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Frahaneh thanks for sharing and informing us about the conditions and treatments people living with diabetes go through.

I found particularly interesting the application this type of Continuous Glucose Monitoring systems can be used in children. After researching in some blogs many parents are concerned that many children are not able to identify when their blood sugar is dropping, either because they don’t feel it or because they are too young to properly express it in words. And the parents that have been using CGM have expressed how now they have more context about the numbers of sugar in the blood of their children, helping them make better decisions about insulin dosing and treating lows. (1)
But I also learned about the problems you were mentioning plus other common ones like false alarms. A lot of patients have gone through periods of concerns given a sensor false-alarm, however with more use they have found that the sensor becomes inaccurate in certain conditions, like at the end of its useful life.

1. http://www.diabetesforecast.org/2013/jun/the-pros-of-cgms-for-kids-and-parents.html

A great post about how add-ons to the experience of the customer can provide so many benefits to the company is they know how to access, analyze and react to data in real time.

I agree that this technology can be leverage to other business currently under the Disney brand. For example, in their cruise line, they could leverage the information in the same way to have a better planning of the amenities on board and the logistics around getting all the guest into the large activities of the day such as dinners and shows.

At the beginning, I was skeptical of how this types of wearables would be adopted by the consumer, and still is a relevant question on the long run as they become less an innovation for the users, but clearly, the benefits of the information are endless and should be adopted in more spaces.

The post clearly presents a new technology that can have a huge impact on the logistics and delivery industry.

There are other competitors apart from UPS that are looking forward to applying the technology, for example, USPS has created a detailed analysis of what are the possibilities of use of these types of wearables along the delivery process. For example, they realize that today there exists a numerous way of mapping the cities and applications that guide you through the streets, however, AR technology could be used on the last delivery task to assist letter carriers in providing consistent delivery information about the building, parking spaces, interior office routes and mailbox location. (1)

Also, as everyday security is more important, they consider that other types of security enhancements can be used via AR technology. A facial recognition program could be installed on the AR technology to verify an individual’s identity by scanning their face, providing a more secure delivery option than any option currently in the market. (1)

It would be very interesting to see how these and more wearable technology are incorporated into this type of services and how the business models of the companies are reframed to use them to a full potential.

1. https://www.uspsoig.gov/sites/default/files/document-library-files/2015/rarc-ib-15-002_0.pdf

As the online retail industry keeps increasing the difficulty of fulfilling the customer expectations regarding delivery experience increases. One of the key elements of the new challenges is the logistics around the “last mile” delivery which now represent as much as 28% of the total delivery cost to a business putting a lot of pressure on the cost passed to the consumer and the bottom line of businesses. (1)
By being USPS the service with the most footprint in the US, the idea of selling their data via “Informed Visibility” sounds like a great way to monetize information that is very difficult to obtain and gives so many competitive advantages for planning purposes to companies that can analyze it. However, I don’t see the proposed solutions as the key to a sustainable business.
While some e-commerce players like Amazon are starting to have vertical integrations where they won’t depend on third parties’ delivery services, companies like USPS should reframe their value proposition to continue to be a solution provider for companies that can’t afford those kinds of integrations. In that line of though, USPS should reframe their operations in a way that they become a big player again on the segment, utilizing for internal purposes their valuable data and offer better services along the value chain.

1. http://bringg.com/blog/insights/4-challenges-of-last-mile-delivery-for-ecommerce/

Very interesting post about the new applications that can be leveraged to give the customers more information, more reliability on the service and better timing for decision making.
However I’m concerned about the scalability and sustainability of SensorWare, today , businesses pay a single monthly fee of $120 – for that they get the devices and the browser-based web service. (1) It may not seem like a huge amount for big corporations, but for small companies that are trying to enter the space of B2C via e-commerce service, all extra charges can become a restraint.
Also, it would be interesting to see how this service is leveraged in other industries that doesn’t require so much handling care and still argue that the price is worth it.

1. “FedEx Joins the Internet of Things With SenseAware”, Dec. 2009. http://readwrite.com/2009/12/04/fedex_joins_the_internet_of_things_with_senseaware/

Very well written blog about the tough challenges the industry itself is facing. To go to the beginnings, it is important to remember that insurance companies rely on historical information to predict the future frequency and severity of the catastrophes.

Climate change is making historic information useless to predict those outcomes and therefore making the industry rethink about how they approach the challenge in their business models giving the rising cost that it represents. Estimations have stated that the overall cost of the risks associated with climate change represent 5% global GDP, threatening the financial performance of the sector. (1)

Another way of thinking principle 3 is to readapt their cost strategy to transfer the costs to the responsible parties, in this way they would have aligned incentives to improve their mitigation strategies and work towards a more environmentally friendly business model. In order to make this possible, they would need to use principle 2 in a more strategic way, seeking to reach consensus, and not only inform, with the regulators in order to have the approval to transfer those cost to the responsible parties.

1. https://cdn.axa.com/www-axa-com%2F1b503ed0-104e-4fe1-9b4f-cf6ea62844ae_axa_and_climaterisks_2014.pdf

I agree that IHG should start to do more strategic standards that would not be “cosmetic” and go to the root causes of their environmental impact. In this era where most of the buildings are being certified LEED and the hospitality industry itself if turning into having this certification from the design of their hotels itself, IHG being a leader in the sector should be the one proposing these standards instead of being left behind.

Another important consideration that IHG needs to start thinking about is the locations of its hotels that are impacted directly by meteorological phenomena that not only put in risk their real estate but also the community where they are located. As said before it is not enough to distribute the toiletries that are recycled with the communities in need, it would be much more beneficial is they find a way to create a partnership with them and local organizations that would start to define a contingency plan for those catastrophes and create the plan of action of how to better manage the environmental impact the hotels are having in those areas.

A great example of how a company that is the leader in the sector can take the leadership on setting and procedures for the industry too.
I ‘ve stayed in a couple of their hotels and they truly stand for an environmentally friendly approach. I’m eager to learn more about the process they went through to create the Green Hotel Global dashboard, the challenges they confronted and what are the main reasons not all the other great hospitality companies are not joining them to have this as their standard procedure too. This with means of learning what things can be replicable in other industries and what are the key challenges we need to take in mind when creating a standardized approach to help the environment.

Very interesting post about a problem that more than one touristic destination around the world is facing but with different approaches to a solution given the specific considerations of each destination.

For Miami in specific, an important consideration for the proposed solution of focusing on inland areas is the impact that this action may have as well. As the inland communities grow, acres of rural and natural land are converted into urban space and with them, acres of wildlife are lost. It is important to notice that Miami has other current problems that could be worsened with a more concentrated population in defined areas like the supply of drinking water or concentration of mass transit.(1)

There isn’t a clear solution to this imminent problem that the city will face, however, blogs like this one start the conversation on which are the levers that need to be put into consideration to define a well-rounded approach to the problem.

(1) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/02/threats-to-south-florida-environment_n_1732845.html

The rising of sea level is not the only cause and risk of erosion on the beaches of Hawaii, human-made structures such as seawalls, jetties and the dredging of stream mouth have had an important impact on the natural flow of the sand.

For example, seawalls that were built to protect individual properties from water invading more and more their property but they exacerbate erosion nearby by preventing waves from reaching the sand needed to replenish the beach.

Apart from the proposed efforts stated bellow of collecting funds via different taxation vehicles, a more detailed plan of what rules to state in the state should be put in place. For example, a detailed mechanism of management of the structures along the beach line should be considered, as well as ban protocols of where more structures can or cannot put in place.

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/33934617/ns/us_news-environment/t/hawaiis-natural-assets-are-being-eaten/#.WCAC1iS1OpA
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/09/saving-waikiki-beach-erosion_n_6835424.html