Mister Beacon

This week on Mr. Beacon we speak with Ed Treacy, Vice President of Supply Chain and Sustainability at International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA), about the current state of food safety in the world. Ed explains to us all the information you need regarding the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), as well as the opportunities for investment.Are we ever going to get to the point where we can limit food waste during an outbreak? Ed seems to think we’re well on our way. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cesar Johnston has a lot to say about the future of the IoT. Capturing wireless energy to power devices has leapt beyond the theoretical. Energous is currently powering Wiliot's IoT Pixels and Electronic Shelf Labels (ESL) - an item-level communications revolution using ubiquitous frequencies.We also get a chance to learn about his career starting off at Bell Labs and some of the leading companies that lead the Wi-Fi evolution. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bluetooth tags have been revolutionary in connecting our digital and physical worlds, but have yet to achieve their full potential. What if the technology, marketing power, and infrastructure reach of the telecommunications industry were to get behind the Ambient IoT use cases which Bluetooth is starting to enable? It’s happening now. The standards bodies developing 5G & 6G have recently set their sights on Ambient IoT. This week, we talk with Amichai Sanderovich – a veteran of this space and Wiliot’s representative on the standards bodies that are driving 5G & 6G. With his help, we understand the current state of play of Ambient IoT as part of 5G and 6G, where it might go and what the implications are. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sustainability and ESG are becoming major drivers of IoT projects. As entrepreneurs and solutions designers, we need to understand what ESG is and the people responsible for it, why they do what they do, and how they do it. On this week’s show we talk with Iñigo Canalejo, IFCO’s VP of ESG, and a veteran of sustainability. We also hear about IFCO’s market leadership and expansion of the use of Returnable Transport items/reusable crates used in the food supply chain and how this is changing the way food supply chains operate. Join us to learn about the world of ESG and arm yourself with the information you need to understand the ESG function and to embrace it as a part of your strategy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's inspiring that SAP has bestowed the title of "VP - Futurism" on someone.  And there is no better someone than Tom Raftery, who is a Global IoT Evangelist and thinker of deep thoughts across many domains. We start off exploring why there is such a tsunami of funding going into making supply chains resilient and sustainable.  And then we drill down (no fracking!) into Tom's role at SAP, including how to inspire audiences with both content marketing and keynote presentations. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There are huge opportunities to make our food supply chains more efficient (that’s a polite way of saying we waste obscene amounts of food). New technology from a Google backed startup called Strella can help. This week we talk to Strella’s CEO and Founder, Katherine Sizov, and learn more about the food ecosystem, cutting edge technology that is making a difference, and some real world entrepreneurial lessons about scaling a business. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

The new GS1 EPCIS 2.0 standard is set to have a dramatic impact on the way we manage supply chains. Its functionality can drastically improve sustainability, trust, and efficiency. We talk to one of the key contributors to the standard, author, CTO, and entrepreneur Dominique Guinard about the “Why, What and How” of a standard that supports visibility of “What, When, Where, Why and How” for products. We also get the inside scoop on the acquisition by Digimarc of the company he co founded (Evrythng), and a preview of Living Web, the Physical Web reboot that Wiliot may be releasing. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

Can profit and planet ever agree? This week's episode proves they can - thanks to World Friendly IoT - and our guest Ollie Smeenk explains how. Ollie is Co-CEO at SODAQ, and he shares fascinating insights about his company’s approach to developing energy harvesting edge devices for construction and shipping. The opportunities to reduce carbon footprints, measure change, and drive profits and savings with earth-friendly devices, are significant. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

Interested in RTLS, asset tracking or Industrial IoT? You need to know about the new standard, Omlox, which is shaping the market with over 1,700 company members. Born out of the needs of European manufacturing giants, and the pioneering by Trumpf, the German industrial engineering pioneer.    Omlox promises interoperability for RTLS systems, a catalyst for growth for RTLS vendors and an insurance policy against lock-in for companies wanting to deploy RTLS. We hear about it from the father of the standard, Eberhard Wahl, Managing Director of TRUMPF Tracking Technologies GmbH. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re joined this week by Simon Molnar, who is the founder of Flagship, which is a company that is working to bring to physical retail the science of merchandising and inventory management which they perfected from running Australia’s largest online jewelry store. How will apparel retailers survive in the face of online competition and challenging headwinds? We talk in depth with Simon about the relative benefits of the different technologies that can bridge digital and physical retailing: RFID, machine vision and Bluetooth tags. He shares the insights and changes that the newest technology in this space can deliver. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In their role as a “converter”, Tadbik have been at the forefront of creating tags and connected packaging with RFID, NFC & BLE. Industry veteran David Beit-on, who heads up Tadbik’s business operations in Germany, explains the role of the converter in the world of IoT.  He shines a light on what solution designers need to consider when adding auto-ID tags to “things.” We discuss Tadbik’s role as a pioneer in this space and then get their perspective on their work with Wiliot on battery-free Bluetooth. Then, we answer the question of which use cases have some of the biggest potential in this new world of massive IoT. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Companies are being hacked and ransomed all the time these days, and given the fact that billions of IoT devices have the potential to increase the number of vulnerabilities that companies have to deal with, it’s safe to say that this issue is more important than ever before.So what exactly can be done to increase the security of everyday devices connected to the internet? Well, we brought on the Co-Founder & CEO of Sternum, Natali Tshuva, to tell us how her company is bringing security and observability to the IoT. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Does your product have a soul? We are heading into a future where more and more things are getting digital “souls” or IDs these days. We are talking about an identity that transcends the life and even the second life of a product. It’s a compelling concept, as it unlocks waste reduction, product safety, regulatory compliance, efficiency and new revenue models.  Max Winograd’s team is competing in what is a very strategic market, the provision of cloud systems to manage the soul of every product in the world. Anyone interested in IoT applied to digital identity using RFID, Bluetooth or barcodes needs to know about this. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Last week the GS1 Connect conference came to San Diego. Speakers included auto-ID leaders from Mc Donald’s, Wendy’s and Chipotle. It reminded us of one of our favorite conversations with Melanie Nuce, SVP at GS1, a fascinating person who happens to be a leader at the standards body that is responsible for almost all of the bar codes and data encoded on the products we see everyday.300,000 companies across 25 industries turn to GS1 for guidance. GS1 is a not-for-profit global standards organization, most known for supply chain identification. 50 years after the barcode was first scanned, GS1 continues to help brands and retailers leverage unique identities, capture information in a machine-readable way, and share data with trading partners to drive business decisions. Tune in to get a behind-the-scenes look into business, and to learn all the things you need to know about GS1 and it’s standards.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Logistics is pivotal in shaping modern business operations. As businesses compete and deal with supply chain disruption this is driving some fascinating new technologies and systems. For technologists that seek to embed their technology into the arteries of modern supply chains, it’s important to understand the problems and trends that are driving the adoption of these latest technologies.  In this episode we talk to a journalist who is completely focused on logistics, the trends, and understanding the systems and the players in it. Join us as we get schooled on logistics, Warehouse Management Systems and last mile trends by Jack Daleo, journalist at Freightwaves and Modern Shipper. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week we talk with the leader of the lab that is at the heart of RFID and Auto-ID, about tags in outer space and on the ocean floor. We learn about Auburn University’s pivotal relationship with the giants of retail, aerospace and the biggest vendors of the technologies that are bringing the digital and physical worlds together.Justin Patton is the Director of the Auburn University RFID Lab, a research institute focusing on the business case and technical implementation of emerging technologies in retail, supply chain, aerospace, and manufacturing. The RFID Lab is a unique private/academic partnership between users, technology vendors, standards organizations, and faculty.  Justin has participated in business case research for advanced technology with Walmart, Target, Amazon, FedEx, Dillard’s, Macy’s, Delta Air Lines, and Boeing among others, and is currently supporting projects including multiple technologies supporting serialized supply chains. He is one of the primary developers of the ARC program,

What’s going to happen to the world when the Internet explodes by a factor of 100 times, from billions to trillions of things? Steve talks with a friend of the show, and Deloitte’s Chief Futurist, Robert Schmid, to explore when this change will happen, where the opportunities lie, and how to take advantage of what will be a disruptive revolution in the IoT.We also discuss the prospects for the retail industry and what it must do to survive as we move into an ever more connected world. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week we switch things up as Steve puts his Wiliot hat on and shines a light on the inside story of Wiliot’s initiative to democratize access to its revolutionary Internet of Everyday things technology. Sitting on the other side of the virtual interview table and asking the questions is Robert Schmid, Deloitte’s Chief Futurist, otherwise known as Mr IoT.We’ll talk about Wiliot’s starter kit and what comes inside the box. Clearly $500 for the kit goes a long way for business leaders looking to expand their asset tracking capability.Visit https://www.wiliot.com/starter-kit for more info. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week we are joined by Mattan David, the UK Managing Director of Digipal, an innovator in the next generation of plastic pallets. We discuss how sustainable plastic pallets -  as well as trackable ones - are game-changers. Years of coping with the limits of RFID tracking - clumsily monitoring movement as pallets enter and leave storage facilities - is being replaced by the superpower of Bluetooth tracking? Learn how this newer technology will transform the way Digipal - and others - keep track of their pallets and prevent loss or theft of goods.We’re rapidly entering a new era where returnable transport items are never lost or held up in transport.The 3rd song Mattan mentioned can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FcdvdPX5p8 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We are thrilled that George Anderson - the all-seeing, all-knowing Editor-in-Chief of Retail Wire - will be sharing his often unexpected wisdom on the impact of Covid-19 on the retail economy. Of course, the supply chain implications are profound, which brings us around to the IoT. Given that the pandemic has accelerated everything - collapsing five years into one, as the cliche goes - how will the supply chain demonstrate "automation acceleration"? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.