By Nnamdi Odumody

German automotive giant Volkswagen, and Amazon, have announced a collaboration to build a digital platform, the VW Industrial Cloud, to connect and manage the automaker’s manufacturing plants and supply chain.

Volkswagen and Amazon Web Services (AWS) have teamed up to work on a cloud-based platform to transform the auto giant’s “manufacturing and logistics processes.”

The multi-year, global agreement, announced on Wednesday, would see Volkswagen use a range of services from AWS, including machine learning, the internet of things and analytics.

Among other things, these technologies will be used to boost plant efficiency, increase the quality of vehicles, and improve production flexibility.

The VW Industrial Cloud will integrate data from more than 30,000 facilities, including VW’s 122 manufacturing facilities and 1500 partnerships, in its supply chain. Through this partnership, Volkswagen can use AWS’s Cloud Computing and IOT services to increase facilities efficiency, improve production flexibility, and increase vehicle quality. This means that VW will be able to identify issues or opportunities, for efficiency, in real time and get them solved.

The VW Industrial Cloud will aggregate real time manufacturing data to assess performance and identify friction points using AWS IOT services. The cloud will use AWS IOT offerings which include Greengrass, Core, Analytics and SiteWise, to collect, process and analyze data from plant floors. It will also be used to track parts and vehicles. Equipped with data and analytics from across its facilities, VW will be able to easily identify what production or supply chain segments need improvement, and more quickly to take corrective action.

“The Volkswagen Group, with its global expertise in automobile production, and AWS, with its technological know-how, complement each other extraordinarily well,” Oliver Blume, who is chairman of the executive board of Porsche AG and a member of the board of management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, said in a statement Wednesday.

Amazon’s Sage Maker service will allow the automaker to quickly build, train and deploy machine learning models for plant equipment using the Edge. Volkswagen can use Sage Maker to assist in making its production machinery more efficient and adaptable for a wider range of tasks.

VW will deploy AWS Outposts onsite to offer a consistent experience for latency sensitive applications. AWS Outposts brings native AWS services, infrastructure and operating models to factory floors in order to provide seamless functionality between devices and the cloud. With AWS Outposts in VW’s facilities, IOT devices will be able to communicate with infrastructure in close proximity instead of with a distant server which can lead to lower latency.

Manufacturers operate under tight margins and must eliminate inefficiencies to drive greater profits and smart technologies like the Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Augmented Reality and 3D Printing can help them achieve that. The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria should initiate discussions across all its different member sector groups on Industry 4.0, and how migration to smart manufacturing will enable them eliminate waste from their processes while achieving higher profitability. Of course MainOne and Innoson Motors should explore to replicate this same AWS-Volkswagen partnership in Nigeria.

Ndubuisi Ekekwe left Kobo board in mid 2019.

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About Kobo360

Kobo360 is a tech-enabled digital logistics platform that aggregates end-to-end haulage operations to help cargo owners, truck owners and drivers, and cargo recipients to achieve an efficient supply chain framework. Through an all-in-one robust logistics ecosystem, Kobo uses big data and technology to reduce logistics frictions, empowering rural farmers to earn more by reducing farm wastages and helping manufacturers of all sizes to find new markets. Kobo enables unprecedented efficiency and cost reduction in the supply chain, providing 360-visibility while delivering products of all sizes safely, on time and in full. The Kobo mission is to build the Global Logistics Operating System that will power trade and commerce across Africa and Emerging Markets.

Ndubuisi Ekekwe had since resigned from Kobo360 board.

Kobo360, the African technology logistics platform, has launched a new app built to boost speed and efficiency in the transportation market. Developed to ensure transparency is at the core of the platform, with a suite of unique product features, the app has been in beta for three months, seeing over 1,800 downloads with over 10,000 drivers expected to migrate over to the new platform in the coming weeks.

Focused on simplifying processes between truck drivers, cargo owners and recipients, as well as bringing enhanced transparency to the bidding and procurement of trips, the app was unveiled at Kobo360’s launch event in Lagos and attended by key stakeholders and tech influencers in the Nigerian tech scene.

The Kobo app, an intelligent logistics application is available on Android for both drivers and customers, and includes the following innovative features;

First-of-its-kind bidding tools for drivers and customers to assess the price of a trip before selection – a unique product feature not found on any other transportation app in the world, not even Uber!
Digitised way bills with automated invoices after completed trips.

• Real-time visibility on cargo and trucks as well as enhanced reporting and analytics.

• A customised dashboard and multi-language functions to facilitate intra-African trade.

Kobo360 CEO Obi Ozor says: “The Kobo App has been built to make the business of doing business, easier, faster, more efficient for our customers. We partner with trusted shippers and carriers to handle their most important and immediate FTL freight needs and this app will wrap the entire process in secure, innovative and world-class technology this is not found anywhere else in the world.”

Tosin Adesipe Kobo360 Head of Tech adds: “Business on the continent is powered by mobile – especially logistics, where the cargo is literally on the move; our clients and drivers are too. We have spent months building and refining the Kobo App with the specific needs of our customers and drivers central to our design process. Our job is to ensure that they are able to execute their business requirements quickly, securely and on-budget. This new app, and the product features that we have developed, are the very best piece of apparatus to enable them to move cargo around the continent”.

The launch of the app is the latest in a line of recent successes for the company. Kobo360 were recently named “Disrupter of the Year” at the Africa CEO Forum awards, and have expanded into  Togo, Ghana and Kenya. To date, Kobo360 has moved over 260m KG of goods, serviced over 1,339 businesses and has aggregated a fleet of over 10,000.

The new app can be downloaded from the Google Play store.

By  Nnamdi Odumody

Franchise quick service restaurant giant McDonald’s is acquiring AI-powered personalization platform, Dynamic Yield, for over $300million. Dynamic Yield will still operate as an independent entity, but its technology will be deployed in McDonald’s locations across the United States of America.

McDonald’s announced that it’s acquiring artificial intelligence- (AI) powered personalization platform Dynamic Yield for over $300 million, sources told Wired.

Dynamic Yield will continue to operate as its own company, but its technology is expected to be brought to 1,000 McDonald’s locations in the next three months, and all 14,000 US stores as well as its international restaurants over time, giving McDonald’s more ability to adapt and personalize its customer experience.

With this acquisition McDonald’s will be flexible on its menu presentation to drive sales and improve its customer experience by leveraging Dynamic Yield’s technology and data. McDonald’s will be able to utilize the customer data better, offering personalized services to the customers. The restaurants could eventually recognize license plates and consider purchase histories for a more personalized experience.

These insights will be deployed through the restaurant’s drive-thru menus and self-service kiosks. The digital interfaces will now change their product offerings, and how they present them will be based on data-driven insights. In a pilot test in Miami, the insights include making recommendations for products customers might want to add to their orders, while also displaying the popular items at a location.

A dynamic menu will also help McDonald’s optimize its operations. In the event that a drive-thru is moving slowly, the menu can highlight simple items to help get it’s processes back on track, and it can promote complex and expensive products when the drive thru is running smoothly.

Tastee Fried Chicken, Mr. Biggs and Sweet Sensation which are the leading quick service restaurants, in Nigeria, should leverage artificial intelligence to improve their customer experiences. Adopting AI can help them offer personalized meals to diabetics, vegetarians, and other customers who are abstaining from consumption of high calorie diets. By using data, which they might have collected from customers, they can optimally serve these customers and improve their businesses.

How Data is Enabling Personalization for Immersive Customer Experience