impact on how we evaluate and manage office space is very long term. 

The gig economy is a very broad representation of the flexibility that we seek. It is currently represented via temporary, or freelance jobs, often involving connecting with clients or customers through an online platform or mobile app. These assignments are typically very short term or adaptable and fulfil a very targeted need. The Uber business model started as short gigs and now a large part of their workforce works full-time. Compensation continues to focus on payment for every ride/task completed. 

Another great example is Mimo-Technologies in India. The company has built a network of over 10,000 task workers across semi-urban and rural India. Their “agents” deliver documents, small packages and also collect payments. In addition to being very successful commercially, the company is also serving a very significant social need – they provide employment to thousands of people who may have a high school education (at best) and provide a significant boost to the local economy. 

The gig economy can benefit workers, businesses, and consumers by making work more adaptable to the needs of the moment and demand for flexible lifestyles. There’s no denying the growth of the gig economy. Economists estimate that the portion of U.S. workers earning a living as independent contractors, freelancers, temps, and on-call employees jumped from 10% in 2005 to nearly 16% in 2015, and the trend shows little sign of slowing. It is estimated that by 2027, 60% of the workforce will be independent professionals. 

TraQiQ offers a software platform that can power the distribution engine for the new economy. It brings together the software needed for Last mile delivery, agent management, customer analytics, payment mechanisms and geo-tracking. It is a platform tested by multiple customers, thousands of agents and has had billions of dollars of transactions flow through it. 

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After Covid-19

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After Covid-19

Many folks have provided good content about working during the current Pandemic. However, we should also spend some time thinking about the world that will emerge after we go back to work. Here are some thoughts to ponder. 

Work from home:

Most large technology companies are well versed with the notion of working from home, and therefore were amongst the first to send all their non-essential employee’s home. They rely on Cloud-based systems with laptops and mobile devices – making it rather easy to transition to a desk at home. It is likely that many of the smaller companies that still have in-house servers and desktop computers will need to migrate. There are a variety of Cloud-based tools like DocuSign (for signatures) that have become very popular over recent years. It is likely that this whole set of tools will now replace the physical signature. Look for the last holdouts – like some financial and government institutions to make the migration. Tools like Slack, Teams, and Zoom will continue to grow rapidly as they enable collaboration, conferencing, and getting the work done ANYWHERE. 

Employee or contractor:

Do we really need to have categories that differentiate between employees and contractors? We have seen the rapid growth of companies like Uber and Lyft where people work at their preferred time and pace. They get paid based on the results they deliver. Historically many salespeople have been compensated the same way – commission on the sales that they bring in. Similarly, as we look at other roles like Customer Service, there is every reason to believe that huge chunks of that function will also move to a task-based model.

Going to work:

There will be changes in how we work. In addition to some work moving to a home, we will also see more compensation models based on task/activity, as opposed to a standard salary. This will also result in a reduced need for office space. Perhaps the We Work type of shared space providers will do better. Expect to get a lot more questions from employees around reimbursement for their home internet, or desk. While most of us will return to our desks at the office, be ready for enhanced workplace safety considerations – not just disinfect/sanitize the space. Expect a huge investment in enhanced electronic safety making sure that all business is done in a secure manner – irrespective of where people are working. 

Business travel:

when we start traveling again, will the middle seat on a plane be empty? Will we see scanners at airports that automatically check everyone all the time? There are likely to be significant changes to the way we maintain, clean and disinfect. However, it is very clear that we can be very productive working from a desk that is not in the office: video calls will replace a large part of business trips.

E-Commerce and deliveries:

We have heard from our customers. They want to invest in more eCommerce initiatives. They want to build more robust websites and communities with their customers. They want to have that direct relationship. It is critical for most companies to have that connection – and we expect significant investments in those areas.

China dependency:

Business to/from China will be impacted. We saw a change when the US imposed tariffs. A lot of companies went to other parts of Asia. We expect this trend to continue. Look for countries like India and Vietnam to do better. 

Infrastructure:

During a recent call, our partner in Columbia had internet speed of 0.45MBPS, and the call dropped a couple times. This is a huge productivity issue. Expect to see much more investment in this area. It is going to be critical for most governments – national and local, as they provide their workers with a better work environment.

There are many areas where the TraQiQ team can help – designing, building, migrating and running cloud-based technology platforms that make your team productive, and keep your customers happy. The TraQSuite product can help build out the task-based model for your business. 

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Digital Transformation

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Digital Transformation

We hope everyone in your ecosystem is healthy and safe, as we go through this global pandemic. The TraQiQ team sends healing thoughts to those who have been unwell and impacted in any way. 

Our teams have been working for the last few weeks – in the safety of their homes. While there have been infrastructure issues, we have been able to stay on top of our commitments and deliverables. 

As a technology and services provider, we must stay on top of technology – we transition to cloud-based solutions for our own operations. It did not take much for us to start working from home. We have been talking to many of our customers about the challenges that they faced, and we have been surprised by the extent of issues that we have seen. So, we thought we would send out a note starting a conversation with many of our customers and partners. This is a great time to start working on building a long-term road map, as we restart and rebuild our current operations. 

Digital transformation started with reducing reliance on user-owned hardware and increased reliance on subscription-based cloud services. Some of these digital solutions enhance capabilities of traditional software products while others are entirely cloud based. 

Transformation is not a check-the-box, one-off project – it’s ongoing. Quick wins are important. However, it is critical to have a roadmap that brings everything to focus. 

Technology is needed to deliver optimal customer experiences. Customers’ preferences, purchasing power, and loyalty need to be the catalyst that drives any digital transformation strategy with AI providing meaningful insights that motivate companies to change. 

Companies must be continuously reinventing their business – with technology at the core – or watch from the sidelines while their market is disrupted by organizations proficient at digital transformation. 

The experts at TraQiQ can help build a roadmap and kick-start your journey. 

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Lessons from the Pandemic

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Lessons from the Pandemic

How organizations responded to the Corona Virus pandemic provides a useful framework for digital transformation initiatives. 

The Pandemic has created entirely new paradoxes for organizations in the middle of digital transformation projects. For example, some companies had to move from Customer Service agents based in call centers to home-based workers trying help with mission critical problems. Digital transformation must be chartered with solving these types of problems. Solving them needs to be based on solid data and AI-driven insights. The better the data and analytics, the more powerful the customer results. 

Gartner predicts that by 2025, customer service organizations that embed AI in their customer engagement center platforms will increase operational efficiencies by 25%, revolutionizing customer care in the process. Customer service is often where digital transformation strategies fail due to a lack of real-time contextual data and insight. Companies like Amazon have taken the lead in this area using machine learning to allocate human agents. Innovative tools like chatbots, NLP and many other technology solutions are improving processes, data collection and the eventual customer experience.

Similarly, in the world of sales, we have seen a plethora of solutions that have been rolled out in recent times. Tools for video contact, social media for targeting and reaching customers. 

Recent research by Price Waterhouse Cooper found that 78% of consumers were influenced by social media in some way when purchasing. Tools like CRM, online presentations, digital documentation etc. are critical. However, by creating an organizational structure around content and an environment to measure its consumption, buyer interest and purchasing intent can be gauged and influenced to convert sales. With digital transformation now more of a necessity than a choice for global organizations, sales leaders are integral to selling success.

A successful digital transformation strategy is just as much about changing company behaviors to adapt to customer trends, as it is about a shiny new product that promises to radicalize how an organization conducts business. This is where TraQiQ can help businesses identify trends that will impact their business and get ready to serve their customers better. 

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Customer Focus

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Customer Focus

The rules of business are being rewritten nearly every day with this imperative for business digital transformation. Every business leader must apply these rules to engage, compete, and grow. Every industry has a unique digital transformation opportunity. 

Improving customers’ experiences needs to be the cornerstone of any investment in new technologies or business processes. It’s important to get beyond digital transformation as purely a technical, abstract construct and see it as a must-have strategy to retain customers and attract new ones. 

Every company needs to build platforms and partnership to accelerate and scale this transformation. This brings into focus the ability to innovate at the intersection of experiences and operations. Better data leads to better customer results. 

AI is helping to more precisely define customers’ preferences and needs. Organizations that are the most successful with digital transformation initiatives can see improvements in customer loyalty rates and customer satisfaction. AI-based algorithms are making it possible to create models that are invaluable for predicting which customers will act on a bundling or pricing offer. These models rely on predictive analytics including machine learning to predict the probability a given customer will act on a bundling or pricing offer, e-mail campaign or other call-to-action leading to a purchase, upsell or cross-sell. 

Capitalizing on insights gained from AI, organizations are redesigning their technology infrastructure and process to improve customer experiences. This infrastructure needs to scale rapidly, change rapidly and integrate with the cloud-based infrastructure of the entire supply chain. 

TraQiQ can help in designing, building, and running cloud-based technology platforms and AI models that help our customers and partners bring their offerings to market rapidly.

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Digital Transformation in Insurance

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Digital Transformation in Insurance

Digital transformation is revolutionizing the insurance industry. This is driven primarily by the consumer looker for better policies. Agile young insurance companies are fanning those desires and that is eventually driving the larger companies to jump on the innovation bandwagon. 

Consumers are looking for more personalized insurance policies and greater control over their coverage. They prefer self-management of policies via digital channels. 

Insurance companies have deep expertise in risk management. They have used these models for decades to define and build their business models. Over the last few years, Insurance companies have started to invest resources in understanding their customers – these customer analytics models are helping to understand the preferences of their customers. This is resulting in a lot more policies and therefore more profits. Some of these policies are in the traditional areas like Life insurance. A lot more are micro-policies that are bundled in with smaller consumer transactions. Companies like Slice and Insurance.com are driving the process and making insurance transactions smarter, faster, and better.

In the past, the claims process was always a huge investment of time and resources, by everyone involved. Filling in forms, reviewing them, etc. has always been viewed as a painful process by everyone. Today, all of that can be done by clicking a couple buttons on a mobile device. Technology is enabling the industry to settle claims more quickly, dramatically improving the customer experience. Machine Learning technology is helping to detect potential fraud, pinpoint high-risk scenarios and automate the prevention processes to limit exposure and damages. Artificial Intelligence models can assist underwriters and automate simple processes. AI reduces the risk of human error and resubmissions, while increasing individual underwriter bandwidth. Blockchain enabled smart contracts allow Business-to-Business transactions to be smooth, efficient, and secure This in turn strengthens the policyholder-insurer relationship and brand loyalty. 

Insurance companies need to upgrade how they interact with customers across all devices and all communication channels. Millennials seek greater control over their coverage, insurers are under pressure to modernize and personalize policies with swifter rollouts and more customization of offerings. 

TraQiQ can help integrate data from fragmented internal systems to present a single view of your customers and business to your team. Take it even further by adding data from external systems to increase your business intelligence. A cohesive business framework, customer analytics, and an optimal customer experience lead to business growth and success.

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Digital Transformation in Government

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Digital Transformation in Government

In recent years, agencies across the federal government have embraced cloud computing architectures and solutions to provide services to constituents and reduce the need for large-scale, traditional IT infrastructure investments. 

Governments are in the midst of a historic transformation as they move towards a Cloud based infrastructure. Digital technologies are disrupting the public sector. While most governments are at very different stages in their journey of digital transformation, most lag behind the private sector. In general, their readiness to respond to digital trends is considered low. 

Cost and budget pressures and citizen demands are far and away the two primary drivers of digital transformation. Local, state and federal governments are using technology to improve their citizens’ lives. From automation, to using the IoT to make cities smarter, these entities have discovered how to use tech to improve workplace efficiency and improve the lives of citizens. Data collection and analytics continue to improve various facets of government, with officials acknowledging the necessity of establishing concrete rules for how data will be used.

Most of the current government budgets are meant for ongoing operations. A very small component is focused on innovation. Automation is the solution to freeing up more of the budget. The government agencies have to use technology solutions from Customer centric dashboards to AI/ML models to create more customer centric experiences. 

Cybersecurity attacks are a form of 21st-century warfare which is why governments are working around the clock to protect citizen data and infrastructure. With citizen’s increased virtual presence and the large amount of highly sensitive information now stored online, all sectors continue to make improvements to cyber security and protection. Understanding that a risk-based approach is best to aid in governments’ informed decision-making, technology is now being used not only for defense but detection.. 

With the abundance of sensors around us – in cars, trash cans, buildings and devices, data and information are automatically collected and distributed. IoT based smart meters connect with utility companies to save energy and road sensors that track and manage traffic patterns. In addition to these infrastructure projects, IoT is also at work behind the scenes of service efforts like public transportation, public safety, and sustainability. 

TraQiQ can help develop and deploy a comprehensive Digital Transformation strategy. This would involve building a complete migration plan, defining the cloud infrastructure, and seamlessly integrating with a diverse platform of external services. 

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