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How to unlock the value trapped inside your own business

Using robotics and blockchain to make the back-office more efficient may be one way in today’s business environment

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Gianfranco Casati suggests that in financial services, blockchain could provide greater transparency into the origins and underlying risks of any investment, regardless of its complexity, to regulators, banks, investors, and other key stakeholders. Photo: EPA

We live in a world of abundant economic opportunities – many stemming from the promise created by new technologies, including artificial intelligence, the internet of things, and biotechnology.

But even as the opportunities for successful new products, services, and solutions powered by technology emerge, they aren’t always utilised.

This is what we call trapped value – any economic opportunity that has not been realised.

This trapped value needs to be unlocked, and management 101 advice allows you to do this, by looking at inefficient processes, for instance, re-evaluating long-term contracts or under-utilised assets, and recognising losses.

Using robotics and blockchain to make the back-office more efficient may be one way of unlocking trapped value in today’s business.

Value can be trapped in the industry itself. For instance, with the expected shift to electric vehicles by major auto manufacturers, we need a large network of charging stations to stimulate and sustain demand, otherwise the industry won’t take off.

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