The banking industry is facing a major transformation of its activity due to the need to reinvent its services (which are expensive and not designed for online use), the change in user demand for digital products and the need to adjust inefficient structures. Traditionally the financial sector has been almost exclusively an area for financial institutions, but the falling cost of technologies has led to the emergence of new players in the industry, such as fintechs, with alternative proposals in all spheres of financial activity, through new mobile-first and data-driven formulas. However, after a few years, most of these new companies experience scalability problems and, going against their original philosophy, they end up collaborating with banks, generating a partnership of mutual interest: fintechs contribute to the transformation of the bank, and with the support of the bank, they achieve growth that they would not achieve alone. Through these banking-fintech partnerships, a paradox arises in that these entities which initially challenged the banks may end up being their point of support, ensuring the change to the banking sector is quicker and more transformational than disruptive. Conversely, the fintechs that remain in competition with the banks (between 20% and 25%) are forced into mergers, agreements, etc. in order to break-even. In Spain, the growth problems in these areas of competition with the banks (robo-advisors and crowdlending) seem even more intense than in other countries.
The most significant problem for banks comes from the large tech operators that have the capacity to unseat financial institutions in some of the most profitable spheres of activity. It seems impossible for banks to maintain total control of the business in the spheres that are shared with tech operators, such as purchase payments and money transfers. However, banks have an advantage in terms of their widely-recognised customer data protection management, which is a value in which they clearly exceed the fintechs.
Banks are developing multiple agreement strategies with fintechs, such as direct purchases, acceleration and incubation programmes, venture capital funds, service agreements and partnership agreements. Proper analysis of each area of innovation is crucial to identify the contributions made by a fintech, and the key variables are the capacity to generate volume and ability to displace current banking services. This article proposes a relationship model consisting of the gradual integration of fintechs into banking environments through: i) integration into the core of the bank; ii) collaboration or service agreements; iii) contributing to their development through acceleration and incubation programmes and the launch of “challenger” programmes or competitions to discover talent.
The foundations of traditional financial business are being shaken by the emergence of new actors who are introducing new business models based on the opportunities offered by recent technological advances. Fintechs are technology-based companies that offer financial services digitally through technological solutions and which focus on the needs and preferences of the consumer. Faced with the threat posed by this disruption in the financial market, banks and fintechs are developing collaboration strategies that take advantage of the innovative potential of fintechs in order to bring it to the general public through traditional banking structures and portfolios. This integration process is not free from obstacles and challenges, one of the main ones being the change in the business culture of traditional financial institutions.
The Mediterranean Corridor is a double high-speed railway that will run from the French border to Algeciras, joining cities as important as Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante, Murcia and Malaga, and connecting them in turn with the rest of Europe. However, it is necessary to develop gauge change technologies for railway platforms, since, in Europe, there are several track gauges that hinder the transit of goods by rail.
Logistics 4.0 modifies business operations and business processes to incorporate new tools and digital uses. It is a complete and integral transformation process, based on the digitization of information throughout the whole process, from the initial phases right through to the arrival of the end product to the customer, as well as integrating reverse logistics.
The convergence of variable-width axes rail technology for freight transport with Logistics 4.0 in SCM (Supply Chain Management) processes will allow increasing productivity and business competitiveness at an international level.
Human Resources Management (HRM) with a focus on Supply Chain Management (SCM) empowers companies to effectively manage their supply chains. This article justifies the importance of the study of Human Resources in the Supply Chain (HRSC) and provides an in-depth analysis of research in these two fields, which reveals their potentialities and shortcomings. Thus, the thematic areas addressed have been identified, as well as their main contributions and the existence of gaps in the literature. From the analysis, 53 publications have been identified that highlight the potential of HRSC. The results show that, in the last four (4) years between 2012 and 2017, there has been a significant increase of 49% in HRSC research.
Companies increasingly tend to outsource any activities that do not form part of their core business, as well as any activities that do not enable them to generate added value, due to their lack of specialization or specific knowledge.
When making decisions in this respect, the variables that may most influence whether a service should be outsourced are the value that the activity generates for the company, the need to make management and structural costs variable, and operational flexibility.
It is essential to analyse outsourcing from all possible angles but, most importantly, we have to be objective when it comes to evaluating the pros and cons of the decision from an economic and production point of view. Moreover, the company’s general strategy must be taken into account to ensure that any outsourcing decisions are perfectly aligned to it, without any discrepancy.
Last but not least, we should take great care in terms of the kind of agreement that we reach with the companies offering logistics outsourcing services, as this will be the foundation for ensuring that we meet the financial and production objectives set.
In this article, we focus on logistics activities that may be suitable for outsourcing, the reasons for outsourcing these activities and the type of suppliers of this kind of services.
Additive manufacturing, performed by 3D printing processes, has gained great importance in certain industrial sectors. Now the subject of significant research and innovation plans, This technology can drastically reduce the current complexity involved in manufacturing processes, with additional advantages over conventional production techniques, as well as in the existing logistics operations at each stage of the supply chain.
In recent years, technological solutions of varying degrees of complexity have emerged that have driven the evolution of logistics and supply chain, and which enable concordance between the requirements and limitations faced by customers in the eCommerce shopping process.
Advances in certain technologies in other sectors has enabled them to be incorporated into logistics and the supply chain, not only adding value for the customer through the customization of the products and services on offer, but also having an impact on suppliers and other actors that form part of the chain, enabling them to achieve enhanced responsiveness in terms of stock planning, management and transportation.
In the future, the adoption of these new technologies will require a process of specialization at the expense of the purely operational role that has characterized the logistics sector to date, as well as requiring new standards and regulatory bodies to be generated that enable their integration and development.
eCommerce platforms are becoming increasing significant players in the global economy, modifying shopping and consumption habits, and having a decisive impact on the market in terms of distribution, manufacture and the provision of logistics services.
The consolidation and improvement of eCommerce is underpinned by guaranteeing excellence throughout the user experience, from the shopping process right through to the final delivery of the product or service requested. In this respect, logistics is a key factor.
Amazon’s penetration in households has strongly shaken up the scene in terms of the competition. It has forced large retailers (and manufacturers) to provide a response that fulfils shoppers’ new service expectations, triggering a gruelling race to take control of the value chain and the customer experience.
In this article, the authors analyse the current panorama, the repercussions for the supply chain and the trends emerging in terms of eCommerce platform, identifying areas of opportunity generated by increasingly demanding customer expectations.