The promise of more data and better insights into customers is causing more FMCG brands to test direct-to-consumer models but few have found the recipe for success yet.

The way the world gets from A to B is undergoing a profound transformation, driven by advancements in big-data analysis, artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT). While selfdriving cars have captured imaginations worldwide with the promise of safer roads, smoother commutes and less congestion, they are only one part of the greater smart mobility story.

(Reuters) - If history is a guide, Uber Technologies new Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi is likely to dangle data sharing and a promise to pay fines and fees when he sits down with London officials to negotiate the ride service’s future in one of its most important markets.

Cities are deploying big data and analytics tools to enhance transit systems.

Enhanced transportation is a big component of emerging smart cities, and municipalities are turning to big data analytics and other technologies to help to create more efficient ways of getting around town.

GEOCONCEPT positioned in the field service management Magic Quadrant for its ability to execute and completeness of vision

This study aims to research and analyse the development of Big Data Analytics and connected services in the farm equipment industry and to assess the value proposition of these connected services that address the expectations of farmers and transform their business practices. The farm equipment industry is witnessing another wave of industrial change through IT industry. The formation of smart connected products is creating new opportunities and new areas of business models.

Data-driven decisioning is the zeitgeist of contemporary marketing practice, but barriers to entry, such as lack of quality data and skillsets, etc, are commonplace. Lloyd Greenfield, client partner at The Programmatic Advisory, talks through his consultancy’s three-step approach to getting started.

This week SCM World launches the annual Future of Supply Chain survey.

To begin with, here are three long-range, contrarian predictions that should matter to supply chain professionals:

An algorithm to optimize school bus routes will save Boston Public Schools as much as $5 million after computer science and logistics experts competed in a 3 month hackathon won by a team from MIT's Operations Research Center. The challenge was similar to the NP-hard Travelling Salesman Problem.

TuSimple hits the road

Chinese startup TuSimple plans to test its fleet of self-driving commercial trucks in Arizona and Shanghai in 2018, leading up to the successful launch of a commercial autonomous trucking service in 2019. This move introduces another competitor in the self-driving race between giants like Tesla, Uber, and Waymo. These companies are all striving to transform the way we send, deliver, and receive commercial goods, and TuSimple’s technology and powerful financial backing make it a serious contender.