OpenAI, Currys, Microsoft, EY, SSOW Europe 2024 & more – PEX News

Lincotek appoints Anthony Gascon as head of global operational excellence, SAP’s last remaining co-founder departs, Celonis announces general availability of Material Allocation app

Add bookmark

Michael Hill
05/17/2024

PEX Network brings you the latest news in process and operational excellence (OPEX), business process management (BPM), digital transformation, process mining/intelligence, low-code technology, intelligent document processing (IDP), Lean Six Sigma, Kaizen and more.

Week of 05/13, 2024, includes:

Don't miss any news, updates or insider tips from PEX Network by getting them delivered to your inbox. Sign up to our newsletter and join our community of experts.

OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever departs company for “personally meaningful” project

OpenAI co-founder and chief scientist Ilya Sutskever is leaving the company to pursue an undisclosed “personally meaningful” new project. Jakub Pachocki will take on the role of chief scientist, CEO Sam Altman said.

“This is very sad to me; Ilya is easily one of the greatest minds of our generation, a guiding light of our field, and a dear friend,” Altman added. “OpenAI would not be what it is without him. Although he has something personally meaningful he is going to go work on, I am forever grateful for what he did here and committed to finishing the mission we started together.”

Pachocki has run many of OpenAI’s important projects, with Altman stating he is confident he will lead the organization to make rapid and safe progress towards its mission of ensuring that AGI benefits everyone.

The announcement came in the same week as global protests against AI during which a movement called “Pause AI” demanded that the world’s governments regulate AI companies and freeze the development of new cutting edge AI models.

READ: The guide to AI in operational excellence

Lincotek appoints Anthony Gascon as head of global operational excellence

Global solution provider for the medical, aviation and energy sectors Lincotek Group appointed Anthony (Tony) Gascon as new head of global operational excellence to strengthen the implementation of its operational excellence roadmap and increase efficiency and customer satisfaction. Gascon holds a degree in science, electrical and electronics engineering and brings more than 27 years of operations experience to the role.

“Tony will bring solid leadership and operational excellence skills to the business and this will be a key factor for Lincotek to better support our customers and growth strategy,” said Andrea Colombo, CEO of Lincotek Group. “At Lincotek, we are fully committed to providing the highest-quality service to our customers across all the markets we serve.”

READ: 5 operational excellence trends for 2024

Currys selects Microsoft Azure, Accenture to enhance operations via cloud migration and AI

International retailer of technology products and services Currys has selected Accenture and Microsoft to deliver its core cloud technology infrastructure that will enable it to leverage the latest AI technologies to enhance operations. Accenture and Microsoft, together with their joint venture Avanade, will work closely with Currys to modernize, secure and simplify its technology estate, allowing Currys to accelerate the adoption of Microsoft AI technologies such as Azure OpenAI Service, according to a press release.

“Currys exists to help everyone enjoy amazing technology, so as well as bringing the benefits of AI to millions of customers, we’ll do the same to our own business,” said Alex Baldock, group CEO of Currys plc. “We couldn’t have better partners for this, and together we aim to put Currys at the forefront of digital transformation in retail. We’re just starting out here, but the possibilities are vast.”

EY solidifies three-year partnership with SSOW Europe

Multinational professional services network EY has solidified a three-year partnership with Shared Services & Outsourcing Week (SSOW) Europe, signifying a commitment to innovation and collaboration in the shared services and GBS arena. The strategic alliance reflects a shared vision and dedication to empowering businesses worldwide with cutting-edge solutions and transformative insights, according to an announcement.

Over the next three years, the partnership will pave the way for new discussions and strategies that will shape the future of shared services and GBS. The news was announced at SSOW Europe 2024 in Lisbon, Portugal, where two-time Formula 1 World Champion Mika Häkkinen was a keynote speaker.

Norse Atlantic Airways operational excellence shines as Q1 revenue surges

Norse Atlantic Airways saw a remarkable revenue surge of 97 percent in Q1 2024, propelled by its operational excellence. The Norwegian airline achieved a flawless record, completing 100 percent of its planned flights during the quarter and transporting 201,462 passengers, an 83 percent increase over Q1 2023, according to a press release.

“The first quarter has shown major improvement on all metrics compared to the first quarter of the previous year,” commented Bjorn Tore Larsen, CEO and founder Norse Atlantic Airways. “ASK was up about 72 percent year-on-year, and load factors increased by 19 percentage points with improved revenues per passenger. Norse Atlantic continued to demonstrate robust operational excellence as 100 percent of the quarter’s scheduled planned flights were completed as planned. Norse will continue to focus on careful and profitable growth. We are happy to see that our footprint in the market has increased as the network expands to include Athens this summer, Las Vegas from the fall and a new continent as Cape Town joins the network in the winter.”

READ: PEX Guide: What is operational excellence?

IBM Blueworks Live receives BPM and enterprise architecture management award

IBM Blueworks Live has been recognized with a TrustRadius 2024 Top Rated Award in the BPM and enterprise architecture management categories. IBM Blueworks Live helps teams to design, analyze and improve their business processes. This award, based on customer reviews and satisfaction ratings, reflects the firm’s commitment to helping businesses streamline and visualize their processes effectively, IBM stated.

READ: Future of BPM: Adaptive processes, automation & learning from failure

University of Arkansas graduates earn Lean Six Sigma certification

University of Arkansas graduate students in the Razorgrad Institute of Success and Engagement (RISE) program recently participated in two opportunities: a site visit to Blue Cross Blue Shield and a professional Lean Six Sigma certification workshop. These were part of the Graduate School and International Education’s (GSIE) ongoing effort to provide relevant and critical professional development to graduate students. The RISE Program is a bridge program that helps incoming students transition to graduate school through mentorship and connection with peers that helps participants understand services, resources and experiences.

RISE students visited the Springdale corporate office of Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield, where they learned more about the organization’s workforce and employment opportunities, as well as career and self-development advice from employees and leaders at the company. Graduates also participated in a three-day Lean Six Sigma certification workshop led by IISE Instructor Elizabeth Gentry. “Certifications such as these are part of our goal in GSIE to maximize students’ degrees with industry credentials that will set them up for post-graduation success,” said Umer Rahman, associate director of graduate student support.

READ: PEX Guide: Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certifications explained

Celonis announces general availability of Material Allocation app

Process mining leader Celonis announced the general availability of its Material Allocation app, which helps companies prevent stockouts and reduce excess stock. The app is one of Celonis’ inventory management offerings, helping businesses to improve material availability, reduce operating costs and free up working capital.

“Traditional inventory management and ERP solutions aren’t built to deliver the information and insights material planners need to rebalance inventory effectively,” said Peter Budweiser, director of product management at Celonis. “The Material Allocation app provides intelligent stock transfer recommendations based on business objectives and constraints, enabling businesses to build more agile and resilient supply chains.”

Last SAP co-founder departs the company

The last remaining co-founder of SAP, Hasso Plattner, is departing the company after 52 years, stepping down from the Supervisory Board having spent 21 years as its chairman. Together with Dietmar Hopp and his fellow co-founders, Plattner created the market for real-time business software. He helped steer SAP through more than five decades of fast-moving IT history and drove SAP’s global expansion – transforming it from a single-product company to the world’s No. 1 provider of enterprise applications.

“Over the years, he worked tirelessly to open new horizons for the company and its employees, identifying technological trends and channeling his pioneering spirit into revolutionizing far more than just data management,” read a SAP blog. “It’s hard to quantify his legacy. All I can say is that without him, SAP would never have been so successful,” Hopp has previously said about Plattner.

UST to train more than 25,000 employees in generative AI technologies

Digital transformation solutions company UST launched a new initiative to train over 25,000 of its employees globally in generative AI. The program comes just months after the unveiling of UST AlphaAI, which consolidates the company’s AI offerings to enhance business agility, streamline operations and accelerate digital transformation journeys. The firm will offer a range of training programs specifically tailored to its employees and their different roles and responsibilities, based on insights from academic institutions such as MIT Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, according to a press release.

“Adaptable and customizable for each participant, the flexible training program provides hands-on experience with industry-leading tools and platforms like GitHub Copilot, setting our employees up for future success by ensuring that they can apply generative AI capabilities across diverse domains,” commented Sunil Balakrishnan, chief values officer and global head – development center operations at UST.

Apromore and Soroco announce strategic partnership

AI-driven process mining and simulation provider Apromore and AI and interaction data firm Soroco announced a strategic partnership to transform how organizations increase visibility and operational excellence. The collaboration aims to empower businesses with an easy-to-use, no-code solution to gain complete understanding of end-to-end business processes, identify areas for improvement and achieve more effective and efficient business outcomes, according to a press release.

“We are excited about this partnership with Apromore – a company driving innovation in process mining and operational intelligence,” said Samson David, CEO of Soroco. “The combination of Soroco’s Scout AI model with Apromore’s process mining capabilities is a powerful solution that aims to provide our joint customers with comprehensive insights into operational performance.”

Apromore was recently named a leader in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Process Mining Platforms report.

All Access: Process Mining and Process Intelligence 2025

Join us at All Access: Process Mining and Process Intelligence 2025 to discuss how you can transform insights into actions and implement smarter processes through intelligent mining.

Topics: AI BPM Digital Transformation OPEX