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Honex

Case Study

IBM Accelerate Program: Group 7

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Team Habee Solutions

Mariam Dardir

Tenzin Namgyal

Elena Alimin

Gian Ruta

Lydia Chung

Mahi Khandelwal

Heather Chen

Divya Venkatesh

Christina Choi

Elona Ceka

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Agenda

Background

Honey Production Issues and Solutions

Data Digitization Issues and Solutions

Supply Chain Issues and Solutions

Final Recommendations

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Background: Beekeeper

Increased bee mortality

Global warming

Background

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Honey Production Issues: Bob

Short-staffed

Inconsistent machine health

Honey Production

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Honey Production Solution

Honey Production

Reinvest in Machines

New and improved equipment for extracting honey, as well as improved management techniques

Motivate Workers

Commit to trainings, better conditions, and employee benefits

Marketing

Collaborate with non-profit groups to raise awareness on ethical honey collection methods

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Data Digitization Issues: Sandra

Employees have cybersecurity concerns

Reports are stored in physical format

Data tracking issues

Data reports are not accessible across branches

Data Digitization

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Data Digitization Solutions

Manage + Predict Customer Behavior

Automate Repetitive Administrative Tasks

Increase Efficiency

Incorporating AI would:

Easier to Update Digital Files

Data is accessible between all branches

Incorporating Cloud Software would:

Data Digitization

Christina

Many of the solutions that Sandra encountered could be solved through incorporating AI and Cloud software into SDDC paired with a technology training for all employees to ease the transition to new tools within the company

AI could potentially be used to help predict customer behavior, improve forecasting accuracy, and allow for repetitive tasks to be automated… which would increase efficiency across the company.

Additionally, instead of using physical reports and Excel to relay information, implementing cloud software would allow for employees to pull data gathered across different locations and use it to make consistent, data-backed decisions.

Since there seems to be hesitation about introducing new technology, we can also implement a cybersecurity awareness and basic technology training course to Honex’s onboarding process, making it easier for employees to adapt to new tools, especially given they currently do not have much of a technical background.

Now Divya will explain two additional solutions to our current set of issues.

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Data Digitization Solutions

Inventory Management System
Barcode and pos capability Data-driven demand forecasting Sales tracking

Customer Relationship Management System (CRM)
Salesforce for channel communication


Prevents order processing delay	Expensive
Boosts customer experience	Initially complex


Increased retention rates	Could be costly
Track multiple data streams

Data Digitization

Business must know what information to use

Divya

Inventory management System:

An inventory management system can simplify the process of ordering, storing and using inventory by automating end-to-end production, business management, demand forecasting and accounting.
Inventory management software options: barcode and pos capability, data-driven demand forecasting, sales tracking, Intelligent, self-correcting AI will make inventory monitoring more accurate and reduce material waste.

CRM:

Solves customer-based business problems: It can also be used for lead management, sales forecasting, and managing communications with potential customers.
Options include: Salesforce, Salesforce customer 360 allows for channel based communication

Now that we have learned about potential digital solutions, let's take a look at how some of these tools can address the supply chain standpoint for honex.

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Supply Chain Inefficiencies: Bretsia

Trucks left distribution centers half empty

Time lag

Supply Chain

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Supply Chain Proposed Solutions:

AI Model

Gather Data

Request from customers

Create AI Model

IBM data analysis team

Remind Customers

Periodic contact

Supply Chain

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Supply Chain Proposed Solutions:

Cloud- Based Tracking System

Connected Supply Chain

Tracks all honey being shipped nationwide at anytime

Prediction Analytics

Predict market changes and risks to help form decision making

Ensures Quality

Real time updates on shipments and quality levels

Supply Chain

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Supply Chain Proposed Solutions: Hub-and-Spoke Model

Hub

(North Dakota)

SDDC

Spoke

Shortages in an area can be sourced from a closer warehouse (spoke)

Adopting this supply chain model aligns with the digitization of honey estimation and cloud-based tracking system

Gradual, spoke-by-spoke implementation of additional warehouses in areas with a high volume of orders + integrate with system

Supply Chain

Elena:

Our third recommendation to solve supply chain inefficiencies would be to implement a hub-and-spoke model in logistics arrangement to deal with their issues of trucks leaving half-empty & bee orders not getting in time – essentially one large hub (their North Dakota apiaries), and smaller spokes (warehouses located across their customer base). The spokes will be similar to the SDDC, but will be located strategically across the nation and be smaller in size. With the new automation and software implemented to digitize honey production estimates and bookkeeping, the spokes will also be low-maintenance.

Benefits: Shortages in one area can be covered by a closer warehouse, or spoke, with less time lag as opposed to getting it straight from North Dakota. It also opens up potential for sourcing other apiaries in different parts of the nation, which works to address the honey bee shortage and environmental concerns with the current apiary.

Implementation: This would require analysis on the areas of high volumes of orders or shortages within the nation, such as SDDC to analyze areas where time lag can be reduced and prioritization.

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Final Recommendation

Invest in inventory management and build customer relationships

Do not pursue Fresh Foods merger and focus on internal growth

Leverage ethical practices to boost brand image

Implement an AI model and cloud-based tracking systems

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Questions?

Thank you!

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Works Cited

https://www.forbes.com/sites/bryanrobinson/2021/06/09/hub-and-spoke-the-new-office-model-of-the-future-expert-says/

https://www.selecthub.com/supply-chain-management/10-ways-cloud-computing-revolutionizing-supply-chain-management/

https://veritis.com/blog/how-cloud-computing-is-reinventing-supply-chain-management/

https://www.ibm.com/topics/inventory-management

https://www.ibm.com/cloud/learn/crm