Story originally appeared in Financial Times on Nov. 20, 2020. Excerpts from the story below. To see the full story visit FT.com.

The case studies below are a shortlist of entries to the FT Intelligent Business awards event held online on November 19. All the entries showcase the combined use of data and tech in business operations. Source: RSG Consulting

SUPPLY CHAIN
Winner: DHL, Blue Yonder and Microsoft DHL, the German distributor responsible for logistics for some of the biggest household names globally, worked with software company Blue Yonder to deploy robotics to automate tasks in its warehouses, with Microsoft software providing data analytics and artificial intelligence to optimise resources. One example of how Microsoft and Blue Yonder are helping businesses is with Morrisons, the UK supermarket chain, where it has forecast demand fluctuation during the coronavirus lockdown and automated inventory orders. This has improved the on-shelf availability of products by 30 per cent and reduced the in-store inventory by two to three days.