DPW2019 Hackathon

October 2, 2019

Who lets a salesman into a procurement conference? Imposter I hear them cry!

Risk taking conference founder Matthias Gutzmann linkedin.com/in/matthiasgutzmann opened Digital Procurement World 2019 with the inspiring story of how he gave up his job to pursue his idea of starting a new type of conference, and thanked his Mum and Dad for letting him move back into their house. Any adult willing to move back in with parents to follow their dreams deserves success in my eyes.

When I was hustled into a side room after the opening talks, it wasn’t to be asked if I was at the wrong conference, it was because I had applied for and been selected to take part in the IBM sponsored Hackathon event. Another risky idea from Matthias, this time encouraged by IBMs Bob Booth linkedin.com/in/bobebooth. So not only am I a salesman at procurement event, I am a salesman at a hackathon at a procurement event, in Amsterdam, without a bike. At this point I said goodbye to my comfort zone.

Group Dynamics v Great Ideas

What do you get if you cross a salesman, a procurement analyst, and a data scientist, with a company founder, 2 IBM mentors and a PhD student of AI and Cognitive Science? started no joke ever.

Over the years I’ve clocked up plenty of hours working with great procurement people in the technology sector, so I rocked up armed with a few reasonably bright ideas. Other than a few experienced “hackathoners”, most of us didn’t know what to expect. Students and professionals alike had heard about the abundance of free food and felt that was a reasonable pay off for helping IBM invent some new patents to file.

The room was buzzing with dreams of the €3000 prize pot which was surely to be issued on a big pretend cheque, causing the winner many issues with carry-on baggage restrictions.

Proceedings kicked off with the inevitable introductions process, and I was soon clammy palmed when I realised we were doing the whole personality trait self-analysis thing. I thought so hard about what personality characteristics I would like to have that I forgot all my bright ideas. I thought I had played it safe and stuck my post it note near Bobs on the quadrant, but it turns out he (and now I) were both rather extreme.

Despite my scepticism (very possibly fear) of the personality trait exercise, it sent me off on a path of self-discovery which framed my 2-day experience. The bright ideas about digital procurement innovation ebbed and flowed, but the group dynamic remained constantly delightful. Early on, I gingerly proposed we adopt a leaderless approach, not wanting to appear too assertive. Nobody objected, so clearly they enjoyed this. Although I have to wonder, if by suggesting this method, I had therefore become the leader.

To Sleep or Not to Sleep

Our Team were challenged to create new value and measurements in procurement. We all know that procurement only care about savings, right? I think this was why they let a few outsiders in, to think differently. The challenge called for bold and brave, but it had to be feasible and ready to demo by the next morning. I believe our team’s solution was the only one of all the entries that was truly new and innovative. The atmosphere was positive as we set to work and ploughed on past dusk, powered by pizza with some sleeping in situ and some coding through the night. Another team were having a tough time and abandoned their idea near the end of the first day only to start again from scratch. After the morning rehearsals, we felt our team were sitting pretty.

Our Solution

Our team decided to measure the positive and negative experiences internal stakeholders and suppliers have when dealing with procurement. The industry currently relies on measurements from the structured data in ERP, SRM and CRM systems. SLA attainment, adherence to process, and savings amount for example dehumanise the people behind it all.

A lot of the real value, and human endeavour, in the procurement process is not captured because it resides in emails, phone calls, meetings and video conferences (unstructured data).

The traditional measurements don’t capture the behaviour of the people involved that lead to the outcomes. By using Sentiment Analytics and Natural Language Programming we can capture this data, and correlate it with the structured data, to discover which behaviours, sentiments and language relate to the positive outcomes.

We can then use all the clever AI, Machine Learning, Cognitive stuff to identify the good the people do and try and get them to do more of it, whilst also gaining insights that could teach the future robots what to do. I’m probably not making it sound very simple, because it’s not. Keep going, the judges said.

How did it all end?

The final vote was taken by the conference audience via the event app. Maybe championing “the value of people” at a digital conference, offended the bots that counted the votes so unfortunately our team didn’t win.

The team that was having trouble the day before, who ended up designing another solution in half the time, ended up coming second. An excellent advert for agile working and the principles of failing fast but coming back stronger.

The whole experience has been great for me – pushing myself well out of my comfort zone into a world I didn’t think a salesman was even allowed into. I’ve always held a long-term goal of starting or being part of an actual think-tank and this positive experience has re-energised me. Well done to the winners who were cool throughout, coded through the night and communicated their concept with excellence. Although when I stepped on the plane for home, I did have a little laugh thinking of them trying to get that cheque home.

Stephen Dale

Account Director – Systems Integrators – sdale@asmtech.com

News, Insights & Knowledge

What’s New?

Here’s a selection of the latest news, views and insights from industry leaders and experts from across the globe.

News & Events, Sustainability

ASM becomes net carbon neutral

At ASM we have committed to be a carbon neutral business by offsetting 100% of our footprint.

Through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, one scheme we are supporting is the Maibarara Geothermal Power Project in the Philippines.

The initiative comprises two geothermal power plants supplying electricity in the Philippines, with a third plant planned to be added within the next three years which will increase power generation by a further 60%.

ASM has chosen to support this project because geothermal power is less common than the traditional forms of reusable energy which requires innovation and emerging technologies to harvest the potential of the natural power of volcanoes.

By supporting missions such as this we are driving sustainable activities both in our direct environment but also globally, protecting the future for all.

In addition to being a carbon neutral business, ASM continues on the journey of decarbonising our complex value chain in line with our targets validated by the Science Based Targets initiative.

We strive to do business, better.

News & Events, Sustainability

Green team launched to drive Sustainability

At ASM we are continually seeking to build a growing, profitable and responsible company that does the right thing for our stakeholders and future generations within the IT Channel and our communities.

We have launched the Green Team to invite volunteers from across the business to help drive our Environment and Sustainability strategy. By involving and empowering our colleagues, we are accountable and focussed on making real change for the future.

Our Green Team act as Champions across the business to make Sustainability a part of everyday life. The team meet monthly to share ideas, discuss relevant issues and provide progress updates on our commitments.

Keep an eye out for how our Green Team are making a difference.

We strive to do business, better.

Blog

International Men’s Day 2023

At ASM we’re recognising International Men’s Day by celebrating the positive value men bring to the world, their families and communities, highlighting our positive role models whilst also raising awareness of men’s well-being.

This year’s theme is Zero Male Suicide as men are three times more likely than women to die by suicide. We can all help address this crisis by encouraging men to reach out for support with their mental health.

We invited all colleagues to a fantastic webinar with ANDYSMANCLUB. ANDYSMANCLUB are a men’s suicide prevention charity, offering free-to-attend peer-to-peer support groups in person and online. Their purpose is to end the stigma surrounding men’s mental health and help men through the power of conversation.

By encouraging the power of conversation, be it a quick chat, a more formal check-in, or a shared story, together we can make a difference.

internationalmensday.com
andysmanclub.co.uk

Sustainability

Tree planting in Malawi

At ASM we are continuing to build a growing, profitable and responsible company that does the right thing for our stakeholders and future generations.

We recognise that decarbonising our complex value chain will be a journey and we are committed to offset 100% of our footprint making us net carbon neutral through a number of projects.

We have planted 10 trees per colleague through Ripple Africa, a charity supporting communities to achieve a sustainable future.

Their tree planting project is one of the largest and most successful tree planting projects in Malawi, providing a long-term solution to fighting deforestation in Africa caused by the destruction of indigenous forest. For every 10 trees they plant one tonne of carbon is absorbed from the atmosphere.

Sustainability, Volunteering

Volunteering with the Scouts

At ASM we’re committed to supporting our community and all our colleagues can take a day out of the business to volunteer for charities or community organisations.

Our Finance team have recently been busy supporting a local Scout group. The store room had become so full of equipment that it was no longer organised or safe to continue their Beaver Scout and Cub Scout sessions. Our team of volunteers took an inventory of the equipment, cleaned items where needed and organised the space.

Organising the space has allowed a clearer view for the leaders to plan fun sessions that provide skills for life.

Blog

Vuzix Sales Enablement Session

We were thrilled to host our partner, Vuzix for our November Sales Enablement session at our HQ. Thanks to Jonathan Nelson, Strategic Sales Manager at Vuzix for the engaging and enjoyable session.

Vuzix connects the modern deskless workforce with Assisted and Augmented Reality (aR and AR) wearable technology, providing high-performance smart glasses that enable see-what-I-see remote guidance, teleconferencing, IOT visualisation and digital work instructions.

Adele Hope-Urwin, Head of Vendor Alliances said:

“I am thrilled to have secured our partnership with Vuzix and to add their assisted reality products to our vendor portfolio. As our newest vendor partnership, I’m excited to host Vuzix at our Cheshire HQ for an engaging training session with our sales team”.

Jonathan Nelson, Strategic Sales Manager at Vuzix said:

“We’re really excited to add ASM as a value added partner and are looking forward to sharing our skills and knowledge to continue to innovate and offer an exceptional customer experience to our customers”.

Blog

Something spooky at ASM

There’s been some frightening goings on in the office today with all our teams getting involved. 

We held competitions throughout the day with some fantastic entries. Laura Helsby won for her fantastically fiendish cupcakes, Becci Darby created the best pumpkin of the day and Jasmine Elliott spooked the office the most with their fancy dress.

Sustainability

ASM HQ built with sustainability at the forefront

The ASM Group are committed to ensuring ongoing consideration to the environment in all aspects of our operations and this began in 2005, when we were one of the first companies in the industry to complete the IS014001 accreditation, long before the environmental impact of business operations was widely understood by organisations.

We installed an array of solar panels on the roof of the building which power around half of our daily electricity usage and have generated over 43 MW of energy. We also removed the use of electric kettles and instead opted for Quooker taps which are significantly more energy and water efficient.

We continued our ongoing pledge to sustainability by installing electric car charging points to promote the use of electric and hybrid vehicles, in addition to reducing the amount of printers around the building and adopting a paperless office. Numerous trees were planted around the site to create a greener space for our team to enjoy whilst also considering the environmental benefits. To further improve our energy efficiency, we opted for energy saving, motion detection indoor lighting which dim based on the brightness outside, coupled with energy saving LED lights in the carpark.

We’re proud of the collaborative and sustainable environment we’ve created for our team which supports the ESG goals across the ASM Group for the future.

Blog

International Women’s Day 2023

Technology has typically been a male dominated sector but at ASM we’re very proud to say 66% of our workforce is female.

Today we’ve been celebrating all of our fantastic team with some sweets treats while raising awareness about discrimination.

The aim of the IWD 2023 #EmbraceEquity campaign theme is to get the world talking about Why equal opportunities aren’t enough. People start from different places, so true inclusion and belonging require equitable action. Read more about this here.