Take commercial drones. They are beginning to show us why we need to know what is going on in the sector. A revolution is taking place with drones being used for inspection purposes from buildings to subways and flood defences, plus the extensive infrastructure overseen by Network Rail. An associate recently told me about a viaduct that previously took five steeplejacks with full mountaineering kit a week to survey. The work is now completed in two days using drones with high-definition cameras.
Then there are the robots. Another colleague alerted me to developments in the agricultural sector from Deepfield Robotics, a Bosch start-up. Its smart robot, which learns as it goes along could revolutionise crop growing because it can identify weeds. You can forget herbicides - once the unwelcome plant is spotted, the robot rams it below the surface of the soil with incredible accuracy.
We should also be taking an interest in driverless cars following reports that the UK is finally embracing the prospect. It’s just another revolution taking place that will make our roads safer, quieter and cleaner. It’s a year since the Government gave the go ahead for the testing of driverless cars on public roads and announced that the UK’s regulatory environment sets it apart as a premium location for developing the new technology. So keep up with progress and note the opportunities.
What else is under our noses? Reshoring is an interesting area – it’s picking up in some sectors of the economy as the wage gap between the UK and emerging economies shrinks and businesses reconsider their supply chain risks in a very uncertain world.
PwC estimates that the trend could create up to 200,000 extra jobs in the UK over the next decade and boost GDP by around £6 to12bn at today’s values by the mid-2020s. Reshoring is also expected to affect the services sector. Analysis suggests that a significant number of additional jobs could be created over the next decade in research and development, back-office services and the telecommunication sector.
As I see it, this is not a time to stick with what we already know. After all, nobody should be surprised to hear that profit at Apple has dipped, given that just about everyone has an iphone. Market leaders come and go as witnessed by Ford slipping to seventh place among the global car manufacturer as it pulls out of Japan and Indonesia, having acknowledged that there is no path to profitability in either country. Apparently, the Trans Pacific Partnership trade agreement in its current form would not improve Ford's ability to compete, begging the question - “Should we be on the lookout for protectionism in overseas markets?”
We also need to be on the ball when it comes to competition in our own sector. It’s not a time to back an old dog - we should be seeking out innovation amongst lenders and embracing innovation ourselves. How about using “live feed” to show a prospective lender what a project is all about while you are making a site visit?
Certainly, we need to keep abreast of competition in the commercial lending sector in light of the new regulatory environment. A lack of knowledge is no defence where regulators are concerned. Neither does it benefit your business – commercial platforms lending directly to businesses maybe in its infancy but its backers are probably wondering why they haven’t entered the market before now. The pace of change could be rapid. Take a look at Funding Circle - while it has some broker distribution it is also using database marketing to sell directly.
With robots already learning on the job we certainly need to engage our thought processes to innovate and stay smart!
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