< Previous20 Business Link www.blmforum.net IT & COMMUNICATIONS scalability, cost-efficiency and the ability to access resources remotely, the ability to connect anywhere offers boundless freedom. With your network set up, you can enjoy reliable connectivity between employees, departments and business locations whether by telecoms, email or video calls. Real-time collaboration keeps a workforce connected regardless of where they are, which improves teamwork, boosts productivity, and accelerates any ongoing projects. But to make traditional voice communication and telecoms even easier, making additions such as VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) enables voice communication over the internet instead of traditional phone lines, allowing for integration with other communication channels, such as email and instant messaging. For a more centralised approach, a unified communications or UC system instead integrates various communication channels, including voice, video, messaging and conferencing, into a single platform. By unifying communication tools, employees can access and manage all their communications from one interface, streamlining workflow and encouraging a collaborative work ethic. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of IT and telecom services in enabling flexibility through remote working. With the right infrastructure and tools, employees can work from anywhere, collaborate virtually, and access business resources securely. This compassionate approach improves the work-life balance of staff, while benefitting business owners by expanding talent pools and increasing resilience during any challenging time. There needn’t be a compromise in task accessibility either, as virtual desktops allow employees to remotely access their office computers, files and specialised software, even from their mobile devices. Providing employees with mobiles, or software that allows them to make and receive calls using their smartphones or computers, is now well-established as a means of keeping connected from home. But beyond the basic freedom of mobile working, applications can provide employees with unlimited access to work- related tools and communication channels. Instant messaging apps allow real-time team communication, file sharing and discussion threads, with the collaborative features of apps enabling employees to work together from anywhere. Video conferencing and virtual meetings are supported by many providers with features such as screen- sharing, chat functionality and participant management, to make webinars and presentations feel as smooth and friendly as they would in-person. When these applications are integrated with the expansiveness of cloud storage, paperwork stress can be taken off the table for truly seamless organisation that includes everyone. There are endless layers to the productivity tools that can be added on with these everyday streamlining solutions. Project management resources enable remote employees to manage tasks, track progress and collaborate on projects, with notifications, task assignment and responsive activity feeds to keep all employees on track. For capturing ideas while on the job, note- taking and documentation software are there for taking minutes on brainstorming sessions, or creating to-do lists of next steps agreed in meetings. Learning management also let staff expand on their retinue of skills with online training courses or development programs on anything from leadership and entrepreneurship to marketing and creativity. Even at the end of the day, time and expense tracking lets employees log their work hours, track project-related expenses, and submit their last reports whether on-site or remotely. These applications streamline administrative tasks, provide accurate data for billing or reimbursement, and ensure efficient time management to start off the next day with less anxiety and more fruitful optimism. When internal processes and productivity are at their best, IT and www.blmforum.net Business Link 21 IT & COMMUNICATIONS © stock.adobe.com/kirill_makarov telecoms can then be turned to providing better customer experiences. Through websites, online portals and mobile apps, customers can freely and conveniently access information, make purchases, and interact with customer support staff. Opening communication channels to email, live chat and social media engagement further enable prompt customer support and personalised interactions, which all serve to foster loyalty and satisfaction. The integration of IT and telecom in business environments has transformed the way organisations communicate and operate, allowing all involved to stay connected internally and externally. Unbroken information flow, improved decision-making, more organised meetings and better customer experiences are only enhanced as technology continues to evolve. Keeping up with these advancements and the benefits they offer is a positive influence on any business’s potential and competitive edge. The more thoughtfully and tactfully you implement IT and telecoms systems, the more direct and beneficial dialogues with employees and customers alike will become.22 Business Link www.blmforum.net DESIGN & MARKETING success Harmony between design and marketing teams can help drive sales and bolster brand recognition. Businesses ignore them at their peril. The key to www.blmforum.net Business Link 23 DESIGN & MARKETING © stock.adobe.com/REDPIXEL Design and marketing, while serving different purposes, often come together to define the success of your business, along with the products or services it provides. Design refers to the early process of creating a visual and functional solution, whether through a physical object or an experience the customer has. Aesthetics, usability and functionality are all essential aspects of first creating and manufacturing a desirable product. From there, marketing takes the leap of promoting the finished item to its intended audience. This can be achieved through tactics such as strategic planning, market research, advertising, communication and customer engagement. Looking at design and marketing as two separate entities, these may seem like a lot of problems to solve at once. But there’s more that brings these two matters together than first meets the eye. With some key concerns under your belt, it’s easier to see how to approach them as one, tackling their shared challenges while mastering how they complement each other. One such convergence point is the need for effective communication and collaboration between marketing and design teams. Both need to understand each other’s goals, requirements and constraints to ensure alignment and produce cohesive results. If there’s a lack of clear communication, or a disconnect in understanding each other’s perspectives, the consequences can include restricted idea flow, inconsistent 24 Á24 Business Link www.blmforum.net DESIGN & MARKETING messaging in your brand identity, and a poor user experience as a result. But when everyone is working towards the same goal, a design can be properly geared towards its audience, with promotion visuals and strategies that work for a product in highlighting its most attractive features. To alleviate the negative consequences of poor communication, it’s crucial to establish open and collaborative conversations, promoting a culture of open dialogue and shared understanding between marketing and design teams. Regular meetings, shared project management tools and cross-functional team collaboration can help bridge gaps that might otherwise form in coordinating teams, keeping creativity and innovation flowing. The lucidity of brand identity that springs from this level of teamwork will also see you on your way to building consistency and coherence. Developing a sense of flow and stability, with a recognisable image across multiple marketing channels, ensures that you and your products will be identifiable, laying the foundations for becoming a familiar name. Here too, it’s a must that both marketing and design teams work together to achieve alignment between visual and verbal or text elements, making sure they align with the brand’s identity and convey a consistent message. When inconsistencies or low coordination weaken brand recognition, challenges can arise in diluted marketing impact and lack of reach. Establishing clear brand guidelines to all involved in marketing and communication efforts ensures that everyone understands the brand’s mission, values, personality and target audience. When this vision is communicated clearly to everyone, desired messaging and all key brand attributes, right down to the appropriate tone of voice in marketing, can all be conveyed consistently with greater power for it. It’s also advisable to put together a brand style guide, as a comprehensive document outlining the guidelines and standards for all brand-related communication. Not only can this include specifications for logos, typography and imagery, as well as messaging and key brand phrases, but it can also make all of this information easy to provide to new and existing team members. With this ease, however, comes a new responsibility to regularly update your style guide. Allowing your image to stagnate – or only keeping certain staff looped in with changes – is likely to result in your brand falling behind or promoting mixed messages. To further prevent the risks from using outdated assets, or brand knowledge being irregularly disseminated amongst your staff, centralise materials like logos, approved imagery, templates and design files. Shared repositories or digital asset management systems are equally effective in managing and distributing these important facets of your image, ensuring that all teams have access to the latest approved versions of visual elements. On top of the more present concerns of realising and promoting a product clearly and effectively, both marketing and design are also influenced by changing trends, consumer preferences and emerging technologies. Staying up to date with these changes and adapting to new design and marketing strategies can be a shared challenge of staying competitive in both areas, as keeping pace with evolving digital platforms, design tools and marketing techniques requires ongoing learning and collaboration between the two teams. Thankfully technology itself, with the advancement of AI, can step in to assist with staying abreast of these evolutions. AI-powered analytics tools can process vast amounts of data from various sources, including social media, surveys and market research reports. By analysing this data, they can identify emerging trends, consumer preference and shifts in the market, helping brands make informed decisions when developing design and marketing strategies. Intelligent algorithms can also examine customer data, such as behaviour patterns and preferences, translating it to personalised marketing messages and experiences. By leveraging machine learning, brands can deliver tailored content, product recommendations, and offers that align with individual consumer interests. This level of personalisation helps brands stay relevant and engage with customers www.blmforum.net Business Link 25 DESIGN & MARKETING effectively, create engaging content from blog posts to product descriptions, or even produce visuals and video content based on your audience, and how you would prefer products to appear and therefore appeal. AI-powered design tools can aid in a multitude of areas, from creating visually appealing and on-trend designs, to offering suggestions for marketable areas, or gauging public opinion. But it’s important to note that these tools are exactly that; devices which should be used to support marketing and design efforts, but not to replace human insight and judgment. Designers often strive for creativity and innovation, while marketers focus on achieving business objectives. But meeting inspiration with practicality is a stimulating source of tension between the two, that same friction often producing innovation by necessity. This balance of two perspectives brings the challenges of teamwork and coordination we’ve explored, as design ideas that are highly creative may not always align with marketing goals, budgets or timelines. But with the correct tools, and an approach of open communication and compromise, restrictions can make way for your best minds from both worlds to work together. © stock.adobe.com/Chaosamran_StudioCOLD STORAGE SPOTLIGHT on ice From temperature monitoring systems to optimal storage solutions, Products 26 Business Link www.blmforum.netwww.blmforum.net Business Link 27 COLD STORAGE SPOTLIGHT © stock.adobe.com/Grispb Cold storage is one of the most important methods of preserving delicate goods like food and medicine before it reaches its final destination. It’s also one of the most fraught with small but critical difficulties, such as monitoring temperatures and ensuring their stability during transport. Establishing a well- defined cold chain is the best way to keep products at their best, from production and transportation to warehousing and distribution. It’s a tricky balance, and understanding that, here’s a guide to planning and executing effective cold storage in your business. Any cold chain management process which can be relied on to maintain the integrity of products will involve closely monitoring and controlling temperature conditions. Every stopping point and potential dropping out of cold storage must be considered, including during transportation, distribution, or in containment while waiting to be processed or sent to the end consumer. Of course, traditional thermometers, whether analogue or digital, can be used to manually monitor temperature at regular intervals, but these may not be able to keep track of the entire cold chain without consistent human intervention. Here’s where technology begins to make the matter simpler. From data loggers programmed to measure and record whenever needed, to temperature monitoring systems that can be placed throughout a cold storage facility, devices may be employed to take regular readings or continuously measure and transmit data. Wireless or ‘Internet of Things’ technologies even enable remote monitoring of temperature through sensors connected to a network, allowing 28 Á28 Business Link www.blmforum.net COLD STORAGE SPOTLIGHT real-time temperature data to be accessed remotely via a computer, smartphone or other devices. While taking care to track data along the cold chain, you will need reliable storage systems and units to keep all foods the desired temperature. Here, control systems can be used, consisting of a controller that receives temperature data from sensors, then activates cooling or heating mechanisms as needed. The controller can be set to specific temperature thresholds and can adjust cooling or heating equipment accordingly. Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (or HVAC) may also be used to regulate temperature and airflow within the cold storage facility. These systems provide consistent temperature control, proper air circulation and humidity management to maintain optimal storage conditions. Preserving the cold chain is an art unto itself. The first part of the journey occurs in-house, typically a production line in an enclosed warehouse or other facility. Though there are many options open to manufacturers for ensuring a consistently cold production line or storage facility, it’s counterproductive to invest in subpar technologies. Even tiny changes in temperature can lead to micro-thawing and the crystallisation of goods. Insulation is crucial in maintaining a cooler temperature as the heat outside a facility will be constantly trying to work its way inside. Heat can work its way through even the smallest breaches in a manufacturer’s temperature defences, be that a wall, window or door. Of course, where cool air is present, there also exists the possibility of moisture build-up which can lead to all manner of issues such as damp or a build-up of ice. This not only presents a safety hazard for workers but can also severely limit the functionality and efficiency of processing equipment and lead to costly repairs. Ensuring a thorough washdown can help, as can investing in dehumidifying technologies. The transport and distribution of frozen goods presents a more challenging situation as it involves moving goods from one strictly controlled environment to another. To facilitate this changeover, manufacturers will likely have temperature controlled loading bays, ensuring a constant temperature from the production and packing lines. Curtain walls will help to maintain this consistency, creating a barrier to ensure that cold air stays inside its designated area whilst also allowing workers, forklift trucks and other vehicles to pass easily through. Loading bays themselves, however, are literal openings into the outside and so could quite easily scupper this carefully controlled environment. To compensate for this and maintain the cold integrity, manufacturers and logistics companies rely on hoods around the bay door opening. This means a truck or lorry can back into the bay and open its doors, creating a seal and ensuring that the exterior and interior temperatures don’t have a chance to meet and mingle. Frozen and chilled goods can then be loaded without fear of thawing. Bay doors form a key part of defending temperature controlled environments, as they could elsewise be a liability. They must balance adequate insulation whilst also boasting the rugged design and defence required to fend off the elements and possible forced entry. www.blmforum.net Business Link 29 COLD STORAGE SPOTLIGHT © stock.adobe.com/kokliang1981Next >