Industry news

UK corporates face a seemingly unending stream of new requirements around ESG reporting, from Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) to the EU and UK taxonomies and, in the US, SEC and sector specific requirements such as National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) climate related disclosures.

A diverse range of businesses will be affected by this rapidly evolving reporting environment, but financial services firms, in particular, need to be ready for a whole new swathe of sustainability reporting requirements.

Historically, much of the sustainability reporting that firms have done has sat outside the Finance function in dispersed pockets of expertise within the business. But as reporting frameworks have become clearer, requirements stricter, and expectations on quality higher, there is increasing pressure from both inside and outside the boardroom to treat sustainability reporting with the same robust, systematic, and controls-focused approach that is used with financial reporting.

Read more on KPMG here.

Are you guilty of doing things the way they’ve always been done? Looking to make some positive changes, but don’t know where to start?

Look no further! We asked our panel of consultants for the things contact centre managers really need to stop doing – as soon as possible – to help rejuvenate their customer service operations. Here’s what they said…

Read more on Call Centre Helper here.

Customer service and support leaders cited customer data and analytics as a top priority for achieving organisational goals in 2023, according top new research.

In a Gartner online survey of 283 customer service and support leaders from August-October 2022, 84% of customer service and service support leaders cited customer data and analytics as “very or extremely important” for achieving their organisational goals in 2023. Eighty percent of respondents ranked digital channel effectiveness as “very or extremely important,” along with employee performance, development and quality assurance.

The Gartner survey revealed improving operations and growing the business are the two most important business goals for 2023.

Read more on Contact Centre Briefing here.

Worldwide government IT spending is forecast to total $588.9 billion in 2023, an increase of 6.8% from 2022, fuelled by demand for consumer-like Total Experience (TX) strategies.

“Government organizations are continuing to modernize legacy IT and invest in initiatives that improve access to digital services as constituents increasingly demand experiences that are equivalent to online customer interactions in the private sector,” said Daniel Snyder, Director Analyst at Gartner. “The total experience (TX) framework, which helps agencies manage employee and citizen interactions, is enabling transformation and will remain among the main drivers of IT spend in 2023.”

Read more on Contact Centre Briefing here.

With the arrival of 2023, change is on the horizon. The economic forecast calls for continued uncertainty across much of the world, creating persistent challenges while surfacing opportunities for businesses that harness the chance to drive effective transformation.

As inflation increases costs, consumers will continue to reduce household spending, and supply chains will continue to experience upheaval. Therefore, retailers must rely on digital tools to help manage and optimize their operations impacted by inflation. Following are some predictions help retailers and consumer packaged goods (CPG) producers achieve a competitive advantage.

Read more on SupplyChainBrain here.

McKinsey publishes digital transformation guidance for organisations seeking to mitigate disruption from ongoing supply chain shocks

‘New normal’ for supply chains looks nothing like the pre-pandemic ‘normal’. Stability and predictability have been replaced with economic, societal and geopolitcal shocks. 

To combat the uncertainty and disruption that has become commonplace, businesses are increasingly looking to digitalise processes and operations, with supply chain and procurement being two areas that can deliver competive advantage if organisations have the digital visibility needed to navigate the never-ending headwinds.

Read more on SupplyChainDigital here.

SAP survey shows how post-pandemic perceptions of supply chains have changed, and concludes that supply networks are more robust than linear supply chains

Throughout the past two years, there’s been widespread concern across industries that the global supply chain has become too linear and vulnerable to disruption.

With supply chain issues still dominating headlines, SAP conducted a survey to determine how consumer attitudes have adapted to understand how perceptions of supply chains have evolved after living through a pandemic. As 2022 marked a shift in consumer attitudes, the landscape is now being shaped by record high inflation rates that continue to influence expectations. The survey findings provide actionable insights into the challenges that consumers are facing, which can be especially useful for procurement and supply chain leaders.

Read more on SupplyChainDigital here.

KPMG US has acquired The Arnold Group, a Seattle-based strategy consulting firm focusing on B2B technology clients.

Founded 20 years ago, The Arnold Group specializes in go-to-market strategy development for B2B technology firms – advising on growth acceleration, commercial transitions, and simplifying customer experience. The firm’s areas of expertise include product strategy, monetization and pricing, customer and partner marketing, sales organization/process design, channel strategy and programs, and service and lifecycle management.

The Arnold Group has worked with large tech companies such as AWS, Microsoft, Dell, and SAP.

KPMG’s acquisition – which finalized on January 1 – adds all 21 of The Arnold Group’s employees, including five who join the Big Four firm as leaders in the strategy practice.

Read more on Consulting.us here.

In the face of macroeconomic uncertainty, the majority of enterprises feel cautiously optimistic about 2023 and expect to tap outsourcing resources to control costs and meet the demand for talent, according to the results of Everest Group’s annual Key Issues survey. In fact, more than 80% of respondents expect their investments in outsourcing for IT services (ITS) and business process services (BPS) to stay the same or increase in 2023 over 2022, and more than 40% are optimistic about growth in their global services budgets in the coming year.

Everest Group’s 2023 Key Issues Study comprises the input of 200 global leaders across enterprises, Global Business Services (GBS) centers and service providers. Everest Group delivered the key findings from this research in a December 13 webinar, “Rise Above Economic Uncertainty and Succeed.” 

Read more on Cision PRWeb here.

“Making predictions are hard, especially when they are about the future.” That quote, or similar ones have been attributed to numerous people including Niels Bohr, Sam Goldwyn, Robert Storm Petersen, and Yogi Berra. So, to make some forward looking predictions this year, I decided to reach out to some of my friends in the industry to get their point of views. A few common themes emerged.

Risk Resiliency is top of mind

When it comes to supply chains, risk can appear in many forms. From a pandemic that highlighted the supply risks in our stretched global networks, to cyber security breaches across our systems, and the current challenges that inflation brings to our business, the need for a risk resilient supply chain is clear to everybody.

Read more on Forbes here.