Trade’s Tech Revolution
January 21, 2016 | HSBCEstimated reading time: 3 minutes
A fridge that texts you where to buy the cheapest milk; a washing machine that orders washing powder online when it runs out; and a jet engine that tells engineers when it needs repairing and lists the parts to order. It sounds futuristic, but these intelligent machines already exist.
Technologies are helping to change the way businesses operate – and altering the way we trade goods and services around the world.
Over the next few decades we expect a rising global population, new trade agreements, better logistics and improvements in business operating models to fuel a sharp rise in exports. Technology too will play an increasing role in a new phase of globalisation.
Across the world, companies are investing in technology to reduce waste and cut costs. They are looking to reduce their impact on the environment by redesigning products, streamlining processes and switching to renewable energy sources.
The internet, meanwhile, is paving the way for companies to gain a global audience at a speed that was not possible in the past. It took radio 38 years to achieve an audience of 50 million – a target achieved in just three years by the internet and in a single year by the social networking site Facebook.
The internet has created an environment in which “micro-multinationals” can thrive. In the past, companies generally had to reach a certain size to expand overseas. But thanks to the web, it is far easier for small companies specialising in niche products and bespoke services to go global too. The internet and free movement of data are changing the way trade occurs. Some goods that were previously shipped are now delivered digitally. In the UK, for example, more than a third of video entertainment is now downloaded or streamed on-demand, rather than bought in physical format, according to the UK Video Association. An increasing proportion of international trade will be in such services, ordered and delivered using just an internet connection.
Of course, demand for physical goods will continue. But here too technology is playing a greater role, helping to make it more efficient to distribute products and easier and quicker to transport goods to new markets. It is enabling engineers to design more fuel-efficient ships and planes, cutting transportation costs. Meanwhile, ports and airports are investing in automated customs and documentation to speed up shipment of goods.
Page 1 of 2
Suggested Items
Micross, Sital Announce Global Manufacturing & Distribution Partnership
05/07/2024 | Micross Components, Inc.Micross Components, Inc., a leading global provider of mission-critical microelectronic components and services for high-reliability aerospace, defense, space and industrial applications, is pleased to announce our exclusive partnership with Sital Technology (sitaltech.com), the leader in MIL-STD-1553 IP cores, specializing in integrated FPGA solutions.
Real Time with… IPC APEX EXPO 2024: Innovative Lamination Technology
05/07/2024 | Real Time with...IPC APEX EXPOKevin Barrett of Insulectro and Victor Lazaro of Indubond discuss their companies' partnership, focusing on Indubond's innovative lamination technology that uses induction heating. They discuss the advantages of this technology over traditional methods, its benefits to customers, and the crucial role of automation in manufacturing.
Indium Corporation to Showcase HIA Materials at ECTC
05/07/2024 | Indium CorporationAs an industry leader in innovative materials solutions for semiconductor packaging and assembly, Indium Corporation® will feature its advanced products designed to meet the evolving challenges of heterogeneous integration and assembly (HIA) and fine-pitch system-in-package (SiP) applications at the 74th Electronic Components and Technology Conference (ECTC), May 28‒31, in Denver, Colorado.
IDTechEx Discusses Low-Loss Materials: The Enabler of Future Connected Vehicles?
05/06/2024 | IDTechExFuture connected vehicles will offer future drivers a safer, smoother, and more convenient driving experience. Not only will drivers get access to more navigation and entertainment options, but they will also gain access to safety technologies that will potentially reduce accidents, improve congestion, and reduce emissions globally by allowing vehicle safety systems to communicate with each other and with city traffic infrastructure.
BrainChip, Frontgrade Gaisler to Augment Space-Grade Microprocessors with AI Capabilities
05/06/2024 | BUSINESS WIREBrainChip Holdings Ltd, the world’s first commercial producer of ultra-low power, fully digital, event-based, neuromorphic AI IP, and Frontgrade Gaisler, a leading provider of space-grade system-on-chip solutions, announce their collaboration to explore the integration of BrainChip’s AkidaTM neuromorphic processor into Frontgrade Gaisler’s next generation fault-tolerant, radiation-hardened microprocessors.