Diti's Profile

Very interesting article. I really liked your take in the end looking at the silver lining that Brexit brings for Amazon with other companies struggling moreso. They also have the advantage of being very nimble and are definitely confident about adapting to the changes that will come with Brexit [1].
One of my main concerns is that the change in labor laws are going to extend beyond EU since every trade agreement with other countries is going to vary. Do you think there are ways in which they can come up with a competitive advantage when it comes to that? One of the possible solutions I thought of was more active engagement with UK Government, which can be facilitated by their commitment to generate additional 5000 full time jobs.

[1] Reuters, 2017, “Why Amazon Isn’t Fazed by Brexit”, Fortune.

It is very interesting to read this article. I was particularly intrigued how JFPS was the sole supplier for “The Body Shop”. I agree with your recommendation that diversifying would definitely help in terms of safeguarding themselves against climate change. This would also help them tackle above concerns as raised by Katie and Melissa.
On researching more about the issue, I found that “The Body Shop” are also employing clever ways to tackle climate change in other places – including putting up posters that filter out air pollution [1]. Along with the measures that they are taking right now and keeping in line with their tech solutions, I think digitization of agricultural processes would also long way in empowering the farmers of Nicaragua.

[1] Neal S., 2017, “Stunt of the week: The Body Shop gets clever for climate change”, NeoPR.

Very nice article. It was really interesting to learn how Japan is gearing themselves up for 2020 Olympics and becoming resilient to climate change, both short term as well as long term.
Honda and Toyota’s involvement in this initiative [1] is definitely the first step in gathering support from private sector as well as their employees.
One of my concerns about doing this, however, is the lack of international research that could accelerate this transition, especially with big alternate fuel car proponents like Elon Musk rejecting the idea [2]. Do you think there is a possible way in which it will be possible to get more consensus internationally as well as locally?

[1] Harding R., 2017, “Japan is betting future cars will use hydrogen fuel cells”, Financial Times.
[2] Watanabe C., 2017, “Japan Is at Odds With Elon Musk Over Hydrogen Fuel Cells”, Bloomberg.

I really liked how you covered and described the concerns for Nissan with respect to Brexit. You raised very valid points and I agree with a lot of the above comments that if I were Ghoshn, I would be alarmed about the current situation. Given the uncertain state of Brexit, I am comfortable that they want to wait, but I would like them to have Plan-B solutions available.

It is interesting to note how Nissan and Toyota are employing different techniques to deal with the UK Government to safeguard their production facilities in the UK [1]. While Nissan is negotiating with the Government that they enjoy the same trading conditions, Toyota has committed to invest 240 million pound and realign their management focus and supplement employee training. I believe that it would help Nissan if they come up with more contingency solutions, similar to what Toyota is doing, instead of the laid back approach they are currently taking.

As you talked about the uncertainty with UK’s new trade deals with various countries, if I were Ghoshn, I would also consider the possibility of opening a site in a different location and start exploring this option financially, at least on paper to be better prepared to deal with the worst case scenario.

[1] Campbell P., 2017, “Toyota and Nissan take different roads to Brexit” The Financial Times

I absolutely agree with Zach, Sonia and Isabel that this article is so interesting and relevant in the current climate.

When I started reflecting on the questions that you raised at the end of your essay, I envisioned a very optimistic future for Planned Parenthood as they expand their telehealth outreach. As you briefly touched upon the stigmatization of reproductive health in a lot of places, I feel their digitization will be an important tool to empower people to have access to it without having to deal with “judgement” or “backlash”. I don’t see competition from other telehealth platforms as a threat to “Planned Parenthood” because their digital platform will still come with their brand recognition.

One of the concerns that I have, outside of what you mentioned in the essay, is how to establish a greater degree of trust between the patients and doctors. One thing that works in their favor is that platforms that frontline patient contact is handled by knowledgeable, patient and empathetic individuals will achieve the greatest success [1]. Since the philosophy of Planned Parenthood aligns with this, it would be a good platform for them to build on.

[1] Judson B., 2017, “How Telehealth Platforms Will Reshape U.S. Healthcare Delivery”, Huffington Post.

Winfield, being one of the leading players in AgTech (along with their merger with United Suppliers) definitely holds a competitive advantage when it comes to incorporating digitization to their supply chain. It gives them a position where they have the luxury of evaluating different projects (like AnswerPlot and R7) as you mentioned in the essay.

Along with the concerns that you mentioned, I have another thing that worries me. The number of AgTech companies in the US has increased from 20 in 2010 to 503 in 2015 [1]. So along with very fundamental issues that you mentioned, I think that outcompeting new and upcoming companies will add to their pressure.

Also, the tricky situation that you mention about “Retailers are being pushed to promote a product that results in fewer sales” is a big motivation factor to move to make themselves essential in the Phase-2 and in a way, diversify their offerings, in my opinion.

One possible solution that I can think of that can facilitate their shift to Phase 2 is to collaborate with other key players (something like a cartel) and use that common data for collaborative planning, pricing etc. This would help push the industry to advanced digitization.

[1] – Rob Lecrec, 2016 “The next phase for agriculture-technology”, Forbes.