Digitalization

I want to share a personal experience that matters. Smartmonkey.io is headquartered in Barcelona, the second region with the most Coronavirus infections in Spain. The second worst country in the world that is dealing with this virus.

Hospitals in our area are about to be overwhelmed by the demand for ICU patients. According to friends who work in hospitals, the capacity of ICU beds in the region of Catalonia is about 800 beds, of which 600 are currently occupied. But we are still a long way from the top. Studies suggest that it will be at the end of April . Even so, 4 long weeks with the exponential growth of infections and expected deaths. Tragedy is the smallest word we could find to define this situation.

But it's not all darkness and death. A few days ago, a guy from Canada was starting to use Highway, our route optimizer. Use was normal for new customers, Testing the examples , taking their first small steps in a very powerful tool, but at the same time easy to put into operation.

We always like it talk to our new users . Not only is it very useful to know more about them, but being able to provide the best possible customer service is priceless. Sometimes you find incredible projects behind @gmail .com accounts like Ahmed Sagarwala's father-in-law in Canada.

It is helping not only the poor, but also people who have decided to isolate themselves to prevent the spread of the virus. Delivering medicines to these people is not just worrying about them, but doing everything they can for society. We are very proud that yesterday 16 people received help thanks to Ahmed's father-in-law and Highway. He told us that next week it will increase to 50 or more. We'll be here helping them.

If you read this and know someone, we could help. Spread the word. We know how difficult it can be, #quédateEnCasa and support Ahmed and others around the world.

Xavi Ruiz, CEO of Routal

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Today we live in a new era of transformation in human history. We are impacted by the digital revolution that is redefining many aspects of modern life around the world.
And Artificial Intelligence is playing a fundamental role in several fields. From transportation and logistics to healthcare, customer care and home maintenance.

Evolution of Artificial Intelligence and its benefits

From sci-fi movies to real life, AI has come out of research labs to become an environmental part of our personal lives:

Nearly 60% of organizations use AI in one form or another and it's predicted to affect every segment of our lives by the end of 2025, with notable implications for industries.

For example, by analyzing patient data, AI can make predictive diagnoses in the field of healthcare; what's more, by analyzing student data, it provides teachers with information about their performance and advice on how to improve them and improve studies, to name just a few.

And then you can see how AI evolved from being just a term coined in 1956 to focusing on specific problems in 2016.

Therefore, if there is a conclusion to be drawn, it will be that AI will greatly benefit all industries; it will make life easier in certain areas where data analysis is necessary. Already today, AI is closely connected to customers, to the functions of companies, to online and offline retail, and is making its way into the field of logistics that is beginning its journey to become an industry driven by AI, as Routal has demonstrated in its different products. That's why there's every reason to believe that now is the best time for the logistics industry to adopt AI:
-First, technological advances in various fields such as machine learning, big data and connectivity have improved performance, accessibility and The costs of AI are more favorable than ever.
-Second, the network-based nature of the industry provides a natural framework and a good opportunity to implement and scale AI. -And last but not least, let's not ignore that all companies are moving towards the use of AI, so not adopting it will put your company at risk of long-term obsolescence.
Artificial intelligence and logistics

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In a deeper approach, logistics companies are particularly positioned to benefit from the application of AI in almost every aspect of the supply chain thanks to the large volume of data that is generated daily and that allows AI to exploit it to provide the company with detailed information. In addition, logistics companies rely on networks and routes that must work harmoniously between large volumes, low margins and urgent deadlines; AI offers logistics companies the ability to optimize the composition of the network to degrees of efficiency that cannot be achieved with human thought alone. It also helps the logistics industry to redefine current practices, taking operations from reactive to proactive, planning from forecasting to prediction, processes from manual to autonomous, and services from standardized to personalized. Here are some examples to prove this:
-Increased real time Decision making: Logistics teams are often faced with repeatable actions and a wide range of operations that require the entry of a large amount of data, so combining between potential candidates fit to take responsibility for that, routes and schedules will take time, but with AI, supply chain professionals can automate the analysis and limit their selections to just two or three in a matter of seconds.
-Predictive analytics: When will customers be ready to order? This is a question that every seller asks himself, but it also represents vital information for logistics, supply chain and transportation planning to be ready when the time comes. With AI, the sales team and the logistics team will determine when an order will be placed, the route to follow, and the deadlines.
-Strategic Optimization: Where, When and How? Making the best decision in terms of transportation assets, knowledge, points from origin to customer location, schedule and savings in time, kilometers and fuel will require the intervention of AI.

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Here are some examples of how AI and machine learning can process data and then present a variety of scenarios for optimization. With sophisticated tools that continuously learn and improve, industry professionals can make better and more up-to-date decisions, as well as more informed long-term strategic options, such as fleet size, optimized routes, etc., but the future is still fraught with challenges to overcome and opportunities to exploit.